"Just as I promised, the winners of this contest may each ask me one question," says Lady Ningguang. "Beidou, Traveller, and Paimon have abstained, so that leaves the three of you."
Yun Jin asks her question first. It's a thinly veiled business proposition, a Hey, wouldn't it be great if we could work together?. It's not the sleaziest dealing you've seen, but eugh, self-serving grownups and their money money money, me me me. Typical.
(Ningguang invites her to perform at the Jade Chamber.)
Shenhe asks her question next, and it's really dumb, like, what should I do with my life?, where do I call home?. Props to her, though: normally when people her age ask those kinds of questions, they're sobbing into an empty margarita glass. Weird mountain lady looks way more dignified.
(Ningguang gives her the answer you would have given, but she makes it sound way more sophisticated. She's good at that, apparently.)
Then Lady Ningguang turns her gaze to you. "And you?" she asks. "What is your question?"
You cross your arms. "You already know what I'm gonna ask," you say.
"Perhaps I do," she says. "I'd like to hear you say it anyway."
Her face gives nothing away. She doesn't look like she's laughing at you. She looks like she might take you seriously. You've been wrong about that before, but it's a good sign at least.
Fine. You can do that.
"You'd better not laugh," you warn her.
"I promise," she assures you.
You nod, stand up extra straight, and ask:
"How do I completely, totally, one hundred percent destroy Mondstadt's wine industry?"
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
"Nahida..." He made a show of thinking about it. "Nope. Not ringing any bells."
That got an exasperated huff out of Buer, which was a victory as far as he was concerned. "Maybe Ei knew my name, just fine, last night. In bed."
He laughed. Buer had this terrible habit of hedging with "maybe"s and "have you considered"s when she lied. It would be adorable if it weren't so pitiful. Also, even if she was kōgan enough to, why would he give a shit if she was screwing Beelzebul?
The people of Teyvat like the Traveller and Paimon, by and large. Those two have done so much for them: battling ancient gods, overthrowing corrupt governments, healing angry dragons, and so on.
But quite a lot of people would appreciate it if the Traveller and Paimon stopped winning so many things.
There was that time they won the Crux Clash. And the Tianquan's Plaustrite finding contest. And they found all the Adventurers Guild's adventure chests during Moonchase. And they won all the top prizes at Windblume the other year.
And—not that Hyakunin Ikki is more than an urban legend—but if it was real, which it's not, because that would be illegal... well, the Traveller is the three-time winner. The Shuumatsuban think Taroumaru might have lost a duel to the Traveller, but nobody's sure.
Just last month they won the Nilotpala Cup. It's a fungus fighting event. Are they just good at everything?
It's kinda unfun competing against them.
Oh and rumour has it that this Weinlesefest, the Traveller and Paimon found every godsdamned Fecund Hamper in Mondstadt in the space of one evening.
Anyway, nobody is happy to hear that they're involved in the Test of Courage.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
I think that to say unconditionally that a loving attitude (as in "I love my wife/grandkids/BFF") is de re is to situate this notion of "love" in an arena where intension is meaningful. To do this while maintaining physicalism is to either interpret love-claims as epistemic claims ("I believe I love [referent]") or, perhaps more sensibly, to interpret love-claims as claims about ontological properties/relations. (But not directly claims about particulars / "atoms" / "things", insofar as those do not have intension.) In either case, the claims are syntactic enough to be vulnerable to Gettier problems when we start throwing facsimile based teleporters into the mix.
I do think that once we are dealing with such scenarios, the reductionist-behaviourist account of love is more descriptive. I act in a certain way around people who I am strongly convinced are my [wife, grandkids, bestie]; this is true even in the counterfactual(?) world where they are secretly replaced with cell-for-cell memory-for-memory copies whenever my back is turned. When the teleporter malfunctions and now there are two of my loved ones, I will be extremely messed up about it, but the fact of my love (in the sense I use the word) is not contingent upon whether one, both, or neither of them are "the original".
Of course, I'm a proverbial "Platonist on weekdays"— in practice I treat love as de re, and use "continued physical consciousness modulo ship of Theseus concerns" as my notion of identity for normative claims and filing my taxes and decision-making and epistemic reasoning. Much of that is contingent on not having grown up in a society where facsimile based teleporters and cell-for-cell memory-for-memory copiers exist — i.e. I exist in a linguistic community where these several notions of identity are already conflated.
things I do not under any circumstances need: more AU ideas
things that my brain held me hostage until I typed up:
---
Nursery of Worldseed
"When there is nothing left to burn, the embers will turn cold. Only the inescapable long night will remain. The morning that follows, the springtime thaw: this is yours to steward. Love the world where I no longer can, ████; see it to fruition."
