#tiny oceanid

[thankyouforcompletingtoda]

Fontaine exploration spoiler!

At first I thought it was a Pari lost in the water but then I started talking to her and it turned out it's a teenie tiny Oceanid and I just died of cuteness just look at her

[boomania]

this is fucking hilarious

[nagalias-mindscape]

Go figure that, while attempting to take pictures of otters in Genshin for a family member who adores them, I discover I have THREE Genshin file locations. Well, I found my pictures eventually. Holy crap I have a ton. Might just... dump them here. Eventually. Have the otter pic, tho.

[diz-eaze]

albedo and his alternative to baby trap you :(

; soft yandere, parent trap 2.0 but is it really babytrap if you lowkey told him you wouldn't mind a child (yes it still is), low-key delusional albedo, not proofread, throwback to fontaine's quest and albedo teaser #og,

the concept of breathing life into what was once an illustration is ludicrous. blasphemous, even. if the original hydro archon was punished for turning her familiars into a new race of humans, then is it not fair for an alchemist to be smithed down for a similar sin?

but the silence of the heavens has been going on for numerous centuries; it's hard for albedo to feel even a smidgen of fear, nevermind finding a speck of regret.

being born with special capabilities is rare. training under a great sinner of khaenri'ah is even rarer - it leaves him with skills that far surpasses even the average vision bearer. it grants him the power to tamper and play with the very notion of life itself.

a memory plays at the back of his mind as he settles down his painting materials, for once away from the frigid winters of dragonspine in favor of the fresh breeze found in windrise.

"the traveler told me of what happened in fontaine," albedo begins, gently taking the test tube you pass onto him. "of what became of their prophecy."

"oh?" you muse, now idly playing with the microscope lenses. "pray tell."

albedo settles his canvas down on the stable easel stand, taking out his paints and brushes in preparation. the ever-present wind blows through his messy hair, and he welcomes it.

"it would seem that fontainians were originally oceanids, only transformed into humans by the previous hydro archon." his eyes are trained upon the drops of sweet flower extract falling into the narrow test tube. "the prophecy was punishment for their sin."

"huh," you breathe out, placing down the lenses to look at him. he fights the urge to look away from his materials. "i can't tell if the arrogant one in this situation is the hydro archon or the heavenly principles themselves."

he swatches out each paint on his person, and he lines up the needed brushes for this personal project of his. the first brush, a round brush, is used to prime the canvas.

albedo finishes extracting the sweet flower and takes out a damp cloth to wipe his table's surface with. "why so?"

"think about it," you saunter up to him, leaning in unbearably close to survey his work. in this proximity, he can smell traces of cecilia flowers and windwheel asters on you. his grip on the damp cloth tightens subtly.

"the heavens think of themselves to be the absolute rulers of this world," you puff your cheeks out childishly. "yet they are more akin to tyrants. celestial nails, sins, punishments, the cataclysm... a creation of life is much tamer compared to the heinous acts they've committed!"

albedo mixes and matches his paints - a tint of red, a dollop of brown, tiny amounts yellow, and white added in moderation - in order to emulate the shade closest to your skin tone. his second brush, a flat brush, is used to lay down the overall shape of what he envisions.

"you think so?" he questions, relocating the test tube on its designated rack. he makes no move to inch away from you - not that he wants to, never. "but 'humans' who are not born from breeding are considered to be an anomaly. they are considered an outlier, are they not?"

not that he cares, may it be sinful or otherwise. he merely tells this to get a feel of you, to take a dive into your mind.

"i care little of how a human is produced," you huff out, leaning even more to disrupt his orderly workflow. he wonders how you'd react if he told you he wouldn't care should you trash his camp, so long as you continue to be shoulder to shoulder with him like this. "if it's sentient, it has life. i think all life should be valued, regardless of the creation method. the creations themselves didn't ask to be brought to this world, either."

his deft fingers scrapes paints together to match his hair next. only little tufts of hair for now. the brush dips into the water to be rid of its previous color, reborn anew into a clean slate. he pats it down with a spare cloth and goes back to painting once again.

"you're not wrong," albedo comments, eyes trailing after the flutter of your lashes. the body heat that emanates from you causes his synthetic one to gradually warm up, too.

he hesitates, then. licking his lips as if to buy time before he voices out the question stuck in his throat. you must have noticed his pause, for you peer at him in silent questioning. you nudge him slightly, and his body sways from the motion.

there is little he fears in this world. not when he was raised in the aftermath of the cataclysm, horrors unknown to normal people are found there. but the thought of your opinion of him souring slightly has his heart palpating in dread.

albedo leans closer to the canvas, intent on detailing the cherubic face as much as possible. focused on creating the perfect specimen that earns your adoration.

a beat passes.

"then," he looks down at his workspace, unable to find the strength to look you straight in the eyes. "what do you think of creating life artificially, from the likeness of your image?"

you blink once and tilt your head, though he does not see it. you crowd closer to him, now nearly chest to chest. if you inch even closer, he fears you'll fear the loud thumps resounding deep within his chest.

"a life... with my likeness?" you parrot back, still not comprehending him fully. then, your eyes widen, as if struck with realization. "oh! you mean your magical drawings, right? i still remember that vishap you created! i am dismayed at the poor thing's lower half, however."

his masterpiece is almost finished. sunset is near, and the wind is starting to pick up. it feels as if barbatos himself is advising albedo to stop with his actions. but not even the divine nail from celestia would tear him apart from this painting.

his mind was lingering more on the alchemical method. though, if this is the method that you prefer, then it will be what he goes through with.

"perhaps," still, he nods, "so, what do you think of it?"

you smile, a gleaming, precious one that surpasses crystalflies. "since it's a hypothetical, i suppose the idea would be cute."

the verbal 'hypothetical' is blocked out from his illusioned mind, for he locks onto your explicit agreement, even going as far as to call his idea cute.

he smiles, clearly pleased with your answer.

"i am glad to see you so enthusiastic about this," he parts away from you and begins to tidy up his workspace with renewed vigor, moving with a sense of purpose.

you confusedly look at his back, "about what?"

but you're met with no reply.

albedo finishes his painting with the last brushstroke being an eyelash of the infant. he steps back to observe for any errors made, but he finds none. excitement courses through his body, eager to bring life to this illustration. his mind is already running amok with all the domesticity he will soon witness you do.

his gloves hands reach into the canvas, surpassing the physical barrier as he reaches for the finished painting. it's similar to reaching into a void, but he knows how to navigate this power of his. when he tugs his hands back into reality, he is not empty handed.

in his hands is a crying infant, not just any infant, but his baby with you. within a few seconds after giving it life, the infant opens its mouth and wails.

he kisses the top of its head, endeared at the sight of pale blond strands.

"shhh, your father is here now."

he understands the original hydro archon now. even he would endanger the lives of others for the creation of life.

[tinydefector]

Marine Centre 6- merformers AU

Word: 1.9k

Warnings: fantasies, daydreaming about sex

Bold and italic

words are for Optimus, trying to speak to the reader.

