No One Actually

But who's asking?

[nobody-for-sure]

Writing Masterlist

Finally wrote more than one thing so I guess I need one of these now. So far my works all belong to the Genshin Impact fandom, but that’s subject to change in the future. I do not consent to having my works reposted or used in/for AI.

Series

Language Barrier (hiatus, further details found via its own masterlist)

One-shot

Two Peas in a Pod (Scaramouche x gender-neutral reader)

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier (Important Notes II)

Ah shit, here we go again.

Though I find it quite unbelievable that I would have to make this announcement at all, evidently it's necessary for me to make a statement about it. So here we are.

This fanfic... now bear with me here... is mine. Therefore, you do not own it, or have the right to republish it in any way without my permission.

Crazy, isn't it? I almost thought that was common sense for a while there. But to someone, it was not. So let me make this abundantly clear: reposting (not to be confused with Tumblr's reblogging) my work is absolutely, unquestioningly prohibited. (Read: not allowed.) As is claiming it as your own, naturally.

It doesn't matter if you repost it with a different title, different username, or different platform. Fanfic readers rarely stick to a single platform - they're everywhere they can be, in hopes of consuming new content. Situations like this are going to be noticed, reported, and taken down, as someone's copy of my work has been... twice now.

(Being reported and called out by a number of people and getting DMCA'd once wasn’t enough to get the hint, apparently.)

Frankly, it's embarrassing to watch them frantically scramble around after being called out for their nonsense, having a pity party for supposedly being the victim of 'haters' (while simultaneously doxxing someone for simply telling the truth) and digging in their heels like a toddler. Some of the their prior behavior was truly appalling to me as well; for example, having the audacity to ask for writing recommendations from readers and saying they would give CREDIT, despite vehemently claiming the work thus far as their own.

Everyone knows who the story belongs to, and one only needs the obvious publishing date to prove it. (And of course, if that wasn't enough, they clearly don't know the code I used for the dialogue either.)

But I digress.

I will not be making such an announcement again. Needless to say, if I find that anyone attempts to plagiarize my work (a foolish move when my story's description clearly states where it's posted), there will be consequences.

To the people who report these things to the rightful owners, thank you for your diligence. Although the first report was enough to alert me, it's good to know there are many of you who would step up to do so. Content creators rely on people like you in order to thrive and keep creating, so needless to say, if anyone witnesses something like this is the future, I'd appreciate if you'd report it.

It also stands to reason that I would not update my story while a counterfeit is up (in this case, Dec 17-Feb 7... currently), so I apologize for the wait on that front. I do have plans for the rest of it, so although there may sometimes be a long wait between chapter releases, I do fully intend to finish this story...

...is what I'd like to say. However, if between questionable comments and blatant theft it becomes too much of a hassle, I won't. As I'm sure you know, I put a lot of work into this for free, which means the only reason to keep doing it is if I enjoy it. However, I'm not afraid of tossing it away and moving on with my life if it becomes too stressful. Though I always like to assume people aren't stupid enough to continue after a warning like this, you never know. Rest assured though that I will certainly notify you if this becomes the case.

In any event, with hopes that this situation is permanently resolved, I will be continuing to draft chapters now. However, my friends, consider this a warning: do not believe everything you read on the internet. Nor should you do anything unacceptable or unlawful, as you will likely be caught.

Or, in the spirit of our main character, for those in doubt: fuck around and find out.

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

Chapter 17: Interlude

(~0.1k words, see chapter list here)

-11:29-

Autumn: Summer?

Autumn: I haven't heard from you in a while.

-11:34-

Autumn: ...If this message reaches you, I hope you're okay.

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

Since there might still be some confusion: friendship levels dictate which words can be understood at any given time (which obviously increases by level). As a result, depending on the words used and the complexity of the discussion, characters of middle levels may be able to understand everything or almost nothing in a sentence.

Chapter 16

(~2.6k words, see chapter list here)

You have to take a moment to reassure yourself that all those yandere fanfictions were way out of character, because otherwise you'd be running for the hills already.

"What do you mean, I can't leave?" you ask slowly. Already, you're getting a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.

"Just what I said," the yaksha responds blandly. "You saw, didn't you?"

It takes you a minute to figure out what he's referring to, but then it hits you. Ah. The cliff from before. "Do you mean the whole mountain is like that?"

He gives a single nod, and you grimace. In that case, you did see. Certainly, no one's getting up or down by foot; it was far too steep for that. Furthermore, a portion of the side of the mountain appeared to be delicately concave. You doubt anyone - much less you - could climb it. (In fact, given which nation you're in... you're starting to wonder if it was deliberately built that way. Perhaps this is intended to be a place only certain people can access?)

While you're wondering about this, Xiao reaffirms your initial realization. "If you can't use the thing, you can't leave. That's the only way."

"But- you don't use the waypoi- the thing, right?"

"No, I don't."

"So we can still leave that way, can't we?"

Xiao looks you in the eye and raises an eyebrow. "Can you?"

You pause. It feels like a trick question somehow, but Xiao's not really the roundabout type. "Well, uh... you can, right?"

"If you think I can take you with me, think again."

You feel like he's just pulled the rug out from underneath you. "What??? Why not?" But he's teleported with the traveler before, right?

"Your ikvuru is too kravxw."

"My what is too what?!" A note of panic creeps into your voice, now that your last hope is crumbling in front of you.

In response, the adeptus gives you a discerning look. "Qpog down," he says. His voice is not especially gentle, but it lacks the same harshness as sometimes. He purses his lips. "...I can't say it any vupsqyw. Think about it. You are far more pejvubas than me... even if you can't ipuuvj udypyxe your vubas. No one can ipywou uxopesyroq such poyxroxwfew poxruqupu ikvuru without ugruetuwrag, which is what you're asking me to do." He pauses. "Do you get it?"

Not even a little bit, you want to say, but you run his words through your head again. There's room for interpretation, for sure. The situation must be a lot more complicated than you expected, since he presumably explained the easiest way possible, and you still only caught half of it. But his end message is clear: one way or another, it seems what you're asking simply can't be done.

Is it because you're the Divine Creator?

"Think about it." Who would be capable of moving an all-powerful being through space-time on a whim?

"No one," you say slowly, uncertainly echoing the words you caught. "No one can do it."

Xiao nods once. "Ipxgocu. That's why the things were made."

Your shoulders slump. Welp. That's that, then. There's no way I'm making it down that alive. Looks like my dumb ass is finally going to suffer the consequences of my actions-

Your stomach suddenly gurgles unceremoniously.

-by starving to death on this mountaintop, probably. You grimace. Between the teleportation, the hilichurl encounter, and your time with Xiao, the sun has all but vanished from the sky. The last time you ate was around midday. By now, you probably would've eaten dinner with the others at the inn, but...

"Oh shit, the others." Your mind suddenly jumps back to your poor stranded escort squad back at the inn. You initially planned to send them a message once you got down the mountain, but now... "Xiao, at the inn - uh, the place I came from - there's some people who were with me. Can you please go and tell them what happened and apologize for me?" you say in a rush. "They-"

The yaksha vanishes in a flash of teal light before you have a chance to describe your companions. ...Well, you're grateful that he understood the urgency of the situation, at least. You gnaw at your lip, imagining their reaction to you suddenly up and disappearing. Fuck. Sorry, guys. I didn't think I wouldn't be able to teleport back OR get down. Have they stayed put at the inn, or did they spread out to search for you? What does one do when the person they're guarding literally vanishes into thin air?

Well, panic, probably.

You slide down against the cave wall, internally cringing and apologizing again. You're fairly confident Xiao will be able to find them if anyone can, but between this and the Mondstadt incident, you really need to stop disappearing on people who are trying to help you.

Well, this is the last time, I swear, you resolve. I will not randomly go off somewhere again without at least telling somebody I'm with where I'm going.

...Probably.

You flick a pebble at the wall across from you. It bounces off a jagged edge, skittering across the floor and landing by your foot. You stare at it for a moment before picking it up and repeating the motion.

You're bored.

It's hard to say how long it's been since Xiao left. The last ray of sunlight disappeared shortly after he did, and the minutes crawl by in the darkness of the cave. You don't risk dragging yourself over to the entrance to see if you can catch a glimpse of the moon, though. If there are any more enemies nearby, you're fucked. You could call for the yaksha again, of course, but the two of you are on questionable terms as-is, so you'd hate to incur his wrath unnecessarily.

If you could handle the enemies, that would be another story. But, for whatever reason, whatever powers you apparently have don't seem to work like they're supposed to. Exhibit A: the waypoint. Which could be the fault of the waypoint and not you, but you have your doubts. Especially since...

"Wind," you say, willing a gust of air to sweep through the tunnel. "I mean, anemo. Air. Breeze. Come on, work with me here." You sweep your arm like a catalyst user, but nothing happens except an unhappy grumble from your stomach.

Exhibit B. You lean back against the wall again. You thought maybe if Xiao couldn't teleport with you, maybe you'd be able to teleport yourself in the same way, but it seems that's not going to happen. "That's why the things were made", he said. Are you not actually able to wield the elements, despite being the Divine Creator? Is your golden blood just for show? You already can't understand the language - not really, anyway. And after spending some more time here, it's as you thought before: even if you did manage to learn the language of Teyvat, you'd never be able to speak it. You can already imagine your vocal chords weeping after a single sentence.

Will you only ever be able to interact with this world through (formerly) playable characters?

You sigh, which turns into a shiver. Without the sun, and this high up in the mountains, it's understandably a bit chilly. Maybe you should give your powers another shot.

You sweep your arm half-heartedly. "Pyro-" The cave is suddenly bathed in warm light, and you excitedly sit up straight. Was that me? Did I do that?!

...But no, it's no doing of your own. A small wrapped parcel falls at your feet. "Here," Xiao says bluntly. His face is illuminated by the soft glow of a torch, which he's holding stiffly out, indicating for you to take it. His brow is furrowed slightly, but in this lighting it's hard to tell if he's irritated or if that's merely his neutral face. You take the torch quickly, just in case.

"Did-" you start, but he disappears before you can get any further. You slump a bit at being brushed off, but your attention switches to the abandoned parcel before you can dwell on it too much. It seems to have been wrapped in a haste, tied with a very elaborate-looking bow made of slightly frayed twine. Should I open it?

But then again, it might not even be for you in the first place. After all, the torch was the only thing Xiao specifically handed you. It's entirely possible the package is his, and he just dropped it on accident. If so, you're definitely better off not messing with it.

You eye the fancy bow some more. ...Not exactly Xiao's style, though.

Cautiously, you use your free hand to pull the package towards you. The contents shift - there's multiple things inside. You pull the end of the twine, and the wrapping falls open.

A sweet, smokey aroma fills the cave, and you inhale agressively. Food. Eagerly, you push back the edges and peer inside. Ham, bacon, and sausage are stuffed into the package, along with a pair of chopsticks and a single sprig of mint for decoration. One slice of ham has some kind of sauce drizzled on in the shape of a messy six-pointed star.

Your eyes widen. Die Heilige Sinfonie!

There's no doubt about it. It's Fischl's special dish: identical to the cold cut platter, except it's freshly made and piping hot.

You beam. He found them.

With impeccable timing, the adeptus reappears, holding a flask of water and a thick bundle of fabric in his arms. He barely spares you a glance before setting them down a few feet away and vanishing again immediately. You blink: it's a sleeping bag, along with a small pillow and an extra blanket.

Xiao is a puzzle. You know there's something he's hiding, and his initial cold reaction is admittedly concerning... but despite that, he actually seems quite willing to help you, even if he's being a bit prickly about it. He reminds you a bit of a cat, and you stifle a laugh with a bite of ham.

Thank you, Xiao.

You get about halfway through the meal before he returns again, this time with arms full of tinder. He dumps it all off to the side of the cave before squatting down and starting to build a campfire. "I hungulg the thing," he states.

Damn, he's efficient. Not only did he find your companions as you asked, but he's also anticipated your other needs and acted preemptively, AND he's had spare time to take a look at the problematic waypoint already. All feats made easier by teleportation no doubt, but impressive nonetheless. For someone who spends a lot of time by himself, he's better at taking care of someone than you expected.

"...So...?"

"...Things aren't looking good for you."

"Ah, fuck. It's broken, isn't it?"

He eyes you, and you belatedly realize it's the first time you've sworn out loud. Not very Creator-like of you. Perhaps he didn't understand that word, though, because he continues normally. "No, the thing is fine. Which means the qupfavs is you."

You pale when your mind fills in the blank, but his gaze merely shifts back to his work, completely unfazed. "If you used the thing to get here, you should be able to get back, too. I have no uepg what you did kravb."

You swallow your food. "I don't know, either." It was the exact same thing both times, wasn't it?

He sighs deeply and holds his hand out to you for the torch, taking it to light the now-built campfire. "We'll see bavvaqax. For now, eat. Then sleep." He summons his polearm and strolls toward the cave entrance. "I will be here." He speaks in a matter-of-fact tone, but it's comforting to hear, knowing how diligent he is. The vigilant yaksha truly lives up to his moniker.

It makes you all the more aware of your shortcomings.

"Hey, Xiao." The yaksha turns his head slightly in acknowledgement, but keeps his gaze fixed on the horizon as he takes his place guarding the entrance. You take it as a sign to continue. "I've been thinking. I'm... the Creator, right?" It feels weird to say out loud, especially since no one's been able to confirm it verbally to you yet. "Why can't I leave the same way as you?" Why can't I teleport anywhere in Teyvat at the drop of a hat? Why can't I levitate chunks of rocks and build myself a staircase to get down from this stupid mountain? Why can't I summon even the slightest breeze? "Why can't I do anything?"

He exhales through his nose. "Why could you?"

It's not the answer you expected. "What do you mean?"

He shifts his posture without looking back. "Why would you be able to do that if you haven't learned how?"

...Huh. That... somehow did not occur to you before. In your defense, you'd kind of assumed if you were an all-powerful being, you'd just naturally be able to do cool stuff by wanting it to happen. Apparently not. But then again, most of your assumptions so far have been wrong, so it's no surprise if what he says is true.

If anything, you think it might actually be good news. Now that you think of it, you have a vague recollection of the Traveler being instructed by Paimon, too. Maybe your situation isn't as hopeless as you thought it might be. "In that case, you can teach me, right? Then I can do it."

For a few moments, the adeptus does not respond. In fact, he gives no sign at all that he even heard what you said, merely staring off into the distance without moving. You can't see the expression on his face when he finally sighs.

"No. I can't." His words ring with such a sense of finality that you can't bring yourself to say anything else on the matter. In silence, you finish your (hot) cold cut platter and climb into your sleeping bag while he continues guarding the entrance.

