it seems inazuma got its version of the creature that 'eats' the moon? like zhanzhu, kratti? and bakunawa's irl namesake. even though it's not trying to eat the moon here. but to use it as its eye? similar to visions...?
Congratulations Inazuma lore fans !!! We finally got the faces of Iwakura/Mikoshi Michihiro & Mikoshi Nagamasa. How are we feeling ? On one hand, I'm so, so happy !!! (bdbdjnsbskd they were so handsome aaaaaa!!! Why do I always simp for lore characters) Inazuma lore fans, you guys are the bravest soldiers I've known. Waiting 4 years just to get some crumbs... I applause your bravery & patience. Now we just need Asase Hibiki & the resolution with her cat, and also her lover Takamine the Mistsplitter. And Ako Domeki and his Seiraimaru ! (But players of 2022 Golden Apple Archipelago... *sobs* that was my first summer event, can't believe I cried for a ship. Kosekimaru, we will never forget you😭)
On the other hand.... *grit teeth* whoa Hoyo finally remember their world quests & integrate them to the storylines where the majority of the players can see it. Surely, Natlan’s world quest will have the same treatment. Surely, this means Team Xbalanque will not be too far. Surely, we will have their faces reveal. Surely- *overdosed by copium*
By the way !!! This event sure does cement my (copium) theory that the recent storylines are foreshadowing to Natlan’s plottwist. Living in an ambiguous state between life & death... hallucinating that there are enemies everywhere... feeling entrapped in a long, long nightmare... hmm... I wonder who else was corrupted by the Abyss & lived in an ambiguous state for such a long time...
Hmm...........
Okay maybe I'm just coping.
By the way, if you guys are interested in Inazuma's lore, particularly Michihiro & Nagamasa above, I recommend these fanfics !
(I LOVE this one in particular because it deep dives on the Mikoshi brothers. They're so tragic. And it's also a series, the Yougou series. Check it out !)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/56884207
(Still part of the Yougou series, but this one in particular aaaaa😭)
Are there any fics that explore the youkai experience in Inazuma ?? I want to see in depth shit about Itto and Sara's relationship with each other and their cities. I want to see a more in depth exploration of how Yae Miko unnerves every person she encounters.
They aren't mysterious and mythical in the same way the Adepti are, they aren't unseen and detached from humanity like the Four Winds are, and they aren't dismissed as children’s tales like the Aranara and Jinn. I feel like I've made this post before but I am desperate for some genuine genshin world building explorations of the myths they introduce in canon. Especially for the oni and Itto specifically, can I PLEASE see some oni Itto struggling to adjust to a human world please please please
This is something I just found out and I'm going to translate while giving full credit here: "Fuujin gives Raijin "あっかんベー" (the bleh in Wanderer's idle animation)."
It keeps linking to Raiden being Raijin/God of Thunder and Wanderer.
In Kushida Shrine, in the worship hall, there are carvings on the wooden gable, left and right, of Raijin (雷神 "God of Thunder") and Fuujin (風神 "God of Wind").
If you look properly, Raijin invites Fuujin "Let's awake a storm together in Hikata" but the God of Wind replies with a "bleh" and runs away.
The tweets on the twitter thread keep going explaining how fuujin and raijin might relate to raiden and wanderer, which I also explained a bit in part 2 of my series how raiden is very much related to the god of thunder based on various in-game elements, but I will look more into wanderer and fuujin connection now.
Ok so like this is random as fuck but I keep seeing fics where like ei forgets about wanderer after he deletes himself from irminsul but then im like wait but he deleted Balladeer and Kabukimono not Kunikuzushi so she wouldn’t of forgotten him (I mean maybe from time but not from being deleted from irminsul) because Kunikuzushi still existed just the Balladeer and Kabukimono didn’t exist idk im just confused
Inazuma had been incredibly busy these past few weeks, a mysterious domain appearing out of practically nowhere putting the Kujo Sara and the rest of the Shogun’s troops on high alert. But shortly after arriving the domain had disappeared leaving only four people aware of its true existence. Aether, Childe, Paimon, and Xinyan.
The guide for the domain, Shiki Taishou, had chosen to stay within it when it disappeared telling the four of them that the Mystic Onmyou chamber would move to continue to train as many warriors as possible. Although Shiki Taishou had given Aether a gift, a little shikigami to watch over him and keep him company if possible.
Then after that, there was the rather long ordeal involving an adventuring team and Seirai island experiencing some unnatural thunderstorms, which Aether discovered was caused by the Thunder Manifestation that had looked like the Oceanid in Liyue for some reason. But once it was defeated the strange harsh electro energy and storms that had erupted across the island were calmed.
And finally, Aether had helped Sumida with researching the mysterious fog-covered island of Tsurumi. That had been one of the more bittersweet quests that Aether had gotten from the adventurers guild, and although he had found helping Sumida very annoying, meeting Ruu and finally helping the young boy finally find peace after all these years had been an experience that he wouldn’t soon forget.
So it’s no surprise after so many stressful missions that Aether was a bit exhausted, and as such he’d taken a sort of vacation of sorts to return to Liyue and Mondstadt spend some time with his friends before returning to Inazuma once more.
As he approaches Inazuma’s adventurer’s guild in the city, he can tell by the look on Katheryne’s face that another high-priority quest is waiting for him.
“Alright Katheryne, what is it this time? Was there another mysterious island found? Maybe it happened to rise out of the sea this time?” Aether chuckled only for Katheryne to give him a sympathetic smile which makes Aether pause.
“Wait, did that really happen?” He asked, his eyes slightly wide. Considering all the other things Aether had, had happened to him in Inazuma he truly wouldn’t have been surprised.
Out of the three countries he’d visited so far, it seemed the busiest while Mondstadt often sat on the opposite end of the spectrum and Liyue fell somewhere in the middle.
