Space Gays

What if Yingxing was infected with Shuhu's cells before the Sedition?

(4.2 spoilers ahead)

There was a huge chaotic battle with this thing that likely had his flesh and blood (bark and sap?) flying everywhere and landing on people. (I imagine a huge draconic Dan Feng just absolutely ripping into this big tree monster). The Xianzhou weren't affected because they are *technically* already Abominations of Abundance (infected by the Ambrosial Arbor). But a plain short life human could absolutely be affected by even the tiniest cells. The Happiness Society members were infected by a microscopic collection of Shuhu's cells, so who's to say Yingxing couldn't be infected in the same way?

Let's say Yingxing got covered in Shuhu's blood and guts during the battle. It seeped into his body and lay dormant there until some sort of trigger. Ashveil was the one who eventually killed Shuhu and ended the battle, swallowing it up completely with his shadow, even the parts that scattered across the battlefield. But what if the shadow missed a small part attached to Yingxing? Either because Ashveil sees him as an ally, or he simply couldn't detect such a faint scent of Abundance on him (especially surrounded by other Xianzhou folks who also have dormant Abundance cells).

So now Yingxing is infected with Shuhu's flesh, but he's not showing any symptoms of Abundance or mara until something triggers it. Him and Dan Feng clear the palace ruins at Scalegorge for whatever experiment/ritual they were doing, and something during that experiment triggered it. And THAT'S why Jingliu killed him. Yes, Jingliu was on mara-watch, but she didn't have it *yet,* and I can't imagine her killing one of her close friends for no reason. Yingxing suddenly becoming mara struck out of nowhere would absolutely be a justifiable reason for her to freak out and kill him in front of Dan Feng.

On the subject of Dan Feng, I can't imagine him purposefully infecting Yingxing either though that is what I was initially led to believe. (And honestly it's still a possibility. Dan F/Heng will go to extremes to protect his companions, he even admits it himself). It's likely whatever ritual they performed triggered Shuhu's dormant cells in Yingxing, like how the Happiness Society members had dormant cells until triggered and they transformed into beasts (hmm). This would leave Dan Feng totally blind sided and *devastated*... enough to allow himself to be arrested (cause come on, there's NO way he would've gone to the Shackling Prison if he wasn't willing OR extremely injured, which is another possibility. Dan Feng is ridiculously strong and could probably wipe out a Xianzhou ship if he *really* wanted, especially surrounded by his ancestral waters). While I do love the narrative of a slightly evil/morally grey Dan Feng who would use even the flesh of his enemy to make his lover immortal, I'm more inclined to believe he's smart enough to understand that is a VERY bad idea, even as arrogant as he is. He would've had to preplan and consciously make a decision to sneak into the Shackling Prison and take Shuhu's remains (unless he was given the remains by Sanctus Medicus, which is also a possibility given it's implied Dan Feng was tricked by them).

(Did the Xianzhou even have Shuhu's remains if Ashveil swallowed him completely? No one’s even allowed to check. Hm Xianzhou propaganda makes lore sleuthing very difficult lol).

In short Yingxing being unknowingly infected by Shuhu from that battle would explain Jingliu and Dan Feng's behaviors around the Sedition (what little we know of it).

Side tangent: How does Blade have such good control over mara/Shuhu? Imagine this, Yingxing is infected by dormant cells. Whatever ritual him and Dan Feng perform triggers it, turning Yingxing into a mara struck beast. Dan Feng panics and uses his dragon heart to stabilize him (either before or after Jingliu comes over and kills YX).

That's right. Dragon Heart theory. Jazz hands.

It would also explain why Dan Feng allows himself to be arrested. He *severely injured* himself to stabilize Yingxing, and likely drained a lot of his power/energy to make it work. It explains why he doesn't have his dragon heart in the Prison. It explains why Blade isn't visually affected by his immortality/mara other than his eyes (which look shockingly draconic). It explains why Blade feels calmer being with Dan Heng (you can hear heartbeats when he looks at him). He's essentially with his other half. It explains why Motenax Blade's splashart is in the shape of a heart.

(I've been a long time believer of the dragon heart theory. I came upon the conclusion myself when I first played through, but it's only recently I discovered it's actually a popular theory).