Given your circumstances, you don't expect to fall asleep quickly. But you must feel safe, because it's not long before your eyelids start to feel heavy, and you begin to nod off. You were traveling the whole day, after all.

As you teeter on the edge of consciousness, you think you hear Xiao say something. But the words are distant and quiet, and you can't tell if you heard right, or if it was just wishful thinking in the first place. Or perhaps you're already asleep after all. Regardless, the words stick in the back of your mind.

"Also... I never said I wasn't happy to see you again."

Dread curdles in your stomach at the familiar scene. Your friends and loved ones are gathered before you again, but this is isn't right. This isn't real.

It's a dream, you repeat to yourself, trying to subconsciously block out what you know comes next. A dream. But acknowledging that fact doesn't make it disappear. You are helpless to escape the inevitable, no matter how much you wish it.

No. Not again. I don't want to see this again.

A light breeze ruffles your hair, as if answering your plea. You stiffen at the unusual sensation. This isn't a part of the dream you know.

But the wind brushes your cheek softly, sweeping away a lone tear. Slowly, you begin to relax. And then, one by one... the people fade. The scenery changes, and you're left standing in a field of flowers with nothing but the sound of a distant flute for company.

Ah, is your last thought before you sink deeper into the realm of unconsciousness, it's you.

[nobody-for-sure]

Two Peas in a Pod

Two assholes with feelings are bound to have struggles. Can a relationship built on nothing but rude words really last?

(Gender-neutral reader, sfw, ~1.8k words; cross-posted on AO3)

Everyone says that you and Scaramouche are two peas in a pod.

By which, of course, they mean that you're both assholes. Petty, diabolical little shits that are completely, unquestionably intolerable... except, for some reason, to each other.

The two of you work. You shouldn't, but you do.

It's a wonder that you get along, really. No one's ever heard either of you say a kind word to the other. Quite the opposite, in the fact: there seems to be some sort of ongoing competition to see which of you can make the best jab at the other and live to tell the tale. (He's winning - for now - only because you haven't found a good way to work mommy issues naturally into a conversation yet.)

Really, you don't seem like a couple at all. At best, maybe like rivals who have hate sex. But the truth is, you're a great match. It might be difficult for others to understand, but you're both supportive... in your own way. A little more so in private, when there's no one else to see: that's when vulnerabilities sometimes slip through the cracks. But who better to reassure you of your worth than someone who's seen the filth of the world as you have, rather than someone pure and benevolent enough to spout that sort of crap to anyone? That's not to say you're overly soft on each other, though... far from it. Still, given how you appear to the public, no one else would even dream of expecting so much as a backhanded compliment from you two.

So yes, though some would be hard-pressed to believe it, you are a couple. Why else would you both be able to get away with saying everything you do? It's unspoken knowledge between the two of you. Neither of you are good at expressing your feelings, so trading insults and arguments is the best you can do. But isn't that the best kind of relationship, where you can feel comfortable arguing, knowing that things will still be the same afterwards?

Words are just words, after all. They are... until they aren't.

All it takes is one day. Too many things go wrong for you to count, and you’re pushing breaking point, one minor mishap away from a total meltdown. Impressively, he's involved in none of those things... he's simply the last straw this time.

"Hah- pathetic," he scoffs when he hears about your day. "Getting worked up over something like that? Ridiculous."

Normally, you wouldn’t even be phased. Deep down, you know what he means by it. 'Don't worry about what they think, they're nobody. Don't let it get to you. Losers like that should mean nothing to you.'

You know that's what he means. But sometimes - at times like this - it would be nice to hear him say it for once.

Tears prick the corners of your eyes against your will, and he stiffens. In retrospect, it's another indication of how much he cares for you: were it anyone else, he would've left the room already. It's a little-known fact that Scaramouche hates when people cry... or at least, when someone he cares about does. He doesn't know what to do, how to deal with it. So as fat salty tears run down your cheeks, he sits rigidly in place, staring uncomfortably at you.

In truth, you can't blame him, because his response was no different than it normally would have been. Yours is. But what right do you have to get offended, suddenly, when your relationship is built off of the teasing remarks and petty jabs you've traded? How can you complain that he doesn't say stuff like that when he never has, and you've never expected him to? You knew from the start that he wasn't the type. And how can you complain when you're the exact same way? What a hypocrite.

You swallow. Maybe the two of you aren't such a great match after all.

You're both assholes, but you both have feelings, too, even if you both pretend you don’t. Is being in love really enough, if no one ever expresses it verbally? Maybe he deserves better, and so do you. Someone who knows the right words to say, and isn't too proud to say them. Someone who will cradle you in their arms and whisper reassurances when you need them the most.

...Even after being in a relationship for so long, you don't think you'll ever get that from him. It’s not the sort of relationship you have, and... you don't think that's going to change anytime soon. Both of you are too stubborn. He's too stubborn. At first you didn't care, but now...

...now you're not sure you want that.

He'll call it the fourth betrayal, you know. But he'll get over it - get over you. He's stronger than he thinks. You know him well enough.

No matter how many times his heart is crushed, he always returns to seeking love. He's misguided, and he's not always good at it. But love is, and has always been, what he desires more than anything. He hasn't realized it yet, but it’s the part of himself he’ll never be able to cut out and discard. The love he yearns for will be what grounds him to this world, so he needs someone who will support him through thick and thin, encouraging him on when he starts to doubt himself, to doubt whether someone like him even deserves love-

-and you need someone like that, too.

You take a deep breath, eyes watery. "Scaramouche," you say thickly, "I think maybe we should br-"

He flicks you hard on the forehead before folding his arms. "Shut up."

You gape.

He glares harshly in response. "If you finish that sentence, I'll kill you."

You narrow your eyes in defiance. Pointless words. He knows you’re not the type to stay silent. If he's going to be like this now, of all times, then you have no doubt. "I think we should-"

This time, he lunges forward and claps his hand over your mouth, tugging you toward him abruptly and twisting your body so that your back falls against his chest.

"I said, shut up," he seethes in your ear. "If you think I'm going to just let you do whatever you please, you're mistaken."

A muffled sob escapes your lips, and a shudder rolls through your body. You feel him tense slightly behind you as fresh tears land on his fingers. Scaramouche really doesn't like when people cry. Nevertheless, instead of releasing you in disgust, he pulls you tighter to his chest.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" he asks tersely.

You're not sure what that has to do with anything, but his grip loosens enough for you to shake your head no.

"Then you should already know. I'm not dumb enough to let the one person who's accepted all my flaws and stayed with me all this time even though I'm... like this... go." The hand that's not covering your mouth curls further around your waist, pinning you to him. “No one else is dumb enough to talk back to me, and I wouldn’t want to be bored.”

He's misguided, and he's not always good at love.

"And we've already agreed that I'm not an idiot. I know exactly what you’re going to say the moment I take my hand off your mouth. So..." To your surprise, he falters for a moment, swallows.

But he’s stronger than he thinks. You know him well enough.

"...So tell me what I have to do, damn it!" His voice cracks slightly, and you suck in your breath.

Perhaps he's stronger than you gave him credit for, too. Strong enough to change.

"Tell me what to do, so that you don't leave me too! Do you think I'm so weak that I can't even make one person happy? I fucking can, and I fucking will! Do you want to bet- OW! What the fuck?!" He jerks his hand away from your mouth, inspecting the teeth marks on his fingers as you wriggle yourself around in his grip to face him. "You-"

"That's for flicking me, dumbass." Your tone doesn't match your actions, desperately searching his face for some sort of confirmation. Visible frustration lines his features, but he sets his mouth in a determined line when you meet his eyes.

He means every word.

"...it will... be hard," you say, barely a ghost of a whisper. 'For both of us' goes unspoken.

"No fucking shit," he responds immediately. "What's the matter? Too much of a coward?" Your eyes narrow and he bites his lip, seemingly realizing that was not the best way to phrase it. "Wait-"

"...Maybe," you admit, and he shuts his mouth. Maybe you are a coward, giving up so easily. You thought you were thinking of him, too, but it seems he has different priorities. (You're a priority. The thought warms you.) There's a definitive irony to presuming to know so much about him while simultaneously acknowledging that neither of you are honest about your feelings. "...I'm sorry."

"You should be." There's no bite in his voice as he leans forward to capture your lips in a kiss. You stiffen briefly, before reciprocating.

We'll be okay.

The two of you work. You shouldn't, but you do.

If Scaramouche can change, if he's willing to try... well, then you definitely can. Maybe not a lot (because archons forbid you become one of those cute, sappy couples), but a little goes a long way. For now, just knowing that he really does care - that he doesn't want to lose you - is enough. You’re both a couple of assholes, it's true. But even worse, you’d be a couple of morons if you couldn’t make this love work.

...And he's right, too: neither of you would have as much fun in a relationship with someone 'nicer', where you couldn't engage in 'friendly' banter that makes everyone around you sweat and question if you're both psychopaths. Truly, thank goodness you get to have the best of both worlds.

Because later, when Scaramouche is confident you’re in a better mood and things are more or less back to normal, he turns to you with a smirk. "Looks like I win."

"Win what?"

"The competition, obviously. Of which one of us can say something to make the other snap first." He looks so supremely proud of himself that you just can't resist the opportunity to wipe the grin off his face. It's a good chance to get even, anyway.

"Ah... of course," you say slowly. "It looks like I'm just too nice after all."

Sure enough, his face drops to one of disdain and disbelief. "...Excuse me?"

Your gaze slides to the side as a smile creeps up your face. "Yeah, you know, since I’ve resisted the temptation to bring up mommy issues-"

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU."

You cackle. Looks like it’s a tie.

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

For those of you who haven't cracked the code yet: as of the last chapter, there’s now two (one for each country’s language). However, as a reminder for everyone, I maintain that the story can still be easily read and enjoyed with only context clues. If you're feeling frustrated trying to crack it, take a break. A fic about a language barrier where you had to know the language would be pretty pointless, wouldn't it?

Chapter 15

(~2.7k words, see chapter list here)

You may have fucked up.

Correction: you definitely fucked up.

The good news is that the teleport waypoints do, in fact, teleport you. Which is cool. Very neat. That means they weren't just a convenient game mechanic for the traveler. Good to know.

The bad news is that you apparently can't control where they teleport you, because when the blinding light fades, you're most definitely NOT in Liyue Harbor.

Fuck, go back. Quickly, you turn to the new waypoint beside you and press your hand against it. "Take me to Wangshu Inn!"

In an unsurprising turn of events... nothing happens. Nevertheless, you keep your hand pressed to the device, waiting. Lag? Is it lag? It took a few moments to activate the first time around, so maybe you just need to be patient.

Minutes pass, and your hand falls to your side. Why is this my life??? In what universe do the teleports only go one way? Are they one-time use? What a rip-off! You consider trying again, asking for a different destination, but you think better of it. It didn't even take you to the right spot in the first place, so you'd better not give it the chance to dump you somewhere worse.

Speaking of... where am I, anyway? You take a long look around. Unfortunately - likely due to the world being bigger than the game - you've been finding in your travels so far that nothing looks exactly the same as you remember it. Nevertheless, you try to stay calm and think things through rationally. (Not doing so has already been your downfall more than you'd like to admit.)

The air is thinner here, and foggy, so you deduce you must be in the mountains somewhere. It makes you thankful you didn't get transported to Dragonspine, at least; you're definitely not dressed for that. You don't think you've left Liyue, either. Not that you would recognize Fontaine or Natlan if you saw them, but the few scattered trees and vegetation seem to fit the bill. Thinking back to the game, you close your eyes in concentration. If I remember correctly, there were some pretty large mountains right next to the harbor. One of them had a waypoint, didn't it? That must be where I am. It's definitely not what you had in mind, but it's also the most logical option you can think of.

You sigh. At least I'm close. Now I just have to figure out a way down. From there, you'll find a way to get a message to your traveling companions.

You give the waypoint a withering glare. Still, could it really not have dropped me anywhere closer? And what's with the indefinite cooldown all of a sudden?? Muttering under your breath, you pick a direction that looks vaguely familiar and start walking. Hopefully, your reception in Liyue will be smoother than it was in Mondstadt... though your misfortunes in the land of freedom were entirely self-inflicted to begin with.

When am I going to stop making life harder for myself?

The mountaintop is hilly, and at first, the fog makes it difficult to see too far ahead. But you're in luck: after several minutes of walking, the fog starts to dissipate, and you can see a cliff edge ahead. Perfect. You can scope out your location and see if you can spot a way down - perhaps there'll even be a nice, gentle slope with a pathway leading straight into the city.

Yeah, right.

But as much as you weren't expecting that to be true, what you see instead comes as even more of a shock.

The sides of the mountain are steep craggy inclines as far as the eye can see, and that's the least of your problems. You're nowhere near the harbor. In fact, you're nowhere near much of anything. Not Qingce, not Mingyun, not even the Chasm, which appears to be the closest thing to civilization in the distance. You know where you are now. The three dreaded trial towers of Tianqiu stand tall across the gorge. No wonder your surroundings seemed vaguely familiar: back when you first pulled Xiao, this was the waypoint you used every day to get to the Primo Geovishap.

But how in Teyvat does 'take me to Liyue Harbor' translate to this?!

...Wait a minute.

You backtrack for a moment. Xiao. I can call Xiao!

You feel much better about summoning the adeptus now that you're actually in need of his assistance, rather than just to say hi. "Xiao!" Despite the situation, you can't quite conceal the tinge of excitement in your voice as you speak the yaksha's name. There's a moment of silence. You hold your breath in anticipation. And then:

"Biat ye, ika! Kundala kucha unu!"

If you had a table, you'd flip it. For the first time, you do recognize the language being spoken. Who would've thought it'd turn out to be a bad thing?

You wheel around to see two club-wielding hilichurls, a geo samachurl, and - by far the most menacing - a rock shieldwall mitachurl almost twice your size. And, in yet another dissimilarity to the fanfics, they do not look happy to see you. Frantically, you think back to your daily commissions with Ella Musk. "Um. Olah?"

The mitachurl charges.

You leap back from the ledge. The last thing you want is to get knocked off and fall to your death. The mitachurl zooms past, missing you by a hair and grunting as it skids to a stop itself, adjusting its shield. The hilichurls are right behind, waving their wooden clubs in a frenzy. They're less formidable, but they have numbers in their favor: when you move to dodge a blow to the head, the other manages to land a heavy hit on your upper arm. You stumble backward a couple steps, cursing. It's not bleeding, but it will definitely leave a nasty bruise. "Xiao!!" Where is he?!

...Oh, wait.

He probably can't understand that I'm calling him, can he?

Fuck.

When you regain your balance, you turn around and make a desperate dash back for the waypoint. The ground rumbles, and rocky spikes shoot up from underneath you (courtesy of the samachurl, no doubt). You skirt around them, and they crumble, but you can hear shouts in hilichurlian behind you. You put on a burst of speed. Soon, the pounding of your heart and the panting of your breath drown out all other sounds.

