#fic: reasons wicked and divine

[anniesocsandgeneralstore]

Chapters: 7/7 Fandom: Game of Thrones (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Oberyn Martell/Original Female Character(s), Margaery Tyrell & Original Female Character(s), Olenna Tyrell & Original Female Character(s) Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original House Tyrell Character(s), Oberyn Martell, Margaery Tyrell, Olenna Tyrell, Tywin Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Joffrey Baratheon, Original Characters Additional Tags: episode rewrites, no ellaria sand, I am so sorry, i love her to pieces but alas, long lost lovers, Shameless Smut, Joffrey Baratheon Being an Asshole, Dead Joffrey Baratheon, Blood and Violence, Blood and Gore, Oberyn Martell Lives Summary:

This is a repost of this fic that I had posted on my old AO3 account romanticgumchewer.

Aliana Tyrell comes to King's Landing for the wedding of her sister to King Joffrey Baratheon. But while there, she reunites with her old lover: Oberyn Martell.

[hazelfoureyes]

Ok I need a Lucifer x Reader fic based on Griftwood by ghost pretty please ( just listen if you haven’t heard it you’ll understand)

Listen, I went the opposite direction I think you wanted? Lol gonna work on brevity and get more snack sized smut out on weekdays and entrees on he weekends

[Warnings/Promises: snack sized, Lucifer x GN!AngelReader, lil smut smut, Fuck Sera, Luci corrupts absolutely, all hail dat dick, sacrilegious as fuck]

🫸🏼minors DNI🫷🏼

Lucifer avoided the heavenly embassy for obvious reasons. The vast halls, the empty and useless pews, it was, in a word, 

“Creepy,” He hissed. 

He was surprised to find the reception desk manned. Very rarely did heaven actually send anyone down to hell. Oh, wait.

You were stunned already to see Lucifer, so when he poked your nose you let out a tiny squeal.

“Oh shit! You’re real!” Lucifer took a step back, “Sorry about that! Not used to an … actual person.” He gave a little bow, “Forgive me?”

The fact is no one wanted to go to hell for desk duty, so the job was actually a punishment reserved for the most misbehaved. You had to intentionally set fire to Sera’s robes to get that severe of a scolding. She was reluctant, but it had been threatened (promised) to you last time you (intentionally) caused trouble. Rumors were abuzz about Lucifer, and you just had to see for yourself what the Great Big Boss of Hell was like.

Rosey cheeks, bright sharp smile. He didn’t look as scary as you had imagined. You expected a seven foot eight inch tall behemoth with fire pouring from his mouth and blood stained horns.

The devil, the real one, looked quite sweet.

A tiny existential crisis washed over you. Maybe there was a reason they didn’t want people down here. Why they made it sound oh-so-terrible.

“You still in there?” He leaned over the counter, tapping at your forehead. Your hands flew up, capturing his finger and bringing it down.

Warm. 

He froze, a little shocked you would touch him. Your smile went crooked, cheeks blushed. 

“Uhhh you good?” He pointed with his free hand to where you still gripped his finger. You nodded, a hum of confirmation. The blush rose up until you were fully red in the face.

The realization struck Lucifer like heavenly lightning, “Oooh, I see what’s going on here.” A wicked smirk taking you by surprise. “Did you want to meet me, little one?”

You broke out into a sweat, “Yes.”

Lie! Why didn’t you lie?!

He leaned over the counter, “Did you do something bad to get sent here?” Was there fire behind his eyes?

Uneven breaths, “… yes.”

Lucifer’s knee came up and over as he crawled onto the desk, “Should the King of Hell reward you for such bad deeds?” His eyes had gone red now, your hand still on his finger.

Your knees began to shake, “Y-yes.”

His face was inches from yours when your legs gave out, both of you falling to the floor.

Horns tall, yellow pupils dilated as he straddled you. “I think you’ll find I’m a generous ruler.”

It made sense. As Lucifer bent you over the reception desk and fucked you from behind, you could completely understand why they made this job posting sound horrid. Heaven would be empty if every winner could freely interact with Lucifer. You’d damn humanity too, if that was the cost. His hips snapped against your ass with divine determination, sweet praises on his forked tongue. 

The sounds of your gasps and his skin on yours echoed through the pristine white and gold halls. Like a pastor giving his sermon, he made the most delicious promises as you bent at the altar. 

Could heaven hear you? Your chants of “God, Oh God,” shifting to, “Lucifer! Luci—fer”, when one of his hands came down, fingers stroking your heat?

“What do you pray for, my curious Angel?” He growled, a flame you couldn’t see licking past his lips. “I’ll grant you anything”

Your cheek was sliding across the marble, small line of drool smearing on your face. Claws raked down your back, the stimulation making you shake.

Your fingers reached for his thighs, failing to take purchase. Lucifer took both of your wrists in one hand and held them at the small of your back for leverage. Your legs bent up, toes curling as you came around his sweetly punishing cock.

Taking a few deep breaths, you rolled your hips back against him, “More.”

Lucifer laughed and lifted one foot onto the desk to add more force behind his thrusts, “Say please.”

am I too horny? No. No, the cardiologist is wrong.

╭──────༺♡̶༻──────╮ Masterlist ╰──────༺♡̶༻──────╯

∰ Summoning the Horny Little Deer Cult (general tag list): @cxrsedwxrlds , @nonetheartist , fizzled-phoenix , @tsunaki , @janchei , @wettiny-in-smutland , @moonmark98 , @hoebihoeshi , @fjorjestertealeaf , @pansexual-opera-house , @ive-no-idea-what-to-call-this , @roxxie-wolf , @polytheatrix , @lorddiabigmommymilkers , @backinthefkingbuildingagain , @harley2223-blog , @coffee-colored-hopeless-romantic , @poinappel , @midnightnoiserose , @spookieroz , @missmidorima , @phobophobular , @ivebeenthearchersstuff , @downbadforfictionalppl , @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx , @sleepylittledemon , @aether-th3-enby , @dontfuckbutimfab , @surusurusuru , @breathlessaura , @aperfectidiot , @certainlygay , @jth12 , @star-kujo-platinum , @ivebeenthearchersstuffn, @rubyninja1 , @simphornies , @mariaclarade-la-cruz1 , @whateverlololo , @alleystore , @readergirlstuff , @berry-demon , @simplyonehellofanotaku , @chirimeimei , @fairyv-ice , @olive-frog , @thonethatflies620 , @tiredkiwiii , @ilikemyteawithmilk , @whateverlololo , @xixflower , @i-am-nonbinary-bean-deal-with-it , @psipies , @howabouticallyou , @a-case-of-attachment , @multifandomfanatic02 , @watereddownmilk , @raynerrold , @crazii-saber-wolf , @valkyrie-expeditions , @bontensbabygirl , @sillyb0nez , @oo0lady-mad0oo , @jazzmasternot

[peachdues]

what's your opinion on douma?

