#hg.post

[moonofmercury]

human reader, mild spoilers for 2.4/5/6

A deep sigh from just behind him has Jiaoqiu pausing in patting dry his feet, still tingling from the snowmelt chill of the river nearest to the campsite.

The sensation of you - well you wouldn't know to call it that, but grooming his tail, smoothing the strands even as you occasionally buried your face in the warm fur, making sounds that by now didn't even warrant an ear flicking your way to see what they were, they were so familiar - rose back to the forefront as you sighed again, rubbed your cheek against the voluminous pink fluff.

He waited. You pillowed your head heavily, almost irritatingly so, while also hugging his tail. And then there was another little sigh.

He leaned an elbow on his knee, twisting his ear back to hear you over the whispering water. "What's gotten into you?" he asked, bright, a shiver going up his back as a splash caught up higher up on his calf, almost wetting his rolled-up trousers.

He could feel you pouting, turning your face the other way, strands of fur moving with you and tangling with your hair.

It made him snicker even before you said. "Sometimes I wish I had a tail too."

You eased your grip when he jerked it a bit towards his body, making enough give so it didn't tug so oddly when you laid on it again. "And why's that?"

"I mean, if I was foxian I'd at least have the ears," you conceded considering tailless foxians like Feixiao who never seemed to suffer more than ridicule for the lack. "But you use it for so many things." There was so much body language associated with Foxian tails. "Sometimes, I know immediately if you're uncomfortable, and you twitch it just a little when you're happy," you voice was so mushily fond, it made Jiaoqiu practically wince with embarrassment right there. He could feel his ear flicking with it. Especially when you mentioned that he wagged his tail.

"Obviously it's nice to hold, so soft. Oh, I can even tell when you want something, especially food." You chuckled, only to trail off and sigh again. "I wish it was that easy for you to tell when I'm happy, or when I think you're so cute I could just eat you up."

He can feel you stiffen slightly when you realized your choice of words, which was a bit funny, but he doesn't mention it. It doesn't frighten him, and there were more important things to say.

"I already know when you're happy, or when you're sad," Jiaoqiu reached back, slower than before so as not to appear too clumsy as he groped for your hands. Everything of him was suddenly softer, his smile a little shy and reminding you of the kinds of flowers that grew in the cliff cracks of Meilin Peaks. "When you're impatient you lean on your heels, and when you're excited you balance on your toes." That was easy to notice, especially when you stood next to him. "I have plenty of ways to tell when your appetites are more like a tiger's than a human's, and you're just fine to cuddle," he recovered, rounding back with a more typical tease even as his cheeks heated.

But as he'd known, you perked up, likely also warmed by his gentle mocking, although he hoped you could tell he didn't hate it when you behaved a little more wildly with him.

You coughed, throat suddenly dry, and Jiaoqiu was handing you a thermos, not smirking, but you could feel the self-satisfied lift at the tip of his tail. Menace, you smiled as cold water soothed the cough.

"I suppose all couples have things they just know, and things that still need to be said," you admitted quietly, handing Jiaoqiu back the thermos, pressing it into his palm and watching carefully before letting it go.

"Luck you, I've got plenty to say."

This time, it was you reaching over to press one of his hands. Yeah, you were pretty lucky he'd somehow stuck around.

"If you really mind, we could always try getting you a tail for your Immersia persona."

You groaned. "No. I hate it. It's a total waste of time."

"Moze's beating your high score in the new fishing minigame.

Your eye twitched, and Jiaoqiu's prim posture told you he knew exactly what he was doing. "I'm going to get fired if I try catching up to him."

"Oh please, they never fire diviners. He's got an oarfish the night we left." He was grinning now, the tip of one fang showing and his ears set back playfully.

"I changed my mind. I'm not going back there."

"Even for me?" he fluttered his eyelashes, the barest hint of dull gold gleaming from underneath.

You grumbled and growled and combed back the strands of his tail you'd ruffled out of place. "Only for you."

But you were smiling as he wagged his tail, just a tiny bit.