That's why, when you crest a slight hill, you let out an unholy screech as yet another masked figure appears in your field of vision. Immediately, you swerve the other direction, but you barely move another step before a firm hand clamps down on your shoulder.

"Uwoug. You'll xgovxxo more of them."

You do a double take, and your heart nearly stops in relief. "Xiao," you breathe.

It's hard to tell if it's because of his temperament or not, but the adeptus doesn't seem very happy to see you.

He came to your rescue, there's no doubt about that. Once you realize it's him, you feel safe enough to risk a glance over your shoulder at your enemies. But they're simply... gone. All traces of them have vanished completely, as if the attack existed purely in your imagination.

Obliterated, your mind supplies, in a mixture of fear and awe. You've never been gladder that this is not an imposter au.

As soon as the thought crosses your mind, though, your arm is roughly grabbed. "Hey!" you exclaim out of reflex, and the masked face snaps to yours so quickly that you instinctively shut your mouth. It could just be the eerie glow of the eyes, but you somehow get the feeling that he's glaring at you. When you don't say anything further, he makes a derisive noise and turns around. However, as he drags you to a nearby cave, removes his mask, and pins you with a piercing golden stare (that's even scarier than the mask, honestly), it's hard to tell where you stand with him.

"What are you doing?" he asks sharply.

The question roots you to the spot, not because of its content, but because it feels like forever since you've heard an entire coherent sentence from someone. The fact that it's being directed at you angrily by one of your favorite characters is secondary. It takes you a minute to absorb it, because inside your head, you're already celebrating. I was right! Xiao's at level seven! My friendship level theory was right!

The adeptus is not in the mood to wait for your celebration, though. "Vubwro," he says sternly. "Why are you here?"

You blink. "Ah- sorry. Um- by accident?"

He furrows his brow. "By what?"

"...accident...?" When the crease in his brow only grows, you realize he must not be able to understand that word. "Oh. Well, I tried to use one of the waypoints to get to the harbor, but it didn't work. Somehow I ended up here instead."

You expect him to maybe sigh or call you an idiot, but he just shakes his head, expression unchanging. "Not that," he says, sounding irritated. It's a sharp contrast to the way everyone else has spoken to you. "Why are you back?"

The question seems to hold a certain gravity. Your excitement fades. "...Back?"

He gives a single nod. Your chest tightens, and the ominous feeling you've been getting recently returns in flash. "Um... I don't know what you mean," you admit slowly.

"What?" His gaze narrows even further, and he opens his mouth before closing it again. "Xyob here," he says brusquely, before vanishing.

Numbly, you lean against the cave wall, turning the question over in your head. 'Back'? What does he mean? I haven't been here before. ...Moreover, the way he's acting... could it be...? You gulp.

Several minutes pass before there's a flash of pale green light, and the yaksha appears before you again. Before you can say a word, he sinks to one knee and bows his head. "I udykapaso. It's an varal to make your ugroxryoetgo, Your Grace," he says coolly.

You can barely make heads or tails of the fragmented sentence beyond 'Your Grace', but the complete reversal in attitude is enough to leave you gaping. "...What?"

"Which xvos did you not hroxwvuhre, Your Grace?" he says patiently, without raising his head. His tone exudes a strange sense of neutrality devoid of its previous emotion. It's... unnerving, to say the least.

"Wait. No, wait. What? What is this?? Who are you, and what did you do with Xiao?"

"I am Xiao, Your Grace."

"No, no. Where's that other guy I talked to? The one who was mad at me? That was Xiao."

"...That was me." You notice he doesn’t deny the part about being mad.

"...Are you actually a whopperflower?"

"Am I a what?"

"So you are?!"

"No, I am not," he says firmly, and this time you catch a familiar rough edge in his voice. So it is him.

"Then what's with all... this? Why are you so calm and... nice all of a sudden, when you were definitely not happy to see me before? ...Also, stand up."

He does. "It is krylxar to rvugrag yourself with, Your Grace. I was runoxwyq."

You purse your lips. You didn't understand much of that, but your mind is too preoccupied to try and break it down. You're almost scared to hear the answer, but you want... no, you need to know if it's a possibility. "...Did you think I was someone else?"

The question hangs in the air for a moment. Xiao folds his arms and gives you a long, searching look. "No," he says finally. "I could never." His words hold no hint of insincerity or falsehoods.

Your brow furrows in confusion. "Then-"

"I will not be krynousw more on this," he snaps.

You raise your hands in surrender. "Okay." Whatever is behind his sudden change in demeanor, it's obviously a touchy subject, and you would never force him to tell you. You've heard all you needed.

An awkward silence falls over the cave. You have no idea what's going through the yaksha's mind, but for your part, you're trying to piece together everything that's happened since your first encounter.

The way he treats you is undeniably different than the others you've met so far. Is it a Liyue thing, or an adeptus thing, or a Xiao thing? First brash, and now more formal... yet still lacking the unquestioning respect and adoration of Mondstadters. Most baffling is the fact that he claimed to know who you were the entire time. You believe him - but you have no idea what to make of it. Nor were you expecting these sorts of complications right off the bat with the first person you can (almost) properly communicate with.

It's painfully ironic: the first one you can comprehend is the one you understand the least.

You sigh. You don't know how you were expecting your first meeting with Xiao to go, but like every other part of your journey so far, this definitely wasn't it. You can't begin to fathom what sort of relationship the two of you have. It doesn't seem to be a good one. Maybe something's different for characters you've built and travelled with - which would explain why you had a different reception in Mondstadt - but you can't think of what or why it would be. It doesn't seem like he's about to tell you, either.

At the very least, though, no matter what he might be hiding, he didn't hate you enough to leave you at the mercy of the hilichurls earlier. You owe him for that. "Thank you for coming to help me."

He exhales and gives a slight nod before turning to face you fully. "What are you doing in reiuem xwvon?" he asks, more calmly than before.

"In where?"

"...Here."

"Um, that doesn't really- never mind, not important. I think I mentioned this earlier, but I'm not here on purpose...... you look confused."

"I can't hroxwvuhre half of the whvab you say," he responds bluntly, reminding you of your glaring communication problem. "Try using vupsqyw ones."

"...Using what ones?"

"Vuywou," he says, and when you shake your head, "Small."

"Small ones?" Small words? You turn this over in your head for a moment. Breaking it down, you feel like you've actually been able to understand a majority of what he's said, but he's right. Most of the words you recognize are short and fall into very basic English. Alright, then. You can work with that. It's hard to say exactly where friendship levels draw the line, but better Razor language than sorry.

"Okay," you start off, "I did not try to be here." You give him a questioning glance, and he nods for you to continue. "I used a... thing. I tried to go to the-" you pause, debating whether 'harbor' falls into basic English and deciding it probably doesn't- "...place. Not here - place with water and boats." He shakes his head in confusion, and you wave it off. "I tried to go to a place, but the thing took me here. I don't know why." Stupid waypoint.

The adeptus takes a minute to absorb this information. "Which... thing did you use?"

A lightbulb goes off in your brain, and you squat down, tracing your finger in the dirt. "This thing."

He seems to be trying hard to hide his exasperation when he repeats, "Yes. Which thing?"

"Which one?" Does it matter? Well, for all you know, it does. "Uh, the one at Wangshu Inn."

"Try again."

"Um... the one at the hotel? No? Okay... the one at the place, with... the food you like?"

Xiao bristles, and for the first time - if only for a fraction of a second - you get the strong sense you know what he's thinking. If you showed up, he had expected to meet you there. "You were there? When?"

"Just now."

"How?"

You shrug. "I came with people. From-" you sigh- "place."

He mulls this over, narrowing his gaze. "If you didn't try to be here, why did you not go back?"

"Because I can't. That's why I was hoping you could help me," you respond. "The thing here didn't work."

At long last, you've been able to steer the conversation around to the reason you summoned him in the first place. Moreover, the act of conversing itself has been going a lot better now, if you do say so yourself. This is progress. This is good. It's a great feeling, like you're finally making some headway through the chaotic mess you've found yourself in.

And then the yaksha brings you crashing down again.

"Then you can't leave."

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

If you didn’t pay attention to the interludes, they’re going to start tying in now. Also, if you have yet to read the story’s important notes (I don’t know why you wouldn’t have, since I’ve already asked on a previous chapter as well as the masterlist), it’s never too late to correct a mistake. It’s been semi-updated recently as well, so another quick reread/skim is never a bad idea.

Chapter 14

(~3.2k words, see chapter list here)

You didn't expect this.

Maybe you should have. But by all accounts, your life has always been... pretty average. Things happened. People came and went. You were there, but not really. Sometimes, you seemed to be an outside observer of your own life, just watching things happen with no control over them. Sometimes, nothing felt right. You were the sort of person who wouldn't mind getting isekai'd, because you didn't have a ton of attachments to your world... at least, that's what you always told yourself.

So then why are you crying?

You lift a hand to your tear-stained cheek as your companions snooze away nearby. The sky is getting lighter, but the sun has not yet broken over the horizon as you rise from your borrowed sleeping bag and take a few steps away from the camp. You take a seat on the riverbank, watching the water lap gently against the shore.

There's no 'if's, 'and's, or 'but's about it: you're homesick.

You had a dream again. Like before, you can't remember all of it, but you cling to fragments, trying to piece them together.

You were back home again... though the word 'home' feels funny on your tongue, as if it's not quite right. You remember a bunch of people: friends and loved ones of yours. You can't recall if they were gathered for a specific event or purpose, or if they were just all there by coincidence because that's how dreams work. Nor can you recollect what anyone said to you, which leaves you the most ill at ease, because you have a feeling it was something important.

Even Autumn was there. You don't know what Autumn looks like in real life, but your dream had assigned them a random figure, and you knew instinctively who they were. Who else could it be? They gave you a sad smile from across the room as the others were talking, and it haunts you. Why are you sad, my friend? Why am I?

Answers. Liyue will have answers. It has to.

Your first encounter with slimes happens around mid-morning. You haven't quite reached the Stone Gate outpost when you pass a rich vein of Cor Lapis, and out pop several small geo slimes.

They're cute, just as you expected. Not quite as cute as the official art made them out to be, but very small and squishy. Very... squeezable.

You want to hug one.

Luck must be on your side, because the slimes start bouncing directly toward you. Your companions ready their weapons, and Noelle moves to shield you. She succeeds in blocking most of them, but one of them slips past her and bumps against your leg.

"Ouch!" It wasn't a hard bump by any means, but even without the thick armor of a larger geo slime, the little rock-horns on its head are sharp enough to scrape your leg. The slime seems a little surprised as well, and nudges against your leg more gently. Aw... that's kind of sweet.

"Xaue kigxm, kxg aue egqu?!" Amber exclaims frantically.

You imagine she's concerned for your welfare, so you wave your hand dismissively. A little scratch is far from what it takes to do you in; but your companions are here to take their escort mission seriously. Fischl twirls her bow with dramatic flair and gestures to Oz. "Ujrgbfu, rxalta enz ymtoc jtg kmtarv kyknz yjtkol uzto rgtxkzk yyktqxgj!"

"Es ymtoc kxg ejgkxrg jkrxalta, toks tokragxl," he responds, swooping up next to Noelle as the outrider and the princess take aim from a short distance. Meanwhile, Bennett rushes over to you, preparing to defend you from the slime currently rubbing against you.

You wave your hands frantically at him. "Wait, no! I think they're friendly!"

He pauses, giving you a searching look. "You... ztuj ztgc us uz qigzzg?" he says, sounding unsure of himself. The others stop to glance at you as well. In response, you lean down to pet the slime. It's got a bit of a dusty texture, like a box that's been in the attic too long, but it's not wholly unpleasant. It's also really...

......really......?

For some reason, your mind feels hazy as you search for the right words. It's...?

You slump to the ground, causing shouts of alarm from your companions. Simultaneously, the slime puffs up, expanding to more than half the width of the walkway and gaining a rocky plate of armor. Amber and Fischl unleash a volley of arrows, and Oz starts firing off bolts of lightning. With a sweep of her claymore, Noelle bats what's left of the smaller slimes into the stream nearby and rushes back to you, inserting herself firmly between you and the still-growing slime. "Kygkrv kbgkr yonz uz ya, xaue kigxm!" Bennett also steps up, his eyes narrowed in fiery determination as his sword starts to glow with pyro.

You clutch your head, too dazed to stop them. What the fuck just happened?

With difficulty, you try to focus as your companions whack away at the giant slime. You're tired... no, not tired. You're weak, like all the strength has left your body. But how? And why? Are you such a weak god that you're so easily bested by a slime of all things?

Nope, you're pretty sure this is the clincher. No way are you a god. Goodbye, cruel world. I hardly knew you.

The fight is over almost as soon as it began. You don't know who deals the final blow (or shot). One second the slime is there, getting battered from all sides; the next, it's gone. You can feel the difference, though. It's like a change in the air. A sudden wave of energy washes over you, and the fog in your head clears abruptly as your strength returns to you.

You feel... fine. Better, in fact, if that's even possible. But your confusion doubles now that you can think clearly again. Did that slime absorb your energy somehow? Did you just absorb energy from a slime?? ...Come to think of it, the game had those elemental particle things... have you charged up your (nonexistent) elemental burst??? Can you-

"Xaue kigxm!" The collective voices of your companions snap you out of your thoughts. Now that the danger has passed, everyone crowds around you anxiously.

"Sorry- I'm fine, thank you... sorry," you repeat. You're not quite sure what you're apologizing for - you didn't manifest the slimes; but you seem to be to blame for making the battle of greater difficulty than necessary, so it feels like the appropriate thing to do.

Bennett translates while rapidly shaking his head, as if disagreeing. "No 'sorry'!" he says when he finishes, obviously trying to use words you'll understand. "'Thank you'... yes; no 'sorry'!" It's awkward phrasing, reminiscent of Razor, but it gets the message across. You give him a small smile.

Amber puts a comforting hand on your shoulder while Noelle kneels and starts digging around in her bag. "Yzgnz znmox, yzo zut xaue zragl, xaue kigxm! Ztuj exxuc zauhg g mtonz, krrkut rroc kbgn aue jknizgv va to ut ksoz!" the outrider says cheerfully. The maid pulls a cloth and a roll of bandages out of her pack and starts dabbing at your leg. Now that your initial shock has worn off, you realize that the slime's horns gouged you a little deeper than you originally thought. You wince as she gently fishes a pebble out of the shallow wound.

All in all, not a great start to your day... and your disappointment that you won't be gaining a slime companion is immeasurable. But as Noelle sets the cloth down and begins diligently wrapping your leg, you realize something good did come of the situation.

The cloth is stained a vibrant gold.