Katheryne chuckled. “No, nothing of the sort,” she told him, shaking her head. “In fact, the most recent high priority quest the adventurer’s guild has is on Tsurumi island.”
“Tsurumi Island?” Aether echoes to which Katheryne begins explaining.
Shortly after Aether left Inazuma, a strange creature resembling a rather large rift hound had appeared on Tsurumi island. It was incredibly different from the ones who had appeared before it.
He’s lost in thought wondering the best way to go about this problem when a familiar voice suddenly meets his ears and Aether froze, his eyes going wide. A moment later an arm was slung around his shoulders.
“There you are, Aether. I was looking everywhere for you. I’d thought you’d disappeared.”
“Childe?” Aether said slowly as he looked up at the man with wide eyes to which Childe merely grinned back.
It wasn’t that Aether was shocked that Childe was in Inazuma, after all, they’d met up before in Shiki Taishou’s domain and it was how Aether had come to know that Childe was in Inazuma. After that ordeal though Childe had seemingly vanished without much of a word to Aether.
Aether knew that Childe was here on a mission, and that when he had a job to do it was the equivalent of sending a hunting dog after a piece of prey. And yet, Aether was willing to admit that it stung a bit that Childe had seemingly just vanished without even a goodbye. It was also why Aether had probably stayed in Inazuma so long afterwards, because some small part of him was hoping they’d at least run into each other.
“I’m busy right now Childe so I can’t spar with you,” Aether sighed as he turned back to Katheryne, feeling rather relieved that Childe was seemingly unscathed.
“Ah, one of the previous groups that attempted to deal with it managed to capture this during the initial expedition,” Katheryne said holding out what appeared to be a photo taken with a Kamera.
Aether scowled as he took it. The photo was blurry of course, more than likely taken in a panic, but Aether’s eyes still widened when he saw the enormous golden rifthound flying in the sky. In all his time on Tsurumi island, Aether had seen rifthounds yes, but nothing this big.
“They fly now?” Aether said with wide horrified eyes. “Hey,” he exclaimed as Childe suddenly took the photo from him.
Aether looks up at Childe, his hands stretched out in an effort to take the photo back but he pauses when he notices the look on Childe’s face.
The expression on Childe’s face was almost neutral if not for the strange almost piercing intensity he was staring at the photo with.
“Where is this?” Childe asked Katheryne and Aether scowls at his curt, almost sharp tone.
“Tsurumi island,” Katheryne replied, her calm smile still on her face. If she noticed the change in Childe’s demeanor she didn’t say anything.
Childe looked at Aether when Aether finally managed to snatch the photo back from him with a huff. “You said they fly now , you’ve fought them before?”
“Huh? Well yeah, those Rifthounds are all over Tsurumi island just not that big,” Aether said with a scowl as he handed the photo back to Katheryne. He didn’t know why but something felt strangely off about the aura Childe was radiating at the moment, Aether didn’t know how to describe it but it was slightly unsettling.
Even when he’d fought Childe in the golden house Childe hadn’t this kind of air to him, nor had Aether seen it during any of their sparring sessions. Childe’s gaze was cold and strangely empty as if he were looking through Aether instead of actually at him.
“I’m coming with you this time,” Childe told Aether, his tone leaving no room for arguments.
Aether’s eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms. “No, I’ve been there before and I know how to handle this.”
Childe stares at Aether for a moment before a small smile spreads across his face. “Unless you’ve suddenly learned how to use a bow, then please tell me how you’re going to shoot it out of the air.”
Aether’s eyes narrow even further but he says nothing, knowing better than to admit when Childe was right.
For a few moments, they simply stare at each other until Katheryne clears her throat making both men look at her.
“Someone proficient with a bow or catalyst would be incredibly helpful for completing this task,” Katheryne told Aether and Aether sighs at her words as Childe’s smile grows.
It didn’t have to be Childe though, Aether had met many friends in Inazuma. Quite a few who like Yoimiya, Kujo Sara, and Gorou could easily wield a bow and yet Aether was hesitant to ask them. Not because he didn’t think they would help but because he knew how dangerous Tsurumi island was even with the fog now lifted.
He’s heard of the many horror stories of inexperienced adventurers breaking the rules and going out there only to never return after encountering rifthounds. It’s not Aether’s ego that makes him want to take any of this on alone, hell he was used to having Lumine at his side no matter where he went, but he knew he’d never forgive himself if anything happened to one of his friends.
While each one of his friends were capable of holding their own in a fight without a doubt, the Rifthounds were in a different ballpark entirely. The first time Aether had encountered them, even he had, had trouble escaping completely unscathed.
Aether looks up with a frown, drawn out of his thoughts when Childe lays a hand on his shoulder. It’s what Childe says that actually convinces Aether, however.
“I know that you can handle yourself Aether, I’m just worried so let me tag along. Just this once,” Childe told him gently, the sincerity in his voice making Aether pause.
It wasn’t the first time Aether had heard that tone from Childe and it never failed to make his heart flutter in his chest.
Aether sighed looking away so that Childe wouldn’t see the light blush coloring his face. “Fine. You can come,” he muttered begrudgingly.
Childe grins that strange air he’d been giving off before vanishing as if he flipped a switch. And yet Aether still couldn’t help but feel uneasy for some reason.
Although he can’t put his finger on it.
~~~
After a bit of stocking up on supplies, it is around noon when Aether and Childe actually set out for Tsurumi island.
“You know you never did tell me how you’re able to use these teleporters, Aether,” Childe reminded him as they approached the one just outside of Inazuma city.
Aether looks at him and shrugs slightly. “Honestly I’m not sure myself, I have a friend or two and Mondstadt who might have some clue but I keep forgetting to ask whenever I go back,” he admitted as he looked at the teleporter in question.
