you will find me, friend
is a Genshin Impact Alternate Universe Series Fic written by Auspice.
The series tells the events of Genshin Impact’s story with the difference that Aether (and Lumine) are world eaters - immortal, shapeshifting, godlike beings. Despite the premise, the story is quite wholesome and mainly explore the topic of Aether’s nature and relationship with the people he came across in his journey.
you will find me, friend contains examples of:
- Adaptational Abomination: While The Travelers already has some hints of not being exactly human in the original game, this fanfic cranks it up by making them a full blown eldritch creature capable of devouring an entire world at their full power.
- Adaptational Heroism: Thanks to Aether and Albedo’s help, Rubedo became a friend of Aether, coming in terms with his identity and even gained a cryo Vision.
- Adaptation Name Change: While Subject 2’s name is revealed to be Dorian in the game files, he’s named Rubedo in this fic.
- Adaptation Species Change: Downplayed. drifting petals reveals that a yuki-onna once had a union with a member of the Kamisato clan during Makoto’s time, leading to Ayato and Ayaka having yokai lineage.
- A God I Am Not: Aether doesn’t like being called a god or being perceived as a powerful being, he just wants to be seen as a simple traveler going about his life.
- all lowercase letters: The titles of each installments are written in lowercase.
- Anachronic Order: The author themself admit that they are a
pantser, which results in the series being written from one point in the timeline to another in no particular order. For example, the first ever installment of the Series Fic focused on the events of Perilous Trails, and the next installment is around the final act of the Liyue Archon Quest that takes places two years before Perilous Trails. - Anger Born of Worry: Apparently being an eldritch horror like Aether doesn’t make you an exception to Tighnari’s scoldings. Many characters also express distress when Aether does (or plans) something that can potentially harm him, even after knowing who he truly is.
- The Assimilator: Aether and Lumine’s purpose was this: to devour every world they come across to archive and remember them. And when the universe reaches its end, they will create a new universe using what they have devoured, fulfilling their purpose and ending their life.
- Benevolent Abomination: Despite being a world eater, Aether is an affable and sweet traveler, and wishes to be seen as just another person living his life.
- Dead Person Impersonation: Aether is capable to turn into dead people, as seen with Kazuha’s friend and Raiden Makoto.
- Destroyer Deity: Both Aether and Lumine are originally one being that split into two after consuming their birth world. They then proceed to do the same to many worlds until Aether realized he wants to be a traveler instead.
- Dies Differently In The Adaptation:
- In the lightning’s glow, La Signora kills Aether, which caused his Void Form to erupt and proceed to eat her alive.
- Rukkhadevata is also eaten by Aether but in his Light Form, which is considered a more peaceful death.
- Eldritch Abomination: Aether and Lumine are both eldritch beings capable to consuming an entire world at their full power, travel between the fabrics of reality, can shapeshift into other people and gain their memories, and are Nigh-Invulnerable.
- Gameplay and Story Integration: While Aether can become just about any playable character in the series, the form he owned will be weaker, and can only get stronger by consuming materials just like in the game. He also can consume said materials without eating them.
- Gemini Destruction Law: As they are originally one being, if Aether were to die, Lumine’s spark would bring him back, and vice versa. The only way to actually kill them is by killing both twins at the same time.
- He Knows Too Much: In ripples in a mirrored pond, Ayato tried to dispose of Aether because of his ability. Fortunately, Ayaka and Thoma arrived in time to intervene before Ayato manage to kill Aether and causing something even worse.
- Heroic BSoD: Aether fell into one if he unintentionally ate someone. As seen with Osial and La Signora.
- He fell into one again after he failed to stop Scaramouche from erasing himself. Paimon also needs to use her remaining power to feed Aether to drag him away from consuming the Irminsul tree, making her fall into a coma.
- Horror Hunger: While Aether doesn’t want to eat anymore, a part of him still craves, and it’s a reoccurring problem for him to try and suppress that desire.Aether to Makoto: ”We are so hungry. So, so, hungry. Always. We ache to consume you, we desire your knowledge, but I loathe the thought of taking your whole existence.”
- Mistaken for an Imposter: In amidst the snow, Aether got caught in a snow avalanche, and immediately turned to Albedo to dig himself out. This became a bad idea as Albedo thought that Aether-Albedo is his imposter, and would have killed him had Paimon not intervened.
- Named In The Adaptation:
- Kazuha’s nameless friend is named Tomo in this series. This is simply a nickname, and his real name isn’t revealed.
- The Wanderer is named Yatra in this story, and it also carries over to the Interdarshan Competition where he is known as that instead of Hat Guy.
- No Warping Zone: Raiden Shogun disabled all teleportation waypoints all across Inazuma, rendering all Vision holders including Aether unable to teleport until the Vision Hunt Decree was abolished.
- Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: Aether ponders over the applicability of the genderfluid label for him since he doesn't feel any dysphoria in spite of constantly shifting in male and female shapes, while Albedo shamelessly owns up to the fact he views gender as a social construct and presents as male because most people label him such after meeting him — also, his Master apparently decided giving him genitalia wasn't important.
- Put on a Bus: Paimon ends up in a Convenient Coma in the fourteenth installment, using her remaining power to drag Aether out of the Irminsul tree before he can consume it.
- Resurrective Immortality: When Aether dies as himself, his body will unleash his Void Form. Said Void Form will then consume Aether’s human body before a bright spark appears and restore his human form back to normal.
- Secret-Keeper: Everyone who knows of Aether’s true identity has agreed to keep it a secret. When The Wanderer asked what Aether truly is, Kazuha calls him “a friend.”
- Shout-Out:
- The title of the first installment and series as a whole is a reference to Terra’s quote from Kingdom Hearts.
- The title of the seventh installment made in glory is a reference to the song “Creature”.
- Third-Person Person: Zigzagged with Paimon. As the author plays Genshin using the chinese dub where Paimon use first-person pronouns, she switches between using first-person and third-person.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Aether can turn into people who are aligned with his stars (or fate), essentially becoming them, gaining their ability and some of their memories.
