#if you want to talk theory talk to a scholar

[just-rogi]

Are you Marxist?

Right now I’m a teacher- and I know that isn’t the answer that you wanted but listen-

Ideologically I don’t care what we call it, I will support my kids getting food every day and my classroom being funded so the kids can have the materials they need.

I will support any programs that complete fund public transportation, and which will actually put roofs over the heads of the people I pass on the street every day. I support the radical dismantling of government programs like the military and the police and the redistribution of those funds. I support the private dismantling of monopolies and large corporations hoarding wealth and food and homes.

I support not having to work myself to the bone every single week- coming home so dead tired that I fall asleep in my work clothes at 7:30 because I feel my body breaking from the five day/ eight hour work week. I support the death of the landlord class and the model, by which, a public City of Boston employee who works 40 hours a week for the city can’t afford to actually LIVE in the city on my salary (I have four roomates)

I support the complete reconstruction of the Forster care system, which in many cases takes children from loving parents for lack of funding, rather than just giving the parents access to food and clothes and a home to call their own and raise their children in. As wealth isn’t an indicator of morality and responsibility, and certainly not a reason to separate children from families who love them.

I support free and accessible educational for the brilliant black and brown children I see every day who have been barred from higher education due to the costs of privatized education- I support the fully funded public schools, community centers, libraries, and museums as safe spaces for all people of all ages to go, as knowledge should never be only accessible to a certain class.

I support gutting the private medical and pharmaceutical industry and instead building up public healthcare in which people will have access to medication which they desperately need without having to pay thousands of dollars. Where people can access mental health care, elder care and senior homes drug and alcohol abuse care (and yes that includes safe sites to dispose of sharps, and inject drugs without fear of dirty needles and ODing I know for whatever reason people can’t stomach that one) , rehabilitation for addiction, mental illness, and eating disorder without being in crippling debt for life. As a kid I had to ration my inhaler as they were close to $100 USD each. As an adult I want to make sure that no child - or person in general- has to do that with something that they NEED.

Everyone deserves to live in comfort and dignity, and no one man or company should have the power to sway politics or hoard property, food, or medication while the people are in need of care.

I have read a little bit about communist theory, and know all The Hits (hello communist manifesto), and yeah ideologically I suppose I agree with a lot of it on the surface level, but frankly I’ve read a LOT more about Socio Emotional Leaning, and teaching phonetics to ELL students, and textbooks on Ancient Civ as that is how I spend my whole day.

It would be arrogant and ignorant to call myself a Marxist, as I am know knowledgeable enough about the difference between Marxism, or Marxist Leninism, or Maoism, or all the nuances between the different communist and socialist political and ideological movements. And frankly, at this point in my life I don’t care about the label that you use- I care that food gets on my kids lunch trays and that they all have a warm bed to go home to and a place to learn and all their health needs met. Weather that is achieved by voting or by revolution, I don’t care. Weather it’s the marxists that get it done or the Maoist’s, I don’t care. Fuck if the Democrats were advocating for all that I’d be first in line to the polls (though even now please still vote, both in national and local elections- not voting is used to silence you and is a tool of the oppressor).

I really honestly don’t know shit about anything, and it would be sooooo much easier to give you a sound bite and respond “FUCK YEAH MARXISM BASED!!!!” With gif of a hammer and sickle flag…. But that feels reductive and unrepresentative as I honestly and truly am not intelligent enough about the subject to talk about it at length. What I am knowledgeable enough about is working full time in public education in a low income school. And working for a non profit organization in rural communities. And volunteering to get my boots dirty doing non profit work during what little free time I have. I know a lot about the world that I WANT to make better and if Marxism can get it’s shit together all the better- but a revolution WONT just be peacefully standing around discussing ideology. It starts in your classrooms and food banks and your streets. So I suggest that any real Marxist get themselves a pair of practical shoes.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

kompenscovery was such a blessed secret entrance to a Whole Deal (winnie n tay. & i guess billions) when like. having the most specific, correct opinions, and being me, = the ideal is [nobody else try to talk to me about winston billions] and that’s just where we’re at. this is an exclusive experience

[a-bee-wizard]

The person who said that every fantasy book needs to have a "magic system" should be gutterpunched

[loveemagicpeace]

🦋Mercury & Communications🦋

Mercury in Aries - your way of expressing yourself is very direct and you can be harsh with your words. You focus a lot on topics that interest you. You can have a strong opinion when it comes to things that involve you. You can be very impatient when it comes to information and you want to know it right away. At times, your communication can be more aggressive and you don't like so many details. You use highly expressive language and throw a lot of slang into your speech.  You are not so attentive to things around you. Criticism or negative feedback can be taken personally. Still, they are not afraid of a fight or a challenge, on a mental level. They like to talk about sports. In life, they can be involved in many sports activities. Mercury-in-Aries people suffer from headaches, especially in a raucous and noisy atmosphere.

Mercury in Taurus- your way of communicating is more slow, monotonous. You like to have conversations (especially you like to talk about food, music, money, movies), I also noticed that they like debates that are of better quality and include rich content. They stubbornly stick to a certain opinion and give in only when they have good arguments for it. They like to talk about clothes or beauty in general. They also like to talk about nature or plants. These people rely on their senses when it comes to processing information. Smells, noises, and mood are all employed. Mercury in Taurus people have an overall pleasing manner of communicating. These natives learn best when they see real-world uses for the theories they’re trying to absorb. They will not talk with all people , but only with those they feel comfortable with. Taurus are often successful art and antique dealers.

Mercury in Gemini-your communication is very fast and variable. Also, your way of expressing yourself can be too fast for some people. You can absorb a lot of information, but you are not a person who would think about something for a long time. You can quickly change your mind and decide on something else. You like to change topics and get information from several different sources. Many times you are more interested in the opinions of others and can make decisions based on them. You can quickly get bored and replace your energy. Gemini people pick up more from their environment than most, and they can process information at lightning speed. At times there is a distinct lack of order in your life. You would make a wonderful debater, public speaker, or ac- tor, and you have lots of friends because of your infec- tious good humor.

Mercury in Cancer-your way of expressing yourself is usually emotional. A lot of your words come from emotions and how you feel at a certain moment. You put a lot of emphasis on family and their opinion. There can also be a mother here, who in some way affects how you think and communicate. You have to be careful not to rely too much on your mother's opinion. You like emotional conversations that cover many deeper topics. Most of all, you like to talk in a comfortable place, such as at home, on a comfortable chair, on the sofa, while drinking your favorite drink. You can quickly become emotional in a conversation and if someone hurts you, you can be rude with your words. that Mercury in Cancer natives will remember almost anything — from their own past, to your conversation two months ago. Mercury- in-Cancer people are successful as scholars, historians, teachers, and writers. You are likely to make a profit in real estate and may inherit money from the maternal side of your family.

Mercury in Leo- your way of communicating is fast but superficial. Many times, if you are not interested in the topic, you will no longer listen or give importance to it. Sometimes you can say things that are out of place and only later realize that you may have exaggerated. Your way of expressing yourself is also dramatic. You like to talk about others, gossip, love dramas. In conversation with others, you often find yourself in it. You are excellent at promoting ideas and getting their message across. These people can be very attached to their opinions, taking pride in their beliefs, which are often rather idealistic. You are also very confident in everything you say.  You have a sunny side that is always with you. Though you would rather play than work, you are determined to be successful.

Mercury in Virgo- your way of expressing yourself is stable, sometimes judgmental, firm, realistic, even political. You like to talk about serious topics. Many times the topics can be politics, the world, work or general happenings in everyday life. When you speak, you always tell everything in detail and you can go very deep into the details of certain things. You can also be conflicted when it comes to expressing opinions. Many times you can give advice to people even if they don't ask you for it (you always want to find a way to solve a problem). They generally pick up a lot of facts and figures, and learn their own trade well, but have trouble truly absorbing the knowledge they collect on a deeper level. Mercury in Virgo natives may appear humble at times, but they get quite protective when it comes to handling day-to-day affairs. A fault is your eagerness to take on too much work or too many projects. You wear yourself down, and at times become nervous and hypercritical. As a Mer- cury-Virgo you have a superb talent for creative crafts.

Mercury in Libra-your way of communicating is beautiful, gentle, warm, pleasant. You can talk to any person and you can create a way of talking to any person. Although you can be a bit judgmental at times. You can talk a lot about your partner and the relationship. The theme of love is primarily in the foreground with this Mercury. If you are interested in anything, it is the relationships of others or what is happening with others. You can also have the quick influence of others (which means that sometimes you think with the head of others or rely on what your partner says). Your partner's opinion can be very important to you. You are also always looking for harmony and peace in conversation. You are good at solving other people's relationships because you know how to look at things from an objective perspective. You are especially successful if you team up with a strong person who can direct you.

Mercury in Scoprio-your way of expressing yourself is through depth, emotion, directness, truth. You are always looking for the way to the truth, no matter what the situation is, you will always want to know the truth, because that is what will set you free in a way. You can have obsessive thoughts, and especially if you like something, you can only think about it for days. You like long emotional and deep conversations. You like to have a really open, real conversation with someone. You like it when the person tells you their secrets and that you can share a dark side with the person. You don't like small talk. You are direct and sometimes very harsh, especially if someone makes you angry or hurt. You can say the harshest things to a person without a bad conscience. Your way of communicating is also very passionate, inspiring and dedicated. You always know how to empathize with other people. You probably have a volatile temper, and Mercury-Scorpios are known for their biting sarcasm when crossed or upset. You have an emotional intelligence. You will fight for a cause even if it is hopeless, or sacrifice your time and ener- gies for someone you love.

Mercury in Sagittarius-your way of expressing yourself is very energetic, intellectual, optimistic and happy. You always know how to find the good side of a situation and you know how to see the key things in a conversation. You can help others with your words. You give good advice to others. You can also help others find their way. You are open-minded and honest. You're a life-long learner who loves discussing deep, philosophical questions. You also have an expressive nature and a great sense of humor, which often make you the life of the party. Your opinionated and honest personality can sometimes hurt peoples’ feelings, and your visionary way of thinking can make it hard for you to focus on small details. Your mind naturally absorbs new information, and you love pondering life’s deep questions. Some people find you too blunt and outspoken, but that quality springs from Sagittarius’s basic honesty.

Mercury in Capricorn- your way of expressing yourself is usually very realistic, serious and maybe sometimes more cruel. You can also have a pessimistic view. This makes you a practical person; your thoughts are more realistic and down to earth; and communication over concerned matters is precise and clear. You don’t waste time and get down to the point, earning people’s respect. You speak when you have something to say and choose your words carefully to ensure you appear well-spoken and knowledgeable. You can talk a lot about work and this could be the theme most of the time. Mercury-Capricorns often at- tain positions of leadership because they are so dependable and have an air of authority. Life is serious to Mercury-Capricorns and you see its dark side—though a redeeming trait is your dry sense of humor.

Mercury in Aquarius-your way of communicating can be very different from others. Many times you can emphasize things that involve society and friends. You can also look a lot at your friends and what they think about a certain thing. You are rebellious when it comes to your opinion. You can talk about very strange, unusual topics (such as: aliens, robots, etc.). You are intelligent, idealistic, humanitarian, open-minded, eccentric, and unconventional. • You spend a lot of time in the realm of your mind, and you’re always searching for logical, rational explanations for things. You love to analyze character and motivation, and with your finely tuned powers of observation are able to predict accurately how someone will react in a certain situation. Sometimes you may seem eccentric, for your ideas are ad- vanced and you also enjoy saying things that shock other people.

Mercury in Pisces- your way of expressing yourself is very poetic, dreamy, cute and loving. You can have a very friendly way of communicating with others and you never want to hurt other people. Many times you pay more attention to how others feel than how you feel. When you talk about a certain thing, you really get into it and your mind really opens up and you usually have a sparkle in your eyes. You like when someone listens to you and you are happy to talk about it. Because you can often be misunderstood, you don't like to talk to many people, but only to those who bring you warmth and give you the feeling that they understand you. You are also sensitive, imaginative, and open-minded. You think in colors, shapes, and feelings and express yourself through abstract ideas and art. ou prefer to live in your fantasies rather than deal with facts, logic, and details. You are big on feelings and impressions rather than words, trusting your inner voice to tell you what’s going on rather than what’s right in front of your face.

🎸For personal readings u can sign up here: https://snipfeed.co/bekylibra 🎸

-Rebekah🩷🧚🏻‍♀️

[ironunderstands]

All of Aventio’s implications that I can remember because someone has to compile them 

Massive disclaimer: the purpose of this slideshow is not to prove that Aventio is canon (even if I personally think it is), but rather to demonstrate the relationship these two have in canon, as well as disprove the misconception that they hate one another, because no, they absolutely do not. This list is also in no particular order so expect a lot of jumping around in the story. I hope you enjoy reading! 

Dr. Ratio added gambling to his update for the Simulated universe, and said a certain gambler would enjoy it, despite Ratio’s known dislike of gambling. 

He put his all into carrying out Aventurine’s betrayal plan, and Aventurine trusted him to execute it correctly, despite the plan/going to Penacony having no obvious gain on Ratio’s end.

Dr. Ratio gave Aventurine this note urging him to keep on living despite the pains of his past and the agony of the present, wishing a man who is already known for his luck the best of it, something which helps Aventurine survive the manifestation of IX. I am insane about this note and could yap on and on about it, but I will spare you the delusions for now haha. 

Dr. Ratio wears his headpiece around those he finds to be unintelligent and not worth his time, but he has never once on screen worn it around Aventurine, signaling that he finds the man to be both intelligent and worthy of his attention. 

Aventurine doubts his own intelligence and worth in his voiceline about Dr. Ratio, believing that the scholar doesn’t care for him. However, in Ratio’s voiceline about Aventurine, he commends Aventurine for his competence and skill, pointing out that his success is not in-fact just due to his luck, and if he keeps doubting himself he will meet the fate of those praying on his downfall.