-🍁

Oh. Oh boy.

Well, if you’ve read my fics, I think you’ll see I am not fond of Douma (in the slightest). I usually make him a villain of sorts. You can think I’m boring, but there’s a reason why.

Simply put: to me, Douma is the scariest character in Demon Slayer — even more so than Muzan.

Muzan has weaknesses; Muzan, try as he might, is still a slave to his own human desires — the desire to be perfect and live forever. He’s selfish, but he’s also a coward. He still has fear.

But Douma? Kanao confirms for us that Douma feels nothing. He doesn’t care about any person/demon/or thing. He has no regard for anything and instead looks to play games with people and demons for his own temporary amusement. As soon as he’s done, he discards them.

He’s been like this since he was a human child — his parents died brutal deaths and all he could think about was how their blood was staining the walls/floors. He lures people into his cult not because he believes himself some divine being — he knows he isn’t — but he does it because it’s fun and he has nothing else to do. His life is meaningless, and so he has no regard for it, and certainly not for others.

I could go on truthfully, but I’m content to leave it at this: Douma is vile, wicked, and cruel. So, I treat him accordingly.

[phynoma]

Oh hi!

I'm Phyn! I write things. I'm not going to get into a bunch of identity stuff, but I'm queer, I'm an adult, and I like writing queer adult stuff. Mostly horror (see: queer) and absurdity (see: the world)

I have degrees in english, theology, and more theology, which just means I have a bunch of experience doing critical thinking and analysis of storytelling, and enough imposter syndrome that I don't know how to put that on a resume.

FANDOMS!

If you're already following me it's probably for Pillars of Eternity, TMA, or LOTR/Silmarillion. I cycle through hyperfixations every few years. It's still TMA/TMAGP right now. You can find my TMAGP sideblog here, where I just collect art.

Other things I like: Fallen London, everything by Pia Foxhall/not_poignant, re:dracula, SILT VERSES, Rivers of London, Murderbot, Critical Role, Saga, Wicked+Divine, anything by Neil Gaiman, I Am in Eskew, norse myths, egyptian myths, jewish myths, the dragonlance books (don't judge me they were foundational), pretty much everything Mike Flanagan makes, and much much more

WRITING!

I'm on ao3 as Phynoma! What do I write? Well. I write in-depth explorations of characters placed in harrowing situations which draw out the very inmost parts of their vulnerabilities and--

Smut. I write smut, okay?

Almost all of these fics are explicit and PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD mind the tags, I am *very* careful with my tagging for good reason!!!!

HERE YA GO, YA FILTHY ANIMALS!

The Magnus Archives:

I mentioned this is my current fixation, right?

an extant form of life: pollen fic! You could say, maybe, that the Consuming AU uses pollen tropes, but I'm counting this as my first-ever pollen fic. Jon/Tim, Jon/Martin, maybe Jon/Tim/Martin, we'll see if Sasha gets thrown in there. Ongoing.

Hey, Jude: A hurt/comfort fic about what happened after Jon shook Jude Perry's hand. Jon & Georgie & the kindness of strangers (not those strangers) Oneshot.

The Consuming AU: My pride and joy. My baby. I started this halfway through listening to TMA the first time and finished the original fic in about two months in time for the Rusty Quill Big Bang of 2023. Canon is basically the same, with the addition of "what if there was a Entity of Hunger, (fear of) Intimacy, and Codependence?" Also Jon is turning into a succubus. Main fic is complete at a little over 100k words. Sometimes I add one-shots to the series.

~Incredible bookbinding done by @bluejayblueskies HERE ~Art of human-looking Rhia (by me) HERE and commission of eldritch angel Rhia by @isbergillustration HERE ~Commission of Naadia by @dcartcorner HERE

Kittens & Kink AU: Fluffy Somewhere Else one-shots. Cat play. Mostly nonsexual kink. Oliver/Jon/Martin. Ongoing, until I get bored of it, basically.

Pillars of Eternity:

The In-Between Series: A series of fics following the relationship of Watcher Mirad and Aloth Corfiser, ten years or so after the events of Deadfire. The world of Eora is ripe for a new cataclysm, and these two elves are trying to finally have the relationship they've been dancing around for two decades. Ongoing, on hiatus as my hyperfixation is elsewhere. I do plan to finish it, though.

Moments: same universe and characters as above, focusing more on events that happen in canon-- ie, during gameplay. Complete.

Faetales:

Mat & Kal: Fae AU: You know how sometimes you keep writing characters and put them through a blender so many times that they just become something completely new? That's this AU. Mateo and Makalo are two ancient fae beings trapped in the human world during the events of The Ice Plague (by not_poignant) who become bound by each others' lives and deaths. They hate each other, they love each other, they're in weird psychosexual sadistic codependency with each other. They're a cat-person and a snake-person. I'm not a furry but I like some of their ideas, okay? Series complete.

See commissioned art of Mat & Kal by @shojoshark HERE

The Silmarillion:

Mistakes Were Made: Imma be real, this is just straight up torture porn. Sauron is punished by Morgoth after the loss of the Silmaril to Beren & Luthien. Basically, I was annoyed by all the fluffy Angbang fics I was reading and wanted to depict them in all their horrifying, codependent glory. Complete.

Cost of Surrender: I read a really good fic about what it took for Mairon to grovel/debase himself to Eonwe to gain his freedom and I took it a bit further. Complete.

Good Omens:

the beautiful and the fitting: pretty sure the title of this is a quote from St. Augustine, too. I almost didn't include this one because I don't even remember what it's about. Fluffy sex times with nonsexual beings, I think. I started writing it because Good Omens is one of my favorite books, but tbh the fandom for the show exhausts me and I don't know if I'll come back to this. Abandoned, probably.

[wetcatspellcaster]

i love the way your fic breaks my heart - do you have any book recs or other fic recs that inspired you or have the same kind of angst? it hurt so good 😫

Hi anon! This was a really nice message to receive... I have no idea if I emulate the writers I admire or not, but I certainly figure there are some books that have informed me in my past and it was fun thinking of them to answer this question!

