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The Traveler doesn’t have an alternate skin. Back when the concept was first introduced, you had some faint hope that maybe they’d get one. For as much as you liked their design, seeing the exact same thing over and over again could get tiring sometimes. A part of you thought that they deserved a new outfit, anyway. After going through so much in the game, surely they deserved a little time to play dress-up.
But when they had declined the offer of Ayaka giving them a new outfit, you knew the chances of that ever happening went down the drain.
It was fine, though. It didn’t really matter in the long scheme of things, and there was always fanart if you wanted a change. So life went on, and you eventually stopped thinking about it.
Until today, because the Traveler was wearing an outfit you sure as hell didn’t mod in.
Your immediate thought was that a hacker got to your game, and you looked around to see if there was any tampering of some sort. Nothing. Your items were the same as you remembered, there were no quests or achievements done that you didn’t remember doing, and there was no cheeky little note in the optional bio. Everything was fine, except for the fact that the Traveler looked different.
“What the hell,” you muttered. What kind of a hacker changed the appearance of a single character and left it at that? You would’ve expected this to have happened to some of the more… fan favorites within the fandom, but the Traveler? Seriously?
You exited out of the game after a moment of thought, changing your account’s password just to be safe. Then you went back in, and the Traveler was still in the new outfit. You had no idea how to get rid of it, if there was even a way to do so. You had no skills in modding, let alone doing something like this.
Maybe you should contact customer support? No, but then they might ban you even if it wasn’t your doing. As you contemplated on what to do about this, you went to the Traveler’s character profile and clicked on the outfits menu. Sure enough, their regular outfit was there alongside the new one. You changed it back to the old one briefly to make sure everything was fine before going back.
Now that you had a closer look at them, you realized that the Traveler was wearing the outfit that Adventurers’ Guild members wore. It looked a little bit goofy, honestly, and you gave a small laugh at the thought. But it wasn’t like someone had just taken an adventurer’s model and called it a day. No, the outfit looked like it belonged on them. There wasn’t any clipping of any sort, and when you moved the model around the physics of the clothes worked as normal.
This hacker - was it a hacker? - really put in a lot of work for something so small.
You brought out your phone, took a picture of the outfit, and sent it to your friend. They knew a lot more about Genshin then you did, so maybe they would have some idea as to what was going on. They were privy to the weird little things that your account did anyway, so hopefully they could give some insight.
As you waited for a response, you decided to stop stalling and get to work on your commissions.
(It was a good thing you set your commissions to Inazuma, otherwise all the green would get sickening real fast)
For a brief moment, the Traveler’s heart stopped as they heard the Player mutter “what the hell?”
Did you not like the outfit? Sure, they didn’t put much effort into getting it. All members of the Adventurers’ Guild would be able to get one free of charge at first, and Cyrus had been rather joyful to know that they wanted to wear the proper uniform. Which they didn’t, not really. The clothes they had on were special. Too close to a wound that hadn’t healed properly.
But the Player had sounded so disappointed when the game forced them to decline Ayaka’s offer. Their slime “avatar” had appeared gloomy, and they didn’t even know that slimes could take on such an expression. They had gotten used to the upbeat voice they heard, the intense focus when they were in battle, or the cheers when something good happened. It had come back quickly after the encounter, but for a brief moment all of that was gone.
The Traveler didn’t quite know what they felt about the Player, but they didn’t want them to sound like that ever again.
So they had buried the feelings of betrayal remembrance panic and put on the uniform.
Paimon had asked them what was up with the sudden change, and they had simply told her that they wanted to make their affiliation with the Guild a little more official. It was a lie that she had believed after a little more convincing, and the Traveler made sure to keep away from any sharp eyes while wearing it.
They wanted this to be a sight for the Player’s eyes and their eyes only, even if they knew that was impossible.
So when the slime began to look at menu screens trying to find out what a hacker had done, they couldn’t help but feel panicked. Had they done something wrong? Should they not have done this?
Shit, was the game going to punish them for this? Punish the Player? There was still so much that the Traveler didn’t know about this world, about Teyvat and the game and the boundaries that they were supposed to not cross. This was one of those, wasn’t it? They weren’t supposed to have done this.
There’s a moment where they feel anger, feel fury curling in their chest at the thought of being forced to keep only the clothes with too many memories, but it falls away the second the Player leaves the game.
They stand there, frozen, waiting with bated breath. Waiting for the Player to come back. Waiting to be executed or- or what? Having the world go back in time? Having the clothes on their back vanish without a trace, never to be seen again? Having to go back to being shackled by glowing lights and a scarf weighing them down, a constant reminder of what they could never have until this all ended?
The urge to claw it all off got to them first, crawling up their throat in a dizzying flurry.
And then the Player came back, talking to themself about customer support as they opened up the character menu.
For a moment the Traveler was back in their regular outfit, the Guild uniform disappearing in a burst of light. There was a brief panic - they hate it they hate it they hate me - before the Guild uniform came back. They caught their breath, willing their mind to calm down.
The Player didn’t hate them. The Player, surprisingly, did like the outfit change. They mentioned taking a picture, and the Traveler heard the telltale sign of a camera shuttering. The tightness in their chest gave way to butterflies in their stomach. They liked it. They liked it.