These things from what Aether had seen so far were dotted all around much of Teyvat, especially in some of the more remote places like Dragonspine and Tsurumi island. They seemed to work in combination with the statue of the seven from what little he knew about them.
If Aether touched the teleporter and just imagined the area he wanted to go to he’d open his eyes and find himself there. There were restrictions, of course, it seemed like if he didn’t know where the place he was trying to get to specifically was then he wouldn’t be teleported.
For example, he couldn’t just imagine somewhere in Inazuma and just appear there, he’d tried when he first arrived in Ritou. While it seemed like only Aether could activate and use them if he was holding onto someone they would be teleported with him.
Childe gives a soft hum and nods at Aether’s words as he stared at the other, his hands placed in his pockets. Childe was definitely happy to see Aether again and in good health no less. It was like a breath of fresh air after everything Childe had been through at the moment.
He hadn’t completed his mission of tracking down Scaramouche and the gnosis, because Scaramouche was of course rather smart in covering his tracks. Childe had been just about running himself ragged, scouring Inazuma nearly top to bottom, which was no easy feat and what's more Scaramouche had the home-field advantage.
Childe had wandered back to Inazuma city planning to get a drink and possibly something to eat when he’d seen Aether at the Adventurer’s guild. Childe didn’t know how or why, but Aether always seemed to have somewhat of a soothing effect on him, calming his mind and relaxing him.
It was something he’d noticed in Liyue as well, something that helped draw him closer to Aether, a lot closer with Aether spending a lot of time in Childe’s bed and apartment. Childe still remembered the argument he and Aether got into shortly after everything was said and done in Liyue. The tears in Aether’s eyes and the clear hurt and betrayal in his voice had stung Childe a lot more than he thought it would.
It wasn’t as if he didn’t feel bad about having to summon Osial, but he had a job to do and had run out of options so at the time the ends had justified the means. Although Childe was admittedly thankful none of the innocent Liyuean people had been caught in the crossfire. Even more, though he was thankful that Aether eventually came around to forgiving him, and although the two of them had frequently sparred together and still shared many nights together before both of them had left Liyue.
It seemed that Aether was keeping Childe at an arm’s length, loving him at a distance so to speak. It stung but Childe could deal with that, he didn’t mind having to work to regain Aether’s trust.
“Oh right, where’s Paimon?” Childe asked Aether, having noticed that his little fairy companion was nowhere to be seen. Childe didn’t mind too much especially since she seemed to be definitely holding a grudge against Childe and often urged Aether to stay away from him, but he still found it a bit strange that he’d yet to see her around yet.
“She’s with Thoma and Ayaka, but if I call her she’ll come,” Aether told him. Frowning Aether crossed his arms. “Maybe I should tell her where I’m going…” he muttered softly to himself.
“It’s fine, I was just curious is all. Besides, she’ll come if you call her anyway,” Childe told him with a small smile. He really didn’t want Paimon intruding on his time with Aether if he could help it.
Aether nodded before reaching out and laying a hand on the nearby teleporter, then he turned to Childe holding his other hand out for him to take a smile on his face. “I need to hold onto you for you to be teleported with me,” he explained, noticing the questioning look on Childe’s face.
Childe chuckles, a grin spreading across his face as he places his hand in Aether's, giving it a slight squeeze. “If you wanted to hold my hand, all you needed to do was ask.”
Aether gives a soft snort as he rolls his eyes but says nothing else. Taking a deep breath he closes his eyes and focuses, allowing himself to be teleported to Tsurumi island.
~~~
Aether had spent about two weeks on Tsurumi island in the past when he’d helped Sumida and Ruu. He knew first hand just how fierce the Rifthounds could be, rather intelligent beast with the ability to seemingly disappear at will, turning invisible to attack their opponents from behind if they wished.
Claws that could easily rend stone let alone flesh and teeth that could crush both boulders and bone. The first time Aether had faced one he had been lucky to escape relatively unscathed albeit with a few minor scrapes and scratches from when he’d dodged out of the way of the rifthounds claws.
This rifthound that Aether and Childe were fighting for this mission was all of that and more.
It was an enormous gold and brown behemoth almost as big as the Exuvia Aether had seen in Liyue, its serpentine body slithering through the air with blinding speed as it lashed out at both of them with the power of geo. Hurling enormous shards of rock at them both with an almost startling precision that shouldn’t have been possible, opening large cracks in the ground that left the once stable ground at their feet in splinters.
It was truly a test of Aether and Childe’s teamwork and while both of them sported minor scratches and scrapes it was nothing compared to the injuries they could’ve had if they acted more recklessly.
The rifthound thankfully though seemed to nearly be on its last legs, numerous hydro and electro-infused arrows were lodged in its body courtesy of Childe with the rather large slashes on its body were from Aether’s sword. Its attacks were becoming slower and more predictable, maybe that’s why combined with his building exhaustion beginning to wear on him, that Aether did something he shouldn’t have.
He got too close. Plunging his sword through the rifthound’s eye eliciting a loud yelp from the beast as he smiles triumphantly. Aether expects that, that loud pained high pitched yelp. What he does not expect is to see a golden, bright light suddenly flare to life in the beast’s mouth.
Aether jumps back tugging his sword free as he does and the rifthound snaps its mouth shut extinguishing the light as it quickly spins around, striking out at Aether with its sharp dagger-like tail.
Aether’s eyes widen in horror as he realizes he won’t be able to dodge this attack, it’s going to rend him in two. All at once, Aether feels as if he can’t breathe, his mind in a frenzy as time seems to slow to a painful crawl. The tail feels as if it’s so close that Aether can practically count the strands of fur on it and his mind instantly goes to Paimon and Lumine knowing that he’d never get to speak to either of them again.