For fic, please just check my bookmarks on AO3! I actually write a little different to what I read (I also don't tend to read much for the pairings I write for, combination of 'feeding myself' and fighting off the potential for imposter syndrome/accidental plagiarism) but the fics I've bookmarked are all ones that I objectively loved and also reveal all of my fictional obsessions... knowing myself, the angstiest ones there will be Spike/Buffy :')))))

As for books! These are some basic bitch recs but I'm a basic bitch so-

Holly Black has a big influence on the kind of heroines I write, and her books are usually a little angsty although they have happy endings... most people have heard of The Cruel Prince which is one of my favourites, but Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a standalone vampire novel and is pretty good for angst that hurts in the right way tbh, that heroine is really Going Through It

Sarah Rees Brennan (good fic author and good author) taught me everything I know in The Demon's Lexicon, which is just a really funny, trashy YA novel except that the plot twist is tragic af and I saw it coming from chapter one and it still hurt so good! In Other Lands is not angsty AT ALL but great if you like slow burn romance.

I write Darklina for a reason :') Leigh Bardugo got good at the right amount of angst with Six of Crows and I KNOW that's a basic bitch rec but KAZ/INEJ ARE THE 'ANGST THAT HURTS SO GOOD' BLUEPRINT!!!!

I remember Marie Lu's The Young Elites trilogy making me cry for hours in the good way and I'm now worried that was formative.

This is not a romance book and doesn't have romance in, but The Book of Lost Things by John Connelly is an amazing novel about grief and processing loss through and using fairytales and I'm reading the sequel now and honestly? God-tier writing.

The Wicked and the Divine is a comic book series but it's sexy af and definitely gets that balance of 'sacrifice' vs. 'selfishness' that it seems I've become lowkey obsessed with.

I also just recently read an amazing fantasy duology by AK Larkwood (The Unspoken Name and The Serpent Gates) and I'm adding it here bc these were the first books that I'd read in a long time that were genuinely... aspirational - I wanted to learn from them and try to write more like that author. They had just the right balance of angst and levity... also there is a peak Astarion coded character in them tbh so people should read them for the hot fucked-up elf boy.

[gascon-en-exil]

As I wrap up my replay of Octopath Traveler II, I can't help but get ideas for Osvald/Partitio fics, because it's such a small ship (even within OT2's already small fandom) but one with such entertaining potential. So have some fic prompts based on my headcanons and assorted other thoughts; I'm not a fic writer so nothing will ever come of any of those, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to share them with the few other shippers out there.

Osvald returns to Frigit Isle in the postgame for (insert practical reason here) with Partitio in tow. He's confronted with the weight of his five years in prison coming back to him, and Partitio has to reckon with getting a firsthand look at the hell his lover went through. Angsty, of course.

(Based on my headcanon that Oresrush, like the US Wild West it's loosely based on, is an environment where men will have sex with each other but never discuss it publicly.) Papp and Partitio both have loving partnerships with other men, and even though their relationships are basically open secrets to everyone else father and son have never talked about it with each other. Osvald, more worldly but not very tactful, points this out when all four are at dinner or something; hilarity and awkwardness ensue. I imagine Roque's reaction to be disbelief that Partitio never even suspected despite having essentially grown up with two fathers.

Partitio realizes he has a daddy kink. Osvald finds this intellectually fascinating, and is happy to indulge. Extra points if this happens the first time that Partitio sees Osvald all cleaned up for the first time.

Some kind of divine intervention thing that runs with their respective connections to Alephan and Bifelgan, and the final story pairing those two.

Based on my headcanon about them living in New Delsta for a while in the postgame. Partitio goes on several dates with Agnea that are much covered by the press, but fail to start anything. Agnea has to help him figure himself out, and Osvald has to eventually realize that he'll have to be at least a bit expressive if he wants to be more than friends with benefits with Partitio.

La Belle et la Bête crossover/AU thing, similar to my Wicked Ferdibert (from Fire Emblem: Three Houses) concept only without any singing. Not necessarily taking anything from the Disney adaptations, hence the distinction. One could easily fold in Osvald's main story with Harvey and Elena and the One True Magic, while also letting Partitio keep his mercantile sensibilities and close relationship with his father. Basically, adapting Osvald's canon plot to fit into the AU rather than contorting the characters to fit any specific version of the AU's story.

[astarionsilverbough]

MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS ON UR NAME CHANGE!! LETS GOO!

I wanna say thank you for writing The Land of Gods and Monsters because I don’t think i’ve ever read a fic that just viscerally bleeds the understanding and emotions around being trans.

Especially this latest chapter with Raphael and Gale. The horrors of slowing finding out who you are through trauma; to be cast out by family for something you cannot control. Choosing a name for yourself and thinking about the legends of men that came before you and of you can truly be that which has spent time and time again destroying you. It’s very intense and as someone who can’t currently go further in their transition I wanna thank you for simply being able to write out the emotions that I feel, hell the rage that I feel towards the world for seeing my transness as something wicked and foul. You just manage to get it all with Raphael and maybe I’ve read wayyy too deep into your writing and my own emotions have gotten entangled with it but. Just thank you.

I won’t lie I was very much sobbing by the end of this chapter; especially the moment with Korilla near the end and Aylin at the start, all round sobfest. You’re an amazing writer and I hope you know it!!

Anyways! I hope you have an AMAZING day and give yourself a little birthday party 🥳

okay so first off thank u so much for the congratulations i’m so humbled by the support and so grateful it’s just,, wow

secondly i had to wait to answer this because i got crossed last night and i needed to answer this sober because this message means more to me than i can truly express. i read this last night and immediately passed it to my trans partner to read and we both got just

so emotional

thank you for sharing this with me, thank you for being vulnerable, thank you for being you. this is the exact reason i make the art i do, the exact reason i write what i do. i want to give other trans people (specifically trans mascs) a platform, a mirror, a thing they can finally see all their pain but all their joy in - trans mascs never get rep, ever, so i endeavor to do it in a way that honors us as much as i can.

there is so much grief, but also so much to celebrate - you are not wicked or foul, and neither is raphael. our transness is divinity expressing itself. you are a divine thing, never forget it.

you are a light. don’t let anyone put you out.

thank you so much my dear. take care of yourself, alright? 💕

[yamisnuffles]

twenty questions for fic writers

Tagged by my best gal @feralkwe

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 46. I have a lot of fic that just lives on Tumblr or that was on older fic sites, so that's not really indicative of my total fic amount lol.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 338,924. Again, A LOT of one shots and stuff elsewhere.