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_____________________

They don't remember falling asleep cuddling Bumblebee, nor Optimus scooping them both up in his arms and taking them to a safer place. But when they wake up with a tattered blanket draped over them, the first few Moments are hazy but they decide it's easier to just close their eyes and go back to sleep for a bit longer. 

 Bumblebee's wide eyes watching from the small pool of water in the cave. "Bubba awake!" he trills, tiny servos splashing. Behind him, Optimus rumbles softly to his creation. 

"Careful not to splash, little one. They are still resting." Big blue optics turn fondly to humans. Bee chatters away, clearly excited from the night's adventures. Optimus smiles. "Yes, I know you're very excited over them being here." 

They mumble slightly, pulling the tattered blanket closer and pushing back against Optimus slightly, rolling over and pressing their face into his bulk, still not conscious enough yet. Optimus rumbles quietly, It was strange yet comforting how easily they had come to trust him. 

Bee chatters insistently from his pool, little servos grasping as he tries in vain to climb out. "Up! Up, carry-bee up!" he pleads to his Sire, wanting desperately to get to cuddle his human again. 

With careful grace, Optimus dips an arm down to scoop the tiny pup, depositing him gently by the human's side. "There now, little one. Let them wake in their own time." Bumblebee wriggles in glee, babbling eagerly till bleary eyes crack open. A soft smile creeps over Optimus' face as Bee pipes, "Carry-bee awake!" and settles happily against the human's chest as he wiggles over them. 

It was a comfort to see the pup so at ease. They grumble slightly as bumblebee wedges himself between his Sire and the human, curling up against them as he chitters and purrs, little hands grabbing at them. A rumbling chuckle reverberates through Optimus' frame as the small one nestles in.

"Clingy little Pup, aren't you? Seems your affections know no bounds." His eyes crinkle fondly. The human stirs beside them, similarly grasped by grabby little webbed hands. Meeting Optimus' gaze over the top of Bee's frilled head. 

Shock slowly makes its way through their system as they look around the cave, meeting Optimus' eyes and bumblebee's happy mix of words and Oceanide sounds. The cave is rather warm compared to what they were expecting. blinking slowly, taking in their unusual surroundings.  

___________________________

They watch as Big Blue seemingly talks softly in his rumbles and clicks, webbed hand gestures towards different things. "I'm sorry, I wish I could understand your melodies Blue" they state softly, it didn't feel like being around an ocean creature but like being near another person. Bumblebee wobbles in a broken mix of both languages. Rather excited to just say anything. 

Optimus rumbles thoughtfully at them a deep sigh leaves his frame. understanding despite the language barrier. He pauses, vibrating softly as he considers how best to convey meaning. He knew some of the human's speech patterns enough to understand. And had heard and read enough of their sunken text that he attempted. 

 "You... Rest? Need..?"

Pointing to his mouth, then theirs, in a gesture of eating. Bee burbles eagerly between them, parroting fractured words from both dialects. 

he tries piecing words in a staticky accent not used to the way human words, they felt harsh compared to his own.

" Sky… water."

Cupping a hand and bringing it to his mouth hopefully conveys 'drink.' Before pointing to the walls where water fan through moss. 

They nearly jolt up hearing the words leave him, not expecting it, it startles bumblebee slightly who wobbles again. "You... you just Talked!" they start almost speechless over it. Seeing their expression, he attempts once more.

"You... shocked?"

The Alien syllables are broken and heavily accented, but comprehensible. He looks at them questioningly.

Bumblebee chirrups, drawing their attention down. His tiny face scrunched in confusion by the reaction. “sorry baby i didn't mean to jolt you” they apologise, stroking a finger lightly over his head. Regaining composure, they meet Big Blue's eyes.

"You Hear?" 

They sat there stunned, everything they had ever thought they knew about the oceanides had been thrown out the window the moment he talked. To them in broken words, they could understand humans, they could speak. "Can you understand me?" They ask nervously.

Big Blue regards them patiently, sensing their disbelief.

"Understand...little,"

he rumbles in his fractured tongue, Making a hand signs with his webbed fingers while talking, hoping it would help.

"Metal Wrecks. Learned...words. Meanings."

He explains about ships before pointing to his head fins.

"Listen much. You."

He gently presses a finger to their chest. 

They just continue to stare at Optimus even as Bumblebee begins to fuss and claw at their clothing eager to chirp and mimic them. "Every... everything we thought we knew about, that I thought I knew about you" they mumble mainly to themself realising that the Oceanides are so much more intelligent than what they had expected. Everything that was ever documented paired them in the same intelligence category as Dolphins and Orcas.

"All...learn. Know more, less. Together."

Gesturing between them meaningfully. Bee fussing draws their gaze downwards. The tiny pup chirrups inquisitively, before yelling Papa again. He lay a gentle hand on his pup's head running it down his frills and fins, rumbling low.

 "I... can you take me back to the people at the centre?" They ask hoping he understood enough to know what they were asking him to take them back. They needed to talk to Quin badly. She needed to know. 

Optimus inclines his head thoughtfully at the request, considering. While communication had progressed between them, the human's kind remained an uncertain element in regards to his own, he didn't trust the others to know yet. 

He rumbles cautiously,

" group... there. Might think... attack."

The claws on his digits flex unconsciously at the notion.

"No know, Us, talk?"

He was cautious not wanting any hard to come to the pods or his pup. 

"Why talk to me?" They ask softly as bee coos and tugs at their shirt, eagerly trying to gain their attention. They hoist him up, rocking him slightly as they make little noises at him. Big blue exhales slowly.

"Pup."

He nods gently to the cooing pup now focused on them.

"You.. care. Save. he Chose you." 

 "Can the others talk?" They inquire with sad eyes looking up at him.

"Some, limited speech,"

he rumbles at last. "You don't want humans to know do you?" They mumble softly, bumblebee's little hands grab their face patting it with a giggle. Their sad expression slowly changes as they look down at the pup in their arms, a small smile gracing their lips. 

He gives a rumble and nods to them. Bumblebee chatters and pats them. A low call echoes from the entrance of the cave as slight commotion is heard. The human watches as one oceanide orange and white drags in a Red, orange and yellow mer. Seeming to be telling him off for something and fussing over him. 

________________

"Again? Rodimus, how many times must I say - leave the Jellyfish alone!" Ratchet gripes, already rubbing kelp and squid ink into the stink. Rodimus flashes a sheepish grin, fins fluttering nervously under the scolding. 

Bee chirrups a greeting from his perch, drawing Rodimus' attention, the younger oceanide goes to flash him a grin only for his eyes to go wide as he sees Optimus and a human's curious stare. 

"Ow! Easy, Ratch- Ow!" Rodimus whines, fin flapping in irritation as Ratchet examines the stings. Ratchet snorts. "Hold still, you glitched sparkling. This is what you get for harassing Jellyfish again." He looks up then, noticing Rodimus has gone quite. 

"Optimus? When did- how long have they been here?" Optimus regards them calmly. "Long enough to know Rodimus has been harassing Jellyfish again." He chuckles softly. 

The human in his arms gives a small wave which bumblebee mimics.  

"Optimus, what in the Pits is going on here?" Ratchet demands, field flickering uncertainty, and cautiously as he watches the human. "What are they doing here?”

