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- The moon sure is beautiful tonight.
- —Mizuki to Aether at the end of the Cutscene of Mizuki's Story Quest.
Aezuki is the het ship between Aether and Mizuki from the Genshin Impact fandom.
Canon[]
Tapirus Somniator Chapter: Mizuki's Story Quest[]
Act I - Dream Eater's Melancholia[]
Encounter in the Realm of Dreams[]
Aether’s first meeting with Mizuki takes place on the outskirts of Inazuma City, where he and Paimon encounter an unusual Yumekui-Baku. Instead of speaking, the creature silently leads them to a quiet beach, where a mysterious girl sits alone by the shoreline. Drawn by curiosity and concern, Aether approaches—only for him and Paimon to be suddenly pulled into a vivid dreamscape crafted by the girl herself.
Inside the dream, Aether observes her consuming the nightmares of Inazuman citizens, relieving them of their mental burdens. The dream realm, however, grows unstable after Mizuki absorbs a particularly intense nightmare, leaving her coughing and weakened. As Aether moves closer to help, she mistakes him for another dream-sick visitor and instinctively consumes his dream. But instead of the bitterness of a nightmare, she tastes something unexpectedly sweet—a peaceful, pleasant dream. Realizing she’s broken the rules of her kind by devouring a good dream, Mizuki hurriedly apologizes to both Aether and Paimon before releasing them from the dream world. Back in reality, Mizuki introduces herself and admits she’s already familiar with the Traveler’s name, thanks to tales she's heard from someone close who always brings him up in conversation.
Still feeling guilty for what she did, Mizuki offers them a VIP pass to the Aisa Bathhouse as a way to make amends, especially to help Aether recover from the emotional strain of having his dream eaten.
Crisis at the Aisa Bathhouse[]
At the bathhouse, Aether and Paimon are welcomed by the owner, Aikawa Susumu, who reveals that the establishment has been struggling with low attendance. Inside, they reunite with Mizuki and are introduced to two of the bathhouse attendants, Murasaki and Shion. Mizuki explains that their VIP access grants them free use of all services—including spa treatments, meals, and mental wellness consultations. Wanting to personally make up for her earlier mistake, Mizuki entrusts Paimon to Shion’s care while she attends to Aether herself.
Once Mizuki and Aether were alone, he quietly asked if assigning Paimon to Shion had been a deliberate move just so she could personally handle his session. Mizuki didn’t deny it—instead, she explained that she was deeply interested in understanding the psychological makeup of the Traveler firsthand. She then invited Aether to sit and gently requested that he close his eyes while she made preparations.
At this point, the player has a choice: if Aether opens his eyes to peek at Mizuki, she softly scolds him for not following instructions. But if he keeps them shut, Mizuki rewards his cooperation with a gentle headpat. When Aether finally opens his eyes, she presents a painting showing a peaceful woodland scene where animals frolic freely. She then asks him to spot three Yumekui-Baku hidden within the image. Upon finding them, the three Baku creatures emerge from the painting and appear behind Mizuki. As Aether starts to feel drowsy, she offers her hand and instructs him to focus on its sensation.
As Aether slips into sleep, he finds himself in complete darkness with Mizuki’s voice guiding him through the void. Her voice leads him through emerging memories—an exploration of Aether’s buried emotions. She comments on the subtle taste of his negativity and the heaviness of his past, with fragments of his bad memories manifesting around him. When Mizuki finally steps back into view, those painful images vanish. The dreamscape transforms into a tranquil beach, where Mizuki waits for him.
When Aether awakens, Mizuki calmly ends their session. Paimon returns, having completed her own treatment, just as Mizuki asks Aether how he feels. He replies that he feels warm and at peace. However, Mizuki gently warns that Aether still holds onto many hidden emotional burdens. She was unable to find any surface-level nightmares, suggesting they may lie deeply repressed. She invites him to continue therapy sessions in the future, hinting that they would involve further shared dream-naps—again, while holding hands.
Just as Aether prepares to enter the hot springs for relaxation, Yae Miko makes an unexpected appearance. She reveals herself as the one who told Mizuki about the Traveler in the first place. However, instead of offering support, Miko advises Mizuki to consider selling her shares in the Aisa Bathhouse before its value collapses. She brings up Emura Ichigensai, a rival who has been drawing away their customer base through cutting-edge techniques. When Aether asks Miko to lend Mizuki a hand, she declines and departs. Mizuki later clarifies that since the Aisa Bathhouse and Yae Publishing House are technically in competition, she suspects that’s why Miko is unwilling to help.
Wanting to help Mizuki and ensure the Aisa Bathhouse wouldn’t shut down, Aether and Paimon convinced her to let them look into Emura’s practice themselves. While waiting in line at his facility, Aether struck up conversations with the other clients, hoping to gather some insight. Many were openly critical of the Aisa Bathhouse’s service and sang praises of Emura’s “miraculous” techniques. At some point during the wait, Aether drifted into sleep, finding himself in a surreal dream space. Within it, a floating eye-like entity encouraged those present to release their pain. However, once the eye noticed Aether's presence, it turned hostile. Aether managed to fend off its attacks, reflecting its own power back at it. Injured, the eye forcibly removed him from the dream.