3. What fandoms do you write for? On AO3, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, FFXIV, Skyrim, Good Omens, One Piece, and Star Wars

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Blitzed (GO 1941 smut and my first smut ever lol), The Altus Inquisitor (DAI AU, pretty much as it says on the tin), Get Closer To Me (GO S1 night at Crowley's place fic), Heartbeats (a series of one shots for a One Piece Corazon lives AU), and The Ecstasy of Anthony J Crowley (GO divinity kink smut fic)

5. Do you respond to comments? I try to! I didn't always but I'm trying to get better about that because I really appreciate each and every comment.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Uuuuuh, might be For Want of Words? It's GO post S2 and not fix it so it is not happy lol. Possibly Wicked White, which ends as Shadowbringers ends and thus isn't the happiest place for a WoL/Emet fic lol. Otherwise, they're series and neither finished but my Law as the new Corazon AU series was just bummers all the way down and, ironically, Too Much of a Good Thing gets progressively less... optimistic. Lots of sad smut and series I guess.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? If I resist making a smut joke, Just For Two is one of the fluffiest things I've ever written. Pure GO S1 fluff fic written for the fun of it.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really? I got an... indirectly cruel comment one time on something but people are generally very nice on the fics themselves.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes. The Good Omens kind lmao. I mean, I've branched out but it was the first fandom I wrote smut for and continues to be the one that gets the most. It hovers between that M and E rating for good reason. Very feelsy and in the case of GO, I love some religious symbolism lol. I like to weave it into longer works but I also happily write one shots (or try, sometimes it takes a few chapters to get to my one shot plans).

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I don't think I've ever written a crossover. I've done crossover art but I tend to stay within a fandom for fic.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Again... I don't think so?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! I used to write with my best friend a lot in high school and I adored it. It's one of the things I miss most about that friendship and, in general, something I miss doing.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? Do I even have to say? Aziraphale/Crowley own my soul. That said, I do have the softest of soft spots for my Trev/Dorian and Shakarian. Also, Justice/Anders/Hawke because it burns with the added power of spite.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Ahahaha... *sweats nervously.* So many. I am determined to finish the Altus Inquisitor but it's hard to get my heart back into DA with good reason. I'd love to continue my various OP series but I doubt I ever will for a few reasons.

16. What are your writing strengths? Characterization. I work really hard on it. I obsess over it. There is nothing I think of more in any fandom than characterization lol. I'd also like to think I'm good with emotion and description.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Finishing anything ever. I'm a whimsical creature and if I'm not into something at the moment, it's really hard to get myself to focus on things. I also feel like a monkey with a typewriter any time I'm trying to write smut, but I think that's just the nature of the beast.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I am really bad with languages so I try to just avoid it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Jurassic Park! As a wee bab I wrote about a raptor ripping someone open and eating them lmao.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written? Oh man, oh man, this is actually really hard for me. There are a lot of things I've written that I'm fond of for different reasons. I adore my AUs because I put so much of my soul into them to make them feel authentic. Various fics for various fandoms hit hard for different reasons. If I absolutely HAD TO choose, I'd say either The Altus Inquisitor, because Lucien is my baby and I genuinely enjoy rereading it, or Dig Down from my GO AU, which I feel like is just a strong short fic and best sums up that whole series. Both are hard to recommend though because one is chronically unfinished (I am trying!) and the other is smack dab in the middle of a series.

I tag anyone who wants to do this because I am too tired to think rn. Go forth with my blessing

[meirimerens]

hello Meiri! I'm currently reading through your last Pathologic fic and I'm absolutely in love with it. One thing that sticked out to me, though, (in this fic and others you've written) was the many references to mythology/different myths, which is a topic I'm very interested in but in which I have almost no knowledge. So I thought I'd ask: Do you have any particular recommendations of books (or any other media) on the topic? Hope you have a nice day!

hiiiii HAPPY TO HEAR YOU'RE ENJOYING IT SO FAR and i'm going to keep it 100 You gotta read the Iliad & the Odyssey. if you want to approach greek myths (which is the canon i put the most in my writing) you gotta do it. when i was barely learning to read age 4 my dad would read me the Iliad & the Odyssey so i very much come from a background of I Knew This Already and didn't have to get into it as an adult but this was the entry point for me. helped by the fact that i was 4. this was My entrypoint to greek mythology age 4 and i consider it pretty essential reading if you want to get into that. also obviously Ovid's 25 Metamorphoses. it's a pretty short read (middle school mandatory reading here) like book thinner than my pinkie. also keeping it 100 I Read Wikipedia Pages For Fun. i know it's not everyone's cup of tea but that is a real thing. many greek myths have gone through multiple iterations and reading wikipedia pages allow you to see their different iterations and seek them out on your own.

if you're not into reading wiki pages as a hobby and are not particularly interested in checking out the Iliad & the Odyssey right away i recommend Anne Carson's works, especially Eros the Bittersweet (not necessarily Myths-related) & her "An Oresteia", which is a more-modern-minded translations of Agamemnon (by Aeschylus), Elektra (by Sophocles) and Orestes (by Euripides)

here's my reasoning: while EtB does not exclusively relate to greek myths in particular, it is articulate around greek poetry in general and it (in my vision at least) give you a real appreciation for the written greek word; it's like a peek behind the scenes at how Writing A Myth was conceptualized, even if its main subject is Eros [the bittersweet] & while you're also "better off" reading the original plays of Agamemnon, Elektra & Orestes, if you truly have no knowledge of greek tragedies & how they are woven in myths/myths are woven into them, Carson's translation give them a "fresh" "modern" "kick" that makes them way easier to read than older translation and also i think would give one the "taste" for more greek tragedies (fun fact! "House of Atreus! House swollen with blood and soot, with divine rage and spit(e) [...]" is directly inspired by the (Aeschylus) Oresteia: the House of Atreus is the wicked house around which Orestes' story articulates itself...)

this is maybe revealing nothing new of me but i've watched No movies about greek myths and i have read No "modern retellings"/contemporary YA or NA books with or about greek myths or things of the sort. most i'm completely uninterested in frankly.