Rodimus chatters a mile a minute, fins wriggling. "What are they saying? Are you their mate? Can they understand us? Are they soft like they look? Can I-"

Optimus raises a webbed hand to settle them both "Rodimus enough." He sighs. Ratchet's fins twitch as he simmers uneasily, Rodimus hovers like an eager sparkling. 

Bumblebee thrills joyfully as he hugs the human. A yelp leaves them as both Rodimus and Ratchet move closer. 

Rodimus ignores the cue, fins flickering rapidly as he prattles. "But I wasn't done asking questions! And Blue's gonna be so jealous - he adores this softie. Bet he thought HE'D get one as a mate first." 

Ratchet snaps glaring at Rodimus for a second. "Watch your mouth, sparkling! And give them space - can't you see you're frightening the poor thing" Ever the voice of reason beneath gruffness. 

They look up at Optimus for a moment.  "What are they saying?" They ask politely to him.

" curious. know why here."

He gestures widely.

" Asks if you... mate? For me?"

He huffs a soft laugh. Their eyes go wide as a fluster takes over them realising what he had said. 

Optimus can't help but chuckle warmly at the softskin's reaction, amusement at how flustered they go over him trying to play translator. "Rodimus is undeterred, fins wriggling excitedly as he babbles. "Aww, look how cute they are! I just wanna pinch their cheeks. Think they taste like the sweet jellyfish?" 

Ratchet bats the back of his hand with a scowl. "Don't even think about it, sunfish! Leave them be. How are you, my pup, Optimus I swear he takes after you" Ratchet grumbles. 

But the thought isn't lost on Optimus, watching the human with his pup, the human is of an entirely different kind, with needs and biology wholly unfamiliar. Yet still... when seeing how gentle their hands are with Bee, a small spark of desire kindles within his core. 

His frame is much larger than theirs, true - but theirs is so soft and delicate, unlike the tough hide of his kind. Would their pliant flesh conform sweetly to his spike as a coupling was claimed? Would they gasp and squirm if his larger fingers explored their hidden places? Might their body twist in ecstasy if he took them as a mate?. 

He tries to focus on Bumblebee's happy clicks instead, but memories of entwined interfacing keep dragging his mind elsewhere. How might they accommodate him?  Would they cry out in a strange language as overload claimed them? His fins flare hot at the image of them round with offspring. 

it makes the other two mers eyes go wide in shock of the display. “Optimus! them?” Ratchet nearly shouts, breaking the large Red and Blue mer out of his thoughts. “ forgive me I… I need to leave” A low, involuntary whine escapes Optimus. 

The human looks up at him as he makes the noise, concerned in their eyes, and it's all Optimus can do not to scoop them up right there. Trembling, Optimus forces himself to slide back into the water. "Must...go," he manages roughly to the human.

 Locking eyes with Ratchet in a silent plea, he lunges out of the cove, suppressing the urge to flash his fins anymore than he had already. Once in the open sea, Optimus breaths in the water through his gills, desperately trying to purge the fantasies. 

________________________

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[aha-chuu]

Okay just like some lore stuff about dragons cos I have Neuvillette brainrot -

So he's probably the Hydro Dragon, like Hoyo aren't really trying to hide this

Dragons used to rule Teyvat before the Archons (spelled out in Nahida's second story quest)

However, the Hydro Dragon specifically was corrupted and killed by other dragons - the vishaps in Enkonomiya

There was a prophecy about the Hydro Dragon being reincarnated in human form; does this mean tiny baby Neuvillette appeared in Fontaine randomly? Was he born? Did he hatch from an egg? Unclear

Dragons being "corrupted" is also a Thing with Apep, since she ate Deshret who was corrupted by Forbidden Knowledge and became corrupted herself

From that old Oceanid event and other in game lore, we know that Hydro specifically becomes impure the easiest of all the elements

Neuvillette gets a scratch on his face just from being in Childe's abyss transformation's presence for a second, even though we know Childe didn't have the opportunity to attack him

Look I think corrupted Neuvillette is in the cards. I don't think he'll die but I think stuff could happen there and there's a reason Neuvillette shut down Childe's abyss transformation so quickly, even though we know he thought the guilty sentencing was unfair. He doesn't do anything until Foul Legacy shows up so he probably recognises what it is.

(also Furina looks scared when the traveller pulls their sword out again her, and she flinches back when Childe starts fighting. It's giving puppet leader.)

[gold-rhine]

he's SO FUNNY about it btw, like his character stories have so much angst about like oh.... he's forced to pretend to be "normal human"... it's so hard for him.... ppl are so judgemental....

but he de facto makes NO fucking effort to pretend to be human, doesn't even try to "hello my fellow humans" like zhongli does, he refuses to lie, he goes "LMAO archons wear FAKE visions to BLEND IN? imagine being such LOOOSERS"

he could have lied that he's an oceanid or smth when ppl saw that he's too long living for a human, but tho he doesnt disclose hes a dragon, he doesnt give ppl any explanation AT ALL. when asked if he's a trial demon bc ppl didn't know what the fuck he is, he was like no, i'm not and i don't actually care about trials, it's just 9 to 5 for me, so ppl were like ????? High Justice doesn't give a fuck?? it's a springboard job for him??? huh???

like he created so much PR problems for no fucking reason just bc he refuses to compromise even a tiny bit on pretending to be smth he's not. like wow ppl didn't trust you at first? when you obv act nonhuman and refuse to explain shit? asdfghjkl

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

okay mermay is technically over...HOWEVER-

legacy exploring around fontaine at dusk as a treat for not going haywire while ajax attempted to do all his paperwork, and coming across a small lake hidden behind rocks and trees with a lovely oceanid(in their human form) living inside!

it is ALWAYS mermay in my heart!!!!

Foul Legacy's drawn in by the sound of singing, a gentle melody dancing through the thick forest and trees before breaking into a small clearing. the pond nestled deep in the woods is crystal clear, surrounded by lumidouce bells and lakelight lilies, and within the water was a single body, glowing and sitting perfectly at the bottom of the lake. your blue-streaked hair floats around you as you sing, your only companions being tiny fish and seagrass- then there's an echoing chirp above you, and when you tilt your head up you meet a faceted sapphire gaze attached to a crimson red mask and two twinned horns, all wobbly and distorted by the motion of the water

Legacy's breath catches when you peek your head above the water, looking at him curiously, and he lets out a delighted trill

you're so different from each other, yet the same, both inhuman and alone in the world. even in your human form a few of your fins remain, Legacy touching them carefully with awe while you examine his horns and armor. you play with the water so effortlessly, a collection of tiny animals at your beck and call, and Legacy adds a miniature narwhal from his Vision, watching you smile happily. he shows you Ajax, half of himself, and you allow him to glimpse your true Oceanid form, elegant and floating in midair. yet still, you don't dare to leave your pond- Egeria had told you, long ago, that the world was dangerous- and Legacy whines sadly, but gently nuzzles his face against your cheek, a promise to return again

that day, the rain that falls is particularly bright and fresh

[whispersinthedawn]

Fluttering Fireflies 3

It probably said something about Apollo, or at least about Artemis’s understanding of Apollo, that the god’s first action after parting from her was to perch himself in his casual chariot, put on a pair of Hephaestus’s far-seeing, anti-glare, anti-moisture, anti-rocks, heat-detecting sunglasses, and settle in for a glimpse of his newest obsession.

