#melusine diet

[vila-of-burning-waters]

<From x>

"I hope that the trinkets I sent Miss Traveler and Miss Paimon helped! A bunch of ingredients and a pretty orange and green water rock that's cool on my membrane... Mint for Mel and Seagrass-stuffed Tidalga for me make a great quick meal when I'm on an adventure, after all."

Vila grins, looking at the city and getting a metal plate out of her bag that she carefully wraps around Mel... It covers the bottom of the Slime and seems heat-resistant, since it hasn't started melting.

"There we go! Now you can join me in the city too, Mel! Gotta thank Miss Estelle for making this when I visit Muirne and Sedene and Liath..."

[genshin-side-piece]

Love Me True

Follow up to Love Me Tender

Warnings: Yandere Content, Dark themes, Implied Kidnapping, Implied Captivity, Implied Stalking, Somnophilia, Non-Consensual Touching, Sexual themes, not smut (sorry),Not Fluff, Uncomfortable themes, Angst, my bad writing, anything else I missed, 18+, Minors DNI

At times, it was hard to hate Neuvillette. His kindness and his willingness to do anything for you almost made you forget the circumstances of which he kept you. The life he built for you wasn’t a bad one. In the correct context, it could be described as tolerable. He wasn’t abusive or beastly. Outside of his wandering hands, one could even say he was gentlemanly. He provided for you. He protected you and on some very weird level, you believe he loved you; or at least he loved you as he understood what love could be.

Many had it worse than you did. That fact didn’t stop you from thinking that being returned to your old life was still preferable. You missed the freedom you had once taken for granted. It wasn’t like the so-called freedom you had here. In your old life, you weren’t bound by Neuvillette’s endless rules. You weren’t observed every second of every day.  You weren’t cooped up in a drafty house, subject to restrictive diets for your health and dress codes that encouraged Neuvillette to look with his eyes long before he ever used his hands. You could hide from the world, from him if you needed too. You could lock your door. You missed being truly free. Now your freedom was limited to being able to wander the prison you shared with your captor, provided he decided not to chase you from one end of his house to the other. 

The only thing that made the life you had now tolerable was that Neuvillette was seldom home. His work kept him busy, so in turn, you were generally left alone. You had your little wardens in the melusines, but they were generally no trouble. Unlike the Iudex, they knew how to keep their distance when you preferred to be left alone. They, like him, swore your imprisonment had been done for your own good. All of them claimed the world was far too dangerous for you. That you would be safer here, under his watchful eye. He was such a good provider, was he not? Didn’t the good monsieur keep you in such excellent comfort? Weren’t you given all that you needed to be happy? That’s all they wanted for you, both of you, was to be happy. From their perspective at least, one of you had achieved the happiness they clamored for. It didn’t hurt that from Neuvillette’s perspective, you had brought warmth to what had been an empty life. 

You could almost pity him in his loneliness. The key word being almost. Over the many months that you had been with him, you had certainly become somewhat sympathetic to his circumstances; born to blend in yet be kept apart, abandoned at birth, forever fated to be alone. It couldn’t be an easy existence. Not when his most relatable trait was that he yearned to understand himself much in the same way that all beings searched for their own understanding. In the few conversations you’d had with him, which were mainly him speaking at you and you simply trying to ignore him; he had confessed he had long wished to understand the emotions that plagued him. Whatever he was, didn’t process them in the same manner as humanity. So the concept of human emotions was a foreign thing for him. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t manage to understand them. That was where you felt you came into the odd arrangement you had with him. Neuvillette learned through observation. Clearly he felt he could learn something from you. What that was, you weren’t sure. 

