YAKSHA LORE !!!
spoilers : 2.7 quest stuff in general
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In case anyone is wondering, my favorite part of genshin lore is mostly the Liyue related stuff, yakshas in particular. I love angst, it’s the first thing I look for in game storylines, books, fanfics, characters ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Gives me a nice fuzzy feeling lol The whole story of the yaksha and Xiao’s ✨traumatic✨ life draws me in so easily. I have a whole google doc that’s all just my yaksha theory stuff (a lot that was either confirmed or debunked(?) when I did the quest today lol) BUT that’s not the point! THIS EVENT FILLED SOMETHING IN MY HEART IVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR AH I love the yakshas so this entire event has been a blast knowing what it’s about.
I very much so enjoyed each tiny cutscene, all the characters I never thought would interact interacting. I’m sad Itto and Xiao didn’t have a bigger interaction. I love Itto’s whole big brother vibe towards Xiao and I would enjoy a relationship with them where Itto kinda fills a bit of the hole that Xiao’s yaksha siblings left behind after they died.
I really felt like the whole time Xiao was kinda just over it. He wanted to either save or have closure with Bosacius leaving. He didn’t want his friends (a word I think he’s slowly getting comfortable with once again) to die, so he felt like the easiest solution was to sacrifice himself.
I feel like I shouldn’t be saying this because it’s literally Xiao contemplating death but uh he looks so fucking pretty at this part. The way he looks up, lowkey majestic, I love him.
That aside you can tell he thought for a quick moment, probably more “I wonder if I can do it.” rather than “I wonder if I should sacrifice myself to do it.” Mans do not care about himself and he makes it obvious to everyone.
I really enjoyed the moment when Yelan just went ham on him for even considering to sacrifice himself. She didn’t hold back and didn’t try the whole “bUt PeOpLe WiLL miSs YoU!” shit. She said it like a slap to the face and it clearly got through to him. Your sacrifice isn’t worth it if everybody can’t get out, including you. She even pointed out his whole tough exterior being a cover up. While it’s obvious Xiao is a strong much more elite being than others, despite not being a human, he’s still a person, someone with thoughts a feelings and Yelan indirectly pointing that out did make me appreciate her character a little more. She has an interesting approach with those she cares about and knows she can trust that I can somewhat respect.
For some context, I don’t enjoy Yelan’s attitude, her whole “I’m better than everyone because I have experience and trauma” vibes bothers me, but there are things here and there that make me appreciate the tiny details in her character. I’ve yet to do her story quest so mayhaps I will change my mind if it gives us a bit of a better glimpse into her character.
That also brings me to this. WHEN I TELL YOU I ALMOST SOBBED- Again, I don’t like Yelan, but this look on her face made me b r e a k- She barley knows Xiao, but the thought of losing an ally, someone she recognizes her friends value, makes her crumble. It felt very unusual to see her make that face, even though we the players also haven’t known her very long. Xiao u heart breaker smh
The entire cutscene was fucking gorgeous, I loved every moment (kind of, the red blobs were kinda confusing and I was like bro ok I get it they’re fighting while doing this, move on). Aether animated in cutscenes always makes me happy lol he’s so bouncy and excited, ready to fight. Paimon just chillin cause she don’t know wtf to do. Zhongli saving Xiao actually didn’t happen how I thought or wanted it to,,, I had it spoiled for me that he saved him but the way he saved him was kinda lackluster to me ig. While I do think it was really pretty and well done, still a great way for that scene to end, I was still kind of hoping for a lil more dramatics on Zhongli’s side. I suppose he’s not much of a show off anymore ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I think the whole Xiao’s father figure being Zhongli was in my head and I was like “What? No coming to his aid and heroically rescuing him in the same manner he saved us?
I do think it’s quite poetic to see the way he made no effort to prove it was him who helped other than looking down on Xiao before leaving. I bet he had a tiny smile on his face just as Xiao looked over at him. Xiao’s face looked so sweet. I can’t put a word to the face he made honestly. There was a hint of confusion, disbelief, surprise. Many emotions running thru his tiny little brain. I like seeing him properly animated, it’s nice to see actual expressions rather than the dull face he has as an npc most of the time. I hope we get some sort of scene where we (or even just Xiao) have another interaction about the whole event.
I want to say it’s my favorite part but it’s not lol The story of the yakshas just fueled my love for them though and it was so excited to actually get to learn more canon information about them. Watching theories get confirmed and sparking even more in the process was neat. I hope we eventually get to learn which yaksha is which other than Bosacius and Xiao of course. My favorite has to be the geo yaksha. Don’t know why ngl I actually thought he was quite ugly the first time I saw him and I was obsessed with the pyro one for the longest time but now he’s growing on me. I think he’s quite pretty and his voice is very calming (despite that we only got like a second of a voiceline from him, I tell you I overanalyze anything and this guys voice is included).
Tbh Bosacius ugliest sibling- no shame. The rest of them are so pretty and Bosacius....... pyro yaksha got me on my knees I swear. The hydro one is cute too I love her she sounds like a sweetheart.
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Alright I’m lowkey tired so that’s all I’ve got to say about the quest. I enjoyed it a lot and hope we get another yaksha centered quest to learn more!

