Um.

Attraction.

Person of interest.

Person he wanted to befriend, possibly befriend.

Whatever sounded less creepy.

Or stalkerish.

Cause he wasn’t being a stalker.

He just … waited for the new god to pop his perfectly shaped head out of the water, dialled up his sunglasses until he could peer beneath the waters, and then tracked the god’s path throughout the week.

But he wasn’t creepy! He never followed the god. Apollo remained right where he was, perched in his chariot, and allowed his own perfect vision and Hephaestus’s sunglasses to do all the work.

And he definitely didn’t eavesdrop on the god’s conversations until he heard his own name mentioned, which as everyone knew, was just asking for his attention.

No, no. Apollo drove the Sun chariot around, composed music, created art, listened to prayers, inspired a few mortals, healed some other mortals, guided some lost sailors to shore, and allowed one of his manifestations to laze around doing nothing but reading books and observing the scenery for some much needed mental relaxation.

And then he heard his name.

Being the friendly, charismatic guy he always tried to be (it wasn’t nosiness no matter what Artemis said), Apollo promptly materialised on top of the boat.

“Hello,” he beamed.

A glass broke against his face.

He blinked. People … didn’t generally throw entire glasses at him, no.

“You surprised me!” the beautiful, dangerous god Apollo might have possibly fallen for cried out.

“Not more than you surprised me,” Apollo pointed out genially while brushing fragments of glass off himself.

“What are you doing here anyway?” the other god demanded, narrowing bright green eyes that might have been inherited from Poseidon but sparkled with a vivacity all their own.

“Heard my name,” Apollo said shamelessly. “It sounded urgent.”

The god peered at him suspiciously. “You don’t look like any of my uncles, but who can say with shapeshifting.”

“I’m Apollo,” Apollo interrupted before the guy could start listing all the gods Apollo couldn’t be.

“I just wanted a little less sunshine,” the recipient of Apollo’s attention said without any consideration for who he was talking to.

“And that made you pray to me?” Apollo cried out, trying terribly hard to sound excited.

Something broke on the other side of the boat. Though Apollo supposed the vehicle wasn’t tiny enough to classify as a rowboat. A yacht perhaps? Terribly small in comparison to anything Apollo would own, but then again, he supposed young gods didn’t have centuries of offerings to call upon.

The young god in question heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry for throwing the glass at you,” he apologized with a disarming smile. “I was surprised, but that’s no reason to take it out on you. My only excuse, I suppose, is that I’m on something of a mission.

“What mission?” Apollo asked, bubbles of excitement rising up his oesophagus.

The young god winked. “A little sneaking, a little breaking. Maybe a little theft.”

“I’d love to help,” Apollo enthused.

And didn’t regret it even when he had to stomp out all the noise on the boat, act as a portable lie detector as the gorgeous, vibrant, ruthless god beside him interrogated his way through the boat, and set up a heat haze that threatened to evaporate the Oceanid pretending she hadn’t stuffed a sheaf of papers down her throat.

“Now,” the unrepentant son of Poseidon said. “I hope you know why I’m here. Because if you don’t, then I’m really going to start wondering just how many people you’ve cheated.”

***

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[kwamiwayzz]

Nicole being in the world of Teyvat and having a Hydro Vision

Nicole’s main weapon being a bow because she’s not one for close combat

Nicole’s true form being a tiny oceanid creature and Jecka using every opportunity she’s in that form to stuff her in her pocket

Nicole threatening Jecka that she would off herself if she told anyone about her true form

[cyle-stuff]

So I’m gonna be honest, I have no clue what Neuvillette is, I’ve seen people say he’s an dragon, but I’ve also seen people say he’s an oceanid

Personally I don’t want him to be either of those, I want him to be a motherfucking otter.

Like imagine how funny that would be?

This tall guy just randomly turns into a tiny otter and, I don’t know, bites peoples ankles, in the name of justice of course

(I know this isn’t gonna happen but fuck I wish it did)

[tinydefector]

Marine Centre 3- merformers AU

Warnings: talking about mating, loss of babies. Arguments

Word count: 2.1k

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Here's some information on how the Pods kinda work in this fic. If you want more details on the pods let me know.

Here are the Five Pods that reside at the Yawk-yawk Marine Rehabilitation centre. Mind you, there are other pods, but they don't reside at the centre but will make appearances in this fic later on.

Pod 1 - Autobots

Optimus

Ratchet

Bumblebee

Jazz

Prowl

Beachcomber

Ironhide

Pod 2 - Decepticons

Megatron

Starscream

Thundercracker

Skywarp

Soundwave

Shockwave

Pod 3 - Young Autobots (off branch Pod/ Young of other members)

Rodimus

Sunstreaker

Sideswipe

Bluestreak

Smokescreen

Mirage

Pod 4 - mixed members

Windblade

Drift

Pharma

Chromedome

Rewind

Whirl

Arcee

Pod 5 - Combaticons

Swindle

Vortex

Onslaught

Brawl

Blast Off

________________

Little thrills and chirps come from the cove as a tiny blur of yellow and black zips through the water, Chasing the human who walks along the shore line. The little pup eagerly calls out with little noises trying to catch their attention. A chorus of soft crooning rises among the mingled pods at the greeting of the tiny pup.

"Hello Babybee!" The human calls out softly to the baby mer. many of the other oceanides kept looking out over the pup, but they were already aware that the human wouldn't hurt the little one.

The little mer thrills delightedly while trying to drag himself onto the sand closer to them. "No, no, no baby you can't come onto the sand." They call while trying to usher the little yellow and black pup back into the water.

A pout forms on the little one's face, tiny fins flapping in dismay. But just as swiftly Dancer is there in an instant, gracefully scooping the youth back into the safety of the pool.

It's only the deep rumble of Big Blue which makes Bee turn around quickly and call out loudly to his Sire. But he doesn't move. "You haven't been annoying your papa while he's been healing have you?" They inquire only for more little thrills and chirps to leave the pup. Big blue emerges then from the depths, red and cobalt scales gleaming serenely as ever in the midday light.

Bee pouts but subsides against his sire's side, tiny purrs and trills of disappointed longing leave the pup as he clings to the larger mer.

_______

Windblade is first to respond to the little pup, drifting nearer with grace. "Bumblebee, there you are! You know better than to crawl on the sand" she Coos softly to the stripped pup.

Starscream scoffs, though his fins lay flat in disinterest. But ever-playful Skywarp spins gleeful loops around Windblade and pup. "Aww, lookit the little bitlet! You're getting so big, your colours are looking bright" he hums while gently looking over the pup.

"Now now, little one, you know the rules. The beach side is for walking friends, not us, can't have you getting yourself beached." She soothes, calming his upset with the practised ease of a carrier well versed in youthful disobedience. "Aww let him have his fun, Blades! We were all curious pups once."