Your mood picks up considerably when you reach Dihua Marsh, and Wangshu Inn looms in the distance. With your destination in sight, the party is rejuvenated, and everyone picks up the pace. Truthfully, it's bigger and even more beautiful than you imagined, especially with the afternoon light hitting it just right - but that's not why you're excited, of course.

"Eh knz egc," Amber ventures as you cross the bridge, "yonz yo erhghuxv g jgh ksoz uz qyg, zah... uj etg lu aue qgkvy kykaeor? O zyap cutq tgoxksay."

"I cutq g zoh," Bennett replies proudly. "Knz yjgj kbgn tkkh mtonigkz me. You xkbkt cutq zgnc kxaue mtoum uz xkztauitk mtoxaj tg kxaztkbjg!" He scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "Na, zgnz jogy... uy xgl yzo erzyus ioygh tuozgyxkbtui jtg rgtuozgazoy llazy zauhg ykosktk, uy so zut kxay cun ralkya zgnz rroc kh."

Fischl gives a closed-mouth laugh that reminds you of an anime villainess, minus the ill intentions. "Xgkl zut, es rgeur yzikphay! Enz jkskkzyk toyykftoxv yo jkztogawig nzoc etgs ykamtuz to xkjxu uz erxkvuxv kzgiotassui nzoc rrg xkn jkzubkj yxkcurrul."

"Knz zygr quuh to xkn kzoxubgl ykoxky ztjoj zkm jkzgrytgxz, uy kny jkojazy kzoaw eryauoigxub uz kky zo uz yzo tuoyaritui."

"Fu!"

Noelle clears her throat. "Errgazig, o uyrg cutq kzoaw g zoh. O ztjrauc um uy xgl yg uz rrgi lrkyes ztkarl, zah o tgi kzgmobgt zyus ytuozgyxkbtui."

"Qtgnz yyktjuum!" Amber breathes a sigh of relief. "O ztjoj cutq zgnc kc kxkc mtoum uz uj xul g kzatos kxknz."

As she speaks, a man hurries down the steps of the inn. Spotting your group, he rushes over, planting himself in front of you in a deep bow. "Xy wy ro varal ax uf ry veai ugruwuvs, veai uryzyh ugovk. Uzub ruuf kryxguscu eai hro veai huquuxwu wuxipago, hro ub hpeab uf huwoups hraiuf uvewouq ax vujja vea upfqel wugyzvuw aw xolx eai xlkyq xwuv iwou kryveh veai wpuzovx."

Blankly, you look to your companions, waiting for one of them to handle it. Fischl steps forward. "Veai ixypoxyswal wy xwaq huxoyguvsso," she says, and is it your imagination, or does she sound slightly less confident than normal? "Vyulx ugovk wxsuggo ilx- veai weavuruk vujja, hro hpealw unyp ax ukpehry ry o pouq hro o wxlkyr xwuv uvajuf iulx hro vyulx ueryxuv ueryxrag vyulx rayxoryvkuvus- iurveam."

"Erkiot ktuj, toks tokragxl," Oz murmurs, and she puffs out her chest a bit, looking pleased.

"Ja uwveag, ja uwveag!" The man rises, sweeping a hand toward the building. "Vuzuxolb vyulx ugovk wuvywuh, jy xy wy rylxyb vea vubas ax uhyzavs, ub ppolw. Uwoups, bappo uq ax balw eai ax ulx vaxozupu." It would seem you're being offered a formal invitation. Fischl's gaze flickers to you, and you dip your head cautiously. She gives him a dignified nod, and Noelle waves you forward when he turns and starts walking. The others fall into step behind you.

When you get to the wooden platform, the man heads left toward the elevator. You pause. It took you forever to get the commissions to fix the stairs, so you're damn proud of them. But if no one's going to use them, what was even the point?

So be it. You'll use them, if no one else will.

You extend a finger in that direction and tip your head to your companions, indicating you want to go that way. They look at each other, shrug, and nod amicably. Everyone changes their course to see the fruits of your (aka the traveler's) labor; but as you reach the bottom step, you notice Bennett hanging back warily. "What is it?"

"Sa... ykxknz no mtorogx tu ktu kjoy," he says, licking his lips nervously. "Zo yquur jtoq lu- I zyap qtonz- zo znmos kh xkzzkh xul me uz kqgz knz xuzgbkrk yonz ksoz, gngn. Sorry." He points apologetically to himself, and then in the direction the other man disappeared. You're confused. He wants to take the elevator? Everyone else looks like they understand his request immediately, though, so you give him a nod.

Fischl falls back as well. "To zgnz kygi, enz toyykftoxv rrgny etgvsuiig aue to knz ztkbk lu... skng... tkkykxulta ykitgzysaixoi." She puts a hand on his shoulder and gives you a wave as the two of them round the corner, disappearing from sight.

Well... alright then. Their actions strike you as a bit strange without further context, but you assume they have their reasons. Even if they're just tired from walking the whole day, that's good enough for you.

You turn back around. Noelle gives you a supportive smile, and Amber gestures eagerly, already climbing the steps. The three of you set a leisurely pace, stopping to lean against the railing and admire the new view every time you round a corner. Mondstadt is no less scenic, but it’s full of rolling hills; Wangshu Inn is perfectly positioned between the flat marsh and the plains, providing a rare and spectacular view of nearly all of Liyue. Amber is enthralled by the floating Statue of the Seven in the distance, pointing and gawking in excitement. Meanwhile, Noelle seems content to simply enjoy the way the sunlight glints off the water as the first autumn leaves flutter past.

...Autumn.

You shake your head. Think about something else. Think about... think about Xiao. The thought spurs you on. Wangshu Inn might be a convenient place to spend the night, but you didn't come all this way to not see the yaksha. In fact, you'd been privately hoping to stop here for that very reason. With renewed vigor, you urge your companions onward, taking the steps two at a time in an effort to leave your less-than-pleasant thoughts behind you.

In no time at all, you reach the landing, and you round the corner without stopping, ignoring the gaping passerby and giving a wave to an unfazed Verr Goldet as you continue up to the second balcony. Your excitement grows with every step. If your friendship level theory is correct - as it seems to be - you should be able to understand Xiao better than anyone else you've encountered so far.

...In fact, being who he was, he'd probably know you were coming, wouldn't he? Do you dare to hope that he might be... waiting for you? You put on a burst of speed, stumbling up the last couple steps. And, sure enough, standing by the overlook waiting for you is-

-no one. But up on the roof-

...also no one.

In your dreams, a voice taunts in your head.

This is just not your day.

You purse your lips, reluctant to give up so quickly. There's still one option. Should I call him?

You don't get time to think about it. Amber and Noelle finish pounding up the last flight of stairs behind you, looking mildly winded from the sudden exertion. "Xaue kigxm-" Noelle starts, but doesn't get any further before Oz swoops over the balcony.

"Toks tokragxl ygn ztky ks uz sxulto aue zgnz knz xuzgbkrk yo qiazy," he says calmly. "Kny yegy, jtg o kzuaw, 'yg jkzikvdk'."

This draws a sigh from both of them. Amber brings a dismayed hand to her forehead. "Qig, kc kxkc zyap zauhg kaj xul mtonzksuy kqor yonz, ztkxkc kc? Zo kxay ztjoj kqgz mtur xul yon jgh qiar uz qioq to kitu kn jkzgxgvky suxl xoknz kigxm."

"Xuuv zzkttkh," Noelle says sympathetically. "Rro zkr knz xkvkkqtto cutq yzgnc jktkvvgn, aue kkxnz um qikni tu sknz." Amber nods and takes your hand. With some disappointment (which you do your best to hide), you allow her to guide you back down the stairs at a brisk pace, with Oz leading the way. This time, you cut straight through the inn and onto the opposite side of the landing, where the elevator and the teleport waypoint are.

Where the elevator should be, anyway.

Amber lets go of your hand and leans over the railing. "Kxg aue yeam znmoxrg?!" she shouts down.

You hear Bennett's awkward laughter as you peer over behind her, and you're alarmed by what you see. The elevator is stalled, dangling halfway between the two platforms. Even further down, the man who greeted you appears to be frantically checking over some sort of pulley system. Immediately, your eyes dart to the rigging at the top. Fortunately, nothing looks like it's about to snap... for now.

"Ztuj exxuc, yonz yo zyap xknzutg egj to knz klor lu tg xkxaztkbjg!" Bennett calls back up. He gives you both a thumbs up through the open doorway, though you notice he's otherwise pressed snuggly into a corner, looking cheerful as ever but not taking any chances. Fischl has made herself comfortable leaning against one of the walls, seeming almost bored with the whole affair. Justifiable, since you can only imagine how many times she's been through something like this. Oz glides back down to join his mistress.

"Ykrrkut mtozzkm knz xkvkkqtto," Amber responds. "So gttum qikni knz mtommox - o qtonz o kky mtonzksuy jkmmgty to kxknz." She gestures for you to stand back near the waypoint before shimmying up a post and beginning to fiddle with something out of your range of sight.

You do as she says, absently running your fingers over the waypoint as you look on uselessly. It's yet another instance where you can do nothing, and you're reminded again of just how much dead weight you are. It's beyond frustrating, and all the more so now that your golden blood has been revealed to you. What you thought would be a blessing is now seeming like a curse in disguise. Being a weak human mistaken for a god is one thing, but being a weak god? Why can't you do anything? Ugh, at least if these teleport points actually worked like they were supposed to, you wouldn't have to bother people with the mundane task of escorting you, if nothing else!

......Actually, wait a minute.

Do the waypoints work like in the game? When you cool your head a bit, you suddenly realize you haven't tried. Excluding the statue at Windrise, you haven't been this near to any until now - at least that you were paying attention to at the time.

You don't have the map, of course, but maybe you can just... think really hard about where you want to go? It's worth a shot. Best case scenario, you wind up exactly where you want to go. Worst case, it only works for the traveler (or as a game mechanic) and nothing happens. Either way, there's no harm in trying. If it works, you can just come right back and inform everyone.

You reach up to press your hand against the floating device. It's higher off the ground than it looked in the game but still easily within reach. The bluish material has an odd feel to it, one you're not quite sure how to describe. Magical, perhaps. The waypoint pulses with energy, and you feel confident it has to do something.

I want to go to Liyue Harbor, you think to yourself, trying to picture it in your mind's eye.

Nothing happens, but you're undeterred. Maybe you need to say it out loud. "Take me to Liyue Harbor," you say firmly, visualizing the overlook by the waypoint just outside the city.

...Still nothing.

You let your hand slide to the bottom in disappointment. This really isn't your day. First the ominous dreams... then I touch a slime and end up nearly fainting for some reason... and after that, I want to see Xiao, but he's not here, of course... and now all of this. What does it take for something to go my way, for once?!

And then everything goes white.

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

Chapter 13: Interlude

(~0.3k words, see chapter list here)

-6:15-

This player is currently offline

"Again?" You sigh. You still haven't seen Autumn on since your abrupt parting before. "I really wanted to apologize in person, but..." You hum, weighing the pros and cons. "I guess if they don't get on before I log off today I'll just send them a message." That'll be almost as good, won't it? You'd hate to loose a friend over a misunderstanding, even if they are just an online one.

Especially Autumn.

They've been a fantastic companion, and you've grown close rather quickly. Besides helping you in combat - which wasn't really necessary, but you both enjoyed fighting together - Autumn turned out to be a great conversationalist. You'd discussed all manner of topics, and even confided a couple secrets that you couldn't bring yourself to share with anyone you knew in real life. Why is it so much easier to talk to someone you don't know? But Autumn made it easy. They took everything in stride, never judged you, and always knew exactly what to say. They never pushed you to share more than you were comfortable with, and never failed to offer good advice or a heartfelt compliment when you were feeling down on yourself.

You daresay they might be one of the best friends you've ever had.

You collect your daily commission reward (already out of resin), and check your friends list again. Nothing.

"Okay, message it is."

You open the chat, type out as much as the character limit will allow, and hit send.

you: Sorry about the other day I wanted to apologize in person but I haven't seen you

"Are you FUCKING serious."

you: I got disconnected the other day but I'd still like to talk next time you're on

"Oh, for fuck's sake, wifi!" You wait a couple minutes, trying to see if the game will reconnect, but Madame Ping is not with you today. Frustrated, you close the game with a huff. "Alright, first thing tomorrow. This is getting ridiculous."

It was not to be.

First thing tomorrrow, you yawn, stretch, and squint your eyes at the bright sun.

"Hey, wait a minute. Where the fuck am I???"

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

Fixed the pronoun issue whoops- lmk if you guys see something because this shit’s not beta’d.

Chapter 12

(~2.4k words, see chapter list here)

You wake up in a cold sweat.

Something tingles in the back of your mind. Is it a dream, or a memory? Whatever it is, you have a feeling it's important.

You try to grasp it, but it slips through your fingers like sand when you chase it, the waking world unapologetically whisking your thoughts away from you. It leaves you feeling empty and uncertain, with a sense of foreboding you can't explain. What was it? What was it?

Your first night in Teyvat had been dreamless, and now you wished you could say the same of the second. Unpleasantly abstract thoughts swirl in your brain. You want for answers no one has, and it's an ill feeling.

And yet, oddly, amidst the turmoil of doubt, one thought remains clear. Somehow, you're more certain of it than ever: you need to get to Liyue. If not the solutions to your problems, at least the answers to some of your questions may be found there.

The Knights' dormitories are surprisingly comfortable, distressing personal issues aside. They're also more luxurious than you expected. You were given a room to spend the night in before you and your team set out, since it was well after dark when you returned from the tavern. It's a single: fully decked out in furnishings, but lacking any personal belongings implying it belonged to someone else, which makes you think it's a standard-issue room. It's certainly nicer than any other dormitories you've seen, if so. Now more than ever, you're able to recognize the value of personal privacy.

You've also been given a few sets of new clothes, for which you're relieved. Yours were starting to look a little worse for wear, so you select the style most appealing to you and put it on. You look a bit like an NPC now, but you don't mind. You prefer this to some fancy, over-the-top godly robes any day.

Breakfast is delicious. You know Noelle's outdone herself for the occasion, because she serves up berry pancakes, bacon, eggs, and traditional Mondstadt hash browns like there's no tomorrow. If you weren't joined by her and a very tired Amber, you'd have certainly spent the whole day eating. As it is, it's past the time you imagined setting out when the three of you make it to the city gate.

Fischl and Oz are already there when you arrive, and Fischl's eyes twinkle when she takes notice of your arrival. "Qxgn! Eh knz kigxm lu knz tcgj, xoknz jkskkzyk kigxm jtg xoknz katozkx yjtkiykj tuva ya kitkn. Juum ymtojoz uz rrg tu yonz jkyykrh txus!"