HOPE THIS HELPS i know it's. pretty dry to tell someone to read the iliad & the odyssey if they want to get into greek myths but like. gotta be done doesn't it. also anne carson's translation work & hopefully it gives you a Taste for the Rest. i really did like my reading of her An Oresteia & it truly did give me the kick i needed to finish this fic lol.

[liesonthefloordramatically]

A wild 2022 recap post appears!

Stuff I made this year:

Fiction: The only fic I wrote this year was the surprisingly underrated put a blue ribbon on my brain.  Not sure why more folks weren’t into it other than all the obvious reasons www.

Playlists: Apparently the only two playlists I remembered to share this year were Camp Fireside Lagoon (a soundtrack for our Sleepaway game) and ExU: Calamity (what is says on the tin).  I wish I could say that I have a bunch of secret playlists that I didn’t share but I mostly don’t.  Creativity really flagged this year, partially because of exhaustion.

RPGs: Wrote two Sleepaway supplements: The Emissary and The Phoenix.  Got to see The Emissary played live, which was cool!

Knitting: Finished baby’s first sweater and knit two shawls and three hats???  Maybe someday I will remember to upload pictures of stuff I knit.

Other stuff: Look, I was complaining about how little I wrote this year and then I remembered that I also finished my dissertation which was like 115k, so.  Yeah.  That was a thing.  Also defended my dissertation, so I’m now Dr. Queenie!  Went to Europe for the first time???  Moved across the country!  Started a new job, so now I’m Prof. Queenie!  Got diagnosed with new, exciting medical conditions!  Somehow made it through year three of the pandemic!  Have been mildly depressed since July and exhausted basically non-stop since September which might explain why my creative output has been miserable. 

Media I enjoyed this year:

Books: I read...A LOT this year (like 40 books, which is not a lot for me pre-grad school but is a lot post-quals).  Have really been taking advantage of the library’s ebook lending program.  Some favorites: The Murderbot Diaries (genuinely shocked it took me so long to read this because it’s painfully up my alley), The Stormlight Archive (absolutely understand how it took me so long to read this; you could kill a man with the length of these books), Dead Collections (meditations on memory and archives and gender, heck yeah), Several People Are Typing (the howling!!! the howling!!!), Spear (this book was written for Queenie age roughly eight), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (highly recommend reading this one without knowing anything about it; it’s a delight, especially if you know anything about Hollywood history).

TTRPG: Winner for new TTRPG I played this year was The Price of Coal!  Also finished a campaign of Sleepaway and am currently running an extremely fun campaign of Blades in the Dark, but those are both in the Ol’ Faithful pile of TTRPGs. 

Video games: Top game was Disco Elysium!  Honorable mentions to Scarlet Nexus (deeply underrated--the monster design and soundtrack are both out of control and the characters are SO fun) and Fire Emblem: Three Houses.  Baffling honorable mention to Stranger of Paradise, which I honestly expected to hate and then wound up weirdly emotional about?

Manga/comics: Finally finished reading The Wicked + The Divine which was extremely good and made me feel emotions.  My inability to read things in hardcopy for fun is really cramping my style, though.

Fanfic: I actually didn’t read a whole lot this year--partially because I read a lot more published novels, which means that I have had a bunch of fics languishing on my Kindle for uhhhhh months.  Some fics I liked this year include (in no particular order) a man by any other face (CR C2--this might be my favorite fic I read this year), path of the traveled sun (CR C2), displacement (CR C2), Familiar (CR C2), you’ve haunted me all my life (Tales of Berseria), at the violet hour (CR C2), From the Mixed-Up Files of The J. Lavorre Catalogue Raisonné (CR C2), a sort of beacon where there used to be a dull roar (CR C2), separating salt from water (Our Flag Means Death), dreamers to come (ExU: Calamity), Man of Nothing (JJBA: JJL), and after the scripture (your mother beside me) (CR C2).  Special category for this year is “AU concepts that verge on crack but 100% work”: More Things in Heaven and Earth (CR C2) and the fire kept closest (burns most of all) (CR C2). Extra special nod to and from our own/live to ourselves (MDZS), a fanfic with a plot and setting so simultaneously unique, unhinged, and well-executed that it seized me by the throat for like a month.

Films: Everything Everywhere All At Once!  Which I watched...3 1/2 times this year.  Honorable mentions to Cyrano and Encanto.  Wow, I watched a film this year???  Shocking.

TV: Our Flag Means Death and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean.  Although we’re not done with the latter yet because we’ve been watching an episode a week (we are like...16 episodes from the end, I think? It’s been slow going).  I really need to figure out how to get myself to watch things on my own because there are things I want to watch.

Podcasts:  Continuing to listen to a lot, especially since I have an hour commute each way, plus I live alone so...need to hear human voices sometimes.  Top picks: Trice Forgotten, Second Star to the Left, The Silt Verses, and Exandria Unlimited: Calamity.  “Isn’t that just Critical Role?” Arguably, yes, but specifically naming that mini-campaign because it destroyed me (straight up made me cry on a plane in Sweden).  Honorable mentions to Enthusigasm, Keep It Steady, Within the Wires, Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion, and The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality.  I think Within the Wires has made it onto my podcasts list almost every year that I’ve done this which is really a testament to how consistently good it has been across 7 (!!!!) years.  If this seems like a lot of podcasts, please know that this is only a fraction of what I listened to this year--to give you a sense, I tore through the entirety of Meiji at 150 (which is 150 episodes) in like...the first three weeks of term...while listening to all my other podcasts...

Music: Another weird year--Spotify refuses to give me Wrapped because I won’t download their wretched app, but apparently “Pepper” by Death Cab for Cutie was my top track for this year?  What happened here?  All I can really think is that I probably put it on loop for the 2-3 weeks of midterm grading when I was in a fugue state.  My other top tracks--literally my top 11--are similarly songs I listened to on loop while in a fugue state.  What does that say about my taste in music this year?  Unclear!  What does that say about my mental health?  Nothing good!  Anyway, you should listen to “We Have It All” which was #6 on my top tracks but does genuinely slap.  Also did a bunch of grading while listening to Foley Artist which was A Choice (it’s a great album, but there are sections that are stressful to grade to).