Aether awoke just as it was his turn to meet with Emura—only to find that Emura had already wrapped up for the day and closed his practice early.
Returning to the Aisa Bathhouse, Aether and Paimon reported their findings. Upon hearing them, Mizuki and Murasaki came to a shocking realization: Emura Ichigensai was actually Emura Chuuya, a former client who had been permanently banned from their establishment due to his volatile behavior. Before they could dive deeper into the situation, two of Emura’s regulars suddenly arrived at the bathhouse, requesting consultations. Mizuki, relieved by the recent developments, thanked Aether and Paimon for their help and invited them to finally enjoy the hot springs and snacks they had initially missed.
Afterward, Aether noticed Mizuki had disappeared. Following his instincts, he returned to the beach where they first met and found her there, silently crying after absorbing a batch of emotionally heavy nightmares. Mizuki explained that because she had grown attuned to human feelings, she experienced intense empathy when consuming such dreams—more so than most baku. Despite that, she assured Aether and Paimon that she would be alright. She then asked Aether if he would let her remove all of his internal struggles, should she ever gain that power. After reflecting on the question, Aether replied that his burdens were a part of him, and he would rather keep them. To Mizuki, this answer made him stand out from others. Before they parted ways for the night, Mizuki quietly thanked Aether for caring enough to look for her.
A Deceit Called Happiness[]
The following day, upon returning to the bathhouse, Aether and Paimon found that Shion and Murasaki had fallen ill after absorbing nightmares from some of Emura’s former clients. Mizuki explained that the only way to help them was to identify the root causes behind those bad dreams, and she asked for Aether’s assistance. Tracking the clients back to Emura’s facility, they discovered them in a manic, unstable state. Entering their subconscious minds, Mizuki revealed their hidden, repressed emotions to Aether and Paimon—emotions that, if left unresolved, would fester into full-blown nightmares. When Mizuki asked Aether if anything strange had happened during his prior visit, he mentioned the strange dream and the eye entity. Hearing this, Mizuki grew alarmed, fearing that the damage might soon become irreversible. She questioned the clients further and learned that Emura had taken the day off to recover from the overwhelming strain of the previous day’s sessions.
With a clearer idea of how to treat Shion and Murasaki’s condition, Aether encouraged Mizuki to return to the Bathhouse to tend to them and leave Emura to him. Though hesitant to continue involving him, Mizuki agreed—on the condition that he wouldn’t face Emura alone.
Descendant of Nightmares[]
After obtaining Emura’s address from Yae Miko, Aether sent a letter to Mizuki asking her to meet outside. Once they regrouped, Mizuki warned both Aether and Paimon to stick close and be cautious, before leading them inside. The location turned out to be a concealed cave, which, upon entering, pulled them back into the same dreamscape Aether had encountered earlier. There, Mizuki confronted Emura directly and forced him to recognize that he was caught inside his own nightmare. With the illusion shattered, the same hostile eye from before reappeared and introduced itself as Kuroyume—a remnant of a nearly extinct species of youkai that had long clashed with the Yumekui-Baku. According to Mizuki, the Kuroyume were known to inhabit and thrive within nightmares, making them natural adversaries of her kind. Now the last of his race, Kuroyume revealed his intention to revive his kin and vanished deeper into the dream.
Mizuki and Aether pursued him, only to fall into a trap. Mizuki managed to cushion their landing using her powers and explained that they needed to find a way to allow her to consume the nightmare they were trapped in. Recalling what happened to Shion and Murasaki after consuming corrupted dreams, Aether and Paimon expressed concern over Mizuki’s safety, but she quickly assured them she’d be fine. As they continued the chase, they collected fragments of sweet dreams scattered across the dreamworld to keep Mizuki’s strength up.
Eventually, they confronted Kuroyume again. Now significantly stronger and with their supply of sweet dreams dwindling, Mizuki was overwhelmed by the crushing force of the surrounding nightmares. Just as she began to falter, Aether reached out to her—offering up his sweet dream to revive her spirit. Touched by the gesture, Mizuki shared that her desire to become a psychologist stemmed from wanting to help others be more like Aether.
Empowered by his dream, Mizuki combined her power with Aether’s, granting him the strength needed to defeat Kuroyume. But their escape wasn’t over yet—the cave housing Emura’s nightmare had been rigged to flood, a final trap meant to eliminate Mizuki. Realizing they had to wake up, Mizuki instructed Aether and Paimon to jump into the depths below. She reached out to hold Aether’s hand, gently offering comfort in case he was afraid.
They awoke submerged underwater, but Mizuki quickly found them and carried both to safety. Soaring upward, she passed her power of flight to Aether, allowing him to float on his own. Hand in hand, Mizuki guided Aether over Inazuma City, revealing that she had gathered other Yumekui-Baku to cleanse the city’s collective nightmares. While Paimon stayed behind to observe, Mizuki and Aether ascended higher into the sky. There, she affectionately blew him a kiss and brushed her tail under his chin before the two eventually came to rest together on a quiet tree branch atop Mt. Yougou.
