A Gift That Matters Most

by CatCrescent

"Why do you need me to defeat a Cryo Regisvine?" Diluc asked. He was not one to argue killing monsters, but Rosaria's behavior was suspicious. She glanced away and, for a second, there seemed to be a flicker of…bashfulness? Diluc wasn't sure if he'd ever seen that expression on her. She cleared her throat and answered, "I need Shivada Jade. It's…for a gift."

8. Bonus

Thank you again for reading, everyone! This is just a little bonus chapter containing my outline and some of my thought processes with this story. So, if you're interested in some trivia, feel free to keep reading!

Original start date: 8/20/21

Original Name: Toil of Adoration (Changed around October to be "A Gift That Matters Most" since the old name felt a bit too gloomy to me. Thanks to KingBiscuit on Ao3 for the help with the new name!)

So, I originally anticipated that Chapter 4 was going to be the longest chapter, since it contained the most fighting. Turned out I was WAY wrong, and Chapter 5 ended up being the longest at 7665 words! Chapter 7 was a close second to longest. The shortest chapter was Chapter 1 at 3503 words. Here's the full numbers below:

Chapter 1: 3503 words

Chapter 2: 4007 words

Chapter 3: 4720 words

Chapter 4: 5400 words

Chapter 5: 7665 words

Chapter 6: 3998 words

Chapter 7: 7585 words

(I may inevitably fix spelling errors as time goes on, so the exact numbers may change, but it won't be anything drastic or story-changing)

Before I started getting into the story, I played the game with Diluc and Rosaria in my party, and I walked them to the Cryo Regisvine to get an idea of how long approximately it would take and what they would run into. Below is the resulting outline: (P.S. the "Hydro Stones" are actually the Elemental Ambers. I had such a hard time figuring out their actual name until I stumbled onto it by accident in the Genshin Impact wiki at the very last minute of writing Chapter 2)

6 AM – Golden sky, bushes & grass bursting green

Passing into Windrise, foxes scurry as they pass Falcon Temple

8 AM – Passby Godwin

10 AM – Hilichurl camp: Two Pyro Hilichurl archers, 2 pyro slimes, 2 Hydro stones

Diluc cuts down archers, Rosaria busts the stones to douse slimes and freeze

Hydro stones don't have a name?

11:30 AM – Reached Falcon Coast, perhaps lunch

12:40 PM – Done with lunch

Hilichurl camp laden with explosives in their way. Rosaria is annoyed but Diluc throws Dawn & all Hilichurls explode "Let's not dawdle." However, a Cryo arrow did strike him but he shrugs it off.

1:30 PM – Resume travel to Regisvine

2:54 PM – Fight Cryo Whopperflower, Diluc knock it into a wall, Rosaria attacks, causing melt but flower digs down & Rosaria spear get stuck in the wall, flower creates shield, which Diluc melts & Rosaria recognizes his usefulness "I hate those stupid flowers. They're so annoying."

Diluc breaks two Iron Veins for her (which would take her 4 hits)

3:30 PM Arrive at Regisvine. They fight. Diluc has brunt of the work, Rosaria pins it with her ultimate, Diluc is slowed and injured, but the plant is almost dead. Rosaria pierces the root with her polearm, she pulls a shivering Diluc away to safety before retrieving the jade.

8:00 PM They decide to set camp & return the next morning

6:00 AM Wake up & breakfast

7:00 AM Set off, past symbol of Mondstadt's hero

9:30 AM Past statue (could Jilliana be polishing?)

10:30 AM Pass Godwin searching bushes, Rosaria may interrogate him

11:18 AM Reach Mondstadt, pass Timmie, Swan & Lawrence

1:00 PM Reach Wagner, find out long back orders, Diluc suggests lunch

2:00 PM Diluc teaches Rosaria how to make the jewelry

6:36 PM It is made and they had dinner

7:36 PM They separate

[Kaeya's birthday is tomorrow, hence the rush]

(Kaeya's party on terrace next to a windmill overlooking statue in Windwail Highland)

You may be able to tell that there are a few differences in this timeline from what actually occurs in the story. This isn't even the original timeline, but I handwrote that one since I jotted notes while I was playing the game. I was pretty back and forth on whether or not Diluc and Rosaria were going to mine the ore before or after they went into the Regisvine. I settled on after because it felt more natural for Diluc to do a small thing to help her after they bonded over fighting the Regisvine.

Fun fact: When I was fighting the Cryo Regisvine in-game, Diluc actually died in the fight. I forced myself not to revive him and finish the fight with just Rosaria, and I was super worried she was going to die too and I'd have to reset the battle. Thankfully, Rosaria pulled through.

There were a lot of inspirations for this story. A myriad of Diluc and Kaeya reconciliation fanfics on Ao3 inspired me to eventually try creating my own, especially those by the likes of StrangeDiamond, but I had trouble thinking of a good scenario. But after reading stories like "Private Investigations" by Jeff_Windblum, I got really inspired for a Rosaria/Kaeya story of Rosaria trying and failing to find a perfect gift. Then it turned into Rosaria seeking Diluc's help to gather Jade, which served as a launchpad for a reconciliation story. The way I mapped out the trip and the structure was also inspired by "The Darknight Hero does hostage cases now, apparently" by TheOpticalMouse.

Another fun fact: I couldn't find anything that officially stated that Cat's Tail Tavern served food, but there were some compelling fanfics that introduced me to the idea. Particularly, "Emergency Food Delivery" by Alture, which presented this idea that Cat's Tail makes pizza. The story itself is about Aether and Paimon raising money for a restaurant and has some of the most beautiful descriptions of food you'll ever read. Seriously, reading it will make you hungry.

If you guys ever have any questions or want to chat directly, I can be reached at my twitter! /catcrescent13. It's a tad sparse and I don't post much, but I do look at it. The twitter is where I'd like to post updates about stories that may be easier to find than digging through author's notes in a fanfic.

As far as next projects, it's hard to say exactly. I have dozens upon dozens of items in the works. However, I don't post anything until it's pretty much done, so there may be periods of quietness. Still, I'll try to balance smaller ideas with the larger ones so I don't go quiet for too long. I have a full-time job among other responsibilities, but fanfics remain a loving passion for me, so no matter how slow-going, you can bet I'll be writing. I've got mostly more Genshin Impact ideas in the works, but I dabble in plenty of other series as well, so I hope you keep an ear out. Once again, to all who've read this far, shared their thoughts, left a kudos or simply just enjoyed the story, thank you very much for reading.

Sincerely,

CatCrescent