I know I already made a whole fic post and everything but I want to get back into more casually discussing my thoughts and feelings about the series and characters I enjoy, among other important personal topics I'd like to ramble about somewhere down the line, so here goes nothing
It's hard to state just how wild it really is to me that I've been playing Genshin for so long, and I continue to enjoy it despite it's many many MANY flaws, but the aspects of it that provide me adventure and mystery and a home are just...they're enough to keep me coming back despite the predatory monetization and the frustrating executive and assorted other administrative and technological bullshit they continue to put players through, like the disaster that is miliastra w0nderland, just keep developing your base game that people love!! I'm putting my character into the game through the sheer willpower of my creativity and my friends added ideas, I don't need your discount self insert mode minigame pull slop...
But I didn't make this post to complain about hoyo and their many flaws as a company and product producer, instead I just wanted to gush about how much I love it and how much I love Zhongli. I may make a couple mentions and references to Neuvillette as well, I missed our anniversary this year and they both have bdays this month, so this month is still kind of all about them together anyway...but today is supposed to be Zhongli's Day so let's just get into it properly, 2 paragraphs later...
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ZHONGLI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got into Genshin back when it first launched in 2020, and I'm sure if you're alive now and capable of reading this post you understand just how different of a time it was, or what we were kind of on the cusp of as a society. I genuinely wasn't interested in getting involved in a gacha game that involved gambling so heavily in the first place and had it being the central mechanic for a main portion of the game, because I have an intensely addictive personality and I'm very aware of this about myself because it scares me so much. But I was (as it seems I perpetually am at this point) at a not great place in my life, I was intensely into this older anime (ouchies...) known as Darker than Black, cannot recommend it highly enough but only the first season and the OVAs, even though the second season makes some absolutely wild choices, they were certainly not for the best.
But I digress, I only mention Darker than Black because the main character that I started selfshipping with very seriously at the time, Hei or Li Shenshun or the Black Reaper whatever name you happen to know him by, became a huge support and comfort for me as f/os pretty much always do, that's a significant portion of their purpose for meeting me after all :3 but I got to marriage status with him and got into the routine of daydreaming him around a lot, and I couldn't help but notice and start to research some things about Chinese traditions and stuff since Hei is explicitly Chinese and gets some shit for it in the show, but it only made me more curious to investigate things further and also I really really loved him a lot (and still do, he's still on my main list even if I don't find as much time to talk about him nowadays...)
All of that set up is to say, Zhongli immediately stood out to me as a character based on his design and the fact that he was from fantasy China alongside a few of the rumors I was hearing about him and from the story before release and before I'd really decided to download it and get involved.
physically my type: tall, dark, and handsome, well groomed, somewhat effeminate but still projecting a masculine vibe I'm attracted to, golden eyes and accents in his hair and throughout his whole outfit, fully covered up, very layered and elegant clothing, hair cut styled in a way that's very attractive to me with the bangs and everything, even his ponytail with the little gem hair tie...and lots of neat accessories that only add to the intrigue of his look
emotionally my type: educated, somewhat aloof, sincere and earnest with those he genuinely cherishes and cares about especially once you get to know him, cherishes and cares deeply not just about those close to him but about the world he inhabits and how he affects that world, well traveled, interested in other cultures while also respecting and upholding traditions that are important to him, open minded despite being ancient and understanding the merit of the past, depressed and used to losing things that are dear to him but appreciates the good times he was capable of having at all
narratively my type: a fallen god struggling to find his place in the world after the nation he once counseled grows beyond said counsel and he's proud of them for that growth, enigmatic but still know just enough to be endearing and interesting, has a bunch of cool and defensive aligned powers that have neat aesthetics and line up with my general healer role in my head, shows up when you least expect it but also where it makes sense for him in the story, like not letting Xiao throw his life away during that one event, or hiding from Neuvillette and having a few scenes with Hu Tao during her main quest in lantern rite but he doesn't try to take on her duties for her, despite knowing he could...but even back years before all of the Hu Tao stuff and saving Xiao we just had him interacting with both of them in a caring and doting manner despite his standing and some of the things he put Xiao through but Xiao agreed to them as a soldier and favor to the man that saved him and I just HRHIHROWAR GRAAAHAWHHFWEHA
I LOVE ZHONGLI I LOVE ZHONGLI I LOVE ZHONGI I LOVE ZHONGLI I LOVE ZHONGLI I LOOOOOOOOOVE ZHONGLIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!
So after the final leaks were out about him potentially being a dragon/part dragon and his true nature as the Archon of Liyue that faked his own death for reasons we still didn't understand at the time because the entire story wasn't released yet (man those early leaks really did go crazy before hoyo figured out how to get a better lock on them...) I was just pretty much done for after those details came out orz
With Hei still in hand I went diving headfirst into Genshin 5 years ago and I put my everything into farming everything I could for Zhongli as soon as he came out, he was my first 5 star, probably the first character I ever triple crowned, I mean it when I say he never leaves my team even now, in the present, when he's considered dead and buried in practically every meta category that exists...
But I have him at c4 and he keeps me alive and I gave him Staff of Homa so sometimes his ult does over 100k damage...and that's all for me, he does all of that work with that big ol' meteor he drops just for his delicate doting little shooting star kitty cat that's feral and obsessed with him.
I have more I can say about our relationship and more in depth emotional discussion I'd like to go into, not just regarding Zhongli but I'd like to talk about my journey assimilating Neuvillette into the fold (and potentially realizing I'm poly, at least in instances similar to this?) and just more in depth commentary about other quests and characters and lore, because I've lived and breathed this game for a while, and as a result I end up having a lot to say about it. But I don't want to get any more off track than I already have where this Zhongli anniversary post is concerned, so I'll try to wrap it up.
Zhongli is one of my undisputed soulmates and loves of my life. He showed up in my life at an unexpected time, I fully didn't intend to get as attached as I have, and I never expected him to support and encourage me and bring me as much happiness as he has, either. A dragon and a god twisting in the wind facing his own shortcomings and mortality, his own journey to embracing what it means to be alive and what it means to have connections with the people around you, all different kinds, all of them essential and complementary to one another. Finding family outside the traditional boundaries while making peace with the parts you need, reinvesting yourself and finding ways to be okay with transforming and leaving old parts of yourself and your life behind so you can continue existing in the now, no matter how many or what kind of hardships you face.
Zhongli is my rock. He is my solace, and my strength. He is one of my most very important loves, and I'm so grateful for his kindness and his lessons and his patience and his beauty and his charm and just his existence in general. I love Zhongli so so so so so much.
I'm so lucky and happy to have found him.
I LOVE YOU ZHONGLI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy anniversary, my love.