It's only the deep rumble of Optimus which makes them all go quiet. Bumblebee turns around quickly and calls out loudly to his Sire. But he doesn't move from Windblade’s hold. Optimus slowly takes his pup from her hold cradling the little one close.

"Bumblebee," he rumbles gently, "you know the rules, little one. No going on the sand, you are too young." Gently yet firmly he lifts the pup into loving arms, cerulean eyes glowing with warmth at his little one.

Bumblebee pouts but subsides against his sire's powerful arms, still emitting little Trills of disappointed longing. Optimus meets the caretaker's eyes, they both watch each other for a moment as he continues to cradle his pup.

A mournful stillness falls over the mingled pods as they watch Optimus with Bumblebee.

"last season was a difficult one. But I'm glad to see your little one out and about" Her field pulses faint sadness, she had lost her own too early, taking quickly to Bumblebee as many of the pod did.

“As am I, I'm forever grateful for all the humans have done for Bee, I doubt he would have survived without their help” he rumbles softly. Windblade continues to wiggle her claws at the little one who giggles and grabs them.

"We can't keep losing generation after generation like this. Something's thinning the gene pool and we're not breeding fast enough to replace what's lost." Ironhide calls out while swimming closer. “Hey pup” he hums, giving the little one a head rub.

Starscream hisses uneasily. "There are fewer pods venturing near each cycle. It's those land crawlers doing, mark my words they are the reason for it!” He huffs out.

"I'm aware of the drop in our numbers but as it is, the only help we have received with our young is from the humans, had I not taken Bee to them when I did we would have no surviving pups." His words give them pause. they all knew Optimus was right, Bumblebee was very sick and without the marine centre's help he would have perished.

Optimus to turn to Starscream. “How is Megatron?, I haven't seen him since out fight”

"Megatron's wounds mend, though slowly." Starscream's fins flick in agitation. "The stress is getting to him, he wonders why Primus forbids him his own spawn. But spared yours”

Skywarp chitters nervously. "It's never been this bad before, not for long cycles. Even Megatron knows something bigger's going on, making it hard for the little ones to survive.”

"Maybe the softskins are right and it's more than just bad luck or genes. Something's changing in the deep, and we're on the losing side regardless of the cause." Ironhide shoots back

But Windblade flashes her finned guardians a quelling look. " What matters now is caring for Bumblebee and hope that we are granted a change with the next season."

Windblade continues stroking the youth gently. "Bumblebee would not be here if not for the humans' care. It seems...our song may rely on theirs, if it is to have any hope of continuing in the seas."

Her words are met with uneasy hesitation never before have the Oceanides relied upon outsiders, but Optimus had. Drift speaks up as he Drift's beside Rodimus "Our numbers fall while theirs climb ever higher. If we do not accept assistance, soon there may be no pods left at all."

Starscream hisses uneasily. "Dolphins grow ever more bold and numerous, harassing us when we feed where once they gave a wide berth. The orcas too have tasted our energon and now we have to be wary of them."

Ratchet croons in concern. "The humpback and grey kin have fallen silent, their great pods have moved on. No allies remain in which we can seek refuge when predator numbers swell, our best option is to stay here till they return to these waters."

"The great sharks now prowl only the farthest blue edges, driven from their feeding grounds by the loud noise and flashing lights of human undersea vessels. We have no kin but our own, our safety is the shorelines unless we are in number but with a youngling we can not take to deep waters yet."

Bumblebee chirps again, wiggling in his sires' hold until he escapes, disappearing from Optimus' side and swimming back to the human on the sandy shore again. It earns a laugh from the human as they scoot forward a little. Gently brushing the little frills of his head. It makes Optimus' spark ache.

Starscream vents quietly. "Few among us have known the happiness of sparking and rearing young. I doubt the other pods are having the same issues as us, perhaps we need new mingling when they come to the sands again"

“ It could be an option, considering our five Pods seem to not be having the best of luck” Sunstreaker mutters softly.

“ I'd like to see Chromia again, Hopefully Elita’s pod returns ” Windblade murmurs to herself, she could only hope that Chromia had better luck with a pup. But she did miss her bonded.

“You know the landers don't seem to have much issues with offspring, maybe they'd be willing to help us out” Rodimus blurts out, he wasn't exactly paying full attention to what was being said.

Windblade's fins flare in startled protest. Turning towards the bright orange and Red Oceanide. "Mating with outsiders goes against the sacred bonds of pod and kin!"

"Mating season nears and our numbers dwindle," Rodimus insists. "I'm not saying we have to do anything, it was just a thought!." He huffs out but lounges back against the rocks, his eyes watching the human now playing with Bumblebee in the shallows. But it does make many of the others stop to think. Humans seemed to have much better luck with their young than the Pod. But even that there was no promise of young or if a coupling of that sort would be viable.

Skywarp speaks up next. "If it means pups, what does it matter who their carrier is?"

Ironhide rumbles grim concerns. "Involving outsiders in matters of our Pods could alter both species in ways none foresee."

The younger mers pulse with surging field and logic as Rodimus presses his point. Bluestreak begins voicing his opinion. "Look how the caretaker cares for Bumblebee. Is that so different from how one would care for our young? And see how the little one beams at their touch, as content as any podling among kin!"

"He's got a point - the softskins aren't so strange. And if it brings pups, what's to lose?" Vortex states while watching the other pods continue to argue over the subject.

"Frag the fleshies, if it means more bitlets! Who cares? if it saves our pods I'd say it's worth it” Onslaught remarks only for other mers to hiss at his crash words.

But steely Jazz croons, despite his love for their little caretaker and the other human's of the centre he didn't trust that other humans wouldn't use it to their advantage. "Breedin' another species ain't no simple thing, mech. what's to stop the softskins wantin' somethin' back we ain't willin' to give?"

“We mate freely when the tide flows, so why not them? On land or sea,” Swindle shrugs, it was true, some mers had multiple mades others single, but due to the times they had taken to mating with multiple in hopes for young.

Rodimus refuses to relent under Elders stinging reprimand. "Do you think I propose this out of boredom or mere lust?" he retorts hotly. "Since my own youth, our numbers have halved - and how many more fading cycles must pass before no pups remain at all?, this season we have one surviving, one Pup between Five pods"

"The landers recognize as we do that something ails us. If natural means no longer can restore our numbers, then must we not embrace other paths, however unorthodox, hey im all for if we find another way, but what happens when next season we have no pups"

Rodimus spins to pin each dissenting elder with a fiery piercing glare. "Or would you have us fade to nothing instead, condemning future generations to exist only in memory?" His impassioned defence strikes silence from many.

Optimus' gaze turns to watches with quiet intensity as the human and pup interact, observing how they handle the bitlet with such care.

Long has he guided his pod, but he too knew something was amiss. The broods he once bore long since ventured into the deeps few remained. Yet...if agreement could be found, built, why not try. “If by this season we have no young It will be something the human will know. They are intelligent. If they are willing to assist, we will gladly take their offer” Optimus rumbles, it's the end of discussion as he slowly moves away from the others towards his bitlet.

