EiMiko

EiMiko is the femslash ship between Raiden Ei and Yae Miko from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Canon
Yae Miko is stated to be an “old friend” of the Raiden Shogun and is one of her most trusted allies. Despite this, she does not support the Archon’s actions. Thus, Miko arranges a plan to help the Traveler defeat the Raiden Shogun in order to save her from an eternity of solitude. After the Traveler's altercation with the Archon, it is shown that Miko and the latter are quite fond of each other and tease each other frequently. The Raiden Shogun is also shown to heavily trust Miko with both her Gnosis and Inazuma as a whole.

The Immovable God and The Eternal Euthymia
The Traveler arrives in Inazuma and begins to learn about the current state of affairs with the Vision Hunt Decree and Sakoku Decree in place. When encountering two concerned disciples believing their swordsmaster has been possessed, one of the disciples explains their plan to hire shrine maidens from the Grand Narukami Shrine for an exorcism. As the Traveler's first introduction to Yae Miko's character, the disciple states Yae Miko has "very close ties with the Almighty Shogun herself".

The Traveler decides to accompany the disciples to the exorcism and is briefly informally introduced to Yae Miko. While explaining the reasoning behind the swordsmaster's unusual behavior, Yae Miko remarks that he is "much like a fatally flawed friend of mine", referring to the Raiden Shogun. The encounter ends with Yae Miko implying that she had been waiting for the Traveler and would be watching their actions.

Omnipresence Over Mortals
After the Traveler meets and fights the "true" Raiden Shogun, Raiden Ei, inside the Plane of Euthymia, and learns about the Fatui involvement in the Vision Hunt Decree, Yae Miko formally enlists the Traveler’s help in her plan to stop the Vision Hunt Decree and save Inazuma from the influence of the Fatui. Despite Ei having retreated to her inner consciousness, the "Plane of Euthymia", around 500 years prior, Miko still cares deeply for her friend and wants to not only rid Inazuma of the Fatui, but save Ei in the process. Miko believes the reason Ei has not spoken to her is that the latter wants to eternally preserve their friendship as it was. To prepare the Traveler for another fight with the Raiden Shogun, Yae Miko arranges an "Anti-Raiden Shogun Training" which can "reproduce the Raiden Shogun's combat moves", entirely from her own memory.

The Omnipresent God
The Traveler successfully enters the Plane of Euthymia and is in the midst of fighting Ei when Miko also enters the space, having encharmed the Grand Narukami Shrine Omamori to allow her a way inside. When Ei confusedly asks if this was Miko's doing, Miko laughs and tells Ei that she shouldn’t forget who taught her how to create this space. Together, Miko and the Traveler convince Ei to acknowledge the ambitions of the people of Inazuma.

After the Traveler wins the fight, Miko voices her concerns about Ei’s wellbeing. She tells Ei that the people of Inazuma don’t want the eternity that she is pursuing, and that she should give them her attention instead. Miko sympathizes with Ei and says that her loneliness over the past five hundred years must have been unbearable, also commenting that the environment becoming lighter around them is proof that Ei is happy to see her again. Miko teases Ei that she will have to spend the next several centuries updating her on everything that has happened. Ei laughs and says she never thought they’d meet again like this. She admits that seeing Miko again has been a very nice surprise. Miko asks if that means they are still friends, and Ei lightheartedly calls her childish.

Wishes
Following the abolishment of the Vision Hunt Decree, the Traveler meets Yae Miko at the Grand Narukami Shrine again. When Paimon remarks that she appears to be in a good mood, Miko says it was "delightful" to meet with Ei again. Miko reveals that she traded the Electro Gnosis to Scaramouche in exchange for the Traveler’s life being spared. When asked why she had the Gnosis, Miko replies that Ei entrusted it to her after cutting ties with Celestia and had been keeping it safe at the Grand Narukami Shrine ever since.