The sharp scent of saltwater fills Aether’s nose as a strange buzzing tingling sensation dances along his skin and Aether jolts, his eyes widening in surprise as something suddenly grabs him tightly, filling his vision. A deafening boom echoed in his ears as a large cloud of dust filled the air, obscuring his vision.
It fills his lungs and stings his eyes, tears filling them as he coughs and gasps for air. But strangely enough, there’s no pain, and as Aether opens his eyes and looks up catching sight of a very familiar red mask with a deep violet orb-like eye set in its center and gleaming he realizes why.
Aether has seen Childe’s Foul legacy transformation before, hell he’s fought it but even then he had never had the chance of seeing it up close like this. Childe is kneeling on the ground, cradling Aether in his arms as he holds him to his chest but he isn’t looking at Aether he’s looking over his shoulder, behind them where the rifthound had been.
As the dust quickly clears Aether sees the enormous body of the rifthound laying on the ground unmoving, the blade of Childe’s polearm buried deeply in its skull, its body slowly dissolving into blue particles of light as all monsters did.
Giving a soft raspy huff Childe adjusts his grip on Aether so that he was holding him against his chest with only one arm, he holds his now free hand out calling his polearm back to him.
Feeling something slick and warm on his skin Aether looks down his eyes growing incredibly wide when he sees blood rapidly spreading across his clothes.
“Childe, you’re hurt,” Aether said softly in shock as he noticed the decently sized slash in Childe’s armor on the left side. Blood was steadily trickling out of the wound onto Aether’s clothes and skin.
Aether scrambled out of Childe’s arms looking down at the blood on his clothes with wide eyes, his gaze snapped back up to Childe as the Foul legacy Transformation dispersed. Falling away in a burst of shadow along with Childe’s weapon leaving Childe kneeling on the ground now returned to normal, his eyes squeezed shut and his face pale.
Childe grits his teeth as his wound throbs furiously in time with his heartbeat, dizzying wave after wave of nausea slammed into him like a truck, a flash of heat washing over his skin. Very carefully Childe presses his hand to the wound, putting pressure on it and even though Childe long knows what to expect by doing so, that still doesn’t stop his body from tensing up, a sharp gasp leaving his lips, his lungs practically spasming in his chest as white-hot pain overloads every one his senses in an instant as it wraps his body in a vice grip.
He can hear Aether frantically calling his name and Childe forces his eyes open, the world blurring slightly before his eyes as his stomach churns violently.
Childe grits his teeth taking shuddering breaths in through his mouth as he tries to get his bearings and adjust.
The pain is familiar, he’s felt it before after all, many years ago but that didn’t make it less horrible or intense.
“So…annoying,” he mumbled through gritted teeth as he stared at the ground with narrow eyes.
“Childe,” Aether whispered as he knelt down beside him, his hands hovering above Childe as if he was afraid to touch him for fear of hurting him. But at the same time, there is a slight sense of calm detachment as he forces himself to calm down and assess the situation.
Childe is thankfully putting pressure on the wound to stem the bleeding but Aether is more worried about the appearance of the wound. It’s red and swollen, the open flesh has a strange gray tint to it, black veins spread out from the wound like a spider web, writhing just beneath his skin. Reddish-gray foaming is welling out of it, seeping through Childe’s fingers as it coats his hand.
Aether has never really seen anything like it, and if he hadn’t seen Childe just get injured he would’ve assumed that it was infected somehow. Aether takes a deep breath in an effort to calm down as he goes over the mental checklist of what Childe needs.
First things first the wound needed to be cleaned.
“Childe, do you think you can use your vision right now?” Aether asked leaning down a bit to peer into Childe’s face as he lays a gentle hand on his back.
Childe has his eyes squeezed shut, his face twisted into a slight grimace and his head is bowed facing the ground. He’s pale as well at the moment, almost scarily so, sweat lining his face and his throat bobbing as he swallows rapidly.
Childe cracks one eye open as he takes a shuddering breath in through gritted teeth. “Y-yeah just…give me a sec,” he forces out. Pain lashes at his body, nearly overloading his senses and making it hard to breathe let alone focus. His stomach is churning violently to the point where he can feel its contents sloshing inside of him like some shaking a water balloon.
If Childe didn’t feel like his body was trying to kill him he may have felt slightly nostalgic. This pain, this poison coursing through his veins along with its horrible side effects, Childe remembers it all from when he was a kid. From when he fell into the abyss.
If Childe remembered correctly though the poison wasn’t lethal in of itself, with the rifthounds using it to slow and hinder prey while hunting. It would work its way through his system soon, within minutes even. No, what Childe was most worried about was the god-awful side effects he’d need to endure after the poison had left his system.
He could only hope that because he’d been exposed to it before he’d have at least a tiny amount of immunity.
A choked, nauseated hiccup leaves Childe's mouth as he takes deep breaths, his fingers practically digging into the ground as he does his best to focus through the pain and call his elemental energy to him. The task which should’ve been as easy as breathing to him at this point is slightly hindered by the pain and nausea assaulting his senses.
Somehow though, Childe manages to gather the elemental energy he needs, his vision flaring to life as a small ball of water forms in the air in front of him, just floating there.
“Good,” Aether said softly as he took out a roll of bandages, along with one or two other items from the small bag of supplies he’d brought. He reaches out with his other hand gently nudging Childe’s hand away from his wound, biting back the grimace when he sees the grayish red foam bubbling from out of the wound, mixing with the small trickle of blood leaking from it.
Thankfully, however, while it looks absolutely horrible and definitely deep enough to scar, Aether doesn’t see any of Childe’s organs threatening to slip out of the wound which meant no internal injuries.