His self professed connection to you didn’t help your confusion. He was insistent on protecting you to the point that he had isolated you from the world. To you, him bringing you here was an irrational reaction to a problem that didn’t exist. Up until a few months ago, you hadn’t even known him. Like many other citizens, Neuvillette was little more than a name to you. You hadn’t cared about him one way or the other. Never in your wildest dreams did you ever think that not only would the Iudex of Fontaine personally track you down during a holiday in the mountains, but that he would proceed to hold you hostage ever since. It was like a bad dream that you couldn’t wake from. In the long hours where he was away you had wondered if he expected you to help him with the affliction that was his emotions. You fantasized about that being the key to your freedom. He would finally figure himself out and there would be no need for you anymore. You would be free to resume your life, presumably in another country. Somewhere landlocked, with no large bodies of water, just to be safe. It was a nice fantasy, one that made you smile whenever the rain came. Your new home would be sunny and warm and free of anyone who was emotionally impotent. A hermit on the side of a mountain seemed ideal for that or perhaps you could trick an adeptus into hiding you in a domain. Whatever it ended up being, the last place you wished it to be was Neuvillette’s drawing room. Like the man who owned it, you’d had enough of both.

For a man who held Fontaine’s fate in his hands, he was woefully unobservant of his own surroundings. There had been far too many nights where you had woken to his clammy hands running themselves all over your body. You had endured his hot breath fanning its way across you skin as the wet sounds of him working his fist over his c*ck filled your ears. Your instinct was always to pull away, but the second you tried to move, his hold on you tightened like a vice, leaving dark bruises that lasted for days. He never apologized for them, but his eyes always tended to linger on the spot where they were during the day. It was difficult to know if he was truly sorry, or if like your whimpers when he left said bruises, the knowledge that they were there spurred him on. He was always quick to return to your side when you had them, often opting to stay overnight so that he might hold you in his sleep. On those nights, he never sensed you were awake. He never stopped himself from overstepping his place as your jailer. The best Neuvillette had done was on the mornings where he spent the night, he would quietly excuse himself, offering you a reprieve from the ritual that was him watching your morning levee. You were still expected to endure his company at meal times, but for that morning at least he left you alone. The fact that he could act as if nothing had happened, that you hadn’t woken with his entire body wrapped around yours, was utterly annoying. It killed any will you had to help him. Instead, you sought to torment him in any manner possible. You had long resolved yourself to make him suffer, even if the suffering was nothing more than a minor inconvenience for him, it was still something.

Suffer, he did.

Endlessly. With cause. From clothing, to scents, to distance, to attention. You learned what cut him the deepest. What tormented him the most. What punished him to a level that you found gratifying. It was petty. Were you still in your old life, it would have been beneath you to be as you were. You hadn’t liked being petty. It was a waste of time and energy. You had always thought it best to take the high road. Fate caught up to everyone in this life, eventually it would find those that had wronged you. In this life though, it was one of the few things you were allowed to not only have, but exercise with complete regularity. You could burn your excess energy and boredom on punishing Neuvillette for his crimes against you. It was only fair that the chief justice got his. If he was going to sacrifice your freedom in the name of protection, then the same could be done with his love. His love could suffer for the sake of your autonomy. After all you had been put through, it was no less than he deserved. 

[hiddengenshinfan]

“The Overprotective/Protective Dragon’s Gaze”

Major Implications Of Kidnapping/More Sinister Neuvillette

Romantic Neuvifuri, With Tons Of Fontaine Characters

Sum - Furina awaken in a lavish mansion with no memory of how she got there. But she starts to get very suspicious once she realizes Melusines are involved….

Prologue - “Delicious Food At The Cost Of My Sanity Almost Sounds Like A Good Deal!”

It was just supposed to be another day in Furina De Fontaine’s life with her waking up in her new bed that she was still unfamiliar with even after months. Through that was expected she spent 500 years in very samilar high fashion and high quality beds that the more standard one she has now felt so unfamiliar but she was trying! ‘I swear I’m trying!’ Then she’d just eat some macaroni for breakfast then for lunch…..then also for dinner……but different sauces each time of course! Never the same don’t doubt her diet!

But today something was wrong she felt something was greatly wrong and most times her intuition did not fail her in that regard. So when she slowly opened her eyes and looked around she wished she could close them and hide from reality. This was absolutely not her home, not her bed not even the same style of architecture. She was definitely kidnapped…..kidnapped?! Why was that her first thought?! It filled her with a sense of dread and sick humor, at least this place looked very nice for a hostage situation.