Anyway, あけおめ！！！ 良いお年をお迎えください (this is a threat)！！！

[adonis-koo]

I'm so in love with chapter 15! Wicked has really become one of my favorites and ifjei I have so much to say about it! It's just fricking great you have no idea 😭

I love all those emotions you put in there! Their personalities feel so real. Hot headed prince and the gentle, but very emotional Mc. I understand both sides on that one conflict at the end. Jk had to do what he did. He grew up way different. He had to face the cruel world at a very young age. Penumbra isn't like Enoia. It's pure chaos. Either you protect yourself by building a wall over your heart or you go down. I get why he mistrusted her for a bit. It's for safety. Doesn't make the truth any less painful and right. He's definitely in the wrong and i hope he gets on his knees. Tho I must also say that the Mc isn't all innocent as well. She completely went behind his back and went to the underside and disregarded his feelings. Calling him a lair and all. She's so hurt and emotional by everything he said and didn't say that she is also the one who hurt him in the progress. It may not be on purpose, but she did. It confused me for a second, because she was known for being gentle and understanding, but in that moment she didn't understand him at all. She didn't even try where he was coming from. The feeling of pain was so overwhelming that she disregarded his feelings, called him a lair and basically went behind his back for no reason.

It was reckless for her to go to the underside, especially without letting anyone know. It makes me so impossibly angry that she thinks she's the only one hurt, because Wheein is in prison. As if Jk hasn't got any feelings at all. He even was all tired because of all the work he had to do, not only political matters, but also the thing with wheein. He fell asleep and she ran away. He was worried sick, because she wasn't there. He may not be good with words, but his actions speak them all. He cares and for her to just say his feelings are insincere, makes me so upset. Especially because HE was the one getting angry when she said her life basically didn't matter. It speaks volumes. She's not a victim, she's also at fault. Both of them are. I hope she apologizes to him as well. He started that whole thing and she continued. I hope they can resolve the issue and understand each other better. :(

The whole thing feels so real and I'm so impressed how much character you put into this fic. I'm so in love with it! Thank you thank you thank you. It's a masterpiece and I hope you know it. ^-^

(sorry if I wrote the name of the countries wrong, I couldn't remember how it was spelled. I'm no professional english speaker as well so, I'll apologize for every mistake that's in these paragraphs too 🥺)

First of all I can’t thank you enough for your thoughts on this chapter!! I LOVE deep diving into situations and characters. You have so many valid points about Jungkook and MC! However I’d like to impart a little bit of my thoughts on the writing process in hopes of easing the blow a little.

There are a few big overarching themes in this series, one being duality and the other being not everything is as it seems; don’t believe everything you hear.

While Jungkook had to face the cruel world at a very young age, so did MC, they are two sides to the same coin in this series, both on opposite teams of a war but still suffering trauma from it. MC has been vocal about it, if this chapter as told us anything lol, but Jungkook doesn’t bare his heart that easily, we will eventually get to hear his side of the five year war, as it most certainly affected him (being a child soldier). But the big thing I wanted to set up here was that that not everything is as it seems.

Eunoia is first set up as a Kingdom centered around nature and peace, giving and expecting nothing in return. A divine and sacred space. But as the series has continued, it’s revealed that it’s only been this way for a very short moment in time. They have an immeasurable amount of blood on their hands and sins on their shoulders as they used to be cannibals. I haven’t strictly used the word in the story but it’s heavily alluded too when the word ‘devour’ is used. Penumbra is called heathenistic nation in the beginning but as it turns out, they hardly are.

Eunoia however, cannot say the same. Duality again plays a big role in the story, while MC is supposed to be a gentle, understanding person (and she is!) she is still human. And she is more times then less, very stubborn and headstrong and she is incredibly temperamental in moments and hot headed herself. It states in the chapter that ‘it’s known by her family that she’s always had a temper’ this was a set up and both acknowledgement from her, and while she is reckless, she’s not above admitting that she is. In fact there’s actually a scene in chapter 16 of her talking about her innocence being non existent (which makes me sad in the sense that I can’t talk about this in further detail because it’s not out)

I think the biggest thing to understand is that MC does not parade around like a victim intentionally, she does however talk about her pain and her tribulations a lot, she’s been through much and she can’t stand it when someone tries to undermine it, when someone tries to say that she’s had an easy life because she’s from Eunoia, it may come across as victim playing but she doesn’t mean it as such, and if someone were to say it (because let’s be real it’s bound to happen soon), she’ll immediately rein it in. This isn’t to say she’s in the right in any way possibly, I’m only giving some perspective on where she’s coming from!

Jungkook however is both similar and yet different from her, he’s titled the wicked prince and yet there’s a certain softness about him that I wanted to incorporate, he’s very understanding and forgiving to those he loved despite everything he’s endured, he isn’t an aggressive or hot headed person by nature, it’s been trained into him at a young age but it’s still not something that comes easy to him.

I suppose what I’m trying to say, is that Jungkook and MC and both deeply flawed and complex people, the stereotype traits that they were supposed to have, ended up being what the other actually embodies deep down (a soft prince and head strong Princess among other traits). Not only that but they still embody the empathic Princess and cold prince. They are all of these traits above and yet they utilize them in different ways, they are both very different , they come from different upbringings, different kingdoms, different beliefs and yet they are almost the same.

The biggest takeaway from this story morally is to never believe what you hear until you experience it for yourself. Because you might find that Penumbra isn’t nearly as horrendous and heathanistic as they all said it was, but you might discover along the way the grotesque history of Eunoia.

Once again I can’t thank you enough for your thoughts on this chapter! I didn’t mean to ramble so long but I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to touch on this before so I wanted to take it while I had that chance! 🫶🖤

[lady-of-the-spirit]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

"The feeling other people have when the gods perform," Alexis says, not sure if what she's saying is good or bad, "the feeling I had when I went to see other gods perform - I didn't feel anything. You sounded beautiful, but I didn't feel it." She holds Aruna's hand a little tighter.

Aruna stays quiet, looking down at Alexis. Alexis wonders what she's thinking.

"That's alright," Aruna says finally, another soft smile making an appearance.

Alexis casually presses a kiss to the back of her hand, and then regretfully lets her go. Aruna goes back to strumming her guitar, and Alexis returns to her textbook.

Aruna plays one song, and then another. She's so focused she doesn't see Alexis turning away from the textbook, looking up at her instead.

THIS SCENE- OKAY

for context, this is my Wicked + Divine fic "Sing out this song, and I'll be there by your side" featuring Aruna (Tara) and my oc Alexis, and they're girlfriends. Aruna's a god and her singing has magical abilities, can deeply impact a person's emotional state, but it's stated in canon that not everyone 'feels' something because of a god's singing, some people just aren't impacted.

