You'd been wandering- more like waddling, nowadays -around Liyue trying to gather inspiration for your next Fallen Stars chapter, when you heard a plethora of footsteps of varying weight come up to you from behind. Turning around would reveal...
"M-Melly! Gosh, you're so large nowadays! Hey, Xiangling mentioned she's been trying something new over at Wanmin, wanna go there with me? We can try a couple dishes, give her our opinion on them. Maybe call it a date? I...y-you're just really, really cute and, you know, I'm super curious to hear what your plans for the next parts of our adventure are! It's...kind of weird having the person that controls basically everything that happens to everyone in the party, but you're so precious I don't think anyone's complaining. So, you wanna come along?"
"Judging by the way your gut is rumbling, I do believe more than 'a couple dishes' would be in your best interest, Author."
"As if that would be a problem, with Xiangling as our chef. He'd merely have to burp halfway through the last available dish, and she'd already know to refill the plate for him."
"She is a most proficient cook, her lines are optimized down to the tiniest detail and the calories brought out to the maximum in every ingredient. No doubt he would be much larger both temporarily and permanently after this meal, another step toward his weight goal."
"Ooooh, speaking of, how's that going? You've put at least two hundred pounds on since we last met, but you're still really far off right? Have you given any thought to our offer?"
"HAH! Knowing him, the fatty hasn't stopped thinking about it every since it first came up, but he's stopping himself out of 'decorum' or whatever other bullshit inhibition he's got."
"While I wouldn't have used that specific terminology...Scaramouche is correct in implying that you needn't care for social constructs around us, Melly."
"We are your creations after all! Paimon doesn't mean it as like, you can do ANYTHING anything to and with us, but if you got a bit self indulgent I don't think anyone would mind!"
"So...are you joining the party, Melly? You're definitely big enough to look the part of a Falling Star..."
Given the fact that Melly was mostly hanging around Liyue Harbour nowadays since the sound of the ships docking and waves crashing made great writing ambience, it made sense that he was easy enough to find. Mind you, anyone could find him nowadays—it's hard not to miss a massive fat butterball boy who was probably the fattest in Liyue behind Ningguang and Ganyu—but that's not the point. Looking over his puffy shoulder at his beloved characters, Melly huffed and puffed as he lumbered in place to fully face them.
"H-Huhhhh...?! You guysh... hff... want me... to join you...?"
Melly was skeptical for obvious reasons. He had no practical benefit beyond being their oracle of sorts, and would probably cost just as much as Ei does in terms of their food budget... but then he remembered that this was just the way that Lumine rolled. She did as she fancied simply because she felt like doing it, and it was her best quality.
"Haahhh... I'll... tell you what...!"
Melly giggled, patting his immense belly apron with a bright smile.
"You... hhnfghh... pay for my lunch... and we'll call it even...! I'm in for the long haul!"
Melly has joined the party!