Man she really needs to develop some form of self preservation instincts because she was now just hiding behind the weirdly fancy and comfortable sheets on the bed that she had found herself in. Maybe she could surprise her kidnapper by pretending to be asleep she definitely heard about that working once or twice! Then she heard footsteps and every single ounce of confidence evaporated from her body like the puddles of rain in the sun, and she was now shaking slightly.

‘Get your act together Furina! You’re a vision holder now get a grip!’

A voice in her head shouted at her, those seemed to stick with her even after her time as Archon. Sometimes she really considered talking to someone about that but she doubted anyone would help they probably all secretly hated her for her failure as a archon so she’d eventually deal with it on her own like always! But the voice was very correct this time at least she had a vision now she could at least try to protect herself, so she needed to act right. She took a deep breathe and calmed herself and closed her eyes and pretended to sleep quite convincingly in her own personal opinion!

She toke note of the sound of the footsteps. They had stopped and turned now that the person was seemingly coming towards the room she could tell a bit more from sound alone it was definitely a very small person almost childlike. Her kidnapper could not be a child, please archons tell her she isn’t weak enough to get kidnapped by a child!

But the ‘child’ knocked on the door gently then spoke with a rather feminine voice “Lady Furina are you awake?” The voice spoke diligently not skipping a beat. That was not a child but a melusine……why would a melusine be involved in a kidnapping especially for someone of her- former regard! She still pretended to sleep through now that she knew it was a melusine she doubted it would work but still who knows this might all be the work of a master manipulator trying to get her to lower her guard! She would never not as the a- former archon she would never allow it!

But regardless of her resolve to pretend. The melusine opened the door and came in and headed towards the bed she was in. Then seemingly just looked at her waiting for her to react or respond, this melusine seemed unsure of something maybe about how awake she was which was why she was just watching? Furina couldn’t be sure melusine were literally built different and had different senses she knew that for sure, but even spending centuries with melusines that very much varied between each one, and she simply didn’t interact with enough (especially recently) to really figure out how far each ones perception went. Especially with sensing such a weird thing like if someone was awake or not why would that ever be useful?

The melusine after waiting for a few long silent moments chose to try and touch Furina. Of course Furina let her and then the melusine simply said “Please wake up Lady Furina we really miss you!” Now that sounded odd to her, she wasn’t suprised at the missed you comment she hadn’t really went outside much even through it had been months from her trial and since the ‘Little Oceanaid’ she mostly kept too herself through she got many letters in the mail about jobs, she’d mostly only do those she could do remotely she didn’t wish to be in the spotlight but behind the scenes but she never wished to be forced on stage again. So she simply never went near it mostly mailing advice or instructions back in response most showed thanks in but some showed disappointment. But she simply decided she needed time but it was in her nature at this point to always be willing to put her c- fellow fontainains before her own well-being. But even she had her limits and the stage for now was one of them.

She decided to end this little act due to the sincerity in the melusine’s words, melusines were always quite genuine and honest especially to her. She trusted them greatly and now she simply hoped that her whole kidnapping theory was wrong. How could she the great- Furina think for even a second that a melusine meant harm! How dare she even think that…..somebody definitely put them up to this through. She slowly started to move from under the sheets, slowly stretching and finally getting from under those sheets that honestly were very comfortable. She yawned and looked around like she had just woken up in a sort of haze. Inside her own mind she was complimenting her own acting skills, she personally thought she was doing great!

Then after looking around for a second she all of a sudden shot up seemingly afraid and simply exclaimed “W-where am I!?” She spoke looking around with a look of pure shock and panic man she was so used to overacting and in an unfortunate twist of irony in a sense her 500 years of torment was helping this lovely performance. Then her eyes met the melusine’s with a frantic look, with her eyes softening. “Lady Furina!” The melusine exclaimed back with a look that looked like a mixture of curiosity, joy and a rather strange one slight distrust. The melusine stared at her for a second not breaking eye contact until she finally seemed to realize how upset and fearful Furina looked, this melusine might not have been around humans a lot and she doesn’t remember her at all as well so that made the little creature even more interesting to the former god.