[ikemenomegas]

Mamoru Miyano is X???? AND Yuichi Nakamura is Ghostblade 😩. There is no way I was going to be normal about this show at all is there

[moonofmercury]

Moze is initially apprehensive about your and Jiaoqiu's relationship. Not because you're not good for him. You are. You make him smile, you make him laugh, you bring him fresh groceries when he has a hard time leaving the house, you make sure he doesn't just rot in bed all day (although you happily join him for this too). But as Moze comes to acknowledge his past, as he understands more about what it means to have people to care about and who truly care about you, he realizes how hard it is to live without people who mean so much. And if something happens to one of you, will the other survive?

It leaves Moze feeling confused. Is this jealousy? That losing one of you might mean losing you both, without care for what happens to the rest of them.

On some level, you all live dangerous lives, even if Jiaoqiu doesn't work for anyone but Feixiao anymore and diviners are fairly well guarded when they are near the battlefield. Moze knows it won't happen yet, that you are not yet so tied together, but he worries for Jiaoqiu and his fragile heart.

Moze remains his reticent self when Jiaoqiu talks about you, or when you talk about Jiaoqiu. You are undeniably good for him, and Moze can, with fond begrudging, admit Jiaoqiu is good for you too. And slowly, Moze's apprehension transforms into a more worn, tired worry touched with curiosity.

For so many years, stronger feelings have felt burned out of him. With no one to respond to his cries, they had died before they could lay half-formed in his chest. And although it is a gentle thing, the love between you and Jiaoqiu is strong enough to make Moze unsure. All he can do is keep you alive when he can. For Jiaoqiu's sake. He's not willing to let a thing like love keep you all from sharing the life you have been given.

[moonofmercury]

For many of the Chrysos Heirs, having the potential to be part of the flamechase seems an incredible burden. Mydei is not excited about needing to become a demigod, Tribbie lost almost everything when she took in her coreflame.

I think Anaxa denies the titans partly as a thought experiment. All of the most famous philosophers enjoy asking questions which are ridiculous to an incurious mind. But he's resentful of how prophecy drags the people down.

Because things are determined to be predetermined, many stop looking for solutions outside the prophecy. In the end, even a solution that seems out of the box may appear to fulfill the vague terms of a prophecy, but having a prophecy means that most of its adherents will try to work with the prophecy in mind, which is inherently limiting.

Anaxa does not like being forcefully constrained. He wants to be able to discover freely, even to the point of utilizing his own soul to show that every part of himself belongs to himself, and wants his and others' choices to be their own. The only one we see him show outright antagonism to so far is Aglaea, the weaver, the puppet master who controls both what the populace is allowed to know and directs the Chrysos Heirs along the path of the prophecy.

She in turn brands him the "performer", because she sees him as tied down as the rest of them even though he pretends not to be, to be enlightened because he dares to question the prophecy and the very existence of the gods themselves. Time is running out and she is openly supportive of one of the only plans they have, while Anaxa openly questions everything, and even goes so far as to proclaiming he would pursue annihilation if it brought answers.

There's just something quietly despairing about Anaxa trying to quietly and consistently pick apart the prophecy which has ruined the lives of everyone around him and seeks to bind him to blind obedience, while being forced to participate in whatever is going on anyways.

[moonofmercury]

The Flamechase Journey isn't just a mission to save the world from a literal encroaching darkness. There has been a masterfully interwoven thread about the encroaching darkness being the stagnancy and clinging of those like the Okhema council or the Janusopolis head priests or the king and captains of Castrum Kremnos who would rather continue to exploit and claw at whatever little comforts they can at the expense of the lives of the people their positions would otherwise tell you it is their sworn duty to protect, serve, or offer the truth.

It begs the question, what, even at the literal end of the world with destruction and decay and a malignant mutation closing in, the counsel thinks it can gain? Petty, short-term power? Mydeimos would have us believe that Aglaea rules by charisma and force of personality, while Anaxagoras would have you consider that in fact she has a passive but very pervasive control of everything and everyone in the city, which at least is something he considers uncomfortable and disagrees with.

As someone who values free will and the value of individual life, being party to the Flamechase Journey, which is in-text stated to be uncaring of life, to be something that churns Chrysos Heirs over the course of 1000 years in its grindstone... well it is not that either Mydei or Anaxa are wrong. The 3.2 update will likely provide more context about who the developers would have us believe, but Hoyo has been remarkably good so far at allowing two ideas to sit in tension. Hopefully, that will continue, but even if not, narratively there is evidence that both men are correct (and it's notable Anaxa is said to vote against the Flamchase, not with the council).