— Baba-Dekabrya, Tsaritsa of Everloving Peace, whispered to ██████ ████ ████████ days before the latter ███████ select █████ ██ ███████ ████ ████████
◆ Name: Innamorata
◆ Title: The Flower
◆ Nursery of Worldseed
◆ ???: Dendro
◆ Constellation: Ashvatta Diapausis
A rainstorm recently flooded a basement beneath Zapolyarny Palace. Among the many records lost was the contract drawn up between Her Majesty and her Sixth Harbinger. So badly was the contract damaged, it's impossible to tell whether it is centuries old or merely months. All that is left is an addendum, signed in blood, attesting that both parties were very satisfied by the deal.
Innamorata operates behind the scenes in Teyvat, pruning and shearing, nudging mortal innovation and inquiry away from topics that might draw unwanted attention from certain "people in high places".
Put no stock in the rumours that the Tsaritsa and the Flower are as close mother and daughter. To those who know Her Majesty — an unsmiling clown, a bard with aeons-ringed eyes — such an idea is risible. Her Majesty has long since had no love left to give. Any affection she shows the Sixth is a self-soothing denial of this truth.
Innamorata, too, is playing along with this harmless dream. Whatever she is missing, she knows it's gone for good.
Character Story 1
Those who compile dossiers on Fatui Harbingers may devote reams of paper to speculation on Damselette's heritage or Tartaglia's powers. Yet on the subject of Innamorata, there is little to say. Her name is added to intelligence briefings as an afterthought, a perfunctory inclusion.
This is not a sign of disrespect, nor to suggest that the Sixth is insignificant. There's simply not that much to say.
A joint report from Liyuean and Fontainian security services might read like this:
Title: Innamorata, 6th Fatui Harbinger
Aliases: The Flower, Il Fiora, ████, the Gardener of Sumeru, Bough Trimmer
Vision, Delusion, etc.: Nothing of note.
Age: Unknown, but appears of ordinary age.
Height: 0.1–100'
Weight: unknown
Physical description: Female human with unremarkable pinnae.
Skin tone: See previous.
Hair: Light coloured. Hue and colour distribution are unremarkable. Often worn up in a typical manner.
Eyes: Unremarkable.
Other notes (appearance): Eloquence and bearing unexceptional for someone of her age.
Known activities:
- Fatui counterintelligence, responsible for many of the Harbingers' security measures.
- Monitors various technological and research centres, including the Fontaine Research Institute, the Eight Trades, [...].
- Suspected of manipulation and sabotage of the above.
- Influencing foreign and domestic policy within Sumeru.
History: Recruited by the Fatui some time after the Cataclysm and some time before the first draft of this report was completed.
Allegiance: Like most Harbingers, her personal loyalty to the Fatui and Snezhnaya is ambiguous. Neutral attitude towards Fontaine, Inazuma, Liyue, Mondstadt, and Natlan. Not much else to say.
Motivation: Unremarkable.
Known capabilities: Unremarkable; however, unremarkable. Command of various elements unremarkable, and combined with her unremarkable intelligence, her theoretical power is potentially unremarkable. Rumours of omniscience are unsubstantiated and may be her own propoganda.
Known casualties: Nobody of note.
Known weaknesses: None.
Overall threat assessment: Inconclusive.
(with kudos to @dandelion-wings for the "meme" format)
Suggestions for other inhuman characters hyv should let us play as:
-While Ella Musk was trying to figure out how to speak Hillichurlian, an especially especially and friendly Hillichurl Archer was learning Teyvatian Sign Language.
-Enjou. Finally.
-Durin or Elynas' blatantly reincarnation, and they are Absolute Sweeties.
-Karkata.
-Xiangling challenged Cloud Retainer to a cooking duel by accident and now Cloud Retainer is hellbent on traveling across Teyvat with your party to find The best ingredients. Nothing will stop her.
-The singular person foolhardy or compassionate enough to befriend and ride into battle a Rifthound.
- Top three candidates for the Rifthound:
Canotilla
yang!Chongyun
Guoba
- Durin and Elynas take Genshin's punny, weirdly polite combat lines to the next level by being completely unrelated to conflict.
- Hilichurl Archer would be pretty great, especially with arrow switching, but if we're trying to move away from the base models, a Lawachurl would be amazing.
- Silly hc: Sandrone's true form looks like Karkata
- You know that meme about Lisa's climbing noises in JP? She has nothing on Enjou getting hit.
- Changsheng. The controls are like Snake Pass, and nobody is having a good time.