Another melusine peaked through the door probably due to the noise. Huh so there’s mutiple here…….she’s starting to suspect who her kidnapper might be she just hopes not otherwise that dragon better have a very good explanation for all this! “Lady Furina are you alright?!” The second melusine spoke in a very caring manner but quickly ran to Furina’s side seemingly trying to help her out of the bed,or at least help her calm down. She didn’t recognize either of the melusines which she herself was unsure of if that was a good or bad thing. The first melusine ran over to the other then and finally assisted Furina out of the bed that felt way to damn comfortable.

She almost fell once her feet actually hit the floor. She might have just been in her socks but still her legs felt so weird almost like they were still very much asleep unlike the rest of her body, but she caught herself before actually falling. She couldn’t let the melusines see her weak it was almost a tendency to try to appear at least somewhat refined. Through she was slowly losing that habit around most the melusines were a hard exception for mutiple reasons one being the simple fact they cared so much even after the lies she told, whenever they saw her they always beamed and asked how she was doing! (They were probably the only ones who didn’t hate her….) It hurts her heart to make them concerned in the slightest so even in these strange circumstances she’d hold strong knowing they themselves had no ill intent.

Once she finally stood straight up she let out a deep breathe. Finally calming her nerves then one of the melusine spoke again letting go of Furina “Lady Furina it is a delight to meet you!-“ Then the melusine stopped holding her hand. Then put it towards her mouth for a second seemingly thinking of what next to say. “If you need help freshening up just ask! Actually if they’re is anything you need just ask! Any of us would be very willing to help you Miss Furina!” The melusine said with a smile that was just beaming. The melusine seemed to be excited and was trying to wake her sister from whatever daze she was in due to her just staring at Furina.

“We need to let Miss Furina get dressed come on!” The melusine said dragging the one who was staring out the room and shutting the door. They were probably just waiting in whatever was behind the door, but still it made her slightly more comfortable. Readjusting herself she finally looked around the room in its entirety, it was a rather lavish one with big windows which appeared tinted in a slightly blue color with artwork near the edges hidden behind curtains. It was beautiful craftsmanship which made her suspect that dumb dragon even more. There was a mirror neatly placed beside the bed right next to the window she looked at her reflection with a small sense of pride and relief.

Finally seeing herself fully, there were very few things different from how she remembered them being out of place. She didn’t have her hat or shoes on obviously she was sleeping apparently and no extra marks of any kind through there was two things she distinctly noticed, one her hair was slightly longer like the lowest point other then her bangs were at the her nape. It was a very small thing but as someone who hardly changed her hair and pretty much constantly made sure it was to her liking it was very noticeable. Then there was another…….where was her vision?! The bow was there, with the gem identical to the one she used when she was the Archon. But her actual vision was no where to be seen! Did her kidnapper take it off her person?! She heard rumors that if someone was far from her vision for too long they’d……

Urgh! If this really was Neuvillette she’d scold that dragon till the day she’d die! She thought while running her hands through her hair. Nothing else mattered not looking around not nothing! She thought while grabbing her hat roughly putting it on her head then frantically putting her shoes on. She had to get her vision back! It was not optional! Maybe those melusines could help! Maybe they knew where it was! She thought jolting to the door and swinging it open.

One of the melusine jumped back a tiny bit seemingly shocked. She’d hate to scare the poor thing but she really was on an adrenaline rush at this point. Then she noticed something the other melusine the one who stared and was the first one in the room was not there with only the one who came in later being there. “Lad-dy Furina are you alright?!” The melusine asked slightly anxious due to her rather rash behavior a couple of seconds prior. She tried to calm down but it felt like the fear of the consequences of being without her literal will embodied were weighing on her psyche it was tough. She truly wished she had a nicer way to put it but this was far too urgent for her. “Where. Is. My. Vision?” She tried to calmly say the words but due to the way she was breathing it sounded like each word was instead accentuated.

The melusine looked up to slightly concerned “Uh it’s with Monsieur Neuvillette like always!” Why did Neuvillette have her vision, and why did she say that so casually Luke that was always the case?! “Where is the Iudex if I may ask?” She said finally calming herself down….he was probably in here somewhere! “Oh probably The Opera Epiclese! He said he had a really tough case today!” Okie so from what Furina saw through that Window was definitely not the Court Of Fontaine meaning that Neuvillette was archons knows how far away! Archons she was definitely going to scream at him later but she probably can’t change the fact he isn’t here at this point of time.

