Ev_Bottled

Okay some facts/ideas. :)

Constellation: Tinea a Marena  (Moth from Marena) Not an actual constellation if that wasn't obvious.

He is originally from Liyue but got taken to Snezhnaya when he was young, in the end this would result in him being rescued by the Tsaritsa. He would have started as a servant specifically for taking care of the archon (Ex. picking and helping with clothing for a day, bringing meals, telling when someone needed her presence) and would move up to a more important figure as time passed. While still being an outwardly cold person, he'd hold an intense loyalty to the Tsaritsa born from this feeling of owing it to her. But she also hasn't done anything to betray his feelings or expectations, and in the end, he doesn't mind being on the perceived bad side of society.

Shen Jiu would have been found right after having burned the Qiu household, who I guess in this au would have come from Snezhnaya. Shen Jiu also got his vision after this happened, and right after, basically met the archon.

I think it would be possible for him to have a boss fight, be it a test of strength against the traveler, or wanting to try taking out a burden in their sides, is up in the air. If it was possible, I could see the reasoning for the battle changing depending on choices made by the traveler when talking to Shen Jiu during a/the event. Probably would have shown up in a liyue event or appeared during the lantern rite for a first interaction but wouldn't be available until later.

Out of the harbringers, I think he'd have gotten along the most with Sandrone, Signora, and somewhat Pantalone. I think he would get annoyed or offended by his ideology, but finds him a decent conversation partner compared to most of the Harbirngers.

He'd be neutral on Pulcinella. When Scaramouche was there, they typically ignored each other, so Shen Jiu wasn't that bothered with him, only gaining an opinion when he defected. Although this would all be nulled in the end. And he'd feel wary of Arlecchino and probably hold similar feelings to the ones the Childe holds for her. Speaking of him, Shen Jiu probably just wouldn't care for him. Finding him annoying and impulsive, but does like the loyalty he holds for the Tsaritsa.

I think Columbina and Pierro would sorta be on the same opinion/feeling for him. That being someone who feels tense around them. He would say he 'liked Columbina's singing, but that was mostly it, as she gave him the feeling of being prey. '

Funnily enough, I think Capitano would be one of his least favorites due to his chilviary and his integrity. I think it would grate on his nerves, similar to Shen Jiu and Liu Qingge, but this time, no one is rising to his barbed comments. And his least favorite would be Dottore for obvious reasons; although he can't deny the use he has, he just ignores the man most the time.

The rest is a brief put-together description about in-game mechanics for Shen Jiu that I came up with.

Elemental Skill: Shen Jiu has three charges; the first one summons a crystal moth, the second charge a crystal crane, and the third a crystal flying serpent. 

Shen Jiu will passively gain 1 charge of ‘Frost Woven Leads’ every 2 seconds on or off the field. When a party member uses a skill, ‘Frost woven Leads’ will gain 5 Charges; when a party member uses their ultimate, ‘Frost woven Leads’ will gain 15 charges.

Crystal moth consumes 15 charges, for the duration of 150 seconds it will circle around the currently active character, dealing cryo dmg to nearby enemies every 3s, based on 50% of his max atk.

Crystal Crane consumes 30 charges, for the duration of 130 seconds the crystal crane will send bursts of cryo dmg in a small AoE circle around where it was placed every 2.5s, based on 70% of his max atk.

Crystal flying serpent consumes 50 charges, for the duration of 110 seconds the crystal flying serpent will freely wander the field dealing AoE Cryo dmg to enemies based on 85% of his max atk, if a boss is present the summon will prioritize attacking it first.

Ultimate: For every summon of Shen Jiu’s, it will dive to the highest HP Enemy, with the main boss being prioritized first and dealing damage equal to 3x (or 2x?) their modifier. For every summon of Shen Jiu’s that was on field he will gain 10 charge.

Ascension 1: Each of Shen Jiu’s summons on the field will increase the active characters' elemental mastery by 20.

Ascension 4: When the active characters gain elemental orbs or particles, increase Shen Jiu’s charge by 1, this effect can occur every 2s.

Originally I was thinking about Liyue as the official place he resided in since the novel is around Xianxia but I felt like my mind was melting trying to come up with a design, with so many ideas. The design keeps some of the Chinese concepts in it, as that's originally where he was born but now lives in Snezhnaya. I also couldn't decide between a cryo vision or an anemo one, I decided on cryo because I thought the themes for it fit more in the character. I think either still works though. It does mean that he looks nothing like a cryo user with his color palette.