EiMiko

YaeBaal is the femslash ship between Yae Miko and Baal from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Canon
Not much is known about the true nature of their relationship. Yae is stated to be an “old friend” of Baal and is one of her most trusted allies. Despite this, Yae seems to encourage the traveler to defeat Baal.

In the version 2.1 trailer, Yae refers to Baal as “Ei”, which is presumably her human name. This implies a deep connection between the two that has yet to be revealed.

Fanon
The Yaebaal ship mostly originates from the fandom’s theories about them. It has become fairly popular among fan artists since Inazuma was released. Currently there are 30+ Yaebaal fanfictions on Ao3. It is Baal’s second most popular ship after SaraBaal, and Yae’s most popular.

Yaebaal is portrayed by fans in a variety of ways due to a lack of canon interactions. The most common ones include them being exes, having a secret relationship, or Kujou Sara and Yae competing for Baal’s attention. Generally, Yae is seen as being affectionate or flirtatious towards Baal while Baal remains stoic as usual.

Both characters have mysterious backgrounds that fans have theorized about since they were first mentioned. Though it isn’t explicitly stated, Yae is assumed to be immortal like Baal. Yae calls Baal by her real name and considers herself Baal’s “old friend”, implying that she knew Baal before she ascended to godhood. This theory creates the potential for them to have been past lovers or have mutual attraction due to their long history together. Baal, having lost all her other friends to various accidents over the years, is now left with only Yae who understands her.

There is a widely popular theory that Yae is the original Electro Archon who Baal replaced several hundred years ago. It has quite substantial evidence and adds more fuel to the Yaebaal ship. Given how close they seem to be, it’s possible Yae could have entrusted the electro gnosis to Baal when she retired. This would explain Yae’s knowledge of Baal’s human identity.

Fandom
FAN FICTION