So samilar to her time as Archon she’d put it off until she had a solution in sight. Then she simply smiled down at the Melusine and said “You said you would help me with anything right?!” She asked in a rather playful tone a rather strong 180 from her behavior just a couple of minutes before, but that was what Furina was known for as her time as archon. The melusine simply nodded seemingly waiting for a request “Hm! Well! I Furina De Fontaine, would love to be escorted around this lovely place! Could you show me around?” She asked with a of course dramatic accent, she had to up her acting game. If she was going to act in front of Neuvillette, honestly she was confused and sorta scared. Why a companion of 500+ would kidnap her? Neuvillette always seemed rather amenable, and relatively calm and collected but a caring person. So this felt out of character on mutiple levels and she was ready to act like her life depended on it if she had to. She was still so unsure of how Neuvillette’s powers coming back had effected him, maybe this has something to do with them?

Through she didn’t like the thought, she was silently terrified still of the consequences of being without her vision even while she walked so cheerfully behind the melusine guiding her around. Until the melusine stopped in front of somewhere, looking within the room it was a rather casual but refined kitchen with some top models within it. She honestly was wondering why they had stopped here until she looked back and saw the Melusine directing her towards the refrigerator. “Monsieur Neuvillette left tons of food for you! I just thought you’d humans would probably be hungry around this time?” Hm interesting she didn’t know that Neuvillette was that much of a cook. Most times they were simply prepared things by staff and the like, through she wasn’t quite suprised. Neuvillette always seemed a lot less reliant on others fitting for someone of his nature and position. He was good at seeming like the vastly more competent one during her years as Archon.

She opened the refrigerator and all of a sudden most of her mixed feelings towards Neuvillette faded. All of her favorite foods ripe for the taking, stuff she enjoyed while she was a archon that she had assumed had long since been lost to time, stuff she liked as a human that was much more casual but still decorated in a weirdly professional way. How could someone possibly have any malicious intent if they were so welcoming!

Through parts of her brain said that was a distinctly stupid thought. (She herself argeed….) But she just wanted to not be scared or anxious within her own mind for a second. Let her enjoy the food that was literally made for her! She picked out some of her absolute favorites from the stuff in the fridge, being a macaroni salad with pink sauce and delicious looking slice of cake decorated in flower petals that she assumed were edible. She simply ate diligently savoring the taste for every single second trying to find even the slightest reason to not absolutely be petty to Neuvillette over all this. She couldn’t, even once she finished and started walking once again with the Melusine until she actual stopped. Making the melusine look back at her with slight confusion. Furina had stopped in front of a room of the second floor that she stared at the door too for a second then asked a question even she didn’t truly know why she asked “Is there a pool in this room?!” Her eyes lit up, she didn’t know why but she liked the idea of fooling around in a pool at this moment.

“Hm why yes it is! Please be careful! This building structure is very new so tell me or any other Melusines if you have a problem!” The melusine said while opening the door to the room for Furina. Before Furina could even stop herself she had jumped into the water, it felt so familar so warm…..so calming! It made her feel all sweet inside! She hadn’t realized until she saw the  Melusine’s frightened form trying to reach and tag at her that she was probably down there for too long by normal standards at least. But she didn’t feel a thing wrong even as the Melusine dragged her up to the surface.

“Are you alright Lady Furina!?” The melusine asked looking terrified. How long could she have possibly been in the water for to get a MELUSINE scared for her safety. It had felt like only seconds, maybe the melusine was just being careful. “Im entirely fine! I was once the Hydro Archon you know! I can handle quite a bit of hydro!” She said pridefully attempting to calm the others fears. It seemed to work with the melusine looking happy even “I didn’t know any human could stay under the water for 30 minutes! You are truly special and amazing like my sisters say Lady Furina!” The praise was certainly appreciated of course, but the amount of time was offputting. Even as a Hydro User now her record at best for staying under was about 10, she wasn’t even sure the maximum but 30 minutes sounded extreme regardless.