The Traveler can continue to question Miko about Ei's past, as well as asking if Miko has seen their missing sibling. Miko defends Ei against any lingering doubts the Traveler may have about Ei's involvement in their sibling's disappearance. Miko also issues a thinly-veiled threat to disregard Ei as being involved, which Paimon picks up on and hurriedly states that she and the Traveler "aren't looking to pick a fight".

Kagura's Verity
Kagura's Verity, a 5 star catalyst weapon, was released alongside Yae Miko as her signature weapon. The weapon description is written from Yae Miko's point of view and details how Miko first met Ei, the events leading to Miko taking up the position of Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, and how Miko helped keep Inazuma safe during Ei's absence. The description ends with Miko wanting to see the world with Ei, expressing her willingness to patiently wait for Ei's return from the Plane of Euthymia, and wanting to watch the flowers bloom with Ei.

Reflections of Mortality
The Traveler becomes worried about the state of Inazuma and the Shogun's wellbeing after the Vision Hunt Decree is repealed and turns to Yae Miko for help. Miko gives the Traveler her personal Pass Permit to allow them access to Tenshukaku and an audience with the Shogun. A guard outside Tenshukaku is apprehensive at first, believing that Miko would never hand over her Pass Permit to anyone else because the Permit is a symbol of the Shogun's trust.

The Traveler convinces Ei to come out of her Plane of Euthymia and see the modern Inazuma. Ei recalls Miko having talked about her light novel publishing business and requests to visit it.

Ei eventually returns to meditate in the Plane of Euthymia and the Traveler returns to the Grand Narukami Shrine to bring the Pass Permit back to Miko. They relay the events of the afternoon with Miko, who finds amusement in Ei's bewilderment at the modern Inazuma. The Traveler remarks that both Ei and Miko enjoy teasing each other. Miko tells the Traveler that they can freely borrow her Pass Permit to visit Ei, and winks when saying that Ei wouldn't mind their company.

Transient Dreams
Ei has difficulty fighting the influence of the programmable Shogun on her body, as the Shogun was built to resist any kind of change out of fear of erosion. Ei states that in her absence, she "leaves everything in Miko's hands". Ei enters a separate dimension to fight the Shogun over having control of her body and to prove that she is of sound mind. The Traveler hurriedly goes to find Yae Miko and ask for help rescuing Ei.

Miko goes with the Traveler to the entrance of the separate dimension. She states that she can sense Ei's rough whereabouts and can transport the Traveler directly to where Ei is. Before transporting the Traveler inside, Miko states that she is "leaving [her] god in [our] capable hands" and requests that Ei be brought back for her sake and Inazuma's.

After Ei defeats the Shogun and leaves the separate dimension, she and the Traveler relay the events to Miko. Miko asks Ei how she's feeling and Ei responds that she feels physically well again, to which Miko replies that she had actually been asking about Ei's emotional state. Ei teases Miko about rarely hearing comforting words from her, and Miko teases back saying that Ei used to never listen to a word she said. When Paimon remarks that Makoto also said something similar in regards to Ei's stubbornness, Miko playfully questions if such a similarity would qualify her to act as Shogun for a short period, before stating that the position would be too much work.

The Traveler can continue to talk to Ei and Miko after the quest is completed and has a dialogue branch option of telling Ei about the things Miko said before entering the separate dimension ("Yae Miko said she was placing her god--"). If this dialogue branch is chosen, Miko will cut the Traveler off and prevent them from relaying her full words, wanting to keep what she said as a secret. Ei will confusedly ask what they're talking about, and Miko will change the subject by remarking that she suddenly wants fried tofu.

The Great Narukami Offering
The Traveler helps Yae Miko perform a convocation ritual to send off the Youkai spirit memories lingering and unable to move on by themselves. Before the ritual begins, the spirit of a man named Urakusai, an old friend of Miko's, asks if she's been well in the years since they'd last seen each other. Miko remarks that "every day is a happy one", including that "even Ei is starting to come to her senses".

