✧ Chen Yae ✧

• Braids are optional, draw with longer hair otherwise
• Beauty marks are specific and not optional
• Rings aren't optional
• Always has left eye covered!!
• Princess piss baby!!

" The walls have ears, I'd be careful with what you say... "

Chen takes every opportunity to show off, making sure all eyes are on him at all times. Although he refuses to use his vision, he uses what skills he has to his advantage, he’d simply label it as him being flamboyant, nothing too special. He acts uncaring and aloof towards the people he’s around, playing hard to get as he’d say, but the fact that he's an adepti forces him to have some kind of feelings towards people and gives him that subconscious need to protect people, to keep people safe. He’s always trying to get close to people around him, offering gifts and doing small favors to get on their good side for the sake of business, for information. Chen lives for gossip and drama, so he’ll take anything he can get from the mother’s and retainer’s of any household he visits, and he makes sure to leave a mark wherever he goes.

He’s lived for thousands of years, the times are constantly changing, and he’s finding easier ways to bribe people for the things he needs. Chen never pays for any of his goods, he loves to bargain and haggle, even going as far as threatening people for the sake of a better deal, but it’s not something he does often. Instead, Chen can usually be found smoking under a ginkgo tree, umbrella in hand like some kind of mysterious wanderer, he’ll pretend to be that much at least, like he isn’t known by a good majority of people in Teyvat, and not all for the right reasons.

Chen is incredibly sly, finding every possible way to get himself out of a situation without having to use brute force, the man is big, so violence is always a last resort for him. He’s scarily smart, using what little information he’s given to create a network of people to help him, and the web only seems to grow the longer he lives. There’s no motive for any of this behavior, just a simple hobby, a pastime of his, he hates being left out of anything and needs at least one person to be thinking of him at all times.

Being summoned by the Geo Archon himself for the famed Archon War is bound to be a topic to talk about, Chen-Yae was given the chance to be a warrior. His first memories in Teyvat include the lives he’s taken, the blood on his hands, and the thrill of being a ruthless killer by command. He was almost robotic in a way, slaughtering anything in his way in order to obey his Archon, and he even made friends along the way, most of whom never lived to see the end of the war. The famed Archon War had taught Chen two things, he has a certain fondness for birds, and the only people he’d like to rip apart are the people that The Tsaritsa command, along with the Cryo Archon herself. After the war had ended, he left his old life behind, swearing to never use his vision against others, if at all, and dedicated his life to traveling, exploring Teyvat and hiding the secrets of his own past, along with the eyes that litter the other side of his face.

Chen has never been thankful for the vision he was blessed with, wielding a cryo vision always came with the implication of the loss of a loved one, and he refused to believe that he was blessed with something so powerful for losing the people he cared for, their blood wasn’t worth the power he was given. He’s always resented the Archons, especially the one who deemed him worthy of the vision he hides away, their rules never seemed to sit well with him, and he hates thinking back on the times when he was used as a killing machine. At the time it seemed to be a fine idea, taking out aggression on innocent people for the sake of his Archon, but after having to witness the death of his friends, he’s grown to resent anyone who believes they hold a higher power. Yet he continues to be coy around any Archon or authority figure, giving a smile and bidding them farewell after meetings, but as soon as their backs are turned, he’s muttering his hatred towards them, almost hoping they’d hear.

He’s been in Teyvat for over 2,000 years, wandering anywhere and everywhere, yet he always finds his way back to the same place he was summoned, Liyue. As much as he’d like to get away, he’s always wandering back, he may even make a joke and say the moss on the stones along the way lead him back, maybe the wind had guided him to the wrong place, but in reality he just enjoys the feeling of being home. He’s managed to secure connections all over Teyvat, including the Fatui, a group he came to resent as much as the Cryo Archon herself, a member who’d defected and vowed to start her own life, Mizuki. For some reason, the Kitsune interested him, they were one in the same, and they hated that about each other. One drink led to another, and they became business partners, they’d never claim to be friends, rivals sure, but partners at most.

The war had left Chen with nothing to his name, a title, a story, but he’s never accept an offering from the common folk of Liyue, that’d be selfish, so when Mizuki offered to give him the mora he needed, housing in every region, he was thrilled, and that wasn’t the drinks talking. He’s grateful, really, but he’d never stoop down to her level and give his thanks, not verbally of course, he does offer gifts from his travels, making sure to poke at her with antiques from Inazuma, he’d learn that was her home, and he was never one to let people keep secrets hidden, Mizuki was the same with him. He had his life figured out for the most part, being free for the first time without having to worry, that was until he stumbled upon a young Khitret on his way back from his most recent travels to Sumeru.

Kori was never supposed to be a permanent part of his life, he saw him as a flightless bird that needed help learning to fly, he never intended to grow attached to the little fox, he never liked kids like Mizuki did. Chen doesn’t know the first thing about raising a child, and he’d never let himself be known as some kind of parent, he was only doing this out of the kindness of his heart.. and because he had nothing better to do until he was up and out of the country again. They were always seen together, Mizuki even became known as Kori’s babysitter while Chen ran off to do the most unsavory things that a child shouldn’t witness. He was kind enough to pawn him off on the woman who yearned for a child of her own, that was after they had argued about the fact that Chen had been locking him away in his home. Chen did everything in his power to try and raise him to be the best person he could be, letting it be known that the Fatui is to be avoided, but being an adepti means that human emotions and morals aren’t exactly known, there was always tension and arguing, but everything seemed to settle down as soon as food was involved, he was thankful that Kori seemed to enjoy fish as much as he did, they bonded over cooking.

One year turned into six, and a fight broke out between the two, Kori ran away from home, and Chen went back to his life of travel, only this time he’d discover his love for drinking. He’d spend his days wandering and socializing, and his nights in taverns, shoulder to shoulder with strangers, and waking up in another bed he’d never know the owner of. It’s anything but healthy, and he never understood why he suddenly changed, so he did everything in his power to try and get whatever emotions he was feeling to go away. It was the same emotion he’d felt during the war, and he hated it, he was grieving, mourning, and he wasn’t even completely sure Kori had gone and gotten himself killed. The next three years are the longest he’s ever had to experience.

The next time Chen gets a glimpse of those long blue ears, they’re sitting in a tavern, Kori had come home, adorned with a cryo vision and wearing the attire of the Fatui. He’d been searching for Chen, wanting to announce his arrival, to show him he survived, and Chen couldn’t even bring himself to pretend to smile. He wasn’t welcomed with open arms, and Chen refused to speak to him for over a year, Kori had gone against everything that he had taught him, he was stronger and gained more power, but in Chen’s eyes, he was still the helpless boy that he rescued on the docks, asking for fish when he was upset, he hated how he looked at him differently, the look of confidence, the look of a man who found a purpose for the wrong reasons.

Eventually he did manage to warm up to Kori again, gaining his trust after a long talk with Mizuki, it had initially been for information, using whatever Kori would give him and use it against him, but they fell back into their old habits, poking at each other and cracking jokes like they were old friends. It was domestic in a way, Chen dropping Kori off with Mizuki, and he runs off again, it all seemed normal, and they didn’t seem to complain too much about it. Chen certainly didn’t want to change how he lived, that feeling of dread was gone, and that’s all that matters to him. He’s free again, the people he cares about are mostly out of harm's way, and he plans to keep it that way.