A Mushroom's Guide to Raising a Family on the Luofu [Honkai: Star Rail]

Pu Lin is a mushroom.

There are only three things it has to do every day:

Eat, sleep, and watch its roommate.

Its roommate is a pretty little dragonkin who is always busy. He has already washed up and gotten ready by the time Pu Lin wakes in the morning, and he doesn't come home until late at night. His long hair is the same color as the night sky, and his blunt little horns are as green as plants.

Plants. Delicious.

The greedy mushroom slurped at the drool gathering in its mouth.

Pu Lin thought it had done a great job of hiding, and the place wasn't bad either. It was a bit of a chatterbox, but no one here could hear it talking to itself, so more than a year passed peacefully.

Then the plants it relied on for food ran out. The mushroom was so hungry it began talking in its sleep, and it had no choice but to consider moving. But it didn't want to leave this room, so it wondered whether it should move to a second new home instead.

Before it had made up its mind, a group of humans suddenly entered the room one day. Pu Lin jumped in fright and immediately hid in a panic.

They didn't notice it, and they weren't there to capture it. They had only come to set out a table full of food.

It smelled wonderful, but the mushroom didn't touch its roommate's dinner.

Not until night fell and the little dragonkin had gone safely to sleep. Hunger swept over it again. Sniffing the delicious scent so close by, Pu Lin could no longer resist.

It had a small appetite. It would only nibble a tiny bit from the edge, and it definitely wouldn't make the rest of the food dirty.

So, taking advantage of the dim room, it hopped onto the table and stretched out a hypha

"Smack!"

The lights came on!

Pu Lin, happily eating: "!"

It yanked back its hypha and spun around to run, only for a stream of water to appear from nowhere and seal off every escape route.

The mushroom trapped in a watery prison: "..."

The green-eyed owner, dressed in pajamas, watched it struggle with a rather mean look. Just as he was about to sit back and see what else it would do

The mushroom let out a sob. (It was actually too scared to make a sound.)

Little Dan Feng: "!!!"

*

In the days that followed, Pu Lin made the acquaintance of a human exceptionally skilled with the sword, a companion who looked just like a big cat, an arrogant artisan, and a lively, adorable foxian.

They took this spirit who had only just entered the human world along with them to drink, fight off enemies, travel, and play. They taught him how to interact with others and how to fit into society.

Beneath the dome of stars, among the lights of countless homes, there were only their smiling faces and noisy laughter. What happy days they were.

Pu Lin thought those days would go on forever, until an unexpected accident shattered everything.

--

In 8087 Star Calendar, on an unclaimed and desolate planet called Tsygonia-IV, a young man from beyond the stars once set foot on its soil.

He intervened in a merciless massacre, threw himself into the fray, and fought to the very end;

In 8075 Star Calendar, on the snowy plains of Jarilo-VI, an expectant mother about to give birth received timely medical care. The child of this snowfield explorer followed in their mother's footsteps and enjoyed a happy childhood;

In 8072 Star Calendar, the Third War between the Alliance and the Denizens of Abundance broke out. On the eve of the Reignbow's manifestation, a golden beam pierced the fleets blotting out the sky and the warbeasts, stopping the abomination that was falling toward Fanghu;

In 8060 Star Calendar, on the vast grassland world of Argon-Apache, children rode their ponies, laughing freely and living without a care.

That same year, a white-haired boy descended upon the world and reclaimed every life that should have been lost;

In 7500 Star Calendar, on Kalevala, occupied by the Borisin, a Cloud Knight who had ended up far from home while carrying a demonic sword met a fellow native of the Xianzhou Luofu.

In 7379 Star Calendar, Shuhu invaded the Xianzhou Luofu once more, intending to seize the Ambrosial Arbor. The Cloud Knights were slaughtered until fewer than one in ten remained, and a hero died a glorious death as well.

His name should have been known to everyone, yet in the years that followed, he became a forbidden subject the Alliance would not speak of.

--

P.S.:

1. The protagonist grows over time. He's innocent, but not a naive pushover. Later on, he'll show a mature and powerful side in front of outsiders, though he can still lose his wits around people he trusts.

2. One-on-one pairing with Dan Feng (Dan Heng), no secondary pairings. Dan Feng will undergo rebirth, but the Dan Heng of this timeline will retain crucial memories and choose to accept his past. The Luofu will become his second home.

3. I want Dan Feng to be all right, and I want the High-Cloud Quintet to be all right too. (The accident isn't the Shuhu Rebellion.)

4. The schemes the author has spent a month working out are things the characters come up with in an instant... There may still be some OOC moments... I respect every character in the game and will do my best to stick to the timeline.

5. I originally wanted Yingxing and Baiheng to live out their natural lives, but after thinking about what Dan Feng says in the game, I decided to let them live on! In any case, their glorious deeds will be remembered to this day. Heroes deserve the endings they've earned.

6. Most of the chapters are already written. (Lately I've been working hard on the story after Pela's mother's timeline. The Galaxy Rangers are so cool! And hearing Pela call her mom earlier really hurt...)

7. I'm a sweet-romance fan. The ending is HE, though getting the perfect ending in the game will definitely take a tiny little sacrifice... (runs away with a pot lid over my head)

8. The main setting is the Luofu, though the protagonist will visit other places later on.

Here's the blurb for the next story I'm planning to write~ While writing this one, I suddenly got captivated by Jing Yuan's personality =v=, so I worked up the energy to start a new story.