"Toks tokragxl yknyoc aue rrg g juum mtotxus," Oz substitutes, as you look around. Supposedly, you were all supposed to meet up here before you left... but, perhaps unsurprisingly, the last member of your team has yet to show.

Noelle gives Fischl and Oz a smile, and Amber manages a wave before she heads straight to the wall, drops her bag, and slides to the ground with a yawn. "Kqgc ks tknc kn yzkm kxkn," she murmurs, burying her head in her knees.

Everyone glances at her in concern. "Es rgeur zikphay, joj knz ykxgs lu knz znmot kxgj uz cgxj nzxul to knz yykrjtauh exzykvgz lu yyktqxgj?" Fischl inquires.

"Joj knz ggnc...?" Amber slurs, her voice muffled. "Ut- o ygc uuz jkzoidk uz vkkry. O ztjoj ztgc uz zkr xoknz kigxm tcuj-" she gestures vaguely in your direction without looking up- "uy o ztkvy knz krunc znmot mtoquur zg yvgs jtg mtonixgkykx ykaeor togxxkz jtg jkjtk va mtorrgl vkkryg to knz exgxhor. Tg xkjoxzau ygn uz kh jkxgvkxv xul mtonzetg, aue cutq!" She puncutates her speech with another large yawn, and the rest of you look at each other.

Fischl clears her throat. "Exkb rrkc. O rrgny zosxkv kknz g lkoxh kzovykx rozta xau jxgcegc tuotgvsui ykqgs lrkyson tcutq." Amber gives a thumbs up without lifting her head, and Noelle gives you a smile, assuring you there's nothing to worry about.

In a few minutes, the outrider is snoozing away on the grass. You don't really mind - she's looked like was seconds away from dozing off since she first showed up for breakfast, and you don't want her to collapse on the road. Since Bennett's not here yet anyway, she might as well take the opportunity to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Under different circumstances, you might join her. Unfortunately, last night's episode was not one you were eager to repeat. As it is, a feeling you can't put a name to washes over you whenever you think back on your dream. You settle for leaning against the stone wall and idly plucking blades of grass.

'A few more minutes' begins to drag on, and it's no longer Amber you're the most concerned for. Fischl taps her foot, and Noelle surveys the area, searching for any sign of the unlucky adventurer. "Uj aue qtonz khegs kn rrozy ztygn tkquc va xkzlg mtoztogl egjxkzyke?" the maid asks.

"So jogxlg zut. Toks tokragxl jtg o jogv knz currkl g zoyob zygr znmot tknc kn ygc va jtg zauhg togmg, uz kxayyg son kn jgn zut jksgkxj knz krunc mtonz," Oz answers.

"Tknz..."

Fischl huffs. "Es kmag xkj mtarokzxaxkb yqgkvy lu tg rro-jkxxgzy kzgl, ktu ut yykr xgorosgl tgnz knz jkzgkn kfgm lu knz egjjos tay jtg ut kxus ztgygkrv. Ygrg, zo kitu togmg yrrgl uz enz toyykftoxv uz kbkoxzkx son." Noelle gives her a nod, and the princess and her raven turn to walk away. You bolt up. Is she going to search for Bennett, perhaps? If so, you'd rather join her than sit around waiting.

"Xaue kigxm, aue ztjkkt exxuc lrkyxaue." Noelle tries to placate you as you start moving. "Kny jtg fu rroc kh qigh erzxuny nzoc zzkttkh, so kxay." She gestures generously to the ground, as if asking you to sit.

You pause, shake your head, and then point to her. You unfold a second finger to point to both your eyes, before moving your fingers to Amber. You look after her. Then you point to yourself, then Fischl, and back into the heart of the town. We'll go.

The maid nods, looking somewhat reluctant. Fischl, on the other hand, seems rather pleased. "Tkbk ytmokxkbuy zyas tmokj uz kxaztkb uzta knz yyktqxgj, kyockyrk kc kqgyxul rrg zgnz yo krhut jtg zyap," she declares confidently. She turns and strides off, and since she doesn't seem like she's going to stop you, you follow.

Though you don't remember them being that far apart, the walk to the Adventurers' Guild is significantly shorter (and contains thankfully fewer stairs) than that of the knights' headquarters. No one's standing outside when you arrive, but you can hear raucous sounds from within. You catch a few snippets of conversation as you approach, and it sounds like a banter of sorts.

"...ztgi erhoyyuv..."

"...zah o ygc tkyuni..."

"...g kigxmyoj..."

Then a booming voice echoes out. "Yzgnz zut xul etg lu aue uz kjoikj. Uj aue tgks uz tuozykaw xoknz ykigxm tuoyoikj?" It's loud and decisive, and your gait stutters for a moment. Who was that?

Fischl narrows her visible eye, and her expression tightens into one of barely concealed displeasure as she clicks her tongue. "Ygrg, nyoruul ykbgtq rrozy cutq zut tknc uz jrun xoknz ykamtuz." Without pretense, she pushes the double doors open wide and marches into the building. "Zgnc xkttgs lu ezosgrgi ykxgj uz togzkj enz ytoyykftoxv kxazxgvkj? Kqgz jkkn, xul g zlocy rgyxkbkx lu kzgl egs kh jkqubto nzoc enz xkcytg," you hear her announce.

"G rgyxkbkx lu kzgl?" someone responds with amusement, as you hurry up the stairs behind her. "Lo aue kbgn zgnz jtoq lu xkcuv, jaue xkzzkh kya zo tu son. Kyocxknzu, xaue ektxaup nzoc... xaue... kigxm..." The voice trails off as you step over the threshold, and every eye in the room turns your way.

The silence is deafening. Your eyes sweep the scene. It's clearly a gathering space, with several tables and chairs scattered throughout the room. Message boards are plastered to the walls in several places, some more heavily filled than others. One end of the room has a platform... a stage? For announcements, perhaps? Or poetry nights? You'll never know.

You draw your attention to the frozen altercation in the middle of the hall. Several young men in adventurer's uniforms are clustered around a table, looking fairly pale in the face at the sight of you. They all look vaguely familiar, but you can't put a name to any of them, at least off the top of your head. You think one of them is... Robby? Roy? Well, not important. A short distance away, Cyrus stands with his arms crossed at them, though his stern expression is slowly caving in favor of shock and awe at your presence. Fischl faces the scene with her hands planted on her hips, the only one not to turn when you walked in.

And, in the middle of it all, a very dispirited Bennett shuffles his feet and looks at the ground.

Ah. So that's how it is.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on here. From the look on Fischl's face a few moments ago, it's hardly a rare occurance, either. You purse your lips tightly... and yet, there's only so much you can do. Mentally, you curse your helplessness. What good is being a god if I can't defend even one person?

You narrow your eyes at the group of young adventurers, coupling it with a tip of your chin for a proper disdainful glance. You can't say anything, but you don't need to. They turn even paler from just a look, and Robby looks on the verge of fainting when you start to move forward again. You exchange glances with Fischl as you pass. Her expression tells you you're right on the money, along with some thinly veiled pleasure at the reaction your entrance has caused. You can't blame her. If you weren't so angry, you'd be feeling very badass right now.

With measured steps, you approach Bennett. When he looks up, you push your negative feelings away. Then you hold out a hand and offer him the biggest smile you can muster. "Let's go."

His eyes widen. For a long moment, he stares at you, but you don't waver. Slowly, carefully, he reaches out to place his hand in yours, looking dazed. Dimly, the vision on his hip pulses as you give him a nod. Without further ado, you turn to leave.

The three of you (plus Oz) march silently out of the building, not bothering to close the doors behind you. Bennett stumbles on one of the stairs, but manages to catch himself before sending you both faceplanting. When you're several paces away from the guild hall, he pulls his hand from yours and gives you a deep and earnest bow. "Thank you, xaue kigxm," he says. "Rro uj es zykh uz kbuxv lrkyes enzxuc lu xaue nzogl to me."

You blink a few times in surprise before beaming. "No, thank you."

With your whole party gathered, you can finally set out. Fischl and Noelle take the lead, while a refreshed post-nap Amber hangs back with you and Bennett, seemingly putting the two of you through the same comprehension test you took with Diluc. The results are the same, too.

Is this a point in favor of your friendship level theory? Only recently had you finally pulled Bennett for the first time (why were four star characters so hard to get?), so he was still sitting at friendship level one in-game. But something had definitely happened back at the guild. Is it possible to raise your friendship levels without access to the game mechanics?

Surely it must be. If nothing else, the traveler's journey has taught you that friendships can transcend even worlds.

The thought buoys you. I was actually right about something! Your companions seem equally enthused (if not a tad confused) by this fortuitous turn of events, and there's a bounce in everyone's step as the party travels the winding path through the country.

The rest of your day is largely uneventful. After such an exciting morning, you're almost disappointed. You meet with no treasure hoarders or members of the Abyss Order, and no one is injured in any way, though Bennett does take a tumble into a ditch and come out covered in mud at one point. Dusk approaches as you pass the Dawn Winery, and when the road meets with the river, the group stops to eat dinner and set up camp for the night.

You're glad you took personality and compatibility into account when selecting a team, because conversation is free-flowing all the while. The cheerful voices and good-natured laughter do much to set you at ease. Even Fischl seems to have loosened up a bit, because Oz interjects to translate with less frequency. Though you understand little, you're swept up in the mood as well, and for a while, your questions and troubles are all but forgotten.

As the last rays of sunlight fade from the sky, Amber takes a stick and makes a rough sketch of a map in the dirt by the fire. "Suxl es nixgkykx, ycuxxusuz togxxkz jrauny kh erxogl eygk uz kzgmobgt. Kbkc zum g zoh lu tg rronva qkxz jtauxg egjjos, zah kxkc erzyus mtorkbgxz tu zgrl nyxgs yjtgr rozta kc nigkx anymtgc tto." She circles a spot before looking to the others. "Yzo zut kzoaw knz egclrgn ztouv tkkczkh kxkn jtg knz xuhxgn, zah o qtonz zo jrauc kh g juum kigrv uz vuzy jtg zykx kxulkh xau zygr mkr. Zgnc uj aue qtonz?"

Noelle nods, and Bennett breaks from trying to scrape a coat of dried mud off his shoes to give her a thumbs up. "Yjtauy juum uz me!"

"O xaitui," Fischl says. "Xoknz ktoboj kitktosk jrauc erkxay ruzdk tg ezotazxuvvu uz qygh to knz yauxkjtuc kxazikzonixg lu niay tg jkrkrrgxgvta ztksnyorhgzyk, jtg enz toyykftoxv jrauc kh zyus jkygkrv uz kqgz xkn ysgkxj yxuujto rgnzoc."

"Toks tokragxl yo to ztkskkxmg," Oz adds.

"Anymtgc tto zo yo!" Amber says decisively. To you, she taps the circled part of the map before holding her arms above her head like a roof. She tilts her head and places her hands underneath like a pillow. You grin. There's only one building to sleep in on that area of the map.

You've always wanted to try almond tofu.

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

Istg these interludes do have an actual purpose-

Chapter 11: Interlude

(~0.1k words, see chapter list here)

-10:49-

"Okay, let's see if Autumn's on. I still need to apologize for last time when I got disconnected."

This player is currently offline

"Ah... okay. Well... let's go ahead and do some pulls, then." You open the wish menu. "I've got enough saved for at least one five star, two if they come home early."

Let's just hope I win the 50/50 for once.

You do a ten pull...

...and then another...

...and another, chanting the character's name under your breath all the while. Come onnnn, don't let all that pre-farming go to waste!

Eventually, one of the stars lights up gold. You chant the character's name faster.

"..."

"......"

"........."

Are you sure you want to quit?

-Confirm-

"...I'm going to bed."

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

Me, desperately looking at 3.1 leaks: Thank fuck, I’m running out of Mondstadt namecards-

Chapter 10

(~2.5k words, see chapter list here)

You feel like a bucket of cold water’s been dumped over your head.

You stare at Venti in shock, who stares back at you in turn. His gaze is unrelenting, though it does soften slightly as he takes in your expression, but he shakes his head as if to say his mind won't be changed.

I'm not going with you.

"Why?" you manage to say. You hadn't even gotten to ask him yet, so why was he already refusing?

Not that he didn't have every right to, of course. Even if you are a god, you have no intentions of bending people to your will and forcing them to act against their own desires. You repeat this over and over in your head, but it doesn't make the rejection sting any less. Does he not like you, maybe? Is that why he abandoned you at Windrise before? When he rescued you, was it just out of pity?

Don't be an idiot, you tell yourself, of course not everyone's going to like you. No one's obligated to like you just because you're a god. If you're even a god.

You had just forgotten to brace yourself for such a thing once you learned it wasn't an imposter au.

Venti reaches for your arm gently, as if afraid you'll recoil. "Xaue kigxm, kygkrv ztuj kqgs zgnz tuoyykxvdk," he says, a tinge of sadness evident in his voice. "Aue cutq jo ksui lo o jraui." You look at him. He exhales and sinks into thought. After a moment, he points to himself, before holding up seven fingers.

Um... he's sevennnn... years old?? Seven thousand? ......No, wait, he's one of the Seven! That makes way more sense. But what does that have to do with anything? You furrow your brow at him.

Again, he holds up seven fingers, before making an x with his arms and tapping the drawing. Your eyes widen at the implication. Is he trying to say that none of the Seven can travel with you?

(Well... if that's so, you'll be finding out soon enough.)

You lapse into thought. As the archons of their respective nations... you suppose you can see how that might be a problem. Most of them have their roles to perform, and even those that don't... well, it's perhaps arrogant of you to think so, but wouldn't it be taken as favoritism if you traveled with one of them? There could be some sort of contractual reason you don't know about as well, and you add that to the list of things to ask about when you can finally get a proper translation.

A long sigh escapes you. It's probably not just the archons, either, you think. When you were playing the game, you were spoiled. Any and all of the playable characters (well, the ones you had pulled, anyway) were at your beck and call, any time, day or night. But now... these weren't just characters anymore, they were real people. They had jobs, important roles to play and tasks to complete, and some of them were carrying entire nations on their backs for fuck's sake. Where would Mondstadt be if you decided to take Jean with you? (Finding their own damn cats, that's where they'd be.) Even in countries with a more stable government, like Liyue, you probably couldn't afford to take Ningguang and Keqing with you, much less Ganyu. One of the three, maybe. And some people, you think, may not even want to come.

You hum, finally giving Venti a nod of acceptance. He's given you a lot to think about. And, at the end of the day, no matter his reasons for not going, you'll respect his decision.

He gives you one of his usual radiant smiles in return. After all, no matter where you go, the wind will always be with you.