Aventurine is also the only person to actually have voicelines about Dr. Ratio so far, despite Ratio having interacted with many others, meaning he’s the closest in canon to Aventurine, seeing that he’s the only one who talks about him. (Hopefully Screwllum has a line on Ratio when he comes out bc I am starving for Ratio content lmao). 

Aventurine’s first eidolon name is Prisoner’s Dilemma, which refers to a game theory in which two people can only achieve the best outcome of their situation if they put their faith one another while being unable to communicate/physically separated, and it mirrors the dynamic Ratio and Aventurine had on Penacony while acting out the betrayal plan. Which could mean nothing. 

His 6th eidolon name is Stag Hunt Game, which refers to another game theory based on trust, and is again, reminiscent of Ratio and Aventurine’s plan. Basically, they trust each other a hell of a lot, to the point where his eidolons are named after similar games of trust, which is no accident, as well, there’s countless game theories, and hoyo went with the ones specifically centered around trust between two people. For example his E4 is another one of those theories, but has nothing to do with trust, so they specifically selected his first and last eidolon to be about it, interesting.

The name of the 2.1 quest that just involves Ratio and Aventurine is Double Indemnity, which not only refers to the legal matter but also a famous romance and thriller movie in the 1950s by the same name. Notably, it shares a lot of plot points with that of the 2.1 quest as a whole, and the fmc is always portrayed as blond, just like Aventurine. 

There is also a scene within Double Indemnity that shares a lot of parallels between itself and the Final Victor lightcone. However in the movie scene she is holding the gun, whereas in the lightcone Ratio is, even if Aventurine is holding it to his chest.

Also if you want a more in depth analysis on how this movie relates to them, this person made a great one on tumblr :@anominous-user. (without the period, also it’s long as hell though be warned). 

You receive the track “Spellbound” after completing the Double Indemnity mission.

It is also the name of a 1945 film by Alfred Hitchcock, which is a Thriller, Noir and you guessed it, features romance as a major part of the plot. Its story also seems to have parallels to Aventio’s, but I’m not gonna get into that for now.

Notably, spellbound also means to hold the complete attention of someone, which is more often than not romantic, as only people you love/admire can captivate you like that. 

The bathtub couch Aventurine gets Ratio during his demo (and is the only time the seating ever changes in demos) is reminiscent of the bathtub couch from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and you guessed it, its another romance.

He constantly flirts with Ratio in the pinball section of the Double Indemnity trailer, even going so far as to a) have the “Doctor you’re huge” line become a massive meme in the community b) he literally says the view is breathtaking when the only view is the giant Ratio he’s staring at. Honestly this entire section is so chock full of romance tropes (seriously what writer let their size difference kink into the story) that I have no idea how it passed censorship.

Aventurine also flirts with Ratio in the 2.0 scene by asking where his alabaster head is, which means he’s seen him wear it before. However, even when Dr. Ratio is acting, supposedly yelling at Aventurine for being a useless fool, he doesn’t wear the mask meaning he doesn’t truly feel that way.

They also have designated nicknames for one another, that are exclusive to them only. Dr. Ratio only ever calls Aventurine “gambler” while in his presence, and although Aventurine calls him Ratio sometimes, he often refers to Ratio as Doc/Doctor (Professor too in the CN) when talking to him. What’s interesting is that nobody else seems to refer to either of them with these names, meaning they made them for one another.

Despite the fact that throughout Penacony, Dr. Ratio’s job is to sell the betrayal plan, he still apologizes to Aventurine in the 2.0 argument scene, and looks away during Aventurine’s sentencing presumably out of guilt/to not break his poker face when the other looks at him. He also not so kindly tells Sunday to visit a shrink (therapist), which should tell you how much his actions concern and upset Ratio.

He also breaks his act again to check in on Aventurine. Hmm. 

Anyways time for the Aventurine keeping up with starrail speedrun because OH LORD, I’m gonna number these by image so I don’t exceed the count LMAOO. The first few are numbered by image, and the next are numbered by the columns of images, and I can clarify in the comments if you’re confused!

1) Owlbert calling them good friends (which Mr. Tsundere denies, although he says Aven isn’t awful to work with) 

2) PRAISE OWLBERT

3) This line is very significant because only 3% of Dr. Ratio’s students ever pass his classes, in which they become experts in their fields. So, if Aventurine earns a passing grade in Dr. Ratio’s book, that means he’s exceptional to him as almost nobody does. 

1) Ratio says his flashy outfits just make his job harder which ??? What do you mean by that sir do you not like seeing other people lay eyes on Aventurine serving cvnt? Why are you so worried about how his jobs go? Hmmm? Throughout the whole video he also keeps saying Aventurine shouldn’t take up fights in the first place, and the more logical thing to do would be to run away. Worried about our dear gambler Ratio?

2) How well do you know this man that you know his personal motto 😭 look genuinely idc if you leave this shipping them or not, how the hell are you gonna deny their friendship after this at the very least. 

Ok homoverse/j Anyways basically what’s going on here is that the little showcase of Aventurine’s kit ended and Ratio gave him a compliment. Owlbert says it seems like there is some mutual respect between them. Interesting, instead of denying it, Ratio asks, “What did he say about me?” implying that Ratio respects Aventurine, but he did not realize the other respected him back. 

1) Which causes Owlbert to spill this, which speaks for itself, Aventurine believes Ratio is the person who knows him best, so he invited him to be on the show. 

2) Which results in perhaps the greatest display of Ratio’s tsundereness to this day, also Owlberts face I can’t 

1) It seems Ratio didn’t think Aventurine knew him so well, but oh boy it gets better (worse for Ratio though LMAOO)

2) Caught your ass in 4k, also please just go and listen to this demo again I don’t think Ratio could sound more flustered if he tried. 

Apologies for the fuckass title card getting in the way no I don’t know how to remove it, but if you look closely in the first one, you can see a little sweat drop by Ratio’s face, which is again, another common trope with Tsundere’s when they get called out on their bs. “I really can’t tell what the deal is between you two,” me too Owlbert, me too.

Aventurine knows Ratio is in the council of Mundanites, information that is only a rumor to the rest of the galaxy, and Ratio trusts him with this information.

Acheron calls them friends, thank you Queen louder for the dumbasses in the back! Apparently there’s also a note somewhere in Penacony that talks about her, Argenti and of course Ratio being the ones to save Aventurine, so if I can find it, I’ll include it in the next part. 

Oh and don’t you think I’m done w this ridiculous lightcone for one second. I’m  well aware it’s a display of Aventurine’s su1c1dal tendencies, hell I was and still am the biggest supporter of that, however I also have eyes and yeah this fucking thing is really h0rny oh my god. “He provocatively looks at the man before him,” ok, could have picked any other wording but you picked that one 😭.

Also, a key detail of this lightcone that people miss is that it’s, well, a lightcone. A lightcone we get in 2.0 as soon as it drops, and since lightcones are canonically condensed memories, this happened way before the events of 2.0, and is likely how Aventurine convinced Ratio to join him jn the betrayal plan. 

Moreover, Aventurine says “remain amicable,” meaning this isn’t their first meeting, and him and Ratio had at least been talking to one another for some time before this, which could mean their friendship/partnership/whatever the hell this is has dated back to perhaps even prior to 1.6 when we meet Ratio for the first time, but ultimately that’s just speculation. 

Lastly, for this mini lightcone rant: the animated version of it. Oh lord. 1) Camden and Jordan put their all into it istg 😭 2) Ratio pulls the gun back but Aventurine stops him, meaning that a) Ratio didn’t want him to get hurt, but he b) accepted Aventurine’s provocation, 3) Aventurine LEANS CLOSER to him while teasing him with his whole “why not doctor~,” sh1t and 4) if you look closely at both the animated and still versions of it, there’s a tiny spark of light in Aventurine’s normally dead eyes, which is just, yeah. 

Ratios party voiceline for Aventurine. This is a complicated one because it is meant to be b1tchy in both languages (this is a tumblr post on it by @devxoid which goes over the nuance surrounding it. The TLDR is: directly translated, it means “take care of yourself, gambler, I need not your worry/concern,” but its actual meaning is far closer to the “fuck off” vibes in the CN. However, two this complicate this, 1) he sounds far calmer/neutral in the CN and 2) Ratio is the biggest goddamn tsundere on this planet, so even if he sounds mean, he does genuinely want Aventurine to take care of himself, as Ratio’s tried and true method of getting people to better themselves is by being rude to them, so it’s actually fairly in character, it’s just I think the way the line was directed in EN was a bit too harsh and threw some people off 

Finally, here’s some more silly ones that don’t really mean anything on their own until you put them into the context of everything else:

Their status as package deal do not seperate in both the data bank and the profile pictures is extremely funny because they have no reason to be next to each other like that, they just are.

Their kits are also designed to synergize perfectly with one another, and in the livestream Ratio was put in the team to demonstrate Aventurine’s kit because well, they are made to work together. Aventurine is by far Dr. Ratio’s best sustain unit due to the debuffs he provides (alongside everything else) which only gets better with eidolons + his signature lightcone, and if you have ever played Ratio you know how much he likes debuffs. As for Aventurine, his arguably  best team is the FUA one with Robin, Topaz and well, Ratio, who is the main dps of the team. Honestly besides trying to zero cycle MOC there is no reason as to why you would run Ratio with any other support unit if you have Aventurine. 

I hope you enjoyed reading! Also, this is absolutely not everything, just all the stuff that’s easy to point out, and I’m not even getting into an actual analysis of the plot and how that demonstrates their relationship. Moreover, I don’t expect you to leave this shipping them if you don’t already like them, but I at least want to demonstrate that they are without a doubt close friends in canon, and there’s no denying it. I definitely missed some so feel free to point out more, as I might make a part two, as these are just all the ones off the top of my head. Continually, for the people who like Aventio, hopefully this serves as some sort of guidebook/reference to their implications/interactions, and if you have any moots who love this ship, I’d recommend tagging them in this bc I think they would love it! Have a good day :D

[sapphicjackal]

Bingyuan Soulmate au 2

Part 1

For as long as Luo Binghe can remember, dark shapes would imprint themselves onto his skin accompanied with foreign feelings. The feelings were always benign and soft. Eventually Luo Binghe knew them to be words, but he was illiterate and unable to read what they said. He could recognize fragments based on what little his mother could teach him.

He asked his mother about the words but she couldn’t see them. She believed him that they were there and told him that maybe if he could become a cultivator he could find out what it was. Cultivators knew all manner of secret and esoteric things that mortals didn’t, and maybe this was a sign he was destined to be one.

Luo Binghe was happy about that, and he traced the sifting words reverently, feeling out their shapes and reveling in the feelings they brought. The feelings were so warm and gentle, they brought him even greater comfort after his mother died and he was alone on the streets. Each morning, and sometimes other parts of the day, he would feel a message arrive with a caring greeting. He didn’t know what the words said, but he knew they were for him. 

Getting chosen for Qing Jing Peak was a blessing. Surely on the Peak of Scholars he would find the answers he seeked about these words. Luo Binghe probably should have asked someone about it, but some part of him felt possessive over it. These words belonged to him and him alone. He didn’t want anybody to know about them. If they knew they might be able to take it away, Luo Binghe never wanted to lose the daily message.

Everybody hated him on Qing Jing Peak, his Shizun poured tea on him and the Shixiong’s bullied him, but each morning without fail, a message would arrive on his wrist. Luo Binghe worked tirelessly on his literacy, spending every free moment learning how to read and write. He wanted to know what was being said to him.

Each night, he snuck into the library to read the materials available for new coming illiterate disciples. As the scholarly peak, there was a dedicated selection towards priming new disciples to the standards of Qing Jing Peak. Luo Binghe didn’t have time to view then during the day because of his endless chores, but he was determined to learn, even if it meant going during the night. 

Nobody was allowed to go during the night, but Luo Binghe had carefully tested it and found out that there was nothing to alert anyone. So as long as he was careful to make sure everything looked undisturbed, he could learn from the materials. It meant he got little sleep, but Luo Binghe was nothing if not determined. Once he set his mind to something, he would strive doggedly to succeed. 

Slowly he began to be able to read the messages, recognizing several characters even if he couldn’t read the whole thing quite yet. He could see words like “happy”, “love”, “good”, “well”, “today”, and “I” appear with the most frequency. It was the final thing that confirmed to him his theory that it was someone talking to him. Perhaps a spirit?

It didn’t seem like a malevolent force, but he’s learned that anything being attached to a person is often a bad thing. They often drained qi or lifeforce, and were parasitic in nature. He would have to remain on guard with these mysterious words and whoever they were connected to.

He waited a few more months until he could read more of what was said than he was unable to read. The message came in that morning as it always did. Luo Binghe had filched an old and worn calligraphy brush along with a near empty pot of ink that he stowed away in preparation.

“I hope you have a wonderful day that brings you joy.” it read. The message was intimate and informal, paired with genuine well wishes.

“Who are you?” Luo Binghe wrote carefully. He struggled with writing more than reading, but he was making progress to improve in both areas as quickly as he could. 

The reply came quickly, the feeling of it taking shape was oddly scratchy and the size of the lettering was a uniform thickness that appeared with a drag unlike a brustip. Luo Binghe had never wondered about the writing implement that was being used up until he could now compare it to his own writing and experience how they differed.

“I’m your soulmate! It’s nice to meet you.” appeared along with a bubbly feeling of anticipation.

Soulmate? 

Luo Binghe’s eyes widened in disbelief. He had heard tales of soulmates before, of individuals connected by red strings of fate tied around their fingers. But those strings were invisible and soulmates weren’t able to communicate by writing. 

“Soulmate? This one has never heard of words on skin happening with soulmates." Luo Binghe wrote, trying not to get his hopes up. This could be a spirit or demon trying to trick him. 