So the reason this scene is meaningful is because Aruna has HELLA issues with how people perceive her. She has had a lifetime of people objectifying her and godhood and fame doesn't help with that, it makes those feelings of objectification even worse. she wants to be seen as HERSELF, not the hot woman, not the "goddess", she wants to be seen for herself and her work.

And Alexis has been her friend since high school, her girlfriend of a few years now, and she's been with her through thick and thin and is the one person Aruna knows only ever sees her. And this scene is about that. That Alexis has been to other god concerts before and got that magical high from it, but with Aruna, the love of her life, there was nothing. She doesn't feel anything. And what that says to Aruna is that Alexis truly does not care about the goddess. While the entire world wants the goddess and the magic, Alexis only ever wants her. Aruna realizes that in this moment.

And then when Aruna starts playing her own normal music, that's when Alexis has a reaction! She feels nothing when Aruna uses this ancient magic to sing to her, willingly (rather than forced through obligation), but when Aruna plays music as herself, that's what Alexis is affected by. That's what makes her feel something. That's what makes her realize, again and again, "I'm so in love with this woman."

ask for the “director’s commentary” on a particular story, section of a story, or set of lines and/or send in a ⭐star⭐ to have the author select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!

[anniesocsandgeneralstore]

You wrote Reasons Wicked and Divine! That is another one of my all time favorite stories!!!!! Thank you for sharing this beautiful work with us!! 💙💙💙

Yeah boo that was me - romanticgumchewer! Brought you great hits such as!!

I deleted my blog and ao3 for personal reasons, but I finally feel okay to repost some of my old works. It's felt good. Thank you for remembering me and these fics that I worked my ass off to write all those years ago (it's been three years which is fucking insane tbh)

[ao3feed-tywin]

Reasons Wicked and Divine

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/JlOFYws

by someoneyoudontknowiswear

This is a repost of this fic that I had posted on my old AO3 account romanticgumchewer.

Aliana Tyrell comes to King's Landing for the wedding of her sister to King Joffrey Baratheon. But while there, she reunites with her old lover: Oberyn Martell.

Words: 16964, Chapters: 2/7, Language: English

Fandoms: Game of Thrones (TV)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M

Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original House Tyrell Character(s), Oberyn Martell, Margaery Tyrell, Olenna Tyrell, Tywin Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Joffrey Baratheon, Original Characters

Relationships: Oberyn Martell/Original Female Character(s), Margaery Tyrell & Original Female Character(s), Olenna Tyrell & Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: episode rewrites, no ellaria sand, I am so sorry, i love her to pieces but alas, long lost lovers, Shameless Smut, Joffrey Baratheon Being an Asshole, Dead Joffrey Baratheon, Blood and Violence, Blood and Gore, Oberyn Martell Lives

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/JlOFYws

[becauseicantthinkwritings]

MASTERLIST

Hi, I'm Chelsea, and my current muse is Billy Russo from Netflix's The Punisher series. Enjoy this masterlist I put together just for you. I love you all. ❤ Please remember to read my warnings.

* = smut

Eddie Munson Masterlist

The Agony of Desire Masterlist

🌙 Werewolf Billy Masterlist 🌙

Monster!Billy Masterlist 🎃

Drabble Masterlist

Ours is Not to Reason Why (On Hiatus)

Part 1* / Part 2* / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5* / Part 6*

Mr. & Mrs. Russo

(No correct order to read them in)

Whiskey Kisses*

A Fire of Devotion*

What Kind of Man Part 1

What Kind of Man Part 2*

Where The Heart Is

Billy & his best friend

Undisclosed Desires*

Devil's Advocate*

Give Me Your Trust*

Wicked And Divine*

Movement*

Dark! Billy Russo

In The Shadow Of Your Heart Masterlist

Accidentally on Purpose Masterlist

No Other Gods

Taste of a Poisoned Paradise

Part 1*

Part 2*

Part 3*

Fractured (drabble)

Bring Me To My Knees

Part 1*

Part 2*

Part 3*

Stand Alone fics:

Thinking of you*

Thinking of me*

Innocent reader and Billy*

Billy with a cat (drabble)

Now Our Tongues Are Tied *

Soft Breath, Beating Heart*

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8

[fungifanart]

The Devil (XV)

Upright: Shadow self, attachment, addiction, restriction, sexuality

Inverted: Releasing limiting beliefs, exploring dark thoughts, detachment

Characters: Childe/Tartaglia, Male reader, god!reader, mentions of Jean, Venti, Kaeya and Albedo, but not by name

TW: Blood, severe injury, being stoned to death(?)

Word count: 1.6K

Notes: This one is meant to come before “The Tower” and detail how the reader got all those injuries without actually dying. One thing I should say now is that I most likely won’t be writing a fic for each major tarot arcana ‘cause they all have wildly different meanings from each other and I’m only human and have no idea how I’d be able to weave that into a coherent narrative.

The Fool’s Journey

————————————————————————

Childe, admittedly, has mixed feelings about today.

He was overjoyed when he heard that the knights of favonius finally caught the bastard that had the nerve to impersonate the Creator.

And he immediately dropped everything and packed himself off to Mondstadt when he heard that they’d hold the imposter’s public execution there.

But now that he’s here in the streets of the nation of freedom, he can’t seem to shake the feeling that something’s…off. He doesn’t know where this feeling’s coming from or why, it’s just a small tinge of unease that’s refused to abate since he set foot through the gates.

‘Don’t get distracted.’ He chides himself, ‘You’re here for one reason and it’s to see that damned imposter dead on the ground.’ His personal pep talk finished, Childe follows the citizens of Monstadt clambering to the fountain plaza for the opening ceremony.

Childe looks on impatiently from the crowd as two figures, whom he recognized as the acting grandmaster of the knights and the anemo archon himself, walking towards the front of the fountain before the acting grandmaster’s voice rings out.

“Citizens of Teyvat! I’m sure I need not tell you why you’ve all gathered here, but for formality’s sake, please indulge me.” She says in a commanding tone of voice, “We have all gathered to witness justice being delivered to one who would so shamelessly commit the most heinous crime of impersonating His Grace, the Divine Creator himself!” She pauses as a chorus of boos and jeering erupts from the crowd at the mention of the wretched imposter, but holds up her hand to silence them so she can keep going, “Now, you may all be wondering what the execution for such an unforgivable crime could entail,” She motions her hand toward the anemo archon as Childe and the rest of the crowd listen intently.