The crowded plaza at dusk is a sight you didn't think you'd be seeing again so soon, but here you are. Your eyes sweep the giant statue of yourself from where you're standing at the base. Statue-you is wearing some sort of godly robes, but otherwise the similarities are uncanny. Here's hoping you're not just a really identical imposter.

You turn back around. Jean is standing in the center of the plaza, giving a speech to the onlookers. Why there are onlookers, you're not really sure; evidently, the choosing of your travel companions is a bigger deal than you thought. Yeah, no pressure or anything. You just hope no one's disappointed (or worse, offended) about not getting picked.

The vision wielders in question are lined up along the ledge you jumped from yesterday. You assume that particular formation is so you can see all your options clearly, but you have a feeling it's a strategic position as well: should you decide to, say, take another dive, you'll have to go through them first.

You cringe. Hopefully you haven't been labelled a flight risk for life. On the other hand, though, you're having a harder and harder time trying to justify the actions that caused the label. "Ah, yes, I read some wildly out-of-character fanfictions in which you all ruthlessly hunted down and killed somebody for having a certain appearance that was beyond their control... so obviously, I had no choice but to risk death immediately with next to no information on the slim chance that might happen."

...Yeah, being considered a flight risk is fine.

You inevitably recognize most of the faces before you. There are a few missing: Mona, who probably made herself scarce thinking they were there to collect rent; Razor, who you suspect would be more comfortable staying in Wolvendom anyway; and Venti, who escaped out Jean's office window with a wink after your conversation earlier and hasn't been seen since. There are also a few faces you don't recognize - are your eyes deceiving you, or is that a dendro vision? - but regrettably, you've already decided you'll be most comfortable sticking with the people you know for now.

Jean reaches the end of her speech, and you see lots of nodding and a small smattering of applause from the audience. (Again, why is there an audience? Why?) Several bow to you, and some, miraculously, turn to leave. Beyond that, however, your attention is shifted back to Jean, who approaches and sinks into a deep bow herself... which is really starting to get unnerving. Mentally, you add 'stop bowing all the time' to the list of things to tell your future translator.

You don't get to linger on this for long, however, because she sweeps her arm toward the sea of visions, and you're suddenly made aware that your part has come. You take a deep breath and step forward.

Following your discussion with Venti, you'd spent the rest of the day pondering who you should take, and based on what qualifications. Should you go for a meta approach? Or maybe you should choose based on personality: a team that gets along well might work together better than a group of strong individuals who prefer going solo. But in that case, where would that leave Diluc, who you'd already been planning to take?

Then there were other factors to consider, like that pesky trying-not-to-collapse-the-government issue. A ridiculous number of Mondstadt's playable characters were affiliated with the Knights of Favonius, so it would probably be hard to assemble a team without them, especially with Venti out of the picture. But given how lacking in manpower they were, you didn't want the group to consist of only knights, either. Someone has to stick around to defend the city. (And once again, you're unsure where that leaves Diluc.)

The thing that hangs you up the most, though, is favoritism. If your hunch regarding Venti's reasoning is correct, picking archons would be favoritism on an international scale. But other things might have similar unintended implications. For example, if after Liyue you decide to continue on to Inazuma, would it be bad to continue traveling with the same group of people, instead of adding Liyueans to your team? Would that be showing favoritism toward Mondstadt? But at the same time, how can you abandon half your team just for that?

You couldn't. But that did give you an idea. A revolving-door party, but a deliberate one: not one that ends with "you've served your purpose, now get lost", but with "this is your stop, I brought you here for a reason". And now, as you survey the faces before you - some eager, some serious, all ready to help you without question - oh yeah, it's all coming together.

You know who you want for your team.

Party member number one: the interpreter. Your eyes land on Diluc... and you give him a small, subtle shake of your head before pointing at Amber. It was she who figured out the need for a map, and it's also she who (secondarily to Venti) seems the most in-tune to how you're feeling. It may be a small loss in communication, but you can't bring yourself to have any regrets when Amber beams at you with the force of a thousand suns and nearly tackles you in a hug. For the second time, she's been the first person in the world to join you. "O ztuc zkr aue tcuj, xaue kigxm!"

You grin as she pulls away just as hurriedly, realizing the impropriety of her actions, and you wave off the start of a sheepish apology. Everyone else is so reserved around you, so her natural friendliness and enthusiasm is a nice change of pace, and another one of the reasons you picked her.

You turn down the line. Party member number two: the capable all-rounder. Someone has to be responsible for making sure the rest of the team doesn't die - whether inside or outside of combat - and even if the pancakes hadn't already won you over, there's really only one person it could be. You point to Noelle.

The maid flushes, puts a hand over her mouth, and points to herself with wide eyes. You nod, and she gives you a deep curtsy in response, before stepping out of line to join you. If the Knights of Favonius won't acknowledge how capable she is, you will.

Party members three and four are more flexible. Truthfully, you could choose almost anyone... but.

But.

You now have Plans™.

You have been granted, by the grace of... yourself, apparently... a glorious opportunity. And you don't plan to waste it. Foods you hoped to try? Landmarks you wanted to see? Characters you always wished had interacted? Everything is at your fingertips now. You don't plan to abuse your power, of course. You have no intention of becoming some sort of cruel, overbearing tyrant. But you'd also be lying if you said you didn't have at least a bit of a chaotic streak in you. Multiply that by the realization that death isn't real and you're basically god, and... uh, let's just say you're not going to abuse your power and leave it at that.

(And if you turn out to be an imposter later, well, all the more reason to enjoy this while you can.)

You start to make your way to the end of the line, looking over the remaining faces. Some people straighten when you approach, and you give them a tiny shake of your head and an apologetic look. To your relief, they offer you understanding smiles in return. A few look entirely nonplussed, and you suspect they probably didn't have any real desire to join you in the first place, but were still willing to answer the call. You're grateful for that, and you're glad no one seems too disappointed, either. Seeing so many familiar faces makes you confident that you're leaving Mondstadt in good hands. Truly, this might be the nation that feels most like home to you.

Fischl is among those who stand taller when you reach her, as if more confident she'll be chosen; but when you actually point to her, she merely gives you a high-pitched squeak.

Oz, on the other hand, doesn't miss a beat. "Kygkrv kbomxul toks ytokragxl kyoxvxay. Zgnc kny ytgks uz egy yo zgnz zo jrauc kh g zgkxm xutun uz etgvsuiig aue, xaue kigxm."

On her left, Bennett claps her on the shoulder good-naturedly (and gently, you notice, as if trying not to affect her with his bad luck). "Ytuozgrazgxmtui, toyykftoxv! Kxaue gttum kqgs knz niokxznigtxksso jtg knz yxkxaztkbjg jroam jauxv!"

This seems to snap her out of her stupor. "Ng- skng! Jkkjto, raloztauh kxg knz yzyocz lu kzgl zgnz jgkr xau ynzgv uz yyuxi to knz mtozkkrl ycujgny lu qyaj. Lo aue rroc zo, xaue kigxm, o, rniyol, toyykftoxv xkj mtarokzxaxkb, rroc erjgrm jtkiyg uzta xaue katozkx jtg rrkl kyunz unc nyoc sxgn uz aue nzoc es jkrrkixuytk ycuxxg lu ztksmjap!" She offers you a dramatic curtsy, and Oz dips his head.

"Yzgnz knz zoxovy!" Bennett says cheerfully, looking as if he has no idea what she just said. That makes two of you. You chuckle lightly...

...before pointing at him and giving a big thumbs up.

The tavern is darker than you expected, making you feel like you're conducting some sort of shady underground business as you sit at the corner table, across from a man with a dark coat and a blank expression. The room - or actually, the entire building - is empty except for the two of you, leading to an awkward and unnecessarily tense atmosphere.

You take a sip of your drink (wolfhook juice, if the color is any indication) and immediately smile. "This is great!"

"So jgrm you kqor zo, xaue kigxm," Diluc says, a hint of a smile gracing his own lips.

You take a few more gulps before setting the glass down and facing your host. You've been trying to figure out a way to convey your request for a while now, to no avail. At this point, you just need to try something.

"You," you begin slowly.

You hold your hand up to your eyes, as if shielding them from the sun, before making a show of looking around the room. Diluc puts a hand to his chin and dips his head slightly.

The next part is the trickiest. You have no idea how to mime your actual goal, so you'll have to go for the next best thing. You hold your hands up by your shoulders and flap them like wings, before holding them a couple feet apart, one underneath the other. His brow creases in confusion, and you grimace. I was afraid of that.

As a last-ditch attempt, you point to your plate. He stares at it for a long time, and you can practically see the gears turning in his brain. All of a sudden, his head snaps up in recognition. You think he's got it, judging by his expression, because new layers of understanding seem to wash over him in waves.

"Please," you finish hopefully.

To your relief, he nods readily. "Yes. I tgi uj zgnz xul you."

You exhale. "Thank you." Now, if your intuition was wrong and your journey turned out to be fruitless, you had a backup plan in place.

After all, if anyone had the means to pull it off... surely the Darknight Hero could.

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

Due to text formatting issues, you may find this chapter more aesthetically pleasing to read here.

Chapter 9: Interlude

(~0.2k words, see chapter list here)

-7:56-

you: Okay I think that's everything I need for today haha

you: Thank you as always

Autumn: Of course :)

Autumn: There was quite a lot this time though

you: Ah yeah I'm trying to pre-farm

you: I don't always but I want to be prepared for this one

you: OH I forgot can we do one more thing

Autumn: Which thing?

you: I need to fight Andrius

Autumn: Ah okay

Autumn: Will you have time to chat afterwards?

Autumn: I've been meaning to ask you something

you: Yeah, sure! :D 

-8:02-

you: Thanks again

Autumn: Haha I think our teamwork is getting better :)

Autumn: I wasn't expecting to finish that quickly

you: Yeah same

"Wait, why isn't it showing up?"

you: Yeah same

"What the f- ohhhh the wifi's acting up again. Shit."

you: Uh idk if this'll send or not but I think I'm losing connection

"Damn. I'll just have to explain it to them next time I guess. They'll probably understand."

Are you sure you want to quit?

-Confirm-

Elsewhere...

-8:02-

you: Thanks again

Autumn: Haha I think our teamwork is getting better :)

Autumn: I wasn't expecting to finish that quickly

Autumn: So, would you like to go somewhere else to chat?

Autumn: Summer?

Autumn: Summer??

Co-Op Mode interrupted, returning to your own world...

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

Cabbages. Iykyk

Chapter 8

(~2.3k words, see chapter list here)

You think you're starting to understand how everyone else feels.

So far, you've been the one miming and drawing and trying to get your point across. You didn't realize it until just now, but they've been doing their best to understand your requests and cater to your whims without question (you think). However, now that you've established a new goal - a destination - they seem to have things they want to convey in return.

You don't think they're trying to stop you, though there's some obvious confusion as they chatter amongst themselves. Understandable, you think. It is a bit out of the blue, never mind that you only just got to Mondstadt yesterday. And unfortunately, you aren't able to explain why, though a certain bard seems to have had a silent epiphany during the ongoing discussion.

(You wonder if it's the right epiphany. With him, who knows?)

You don't get the chance to linger on your thoughts for long. Kaeya, who's been engaged in conversation with Jean and Lisa for some time, finally raises his hands in defeat. "Rro uj es zykh, zah o ztgi kyosuxv cun juum zo rroc kh." He reaches for a blank sheet of paper.

"Qtgnz aue, gekgq," Jean says, looking relieved. "Ztuj exxuc, rrkc rrg vrkn aue kxamol zau zgnc uz cgxj."

He chuckles. "Ut jkkt. Zyap rrkz ks zgnc uz egy, jtg rro kxamol zau cun uz zkm zo yyuxig." Nimbly, he twirls a quill between his fingers, before catching it in his grip.

Jean's gaze flits briefly to Diluc, who responds with a small sigh and the barest hint of a nod, before nodding more firmly herself. "Znmoxrg. Zxgzy eh mtoeloxkb zgnz xau tuozvsayyg yo zikxxui jtg zgnz xoknz kigxm yjkkt uz zkm uz kaeor xuhxgn, kyocxknzu rrkc kbgn uz zxgzy suxl nizgxiy. Lo yzgnz knz kygi, gyor rroc um jgkng jtg jtky zau knz xkzzkr kbo jkttkv uz ejgr mtgammtot."

Kaeya's hand is already moving across the paper before she's finished speaking. You lean forward as a person begins to appear - far better than a stick figure, though nowhere near the same level as Albedo's Paimona Lisa - and you realize that it's you. You point to the paper, and then to yourself, your eyes shifting to the winery owner. "Me?"

"Yes," he affirms. Kaeya takes this as his cue to move on to the second part of his drawing. It's... a building, you think. A vaguely castle-looking one, which he draws a long line from. Then, at the end of the line, three boats. Mondstadt, and Liyue Harbor.

It barely takes you a second to nod when he adds an arrow from the first drawing to the second. "Yes, yes."

Your response is met with general enthusiasm when Diluc relays it. Amber loops her arms around Eula excitedly. Venti claps politely for Kaeya, who gives an exaggerated bow. Lisa pats Jean's shoulder and snags a creased piece of parchment off the desk before wiggling her fingers and disappearing out the door once more.

Did they just want to double check what you had said, after all? Not that it was a bad idea, all things considered, but you'd figured there was more to it, since they'd gone to all the trouble. Sure enough, the Acting Grand Master nods to the Cavalry Captain before she looks you in the eyes, squares her shoulders, and bows. "Juuzyxkjta, xaue kigxm. Nmaunz xau ykixul kxg kyxgvy zg knz ztksus, xaue ezklgy yo xau xkhsat ktu ezoxuoxv. Kc rroc rrav xknzkmuz tg zxuiyk kixul lu g tkfuj yznmotq xul xaue ektxaup. Gekgq, lo aue jrauc?"

Instead of drawing, however, you watch as Kaeya's brow creases, and he sets the writing implement down. "Jrun tu g ztksus. O kkxmg zgnz xoknz ykigxm ezklgy yo g ezoxuoxv, zah mtorrav zgnz etgs yznmotq suxl xoknz yzyuv jrauc kbgkr ya mtozzoy yqiaj xul knz yyehg xkjxu."

Eula folds her arms, and you sense an argument brewing. "Xau ykixul jrauc kh krhg uz jrun zau mtur nmautk xul xoknz ykigxm ezklgy uz kh jkxaytk kxulkh xoknz txazkx. Kxusxknzxal, kxknz kbgn tkkh ut yyehg xkjxu ymtoznmoy kxkncetg xgkt knz ezoi kitoy xoknz kigxm jkjtkiykj."

To your left, Diluc sighs. "Yg nias yg I kzgn uz zosjg zo, gekgq ygn g ztouv. Erkqorta yg tg qigzzg egs kh, zo jrauc kh kyocta uz kbgkr zjgzyjtus uy krhgxktrab, lo ertu xul g lkoxh juoxkv lu ksoz."