Ultimately, there is a part of Aglaea that does what she has to out of a dark necessity, and we are on her side against the Council whatever the feelings about the Flamechase Journey. It's a sickeningly realistic exhibition of very real human behaviors in the face of uncertainty.

When the Chrysos heirs return Oronyx's coreflame, there is a civilian speaking in the background saying that the "chrysos heirs don't care about safety, only want to cause chaos". As players, we are not supposed to believe this assessment, but it shows us the opinion of what is likely to show up as a vocal portion of the population. Even if it is minority of Okhema citizens who truly hold the believe that the Chrysos Heirs are part of a selfish and pointless quest, if they are loud enough, it won't matter that it's a minority, plenty of people will join with a mob mentality. This individual is himself parroting something that was said to him by a Council member or someone relaying their words, but is really using this statement to exhibit a different and understandable sentiment - that due to witnessing the process of the Flamechse, he himself no longer feels safe.

The Council is selling a false but potent vision of safety - that Okhema was in equilibrium before the Chrysos Heirs began making visible progress on the quest which is true, that the Black Tide is advancing due to failure of the quest, also technically true, and that the Chrysos Heirs cannot actually guarantee every stone of Okhema remane safe, also true.

Humans as a collective don't tend to deal with instability well, which enables these hard truths to be peddled by the Council in a way that allows denial to lead to anger that the peaceful lie was not preserved for longer, that allows the Council to lie to the people and effectively say that if we do not deal with this problem in the only way currently known that allows humanity as a whole to win, it will allow some to live in comfort and peace for a little bit longer, which for a lot of people is plenty.

The High Priests of Janusopolis would have rather sold lies and false prophecies than dare to make the populace uncomfortable by indicating disaster could be on the horizon, all to preserve a power that would not matter any longer once the city fell and a majority of its inhabitants were dead. All to preserve a comfort, that would not be enjoyed by the majority of its people.

The King of Castrum Kremnos would have rather sacrificed hundreds of his own people of extended periods of time and tossed his own child off a cliff than face the fact that endless warfare at some point becomes cheap and pointless, death before glory indeed.

In my opinion, the narrative is framed to show the current and historical "leaders" of the Amphoreus city-states as seeking their own prestige, power over others, and ability to bully and control, over power with the people they are supposed to serve and guide.

The interesting thing is that Tribbios, who has devoted her entire life to this prophecy which she believes to be meaningful, also needs the prophecy to be meaningful (ie prophecies have as much weight as you give them) because she sees it specifically as a way to reach her vision of belonging, acceptance, love and freedom.

She speaks of "everyone" actually wanting the prophecy to succeed in their heart. In some way, this is likely true. Most people want the Black Tide to recede, and Amphoreus to flourish once again (...except those who already "flourish" because they benefit from the fear and chaos created by the Black Tide, as it means people who are not interested or necessitated into being leaders look to those who purport to be able to provide something stable in unstable times). However, the language of speaking for everyone also speaks to the Chrysos Heirs sharing some of the fatal flaws found in those of the Council, or the High Priests of old Janusopolis.

There is a memoria fragment which provides a warning which, as many of the fragments do, provides relevant background that adds depth to the narrative. "Do not give people false hope under the guise of prophecy...?" Given to one of those Janusopolis priests who "manipulate" prophecies for their own gains, this is both an example of the lengths that these leaders would go to preserve their power and keep people burying their heads, loudly declaring that everything must be fine because a prophecy said so.

It may also be a warning to us, that although this holy maiden did not have the skill, perhaps another one does.

The only difference is the intention behind the Flamechase and the Council members, who are shaping up to be part of the 3.2 antagonist forces. While Tribios' desire to fulfill the quest may be selfish in some way, I think she does have a genuine desire to give everyone in Amphoreus the possibility of pursuing something equivalent to the happiness and companionship that she longs for, which cannot happen with the Black Tide bearing down and threatening to corrupt everyone.