“How old are you? I’m surprised you haven’t heard of soulmates, everyone has one. Only soulmates can see each other’s words, but everybody gets them. Unless their soulmate isn’t born or has died.” came the words with a sense of absolute certainty and curiosity. It felt like truth. Luo Binghe didn’t know that truth was an emotion that could be felt. 

Luo Binghe thought about it. The way that this writing had been with him for as long as he could remember, even before he knew what it meant. The shifting shapes and frequent emotions that came with the words. The feelings attached to the words that he could feel every time he touched the strokes. 

It had never harmed him, it was simply faithful and earnest companionship. Even when his mother died, his… soulmate… was always there. Writing to him little well wishes that were sincerely meant.

Luo Binghe didn’t think that this form of soulmates was what humans experienced. Ning Yingying would have already told him if she had someone writing to her, and he would have seen more people looking at their skin more. His A-Niang hadn’t known what he was talking about either.

However, humans weren't the only race of sentient beings. Maybe there was something else that all had soulmates. And maybe those soulmates could sometimes be humans. Maybe just maybe, this was them sending messages across their string.

“This one is 10.” Luo Binghe wrote, biting his lip. His 11th birthday was in a few weeks, but for now he was 10.

“I’m 15, and I’ll help you with anything you need. Let me know anything you struggle with learning and I’ll try to help you.” came the reply, earnest and determined. Luo Binghe was upset to see the earlier words fade away, leaving empty gaps between his own brushstrokes. 

“Really?” Luo Binghe asked, losing the battle against fighting off his hope. It was a doomed endeavor from the start. Luo Binghe wanted nothing more than someone who cared and…

“Yuan-ge will help you with anything. I promise.” came the writing, filled with firm conviction and gentle affection.

“Yuan-ge?” Luo Binghe questioned, overflowing with giddy happiness and anticipation. 

His soulmate. His. His Yuan-ge. His A-Yuan.

“My name is Shen Yuan,” Yuan-ge wrote, and Luo Binghe drank it in greedily. He traced the characters over and over, wishing he could carve them into his skin so they would never leave. He felt almost dizzy with elation when he remembered the way that his Yuan-ge has never once left him. Yuan-ge has written to him everyday, maybe even since he was born. Luo Binghe may have been abandoned in a river during the coldest night, but maybe, even then, on his wrist there had been words of love.

His hands shook as he collected himself, wanting to respond to his Yuan-ge.

“This one is Luo Binghe.” he wrote once his hands were steady. His name was the first words he knew, and they were one of the greatest gifts given to him by his A-Niang. Luo Binghe stroked his pendant, missing her dearly. He wished he could have told her about Yuan-ge.

“Bing-er, I’m happy to finally meet you.” Yuan-ge said, his words were so saturated in pure warmth that it made tears form in Luo Binghe’s eyes. It felt like A-Niang’s hugs after she placed a kiss on the crown of his head and enveloped him into her arms. It felt like love.

At that moment he wished nothing more desperately than to see his Yuan-ge. He wanted to find the one at the end of his string, even if he had to traverse the realms to find him. One day, Luo Binghe promised himself.

One day he would find his Yuan-ge.

Luo Binghe would become the best cultivator ever so that he could track his Yuan-ge down. Even if it took his whole life, he would find his soulmate. Shen Yuan. 

With a smile, Luo Binghe began writing on his leg. He’d have to remember to find a rag to wipe away the ink tomorrow. There was probably something dirty and stained in the storehouse that nobody would notice missing. 

He’d also have to have some inks mixed and prepared carefully. Normally the little pots were used for painting pigments that way someone could paint outdoors, but Binghe found a discarded one and mixed together some ink to use. The ink was no good for calligraphy, too watery and not pigmented enough for bold strokes, but it wrote upon his skin well enough.

With a head full of forming plans and a heart filled with warmth and elation, Luo Binghe talked with his Yuan-ge for another sichen before his soulmate said he had to sleep. 

“Good night, Bing-er.” Yuan-ge said, words filled with gentle care.

Luo Binghe beamed, excited to talk to Yuan-ge tomorrow, and the day after, and everyday for the rest of his life. 

“Good night, Yuan-ge.”

Part 3

[the-fandom-is-now-my-life]

Hi 👋🏻 are you taking requests for the creators child AU.

Could the child be Alhaitham's or maybe Diluc's.

Thank you

The creator had

Such a smart child

WC: ~900

This feels more like a collection of head cannons but enjoy!

I believe Nahida would be able to dull the hit to the archons enough for them to not have a public outbreak like in other scenarios, so most of the gossip around is from people of sumeru.

“Stop speaking like that of the acting great sage! The matra will get you punished if they hear you talking like that”

“I'm not claiming anything! I'm just saying it's weird how much time he spent around them”

“They were reviewing the structure of the akademiya”

“Sure, and my wife and I were just studying so many years ago”

“Profesor…”

"that is why my daughter was finishing highschool when we both published our thesis. We were 38 but you get the point"

"professor please... Stop..."

It has been a running rumor for a few months, but nobody really believes it, the stone faced great sage and their welcoming grace? No, never, impossible. There are scholars attempting to refute it but their attempts are short-lived as a few months later you settle back in sumeru, and your lazyly hanging robe you wear now is pushed slightly forward around the abdomen, just enough for it to be an untold fact.

“Why am I returning? I guess it just felt right, given everything” slowly after the theory took traction.

On the later months the baby gets calm whenever he is read books, the kicking stopping for as long as anyone recited paragraphs of dense knowledge, it was a common occurrence for you to tag along thesis defenses, something that professors enjoyed the opportunity of chat you up and students suddenly put delays because of sickness on masse.

“I wonder why they are all so nervous to defend their statement! I don't even ask them questions for them to be scared of me!”

“I think regardless of what you did or didn't do any of them would be at ease”

“And I heard they sit through thesis defenses and lectures because the child is calm hearing long speeches”

“I heard that too! I even heard that once they summoned one of the great sages to read a book so they could fall asleep”

“Really! Could it be…” the teen girl looks at her friend mischievously “great sage al haitham?” Making her friend look away feigning not knowing.

°•°

“I'm extremely sorry for calling you so late, Haitham” you lay on your bed, back flush against the wall. The covers on your lap make little to cover the almost watermelon sized bump “I attempted to read to see if he calmed down on his own but when I stop he starts kicking up a storm”

Alhaitham drags your vanity stool to your bedside, a soft creaking sound coming from the friction between the woods. He just hums as he skims the bookshelf “don't fret so much, it's only natural for me to do this” his fingers dance softly caressing the spines of various books ranging from Inazuma novellas to published investigation on bird care “what has been working best? Early language dictionary? Transcripts of old manuscripts?”

“alchemical botany has been doing alright”

“great, it's coming out to be a spantamad or amurta. I'm sure Tighnari and Cyno will be elated with the news” he rolls his eyes and pulls out a leather bound book with vine engraving.

“Aww, is someone jealous?”

“I'm just saying that something like ‘development of runic language during the last 300 years’ might be more interesting” you just snicker “weren't you attempting to sleep? Close your eyes”

You side down the pillows with a smile on your lips “fine, if you don't want to read alchemical botany why don't you use the white book?” as he glances over he read the simple title ‘weight distribution in columns depending on materials’ and sighs heavily.

“Spantamad might not be so bad.”

There is a small whisper in the last few months that the child could be meant to be one of the great sages but the matra keeps it down when someone starts with it.

When he is born Alhaitham reads to his son some of the books he kept from his parents.

The one year old is perched on his lap, leaning against one of his arms while they both look at the book, one of them reading attentively the words and explaining some concepts while the other is attempting to fall asleep.

“I doubt he is truly listening to you”

“You would be surprised by how much the biology faculty showed children can learn before school”

“I believe they meant before the 5 years mark, not 6 months”

Maybe even wants you to do something similar, it could be an essay, thesis or even storybook but he would want it to have some banter between you two or little comments like “it's good that you remembered to spell correctly postganglionic fibers, I don't have to correct you anymore”

He uses kaveh as an underpaid nanny just plopping the toddler on his lap and leaving without saying a word. He does stop when his son's drawings start to feature more houses and structures than people.

“Are we sure he is mine?”

“For the sixth time, yes. He is a carbon copy of you”

When your baby grows he is the smartest of his class, reciting everything his father read to him since before his birth, even if he refuses to acknowledge it al haitham is really proud of his son and his little shelf with math Olympics medals or the certificate he got from the first place in a writing competition.

Even then the moment your son turns 18 and has to decide what branch he wants to go into is the hardest week of his life, dreading the possibility of another architect in his life. He is quite happy when he choses spantamad, even if he would have like him to go for haravatat.

[readychilledwine]

Dying thinking about rhys literally pining and hardcore simping for reader, literally showering reader in praise, flattery and gifts because he no longer gives a damn about hiding his feelings, almost proposing to reader whenever he can and reader's just. completely clueless about it 💀 and she thinks it's just rhys being friendly. Poor man would be absolutely devastated when he goes one day "[name] i'm in love with you" and she just goes "me too, i love all my friends!"

Subtle

Summary - Rhys is ready to lay it all onto the table when he gets home from his time in captivity. He just hopes you're as ready as he is.

Warnings - fighting, drinking, inner circle board game night, implied smut

A/N - Cassian would absolutely dominate Risk. I almost felt guilty using it as my inspiration for the game night piece. This was fun to write. Definitely going to have to do some more in terms of family game night with the Inner Circle and my readers/ocs

Ps - gif is how I imagine Cassian and Azriel.

He promised himself when he came home from the mountain, he would court you. Truly court you. Gifts, dates, everything. 

The bond had snapped for him a few years before Amarantha took them all hostage, but you had just recently been saved from a temple, and he wanted to give you time to heal before he advanced. 

In the time you two spent together, he discovered you enjoyed similar things. During your time at the temple, you had begun to study the stars, the solar system, theories on the galaxy. He used that to his advantage, claiming he just wanted to meet with someone who shared his passion and hobby. 

You were welcomed into the Inner Circle as his head scholar within a year. There wasn't a single thing in that library you could not transcribe or find, and it proved to be quite helpful for the Shadowsinger and his studies of old court alliances and traditions and for Cassian as he began to study ancient warfare. 

You all sat at your first family dinner in 50 years, enjoying the free flowing wine, the light conversation. You were watching Rhys subtly, and he you. After dessert, he stood, walking over to you and offering you his hand before leaving to his office with you.

"About fucking time," Cassian mumbled under his breath, and the table nodded.

Rhysand sat you down in his office. "I missed you," he said gently. "I missed my time alone with you. Forgive me for pulling you away from our friends."

You shook your head, a smile settling on your face. "There's nothing to forgive. What did you want to talk about?"

It was too soon for him to say what he wanted, too soon to be this forward, so he decided to gently introduce you to his affections. "It doesn't matter what we talk about, y/n. I just want to be around you."

Over the next month, he took his time with you. He showered you with gifts ranging from jewelry to new books on the stars, to clothing. His touches when you two were alone became more intimate and lingering. 

You wrote it off as him introducing himself to touch with someone he trusted again, not believing Rhysand, the most attractive male fae in existence, would ever want you or find you beautiful.

He began dropping all subtleties two months into his new behavior. In front of the Inner Circle, an arm would go behind your shoulders. He'd play with your hair. He'd rest a hand on your knee or lower thigh. 

For tonight's family game night, you were in charge of picking the board game, and Rhys stood behind you as you looked over the countless shelves. "Azriel is off tomorrow," you recounted softly. "Amren is actually interested in playing." He watched your delicate finger move over to more complicated games. "But if I pick something too difficult Mor and Cassian will leave." Rhys admired you in affectionate silence still. "And you and I will bicker no matter what we play because," you turned him, one of the Inner Circles absolute favorite battle mapping and strategy games in hand. You deepened your voice, raising a perfect brow at him. "My name is Rhysand, I am the most intelligent high lord, and I can never be wrong." 

He smirked, almost truly purring like a pleased cat, as he replied. "Well, if you believe so, darling, and I believe so, it must be true." You could help but giggle, holding the game out to him. "We haven't played this in years, y/n." 

They had purchased it to teach you battle planning and rationing, not realizing it would soon become a game that your teams 3 would enjoy so much and become so passionate about that arguments would ensue over who was the most capable. 

You were always teamed with Cassian and Amren. Your two friends took you under their wings, for Cassian quite literally, and would use the game and your turns as education moments. 

"Amren said if I picked well enough, she'd stay and play." You smiled up at him. "Maybe you could switch her and Mor so she isn't dealing with such a handicap?"

Rhys made a face of confusion at you. "You are not a handicap, darling," he tilted your face up to his with two fingers under your chin. "I never want to hear those words fall from your mouth again. Now, to the game room."

The two of you went up the stairs, several bottles of alcohol and the board game in hand, and the room went silence when they saw that familiar painted terrain box. 

Cassian was the first to jump up, immediately clearing more space on the table. "I'm fucking you up this time, Az."

The shadowsinger shook his head, rearranging the chairs and staring his brother down. "Over my dead body, Cassian."

Amren immediately took her spot, one one that'd normally be on your right, and Cassian the one on the left. The two of them patted the chair eagerly staring at you despite knowing they were about to lose. 

Azriel and Rhys were making eye contact. A smile ghosting the face of the shadowsinger. Rhys began slowly, setting the bottles down. "I was thinking we could change the teams a little. Mor with you two, and y/n with Azriel and I."

Cassian covered a laugh with a cough and Amren's face turned into that of a feral cat. Mor also wore a shameless smirk as she took your seat. 

Azriel ushered you to the table, setting you in the middle chair. He was near your ear and said softly. "Just follow our lead, study what we're doing, and remember all the books we read, okay? You will do fine." Rhysand and him sat next to you. 

This was not a fair team. You had expected him to switch Amren and Mor, leaving still fairly even odds, but now Cassian's side was stacked. 

The commander of the Illyrian and Night Court's army who mapped battles out for fun.

An ancient being who studied bloodshed and battles for fun, openly commenting on where armies and nations mess up.