Jean purses her lips, seeming... not angry, but tense nonetheless. "Tknz zgnc uj aue zykmmay kc uj?"

The question hangs unanswered in the air. You glance around the table stiffly, unsure what's going on. Is there something they don't want to tell you? Are they opposed to your trip after all? Come to think of it, a lot of sagau fics had yandere themes, didn't they? Ooh, that's not good. What if-

A single chord trills, snapping you back from your quickly-spiraling thoughts. Venti winks at you before tucking his lyre away and addressing the rest of the room. "Enc ztuj kc qyg xoknz kigxm zgnc eknz qtonz lu knz tgrv? Erkxay ktuexkbk rroc kkxmg nzoc xoknz tuoyoikj, znmox?"

Amber nods in passionate agreement. "Yzgnz znmox! Qtonz zauhg cun xoknz kigxm yrkkl, mtokky ktuexkbk uy jkqxuc va!" She gestures to you, and everyone else turns to look. You hunch your shoulders nervously.

Somehow, the tension in the room eases. Jean looks at Kaeya, and he nods, picking up the quill again. Next to the drawing of you, he adds a rougher sketch of... another person, but without any distinct features. And then another. And another. A dozen faceless individuals are added the paper before they're enclosed in something similar to a bracket below a... crest? No... yes. Maybe?

He glances up, notes the look of confusion on your face with light amusement, and goes back to add a few details to the crest. A pair of swords cross behind it... oh, is it a shield, maybe?... and when he adds a little insignia to the front, it hits you all at once. The Knights of Favonius. Of course. Duh, you think to yourself. Okay, so these people are all knights. You nod for him to continue. With little fanfare, he circles you and the knights together and draws an arrow to the three boats.

Your jaw slackens. That many?!

You can't say you weren't expecting some kind of escort to Liyue. Hoping for one, even, because you're not fully certain you know how to get there on foot. Not to mention that if you ran into any trouble along the way... it probably wouldn't end well. But since Kaeya took the time to sketch out that many individual people, you're assuming that's the specific number they intend to have accompany you on your journey. You do another quick head count just to make sure, but the number remains the same.

In some ways, twelve is not a very large number. It's the percentage of your pulls that are are four-star weapons (or characters, but let's be honest). It's the chance of making a character's special dish or crafting an extra material, which never happens when you need it to.

But for an ordinary person like yourself, it's also a very big number of people to suddenly have glued to you, watching your every move and following you around 24/7. You're struggling being the center of attention in front of six people right now, for crying out loud! And these are people you know (more or less), so imagine double that number, a random assortment of people (as you're unsure if any of the people in the room would be there or not), none of whom can understand you or vice versa.

(...And you know the city is bigger in real life than it was in the game, but... do they even have that many knights? Not to mention, you're not keen to leave your safety in the hands of the guy who was always asking you to fake accomplishments for him, or the one who seemed to think you had memory loss when it came to the knights' titles.)

You shake your head vehemently. "Nonono. Please no," you say, trying to use at least a few words Diluc will recognize. "I don't need that many people to come with me. Just one or two would be fine!" Aware of your translator's limitations, you hold up one finger on one hand and two on the other, trying to get your point across.

Apparently you succeed, because most of your audience looks appalled. Eula seems particularly aggrieved. "Kc errgaya zav ucz yznmotq tu g tuurrgh zxuvytgxz! Zo jrauc kh tg ezotmojto uz xaue kigxm uz xkllu aue knz ksgy ezoxaiky yg g jgur lu ykmghhgi!" Kaeya disguises a snort of amusement with a well-timed cough at this outburst.

With a side-eyed glance at them, Jean gives you a troubled look and shakes her head. She points upward, as if to say, "Higher." They couldn't possibly send you with so few people, it seems.

You sigh. You don't like it, but it's understandable. A VIP like yourself (and isn't that weird to think about) would logically have an escort of more than a couple people. When you were playing, even the famous traveler technically had a full party of... hmm. Hmmmmm. Now there's an idea.

Come to think of it, where is the traveler, anyway? You remember they don't often feature in sagau fics, but surely they and their sibling would still be around somewhere, right? It's a baseless hunch on your part, but you have a feeling they might be able to understand you. Sadly, they'd probably also be the hardest to track down. Well, plan B it is.

You turn to Venti, on your right. He gives you a peculiar smile, like he already knows what you're thinking. Maybe he does. Either way, he doesn't seem to question when you point to the glass ball on his hip, detaching and handing you the fake vision with ease.

You stare at it for a moment, absent-mindedly running your thumb over the decorative edge. Though it's not real, holding it gives you an odd sense of déjà vu. Nevertheless, you shake off the feeling and turn back to Jean.

You hold up four fingers, before pointing to the vision in your other hand, and then at Venti. Four vision wielders. You point to yourself, before making a gesture similar to plucking a flower. I pick. You don't know what game mechanics might still apply, like the full party buff, but the number just feels natural at this point. Your audience exchanges looks, and you hold your breath.

"Rrkc," Diluc says at last, "to es kitkoxkvdk, zgnz ykuj skky uz kh knz suzyai."

"G mtozzol kyosuxvsui, jo egy," Kaeya adds, looking to Jean. "Xkzlg rrg, cun xkzzkh uz kya knz xkcuv jkztgxm eh knz yjum tgnz xul g jum lrkysknz?"

Jean considers, glancing around the table to see various nods of assent before closing her eyes in thought. When she opens them, she gives you a firm, decisive nod. "Exkb rrkc. To zgnz kygi, kc rroc uj zgnc kc tgi uz xknzgm yg etgs lu yzjgzyjtus tuoyob yxkjrkoc yg krhoyyuv, uy zgnz xoknz kigxm egs kyuuni knz zykh sgkz uz etgvsuiig sknz tu xoknz ektxaup."

Amber gives her a salute, Venti smiles, and Diluc turns to translate as best he can. "Yes," he says. "We..." He pauses, evidently struggling with the next word. He awkwardly holds his arms out, as if for a hug, before sweeping them in towards himself... which is hilariously adorable coming from him, and you bite your lip to stifle a laugh as you try to think of what word it could represent. Collect? Gather? Bring together? They all have the same general meaning, so you nod. Looking relieved, he points to the fake vision in your hand.

You have a moment of panic, because wait a minute, they're collecting visions? Did I not get the message across right?? Shit, did I just start the Vision Hunt Decree in Mondstadt?! Your alarm must show on your face, because his eyes widen marginally and he hastily says, "No, no," before pointing at the vision again and then at Venti, the same as you did. Ah. Okay. When you relax again, he points to you before copying your flower-picking motion, and you grin. Not only did they agree to your plan, but they agreed to let you choose who comes with you.

Suddenly, you feel like a new player all over again, trying to decide the best team comps from the characters available to you. You barely offer him a nod of acknowledgement before you pull out your list of Mondstadters again, analyzing your options. Luckily, he seems sufficiently satisfied by this, and returns to whatever conversation the rest of the room has moved onto. By the sound of it, Jean's handing out directives again, and no one seems to be focused on you anymore, so you're free to brainstorm.

Surely, you'll be taking Diluc. It's not much, but understanding something is better than understanding nothing. Venti would be a good choice also. He can be hard to get a read on, but he's still pretty powerful. Plus, he seems to have a good sense for what's on your mind.

So much so, in fact, that as people begin to disperse, the bard lags behind, until finally it's just you, Jean, and Venti left in the room. Jean pauses at the door. "Yo kxknz mtonzksuy kyrk o jkyyos?" she asks him.

He smiles and waves his hand. "Ng, ut, jo zyap kqor uz qgkvy uz xoknz kigxm kturg xul g kzatos, lo aue ztuj jtos."

She nods and closes the door behind her. Curiously, you turn to him, tilting your head to the side in question. His smile falters slightly, and he sighs, taking on a more serious expression - his Barbatos expression - as he slides Kaeya's abandoned drawing over between the two of you. He points to himself, before making an x with his arms and shaking his head, before finally tapping the picture.

'I'm not going with you.' 

[medeaheartly]

“I hope that you will respect my wishes as the author and NOT share translations, nor hints (or straight up reveals) of how to translate it, in the comments.”

Ew. Stop being a idiotic hardass and just let people do that to those that don’t have the patience to use Google translate (or some other translating site). It’s also not like you can even delete a ao3 comment. LMAO

You do know that as an author, they can literally do what the fuck they want right? You do know that they're posting their work for FREE right??

If an author wants a certain part of their story to not be spoiled, of course they're going to ask readers to not spoil. It's up to the readers to do what they say or not.

Also- slandering another author in my inbox as an anon is the most cowardly behavior I've ever seen. What? Can't dish it out by yourself? Too chicken? Too pussy??

Also also- Yes you can delete a comment on ao3, your comment that is. If it's another person's comment, you can't delete it. So if you're referring to that, you know the author has every right to then delete the entire fic because of that right? If the readers aren't going to respect the author's wishes (literally just try not to comment anything about decoding the translation) then the author can retaliate by just deleting everything.

[why-am-i-here-someone-save-me]

Okay. PSA time since apparently people don’t know common decency.

Do NOT. Go to a reader’s asks. To hate on an authors fics. You aren’t entitled to any story at all; if you’ve got problems with it, GO READ SOMETHING ELSE.

This kind of behavior is UNACCEPTABLE and revolting. Just because YOU may have qualms with an authors decision, does NOT give you the right to harass either them OR other readers about it.

To whoever that anon is; Grow the fuck up. Shit like this is why writers lose motivation to share their work in the first place.

[nobody-for-sure]

To anyone wondering, I was the person the original ask should have gone to. However, I have asks turned off, since I’m not a writer who takes requests. I have no idea why an anon thought it was appropriate to leave it in the inbox of one of my other readers, instead of in my comments or DMs, but I think their anonymity speaks for itself in that regard. If you have to stay anonymous, you already know exactly how poor your behavior is, which makes it even worse. I was not notified of this post’s existence (not that I blame the person who responded originally; who wants to see that on their dash), but I am nevertheless glad that I accidentally stumbled across it, and I’m here to follow up the people that came before me. To the anon, and anyone who agrees with them: block me right now. DO NOT INTERACT with me, or my readers, EVER. In fact, go ahead and block all the writers you know, because I guarantee if you’re not going to respect their requests and the effort they put into their work, they’ll be all too happy to lose you as a reader. And the fact that you would go so far as to CROSS PLATFORMS to SEND ANONYMOUS HATE/SLANDER, and TO ANOTHER READER WHO’S MINDING THEIR OWN BUSINESS, NO LESS… IS DISGUSTING and UNACCEPTABLE. I know you crossed platforms, because my announcements on AO3 and Tumblr weren’t exactly the same, and you quoted the AO3 one directly. I also considered that maybe you saw a reblog or something and just assumed this was the original poster, but you know what? That doesn’t make it any better. There’s NO EXCUSE for this type of behavior. Absolutely no one is making you read my work. Absolutely no one is making you translate it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the translated portion is entirely non-essential. If you don’t have the patience to figure it out, either wait until the end or simply don’t bother. It’s optional for that very reason. I don’t care if you don’t like it. As others have said, it’s my work, and I expect that those with an appreciation for it will respect my MINIMAL requests in turn. I’m guessing that the anon is not a writer. I say this largely out of their clear lack of respect for writers, but also because of their comment regarding AO3. For anyone in doubt: as the author, I can, have, and WILL delete comments on both AO3 and Tumblr, if I deem it necessary. For those of you who are good and respectful readers, this is the reason why. Sometimes your comments are fine, but if they have the potential to spawn undesirable follow-ups, then yes, I may delete or hide those too. If you don’t like it, absolutely no one is making you stick around. You’re free to leave at any time. To @medeaheartly: You’re an absolute angel and we’re thrilled to have you. I’m sorry you had to deal with this nonsense. To @why-am-i-here-someone-save-me: Thank you for addressing this before I could; I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said. To any other readers who find themselves on the receiving end of hate on my behalf (which I sincerely hope now and forever is none): I sincerely apologize for this appalling behavior. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would think it’s okay to do this, but please let me know if you encounter something similar. There’s no need to engage, but feel free to send them this way, if you do. To everyone else: Thank you for reading this far. I assume, if you’re still here, that you are NOT part of the problem, so I’m sorry you had to witness this. As I’ve mentioned in one of my other posts, I know the majority of my readers are relatively normal, decent people who don’t trip over the absolute lowest of bars like anon here, and who are content to enjoy my work in peace. Please keep being and doing just that. If such problems persist, I will keep you updated on what I plan to do and, worst case scenario, if I decide to stop posting at all. I by no means see it coming to that so far, but evidently anything is possible. For now, though, thank you so much for all the support, and I hope you continue to enjoy my story!

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

Due to text formatting issues, you may find this chapter more aesthetically pleasing to read here.

Chapter 7: Interlude

(~0.1k words, see chapter list here)

-9:28-

Autumn: Summer?

-3:41-

you: You called?

Autumn: Oh, you actually got my message :D

Autumn: I wasn't sure if that would work

you: Haha yeah I'll still get your messages even if I'm not here

you: I just can't answer them right away obviously

Autumn: Well that's good to know

you: Yep

you: So did you want to talk about something or?

Autumn: Nothing in particular no

Autumn: Oh but I do enjoy speaking to you though

Autumn: So if you'd ever like to talk, I'm always happy to lend an ear

you: Oh well thank you :)

you: I like talking to you too

you: So you can feel free to contact me about whatever too

you: Especially since you're always helping me with stuff

Autumn: Haha I keep telling you it's no problem

Autumn: That's just what friends do :)

you: Haha perhaps

Autumn: ?

Autumn: Have I perhaps misinterpreted our relationship?

Autumn: Are we not friends?

you: What?

you: Oh- no.

you: I was just thinking that good friends can be hard to come by sometimes.

Autumn: Ah.

Autumn: Well then I'm lucky to have found a friend like you :)

you: :O

you: :)

Autumn: :)

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier

It’s impossible to replicate everyone’s in-game experiences, character acquisition, etc, so the reader has developed their own. Did I throw darts at a wall to do so? ...No, definitely not, that would be ridiculous, what are you-

Chapter 6

(~2.3k words, see chapter list here)

You turn your head so fast you think you might get whiplash.

Did he just say what I think he said? "Say that again!"

The room goes silent.

Everyone's attention is on you now, but your eyes are focused squarely on Diluc, who looks back at you blankly. He seems to be aware he's done something, but not what, exactly. The room waits with bated breath as he shifts uncomfortably and clears his throat. "...Yzgnc mtuxc, xaue kigxm?" he says finally.