Now whether the "dragon heart" is metaphorical or literal is to be decided. Personally I'm for it being literal because I enjoy body horror (especially from the Xianzhou those freaks have body horror everywhere). Dan Feng is also a biologist/doctor, so it's something he could absolutely attempt to pull off (we talk about his cool magic dragon powers a lot but let's never forget he's also an old fart smarty pants scientist). Something about giving your *literal* heart to your lover so that you can find each other in your next lives is so tragic and beautiful and fits their theming.

Mortenax Blade has a suspiciously placed marking on his chest that seems significant, which could point to the dragon heart. The phoenix motifs also align with Vidyhadara themes of rebirth (and connects him to Dan F/Heng, since phoenixes and dragons are seen together as a symbol of unity). The fire element could point to draconic features, but it could also just be a reference to being the "Furnace Master." Overall Blade is definitely going to gain some sort of enlightenment/insight/control over his body, so this would be a perfect time to reveal something about the dragon heart.

TLDR: Yingxing was infected by Shuhu before the Sedition. Dan Feng's only interference with his mortality was giving him the dragon heart to stabilize him.

so it is entirely possible that a mixture of Shuhu cells caused Yingxing to become Mara struck and so Dan Feng gave the dragon heart to Yingxing which caused the de-aging until the two sort of balanced out and well,

since at that point he would have had the cells of the Emanator of Abundance and one of the closest beings to the Permanence it probably just stayed that way for the last 700 years (?) with a heavier lean towards the Abundance because the Permanence is a dead Aeon at this point so (??)

That or he was the abomination, they used Shuhu's remains in the ritual and Dan Feng did who knows what with the dragon heart, either used it in the ritual or something else

Personally my favorite theory is that Blade is the dragon abomination. Yingxing gets infected with the Abundance, Dan Feng uses the dragon heart to stabilize him, and something triggered a transformation at Scalegorge. How did Jingliu get ahold of his body to torture him? He should've been arrested with Dan Feng if they were together. And why does Blade have so many dragon motifs if he's supposed to be an abomination of Abundance? Suspicious. The Vidyhadara seem under the impression that the dragon abomination was made from another species, and Yingxing was the only other person at Scalegorge during the Sedition.

(I'm planning on making a longer post about Yingxing being the dragon abomination if 4.3 doesn't outright confirm or deny it.)

I think Bailu is a bit of a red herring for the Sedition. Her significance lies in paralleling how Dan Feng was treated and what may have pushed him to do something desperate. Just like Bailu, he felt trapped by his duty and longed for an escape (which he succeeds as Dan Heng following the Trailblaze). Knowing the Xianzhou and the Preceptors, the shackle on her tail doesn't even do much and is just a means to control her, make her feel like she *needs* the Preceptors. That same shackle was used on Dan Feng (metaphorically and literally) so it's not an indication she's the dragon abomination or an artificial Vidyhadra.

Otherwise I think you are spot on. The dragon heart stabilizes the mara, and the Abundance stops the rapid de-aging from the Permanence, leading to a weird equilibrium that stops Blade's aging at his prime, makes him un-killable, and allows him to somewhat control Shuhu's influence. It's likely the Abundance lean is because he's been separated so long from Dan Heng, making the dragon heart "dormant" so to speak.

What if Yingxing was infected with Shuhu's cells before the Sedition?

(4.2 spoilers ahead)

There was a huge chaotic battle with this thing that likely had his flesh and blood (bark and sap?) flying everywhere and landing on people. (I imagine a huge draconic Dan Feng just absolutely ripping into this big tree monster). The Xianzhou weren't affected because they are *technically* already Abominations of Abundance (infected by the Ambrosial Arbor). But a plain short life human could absolutely be affected by even the tiniest cells. The Happiness Society members were infected by a microscopic collection of Shuhu's cells, so who's to say Yingxing couldn't be infected in the same way?

Let's say Yingxing got covered in Shuhu's blood and guts during the battle. It seeped into his body and lay dormant there until some sort of trigger. Ashveil was the one who eventually killed Shuhu and ended the battle, swallowing it up completely with his shadow, even the parts that scattered across the battlefield. But what if the shadow missed a small part attached to Yingxing? Either because Ashveil sees him as an ally, or he simply couldn't detect such a faint scent of Abundance on him (especially surrounded by other Xianzhou folks who also have dormant Abundance cells).