And Mor. Mor who lead battalions as a female. Mor who was Rhysand's last resort.

You bit your lip, immediately feeling insecure. Stop it, Rhysand said gently into your head. We have an advantage here, remember?

You kept a neutral face, feeling something being built into your mind. This is cheating, Azriel's deep voice then said. We should do this to beat Cassian more often. You heard soft flows of whispers in your mind, almost causing you to drop the calm face. You get used to them, the two males said together. They're very, very helpful. Rhysand purred. 

You leaned back taking a deep breath and studying the map of the eastern and western contenants and countries. "Y/n," Cassian said per tradition and rules, "you go first as the most traveled fae." 

Take the western isles, Azriel said. Steal where Cassian trained you to go and throw him off. It is exactly where you should start to win, you just typically make small enough errors we could pull everything apart. You took the legion figures in your hand. "I only know one start for this game, Cass." The general's face fell as you placed your allotted start pieces. 

"You-" His jaw tightened. "I see how this is going to be." 

You heard that whisper as Mor began. Night Court. It was ghostly and snake like, predicting her move exactly. Made mistake. No air legions.

A hand found yours under the table, lacing your fingers into calloused longer ones. "Shall we begin?" 

The game turned into what it traditionally turns into quickly. Azriel and Cassian were stood, noses touching as they talked shit about each other battle planning. 

Your team had managed to take 80% of the board through methods you weren't proud of. Amren and Mor were also quietly arguing, the blonde accusing the ancient being of purposely sabotaging them when it was Mor who made the initial mistake that had handicapped them the rest of the game.

Rhysand's hand had moved from holding yours to your mid thigh, tracing small circles into the skin as you two drank wine and watched the fighting with matching cat like grins. He inclined his head to the balcony and you two stood to walk outside as Cassian threw a last straw insult Azriel's way, resulting in the traditional fist fight that came with this game. 

You and Rhysand leaned against the balcony, looking up at the twinkling stars. He had closed the link the three of you were sharing, allowing you to focus on just him. "I can see why Azriel struggles with headaches now," you confessed. "I can't imagine constantly hearing that input of information."

Rhys nodded. "I block it for him when he sleeps. Unless it's urgent. Then I allow them to communicate." 

"That makes sense." 

Comfortable silence fell between you two. At least silence until Rhys accidentally blurted out the words he'd wanted to for years now. "I love you."

"I love you too, Rhysand." You leaned into his arm and watched as his head fell in defeat. 

"No, y/n Darling. I don't think you understood that."

You blinked at his slightly panicked and desperate face. "Rhys, I love all of you, you're my friends and family."

Rhys shut his eyes, turning you so you two were looking at each other face to face, heart to heart. His two large hands came to your cheeks, cupping yout face as a serious expression fell over his. "Darling, I'm in love with you. I have been for a very very long time." Your mouth parted slightly, breath stilling as you blinked at him. 

It all made sense now. The countless gifts. The "dates". The moments spent completely alone where he'd have his hands on you. 

"Rhysand," you watched him nod, taking your silence as rejection. "No." You pulled him back to you, "I. I love you too." 

His eyes searched your face as he searched your mind. "You thought?" You nodded, not needing him to finish questioning your insecurities. "Oh darling." You felt something pull in your ribcage, eyes growing wide as you stared at him. Tears began to form in both of your eyes as he moved to hold you close again. "I could never and would never do that to you, y/n. I have loved you since the time you helped me adjust my Starmap. Our time apart just helped make it more apparent." 

He crashed his lips on yours in a hard passionate kiss. Snaking his arms around your waist as yours went to his shoulders, pulling him closer.

It was fire.

It was the richest of wines you'd ever had.

The coolest water in the desert.

Kissing Rhysand wasn't just an action. It was an experience. You almost melted into his body, allowing him to hold you as closely as possible. 

You two finally pulled apart, his forehead finding yours instantly as you both smiled and laughed softly. 

"HAND OVER MY FUCKING MONEY AZRIEL!" You both jumped at the loud boom of Cassian's voice.

"It's midnight," a cool reply came. You both moved inside just in time to hear Azriel's explanation. "It's a new month now, Cassian. You said two months. I said three. How about you hand over MY MONEY?"

Rhysand made an appalled face, his jaw dropping. "You two placed a bet on this?"

Amren rolled her eyes as Mor was growling and handing over three jewelry boxes. "We all did. Thank you, girl. It was a pleasure doing business with you. Shadowsinger, we make a wonderful team." 

Azriel sat with his hand out, sipping his whiskey casually as Cassian groaned and counted out pieces of gold. "Yes we do, little fire drake, yes we do."

Rhys rolled his eyes, pulling you by your hand to the stairs. "Goodnight," he called over his shoulder. A chorus of Goodnights came in reply before arguing ensued again. 

Rhysand led you to his room, opening the door and leading inside of the luxurious chamber by the small of your back. He pulled you to his bed, laying you back on it gently as he began to kiss you again. Relax, darling. I only want a few kisses.

It was much, much more than just a few kisses. 

[vivalabunbun]

Late Spring Blooms

Summary: Not even one word had been spoken between the two of you

Word Count: 5.1K (this was supposed to be short...)

Tags: Alhaitham x gn! reader, slow burn, fluff, just a lot of fluff, slight angst, Akademiya setting, toxic academia environment, mentions of bullying, both of you are students, mutual pining, when you just stare at your crush for like 4 years but never talked to them. 

Authors note: This was supposed to be a short feel-good fic, but I guess my brain just wanted to be a nerd. So I included some scientific theories that are kinda in debate, I just gave it my best shot. I write fiction not peer reviewed studies please forgive any mistakes

“A voltage is applied to two electrodes immersed in a solution of heavy water…”

All throughout the lecture hall there were the frantic movements of quills as desperate hands penned down every word that left the lecturer’s mouth. The fluttering of paper as students rushed to continue recording every detail, spurred by the fear of a question on exams yet to be announced. 

Rather than immerse themselves in the lecture, they’d rather save the details for a stressful night before said hypothetical exam. Frankly, it was a waste of time. 

“When the SuperWave Principle is applied, with raising and falling nested oscillations…”

Yes, this is a waste of time. A waste of his time. Alhaitham’s notebook and quill remained untouched on the desk in front of him. This course was nothing more than an elective to him, it had nothing to do with his own darshan. A class his late grandmother had listed in her well wishes to her grandson. However, Alhaitham would much rather prefer to be reading in the House of Daena. 

“And that is the discovery behind cold fusion energy production. This achievement rewarded me with much academic praise and my position as a researcher. As it innovated a new path for clean and unlimited energy. Thank you.” 

Applause erupted in the lecture hall, hands clapping together as forged looks of amazement masked ulterior motives. Alhaitham remained still, bored eyes continuing to observe the scholarly man as he stood at the podium. Even from the ashen-haired student’s perch among the upper seats, he can still see the swell of pride in the elder scholar’s chest. As the sea of green uniforms finally abated their praise, the professor step up to the podium. 

“Are there any questions for our honored guest lecturer?” 

The once bustling mob stilled. No quills moved, no papers rustled, and not a single student dared make eye contact dreading the thought of an unintentional invitation to speak. Of course, this was all expected. After all, which person would dare expose their own shortcomings? 

Each and every person in the room was once praised to be la crème de la crème, the cream of the crop, the valedictorians that spoke prepared speeches to their peers they viewed as mediocre. They were all once the top one percent, showered with empty words such as ‘talented’ and ‘gifted’. However, at the Akademiya, where the best of the best had been vetted and admitted. How can everyone be that ‘one percent’? 

It’s a simple answer. They can’t. Instead of spirits learning humility, they were crushed under the realization of reality. And just like a curious hand that had reached out towards a burning stove, their egos wounded and withdrew. If they cannot stand among the few slots at the top, then they’d rather hide among the ninety-nine percent. Listlessly carried by the flow of life, throwing their hands up to ‘fate’. 

Once again, as Alhaitham’s bored eyes surveyed the room, he is reminded why he had put off attending the Akademiya until recently. It was quite ironic for such an esteemed institution to have such pathetic levels of academic spirit. People didn’t come here to learn, they came here to ‘know’ and for a decorated piece of paper to hang on their walls.

However, on the basis of the last part, Alhaitham saw himself as no different. This was a crucial stepping stone in the preplanned path he laid out for himself. Even if it was tedious, it must be done. 

From the still crowd, one lone hand raised above, peeking out from the sea of green berets. It seems that even the professor didn’t anticipate this as a wrinkled hand gestured for the young budding scholar to speak. 

“I’m amazed by your discovery, sir. However, does it really work? I don’t think I’ve seen a recreation of your experiment.” 

The air in the lecture hall stilled, as hundreds of eyes honed in on the gear that dare squeak. The ego is quite fragile, and there is a positive correlation between the fragility of one's ego and the higher up their position is on the hierarchy. The scowl that formed on the guest’s face was predictable, as his haughty eyes glared at the fresh-faced student. 

“It seems that some people are suffering from selective hearing, or perhaps you just couldn’t grasp the concepts I’ve spent the past two hours explaining.” Offense drip off of every word. 

“But, according to standard practices, an experiment has to be rep-”

“Did the Akademiya just allow anyone in this year? My theory and discovery have already been entered into the akasha. Even a child can see the validity of my research.” The lecturer tapped one finger rapidly against the solid wood of the podium. 

“Still, I beli-”

“Did you not hear me? My research has already been entered into the akasha.” He snapped, the peak of the microphone rang through the air. 

“Sir, I-”

The professor raised his hand to silence the student, putting an end to this sorry excuse of an academic debate. The student’s figure sunk down in their seat, their seat neighbors scooting away as if there was something contagious. The show that had piqued the ashen-haired scholar’s interest had been abruptly halted. What a pity. 

“Can you believe them? Who would ask such a stupid question?” 

“‘Does it work?’, it’s been entered into the akasha for archon’s sake!”

“If I were them, I’d never show my face again at the Akademiya.”

Mindless gossip made his ears ring as a sigh left his lips, snapping the book closed in his hand. Alhaitham thought it was an unspoken rule that one must be silent in the House of Daena, guess common courtesy isn’t practiced much anymore. Carrying the book in one hand as he swung his bag over his shoulder he exits the library doors. 

His academic journey at the Akademiya had only begun about a month ago with the start of a new semester, but he was already bored. Lectures dragged the same material on for days. Professors gave their unessential anecdotes to slip in their own self-praises, and the busy work they called assignments. 

However, the worst part, for Alhaitham, was how his fellow students and aspiring scholars accepted everything. Sitting there in their seats back straight, hands busy creating a transcript of the entire lesson. Heads politely nodding as if they understood everything even though confusion was clear in their eyes. There were no academic discussions occurring in classes, and there were no attempts to encourage them. 

What’s the point when everyone could just use the akasha for answers? It’s quite depressing to see such a lack of academic spirit.

Alhaitham has decided that he should return back to his own method of self-studying, just as he has done before. He can cut out the unnecessary material and focus on subjects that interest him. Paying the tuition just to learn everything on his own, is truly ironic. 

However, as Alhaitham walks towards the empty pavilion he has to admit he is grateful for the facilities available at the Akademiya. It was a secluded space, quiet and away from chattering groups, students chasing after mentors and professors with half-heartedly written theses, and scholars’ boastful comments on the results of their experiments. Just as he rested his back against a pillar of the pavilion, he heard a muffled whimper. 

Tsk, great, there’s someone here already. Alhaitham readjusted his bag on his shoulder, pushing off the pillar as he began his search once more for undisturbed peace. His teal eyes couldn’t help but wander toward the source of the sound. Sight landing on your crouched figure obscured by the thick trunk of the tree just behind the white structure. For a brief moment, your eyes locked with his, before you jolted your head away from his direction. 

Cheeks stained with tears and face burning with shame. Yes, there is a famous saying that tends to ring true: The nail that stands out will get hammered. He recognizes you as the hand that dare raise a question. 

Everyone at the Akademiya is fueled by their own self-interest, whether it be for greater knowledge, a higher future position at the institution, or to have their name printed on an accredited research project by a renowned scholar.

Weak egos tend to rally under bigger ones, feeding the latter with empty praises in hopes of a return on their investments. If they could find a footing that allows them to climb up the stairs of the hierarchy, then they were willing to step on anyone. 

You just recently have been labeled as such, a stepping stone in order to get closer to a certain researcher. Tearing you down to build the bridges of connection with the reputable graduate. It was low-hanging fruit. How could a naive, freshly admitted student go against a published scholar with wealth and status? 

You were the losing dog in this race. And yet, Alhaitham still wanted to applaud you, if not for your academic spirit then for your courage. However, it is clear from the way you were trying to make yourself as small as possible, you needed your privacy. 

He focused his eyes on the path ahead of him, leaving the secluded space, his lips won’t speak a word of this event. A little further down the path, teal eyes shifted back behind him. Your hands were wiping the tears out of your eyes as you blinked, perplexed by the sudden appearance of a neatly folded green handkerchief. Alhaitham sees it as a fair trade for piquing his bored mind. 

“Excuse me, do you have a translation of the book: Khaenri'ahan Theory of Nuclear Fusion and Practices?” 

A familiar voice shifted Alhaitham’s attention away from the text he was translating, perhaps his mind took it as an excuse for his eyes to take a break from the barely legible script. You would think with all the funds the Akademiya had, they would be able to provide students with good-quality copies, but the printed assignment in front of him disproves that notion. It’s not good to strain the eyes. 

Once more teal eyes landed on your figure, back straight and head still held up high. You have more courage than Alhaitham originally thought. Despite the mocking sneers that have been thrown your way in the halls, you’ve just faced forward and continued down your way. Currently, you were asking for the assistance of a disinterested librarian. 

She brings one hand up to her akasha terminal, eyes lazily gazing at the information that flowed in front of her. Then after less than two minutes of searching, she stops. 

“No. Never heard of it. It’s not in the system.” 