“And so,” the anemo archon’s voice calls out “after consulting with His Grace on the matter, we’ve concluded that if the wretched imposter would attempt to deceive the people of Teyvat, then it would fall to the very same people to see his justice delivered!” A hush falls over the crowd before a wave of realization washes over them and a wicked smile paints itself on the faces of numerous people, Childe included whilst pushing down the nagging sense of unease at the back of his mind.

“However!” The anemo archon’s voice pulls Childe from his thoughts, “We are not so barbaric as to make you sully your hands with the blood of a rotten criminal. As such, we’ve prepared countless stones which you will have free reign to throw as much as you please at the wretched imposter until he draws breath no more!” The crowd cheers and Childe finds himself growing more and more excited at the prospect of stoning the imposter to death, but as his excitement grows, so does the unease, it slowly becoming more prominent amongst his other thoughts.

However, he forces it down once more as the acting grandmaster speaks up again, “Now, I ask that you follow me towards the great Barbatos statue, where the wretched imposter is situated, and wait for my mark to begin the execution!” She concludes as the crowd excitedly follows close behind.

The minutes go by as the crowd makes its way up towards the great Barbatos statue and the sight of the wretched imposter dangling in the air with rope tied around his torso that’s connected to the statue’s wrists slowly comes into view, causing Childe’s anger and hatred to skyrocket, but even still the unease he feels continues to grow in the form of a pit in his stomach.

Something’s wrong, but what?

Childe’s thoughts are interrupted by a knight handing him a rock as the crowd gathers around the statue in a tense silence as they await the acting grandmaster’s signal, “I’m sure you’re all anxious to see this criminal brought to justice, as am I. However, His Grace is nothing if not magnanimous and has decided to allow the wretched imposter one chance to say his last words.” Childe can practically hear the collective sigh of frustration that plays in everyone’s mind, but none would dare question the decision of His Grace.

The acting grandmaster then turns to address the wretched imposter dangling above them, “As you’ve just heard, His Grace was kind enough to allow you to say your piece before the execution. Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” She asks with poorly-veiled indignation in her voice.

The wretched imposter lifts his head to the crowd, his face a mix of fear and desperation with tears pouring down his cheeks, a sight which first elicits anger from Childe at his audacity for trying to garner pity now, but his next words cause the uncertainty in his mind to fester and the pit in his stomach to grow larger.

“Please! You’re making a mistake! I didn’t do anything wrong! I’m not an imposter! Help me! Someone please help me…” What sounds like a generic and pathetic plea for clemency to the rest of the crowd, causing them to let out jeers and a collective groan in exasperation, instead stirs something in Childe. A feeling of wanting to slice up the ropes that bind him, take him in his arms and carry him to safety, wherever that might be.

………Is he really the imposter that everyone’s branded him as?

No, that can’t be right! The Knights of Favonius aren’t THAT stupid! Hell, anyone with a brain can tell the difference between His Grace and this guy!

But still…

What is this feeling? Why is he feeling it from a lowlife like him? This warmth that seems to radiate from him even now, despite the circumstances?

His mind becomes a war zone as his desire to kill the imposter(…?) and his desire to get him to safety clash ruthlessly with each other.

Little did he realize that the acting grandmaster had begun to speak, “It would seem that the wretched imposter has decided to squander his last words by being a broken record. Time’s up! People of Teyvat, ready your stones!” The others in the crowd excitedly comply, waiting with baited breath for the signal, “On my mark! One! Two! Three! BEGIN!”

Childe can only watch as all at once the crowd releases a torrent of projectiles at the…man hanging above them.

He doesn’t throw his rock.

He can only listen to his screams of pain and desperation as the onslaught continues relentlessly alongside the people yelling at him to shut up.

He doesn’t throw his rock.

The onslaught continues as the numerous wounds across his body begin to bleed deep crimson, which only spurs on the crowd, since the legends described the Creator as having gold blood.

Childe is still conflicted. Half of him feels pure ecstasy at the sight of the man branded as the wretched imposter being stoned to death, but the other feels the most heartrending sorrow at the same time.

However, amongst the river of crimson flowing from the condemned man’s body, something goes unnoticed by the rest of the crowd, but Childe sees it. He sees a single droplet of the purest gold flowing amid the crimson.

His mind goes blank and his body freezes. He doesn’t know what to make of what he saw.

But before he can do anything, a particularly sharp rock misses its mark and instead slices the rope suspending the other man in the air, causing him to plummet face first onto the cold, hard stone pavement amidst a sea of his own blood with a sickening crack.

The barrage of rocks only stops when two figures appear from the sidelines and approach the man lying motionless on the ground, the shorter of which, whom Childe recognizes as the chief alchemist for the knights, presses his fingers to the man’s neck to check for a pulse before turning to the taller figure and shaking his head.

Childe can feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes at the sight before him and his grip tightens until the rock in his grasp shatters and crumbles into dust.

The taller figure, the cavalry captain of the knights Childe remembers, walks over to the acting grandmaster and whispers something into her ear which causes her to nod and begin speaking to the crowd, “I’ve just received confirmation of the wretched imposter’s death! Congratulations, people of Teyvat! We did it!!” The crowd erupts into rapturous cheering and applause at the announcement.

Childe doesn’t join in, he just stands there, eyes firmly fixated on the chief alchemist who was still kneeling at the corpse laid out in front of him.

Minutes pass as the cheering dies down and the crowd disperses to go make celebratory offerings and prayers to the various statues of the Divine Creator, but Childe stays right where he was as he watches the chief alchemist wrap and lift up the corpse, presumably to take it to be buried, and it is in that moment that Childe sees something which cements the truth of the situation in his mind.

From the corpse of the “wretched imposter”, Childe clearly sees a second drop of gold fall and disperse into the sea of crimson. There’s no mistaking it now. Childe knows exactly what he saw and the horrifying truth that comes with it.

Childe has to go. Now. He pretends to leisurely walk out of the gates so as to avoid suspicion, but the instant he’s sure he won’t be seen by anyone, he takes off in a full sprint towards the direction he saw the chief alchemist walking in.

What will he do when he catches up? Is there even a plan? He doesn’t know.

But what he does know with 100% certainty is that the man put to death today was the Divine Creator. The one who so lovingly gave life to Teyvat itself had his own cruelly taken away by its people.

And Childe watched it happen.