EiMiko

"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?"

- Yae Miko's voiceline "About: Raiden Shogun"

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 Baal and is one of her most trusted allies. Despite this, she does not support the Archon’s actions. Thus, Miko agrees to help the traveler defeat Baal 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.

Archon Quest
Yae Miko requests the traveler’s help in her plan to stop the Vision Hunt Decree. She asks them if they met the real Baal, whose name is Raiden Ei. Miko was formerly one of Ei’s followers, similar to what Dvalin is to Venti. She 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.

Miko enters the Plane of Euthymia 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 people of Inazuma’s ambitions. After 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 says that the loneliness Ei felt over the past five hundred years must have been unbearable. She comments 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.

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. Miko then explains Ei’s past in detail to the traveler.

Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter
Miko gives Ei time to think about what eternity means to her, and in the meantime assists the traveler in inviting Ei to see the outside world.

Quote
"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 Miko

Fanon
The EiMiko ship originated from the fandom’s theories about them. It became fairly popular among fan artists when Inazuma was released. The ship has grown even more after the 2.1 update revealed the truth about their relationship and had significant interactions between them. Currently there are 500+ works of the ship on AO3.

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 (or even mutual) crush on Ei. Fans of both pairings interact quite peacefully, in fact, there is also a poly ship with the 3 of them together EiSaraMiko which in its own has a devoted fanbase.

Due to Miko's rather playful personality and her status as Ei's only friend, this ship 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 main Raiden Shogun quest, when many even joked that Aether looked like a third wheel in their background. According to the fanfics written based on this headcanon, both girls often go through a difficult path to get back together after a long breakup, or Yae often acts as the person who helps Ei get out of the shell and become more sociable.

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

Trivia

 * During the 2.5 Version stream, Ei's VA gleefully commented how she can't wait for Yae Miko to appear in the game, causing Aether and Miko's VA wonder if this was Raiden Shogun's words.
 * In the official Chinese version of the same stream, Raiden's VA said "Yae is my girlfriend." ("八重是我的女朋友.").
 * Both Ei and Yae favor the Ancient Branch Shrine furnishing set in the Serenitea Pot.

Fandom
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