#sumeru archon

[carolsantosart]

- There are still so many places for us to explore - Nahida

[rocketeerie]

Nahida 🌿

[habihabizhh]

One of my friends asked me to draw Nahida from Genshin Impact! It was really fun, but the dress is so complicated... how much design can you fit into this child...

[genderfluid-insomniac]

Hi! Can I request kusanali/nahida x fem shy s/o. Of course it is platonic, pls. How does kusanali/nahida become great friends with s/o. Also fem shy s/o is an ordinary villager no special skills and a lonely girl who wanted something special in her life.

I hope you enjoy anon and this has a special place in my heart!

kusanali/nahida x fem shy s/o

Kusanali

The small child who you’d learned her name was Nahida, a girl who had made it her goal to pull you out of your shell or at least become good friends with you since you were quite shy. First meeting on the outskirts of Sumeru City when you saw her laying with a Rishboland Tiger who was ecstatic because of the attention it was being given. It seemed a miracle that the child wasn’t mauled since those cats were responsible for a lot of deaths and she didn’t even seem afraid, cooing adorable compliments at her animal companion.

You approached the duo with hesitation and extreme curiosity, only meant to get a closer look and not interrupt them or cause a problem. Fluffy fur rolled around as the cat turned onto their belly and rubbed their head against her hands, sending joyous laughter through her and cupping the big cat’s face in her palms. The little girl seemed to notice you first and smiled, giggling and waving at you to come over. After some coaxing that, no, you wouldn’t be killed and she’s completely fine, you sat down beside her.

Looking down when you felt some social anxiety creep up your back you were saved by a soft high pitched voice starting small talk, Nahida was mostly the one doing all the talking and listening attentively whenever you spoke before you had to leave and told her to meet by a certain river if she wanted to maybe hangout again. A few days passed by and you were following a river going through your small village when you heard laughter behind you, smiling when you saw your petite fae-like friend walking next to you.

“On another walk, hm. What could you be deeply thinking about now?” Recently you’d been asking yourself why someone as kind and friendly as Nahida had been hanging around you when she could have been friends with all the other people in your village. Not to mention how outgoing she was when talking to someone and giving off gentle or safe no matter who she was talking to. “Nahida? Why do you hang out with me? You’re such a fascinating girl, someone who can tame wild tigers into kittens but you chose to spend your time with someone as ordinary as me. I just-”

“You’re my friend are you not?” White hair waved when she stopped and looked back at you from the branch she’d started to climb on in hopes of picking a Kalpalata lotus growing a rocky ledge. Emerald eyes shining like she knew a secret that she wanted to tell and innocently asking a question you weren’t prepared for. You didn’t have many friends or people you could call close but Nahida was someone you liked hanging out with and seemed to want to be around you as well. She was special.

“I- I am your friend and you’re mine.” Finding some confidence that your friend was someone who had a heart of gold and genuine personality, playfully jumping down the mossy trunk delicately holding the flower. Nahida carried the unopened lotus and gave it to you to hold, cupping your hands in hers as she applied some dendro to the Kalpalata making it fully blossom. “Some may be unassuming and closed off but with some love and care turn into beautiful things over time.”

[missmahgenta]

About Nahida’s design…

Sooooo, yeah, Nahida is really held back by her design. And I mean, reallyyyy held back. The entirety of the Sumeru cast also has that problem but at least in most of them you can see some elements of their respective cultures, while their archon, who is supposed to represent their nation and its culture, looks like a very pale generic fairy. Yeah yeah, she’s supposedly based on the Hindu goddess Saraswati, except the only thing they share is their paleness (Saraswati is far from being paper white pale tho). Also, white on white on white? Jesus, the coloque grading in this design is something else.

So I decided to have a little bit of fun and play with her design a bit. Picked a dress more similar to a Churidaar with some wrapped garments, jewelry that is similar to a lotus flower, vitiligo marks on her body and face that kinda resembles a crescent moon, four arms on her ult and the crown that seems to appear in many of Saraswati’s representations. Also shoes because she will not be walking barefoot, no sir.

This is far from perfect, obviously, but I still liked the result very much, and I hope that so did you :-)

[nautilus-null]

I just finished her

She is so beautiful

[shelbejeweled]

Nahida 🌱

[lolapapriika]