u/crunchylumpias

don't forget to claim our boy's envisaged echoes before you head off to snezhnaya! GOD IT LOOKS MORE BEAUTIFUL INGAME THAN IT SEEMS

part 1 & 2, part 3

^((posting before miliastra summer goes away))

hoyoverse allergic to the 100 lamentillion dollars they'll earn from bikini xiao so i took matters into my own hands funny story i was in the middle of editing this when that skin leak dropped like a nuke so. yeah just take this

EATING MY WORDS IN THAT PREVIOUS POST ABOUT XIAO SKIN I GUESS???????????? HOLY SHIT HAHAHAHAHA THEY BETTER NOT BE TROLLING OR I WILL REALLY LOSE MY GODDAMN MIND

part 1 & 2

passed out and woke up to this on my laptop WHOOPS hahaha! hey hoyoverse maybe release his skin next lantern rite so you can put us both out of our misery... no? aight ig ^(also liked citlali's skin but thought it could use some more color other than white and purple so ya)

^(forgive the incoherent wall of text, it's 3AM and i'm half asleep.)

As we continue through the Luna versions with a whopping zero Xiao anecdotes, Hoyoverse enjoys reminding us of his existence in the most random patches and it's hilarious as it is torture. (That passing dialogue in the Temple of Space wasn't slick at all, devs. Free my man from content-less "iRrELeVaNt" character purgatory already)

So, the ongoing event right now: Phantasmal Pals. It's a simple and sweet story, and I quite enjoyed it! While it focused on the loss of innocence and the importance of retaining one's childlike spark, it also tackled dreams and nightmares, and how they can manifest as fragments born of negative emotions. They are also said to taste terrible. Somewhat reminds of a certain adeptus musing about how dreams taste like sweet almond tofu... but I digress.

The yumekui-baku are pros at this sort of thing, at least in Inazuma. Mizuki only gets a passing mention this time, our yokai representatives being her co-worker and the so-called "Dough King" (aka the cutest creature alive, just look at that fat fuck) on their quest to consume nightmare fragments. On a related note, Mizuki's introduction got some Xiao fans disappointed (understandable) as they believed she replaced him as Genshin's resident dream-eater.

And to be fair, most of Xiao's recent ingame appearances are more concerned with purging corruption, revealing bits of Liyue's ancient history and adorably growing past his old self-isolating ways. Still, I don't think Hoyoverse entirely abandoned the dream-eating plot thread for Xiao. Because, and hear me out: what if I told you the yumekui-baku might have ties to... Liyue?

From Glimpses of Mysterious Inazuma Vol. 2:

>"I am terribly sorry to have frightened you, my dear benefactors! Since you have already seen my true form, I shall not keep my secret any longer. In truth, I am the baku that you rescued on the mountain, all those days past. (...)

>"Oh my!" cried the old man. "You're that wild boar from back then!"

>"Firstly, I am a baku — well, technically speaking, a 'mo' — from Liyue, not a wild boar. Secondly, since you now know my true form, if word of this spreads, my mistress — the one who oversees countless sweet dreams and nightmares — will surely not look kindly upon my recklessness. (...)

Hmm, hmm. Very suspicious, especially to the Primordial Jade Vista believers. (Note that the 'mo' aren't mentioned anywhere in Liyue's texts. While we can assume these oral tales are either partially true or completely fabricated, I believe it's worth mentioning due to the fact Hoyoverse cared to write that in.)

People have discussed here and there about how he's quietly being pushed to the sidelines, but I don't believe the devs completely abandoned him. There's still hope for his plot ties to enter the fray in the future, because he's one of Liyue's key figures. There's still a fuck ton of shit we don't know about Liyue in general, honestly, and I hope Snezhnaya shines part of the spotlight on it the way Nod-Krai did Mondstadt and Sumeru, knowing that >!Pantalone seems to have some beef with Morax.!< Oooor maybe this is just pure copium on my part.

Also these are the ramblings of an insane man but I thought of a way to insert Xiao in the current event story: imagine an epilogue why did we not have an epilogue? where the Traveler brings Yaoyao and Qiqi back to Liyue Harbor. They happen to come across Xiao along the way (it'd be wholesomely adorable if the adepti made Xiao pick them up himself like a dependable adult) and proceed to tell him all about their witchy trip in Inazuma (seriously he's possibly Uncle Xiao to Yaoyao and Qiqi's like his sister/daughter, look at the amount of official content they have together). This would've been a nice segway to reintroduce the fact that Xiao consumes dreams too, just like Mizuki, and possibly open up a bit more of his dark past to the Traveler. (Foreshadowing for possible future events, like Hoyoverse likes to do! Hahaha!)

tldr: 1) hoyoverse stop gatekeeping xiao i know you guys have 300 hours worth of content about him locked in the company basement and 2) i need xiao and mizuki to meet) so fucking bad i want him to have other friends aside from the usual people and for them to bond over their shared experiences