The next day after the ritual, Miko meets the Traveler at a restaurant she enjoys, where she mentions that Ei had witnessed the ritual they performed and sent Miko a long and sternly worded letter, chastising her for "taking this whole thing much too far."

Irodori Festival
As part of the celebration for this festival in Inazuma, Miko personally oversees the distribution of a new novel titled "Pretty Please, Kitsune Guuji!" published by the Yae Publishing House. The light novel focuses on the relationship between a shrine maiden named "Yae Masako" and "the Raiden Shogun".

Rika, an event-exclusive NPC tasked with advertising the "Rainbow Aster" drink, remarks that "our Shogun is truly a forgiving soul" when introducing the novel, as it pokes fun at the "Shogun" character. In her dialogue about the "Rainbow Aster" drink popularized by the novel, she states that "the main character realizes that the Kitsune Guuji was not angry, but was instead being supportive all this time, and so becomes able to overcome a crisis".

During the festival, several banners advertising "Pretty Please, Kitsune Guuji!" were displayed in Ritou. The banners depicted two characters visually similar to the Raiden Shogun and Yae Miko.

In the separate event quest "Buyer's Guide to the Statue of Her Excellency, the Almighty Narukami Ogosho, God of Thunder", Ei humorously quietly comes up from behind Kujou Sara as the latter explains the proper maintenance for the lacquerware statues of the Raiden Shogun. Ei offhandedly remarks that she never knew that the "figurines" were in such high demand, and was surprised that Miko had never mentioned it to her.

Aranyaka
In the second part to world quest series Aranyaka: Part I — Woodland Encounter, the Traveler and Paimon are asked to tell stories to three children in Rana's village, each story as a reworded tale of their adventures throughout Teyvat. The story they tell Sudabeh, the girl who wishes of marrying Rana and requested for tales about smart and powerful distinguished women, is based on Ei and Yae Miko's relationship during the events of the Inazuma Archon Quests. The story (main characters being a general and a shrine maiden, later reworded to be a queen and a priestess) tells of how a queen had created a robot to perform her duties as she locks herself in her palace in hope not to lose more friends to war, yet had been stopped by her priestess friend as the latter "couldn't bear to see the queen go on this way." Sudabeh eventually commented that the priestess and the queen had been great friends and that, like how the two trusted each other, Rana would understand why she "couldn't say [that she wanted to take Rana as her bride]."

Quotes
"I have witnessed the Kitsune's majesty in the moonlit forest. She has a myriad of forms, revealing the unknown and the unseen... just as how fate shines on me and the endless world."

- Ei introducing Yae Miko

"Ah, that girl... She used to be the kind of person who could easily be swayed with some Fried Tofu. It's a relief to see how shrewd and resourceful she's now become. Still, I have to admit that I was a little upset to become the target of her scheming myself. I know it was for my own good, but I'm afraid she will mock me next time we meet... Perhaps I should take the initiative and strike her first? Hmm, she'll dodge it anyway."

- Ei's voiceline, "About: Yae Miko"

"Locking herself away in the Plane of Euthymia when she clearly wants to be out — it's just willful self-torture, really... On the other hand, it's also rather stubborn-but-cute, don't you think?"

- Miko's voiceline, "About: the Raiden Shogun"

"Many people dread the sound of thunder... To me, it sounds fondly familiar."

- Yae Miko's voiceline, "When Thunder Strikes"

"I suppose I should get some sleep. Hmm, I must say, I do find it hard to doze off peacefully without the soothing sound of thunder booming in the background."

- Yae Miko's voiceline, "Good Night"

"Tell me this - Why is the sky here that was once so dark glowing again? Why now? …This is your Plane of Euthymia, it's your inner world. So, it can only mean… that you are happy to see me, again. You have found the loneliness here unbearable for a long time now, haven't you?"

- Yae Miko to Ei, "The Omnipresent God"

"Seeing you again is a change to eternity…and a very nice surprise."