Later that night, under the gentle glow of the moonlight, Aether shared a quiet moment with Mizuki. He asked if the dream he had given her had helped, and Mizuki softly confirmed that it had. Their conversation drifted to deeper topics—Mizuki reflected on how people often struggled to handle their emotions and admitted that she once believed Yumekui-Baku existed only to consume nightmares. However, through the lens of psychotherapy, she had grown to believe that people could be taught to face their inner fears on their own. Though Mizuki called her dream “naive,” Aether told her he thought it was beautiful. Moved by his words, Mizuki expressed her gratitude and confessed that after meeting him, she now believed that her ideal might actually be within reach.
Their moment was interrupted by Paimon, whose sudden arrival made both Mizuki and Aether turn away from each other, with Mizuki noticeably blushing. Paimon eagerly shared how fascinating it was to watch the Yumekui-Baku feast on the dreams of the people in Inazuma. Eventually, she asked Mizuki about scheduling their next session at the bathhouse. With a small smile, Mizuki told her to ask again tomorrow and gently invited both her and Aether to stay and watch the moon with her a little longer.
Afterword[]
The following day, Aether and Paimon return to the Aisa Bathhouse, now back in full swing with Emura Chuuya no longer causing trouble. Shion and Murasaki, fully recovered, are once again busy tending to clients. Mizuki warmly welcomes them and presents another VIP pass as a token of gratitude for everything they did to help save the bathhouse. Not long after, Yae Miko arrives with an update—Emura Chuuya has been rescued from the water and is no longer in critical condition, though his mind has regressed to that of a child. Mizuki thanks Miko sincerely, surprising her. She opens up about always feeling inferior to Miko, but says that it was that very insecurity that helped her push forward. Miko, in response, admits she would’ve handled things more directly had she not been so concerned about hurting Mizuki’s feelings, despite her position as Guuji. Before parting, Mizuki hands Aether and Paimon their new VIP pass.
Quotes[]
- “Heh... I used to think I would spend my whole life facing this alone, until I met you... someone who can turn the world on its head, who can bend the will of the gods themselves... Someone who's willing to accept my weaknesses, with no shortage of dreams to share... Perhaps, in a way, I've become your "patient," as well.”
- — More About Yumemizuki Mizuki: V
- “Today is a very special day for the both of us. Meeting you has given me the chance to witness a wondrous world of endless dreams... So, why don't we celebrate this occasion with a dreamscape for just the two of us? Of course, we'll need to build it from the ground up. So, tell me what you'd like to see...”
- — Mizuki's Voiceline for Aether's Birthday
- “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. With your help, I'm confident I can handle any case that comes my way.”
- — Mizuki's Feelings About Ascension: Building Up - Ascension Phase 2
- “Your encouragement allowed me to look within and see my weaknesses for what they are. You've helped a psychologist down her own path to healing, and that's not something many people can say.”
- — Mizuki's Feelings About Ascension: Climax - Ascension Phase 4
- “Negative emotions are a part of who we are. Anxiety, agitation, and fear are what result when we shy away from facing them head-on. The important thing is finding the balance between recognizing those emotions and being overwhelmed by them. You helped me find that balance, and now, it's cemented in my head. No matter how toxic or poisonous the nightmare, I have nothing to fear.”
- — Mizuki's Feelings About Ascension: Conclusion - Ascension Phase 6
- Mizuki – “Aether, if I really could make you forget all of your troubles for good, would you want me to try?”
- Aether – “But... if I forget all of that... Would I even still be me?”
- — Mizuki and Aether's exchange after Aether found her crying.
Fanon[]
Fans have begun shipping Aezuki due to the charming interactions between Aether and Mizuki in Mizuki’s Story Quest. Many note that Mizuki shows the most openly affectionate behavior towards Aether compared to other characters. Her gestures throughout the quest are often seen as romantic or flirtatious, creating a sweet and mutual connection between them. Mizuki supports Aether in navigating his negative emotions, while Aether assists Mizuki with her professional challenges. Like Aether, Mizuki is also a seasoned traveler, having visited five of the seven nations in Teyvat to refine her skills as a trained psychologist. Their shared dreamy and starry aesthetics complement each other well, giving the ship a celestial, mystical vibe. Although still niche, the pairing has a growing fanbase, with over 10+ fanworks currently on AO3.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Aether/Yumemizuki Mizuki tag on AO3
Trivia[]
- At the end of Mizuki’s Story Quest cutscene, she tells Aether, “The moon sure is beautiful tonight.” While it may seem like a simple observation, this phrase holds deeper meaning in Japanese culture. A well-known poetic expression, “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” (月が綺麗ですね, Tsuki ga kirei desu ne), is often used as an indirect way of saying “I love you.” This phrase is fitting, especially because Mizuki is from Inazuma, as the region is heavily inspired by Japanese culture, history, and traditions.
Gallery[]