____

"Yes, yes hello sweet baby, you know I'll get in trouble if I'm around you too much, vets said you need to be around your pod, can't have you getting too attached to me" they hum mainly to themself knowing full well the little pup didn't understand.

Bumblebee thrills piteously, tiny claws outstretched and straining toward them, flexing futilely. "No test today baby, you look so healthy now!" They chimed but sigh as the little one drags themself into their lap. Slowly scooting down the sand they sit in the water so Bee doesn't dry out too much. Their eyes watch the larger Oceanides talk amongst themselves. It almost sounds like a melody with the sweet sounds they made.

“Are the adults boring you baby?” They tease softly only for the little yellow and black pup to snuggle Into their side purring contently. “Gonna get me in big trouble with Quin Beebee.

It's a long while before the older mers finish what seemed like an intense conversation.

Gracefully Big blue nudges nearer, slowly beaching himself close to them, trying his best not to startle either of them. gently but firmly he lifts the pup away, cerulean eye meeting their own with gratitude beyond words. They smile and laugh softly as it earns a grumble from the little one who didn't want to be disturbed.

_______________

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[eternalflashh]

i give up. i've been thinking about the fontaine lore too much to not put my thoughts somewhere.

no, this is not at all going to be organized, because i hardly have it all together yet. but i've been trying to get a gist of fontaine's prophecy, and i'm just trying to put the pieces together after what we've learned of fontaine's history (albeit not much, and neither is the theory the best. i'm just thinking on paper here.) this is going to be *very long* by the way. very, very, very long.

naturally, beware of spoilers, particularly: fontaine AQs and world quests (narzissenkreuz, elynas (the melusines) — including the canotila side quest, institute of natural philosophy, khvarena), artifacts (nymph's dream, marechaussee hunter), weapon (fleuvre cendre ferryman)

also, disclaimer: i may be wrong. i am not a genius—kind of an idiot, really. i'm just thinking. thinking. read this as someone's journal, not the wiki entry.

here's a brief recap of the three fontaine world quests, because we're going to need them:

in the narzissenkreuz adventure team quest, we accompanied the tiny oceanid ann in order to save a "princess lyris", only to find out that she never existed and this was all a fictional tale—one, though, that has its roots in the real narzissenkreuz institute.

in the elynas quest, we saved mamere from getting her paintings stolen, and found out that she was painting with elynas's blood. a man named jakob ingold has been trying to collect this blood, and now, apparently tries to revive the dragon itself—for a cause that is beyond even the abyss's plans.

the quest with the institute of natural philosophy wasn't quite as plotful, aside from the fact that we simply were led to the institute thinking it was the narzissenkreuz institute, and found plenty of old records. it's also where the narzissenkreuz ordo's quarters was buried inside, and where we managed to unite ann and seymour to continue their story.

now, from the many ancient texts and artifact/weapon descriptions i've managed to piece a rough idea of what happened 500 years ago, which i will try my best to summarize coherently according to my understanding:

the narzissenkreuz institute, which had an oceanid as its director and basil elton as its vice, was a special unit founded with the purpose of protecting fontaine against the evils (of khaenri'ah, presumably). that being said, they housed orphaned childen. these included the mary-ann we see in "the real annapausis" (whose consciousness was transferred to our oceanid ann), alain, rene, and jakob.

it was said that "the director and her sisters went off to fight the evil at its source" (nymph's dream), which i'm assuming is khaenri'ah, while the vice director set off for the seas in the Sponsian ship where she eventually passed. shortly after, the institute was disbanded. before the vice director (basil elton) set off, though, she had entrusted the children of the institute to her close friends: emanuel gullotin and karl ingold (marechaussee hunter).

alain guillotin and mary-ann guillotin, taken up by emanuel, became marechaussee hunters; rene de petrichor and jakob ingold, in the meantime, headed for sumeru's girdle of the sands with karl ingold to research the remmants of the lord of amrita. (if you did the quest, you would've had "rene's investigation notes" in your inventory—which essentially describes what they've been researching; rene appears to have recently turned into a young adult, while jakob is still "a child", but they both sound... young.) it also seems that before this, they infiltrated elynas—in the investigation notes, they seem to be hiding their condition from karl; later we find that jakob seems to be surviving on elynas's blood.

sometime after this, alain guillotin is enrolled into the institute of natural philosophy where he researches (i assume) the mechanics of arkhe and pneuma-ousia annihilation; rene and jakob are also enrolled in there some time later. at first, they were working on the same research (alain's), until rene and alain eventually broke off their working relationship (noting that they, including mary-ann, still hung out together as friends), apparently having disagreed on something.

now we saw jakob ingold— which clearly means him having absorbed elynas's blood (and all those research) has somehow given him the powers of immortality, which rene and him had been researching in the desert; although it appears that rene has found a different way of implementing immortality. rene, in his "memories" as told in the book of revealing, discovered a way humans could surpass death by dissolving in the waters, their consciousness preserved even as doomsday comes (i assume this is how the water from the primordial sea came to be rediscovered after ages), and chose himself as the first test subject to be dissolved. alain, meanwhile, went off to establish the fontaine research institute that studied clockwork and created the meka we see roaming around fontaine now—i personally think the specific use of clockwork was intended to allude to the underlying goal to surpass their time. but yk, that might be overkill.

mary-ann's end, though, was never quite explicitly told. and in fact, the "mary-ann" we see in annapausis described the place in the book as her tomb, even though the story (whether the one we were going through, or the literal story you find in the fountain with the "statue of princess lyris") was unfinished. she might not have been a particularly "important" character in the history, but she was significant to each of the other childen— the various notes always expressed joy whenever they see mary-ann, may it be alain who was said to care for his sister (so much that he made her seymour), rene, jakob, even carter (alain's assistant).

this is important because, coincidentally, it resembles ann's role in the narzissenkreuz adventure team fairytale. ann was described to be their leader, a sort of mascot, among the team fighting against the fell dragon. and in fact, each of the characters we met resemble someone in reality: 'al' is from alain, 'ney' is from rene, 'jak' is from jakob, and 'mori' from seymour. (the others are... a bit complicated and i cannot yet discuss them because I'm Still Thinking, and that'll go besides my current point.) basically, the fairytale was literally told with the children as real life inspiration. (even though, of course, it was cut off quite annoyingly.)

then, it's worth understanding the tale to understand their true motives as well. the tale talks of the adventure team's existence essentially to help princess lyris to protect her realm and fight against the big bad evil, the fell dragon narcissus. narcissus was fighting her for "a treasure of hers that he did not have", and in order to help fight against this evil, princess lyris shared her time with her friends, time that allowed them to be ahead of the dragon's attacks. but in the end, the dragon still had the upper hand; eventually she trapped herself in the high tower, entrusting a treasure to the adventure team: a bright pearl of water.

common sense tells that this princess lyris alludes to the archon of their nation, egeria; the adventure team being the narzissenkreuz institute, while the fell dragon narcissus is the khaenri'ahn invasion. judging from this, then, it appears that the archon left behind this "bright pearl of water" as the last thing before she trapped herself in the high tower. and that's it— that's the end of the story, so we don't know how the rest of history went. well, except for the fact that the former hydro archon is, in fact, dead, and now we are left with a most ominous prophecy: of the original sin, of why it's exclusive to fontaine, of why the oceanids do not recognize their current archon, of why furina is exempt from this prophecy—and what she is waiting for.