- Ei to Miko, "The Omnipresent God"

"I'm placing my god in your capable hands. For my sake, and for Inazuma's, please... bring her back."

- Yae Miko to the Traveler, "Transient Dreams"

"During my absence, I place everything in Miko's hands."

- Raiden Ei to the Traveler, "Transient Dreams"

"So let us see this imperfect world together and enjoy its obsessions with love and hate, with meetings and partings."

- Kagura's Verity Lore

"So, You Excellency, might I still have the pleasure of joining you to watch the first pale purple buds that emerge when the snow next melts?"

- Kagura's Verity Lore

"I assume you forgot whose birthday it is today, little one? Yes, that's right! Today, we will celebrate the birthday of... the Almighty Raiden Shogun. Our Almighty Shogun meditated for a long time and racked her brains out to think of what to write to you, but she didn't find any inspiration in the end. As Eternity's servant and friend, I am of course, obliged, to write this letter on her behalf... and invite you to see her. Here, take this dessert. When you see her, just wish her happy birthday. Nothing more, nothing less. You understand, little one?"

- Ei's birthday letter, written by Miko and given to the Traveler

Fanon
Before Version 2.1, the Eimiko ship was referred to as "YaeBaal", as Ei's true identity had not yet been revealed in the storyline. It became fairly popular in the fandom when Inazuma was released in Version 2.0. The ship dramatically rose in popularity and reached a believed "semi-canon" status after Version 2.1 introduced their intertwined lore and backstories, also due to Ei and Miko having significant interactions in the questlines. Currently, there are 500+ works of the ship on AO3, and both safe for work (SFW) and not safe for work (NSFW) events with community collaborations involving artwork and fanfiction have been successfully organized on Twitter.

EiMiko is by far the most popular ship for Yae Miko. It is also one of Ei’s two most popular ships, the other being EiSara. Both characters are often read as having one-sided (Sara) or mutual (Miko) crush on Ei. Fans of both pairings interact quite peacefully, and there is a dedicated poly ship with the three of them together, EiSaraMiko, which has a devoted fanbase on its own.

Due to Miko's rather playful personality and her status as Ei's only friend, Eimiko is often being read as semi-canon "best friends with a mutual attraction" or even "ex-lovers". This interpretation became especially popular after their final face-to-face conversation at the end of the Inazuma Archon Quest, when many even joked that the Traveler looked like a third wheel in the background while Ei and Miko were reunited. Because of Ei having left for 500 years without saying goodbye to Miko, the fandom often jokingly refers to them as a "divorced couple" or "exes". They are generally considered as being inseparable, as they are often depicted together in both official and unofficial artwork and media, and their individual character lore is very heavily reliant on each other.

A main focus is placed on Miko having waited around 500 years for the chance of seeing Ei after the latter entered the Plane of Euthymia. This is often compared to the common romance trope of a character waiting an extended period of time for the return of their lover. Despite her quick-to-tease nature, Miko is undoubtedly incredibly loyal while still remaining critical of Ei's actions involving her ruling of Inazuma. The lore in the Kagura's Verity description reveals that Miko had never given up on waiting for Ei's return, acted on Ei's behalf to keep Inazuma safe in her absence, and is still willing and wanting to spend time with Ei in the present timeline. Although Miko teases Ei and calls her childish, she sympathizes with Ei's feelings of loneliness while in isolation and her voiceover dialogue when meeting Ei in the Plane of Euthymia is gentle, notably missing the characteristic bite of her normally straightforward tone. The lore of the plants growing in and around the Grand Narukami Shrine and Mt. Yougou as a whole also depict sadness over loss and a great sense of longing for another person. While this could also be attributed to the losses of Ei and Miko's respective loved ones over time, a common interpretation is that the longing also refers to Miko's own personal feelings of missing Ei over the centuries they were apart.