But she would not mention that to the Melusine. She also just wished to sink into the water once again until her head started to ache. Then the Melusine shot up for a second looking in a specific direction that wasn’t towards Furina. “Aw! That was quicker than expected! Mr Neuvillette is truly a master of justice!” Hm that probably meant the melusine could sense Neuvillette near by. She also got up and then felt the melusine tag at her hand. “Come on let’s go! You do have to retrieve your vision from Mr Neuvillette right?” The melusine was correct through, she was still in slight pain from the headache to fully register it.

By the time they had reached the first floor and started heading towards the front door. (The place was absolutely massive! She felt like she could get lost in this place even, with its size. Neuvillette always acted so efficient and practical. She was sorta suprised by this place’s size was it really fitting for someone like Neuvillette in any way. Actually when was this place even built it looked like it would require months at least possibly years at most? How long was she out?) There was practically an army of Melusines all waiting for the door to open. She had seen some of them during her tour around the place, but she had also recognized some of them as people she used to work with. What were they doing here? Didn’t they have jobs to do did they volunteer to help around this place. There was already zero doubt in her mind this was Neuvillette, but now she was wondering how he got so many Melusines in one place that wasn’t Merusa Village.

When the front door finely opened painfully slowly in her opinion. She locked eyes with Neuvillette and they seemed to have started a staring contest of sorts. His piercing eyes were so cold and sharp but she would not yield! She needed answers! Until she realized the Melusine were helping him take off his long jacket, then her resolve sharply flattered to the floor. Was this a normal occurrence?! It now felt embarrassing to stare! Even through they had spent literally 500+ years together she had not actually seen the sight of him without the long jacket that she herself at one point made him wear for probably more then half of those.

She didn’t realized that she looked flustered or was blushing hard until Neuvillette started to approach her slightly chuckling with a warm simple smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Are you alright Lady Furina?” He asked feeling her forehead. How- how dare he! First he does such a blasphemy thing! (That Furina silently enjoyed but only the deepest part of her subconscious would admit that one.) Then he acts like he doesn’t realize why she was bright red! So shameless!

“I am perfectly fine Neuvillette!” She said angrily, while still blushing profusely. The sight to Neuvillette was the most adorable he had seen from Furina for sovereigns knows how long. It definitely delighted him that Furina was back to her old self again. “Ne-“ He bluntly interrupted what Furina was about to say, knowing it was probably something unpleasant. “Lady Furina would you like to have dinner with me? I am sorry I couldn’t be back sooner. The trial toke longer than expected.” How dare he first of all ignore what she says! Then he asked her to do something, the absolute gull! Hm but maybe she could use this to talk to him maybe?

“Fine sure! But you better answer my questions you stupid- Iudex!” She was not hiding her anger fully because she planned to possibly guilt trip Neuvillette. Anything to get answers as well as her wishing to simply be petty. “Of course Furina.” She really hated how Neuvillette seemed to only say what was necessary or was rather blunt. She was the one who had to carry the flowery words for both of them during her time as Archon, for negotiations or just even talking in general. He never really seemed to truly understand how Fontainains themselves were never anywhere close to blunt and samilar to herself seemed to throughly indulge themselves on the art of acting in even the simplest ways.

She just hoped Neuvillette was handling his new solo leadership of Fontaine well. She had never asked…..wait a minute why was she being so caring! This was time for questions not being concerned about her literal apparent kidnapper! Sometimes she wondered if she was too selfless for her own good and not selfish enough.

“Neuvillette why am I here?! The last thing I remember was attempting to make myself some macaroni! How did I end up here?!” She said trying to see how Neuvillette reacted while they were walking. He just looked so nonchalant like she wasn’t assaulting him with questions. He calmly answered or at least partially did she didn’t preceives it as much of an answer honestly “This is my new abode Furina. I hope you enjoyed the decor?” He seemed to ask the question and Furina only nodded waiting for him to continue to actual give answers to her questions. But that ‘answer’ was the only one she received even when they started eating together no more words were shared a strange silence surrounded them and the melusines were just looking on from the distance.