The Council (and other past leaders in Amphoreus) aren't wrong to question the prophecy or even allow space for legitimate concerns of citizens who do not have a clear idea of what would come instead of their everyday lives in their homelands. This fact is narratively reflected by one of the Chrysos Heirs themselves questioning the purpose of the Flamechase Journey. However, we see them essentially turning legitimate concerns into a weapon to sow fear and inaction amongst the populace. Anger at least, can feel like doing something when it feels like current action is not resolving important social issues (here THE most important that lands outside Okhema are literally being eaten up and monsters which can also eat you are similarly encroaching).

Essentially this long post is a meander through some key points from the latter half of chapter 3.1, and praise for creating a tightly woven microcosm of very real issues that arise from the necessity of a ruling body for large social groups. It is a skill to allows trait that are similar between our erstwhile heroes and villains to reflect and magnify off one another. Incidentally, this is something seen not just in much good storytelling with such dynamics, but in actual greek plays as members of the Chorus will step out to speak for groups of non-protagonist characters throughout the narrative. All in all, it's a well done examination of what powerful people might do (even if it looks bonkers ridiculous to an outsider, like truly what does that assasine-ing council-woman think is a reasonable alternative to fighting the Black Tide when everyone is running out of time? She immediately gave the energy of being upset the Flamechase was not her idea, which is and almost comical level of self absorption) but also what people who have come into power (like Tribbie) might start to do in order to make sure their long series of action have some meaningful consequence, which is sure to be another through-line as we start to investigate more into the Flame-Reaver's origins.

[moonofmercury]

anaxa and the lost lover trope, who hates the tale of orpheus, because since the story has been told, all know its ending, and they know its futility. He knows its futility. There is nothing tangible waiting in the dark, and nothing across the river of souls. If he can't have you when he remembers you, he doesn't want to drink to forget from the river Lethe. Forgetting, voluntary ignorance, is anathema to a scholar. It's better to scatter away into mothwing dust in this life. Then maybe he can mix whatever stuff the soul is made of with the dirt that holds your bones.

[moonofmercury]

Anaxa is hilarious

Anaxa: Oh I bet she'll scold me and lock me up

Anaxa: :Oh I bet she asked for me

Guard: Who are you

Anaxa: ...Nevermind I hate it here

and later

Aglaea: alright, finally time for you

Anaxa: whatever, I forgot you were here, why do i care if you talk to me, I definitely don't feel neglected

[moonofmercury]

um... do you think... all of his holes glow

[moonofmercury]

That little bit of exposed forearm is way sluttier than the chest aurora window

[ikemenomegas]

been having the weirdest amount of cognitive dissonance lately where I profoundly want to immerse myself in my little fictional worlds where emotions and relationships are tidily-messy and then there's this. real thing. out here where i have to go to my job and pay taxes and i have no idea what the people around me are thinking and the banal passage of time is eating me alive

[ikemenomegas]

The videos themselves are really gimmicky but every time I see an incense preparation video, I think there are some omegas who would love to either watch their alpha do or themselves prepare one of these little rituals. Soothing incense that complements pheromones or eases instinct or just smells nice without being as overpowering as perfume is probably something popular among some omegas

[moonofmercury]

Qi Yu.... Qin Che... why do you act angrily like a wronged wife when we first meet

[moonofmercury]

i am. so mad. I was watching a yt video that was like "what your hsr husbando says about you", sure, a casual waste of 15 minutes while I work on an article and then I get SLAPPED IN THE FACE with "jiaoqiu... either you're a furry or you like 'em kind of normal but... with a little mystery, you like to sit there and figure them out, see what their deal is" which hits me in the face AGAIN with the double whammy of this delightful art but ALSO HEY. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT??

[moonofmercury]

Dr. Edward's eye looks a bit like Aventurine's, presumably all Avgin eyes.

[moonofmercury]

Dan Heng has nagging wife energy

[moonofmercury]

if i'm not hitting i'll usually stop and come back later but i'm so sick of this game rn and didn't want the anticipation of getting him. so i kept... inching close to max pity (after hitting early on a loss to our navigator). not enough jade for the light cone, but brain is finally relieved it can move onto other things now that he's on the account