Ei also places great trust in Miko in both the present game timeline and the past timeline. Stated by both Ei's character stories and Miko herself, Ei had entrusted her Electro Gnosis, a sign of her status as an Archon and direct link to Celestia, to Miko for safekeeping before entering the Plane of Euthymia before the present game timeline. While Ei admits in her character story that Miko may not be the most trustworthy person to consider, Ei still gives Miko her Gnosis knowing if she were to trade or sell it, she knows the importance of a Gnosis and would do so for something of equal or greater value. In the present game timeline, Ei states that she indefinitely "leaves everything in Miko's hands" before entering a separate dimension to fight the rogue Raiden Shogun, as she has no way of knowing how long the fight and her subsequent absence from ruling Inazuma would last as a result. Kujou Sara's voiceline about Yae Miko also directly states that Miko's status as Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine "shows the level of trust and approval that the Shogun places in her". Additionally, when the Traveler visits Tenshukaku to see the Raiden Shogun during her first story quest, a guard at the door is initially hesitant to allow them inside even with the Pass Permit, stating "Lady Guuji never gives her Pass Permit to another person [...] Guuji Yae is only authorized to hold that Pass Permit because of the trust that the Almighty Shogun places in her and her alone."

Ei and Miko are largely considered the most representative Inazuman characters, as Ei is the Electro Archon and Miko is the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine. Several NPCs in-game also consider them as such. Although Miko refers to herself as a "servant" in the Inazuma archon quest, their relationship is depicted as both characters being equals to each other. Ei and Miko are the only characters to refer to each other (as the Shogun and Guuji) by just their first names while withholding any official titles, which is a testament to their closeness. Miko is often depicted as having free reign over Inazuma while Ei largely does nothing to stop her or hold any power over her actions, supported in-game by Miko having spent the previous 500 years doing as she pleases with no objections from the Shogun, and from only receiving a "long and sternly worded letter" from Ei following the convocation ritual in Miko's story quest.

As an added bonus, Ei and Miko work together perfectly in the combat aspect of the game, with many theorycrafters (players who run tests to determine the best way to "build" a character) noting that their respective combat skills benefit the other. For instance, Ei provides Miko with the energy needed for her otherwise extremely high cost elemental burst. In turn, Miko's high energy cost elemental burst also benefits the power of Ei's own elemental burst, as Ei gains more power based on the energy costs of her teammates. When put together on the same team, they also provide the party with the Electro Elemental Resonance buff "High Voltage". Miko was identified after release as an ideal teammate for Ei, not only as a fellow Electro character but also for their provided benefits and contributions to the other's personal damage.

A popular fanfiction trope involves both Ei and Miko going through a difficult path to get back together after a long breakup, or Miko often acting as the person who helps Ei get out of her shell and become more sociable. As Ei knew Miko before the cataclysm, there are also several works exploring their relationship before Ei retreated to the Plane of Euthymia and their interactions in "happier times". Many works also portray Miko as being possessive of Ei, especially after referring to her as "my god" in Ei's second story quest.

Additionally, they both have Honkai Impact counterparts, which has made them popular among Honkai fans.

The release of the light novel "Pretty Please, Kitsune Guuji?" in Version 2.6 has led to a number of theories for this ship:


 * Much of the fandom views the light novel as a "self-insert fanfiction" due to the similarities of the characters to Yae Miko and Raiden Ei, since they are described as being a shrine maiden and the Raiden Shogun, respectively.


 * The shrine maiden in the light novel is named "Yae Masako". In other language versions of the light novel, the shrine maiden's name is kept as "Yae Miko".


 * Because Miko is the Chief Editor of the Yae Publishing House, it is likely that she would have to personally approve the production of this light novel. It is a popular fandom theory that this was deliberately in order to tease Ei, because of the content poking fun at the "Raiden Shogun".


 * The drink "Rainbow Aster" depicted in the novel can be purchased in-game for 7,125 Mora. Chinese Internet slang is often used to shorten phrases to a series of numbers through the use of homophones. Some users have pointed out that the number "7125" can be used as slang for the phrase "Please love me" in Chinese. In addition, the Chinese name for "Rainbow Aster" can be taken to mean the phrase "Only wish to be with you" in Chinese .  Another user pointed out that Hoyoverse/Mihoyo has deliberately used Chinese Internet slang in Honkai Impact, also through in-game currency, for a White Day event depicting Raiden Mei and Kiana Kaslana.