“Can you guide the water to your wound and run it over it? I need to clean it,” Aether asked, laying a hand on Childe’s back to steady him when he swayed slightly.
Childe simply nodded slowly, he could feel the pain from the poison gradually beginning to wear off. While his side is still burning and throbbing violently that blinding pain that’s been overwhelming his entire body is beginning to fade up ever so slightly.
At least to the point where just the wind brushing against his wound didn’t leave him feeling as though electro were sparking along his entire body. Now if only he could do something about the sickening nausea and dizziness that was gradually growing worse and worse as the poison began to wear off.
Childe is silent as he guides the bubble of water to his wound and begins to gradually dissolve it, allowing it to trickle over the wound.
“Huh?” Aether murmured scowling, as the water washed the foam and blood away he could see that it didn’t look as horrific as he first thought. The gray tint was fading quickly as were the black veins that had been writhing beneath it, Aether could literally see it fading and no more foam was welling up from the wound either, although blood still trickled out of it.
“I…take it you’ve never gotten scratched by one of those things huh?” Childe chuckled softly, stopping when another nauseated hiccup bubbled out of him.
Aether slowly shakes his head with a scowl. “No I haven’t, I never wanted to risk it.”
Childe gives a soft snort as he closes his eyes for a moment when the world seems to swim before his eyes, and uncomfortable heat prickles at his skin, another sign that the poison is fading. “The claws and teeth of those things have poison on them,” Childe informed him as Aether continued tending to his wound.
“P-poison,” Aether exclaimed, his eyes going wide as he stared at Childe in horror. The wound looked normal but at the moment Childe’s face was as pale as a sheet, and he looked completely exhausted, that’s when Aether realizes something else.
Childe had used his Foul legacy form which had no doubt already exhausted and weakened him, that coupled with both the injury and poison definitely wasn’t a good combination. Aether bites his lip as he pauses for a moment simply staring at the wound, trying to rack his brain for a solution.
“It’s fine, the poison isn’t lethal, just a bitch to deal with afterward. The side effects aren’t the greatest,” Childe chuckled before closing his eyes and giving a soft sigh. “Just wrap the wound up and I’ll be fine,” he tried to reassure him, his eyes still closed in an effort to ignore the way the world was spinning around him.
To say it was disorientating was an understatement, even now as Childe sat with his eyes closed it felt as if the ground was shifting beneath him, moving as if it were almost a living thing. The sensation leaves him lightheaded, swallowing thickly in an effort to clear away the near river of drool threatening to overflow in his mouth as his stomach sloshes like someone shaking a water balloon.
Aether doesn’t say anything in reply to Childe’s words but as he carefully continues cleaning Childe’s wounds and goes about bandaging them, Childe can feel a slight trembling to Aether’s fingers whenever the brush across his skin. Strangely enough, it was reassuring in a way to know that Aether still cared and worried about him.
“There we go,” Aether whispered as he looked at the now bandaged wound, a soft sigh of relief leaving his mouth. The wound would definitely scar even with healing magic but Aether was sure Childe wouldn’t mind, hell he’d more than likely show it off with pride, and the thought has a small smile crawling across Aether’s face.
Childe groans softly as he sits back, which makes Aether look at him with a scowl. Childe is sitting there with his eyes closed, taking small shuddering breaths in through his nose as he swallowed thickly, a hand hovering over his stomach as if he were afraid to touch it.
“Childe? Are you alright?” Aether asked, resting a hand on his shoulder, that worry he’d felt earlier is still nagging at him. Especially considering Aether had no idea how Rifthound poison worked, the wound looked fine and everything but Childe still looked sick and exhausted.
“I-I…” Childe begins opening his eyes slightly, but pauses, practically clamping his mouth closed as he squeezes his eyes shut, swallowing rapidly when his stomach flips inside of him.
It is at this moment with his stomach feeling as if it’s throwing a tantrum inside of him and the ground seemingly writhing beneath his feet that Childe realizes that changing into his Foul Legacy form may have done him more harm than good.
The Foul Legacy transformation was something Childe used in case of emergency as it often left him in a weakened and exhausted state afterward, and while saving Aether from torn in two counted as an emergency, Childe hadn’t exactly stopped to think what effects using the transformation in conjunction with the poison would have on him. Still, this was better than the sheer, ice-cold terror that had enveloped him when he saw the rifthound about to kill Aether. He hadn’t even thought twice about transforming, it’d happened almost as if on reflex.
“Childe?” Aether said his eyes roving over him, if it were possible Childe seemed to have gotten paler, a slight green tinge to his face that Aether didn’t like one bit.
Swallowing thickly, Childe slowly nodded before opening his eyes slightly. “I…feel sick but…it's fine. It’s-it’s just the side effects,” Childe manages his words slurred heavily with nausea. With how dizzy and disoriented he is it’s hard for him to focus, to get a good grasp on his thoughts.
“You’ve been through this before?” Aether asked with a frown. Now that he thought about it, that would explain Childe’s reaction when he’d seen the photo of the enormous Rifthound.
Childe nodded, a soft hiccup leaving his mouth. “Y-yeah, as a kid. The side effects…they disorient you, give the rifthound enough time to catch up,” he mumbled.
Aether nodded slowly, processing Childe’s words, while Childe never spoke of it; a lot of signs pointed to the fact that Childe at some point had wound up in the abyss somehow. From the Foul Legacy transformation to his knowledge on Rifthounds that were seemingly not located anywhere else on Teyvat besides Tsurumi island and the abyss.
“Do you think you can make it to the teleporter? It would be a good idea to have a healer look at you,” Aether asked as he laid a hand on Childe’s back.
Childe had his head bowed, his eyes still squeezed shut as a series of hiccups bubbles out of him, each one more nauseated than the last. “Y-yeah,” he choked out, doing his damndest to force back the bile bubbling at the back of his throat.