It was one of her favorites from back when she was a archon that they were eating together. But she could find literally no joy in eating it due to the strange silence. Until she looked towards Neuvillette who sat across from her at a rather small table, at least for someone of Neuvillette’s size. Why would he have a table like this anywhere in his own home? I mean it was perfect for her but that didn’t matter, this was his abode why would it have a table that looked so uncomfortable for the owner. Then she looked towards the area she was unfamiliar with…..his chest he looked rather good with the white ruffled shirt. It was embarrassing to think like that through total blasphemy, but then she noticed something in his breast pocket it was only slightly visible only slightly pointing out. But it was something rather peculiar with the way it seemed to lightly shine and the casing….it felt so familiar……wait a minute.

“Uhm!” She spoke seemingly expecting immediate attention which she received. “I was actually wondering! Where is my vision? One of the darling melusines said you had it, and I would be greatly pleased if you were to give it back to me Monsieur~?”  She added just a hint of playfulness to the end just for an extra flare. “Aw. I was expecting this conversation.” He said pulling the item out from his breast pocket, it was indeed her vision and put it across the table setting it down gently. “Thank you Monsieur!~” She said with a fake smile with a giggle holding her vision close to her chest she was happy to have it back. For now she simply slid it into one of her pockets

“Furina if I may ask. How do you feel about my abode?” It was a sudden question that he seemed to immediately ask right after she had started to eat again. “Uhmmmm I like it well enough! Oh actually Neuvillette! I greatly enjoyed the food you prepared for me!” She said with a smile and giggle finally finishing off her meal. She had to be faster to get the best amount of time to gather information of what all this was about. “So Monsieur~ Can I ask when you had such a lovely abode built! I am quite curious I do not remember you talking about it at all?” She said attempting to act aloof, through it seemed Neuvillette only gave half answers and the like at the moment unfortunately. “Aw. I thought It was rather unimportant since we no longer worked together, and I could simply always visit you. It was built in a temperate environment near a lake and nearby and in front of tons of flowers. It seemed rather fitting and calming for myself.” That was an answer at least. Sorta sounded like a a half answer but she’d let it slide she felt like she had more of an idea where her location was and that was all she desired.

“Would you like dessert Miss Furina?” Why did he pick back up the honorific she has no clue but before she could even send a signal to her brain she was nodding. She was a very dessert person it was practically one of the only good things she remembered from her years as the archon. He left the room for a bit, archons this is really tiring. She wasn’t able to get any answers from him at all! He reminded her startlingly about how she usually used to lie to him using roundabout answers, sometimes just avoiding the question and such tactics. She hoped he didn’t pick up all of her tricks from the last 500 years that would be quite troublesome.

By the time he had come back with a whole cake decorated samilarly to the piece of cake she ate earlier. It looked absolutely delicious there was no way she wouldn’t be able to enjoy it Neuvillette could not ruin this for her! “Thank you so much Monsieur!” She said with a genuine smile for once, when the cake had been set down. She reached over to grab the knife that was strangely far from her considering she assumed it was for her. Once she had grabbed it however before she even knew it nails were sharply going into her skin….it hurt. “Monsieur….that ugh!” He pierced her wrist even more all she could do was stare at her hand. “Neuvillette! You’re-Your- hurting me!” She said slightly tearing up, then all out wailing, even when she heard the knife drop to the table, even when she heard Neuvillette rush to her side even when she felt him embrace her even when he apologized profusely. Even through he sounded so honest like the Neuvillette she had known for 500+ even when he looked so distraught. She couldn’t stop her self from crying.

Maybe it was the stress maybe it was the fact that Neuvillette wasn’t answering her most important questions, or maybe it was because Neuvillette was hardly acting like the Neuvillette she knew for so long. Or she may have just needed a long hard cry, this wasn’t a farce this wasn’t close to a farce she actually really wanted to stop. She really did but it was simply not working out just like at the Opera Epiclese she couldn’t stop tears from falling no matter how much she tried.

‘Why did Neuvillette hurt her like that?’ Was a question that decided to literally crave itself into her psyche. It was different before the pain was needed otherwise Fontaine would flood all her hard work all her people dead was a far more painful thought then the pain she felt then. But this pain felt primal through it was just her wrist it felt like he ripped out her heart. Not even she understood why she felt so upset, before she knew it her consciousness faded. Did she really cry that hard? How many tears had she held back was it even fully Neuvillette’s fault, or was it hers?