“It’s an old title, but according to the library catalog, it should-”

“Did you not hear me? I just checked the akasha and it says it’s not here. Maybe you should make use of that terminal collecting dust on your ear before you come wasting my time.” The librarian cut you off rudely. Readjusting the green beret on her brown hair before she turned her back on you.   

The hand you reached out towards her drops to your side, your shoulders slouched a bit. There were now peering eyes focused on you, stressed students viewing your embarrassment and dejection as a welcomed dose of entertainment. Taking a deep breath you quickly made your way back in the direction of the dusty library catalog. Determined to find that book. 

The librarian had stated a blatant lie, how does Alhaitham know? The book Khaenri'ahan Theory of Nuclear Fusion and Practices was right under his resting elbow.

You were right, it is an old book, so old that it seems that someone had forgotten to input it into the updated database of the akasha. Or maybe someone removed it, deeming it no longer academically relevant. His elbow was now resting on the book he had just finished hours earlier, it was a better use of his time than attending mindless lectures. 

You seemed busy flipping through the pages of the library catalog, and the script in front of him is due tomorrow. He’ll finish his assignment, it's the least he could do to just ensure his passing of a class that hasn’t seen his face for some time now. 

–

It was late now, your eyes were beginning to droop head nodding back and forth. You shook your head, desperately trying to fight off sleep, eyes peeled on the text in front of you. Your attempts to find the book had been fruitless, but you were able to find different academic journals that substituted the same subject.

You didn’t need sleep, you needed to satisfy that itching feeling inside your mind. That inkling that what that lecturer had said was… the words in front of you blurred. 

Maybe a quick nap would help boost your productivity. 

–

Your eyes snapped open as your body jolted up. How long were you asleep? Your eyes surveyed the library. All around you were either passed out fellow students at their seats, or those running on nothing but caffeine and stress frantically pressing their noses against the books and papers in front of them. There were fewer people here than before you shut your eyes, signaling to you that it has gotten later. 

Your lips pressed into a tight line, did you just lose more precious time? The thought of assignment due dates was pressing against the back of your mind. But you just had to get to the bottom of this, it just doesn’t make sense to you- 

Your eyes widened at what had appeared in front of your seat. Khaenri'ahan Theory of Nuclear Fusion and Practices. But how? You had looked high and low, even breaking library regulations by climbing on the tall ladders to search the very tops.

Your head whipped around, searching for an explanation. Your eyes were just able to catch the slightest glimpse of a familiar shade of grey and green exiting the grand doors of the House of Daena. 

There was a small note on top of the book. 

I had the book you were looking for. There’s a diagram that wasn’t translated properly. On page 520, the diagram says: ‘maintaining temperatures of over 100 million degrees are necessary while regulating pressure and magnetic forces at the same time. These conditions are for stable confinement of the plasma and to maintain the fusion reaction long enough to produce more energy than what was required to start the reaction.’ Hope this helps. 

It was silly really, or maybe your tired mind was just getting sentimental, but your sight began to blur again. Not with sleep this time, your eyes were overflowing with tears. This small note, the neat handwriting, the book you had been searching for.

They were the sweet hands of reassurance you needed on your shoulder. Smiling like an idiot through your tears, you hid your face behind the small note. 

“How long exactly are they going to continue to deny the facts? Jeez, I wish I had their simple mind sometimes.”

“Yeah, it must be nice to have your head buried in the rabbit hole of ignorance.” 

It was now a new year, a fresh semester had long begun, but unfortunately, reputation and stigma don’t have a simple shelf life of just a year. Once more, Alhaitham found that silence in the House of Daena is not seen as a requirement by some students. Mindless gossip had no place in a sanctuary of high academia, but it looks like his opinion isn’t shared. 

Alhaitham had woken up later than he would’ve liked, meaning he didn’t have time to pick up any coffee if he wanted to get to his test on time. After he had finished, he made an effort to get to the café as fast as he could. But when he got there, he saw a sign announcing the café was closed for the day.

In short, Alhaitham was having a bad day, the grating voices that continued to chatter beside him were only fraying his thinning patience even more. 

Frustrated, his eyes followed their line of sight, to see just what subject was so pressing they had to gossip in a place of study and silence. They lead him to your figure, hunched over a thick book, one finger tracing each sentence line by line and the other detailing notes.

Even with the stacks of books that surrounded your desk blocking some of your frame, he could see your face clearly. Although you were trying to maintain a neutral expression, he caught onto the small quivering of your lips. 

“Like the information is already in the akasha, do they think they’re smarter than the combined knowledge of all of Sumeru?” 

“Yeah, well it’s always the stupidest people that speak the loudest-”

“You two are quite loud.” 

The students that sat beside him snapped their attention towards the man who had returned his eyes back to his book. 

“Excuse me?” 

“This is the House of Daena, the largest library in all of Teyvat, and you’re being loud. Maybe you should immerse yourselves in some books, for the academic spirit.” 

“Jeez, we weren’t even that loud, and the akasha-”

“What poor academic spirit. If the akasha was all you needed, then you are no better than any passing stranger on the streets. Why did you even bother with the entrance exam?” 

It wasn’t like Alhaitham to engage in such unnecessary conversation, nor make any excess problems for himself by getting in the bad graces of strangers. However, he was already having a bad day. 

The two friends sneered at him, before getting up and leaving the library. Finally, he can enjoy some silence. He could feel your gaze on him, but he didn’t look up to see the soft stare of amazement and gratitude you were sending his way. 

–

Alhaitham had gotten up briefly to browse the shelves once again. He had finished his book and am now looking for another to pique his interest. Really, the akasha couldn’t hold the vast amount of unspoken knowledge that books had.

The blunt facts and figures the terminal provided didn’t stimulate his mind the way shifting through the lines and characters printed on books did. It was truly a pity that the nation of wisdom didn’t appreciate the pinnacle vessel of information. 

When he had returned to his desk, teal eyes took note of the small square of baklava placed gently on a napkin. Beside it was the green handkerchief, neatly folded. Alhaitham had already gotten a replacement for said item.

Yet seeing how pristine the fabric was even after a year of not seeing it, sentiment crept up on him. 

“Excuse me. Food is not allowed in the House of Daena. I’m going to ask you to leave.” 

Ah, of course. Alhaitham was having a bad day today. 

It’s been a long month. With Summer break quickly approaching, it meant that assignments and exams have been crammed by every professor into a short window. Their long tangents must have caught up to them, as they were now pushing the responsibility of tying up the loose ends onto the students. Pathetic really. 

Still, the weather today was clear and the air warm. The bright sun was being blocked out by the thick foliage present on the branches of the tree Alhaitham rested his body against. He had spent the morning finishing all his most pressing assignments. A break was deserved. 

The soft rustle of leaves as the wind sway their branches were starting to lull the young man to sleep. But the sudden sound of grass getting flattened under shoes snatched that pleasure away. 

Tsk, it doesn’t matter. If he leaves his eyes shut and breaths steady then the other person will sooner or later leave him alone. The steps approached a bit closer then stopped just a bit away. He could hear the rustling of a paper bag and another object getting placed near his side.

As quietly as they could, the footsteps trotted away in a hurry. Once he felt that presence disappear, he lifted his eyelids. 

Beside him there was a brown paper bag, the mouth-watering scent of a shawarma wrap wafted into his nose. And the other object? A cup of hot coffee with a small note taped to it. 

I’m so so so sorry for getting you in trouble that time in the House of Daena! Please take this as an apology! I got the most popular combination at the shop. Please take care of yourself and good luck with your exams!

P.S. I just wanted to apologize again for getting you in trouble!!

Alhaitham could practically hear the sheer panic and anxiety from the piece of paper. Still, his eyes couldn’t help but soften. He was never the type to hold on to pointless grudges, there was no need for you to agonize over such a minuscule event. 

Contradicting his original plans for a nap, he took a sip of the hot coffee. It must be a different blend of coffee beans or a new experimental brewing method, the plain black coffee tasted pleasantly sweet on his tongue. 

“Did you hear? I can’t believe it.”

“Yeah, he was a fraudster! I heard he got stripped of his title and even his diploma got rescinded!”  

“I… I can’t believe they were right all along.” 

In the middle of Alhaitham’s third year at the Akademiya, the unfathomable happened. A young student that had yet to even graduate, a mere third year in the middle of their studies, had disproven an accepted theory. A theory that had gone through vetting by the top review boards, and even entered into the akasha. 

After years of long nights and shifting through books long forgotten by scholars, you brought all your evidence and conclusions to the Akademiya review board. 

You wagered your entire academic carrier. 

Your gamble paid out in full. Your findings were significant enough that the board called for an investigation, for another independent experiment of cold fusion to be replicated. A team of other esteemed researchers was established.

They followed every strict protocol for peer review, following each and every document step by the once haughty researcher to his experiment and theory to the highest standard of academic rigor. 

Their conclusion after a four-month trial? Failed experiment after failed experiment to replicate his results? There was no cold fusion. 

This caught the attention of the Matra. For all these years where did those experimental results come from? If his research funds were not going toward creating a better and more effective method of using cold fusion to generate unlimited energy. Then where was it? Their findings? 

Back into the pockets of a few seats on the review board. Funds somehow found themselves in the hands of scholars that had ‘peer reviewed’ his theory the first time around. 

A report from the previously mentioned independent review team detailed his offer of exorbitant amounts of mora for skewed results. That was the final nail in the coffin of his academic carrier. 

It was a great loss of face for the higher-ups and for their esteemed institution. They had let fraudulent nonsense enter the akasha, they allowed this nonsense to poison the minds of civilians and students. Punishment was swift. The higher up on the hierarchy of ego you were, the more crushing the fall will be. 

Now it was he, the lecturer who had ridiculed you with his eager followers for years, who was ostracized from higher academia. 

–

Alhaitham’s eyes followed the noisy crowd as they congregated around your frame. First years watching you with stars in their eyes, questions were thrown your way, asking just how you did it. How did you know? Your eyes light up the same way, as you detailed your research process of debunking that theory. 

Overnight, you became a star at the Akademiya. The same people who had once sneered at you were now trying to push their way through the crowd to get your attention. The professors that once viewed you as their most hopeless student, were now asking you to become their mentee. You treated everyone the same without any reservations. Smile beaming as you answered their questions. 

“Well, even though I have disproven his theory on cold fusion. I still think it’s an interesting path to explore. Maybe we were just led astray by a red herring. However, I think the most important lesson to gain from this controversy is that every theory should be viewed with some level of skepticism. Until you see the theory actually be put into practice, how will you ever confirm for yourself.” 

You have a really radiant smile, Alhaitham notes. It suits you.

 It’s too noisy in the halls of the Akademiya. He turns to walk away. Missing the way your searching eyes followed him, lips parted wanting to call out to him. Only to be drowned by the shower of empty words of praise. 

“You’re such a gifted student!”

“Wow! I wish I was as talented as you!”

“You’re just a genius!” 

Words that dismissed your years of sleepless nights, tearful breakdowns from pressure, and aching wrists from penning down pages upon pages of notes. 

Ah, the Akademiya was still the Akademiya. Even your breakthrough that shook the institution isn’t enough to spark a change in the environment that had been solidified in the marble of the building. Your eyes still followed this tall figure even after he disappeared from your line of sight. 

Yes, there still was a gust of fresh air that blew through this stale toxicity. You only knew his name… does he even know yours?

It’s finally over, the tedious task of attending the Akademiya has been completed. 

Alhaitham can now check that achievement off his list. The collaborative project he had been a part of might have fallen through. But the findings it produced in its short lifespan were fruitful. So much so that it granted Alhaitham a position as a Scribe and a sizable house in the city. More currently, it allowed Alhaitham to meet the last requirement for graduation. 

The diploma he holds in his hands right now was the result of his diligence, of just passing every exam with the highest marks despite not attending the class after the first day. Yes, this is the piece of paper he had ‘worked’ so hard for. 

All around him, there were families hugging, crying, and congratulating their sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, for graduating. Promises of big feasts prepared at home, or for a celebration in the neighborhood. Friends hugged each other as they said their tearful goodbyes. 

Alhaitham stood alone. 

From the very start, he was a loner, he knew this and he liked it this way. So why does his chest feel a bit heavy? The path that he had preplanned had no obstacles lining the way, every piece fell where it should have. Alhaitham already knows the answer, but he doesn’t want to admit it. 

Joyous occasions can really bring out the most isolating sentiments when there was no one to celebrate with. But that is fine, he’s got boxes of books to pack anyways. 

“Um… Excuse me, Alhaitham?” 

A voice halts the ashen-haired man’s step. Teal-orange eyes landed their sights on yours. You were dressed in your graduation robes as well, and a decorated cord hung around your shoulders. Signifying your academic accomplishments during your years as a student. Despite the nervousness in your voice, hands fidgeting with the brown paper bag clutched between them, your eyes looked straight into his. 

“T-this is for you. It’s a pita pocket from Lambard’s tavern. I… I just wanted to thank you for, well, all you’ve done. I-i know we actually haven’t spoken a word to each other these past few years but- but…” You paused, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. 

“Your gestures of kindness and empathy really kept me going. Even during the times when I wanted to give up, your actions really meant a lot to me. So, thank you Alhaitham.” Your eyes were staring back at him with pure sincerity. 

The warm late Spring air blew across your faces, tussling his locks as his eyes shifted from the pita pocket in your hands back to your eyes. The slight quivering of your lips signaled to him the anxious wait for his response. 

“Now’s not the place to eat.”

“O-oh…” The bag in your hands lowered. 

“However, I believe if you were to accompany me to Lambad’s Tavern, I don’t think he’ll deny a paying customer a seat. So, how about it?” The boxes at home could wait. 

“Oh?” You looked at him a bit perplexed at the sudden invitation. But it wasn’t long before a beaming smile broke out on your face. 

“Yes, I would love to!” 

It could have been due to the sweet air, or due to the lustrous look that dawned on your face, but Alhaitham felt that he could breathe easier now. 