Aether carefully helps Childe to his feet allowing him to heavily lean on him, one of his arms slung around Aether’s neck, this attempt to get Childe up almost fails however when Childe’s trembling legs nearly give beneath him, and almost send them both tumbling to the ground.
“Okay, so teleporter is out of the option,” Aether muttered more to himself than Childe. Biting his lip Aether thinks for a moment, if the symptoms really would pass like Childe had said they would then maybe he didn’t need to take Childe to a healer, he just had to get him somewhere safe.
“The teapot,” Aether whispered as if he’d had some sort of epiphany. His words make Childe open his eyes ever so slightly a small scowl on his face, with the unbearable heat prickling at his skin, the nausea making his stomach boil, and the vicious throbbing of his wound Childe can’t be sure if he’d heard Aether right or if the other man was just speaking nonsense.
Childe just kind of wants to lay down and pass out so that he can get through the side effects, he closes his eyes for a moment with a soft sigh but opens them again when he hears a sound like porcelain clanging on porcelain. “What…” Childe begins when he sees the strange, white, medium-sized teapot floating in the air in front of them.
Childe blinks slowly unsure if he’s seeing things correctly and with the way his vision is swimming he’s slightly confident that he isn’t. He looks down at Aether when the other adjusts his grip on Childe pulling him a bit closer. Noticing that his eyes are open, Aether looks up at him with a small smile.
“Hold on, I’ll bring us somewhere safe,” Aether told him before closing his eyes, and reaching one hand out towards the teapot.
A strange sensation washes over Childe similar to the feeling he got whenever he used the teleporter with Aether, except it’s a lot more intense. The sensation of falling freely through the air hits him as the world swirls in a myriad of colors before his eyes, his stomach seems to plummet down to his feet as an intense wave of nausea hits him like a truck.
Childe gags and he covers his mouth with his hand almost out of reflex as a trickle of bile leaves his mouth, burning his throat and leaving him coughing and spluttering as he falls to his knees onto the ground.
He feels Aether’s hands gently running along his back as he pants shakily lowering his hand from his mouth, nausea still boiling and twisting in his stomach as he struggles to get his bearings even slightly.
Aether cringes when Childe suddenly retches emptily over the ground, a near torrent of drool falling from his lips as tears gather in his eyes from the exertion. Aether can feel Childe’s body trembling beneath his fingertips as well, not to mention the slight heat radiating off of Childe’s skin.
“It’s okay just try to get it up,” Aether murmured as he gently ran his hand along Childe’s back.
Childe gives a low weak, miserable sounding groan right before he lurches forward a violently, rumbling retch tearing from his throat that has a large, thick wave of semi watery pale yellowish vomit splattering heavily on the ground quickly congealing into a puddle.
Coughing wetly, Childe does his best to gasp for air, his eyes wide as threads of drool and bile drips from his lips into the mess on the ground, his wound burning and throbbing viciously sending pain shooting along the entire left side of his body. One of his coughs turns into a loud, wet, gurgling burp that has another large surge of pale yellowish vomit gurgling up his throat, splattering onto the ground, the sight of the rancid mess glistening with bile and saliva combined with the utterly revolting taste coating his mouth has Childe retching again.
“Oh dear me, is this a friend of yours?” Childe faintly hears an unfamiliar voice say just over the buzzing in his ears.
Aether gives a soft sigh of relief. “There you are Tubby, and yes,” Aether told the teapot spirit although he grimaces when Childe gives another violent sounding retch choking up another surge of vomit onto the ground. It’s mostly watery this time and darker in color as it pours from his mouth like a faucet for a good few seconds.
“He seems incredibly ill, if you like I can perhaps contact one of the Adepti to take a look at him,” Tubby offered as she stared at Childe her expression as neutral and calm as ever, like she wasn’t watching Childe practically turn his stomach inside out as desperately gasped for air.
Coughing harshly Childe shakily sits back simply gasping for air as he stares into space for a moment seemingly dazed, not even bothering to wipe the drool and bile from his lips. Despite that hollow feeling in his stomach that tells him he more than likely threw up nearly everything, that horrible dizziness and nausea continues to envelop him which is exactly what Childe had known to expect honestly.
“T-That won’t…be necessary,” Childe managed to force out in between his harsh panting. He swallows thickly, closing his eyes for a moment when the rancidly sour taste of his own stomach contents coating his mouth makes him gag slightly.
“Childe you need-” Aether begins but what Childe says next stops him.
“Please…I just want to lie down and sleep this off,” Childe mumbles, sounding completely exhausted in every sense of the word and that’s because he is. His entire body feels like one large sore, his stomach feels as if it is trying to claw its way out of him, and he’s so dizzy he can barely think straight.
He hates it so, so much not only because it’s irritating and annoying but because it reminds him far too much of a time in his life that he wishes he could forget. And that overshadows the joy he should be feeling at the fact that he’d finally gotten the chance to destroy one of the many godforsaken beasts he’d seen down in the abyss.
Aether pauses simply staring at Childe for a moment, Childe almost sounds defeated. And Aether can only remember Childe’s voice sounding like that once in the time they’ve known each other, when Aether had confronted him alone about what happened in Liyue. Taking a deep breath Aether nods.
“Alright…I’ll help you inside so that you can rest. And in the morning I’ll take you to a healer,” Aether told him softly, despite the sense of worry still nagging at him. He feels uneasy, but at the same time, Childe seems to know exactly how this poison works and what to expect so Aether didn’t mind trusting his judgment.
At his words, a small albeit strained smile appears on Childe’s face before he closes his eyes for a moment trying to gather his strength to at least attempt to stand up. Even sitting up like this is putting strain on him, however, his entire body trembling from the effort of just holding himself up. And it definitely doesn’t help that each breath he takes threatens to make him gag either.