So now Yingxing is infected with Shuhu's flesh, but he's not showing any symptoms of Abundance or mara until something triggers it. Him and Dan Feng clear the palace ruins at Scalegorge for whatever experiment/ritual they were doing, and something during that experiment triggered it. And THAT'S why Jingliu killed him. Yes, Jingliu was on mara-watch, but she didn't have it *yet,* and I can't imagine her killing one of her close friends for no reason. Yingxing suddenly becoming mara struck out of nowhere would absolutely be a justifiable reason for her to freak out and kill him in front of Dan Feng.

On the subject of Dan Feng, I can't imagine him purposefully infecting Yingxing either though that is what I was initially led to believe. (And honestly it's still a possibility. Dan F/Heng will go to extremes to protect his companions, he even admits it himself). It's likely whatever ritual they performed triggered Shuhu's dormant cells in Yingxing, like how the Happiness Society members had dormant cells until triggered and they transformed into beasts (hmm). This would leave Dan Feng totally blind sided and *devastated*... enough to allow himself to be arrested (cause come on, there's NO way he would've gone to the Shackling Prison if he wasn't willing OR extremely injured, which is another possibility. Dan Feng is ridiculously strong and could probably wipe out a Xianzhou ship if he *really* wanted, especially surrounded by his ancestral waters). While I do love the narrative of a slightly evil/morally grey Dan Feng who would use even the flesh of his enemy to make his lover immortal, I'm more inclined to believe he's smart enough to understand that is a VERY bad idea, even as arrogant as he is. He would've had to preplan and consciously make a decision to sneak into the Shackling Prison and take Shuhu's remains (unless he was given the remains by Sanctus Medicus, which is also a possibility given it's implied Dan Feng was tricked by them).

(Did the Xianzhou even have Shuhu's remains if Ashveil swallowed him completely? No one’s even allowed to check. Hm Xianzhou propaganda makes lore sleuthing very difficult lol).

In short Yingxing being unknowingly infected by Shuhu from that battle would explain Jingliu and Dan Feng's behaviors around the Sedition (what little we know of it).

Side tangent: How does Blade have such good control over mara/Shuhu? Imagine this, Yingxing is infected by dormant cells. Whatever ritual him and Dan Feng perform triggers it, turning Yingxing into a mara struck beast. Dan Feng panics and uses his dragon heart to stabilize him (either before or after Jingliu comes over and kills YX).

That's right. Dragon Heart theory. Jazz hands.

It would also explain why Dan Feng allows himself to be arrested. He *severely injured* himself to stabilize Yingxing, and likely drained a lot of his power/energy to make it work. It explains why he doesn't have his dragon heart in the Prison. It explains why Blade isn't visually affected by his immortality/mara other than his eyes (which look shockingly draconic). It explains why Blade feels calmer being with Dan Heng (you can hear heartbeats when he looks at him). He's essentially with his other half. It explains why Motenax Blade's splashart is in the shape of a heart.

(I've been a long time believer of the dragon heart theory. I came upon the conclusion myself when I first played through, but it's only recently I discovered it's actually a popular theory).

Now whether the "dragon heart" is metaphorical or literal is to be decided. Personally I'm for it being literal because I enjoy body horror (especially from the Xianzhou those freaks have body horror everywhere). Dan Feng is also a biologist/doctor, so it's something he could absolutely attempt to pull off (we talk about his cool magic dragon powers a lot but let's never forget he's also an old fart smarty pants scientist). Something about giving your *literal* heart to your lover so that you can find each other in your next lives is so tragic and beautiful and fits their theming.

Mortenax Blade has a suspiciously placed marking on his chest that seems significant, which could point to the dragon heart. The phoenix motifs also align with Vidyhadara themes of rebirth (and connects him to Dan F/Heng, since phoenixes and dragons are seen together as a symbol of unity). The fire element could point to draconic features, but it could also just be a reference to being the "Furnace Master." Overall Blade is definitely going to gain some sort of enlightenment/insight/control over his body, so this would be a perfect time to reveal something about the dragon heart.

TLDR: Yingxing was infected by Shuhu before the Sedition. Dan Feng's only interference with his mortality was giving him the dragon heart to stabilize him.