They liked it enough to keep it on as the current team went through the commissions for today. The Traveler couldn’t help but smile. Making the Player happy by making up for the game’s faults wasn’t something they thought they would initially like. But it was… liberating. Even with the game’s restrictions, they could connect in their own way.
And outside of the Player, it just felt nice. They loved their clothes deeply, and they knew they would go running back to them after this moment of bliss was over. But for now, they could live and breathe without the constant reminder that they were only one half of a pair. The painful memories were still there, but the hurt they caused was smoothed over just a little bit.
They felt refreshed, like the first bite of a Mint Jelly, and they resolved to do this again sometime.
You had just finished farming the weekly bosses when your friend texted back.
“Finally,” you said, picking up your phone to read the message. “I was beginning to think you were dead.”
You>>>Snail
Snail: omg??? where’d you get that mod
You: it’s not a mod
Snail: ????
what do you mean
You: i logged in and this is what i saw
Snail: your shit got hacked AGAIN
You: i don’t know
thought maybe this was an update or something that i got early
Snail: mmmmmmmmmmmmmnope
nothing says that the traveler will be getting a new outfit, if ever
your account is something else. kinda scary tbh
You: it’s fucking creepy
but i don’t really mind it?
Snail: are you shitting me right now bestie
You: IM NOT
Snail: GET RID OF IT
TRADE IT OR SOMETHING
You: and get banned if someone finds out it belongs to me first? no thank you
it’s just…none of these things seem really concerning, is all
and it’s not like it’s very noticeable at first. you know that.
Snail: yeah well it always starts small
and then suddenly everyone has hyper realistic eyes and blood pouring out of them and you get killed by an demonic paimon
You: lay off the creepypastas weirdo
Snail: they’re classics 😤
You: uh huh
Snail: WHATEVER
in all seriousness are you sure you’re okay?? i don’t need to come over do i?
You didn’t respond for a moment, thinking about the offer. You were fine, all things considered. The changes that you began noticing didn’t affect the overall quality of the game, and in fact they seemed to make it better. Maybe not in the major ways like making artifact rng not so shitty, but you appreciated them nonetheless.
If this really was a hacker doing this, it raised several questions about the overall security of your account and, honestly, your computer as well. You’ve changed the password a few times at this point, and had even taken to using a VPN when you had a browser open. If the supposed hacker was indeed the same person, your whole setup was at risk.
You really didn’t want to get rid of it, let alone attempt to get the money to buy a new one.
But if it wasn’t a hacker, then…
Snail: hello???
heeeeelloooooooo????
ur really freaking me out rn
answer meeeeeeeeee
You: sorry
was thinking
Snail: you spacing out is going to kill me one day i swear
You: stop being dramatic
but im fine. you don’t need to come over.
i was just about to log off anyway
Snail: okay okay
tell me if this gets more serious okay? i don’t want you to like, get cyberstalked or something
You: i will dw
maybe im just hyv’s favorite
Snail: not with that gacha luck you aren’t
You: SHUT
Snail: 🤪
You huffed, setting down your phone. You turned back to the game. The Traveler really did look refreshing in the outfit. You would have to try and dig through the game files to try and get rid of it later, but for now you’d keep it. As long as you didn’t post about it or do co-op, Hoyoverse wouldn’t come for your head, right?
…right?
Groaning, you gave up thinking for the night. You could ponder the safety of your account when you weren’t so tired of playing. “They really did you dirty, keeping you in one outfit. Missed an opportunity there.”
You stayed for a few more seconds before logging out. Standing, you stretched and looked at the time. Perfect time for dinner. You were pretty sure you had some leftovers from last night.
With that in mind, you left your bedroom in search of food.
“Paimon didn’t think you were so interested in clothes.”
Mondstadt didn’t have many clothing stores, but that didn’t stop the Traveler from browsing them. They checked their mora one more time, nodding to themself once they determined the amount. They’d have to make their way to Liyue after this. Surely they’d have more stores, and more variety, too.
“I’m expanding my hobbies,” the Traveler replied, distracted by a set of winter clothes. Seasons didn’t exist in Teyvat, they had come to learn. It seemed like the game followed whatever was happening in the “outside world”, and the world shifted accordingly. At the very least they’d be good for Dragonspine.
“Ah, good morning, Traveler! Is there anything I can help you with?”
The Traveler turned to the counter of the store. The owner of the place had finally come out of the back room, looking at them with great interest. The Traveler strode over quickly.
“Do you take commissions?”
The owner looked surprised for a moment. “It depends on what it is.”
“Ooh, are you gonna get a special outfit?” Paimon asked. Traveler turned to look at her. There was excitement in her eyes. “Paimon wants one too!”
Ah, right. How could they have forgotten about her? The tracks in their brain switched quickly, and they added some more mora to funds they were about to spend. They felt the world go fizzy for a second as a bag of mora appeared in their hand. They’d have to find a way to earn the money back after this, lest the Player worry even more.
The Traveler placed the bag on the counter.
“I’d like to make a request.”