That is when Childe feels Aether’s hands on him and his eyes open wide as Aether picks him up, cradling him in his arms. Noticing the look of surprise on Childe’s face Aether gives a soft huff. “I used to be able to crush boulders with my bare hands you know, I can kinda still do it now but it takes a lot out of me. Compared to that you aren’t too heavy the height difference just makes it annoying,” Aether explained simply as if he were talking about the weather.
Childe gives a soft snort, just barely forcing back another gag that threatened to bubble out of him. “I…bet you look really hot doing that.”
Aether sighed, rolling his eyes, although the faintest hint of a smile crawls across his face and he stops walking for a moment. “Maybe try flirting when you don’t have a gaping hole in your side and look about five seconds away from throwing up everywhere.”
Childe gives another soft snort but complies as Aether brings him inside the house and places him down on the rather large sofa in the living room that’s situated in front of the fireplace.
As he goes to retrieve some blankets as well as a trash can in case Childe needed it, Childe simply looks around his eyes, taking in his environment the best he can at the moment. It’s hard to make out a lot of the furniture and decorations due to his blurring vision but he does know one thing, Aether’s home is really warm, cozy, and comforting just like the man himself. Just as Childe suspected it would be.
“Did you…do all this? The decorating and everything?” Childe asked as he listened to the sounds of Aether moving around the house. It gives him a strange sense of comfort, soothing him slightly and allowing Childe to relax a bit, to let his guard down for once.
“Most of it, Tubby helped a lot though as well as some of the other Adepti,” Aether explained, his voice drifting into the living room from down the hall.
Childe scowled. “Did the green-haired one help?”
Aether pauses for a moment in the middle of grabbing the blankets, a scowl on his face. “Xiao? No, I wanted to give him one but I haven’t seen him lately. He likes to hide and isn’t too fond of being around people.” It only dawns on Aether what Childe was really asking as he is entering the living room again with the needed items in hand.
He pauses by the sofa and looks down at Childe with a scowl, a hand on his hip. “You’re the first person besides Paimon that I’ve brought here myself, so relax. Besides, green is a horrible color on you, in more ways than one.”
Shrugging his shoulders slightly, Childe gives Aether a small smile. “Alright, alright, you got me,” he muttered, not sounding the least bit sorry.
Rolling his eyes Aether sets the trash can down by the sofa, before spreading one of the blankets he was holding over Childe. With that done Aether sits down on the foot of the sofa with a loud sigh, today has been very, very exhausting and Childe isn’t the only one that wants to just go to sleep.
“If you want I can give you one of the key things so you can visit me, since its always so hard for us to run into one another normally,” Aether suddenly muttered and Childe cracks one eye open to look at him, swallowing thickly when the world briefly swirling before his eyes makes his stomach flip.
“Yeah…that’s probably a good idea,” Childe chuckles softly. He shifts carefully his fingers fumbling as he removes his scarf and jacket with Aether’s help and lays them down on the nearby end table. Currently, Childe feels far, far too hot to be wearing either, the side effects from the poison leaving him sweating practically sweltering in his own skin.
Aether is quiet for a few moments, he has something he wants to ask Childe but at the same time doesn’t know how to phrase it, without making Childe instantly close himself off.
Eventually, Aether simply settles on a direct approach, after all, if there was one thing he’s learned from being with Childe it was that being direct was best.
“Childe…have you ever been to the abyss,” Aether asked, his voice soft, barely above a whisper as if he’s afraid of Childe hearing him.
And Aether can see the moment that Childe closes himself off when Aether asks that question, that false yet effective smile that he’d worn when he and Aether first met appearing on his face. “No, I can’t say that I have or would ever want to. Then again it’s not a place most people would want to walk into,” Childe muttered and despite the smile on his face, there’s a familiar emptiness to his eyes that Aether dislikes seeing.
Aether opens his mouth but closes it seconds later, he was going to apologize but at the same time doing so just felt wrong, and plus he knew that it would more than likely do more harm than good. So he simply nods, looking away from Childe to stare at the floor as a silence falls between them.
The silence is probably for only a few minutes but to Aether feels like hours, until Childe finally breaks it his voice softer than Aether’s ever heard it before.
“I have fought a lot of things like that before, there are plenty of strange and terrifying creatures in Snezhnaya. A lot of them used to chase me those times where I’d wander too far out into the woods as a kid,” Childe mutters, his eyes open slightly as he stares up at the ceiling. “I was scared of them as a kid…I mean what kid wouldn’t,”
“What did you decide to do to get rid of that fear,” Aether asked softly. He takes one of Childe’s hands in his own giving it a gentle squeeze, and although Childe doesn’t return it Aether knows that he more than likely appreciates it.
Childe gives a soft snort which turns into a brief grimace when the action makes his wound throb. “Well most of them can bleed. And if they can bleed they can die. So I can just kill them thankfully like I did the one tonight. That one really used to terrify me as a kid.”
Aether nodded for a moment choosing his words carefully before speaking. “Did killing that rifthound tonight help?”
Childe frowns for a moment forcing his eyes open to look at Aether, fighting against the exhaustion threatening to weigh them down. “I don’t know honestly…but it might have just a little bit and that’s enough for now,” he whispers, giving Aether’s hand a soft squeeze before he closes his eyes and finally drifts off to sleep.
Aether lets out a shuddering breath as he simply sits there for a few moments staring at the fireplace, before turning his gaze to Childe. Despite what they’ve gone through today Childe sleeps with a completely unguarded expression on his face, his entire body relaxed.
A warm smile crawls across Aether’s face at the sight. “Thank you for trusting me, Childe.”