i have so many questions, and no idea of how to approach them in a methodical manner—so i will first point out all the things that bother me.

i wondered why this problem is exclusive to fontaine. regarding there is a problem of exception mentioned in rene's notes, where the children's constitution are different from karl's; i still have no idea the nature of this distinction, only that rene and jakob's bodies are like the power of the sacred lotus (i.e., the former archon's power). at first i thought that this distinction may be the reason for them being susceptible to the primordial seawater's effects, but without understanding the distinction, it doesn't help in answering the question.

then, again, i wondered what their real motives was. neuvillette says that the former archon left furina with the prophecy—but it doesn't sound like a problem so much as a statement of what's to come. we don't know what egeria actually believed. but i went back to the final feast teaser, and found that egeria actually had some narration:

the original sin is the fairest: everyone sinks. make the most of the final feast, because for the sinners, the curtain call has come.

which certainly does make it sound like she sees them all as sinners, and that they have always been bound to sink.

the interesting thing is— this might not necessarily be a bad thing, no matter how we see it as a crisis. even the victims of the disappearances case regard dissolving into the waters as "relief" (vigniere from the AQ); even the people say this is just like returning to whence they came from, and mary-ann of the sunflower annapausis says that together, as one body of water, they can become strong. in line with this, perhaps rene's act of dissolving into the seawater doesn't seem so much as a radical act anymore.

i always come back to this line at the storybook:

"So, in Narcissus's story, I'm the evil villain?

it may sound like an innocent question, but a fairly odd one for a child to be asking. and i believe it says more than it seems. for one, i'd like to point out that narcissus is another term for the flower daffodil, which symbolizes rebirth—the narzissenkreuz also means "narcissus cross", aka, death of rebirth. which makes sense when you think that they're enemies of "the fell dragon". but why would they be fighting rebirth? perhaps because the narzissenkreuz institute were fighting the prophecy, which they, including egeria, perhaps, believed at the time to be a good thing.

i say "at the time" because, look at what became of the children. in essence, they became "villains". rene, for one, founded a source of the primordial sea, which was certainly what led to the current problems—and, hence, what would lead to the realizing of the prophecy. jakob is out here trying to revive elynas in order to use his blood to strengthen human lifespans, so that they can overcome the surmised cataclysm that would come? to turn everyone immortal? meanwhile, alain's deviced a way to subvert the usage of celestia's elements by making work of pneuma-ousia power. essentially, they are each fighting for rebirth, instead of fighting against rebirth. perhaps not precisely rebirth, but a way to preserve humanity, to subvert the crisis. even mary-ann, in a sense, had managed to attain this goal, by preserving all her memories—despite it being unfinished—in that storybook.

and in fact, perhaps that's also why the story ended there—because it was that point, when the cataclysm occurred, where the story's moral had shifted, and they had each lost their original intention to fight. because they then realized that they needed better ways of handling this crisis, only to have one of them revert to that crisis itself. tl;dr: the prophecy ceased from being a crisis, instead becoming rene's perceived solution. which is.... interesting, to say the least.

again, it sounds radical, but it may very well hold water. one interesting thing i noted from the canotila quest was that where we saw the dark power of the abyss in "the end of things" as predicted by the world-formula, canotila instead saw a nice place with flowers, etc. and when we were talking to elynas, he noted that "the things they (the primordial dragons) enjoyed were not things that humans valued". it's similar to this situation—two different viewpoints may see the same thing to be two very different things; either salvation or destruction. which then brings a lot of suspense toward the resolution of the AQ—what, truly, will become the best solution for them? would being dissolved save the people of fontaine? or would they find a way to subvert both the dissolution and the destruction? (obviously, it's probably the latter—the question, as always, would be how? to answer that, we need to know more on why they are subject to this sin, and that is not a question i can answer, despite this Very Long Rambling. i am most stressed)

but if nothing else, at least i've figured that the foretelling of this disaster is something that's originated far before the cataclysm, from egeria's time. perhaps it'd be something like rukkhadevata & nahida, where rukkhadevata had her own way of solving the issue with combating forbidden knowledge, but it led to a whole other issue, and nahida had to find her own solution.

one thing still perplexes me, though— furina's perspective in all this.

at first i thought she may be the "pearl of water" referred to in the storytale, since it would make sense that that's where the next archon comes in—but since furina is supposed to be older than nahida (as said by neuvillette in nahida's introduction), it seems unlikely. though it's always possible that this happened several years before the cataclysm, it wouldn't align very nicely; one would assume the princess trapping in her tower to be an event that took place during the peak of the cataclysm, so the life born out of the pearl must be sometime after that. but the possibility remains.

or perhaps one shouldn't take the story too literally, and assume she was simply handed the gnosis after egeria's passing—but why? who is she to begin with? and what then is the pearl of water that the princess left to the narzissenkreuz? it must bear significance, if it was left in the story at all (and something the storyteller felt important enough to be named after the child she was telling the story to, lyris). perhaps the pearl thing was only an expression, and it was meant to allude to the passing of her gnosis to the next archon. but of course, this is only conjecture.

furina's behavior... is perhaps simply a consequence of her original personality, under her circumstances. her personality aside, though, what would her woes we hear in the fountain mean? what does she mean when she say "interminable"—what, exactly, is she waiting for in unbearable loneliness? it doesn't make much sense for her to be waiting for the prophecy to come; otherwise, she'd have no reason to research it for so long, gathering intelligence, when she hardly cares for the nation's affairs. surely she wouldn't be waiting for divine intervention to come save her from her business? lyney and lynette note that she always appears to be "acting"—so what is she acting for? why does she aim to judge other gods? if she wants to prove that other nations are also at fault for "sinning", then wouldn't she need more time, instead of being impatient? nothing seems to add up with her. perhaps she wants to save everyone, but perhaps she is tired as well. perhaps she doesn't feel like she's capable of it, and wishes for release to come instead. is that what it is? who knows. who knows. it's impossible to tell, with someone with so many faces.... it's very interesting. furina is certainly a very interesting archon.

anyways. that was long and this doesn't hold much water to it (get it) but. i had to dump my thoughts somewhere. i'll get back to it when i find more information, when more thoughts come to hound me,,,,,, yeah. anyway.

[aha-chuu]

I'm still thinking about Fontaine and the previous Hydro Archon, Furina & Neuvillette.

Because, like, we know Nahida is the youngest Archon, being born during the Cataclysm when Rukkhadavata died. Which means Furina must be older than 500 and must have existed at the same time as the previous Hydro Archon (I'll call her "Amrita" for simplicity's sake). Now I kind of think that Furina was a part of Amrita, since we know from the Oceanids that water can combine and disperse and maintain consciousness between these states. But that feels pretty similar to the Nahida situation so I'm not sure if Hoyo would do that.

In which case I'm free to headcanon that Furina was Amrita's problematic little protegee. Just a full on spoiled kiddo under the Archon's care, who got flung into authority unexpectedly after the cataclysm (explaining why she sucks so bad at it).