 * In the novel, the character "Yae Masako" feeds "Raiden Shogun" a drink called "Rainbow Aster", implied to have been delivered through mouth-to-mouth contact. Another user has pointed out that the Japanese text for "Rainbow Aster" can be interpreted as meaning "I will patiently wait for your love, like the rainbow behind the clouds, waiting endless without minding time".


 * "Yae Masako" feeding the "Raiden Shogun" may be a reference to a scene in Honkai Impact, where the character Yae Sakura feeds Kallen Kaslana medicine through mouth-to-mouth contact.

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Trivia

 * Common symbols used to represent this ship include: ⚡🦊, 🍡🌸
 * Miko is shown in Ei's official Character Demo and provides the opening narration.
 * Miko appears in Ei's re-run promotional video and the OST played when Miko appears is titled 'Miko's Night'.
 * Miko mentions that Ei likes sakura mochi in an Inazuma promotional video.
 * Ei is the one who introduces Yae Miko in Miko's official introduction.
 * Miko's elemental burst line in CN means 'lightning is tragically beautiful' (雷光凄美啊).
 * Hoyoverse has run two separate promotional advertisements for Genshin Impact depicting Ei and Miko together on YouTube and Twitter respectively.
 * During the 2.5 Version stream, Ei's Chinese voice actor gleefully commented how she can't wait for Yae Miko to appear in the game, causing Aether and Miko's voice actors to wonder if this was Raiden Shogun's words.
 * In the official Chinese version of the same stream, Ei's voice actor said "Yae is my girlfriend." ("八重是我的女朋友.").
 * Ei and Miko's English voice actors held a joint matching print signing for their respective characters. Their individual prints form a heart between Ei and Miko when put together.
 * Both Ei and Miko are the only characters to favor the Ancient Branch Shrine furnishing set in the Serenitea Pot.
 * Both Ei and Miko are the only characters that have a 90 energy cost elemental burst.
 * Both Ei and Miko use the 'Philosophies of Light' Talent Level-Up Material.
 * Both Ei and Miko's signature weapons (Engulfing Lightning and Kagura's Verity, respectively), belong to the Inazuma weapon series.
 * Both Ei and Miko have a constellation that allows them to ignore 60% of the opponents' DEF.
 * Both Ei and Miko have an idle animation involving a Crimson Finch.
 * Ei's birthday is June 26, while Miko's is one day afterward, on June 27th.
 * EiMiko, alongside IttoSara, and KokoRou, appear side by side during the Genshin Impact x Sweets Paradise (Inazuma) collab promo (including its merchandise).

2022 Birthdays

 * In Ei's birthday mail, Miko sends the birthday letter to the player on Ei's behalf . This is the only instance of a different character sending the birthday letter for another character, as the sender is typically from the character who is actually celebrating their birthday.
 * In the full post for Ei's birthday, she notes that Miko "always has a way of making things interesting" in every language version.
 * In a two-day China-exclusive web event, Ei and Miko are depicted celebrating their birthdays together in chibi form with the Traveler . On Ei's birthday, Miko gives Ei an exclusive signed copy of "Pretty Please, Kitsune Guuji" while they sit at the Grand Narukami Shrine and share treats. On Miko's birthday, Ei goes with the Traveler to meet Miko at a restaurant to eat together.
 * In a China-exclusive WeChat post, Miko details what the Traveler should bring when visiting Ei, and warns them "not to make her god unhappy". Miko sends the Traveler with Butter Crab and Rainbow Aster, the two food items mentioned in the "Pretty Please, Kitsune Guuji" novel.

Variations

 * EiMikoSara refers to the ship between the two and Kujou Sara