It was a sunny afternoon, the perfect weather to do nothing at all. His justification for leaving his desk, piled high with new proposals and applications. Without even looking up from his book Alhaitham could sense the presence approaching his direction. His free hand reached up to turn off noise canceling, there was only one person who would come to find him at this secluded pavilion. 

“Haitham! I got us lunch from Lambad’s Tavern, the special was pita pockets today!” You held a brown takeout bag over your head, one hand cupping your mouth as you called out to him. 

His expression couldn’t help but soften, seeing your figure rapidly closing the distance between the both of you. Your preppy steps stopped just in front of the tall scholar, a small smile gracing your lips as you hid the bag behind your back. Eyes looking at him with anticipation as your back straightened. 

Alhaitham closed his eyes as a soft sigh left his lips, snapping the book in his hands closed as his back pushed off the pillar. Taking a few slow steps to fully close the distance. Gentle fingers cupped your cheek as he leaned down to place a tender kiss just below your eye. He can feel you getting on the tips of your toes, pressing your face more into his lips, he knows you can feel the small smile against your cheek. 

Pulling his face back, thumb still brushing against your other cheek, his teal eyes observed your smile that rivaled the sun.   

“Thank you for the payment, now let’s eat before the lettuce gets all soggy.” You pressed a kiss against his palm. The brown bag reappears from behind you. 

“Yes, of course.” He wanted to observe your face for a little while longer.

Perhaps you should start researching the energy that radiates off your smile, Alhaitham is willing to wager that this hypothesis holds more water than any dismissed notions of cold fusion. 

Fin~

[marvelmusing]

His Attention

Part of the Our Souls AU

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova x Fem!Reader

Summary: An interaction between you and Aleksander at the university doesn’t go unnoticed, and you decide to take a subtle stand against the rumours surrounding you.

Warnings: suggestion of sexual content

My Masterlist

“Aleksander?”

He turns his head, lips spreading into a smile once his eyes lock onto yours. Andromeda dips her head forwards to greet Fabian, as your dæmon bounds up to her immediately.

It always makes you flustered, seeing your dæmon’s coiling around one another in public with no care for who sees them. Especially here, as you had been exiting one of the lecture halls at the University of Ravka with a bundle of books in your arms.

Aleksander inclines his head towards the open doorway, where the rest of the scholars and students in attendance continue making their way out into the corridor.

“How was it? I’ve heard Professor Kostyk is rather talented, though his style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.”

“We were debating whether a persons childhood alters what form their dæmon will settle as.”

“What do you think?”

As you explain all the different factors you believe can influence a dæmons settled form - their parents dæmons, the environment they grow up in, their place in society, and their ambitions for the future - you realise you’re rambling and grow self conscious. Aleksander’s expression is unreadable and heat burns over your cheeks as you stop talking. He smiles, and your stomach flips at the sight.

“Saints, I want to kiss you.”

While it’s flattering that he thinks of you in that way, you’re a little embarrassed that he might have been ignoring your words.

“Were you listening to me?”

“Of course. Dæmon ancestry, and nature versus nurture, and childhood experiences.” He seems to see the mixture of surprise and relief on your face, as his smile softens. “I was listening. It doesn’t make me want to kiss you any less.” A slow smirk spreads over his features as he tilts his head aside, eyes wandering down over your body. “In fact, I want you to tell me all about your theories, in bed, while I kiss every inch of you.”

Heat rushes to your cheeks.

“Aleksander.”

He chuckles.

The crowd bustling around you makes you take a step towards Aleksander, subconsciously seeking his safety despite how flustered he’s making you.

“Some of the students sitting behind me were gossiping about you,” you say quietly. Aleksander’s gaze remains focused on your face, lowering to your lips as he smiles coyly.

“Really?”

“They said that you’ll be in attendance at dinner in the Great Hall this evening.”

“Will you be there?”

You blink at him.

“Yes.”

Most evenings, you dine in the Great Hall with the other scholars here at the university. It’s common knowledge that Aleksander usually spends his evenings at the Little Palace on the other side of Os Alta.

He nods slowly.

“Then I will be there.”

“I suppose,” you say shyly, looking down at your books with a smile you struggle to suppress. “I will see you at dinner, then.”

Aleksander smiles widely and your heart skips a beat.

“You will.”

There’s a giddy smile on your face as you walk through the corridor and out through the foyer towards the courtyard at the front of the university. Sunlight warms your features as you step outside, golden rays shimmering down over Fabian’s coat.

At the sound of your name being called, you turn and see Lord Sokolov leaning against the building, a cigarette in hand.

“How do you know Lord Morozova?” he asks.

Self conscious, you curl your arms tighter around the books you’re carrying, holding them close to your chest, while you fidget with one of the spines.

“We’ve met at a few galas - that’s all.”

He stubs his cigarette against the wall before tossing it into the bushes. His dæmon, a small brown falcon called Rosa, skitters towards Fabian who retreats backwards.

“You ought to have a little more control over him.”

A frown creases at your brows and you breathe out a soft laugh as you remark,

“Who? Morozova?”

He doesn’t laugh, shaking his head at you instead. He gestures towards Fabian, who is now cowering between your legs, seeking safety from the inquisitive eyes of the falcon dæmon as she cocks her head at him.

“Your dæmon.” There’s a stab of hurt in your chest, which worsens when you see his features twist into a disgusted sneer. “Rubbing against his like that. It’s vulgar.”

“Vulgar?” you repeat.

He lifts his chin.

“Might I remind you, he is a lord.” His sneer smoothens out into a smirk as he feigns sympathy. “I’d hate for you to embarrass yourself, trying to be something you’re not.”

“Well, thank you for your concern, my lord,” you force yourself to say, though you fear he can hear the hurt in your voice.

Before he can respond, you’re turning away, Fabian scampering at your heels as the two of you flee the prying eyes of the nobleman and his dæmon.

»»---------------------►

The moment you get back to your quarters, you remove the simple dress hanging over the door of your wardrobe, slotting it back into place beside your other items of clothing before you retrieve a different dress. It is one of your favourites, but you have never been able to find the courage to wear it anywhere besides the safety of your bedroom.

Fuelled by Sokolov’s remarks, you draw your curtains closed and tug off your clothes before slipping the dress on for you to admire yourself in front of your mirror. With a determined nod, you start to get ready for the evening.

By the time dinner has begun, Fabian’s fur is brushed to glossy perfection and you have done everything you can to ensure your appearance is something you are proud of.

There are three tables in the Great Hall. One on each side of the hall, for the students, while professors, scholars, and guests sit at the table at the far end. This means you must walk the entire length of the hall, attracting the attention of many as your dress flows smoothly around your ankles, heels clicking smoothly over polished marble.

The majority of the table has been filled by the time you arrive, but luckily you spy a seat open directly in front of Aleksander. He sees you long before you reach the table, and his eyes remain fixed on your figure as you walk. He is the first to stand, and the rest of the table soon follows suit.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” you say quietly, ducking your head as you pull your chair back. The amount of attention you’ve gained is unexpected and your eyes flicker nervously towards Aleksander. As his gaze locks onto yours, you incline your head in a polite greeting. “Lord Morozova.”

He says your name smoothly.

As you sit down, you lift the tablecloth slightly so that Fabian can slip under the table. The familiar feeling of Andromeda nuzzling against Fabian soothes your nerves and the tension in your shoulders loosens slightly as you settle in your chair. Aleksander’s eyes hold an intensity that makes a warm flush run under your skin.

As dinner is served, Aleksander engages in small talk with the lords surrounding you. It’s strange, being in his company around other people. Though with the way Aleksander’s eyes continuously drift back to you, it’s almost as if you are the only person in the room.

Every time your eyes meet his, you take a sip of your drink for the sake of having something to do while his eyes are on you.

A few of the other diners excuse themselves after the main course, and now that dessert is drawing to a close less than half of the seats are still filled.

Emboldened by the wine, and the food, and the way Aleksander keeps looking at you, you slip your foot out of your heel and slowly trace your way up his calf. He stiffens slightly, eyes darkening as he holds your gaze.

Aleksander leans back casually in his chair, holding his glass of wine in one hand as he takes a leisurely sip. The corner of his mouth quirks as he swallows, amusement dancing in his eyes. He seems to be enjoying your attention, spreading his legs wide in his seat to give you free rein in your exploration. It makes you flustered, his subtle offering of himself to you.

Fabian and Andromeda continue petting one another underneath the table. They had spent most of dinner curled up beside one another, talking quietly amongst themselves. Now, the sensation of his soul playing with yours makes you squirm in your seat.

There will be other dæmons under the table, who will be witness to the interaction. They might not outright tell their human counterparts now, here at the dinner table, but watching the two of them licking and nipping playfully at each other, rolling over one another, will undoubtably mean the men around you will suspect what their dæmons can plainly see.

Aleksander finishes his wine, tipping the glass back to swallow down the last drop. He places it back onto the table, straightening himself as he does so. He looks at you, giving you a subtle nod before he addresses the remainder of the dinner guests, excusing himself for the evening.

“Might I walk you to your quarters?” he asks you, his hand on the back of your chair.

His question draws the attention back to you, heads turning and eyes flickering over your form. Smiling bashfully up at him, you nod. He smiles, sliding your chair back and offering you his arm.

The two of you leave the Great Hall, arms linked as you nestle yourself into Aleksander’s side to protect your body from the chill of the evening.

When you reach a darkened corridor not far from your room, you spin in his arms, slipping your arms around his neck before you lean up to kiss him. Aleksander smiles, cupping your face with one hand as he traces the other down your side.

He presses your body against the cool stone wall and a shudder rolls down your spine at the sensation. Both of his hands settle on your sides, fingers spread wide to feel as much of you as possible.

“What was tonight about?” he asks in a murmur, his body moulding against yours.

Before you can answer, his lips are meeting yours and by the time he pulls away from the kiss you’re breathless and can barely remember his question.

“What do you mean?”

“You wanted their eyes on you.”

Lowering your gaze, you stare down at the space between you both.

“Lord Sokolov saw us together, earlier today. He wanted to remind me that I’m beneath you and the other lords at that table.” Aleksander’s expression grows serious, a dark intensity in his eyes as he seems to consider your words. Straightening your chin, you look him in the eyes as you say, “I wanted to show them that I deserve your attention.”

He smiles softly, breathing out a quiet sigh when you try to kiss him again.

“You deserve my attention,” he affirms in a low tone. His hands remain splayed over your sides, thumbs stroking over the fabric of your dress as he holds you in place, his touch tantalisingly close to your breasts. “But what will they all say about you when they find out we’ve spent the night together?”

That makes you pause. There will already be plenty of your fellow scholars who think you’re trying to gain Aleksander’s favour by sleeping with him.

“I didn’t even think about that,” you admit.

He nods slowly.

“I would hate for anyone to question your success because of me.”

“I wouldn’t say there’s an awful lot of success for them to question,” you remark with a self depreciating laugh. He shakes his head.

“There will be.”

His words are quiet, but confident, which makes you smile. A warmth enters his expression and he crooks a finger beneath your chin, tilting your face up to receive a tender kiss that makes you believe him. One day, you will be a success.

»»---------------------►

marvelmusing Tag List: @dreamlandcreations @blanchedelioncourt @idaofinfinity @slytherheign @ellooo0ooo @vixenofcourse @dumb-fawkin-bitch @jane-arthur @ilikefictionmen @budugu @watersquirtpewpewboomm @mysweetlittledesire

S&B Tag List: @motheroffae @daddymaster21

Aleksander M Tag List: @nyctophiliiiiaaa @jazmin2211 @wooya1224 @seronsalk @acehyacinth

OS Tag List: @the-sweet-psycho @aoi-targaryen

BB Characters Tag List: @rachlovesactors @noortsshift @aikeia @weallhaveadestiny @two-unbeatable-beaters @idohknow @vaguekayla @the-desilittle-bird

[foursaints]

helllo! u sometimes talk about ur mutuals circle and i was just wondering would u like to namedrop them? cos i think i already follow some of them but i feel like they probably all have very correct opinions and good taste and would like to follow them

oh i would love nothing more than to namedrop. in fact i will make you an index of what i admire about them (readmore for length)

@fernhelm <- leading scholar on the black sisters, arthuriana, and the overlap between marauders & ancient greek classicism. we are neighbors and childhood friends irl but that's unrelated

@jewishregulus <- THE regulus black understander & originator of the carrow twins. half of everything i say is paraphrased from the essay length saintsivy dms

@carniferous <- THE james potter understander & creator of nuanced tenderness and melancholy & one of my favorite fic authors before we became friends.... read their theatre-based fic NOWW

@sixlane <- i passed the Premiere Bartylily Understander hat to lane long ago.... we all definitely already know lane of "get him back (read on ao3)" fame but it bears repeating. one of the few fic authors who i stalk for updates. but i also stalk for anon responses because they are always uniquely thought-out and hilarious

@itsjaywalkers <- LAURIEE is one of the best people on here & i scroll their blog like the morning news. the vibe on there is always so fresh and fun and kind and playful (and occasionally searingly tragic or erotic). THE james potter enjoyer on this website. this is the other fic author who i stalk for updates.....

@quillkiller <- jen was my first mutual on here 🥺 (hi jen). our most beautiful resource for Bellatrix Black enjoyment and nuanced discussion of feminist theory. i consider them half of the powerduo of Rarepair Creation on this site (hi kara) that has given us bangers like effiebarty and regtunia and the most searing wlw fic

@static-radio-ao3 <- im embarrassed to talk to mil because their jegulus fic is just genuinely that good. its crazy how every single one reads like a fully fleshed-out romcom novel i would read in one sitting at barnes & noble. another barty understander i daresay

@sugarsnappeases <- THE OTHER HALF OF THE RAREPAIR BUREAU. kara's microfics hit me like 9/11 every single time (that searing bella sirius-death character study? the BARTYLILY DRESS FIC?) and they are another lesbionic understander of women. when people say they want more marauders girls content they should just go to kara lmfaooo

@rottin6 <- can't talk about layla without offering my hand in marriage sorry. princess of the bartylilysphere i rather think... hottest most erotic microfics i've ever read in my life, thank god for the people who understand barty's Trashboy Dick on a cerebral level

@veryinnovative <- we all definitely already know ino but that's okay. probably divinely gifted to come up with the most unexpected & niche AUs that still manage to make perfect sense and hit every single time.