And if Furina did have a student-teacher relationship with Amrita, then it makes sense that the dissolving prophecy would be purposefully be left to her as a "conundrum" to be solved. Like Amrita realised Furina was a spoiled brat and wanted to leave a lesson to be learned behind.

Which then I think we need to talk about how Neuvillette fits into this dynamic. He's referenced as being at least a few hundred years old, and he's been around in Fontaine longer than Melusine records, since its rumoured that he's their creator when it was actually Elynas. So he probably also knew Amrita; yet I doubt he knew her for all that long.

In addition, it's pretty obvious that Neuvillette is the Hydro Dragon.

So here's my thought: Amrita is the Hydro Archon. She is pretty beloved by the people, but she doesn't believe a single person can ever be truly "fair and just" - one leader will always be coloured by bias. So she either splits off her consciousness to create Furina, or selects her from some other group as a student. She begins training Furina in the ways of balance and justice. During this same period, the Hydro Dragon is reborn in Fontaine as Neuvillette.

Now, whether Neuvillette is born to a human family or simply in human form doesn't really matter. I enjoy the idea of an egg appearing in the court and hatching out a tiny baby with elf ears, so let's say that's what happened.

Amrita recognises him as one of the dragons and becomes captured by a new idea - the dragons had previously been usurped on Teyvat, and Amrita is interested in fairness above all else. Rather than herself and Furina becoming Fontaine's dual leaders, it would be much more just for an archon and a dragon to rule together. It had all the benefits of defeating bias, while opening the country up to a new perspective.

So Amrita takes Neuvillette as a student too. Furina is still around and continues to be treated as Amrita's charge, yet she loses the responsibility of leadership before ever finishing the training. Neuvillette is instilled with the measure and countenance of a Justice, while Furina is allowed to watch along, worshipped as the Archon's companion.

She was there first, but Neuvillette is the "golden child". Furina resents the lack of attention.

Amrita still desires Fontaine to have co-leaders. When she must head towards her death during the Cataclysm, she leaves both Furina and Neuvillette in charge. When given this opportunity, Furina selfishly pronounces herself as the Archon upon Amrita's death. It's this act of treachery that drives away the Oceanids.

Neuvillette, being younger and less experienced, does not stand up to Furina. He is dedicated to carrying out justice, not leading the nation.

Furina quickly realises that she does not know what she is doing. She basks in the attention at first, but then crumples under the pressure. And so, she gives Neuvillette the title of "Chief Justice". In name, Furina remains the authority over Fontaine. However, in reality, all of the responsibility is placed upon Neuvillette's shoulders.

It was only in Amrita's prophecy, therefore, that Furina would be "left alone weeping" after her people dissolved. In every other matter, Neuvillette could deal with it. But for this utmost challenge to face the Nation, Furina alone carries the burden.

Neuvillette never gets the chance to exist outside of his role, but that helps clarify his connection to the people. He's their reliable Chief Justice, and that gives him an avenue to understand them through. Meanwhile, Furina does everything to remain popular, understanding her people only far enough to ingratiate herself to them. When it comes to how the people of fontaine will all dissolve, however, it's a problem she investigates behind closed doors, terrified of being seen struggling with her single duty to her nation.

[redhuntressnewtrail04]

When I think about Egeria's relationship with Furina/Focalors, I don't know what theory I love more.

Tiny eldest daughter Oceanid or Mature youngest daughter Oceanid.

Both of them have perfect angst potential.

[alwayslosingtheplot-blog]

Make a world with me Part 3.5

Part One , Part Two , Part Three

Just jumping right in today as I don't have much time!

More of the Islands

Oceanids - is the name given to a series of tiny islands that are so close you can swim from one to the other. Coral reefs, beaches, raiding parties and pearl diving are what this area is known for. Only the clams are as big as a train car and can fight back so its done in groups with strong spears. The pearls vary wildly in size, from as small as a pinky nail to as large as the torso of a big man. Most of these clams have lots of little pearls and the diving only happens once per year, although groups practice their diving every week in a religious mass-like ceremony as a community. Sharks are always a worry.

Oread - Oread is mountainous. Monstrous birds are known to fly here while chasing prey. This prey is the flying mounts of its people and are incredibly sacred. When a larger bird comes to hunt, the people gather to kill the treat. Oread is sizable, but not large, and its might comes from its aerial capabilities. Many other nations wish to use these flying mounts, but they are incredibly hard to breed and to train. Their diet is specialized (think hummingbirds) and so far recreating their food source else where has proved almost impossible. I can't decide whether to make them little dragons or pterosaurs or more bird/bat-like creatures.

Pegaeae - Known for it's many hot springs their supposed healing properties. There are also many caves in and around Pegaeae in the land and in the seas around it. The caves in the sea are the home are many dangerous eel creatures which make the transit to and from this island treacherous. Only the most desperate travel here.

Pegasides - The flying mounts of Oread can also be found here. In fact, they originated here and their droppings as they flew over other islands spread their food source to the only other island able to naturally grow it. Unlike Oread, most of these creatures here are feral and dangerous. Those who are tamed are smaller and do not belong to a single person but to a village which their pack protects. (Think of wolves compared to dogs).

Pleiades - Legend says that this was the birthplace of people, or that the earliest of people fled here from the mainland, only finding safety by following the stars at night. This is the Southmost island and the star 'Artemis' will always point to Pleiades. It's main city, New Ithaca, holds a great library and has travelling warrior historians whose missions is to gather all the histories of all people and return with them.

Potamides - The Oracles isle. All those said to be prophets have been born on Potamides. This tiny, remote island is often attacked by more powerful nations who do not want a new prophet to change the status quo and it's tiny population spends much of their time hiding. However, with much warning often these attacks are foiled or other allegiances are temporarily formed to protect the isle. The government here use these oracles in other for the nation (and them personally) to profit. Some prophets run away to live freely with the witches on Lampas rather than be locked away and guarded in the 'gardens' of their main city. There is a dedicated elite force - the Pythia - whose job is to 'protect' the oracles who often are sent out to find them and drag them home.

Semystra - Semystra was once a large city and holy temple until a volcano erupted and rendered the isle in two. The channel that now exists between the two halves are now often the route for ships that wish to use the safety of it to travel but do not wish to step foot on the 'cursed' isle. A small number of people live here but are seen as cursed by the other nations which refuse to engage with them. If they travel out, they have to hide their origins just to get other people to speak with them.

Thriae - The people of this island have a secret. The majority of their wealth comes from the mines and subterrain tunnels that naturally occur here. The amber-like gems are highly valued. However, the people here are unaware that this substance is not a gem, but the other shell of a large hive structure full of the termite-like creatures they sometimes have to defend themselves from.

I think that's it for the general over view. I'll start to deep dive into the cultures of each island a bit more after this. I've made a obsidian vault folder for this as well, to help keep it all together. I have some ideas for short stories in some of these. A poisoner girl from the flower isle, a warrior historian following a raiding party to record the damage they are doing and finding them waiting for him, a runaway oracle heading to Lampas and the person chasing them, etc.