Outside the center, companions waited impatiently as Paimon floated over to the ribbon. Among their ranks were Sorush, Kaveh's briefcase Mehrak, Benben, Dodoco, Minidurin, and Berry Puffier. Everyone observed as Paimon cleared her throat.
"My fellow companions," she declared, "I declare the first-ever Genshin Impact Companion Convention is now … open!"
The moment she snipped the ribbon, everyone flew, ran, dug, plopped, and lassoed into the building. Immediately, everyone got in line to meet Little One, the rising star of the hit Gojira film series. Quite a few attendees came cosplaying as the titular character and asked for pictures with Little One.
At the adjacent booth, a surly Ajaw, actor of the villain Dragon Lord, met with fans. All the while, he cursed Yae Miko under his breath.
Bongo-head sold Fungi plushies, posters, and comics to promote the upcoming Fungi Battle Events. The Fungus raked in a nice profit. Kaveh's briefcase showcased his picture books written in collaboration with Dodoco: Dodoco's Best Friend: Klee! Ushi handed out pamphlets advertising the Arataki Gang's newest drumalong event. Berry Puffier, who eventually waddled its fat belly into the center, sold its latest best-selling novel.
Then at 12 am, the first of many panels began. Little One and his Gojira costars answered questions to promote their upcoming film Gojira: Destroy all Monsters. They even played some of the finished film footage. In the clips, Little One grabbed Ajaw by the tail and hurled him like a frisbee. Then he ran up, got onto his tail, and delivered a physics-defying dropkick into Dragon Lord's smug face. Everyone, except Ajaw, cheered.
Next, Benben and Karkata hosted a panel about the Gojira spinoff series: Mechanicus. The reception proved quite warm. Meanwhile, at the 18+ panel, Guoba and Boo Tao debuted their newest rap album: F* the Millelith, Coming Straight from the Underground. At yet another panel, Duel Saint Prince, Night Pilot, Neko, Sir Pouncealot, and all cats of the world met to discuss the feline union demonstration to protest recent Liyue laws regulating how much one could fish and hunt birds. Opposite this panel, Chimpu and the avians of Teyvat requested a restraining order from the cats.
With Gojira film promotions done, Berry Puffier read a passage from its latest bestselling novel: The Semantics of Antidisestablishmentarianism. Everyone listened eagerly. Then, Minidurin showed off his latest animation: Dancing Sourpuss. The film captured the flossing technique of a surly-faced Wanderer. It was inspired by a true story. Crimson Cyclone announced its pay-per-view match against the Crypto-scammer Joke Pee-awl. It declared that it would eviscerate Joke Pee-awl and "paint the ring red with his intestines, yellow with the urine of deathly fear, and brown with defecation eschewed upon one's demise." Mamare sold arts and crafts projects.
Then began the Paimon-cosplay contest. Everyone dressed in variants: smug Paimon, hangry Paimon, drowning Paimon, and of course, the most popular variant: Emergency Food Paimon. The competition was fierce. In the end, though, the trophy went to Ocean Paimon, cosplayed by Berrypuffier.