@moon-seas <- KAYY. my favorite artist on here hands-down. a true dirtbag barty understander & they produce the most stunning digital collage-work. a privilege to see

@sommerregenjuniluft <- now where would i be without lune's barty understanding... yes their jegulus microfic porn is masterful but WHAT ABOUT their ability to put barty in the strangest situations ever (he's an electrician?? a circus clown, now???) and have it integrate perfectly with his character. that's good writing babe!!!!

also you should follow @dracure @royalthorned @morsmortish and @katakosmos for more good rosekiller content. we don't talk but I admire from afar ......

[stellar-skyy]

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE — Wanderer, Furina x reader.

i. SUMMARY: Moments that changed everything between you. ii. CONTENT WARNINGS: Reader has medium length/long hair (long enough to braid) in Wanderer's part, VERY slight spoilers for the 4.2 Archon quest in Furina's part. iii. NOTES: Rivals to lovers & Vahumana!reader in Wanderer's part, lovers to exes to ??? in Furina's part, fluff, gn!reader, they/them pronouns used, 2.9k words. iv. A/N: This is my gift, for the Favonius Lbrary secret santa, for @heiayen! Merry Christmas Heia, I hope you enjoy! if you don't i will cry! (that is a joke but i do hope you like it :3) Once again, sorry this is late :(

WANDERER

The students that studied at the Akademiya could be divided into several groups.

There were the hard-workers, who weren't particularly intelligent by birth, but fought tooth and nail to drag themselves up in the ranks. That group occasionally overlapped with the truly passionate ones; who were so invested in their pursuit of knowledge that little could stand in their way of it. There were the underachievers, the overachievers, the visionaries and the slackers. In each classroom you were bound to have at least a handful of each.

Then there were the gifted ones. The ones who breezed past every subject with ease, who were pushed as the representatives of the Darshans, to show outsiders how talented and dedicated their students were. The geniuses, the prodigies, the virtuosos. They were the students that treated their intelligence as a prize to be flaunted above the rest, who would lazily fill out their test papers and be returned with perfect grades, who managed to both value their knowledge above all else and take it for granted. Out of all the Akademiya scholars, those were the most arrogant and truly insufferable ones.

Wanderer fell into the latter category.

He joined their class later in the year, and settled in as a permanent thorn in everyone's side. Every addition to their scholarly discussions was gasoline on a dying bonfire, strategically placed to set the class aflame. He'd raise his hand with disinterested corrections to other student's theories, followed by irritating opposition to whatever stance the professor was attempting to take, all sprinkled with a pinch of disdain and the most unpleasant attitude one could possibly have.

The most infuriating part, was that he was never wrong. His logic was sound, every addition was justified. No matter how sarcastic or scornful-sounding his interjections were, they were never without reason. And a week into their class proved him to be one of the most naturally exceptional minds in Vahumana.

Maybe [Name] would admire him if being around him didn’t make them want to throw a book at his head.

That first week in their class had solidified two more things. First, if Wanderer was going to act so cocky, then it was their sworn mission to make sure he was knocked down.

Second—

“The answer is D. All of the above.” Wanderer yawned. “Honestly, you call yourselves scholars—”

“Actually, it’s not.” A voice rang out, clear and steady. “You could argue that it’s all of the above if you were looking at it from a very elementary perspective, but once you actually start to analyse each answer, you’ll see the flaws in them all. All except one, that is. The answer’s C.”

“[Name] is correct. The answer is C.”

He turned, eyes narrowed. They fell on an equally hard gaze. There was something fiery there, as if they were raising a challenge. He met them with a smirk, as if he was accepting it.

—They were not friends. They were rivals.

Precisely why they couldn't work with him.

“Please! Can I be paired with anyone else?” They begged, face falling further with every passing moment that their professor remained unfazed. The rest of the class had vacated the lecture hall already—all eagerly chatting about their chosen topics—leaving the two of them alone to talk.

“I have full faith in you, [Name].” The professor said calmly, sitting down at his chair and shuffling papers into an orderly stack. “This is a simple assessment.”

The assignment itself wasn’t the difficult part. A straightforward research project in a subject of their choice, one that related to the topics they’d been learning that semester. It was supposed to help lead the class into their further studies, to gently ease them into researching on their own and prepare them for when they would have to write their final thesis.

It was the easiest of tasks, but the problem wasn’t the task itself. It was who they’d been chosen to work with.

“Group projects are designed to test how well people can work together with others.” He sighed, and leaned back on his chair with a pensive expression. “I don’t like all of the people I have worked with in my studies, but as academics, it is something we all must suffer. And besides; if I regrouped everyone who complained about their partner, I would never stop changing them.”

It wasn’t as if they were trying to be painful. Finishing a group project would be easy, had they been partnered with anyone but him.

“Just try to make the best of it, wont you?” A smile flashed across his face. “Perhaps you might even make a friend.”

Friend was far too hopeful of a thought. Friend was the last word they would use to describe—

“Wanderer.” They hissed under their breath, his name poison on their lips. “Trust me, Professor. I will not.”

The two students arranged to meet in the library. Or, more specifically Wanderer had appeared right as they left the classroom and told them, “If you’re finished complaining about me, come to the library tomorrow at eleven.” before disappearing.

The library was once their solace, where they could study in peace away from any distractions. The sounds of pages turning, faint whispers, and pens scratching against paper provided a comforting ambience to their research.

Now, it was—

“You took long enough.”

“It’s not my fault you’re impatient.”

Something considerably less homely.

“I have several ideas,” They said.

“Of course you do.” Wanderer scoffed. They ignored him.

“We could do it on Ancient Deshrat.” They mused, skimming across their notes. A stray strand of hair fell into their eyeline, and they tucked it behind their ear mindlessly. “We looked at them earlier in the year, a little before you joined the class. They have a lot of interesting traditions we could look at—maybe a comparison back to modern Sumeru, to see how the influences carry over.”

“I don’t care. Just choose one, and tell me what part you’re doing.”

They inhaled slowly, forcing the anger down and running the professor’s words through their mind. It’s one project. Once they were done, they never had to work with him again.

“Fine,” They snapped. “I will work on researching whatever information we need. You will write up an introduction outlining… outlining…” Their words trailed off to make way for a huff. Once again, their hair had fallen into their eyes, and they pushed it out of their face impatiently.

“Just move it out of your face, it’s not that hard.” Wanderer said snippily.

“Oh, thank you, I would never have thought of that.” They retorted.

“Well, I don’t see you doing anything useful, other than swatting at your own forehead.”

“I’m moving it out of my way! We can’t all have a bowl-cut!”

“Then braid it.”

“I—” It wasn’t a bad suggestion, as much as they loathed to admit it. “I can’t. I can’t braid my hair behind my back, and I don’t have anything to tie it up, even if I could.”

They lapsed into silence, Wanderer staring at them like he didn't quite believe them.

“I could braid it for you,” He said suddenly. They looked up at him, blinking.

“You… want to… braid my hair?” They repeat slowly.

He huffed. “Are you seriously that slow? Do you need it written and signed for you to understand?”

“I just find it hard to believe," They said defensively.

“You were complaining about it being in your way." He said, extending each word slowly like they were a child who couldn't quite understand what was going on. "The less you complain, the faster we get this done, and the less time I have to spend working with you.”

"Fine." They say, fighting back a blush.

"Fine?"

"Just do it, already."

His hands were oddly careful against their hair, raking across their scalp to comb through the knots and tangles. The feeling was soothing, almost cathartic. It would be far too easy to close their eyes and sink into the feeling.

They weren't quite sure what they were expecting. Nails that felt more like claws? Rough tugging on the knots in their hair, just enough to be painful? Surely something uncomfortable, to match the animosity between them. Nothing quite as soft as this.

“This is kind of surprising to be honest. You don’t seem to be the type to be good at braiding hair.” Their words sounded a touch too nice, so they were quick to add, “—Especially with that haircut.”

A shiver ran down their spine, as gentle hands ran through their hair. It was freshly brushed, and by then he must have already worked out any knots, yet they ran through it anyway, as if their intent wasn’t just to untangle it.

“I braid my… Aunt’s hair, a lot.” He said suddenly, pulling them from the trance. They make a hum, a quiet signal for him to continue. “She’s the one who showed me how to do it.”

“I didn’t know you had an aunt,” They said, without thinking. The thought comes a moment after: Of course you didn’t, you don’t know a thing about him.

Wanderer didn’t seem fazed. “No, we only became close recently. She… she’s done a lot for me.”

They waited for him to elaborate, but his quota for abruptly sharing information about himself appeared to have been filled. Instead of talking, he fixed his focus on their hair, dividing it into three sections and brushing his fingers through to neaten them. One by one, he twisted them over one another until he reached the end of their hair.

“Do you have anything to tie it up?” He asked. They shake their head, and he scoffed. “Of course."

Still gripping the end of the braid, he used his free hand to rifle through the inside of his bag until he pulled out a loose piece of ribbon. From there, he quickly tied off the end.

"Now stop complaining," He sat back down and leaned back in his hair nonchalantly, as if he was unaware of the static filling their mind. All they could focus on was the phantom feeling of hands—his hands—on their scalp.

It shouldn't have felt pleasant, not when those were the hands of someone they despised.

“Are you going to continue?”

"Right..." They cleared their throat, a strange heat against their cheeks. It was stark, out of place. They ignored it. "Where was I...?"

FURINA

[Name] stared across the ballroom, a drink in their hand. On the opposite side, a woman in a blue dress tipped back her head in a laugh and held her hand over her mouth. It wasn’t her true laugh, the one that sounded like tumbling waves and sweeping currents. It was the specially curated laugh she made for laughing at jokes she didn’t find funny, in front of people she didn’t like.

Furina turned, catching their eye. She smiled, far too casually, and raised a hand in a tiny wave. For the first time in a while, she wasn’t wearing her gloves, leaving the skin of her hand exposed.

They didn’t need to ponder what the feeling of that hand in theirs was like, after holding it countless times, until the weight of it caused phantom pains in their wrist. They didn’t have to wonder about her lips on their cheek, or her arms around their waist, when they were sensations that had been burned into their skin.

They averted their eyes, instead of returning the wave. There wasn’t any point dwelling on the past, or exchanging pleasantries with their ex-lover.

Maybe if they had been informed of her presence ahead of time, they wouldn’t have come. That way, they’d never had the chance to do something as foolish as reminisce on people as painful as Furina. But Navia—sweet, kind, oblivious Navia—had invited them, unaware of their messy break-up.

The split wasn’t either of their faults. ‘Grown apart’, could be used to describe it if you were feeling cliché. Perhaps a more accurate description would be ‘grew too close, until their roots were tangled with each other and their thorns were too deeply buried in each other’s sides, that removing them would hurt more than letting the relationship fester.’ It was a classic tragedy; two flawed people clinging desperately to each others’ side, until the haze of romance cleared and said flaws drove them apart.

The split was mutual, made for both their sakes. That didn’t mean it didn’t sting when their lives—previously entangled and interwoven with each other—were torn into two. Suddenly they were alone, and half of their existence had up and left.

It hurt, the split. But they knew staying would hurt more.

“Excuse me,” The voice was so soft, so excruciatingly familiar that if they kept looking away, they could convince themself it was just a hallucination. “[Name].”

They couldn’t. They couldn’t do it. At least while staring into their drink, they could enjoy the voice as a pleasant dream.

“[Name], please.”

But they never were strong enough to resist her, were they?

Their resolve crumbled like sand. They looked over, and there she was: as breathtaking as she looked the day they first met her.

“Hi,” She whispered. It was one word, and all too much.

“Hey,” They respond, keeping their voice low to seclude the conversation to the corner of the room.

“How have you been?” Furina asked. They tried not to let their face fall at the words. Before they broke up, there wasn’t a need for small talk, or even greetings for that matter. Their conversations would taper off into quietness or end completely, and they would pick right back up the next time they spoke. Questions of how they were, or dull observations about the weather had no room to fill the silence, when that space was filled with a comfortable kind of quiet.

“I’ve been well.” Far too stiff. The old [Name], the one that was Furina’s lover, would never let themself be so formal with her.“And yourself?”

“…Well, as well.”

In an effort to fill the awkward silence, they blurted out “I heard about your…” What was it exactly? Demotion? Abdication? Dismissal? “…I heard what happened. About how you’re not the Hyrdo Archon anymore.”

“Ah, yes, I figured you would have heard about that.” She rolled her eyes, part of her mask slipping. “There isn’t a person here who hasn’t…”

They cringed inwardly at how their choice of conversation made the silence even more uncomfortable. “So… what are you doing over here?”

She grinned in relief at the topic change. “Darling, we’re at a party; there’s one obvious thing we could be doing.”

“What’s that?”

Furina extended her hand, folding the other behind her back. She smiled coyly, a million words dancing on the tip of her tongue, all unsaid. “Well, the reason I came over here, of course. Will you dance with me?”

Letting the conversation lead on this long was dangerously close to letting her back into their life. But what was a little more danger, when the music was so sweet and Furina was offering the chance so freely? It was just a dance, nothing more.

They placed their drink down on a nearby waiter’s tray, and took her hand.

Furina’s lips parted into an O, momentarily surprised by their willingness, but she quickly recovered. She tugged on their hand to bring them further into the centre of the room, taking one of their hands and placing it on her waist, and intertwining her fingers with the other.

