There Are Five of Them, and I Torment Four [Honkai: Star Rail]

The main story is complete. This fic is written in third person. The cover is a character design of the wooden man, drawn by my friend Daodao Miao! I wanted to share it with everyone! Yay! Time rewinds, and Mu Yuan returns to a time before everything began. His childhood friend has just become the Sword Champion's disciple, the fox girl is out joyriding in a star skiff as usual, the beautiful Sword Champion is putting her disciple through his paces every day, the artisan whose chest isn't quite so big is still clanging away at golden automatons, and the Dragon Lord is still arguing fiercely with the elders of his clan. He hasn't run away from home to become a wandering swordsman, either. Mu Yuan claps his hands and steps through the door with a cheerful smile. From then on, he embarks on the broad road to driving four of the future Cloud Quintet insane. One day, the Vidyadhara Dragon Lord wears a thunderous expression as he gallops off into the distance, carrying a person who is laughing uproariously. He vanishes from sight, passing a crowd of Vidyadhara. A Vidyadhara elder sprints after them, hale and hearty despite his age. "Stop right there! That's the pavilion I just built!" Mu Yuan, holding a box of eight eggs full of candy: "Hahahaha! I blew up that old geezer's pavilion on purpose!" Dan Feng, utterly resigned: "I'm begging you, just shut up!" Mu Yuan, with an innocent look: "I'm helping you avoid that old geezer's abuse." One day, a Cloud Knight Lieutenant rushes out of the Artisanship Commission in terror, carrying a burden too great to bear, while a group of artisans stand around dumbfounded and covered in dust. The white-haired artisan brandishes a hammer, veins bulging: "Stop right there! Give me back my parts!" Mu Yuan, hugging a box of golden automaton parts: "Look, he's out of the Artisanship Commission! Hurry, run to Aurum Alley! Once he sees food, he'll realize he's hungry!" Jing Yuan, in tears: "Stop shaking me, I'm going to fall!" Yingxing, eyes blazing with fury: "If you two want to die, stop running. I don't need eight hundred years to send your souls straight to the Ten-Lords Commission!" Mu Yuan, with an innocent look: "But you haven't eaten in three days." One day, the Earth-Balance Commission receives a report: someone is driving a star skiff and has run thirty red lights. The fox girl is speeding and drifting in an attempt to evade pursuit. Earth-Balance Commission: "Star skiff up ahead, stop! Keep speeding and you'll be out the Jade Gate!" Mu Yuan, playing boundless music in the limited space of a star skiff: "Oh, yeah! This is what it feels like to be the wind!" Baiheng gets even more excited: "Charge!" Half an hour later, Jingliu arrives to pick them up, sword in hand and gaze kindly. "Go on, tell me. I'm listening." Mu Yuan kneels beside the fox girl with a huge bump on his head: "I'm sorry. I was bad. QAQ" Dan Feng, Jing Yuan, and Yingxing: "Quit pretending! Why'd you stop?" After Mu Yuan spent centuries butting heads with this unreasonable world and blew up half the universe, he met a being said to be the creator god. He stared at the familiar-looking suit, suitcase, and cabbage, his expression slowly turning into a cat contemplating the universe. So... had he actually transmigrated into a new game from that familiar studio, the one that was full of knives? I update daily at noon. Any other updates are for typos. I have a backlog, and bonus chapters usually come when something good happens, but don't get your hopes up. My attachment to my backlog is only slightly weaker than my attachment to my wife. (Serious face) [Highlight] Yingxing will live out his proud and glorious life and die a natural death. Baiheng survives, and Jingliu does not succumb to being Mara-Struck. -A chaotic, slapstick take on the Cloud Quintet's daily life. The protagonist is a chaotic-good goofball, dedicated to bringing joy to friends and family. Pairing: Jing Yuan, one-on-one, no secondary pairings. -The author isn't a stickler for canon. The Cloud Quintet's story isn't fully known yet, and the fact that Jingliu witnessed her homeland being devoured by a living planet in 6300, with the Moon Rage Rebellion happening in 7375... She's incredibly tenacious, to have lived for over a thousand years without becoming Mara-Struck. (Complicated feelings.) -In short, this is a more slapstick story. I'm throwing the timeline out the window, with lots of headcanons and some OOC. If any of that bothers you, please run away! -More to come if I think of anything. I've recently become obsessed with Boothill, so I started a new fic that's open for preorders: "[Honkai: Star Rail] Galactic Ranger of Miracles, Punisher of Evil". Pairing: Boothill, protagonist is the bottom. Blurb: What are the Galactic Rangers? Different people have different answers. Evil people avoid them like the plague, while good people have mixed opinions. They'll travel great distances in response to a signal sent across time and space, just to dispel the gloom that even a fallen hero could not overcome. They'll also draw their weapons at the slightest sign of injustice, regardless of whether their target is a king, a noble, or a major figure in the Alliance, fighting violence with violence and answering to no one. Luo Cheng glances at the survey and briskly puts out his cigarette. "The Galactic Rangers?" He lifts the little girl by her armpits as if she were a cat, and answers with a beaming smile: "The Galactic Rangers are the freest, most unrestrained, and coolest loose-knit organization in the whole universe!" "Goddammit, how many times have I told you not to hold her like that? It makes her uncomfortable!" Boothill kicks at him, then catches the girl. "But, darling, he's not wrong." The Galactic Rangers are the most romantic and darkest guns and spears, carrying out the will of the Hunt. [Reader's Guide] Protagonist is the bottom, pairing with Boothill. His adopted daughter survives. Sweet (not really) everyday life as a ranger with the whole family in tow. Check out my friend's fic: "[Genshin Impact] Cat Cake and Scatty Meow" by Daodao Miao. It's a danmei fic, and Dousha Huihui is so adorable! Check out this completed danmei fic: "[Genshin Impact] No Disruptive Patients at Bubu Pharmacy". Pairing: Baizhu. Check out this completed BG fic: "The Akademiya's Great Romance Operation [Genshin Impact]". A sweet first-person story, pairing with the Wanderer. Mentions the secondary pairings Cyno/Tighnari and Alhaitham/Kaveh. Check out my next danmei fic: "[Wuxia Crossover] I'm Just a Casual Player, Okay!" Pairing: Zhongyuan Yidianhong. The protagonist has maxed-out life skills and utterly hopeless martial arts skills. He's just a casual player! Theme: May the heroes of the world never become strangers to one another.