Xi Bai is an ordinary person living an ordinary life in an ordinary small town. Living alone is quiet, but warm and pleasant.

He has no family or friends, and his social circle is practically nonexistent. Because of the unusual nature of his work, he doesn't need to go out to run errands. The thing he does most often is go out to buy groceries and fill his fridge. When he doesn't feel like going out, he orders some prepared food or fresh produce for same-day delivery to keep himself fed.

Apart from growing some scallions, putting fruit pits in water to sprout, and warming his blankets in the bright afternoon sun

After work, he also cooks a meal for one, sets up his phone, and puts on a show to watch while he eats, adding a little liveliness to the quiet evening.

Lots of people live alone like him. Sometimes little animals appear on screen, and then comments like these float by:

"After all these years, I'm still a catless savage."

"So young, and already has both cats and dogs."

"Sometimes living alone is pretty nice: away from the city's clamor, a home that's just the right size, a little dog, and a hundred million in savings."

"Dude."

Every so often, he comes across a video about nightmares. He just scrolls past, since he's never been bothered by dreams. No, more than that, he can't remember them at all.

Aside from occasionally using his inborn ability to help the police and stepping in to help people when he's out, he doesn't have many unusual experiences. When he's not wearing sunglasses, people often mistake him for a criminal and invite him in for questioning over tea. Otherwise, his days pass without incident.

Until

On Monday, while brushing his teeth in front of the mirror, he suddenly found himself staring at his reflection and inexplicably smoothing the short stubble at the back of his head.

On Thursday, he went to bed early, only to wake up with a dull ache in his body. He checked himself carefully, but his skin and bones were completely unharmed.

On the weekend, he sometimes raised a hand for no apparent reason, only to discover that he had merely blocked a cool breeze.

Xi Bai: "...?"

He tried setting up a security camera to see if he was sleepwalking and doing something earth-shattering, but it showed him sleeping soundly all night without even turning over.

A little strange.

Still, Xi Bai remained calm. These minor oddities were nothing compared to his ability. He didn't call in a ritualist or go to the hospital. Day after day, life went on as usual.

Then, on an utterly ordinary day, he met the first creature bold enough to approach him of its own accord and show him affection, right there in the grass.

From that day on, Xi Bai was no longer a catless savage.

--

Although he was born into a family that had served the Earth-Balance Commission for generations, Jing Yuan, the future Divine General, was given toy swords in keeping with the custom of choosing a child's future, and joined the Cloud Knights after graduating from the academy.

Though he was still a child, he could speak with ease. Socializing and navigating relationships were child's play to him. He was among the crowd, yet apart from it.

At ten years old, he went on a campaign with the army. On his way home, he met a special friend.

This friend was the same age as him, an ordinary Cloud Knight soldier, yet always cool and quiet, speaking little. To others, he was like a thin sheet of winter ice, best avoided.

Though their first meeting hadn't gone well, Jing Yuan knew he was a divine weapon hidden beneath layers of dust.

--

Before they confessed their feelings:

Jing Yuan complained to a certain white-haired friend:

"Why has Xi Bai been so cold to me lately? He was so adorable when we were children. How did he change so much after growing up?"

A certain artisan: "..."

Jing Yuan poured tea for his master and muttered under his breath:

"Master, has Xi Bai been in touch with you lately? Do you know if he's made any new friends?"

A certain Sword Champion: "..."

Jing Yuan sat aboard a starskiff and sighed at the sky:

"Sister Baiheng, do you think I did something wrong recently, or was my apology not sincere enough? Jing Yuan is truly foolish. I can't understand what my friend is thinking."

A certain Nameless: "..."

Jing Yuan held his wine cup, looking listless:

"Sigh. Why is life so hard? Without a lovely companion by my side, even this fine wine has lost its flavor."

A certain High Elder: "..."

After they confessed their feelings:

Jing Yuan: "Darling, darling, my lovely darling~"

Xi Bai kept a cool expression as his little ear feathers swept up to cover his face, trying to see nothing and hear nothing.

Jing Yuan: "Mwah~"

The little wings suddenly flew aside. Xi Bai covered his ear feathers in alarm, revealing a face flushed red as the sunset.

Jing Yuan: (laughing softly) "Oh my, you're still so adorable, darling~"

The others: "..."

For some reason, they felt like the tops of their heads were glowing.

P.S. for the upcoming story:

1. One-on-one pairing. You can already guess who it is, haha.

2. It's still a childhood-friends-to-lovers redemption story. It will change the High-Cloud Quintet's tragic ending, and the living General won't have to carry the burden of those old events anymore. (Though I haven't decided whether Jing Yuan will become a general in the end.)

3. The everyday main story will switch between the modern world and the Honkai: Star Rail setting. Most of the story takes place in Honkai: Star Rail, with the modern world woven in. Only the protagonist will transmigrate through dreams.

The two versions of the protagonist are the same soul. In the end, he'll return to Honkai: Star Rail. It's a big, capital-letter HE.

4. I'll definitely change the one-line summary and title before I start posting. Right now, I really have no idea what to do TvT

5. I'm not good at plotting or warfare, and the author's intelligence is definitely insufficient, so I hereby declare myself a fictional historian.

Theme: The power of an individual is enough to change the world.