She swept them across the floor, twirling and spinning past the rest of the couples. One step forward, a step back. They let go of her waist to spin her in a circle and she let out a giggle, sounding like waves crashing on the shore. The sound made them breathless.

Furina replaced her arms around their waist, stepping so close that they were only a breath away.

Their eyes drifted to the windows, reflecting the ballroom. In it, they could see all of the couples pressed together, while the orchestra played tirelessly off to the side. In the centre was one pair that fell directly under the ballroom’s chandelier lights, a beautiful woman in a blue dress, and… well, them. Beyond that, they could see the night sky in the background: hundreds of shining stars and a full moon staring back at them.

“The sky is so pretty,” They whisper.

“It’s beautiful,” Furina agrees, not taking her eyes off them.

The song ended, fading off in place of a more upbeat tune. Furina didn’t remove her hands from their waist, barely acknowledging the change. It wasn’t quite dancing by then, simple swaying in place with her arms around them. They didn’t care enough to move.

“Would you like to have tea with me, sometime?” Furina asked. The words were more than an invitation; they were the keys left in the lock, letting them through and back into her life if they so pleased. An I don’t think that’s a good idea would be easy. A no would be easier. Instead, all they said was, “I would like that.”

reblogs and comments are appreciated! ♡

[riririnnnn]

The sole inspiration of this theory is this post by @someprettyname.

You know, one of the topics Kaneshiro-san hasn't talked about in the Manga yet is academic pressure on a student, and this topic perfectly suits Shidou out of all the characters in Blue Lock. He is like the perfect candidate to showcase a burnout student who had to put up with all the pressure their parents placed on them, and I have three reasons to believe in this theory:

-> Monologue

All his monologues during the U-20 match has one common theme, "Leaving a proof of yourself for the world to remember you." And one common belief in a household with great academic pressure is that you are made to believe from a very young age that if you can't achieve something in your life, then you are completely worthless. These kind of parents think that being happy with one's life isn't enough, you need to and got to be something or do something big in your life.

One more thing that slipped through ALL of our eyes is that Shidou is actually a pretty smart person:

Shidou was so quickly able to correctly judge Kunigami and Reo, and I think that's a pretty good testament for one's intelligence.

Of course, I do not believe that a grade can fully show a student's capabilities, but I do also believe that you need to have, at least, some kind of intelligence to score good grades. And considering all of this, I can place a safe bet that Shidou was some kind of scholar student and being a smart kid in an Asian household means having to carry lots of academic expectations!

-> Behaviour

You don't even need to fully know about Shidou to understand that he is far away from a student who is considered ideal and that's the point I'm trying to make! He isn't an ideal student because he is tired of being one for so long!

Okay, to understand my point better, imagine this:

You are being forced to be at the top of your class, to be a good, well-mannered, well-behaved student. It's like a constant invisible rope of expectation tied around your neck that never goes away and it's eating you up inside, so what would you do?

Most likely: rebel.

And that's what Shidou is doing! He is aggressive, violent and foul-mouthed—everything that can NOT be found in a trait list of an ideal student. Also, dyeing your hair in bright colours has been a pretty common thing any student does in order to 'rebel'.

You getting me? Please say yes.

-> Favourite song

His choice of music was the first thing that made me believe that Shidou is just being a rebel student. Hide, as stated by Wikipedia, was (or maybe is) considered as the icon for Japanese youth to rebel against the 'conformist' society of Japan. And Pink Spider song goes deeper than it appears—this and this beautifully explains about the above mentioned song.

Here are some few excerpts of the articles:

This song's meaning in Shidou's case can be interpreted in various ways, and I would love if you guys come up with your own interpretations.

For me, it's like Shidou felt trapped in whatever way he was living. He was made to feel that if he followed every rules, got good grades, behaved like an ideal student, then everything will be fine and will work in his way and that his elders really know the best for him and that he is just naïve. This type of living ended up suffocating him even more—he wanted to truly live—he bottled everything up and one day, he just snapped and that was when the Shidou Ryusei we know was born.

One more small and very personal reason for me to believe that he was a scholar student with too much academic pressure is that one of his favourite subjects is Art.

Speaking from personal experience, I've noticed that people who were forced to study and do well academically usually end up falling in love with making art.

I don't know how to explain it well, sorry.

That's it, I guess.

What do you guys think?

[macabresymphonies]

The Magnus Protocol Alchemical Theory Ramble

I've been really into alchemy recentyl due to it's connections to The Magnus Protocol (probably to woe of my thesis supervisor), but the more I read the more some stuff that already have happened is starting to make sense to me. This post will be probably due to an update once I get further in my research, but I wanted to get some stuff out of my system as it's still fresh in my mind (people also wanted an update on my previous post where I spoke how there is a lot of connections between history of alchemy and TMAGP so here it is).

Keep in mind this is very brief explanation cause history of alchemy is MASSIVE, so I will be mostly focusing on a brief period in 12-14th century where alchemy was kind of the talk of the ruling class (mostly church). I will also not be explaning much the alchemical goals, but the purpouse of this post I will say chrysopoeia (transmutation of metals into gold) and connected concept of a Philosopher's Stone were two of the main ones.

Natural vs Artificial

The main concern with alchemy in the eyes of the church at the time was the issue of "natural" vs "artificial" gold. You see there were few loosely documented cases where alchemists seemingly reached one of their main goals and trasmutated some metals into gold. The problem was this "alchemical gold" was either devauling natural gold (if real), which was also an issue of "playing God" it was by divine design a fixed amount of gold in the world existed, or an elaborate way to counterfiet coins (if not real). This combined with the concerns of using artificial gold in medicine pushed alchemy into an underground by a decree of pope John XXII by forbidding alchemists from selling this alchemical gold (and silver). Roger Bacon and Albertus Magnus (known alchemists) were however both subscribed to idea that not only is alchemical gold equal to the natural one, it's actually better than natural one.

I see a connection here between "natural" fears (Smirk's 14) and "artificial" fears (clearly a faction of people who experiment on people, forcibly turning them into some type of creatures that resemble TMA's avatars). If we see Entities as apexes of their domains, these "offshoots" we've seen so far could be read as attempts of creating new entities by amature "alchemists" of this universe. This leads us very nicely into the second section.

Deckname, hiding in plain sight

You see, because alchemy was becoming quite controversial alchemists needed to hide their recipies. Deckname describes a way alchemists hid some of their exact recipies by using allegories, same names for multiple ingredients or (quite the opposite) one name for multiple ingredients. This concept wasn't new as in even in arabic writings on alchemy we can observer use of Deckname, but in ~13th century it was quite prelevant and even sometimes mixed with religious imagery (which will be important later). The general idea was to hide infromation with this type of "code", but not in such a way as it would be virtually impossible to decipher (as this would deem it useless). It also connects with the idea of "scattering" information (ingredients) as to send some scholars on this wild goose chase for Philosopher's Stone.

I don't think I need to talk much on how German way of hiding information might connect to the fact Freddie is a mysterious program written in German code that seemingly does not make much sense (with Deckname being intensively decribed by an arabist named KRAUS of all things). What I would like to point out that even very early on I believed that Freddie is used to crossreference attempts at creation of Philosopher's Stone and it's becoming much more likely this is a case, especially if you consider the next point.

The battle against the Antichrist

You see, alchemy wasn't like a one school of thought with a proper way to perform it, it was a science much like chemistry is today (alchemy is like a granddaddy of chemistry anyway). One of the concept that caught on, especially with the faction of Franciscan Spirituals (which is like hardcore Franciscans who liked to predict end of the world a lot) was the idea that Antichrist is coming and that all knowledge will be needed to stop him. Franciscan friar Roger Bacon even wrote a letter to the pope about it. This connected to with alchemy created a notion of a Philosopher's Stone as a tool in stopping the Antichrist which will be important later.

The Magnus Institute did tests on children that were mostly measuring three things: their developemnt, their empathy and how compliant they are. Given the history of the Institute in TMA it's hard to believe they were doing it for selfless and pure reasons, so I believe they were monitoring children to catch the possible "antichrist" and use their potnential for their own gain (note that I do not believe this "antichrist" is like a christian concept in TMAGP universe, I think it's something more aligned with entities or a purely symbolic title for some type of individual).

The torment of Messiah

For every Antichrist there's gotta be a-christ and alchemy actually did have a concept of one. You see, combining Deckname and the battle with Antichrist the Philosopher's Stone was very often hidden under the allegory of the Passion of Christ. Alchemists believed they are in a way tormenting metals by subduing them to all these processes (this is where the word crucible comes from by the way, it's "the little place of torment"), combine that with Antichrist theory and Jesus became a great allegory for creation of The Stone. Alchemists believe that metal (most often mercury) would have to go through four stages of torment before "ascending" similar how Jesus did (the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension). This were in fact only believed to be instructions hidden in religious imagery.

I believe TMAGP does reverse of that concept. We've seen the Intitute use chemical terms like agent and catalyst do describe either the paranormal items or their wielders. I believe that the faction currently pulling the strings is using alchemical writings to experiment on people through tormenting them and exposing them to what is left of TMA Entities after traversing the universes. Some of those parts were used to make Freddie, that's why we got The Voices, but some are used to make eldritch abominations like we've seen so far. I'm not sure if Messiah in this sense is to be considered a benevolent concept, perhaps it's simply a being that will stop the apocalypse, but I believe that Antichrist is probably rebirth of The Prime Fear all Entities came from in TMA.

Closing thoughts

You can take that with a grain of salt, as I'm not a proficient alchemy scholar, but I won't deny the fact all of this so far fits pretty well and I can already see how this could play into many arcs (like how Celia has a baby that could be the "natural" antichrist and Sam with "chosen boy" issues could become the chosen "artificial" Messiah). If there are other points anyone with more knowledge on alchemy would like to mention in this post feel free to do so!

[gatheringbones]

[“People benefit from poverty in all kinds of ways. It’s the plainest social fact there is, and yet when you put it like this, the air becomes charged. You feel rude bringing it up. People shift in their chairs, and some respond by trying to quiet you the way mothers try to shush small children in public when they point out something that everyone sees but pretends not to—a man with one eye, a dog urinating on a car—or the way serious grown-ups shush young people when they offer blanket critiques of capitalism that, with the brutal clarity of a brick through glass, express a deep moral truth. People accuse you of inciting class warfare when you’re merely pointing out the obvious.

As a theory of poverty, exploitation elicits a muddled response, causing us to think of course and but, no in the same instant. On the one hand, as the late composer Stephen Sondheim once wrote, “The history of the world, my sweet—is who gets eaten and who gets to eat.” Clans, families, tribes, and nation-states collide, and one side is annihilated or enslaved or colonized or dispossessed to enrich the other. One side ascends to a higher place on the backs of the vanquished. Why should we think of poverty today as the result of anything different?

On the other hand, that was then. Notice how our voices, which can so effortlessly discuss exploitation that happened in the past, become garbled and halting when the conversation moves to how we get over on each other today. Perhaps because exploitation appears to us only in its most galling, extreme forms: enslaved Black field hands, young boys sent into the coal pits and young girls into the cotton mills. Perhaps we are captivated by a heroic narrative of progress, particularly racial progress, as if history, to quote the psychologist Jennifer Richeson, was “a ratchet that turns in one direction only.” Or perhaps we connect the concept of exploitation with socialism and don’t want to be associated with its tenets (or at least not its aesthetics). Years ago, I presented a paper titled “Exploiting the Inner City” at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, a paper that documented the business strategies of landlords in poor neighborhoods. The paper was straightforward. It showed how some landlords make a living (and sometimes a killing) by renting shabby housing to very poor families. After my talk, a senior scholar looked rather alarmed. “You’re going down a Marxist path,” she said. “You know that, right?”]

matthew desmond, from poverty: by america, 2023

[alpaca-clouds]

One Quick Thing about the historical Elisabeth Báthory

Okay, I do need to talk about the historical Elisabeth Báthory, because my inner "well, actually" needs to get this one out there. People who watched Nocturne will probably be at least vaguely aware of the entire mythology around the historical Elisabeth Báthory and how she got connected to the entire story.

She was a Hungarian noblewoman and the reason why she is remembered while most Hungarian nobles are not is the entire outrage around her alleged crimes.

The story goes somewhat like this: Elisabeth Báthory was very afraid of growing old. One day one of her maids cut herself and the blood dripped on Báthory's skin. Which on the next day was so much smoother. After which she became convinced that the blood of girls and young women would hold her aging. So, she had girls brought to her castle to bleed them dry and then bathe in their blood.

It is said she killed more than 300 young women like this, which she was charged with. Given she was a noble she was actually convicted for it, but given she was a noble, the punishment was only "house arrest" in her castle. Never the less she died just three years later of unknown (but probably medical) causes at the age of 54.

So, here is the thing why I want to talk about this. Now, please note: I do not think this will play any role in Castlevania: Nocturne. I think there she really just is a bad guy. But... I just gotta talk about it.

Because today scholars are at times questioning whether the story how it often is remembered. There is a by now very common theory that the reason for her accusations were two-fold: For one, she was a single woman who held a lot of money and power. For the other, she was practicing medicine, learning it partly from herbal practicioners, but also incorporating "modern" knowledge at the time.

Basically, she was already rich because her husband was rich. Then she just happened to be very good at politics, making her - as a widow - amass more power and riches. And people looked unfavorably onto her as a woman having this much influence and riches without a man attached to her.

The other aspect is, that we know she wrote about medicine. She did medical research on her own. And yes, even though she incorporated more herbal knowledge (something people frowned upon at the time, by the way), a lot of medical knowledge at the time also involved a lot of bloodletting. And there is some historical sources out there that show that at least some folks she tried to treat died through her treatment.

So, I got this one out of my system. I just needed to bring this one up. Because the two big historical serial killers we know about might well both have been innocent. The other being Gilles de Rais, who also is the main antagonist in my Castlevania fanfiction The lesser Evil (which you should totally read) - but there it also is a plotpoint that he was innocent.

Okay. That's it for now. I am out.