So I just went to Yae’s Publishing House and got the book “Treasured Tales of the Chouken Shinkageuchi”which is largely about Ei and Makoto. Here’s what it says:
“It is often said that the "drawn bow is like the quartered moon, and studying the blade is like a circle of transparent jade."
It is said that when Narukami came to her people, she brought with her the knowledge of crafting swords. After thousands of years and hundreds of bountiful harvests, mortal swordsmiths were at last able to make swords that would please even Narukami herself. Thus did the Grand Shrine and the Shogunate enact this divine ceremony: they collected the greatest swords in the world and offered them up to the shrine, thus naming these blades "Goshintou." This ceremony was a very lively one indeed, and the practice persists to the present period. However, there are many behind-the-curtain matters concerning the "Goushintou" that few know of.
No famous craftsman merely forges one blade in one sitting. The greatest of their works are known as "Shinuchi," and are given a lovely name before being offered to the craftsman's lord or deity. These are not built for taking lives and are to remain pure. The others are known as "Kageuchi" and will be given to retainers for them use as weapons. These will often be used to shed blood and will thus be stained with impurity and filth.
From the day Narukami Gongen, the First Shogun, began her dominion over the land of Inazuma, she was accompanied by her younger twin sister."Shin" and "Kage," light and dark they were, mediating and holding court, ordering and giving battle. The younger of the two was named "Ei," and if her name were to be written plainly, it would likely be the word for "shadow," which she was in relation to the first Shogun, to whom she would become the successor.
As most know, only The Seven emerged from the wrack and ruin of the war that rolled across the mortal world like a crimson storm. Though the Shadow Shogun was divinely skilled in martial arts and unsurpassed with the blade, she believed herself little more than a warrior with little understanding of mortal hearts. Thus, she chose to give up her bodily form, helping her sister to ascend to the "heavenly citadel" and obtain dominion over Inazuma. Shortly after, the True Shogun, "Makoto," set up her Shogunate and began to rule over the land. Remembering their bond, she recalled "Ei"'s divine will and reforged her body, thus returning her sister to her side once more as her kagemusha.”
This confirms a few things to me, that I had theorized, that Ei is in fact the younger twin and that she felt inferior to her sister and others. She’s also undervalues herself a lot, however, what really throws me off is:
“Thus, she chose to give up her bodily form, helping her sister to ascend to the "heavenly citadel" and obtain dominion over Inazuma. Shortly after, the True Shogun, "Makoto," set up her Shogunate and began to rule over the land. Remembering their bond, she recalled "Ei"'s divine will and reforged her body, thus returning her sister to her side once more as her kagemusha.”
What the hell does this mean?! So, Ei have up here bodily form before the Cataclysm and then her body was “reforged” by Makoto. Now this is new. Does this mean that Ei gave up her body, twice? We know she created the Shogun so Makoto’s “reforged” body for Ei couldn’t be Sho, but then, is it actually possible for a body to be “reforged” by an Archon just through remembrance of a bond? If so, I think it shows a selfishness towards Makoto (not in a bad way), since that would mean that both Zhongli and Venti have actively chosen not to “reforge” their friends.
I have so much on my mind about this, but I feel like I need to bounce off ideas with someone else before I can think of the right wording to use.
-Raiden Anon
that is VERY interesting indeed! i think that opens up the possibility of immortality beyond puppetry (what ei's done to scara and raiden) and brings in a lot of ethical implications hAHAHA.
what's 'reforging' and what's simply inserting memories into a puppet? what power does reforging have over puppetry? i think that's what interests me the most!
remember her? if not, this is sumida from the "through the mists" quest series (the ones on tsurumi island). she is an author who sends you to the island to collect inspiration for a book she is writing, which is how you find out the strange happenings on the island and end up breaking the timeloop.
she is so evidently written as a comedic character with a tendency to go off track that every character comments on and she can be pretty airheaded and erratic, and maybe she is no more than that.
but, you are on earth-shaker dot tumblr dot com, where we love stretching and have fun sussing out everyone and everything. and she does say some weird stuff. like, some Weird Stuff.
right upon meeting the traveler, she recites their adventure to them:
(some of this stuff is probably common knowledge, but paimon and the traveler seems to be confused. probably a part of the comedy but this is sure a Way to introduce yourself. worry not because it does get weirder)
on the second day, she repeats the exact same dialogue she did the first time (paimon's first line is similar but not the exact same until she starts speaking with sumida):
she Knows stuff before we tell her:
and right after she repeats again an optional dialogue she's had on day 1 too
she sends us there on purpose likely knowing whats going on. she insists that she must use the authentic sound of the maushiro but later after we tell her we'll keep investigating the island she considers just making up some sound. and she only doesn't know much about kama because she never asked him.
there was a celestial nail in tsurumi that caused the fog. and tsurumi's time does not flow identically to the outside world independently of the timeloop caused by kanna, because even after finishing the quest and breaking it, the time still cycles weirdly because it's the only place in the game where enemies and chests cycle across a cycle of three days.
she fucking spoils the ending and plot twists of the quest because what shes saying here is quite literally 1:1 what happened. the traveler doesnt even know that at this point because they react to this dialogue by calling it shallow and cliché.
another instance of her predicting something and being brushed off by paimon:
is she really quoting a book here or does this have a deeper meaning...
after finishing the quest, you can meet her and kama again in liyue and in lisa's library. in liyue she makes what seems to be a reference to a scene from the official webtoon where kaeya gifts diluc a vase containing diluc's vision. mind you there is nothing indicating that she would know about kaeya or diluc, and much less their personal business.
in the library - which is chronologically our last meeting with her - she has again a weird sendoff quote
(also a little before in that same interaction she says this to kama:
and nod-krai has been referred to as the edge of the world... perhaps the time to meet her again is approaching?)