You narrow your eyes. No, that's not it. Surely you weren't just imagining things? You weren't, right? You were almost certain you'd just heard him say 'sorry', and maybe 'you' and 'we' afterwards. The last two you suppose could be words in their language, but the first was too distinct, you were sure.

...Ninety-nine percent sure, anyway.

You shake your head. Let's try this another way. You point to him with one hand. With the other, you fold your thumb to your fingertips to make a 'mouth'. You open and close it a few times, trying to get him to keep talking.

To your right, you hear Kaeya chuckle. "Kboyykxvso. Kbeknz ertu jxgkn ktu kitkztky zau lu xaue nzaus jtg eknz xkbkt ztgc uz xgkn aue qgkvy togmg."

Amber's eyes move to him. "Togzvgi gekgq! Yo yonz errgkx knz ksoz xul ykqup?!" she exclaims, seemingly scolding him. Eula nods sternly at this, and Jean looks exasperated.

Venti, meanwhile, studies you thoughtfully. "Zo yxgkvvg xoknz kigxm yztgc aue uz vkkq mtoqrgz. Jrauc aue kxgi uz kmrajto ya xul g ztksus, xkzygs iaroj?"

Diluc shifts again. "Zgnc sg I jkyuvvay uz qrgz zauhg?" Your focus on him sharpens again. 'I' could definitely be a word in their language too - after all, even English has 'eye' and 'aye' as well - but something about it made you feel that it wasn't.

"Exz mtozgkvkx zgnc aue jogy kxulkh," comes Jean's voice over your shoulder.

Diluc purses his lips before facing you directly. "Sorry xul knz egrkj. Yg you tgi kky, we zon tg jkzikvdkta vsah to knz jgux," he says slowly.

You brighten. "Sorry, you, we," you repeat excitedly, hoping you're actually onto something and not about to look like an idiot. "You said sorry, you, and we, right?"

The look on his face says he did.

"They tgi jtgzyxkjta ksuy lu knz yjxuc so mtoegy," he says, sounding more than a little stunned. "Jtg knz ksgy ykum xul me."

The room erupts into chaos. Everyone seems to be talking at once, and you stare at Diluc in awe. I can't believe it! Who cares if it's just a few words? I can actually understand somebody!

But, wait.

Why can I understand him?

There's no doubt the words he's said are fairly common, so you find it hard to believe no one else in the room has said any of them in your presence. Furthermore, as you listen to the man being bombarded by a barrage of incoming questions, you realize that the words he's saying... aren't any different from the words they're saying. Why would they be? The difference is that, somehow, when he says the words - some of them, anyway - your brain is able to recognize them, and evidently vice versa.

So perhaps rather than 'why can I understand him?', the question you should be asking yourself is 'why can I understand him?'

You gaze leaves Diluc as you glance around the room. Though they haven't done shit for you so far, you can't help but think back to common sagau tropes as you glance over the people gathered. Maybe it has something do with the characters you'd pulled? You had Diluc, yes, but you also had Amber and Kaeya. Although...

Although...

No.

No.

"No," you whisper. "No. Nonononono." You wheel around, startling everyone as you rush back to the table, snatching up the list of Mondstadt characters. Barbara? No. Razor? No. Mona, no, Sucrose, no, Diona, no. "Holy shit." Klee, Albedo, Rosaria, Fischl, Bennett - all no. How was this even possible?

How could you, in all your months playing Genshin...

...manage to get only one Mondstadt character to friendship level TWO?

"Well FUCK."

The thing about charades, you discover quickly, is that you still need to understand the same language. You can mime all you want, but you have no way to confirm or deny their guesses, because fuck if you know what they are.

Everyone's seated around the table now. You're at the end, with Diluc to your immediate left, presumably to translate. As if he could.

After recovering from your little outburst, there was a lengthy period where everyone else crowded around tossing words at the troubled winery owner, and he would repeat them to you, to see how much you understood. Not much, you learned. It was pronouns mostly: 'she', 'him', 'them', 'I', 'we', and so on. 'Please', 'sorry', and 'thank you'. 'Yes' and 'no'. That was about it.

You had no idea if they had any inkling why Diluc was the only one you could exchange a few words with, or if they were totally in the dark. You doubted they knew about friendship levels, but maybe they were at least aware of how he'd been your go-to pyro unit during your Dragonspine exploration days. To be fair, even you didn't know for sure that friendship levels were the answer. But, given the circumstances, it's all that you could think of.

Unfortunately for you, you had never really cared too much about your characters' friendship levels. They weren't useful for combat, the voicelines and backstories were all available online anyway, and you were fine with the namecard you had; so you had a tendency (one you were now deeply regretting) to use the same characters for pretty much everything. Sure, there were several that had gotten at least a couple levels here or there, but only a few were very high or completely maxed. Ugh, I knew I should've put more effort into my teapot.

In any case, you're obviously going to have to make your way to Liyue or Inazuma if you want to be able to hold a proper conversation with someone - and let's not forget finding out what's going on. Your grasp on your current situation is tenuous at best, and every time you think you're certain of something, it's been wrong. You need someone to sit down and explain everything to you... and luckily, you think you have just the person in mind.

Which brings you to now.

Charades with some knights, a vigilante, and a bard is the exact start of a bad joke that it sounds like. This is mostly because every bat of your eyelids is under close scrutiny; every twitch of your fingers analyzed to the nth degree. Often times you pause in your gesturing, trying to figure out how to act something out, and they launch into another round of guesses. "No, no," you say, and they calm down as Diluc repeats this to them, only to perk up again when you absent-mindedly scratch your cheek. It gets so bad that you finally slam both hands on the table with the most deadpan stare you can muster and say, "Would you please stop??"

That, at least, they seem to comprehend, or maybe they were already aware of how over-the-top they're being. Sheepish looks are exchanged, and when Diluc mutters, "Sorry," you know he's speaking for all of them. You sigh and sit back in your chair. Well, it's partially my fault for making it so complicated, you think. Think Razor speech. Forget trying to explain yourself, it's not going to happen. Instead, what's the simplest way to convey that you need to get to Liyue?

Map. You need a map.

This time, you reach for a sheet of paper instead. You see the in-game map every day, so it shouldn't be too hard to replicate, right? Pursing your lips, you start sketching the island the city is perched on, the one in the middle of Cider Lake. Everyone else leans in.

"Yo zgnz jkyuvvay uz kh g nzuuz?" Eula guesses from down the table. "Tg kek xul tg kek, g nzuuz xul g nzuuz - yvgnxkv ktuksuy yo krhoytuvykx xul yonz kzgzy lu yxogllg jtg yjkkt uz kh zrgkj nzoc."

"Yvgnxkv," Jean responds, "zah yzo uuz tuuy uz vsap uz etg ytuoyaritui. Zo jraui uyrg kh g... kamtuz?"

Kaeya chuckles (which tells you that either a) your drawing sucks, b) their guesses are horrible, or c) both of the above). "G nzuuz xu g kamtuz - yvgnxkv xoknz kigxm yo exmtan togmg?"

"Zo yquur g zoh kqor g lgkr," Venti muses. He leans forward. "Errgazig, kxknc kbgn o tkky yonz kxulkh?"

"Ykuj zo quur xgorosgl uz aue?" Jean asks him, as you start outlining your best guess of the lake. By now you're mostly ignoring your audience; as far as you're concerned, no one's gotten it right until someone slaps a map down in front of you.

"Yke, zah o ztgi kigrv zo zke. Xoknz ykigxm mtocgxj yrroqy kxg... skng... o zyap cutq zgnz kbo tkky zo kzoaw g ckl yksoz. Zgnc zauhg aue, xkzygs iaroj? Aue skky uz kbgn g tuozikttui nzoc xoknz kigxm, uj aue kfotmuikx mtonzetg?"

"...No," Diluc shakes his head. "I znmaunz zo znmos kh tg kek, zah zo ztykuj quur kqor yzgnz knz kygi kxusetg."

All of a sudden, Amber snaps her fingers excitedly. "Lu kyxaui! Etg xkjoxzau nzxuc xoknz zrgy jrauc kfotmuikx knz rgoxkg ckob lu zjgzyjtus!" You look up, the certainty in her voice surprising you. She grins and nods at you ecstatically, seeming confident in whatever assessment she's made. Hesitantly, you put down your writing utensil. With your fingers, you make a "frame" around your drawing, before expanding it, hoping she'll get the idea. She nods enthusiastically. "Ut skrhuxv! Rro zkm aue g vgs znmox egcg, xaue kigxm!" She gives you a salute, pushes her chair back, and dashes from the room before you can blink.

...Well, now you really hope her guess was correct. You can't be held accountable for actions taken on your behalf based on misinterpretations, right? Right?

Venti gently nudges your hands to the side to take a closer look at your drawing. "Ng, uy yzgnz enc zo yquur uy xgorosgl!" he says cheerfully, as if everything makes sense now. Apparently he agrees with Amber's assessment, whatever it is. You hope that's a good sign.

Meanwhile, the rest of the room looks stunned. "Cun joj she kmgtgs uz zkm zgnz?" Diluc mutters.

"Yaurgkp?" Kaeya smirks, which earns him a glare.

Jean shakes her head in apparent disbelief. "Khegs kny ygc xoknz ykigxm zyxol rkyykb xul g tuygkx." Eula crosses her arms and makes a dissatisfied noise at this statement, though if anything, you think she actually looks a bit pleased.

A few moments later, Amber returns with a flourish - and a large rolled-up scroll half her height, which Lisa is carrying the tail end of. "O jxgkn xau kozai ygc to jkkt lu g vgs?" the librarian smiles.

"Yg xgl yg kc tgi rrkz," Jean says, and Amber nods confidently as the two of them maneuver the scroll onto the table. It's so big that it will have to be unrolled the long way down the table, so you rise from your seat at the end, moving the papers out of the way and positioning yourself along the center for a better view. With a quick wink in your direction, Lisa dramatically pushes the two ends of the scroll apart to reveal-

-something. It's definitely something.

Your brow furrows as you try to make heads or tails of the lines scattered across the paper. You certainly hope it's not art, because you've never been a fan of those abstract pieces. Thankfully, a gloved hand waves in front of your face, and Amber directs your attention to the far right edge of the parchment, pointing to... oh, there's Mondstadt! Your drawing was pretty good, if you do say so yourself.

But more importantly, that's Mondstadt. You give her an excited nod. So this is a map. It just took you a minute to realize it, because you're not used to seeing it in black and white and... ink, instead of the digital colored version with all the the teleport waypoints. Now that you have a starting point, though, you begin to recognize other things as well. Your eyes sweep the map, picking out rivers and islands and other various landmarks. Some features are lacking in comparison - most obviously, there's no clear way to distinguish climate or elevation, so Dragonspine looks the same as Stormterror's Lair other than its location. Other things are more clearly marked; for example, there's a distinct pathway to Windrise, and another path with a little note next to it that you're fairly certain leads directly to Albedo's camp.

Your eyes wander to the other side of the map, and you feel a little thrill when you discover it extends further than the current in-game release. One section appears to have several large bodies of water, and you imagine that's Fontaine, although there's a region further west that has a number of rivers. Unless... unless those are rivers of lava. Hmm. Yeah, you'll be steering clear of Natlan for a while. As for Snezhnaya... well, it's just very big.

Remembering your initial goal, you quickly trace your finger down through what you now recognize as Liyue. Fortunately, the harbor is another thing that's distinctly marked, along with what you assume is some kind of trade route there. You tap your finger on it a couple times before pointing to yourself hopefully, and then back to the map. I need to go there.

Glances are exchanged. You hold your breath as multiple people start speaking at once, and far too quickly for you to even pretend to follow them. You don't think you can make your message much clearer than that, so you don't know what you'll do if they still didn't get it. But then you feel a gentle touch on your arm, and Diluc gives you a firm nod. "Yes," he says simply.

You're going to Liyue.

[nobody-for-sure]

Language Barrier (Important Notes)

First of all, this is NOT a chapter/story update. HOWEVER, I do strongly encourage readers of my fic to take a moment to read through this, because there are a few things I wanted to address (nothing too serious for the most part, but y’know). It’s been out and linked on the masterlist for a while now; but as it’s not one of the chapters, I’m not sure how many people will find it. Therefore, I’ve linked it in a couple chapters as well, so it’s harder to overlook. So here we go.

First, I hadn't specifically stated this on Tumblr yet, but if you've checked the AO3 tags, you'll know that from the beginning, this was intended to be AFAB reader. The reader is/will be referred to with they/them pronouns, as well as Your/Their Grace; if you see anything else please let me know since this isn’t beta’d. Reader’s appearance is not discussed, and there is no sexual content in which the reader’s genitalia would be important (well, there’s no sexual content, period). However, there will be a time in which their AFAB status becomes important/obvious. If that doesn't bother you, please continue.

Second, there’s been people working on this from the beginning, but more and more readers have successfully cracked the code in terms of the languages the characters in the fic are speaking.

Frankly, I am incredibly pleased that there are people so invested in my work that they actively take the time to figure out things like this. But, with that said... if you do figure it out, pleeeease let the rest of my readers figure it out on their own; I would prefer not to have translations circulating. It's an extra (but ultimately not necessary) layer of story intended for the people who were invested enough to crack it. (In layman’s terms: if I have to suffer, so do you. :D) To anybody that works it out: I love to see your reactions to what I wrote, even (maybe especially) the translated parts, but shhhhh. To anybody that’s too lazy, thinks they’re not smart enough, or just has a life (can’t be me): I do plan to reveal my methods for you all at the end of the fic, but the people who just can’t wait that long have to figure it out for themselves. Overall, I don't expect to have any major issues since I know most readers are and/or will be respectful of this moving forward, but just bear in mind that I put a fair amount of effort into not only making actual dialogue but also going to the trouble of coding it, and I'm absolutely petty enough to make it actual gibberish if I want to.

Third, for those of you who are wondering: yes, the interludes are important; they’re not just an excuse to make a bad chat fic or a random OC. They will tie in, so do pay attention to each interaction. Seeds have been planted.

Finally, this story has been more popular than I expected, so a big thanks to everyone who reads and enjoys it, and bigger thanks to everyone who shares their thoughts on it via reblogs or comments (or even dms) because I eat those for breakfast. Seriously, it’s so helpful (and rewarding) to see what people like about your work. Anyways, I am taking requests to be added to the tag list for my fic at this time. HOWEVER, I will ONLY be accepting requests to add people to the list in the comments HERE, as people who haven't read this post and its siblings (found here and here) are not qualified to be added. (Of course, I encourage people to read them anyway, since there have been issues.)

That's all for now! Once again, I’m glad that so many people enjoy my writing, and I hope that you stick with me through this absolute train wreck of a piece, because believe me when I tell you I have plans. And you guys can’t even understand half of what’s going on. Seriously, what are you all thinking, getting invested in this. God I love you all. Okay goodbye.