I'm personally more inclined to think that after the battle and subsequent Shuhu exposure maybe Yingxing started to change and get younger. Maybe his wounds healed on their own. It would also explain why Yingxing was willing to help Dan Feng in the first place since it never made any kind of sense for Yingxing to willingly participate in anything abundance related. So maybe he wasn't even marastruck but Jingliu saw that something had happened and in context of the draconic abomination assumed the worst.

I enjoy this narrative.

Why does Childe have changeling motifs?

He disappeared for 3 short days as a young boy and reappeared completely changed. His more bold and violent personality was so extreme, his family sent him away to the Fatui. Not to mention he gained the Foul Legacy transformation. This is almost beat for beat changeling lore, but Childe isn't the changeling species in Genshin... is he?

What is a changeling? Depending on the culture, there are many answers to this. But the common denominator is that a changeling is a fae creature (it could by a devil, troll, elf, etc) that replaces a human child. There are a few signs that a child has been replaced by a changeling such as a sudden personality change, violent tendencies, or acting too mature for their age. (Honestly a lot of “changeling signs” are just indicators of neurodivergence, but getting into all the signs and the history makes me very sad, and it’s off topic, so I’m only highlighting those that pertain to this theory). While we don’t know a lot about Changelings in Genshin (yet) they seem to at least share the shapeshifting trait, and Hoyo is pretty good at doing their homework.

From Childe’s parent’s perspective, they witnessed their bright eyed son disappear and come back a completely different person. They likely felt like he was replaced (even though he really wasn’t, but again, he definitely has the motifs).

We don't know a lot about his family other than his youngest siblings. Given that Snezhnaya used to be the land of the fae, it's completely possible one of his parents (or an ancestor) was a fae. It may be why his Foul Legacy doesn't affect him much other than leaving him "worn out." Because the fae are made of moonlight, their powers seem to counteract Abyssal corruption naturally, which is why they were assigned to watch over the Irminsul forest (which is likely gone now given everyone seems to agree there is one Irminsul tree in Sumeru... suspiciously side eyeing the Tsaritsa).

The only other people we've seen harness the Foul Legacy in such a way are Sutogolgi (who is a sinner and WAS corrupted by the Abyss) and Skirk (who is an alien species that is shockingly good at adapting to any environment, to the point it was seen as a threat and she is the last of her kind). No Teyvat HUMAN can escape Abyssal influence unscathed, let alone control it to the point Childe does.

This is also some heavy speculation, but Childe's father talks about Ajax (the historical figure) in a reminisce sort of way. If Childe's father is a fae, I don't think it's too crazy to say that a retired fae adventurer might've met the hero Ajax himself and named a son after him. But the fae ancestor could totally be from his mother's side as well as we know NOTHING about her. Or both. So many things to think about.

(That is assuming the boy and his father in this story are Childe and his father. Description is from the Ballad of Fjords weapon. There’s so much juicy lore in this description alone but we’re focused on Childe here).

(It’s the way his father got so invested in the story he spaced out, or the fact that he quickly ended it and didn’t want to continue. Since it’s only text, I may be reading the emotion wrong, but it feels like reminiscence to me.)

Is Childe a changeling? Or one of the fae? Probably not, but the motifs are certainly there. I would’t be shocked if he had some fae in his ancestry or some other link. I don’t think we’ll get anymore heavy fae lore beyond weapon descriptions and readables until we get to Snezhnaya though.

Anyway what do you think? Childe already has an elephant’s worth of lore behind him, and I may have not taken everything into account. This is just something I noticed as someone who has a casual interest in fae folklore.

This brings to mind how he's treated by his family and his warped sense of love/belonging. I kind of wonder if they tried to cut him off completely ("you're not our son" sorta deal), but his paychecks keep them reluctantly in touch. He tends to use money to keep his relationships in good graces (ie his family, Traveller, Zhongli), or at least doesn't see it as important as those connections.

I also noticed Childe has a negative outlook on his relationships in general. He finds it hard to believe anyone likes him completely and genuinely. He even lies to his little siblings about his job because he thinks the truth would make them hate him. I wonder where he got that notion from hmmm

On a side note: I think it's hilarious (most of) the other Harbingers actually find him charming. They're literally out here inviting him to tea parties, but Mr Unreliable Narrator over here thinks no one likes him lmao