When she finally woke again it looked very dark, and she could hear a tempest outside….was Neuvillette really that upset? Was he upset at himself…? Then she finally registered that Neuvillette’s arms were wrapped around her in a comforting manner. Was he…..? Was he cuddling her?! All of a sudden she turned red, then accidentally threw herself into his chest.(Was it really a accident through?~)Which seemed to stir Neuvillette and made him utter some words. “I’m so sorry Furina.” Then he held her closer to himself. This did not help her embarrassment! Not at all! How dare this dumb dragon man, make her cry then cuddle her! That was the definition of mixed signals! Her poor human heart! (……….)

She’d ridicule the dragon later! She promised herself she would! But then she started to nuzzle into his chest and fell back asleep. (Do you think she’ll actually…)(No not at all!~)

Tomorrow would be another day maybe she’d get some actual answers…..?

[emmebearpaw]

I've never shared it on the internet but I like to imagine that after the Fontaine archon quest, Furina starts going to therapy (because she should) and is eventually diagnosed with Autism as a side thing. She is in shock at this as the supposed diagnostic criteria because these are things that like, everyone she knows does? Like, no it's normal to eat a restricted or otherwise odd diet, both her and Monsieur Neuvillette had very particular requirements for their tea time snacks, not to mention the peculiarities of any of the melusine staff invited to join-- What communication deficits, surely if anyone were to struggle in "nonverbal communication" it would be Neuvillette and her former bodyguard Clorinde. They each had strange ways of expressing their emotions, and were generally less emotive than the average person she had met, making it much harder for her to look at them and process how the conversation was going to course correct and-- Anyways I want to watch Furina pen a letter to Neuvillette that just explains that A) She has been diagnosed with autism B) she's pretty sure Neuvillette is also autistic C) it took so long for her to realize this because both her, Neuvilletete and Clorinde are probably autistic and also Melusines aren't Autistic because they are not human but under human definition they are not neurotypical, so like 50+% of her daily interactions were with neurodivergent people + the whole masking to save Fontaine thing really didn't have her examining other's behaviors beyond "getting a good grade in archon. a thing that's reasonable to want and possible to achieve". I really want to see that. Maybe I'll write this fanfic this summer.

[rowavolo]

oh, so the melusines are allowed to have whatever colourful silly things that they want for every meal because it's "nutritious", and "their natural diet", but when I have ice cream for breakfast you think I'm "depressed" and you wonder if I'm "doing okay mentally"? Your honour, that is what we in my business like to call 'a double standard' !!!!!!

[thepmmmwitchproject]

Manga Witches: Part Six

This is the sixth post of the nameless manga witch series! This part is the start of the gaggle of witches that were created by Minou during the climax of Tart Magica! All of these witches were done alongside with @honestlyboringperson!

First on the list is Torlonia, the witch of accumulation with an inescapable nature, a witch that loves rare and beautiful things, it keeps them all in discarded cages, where it'll glance at time to time, it especially loves anything related to magical girls, whether it be meguca, soul gems, grief seeds, familiars, incubators, or even other witches, it won't stop until its part of her collection, an inevitable process. The witch keeps her most prized items in the cages on her own body.

Aliénor, the witch of etiquette with a nitpicking nature. She takes the form of two large porcelain hands, though one appears to missing. The barrier is of a beautiful and extravagant feast. The witch feeds a giant porcelain doll, whether its a familiar or not is unknown. If you come in, it will mistake you as a guest and sit you down, if you even move a muscle, she will tear you apart see it as rude and disgraceful. She detests other witches, finding them disgusting and will slam giant silverware in them if she even catches a whiff of their presence. The first hand is revealed to have been shattered by the doll in one of its raging tantrums, eventually the doll will break the other as well, so its best to do nothing about it.

Ganbatar, the squire witch. Its nature is machismo, once a humble socialite, this witch despises her own weakness and looks to overcome it, indulging in a life of grueling dieting and exercise. The armor she wears is a nearly-indestructible heirloom of a hero from her past, and she hopes one day to be just as big and strong as they were. The only way to defeat this witch is in an honorable, one-on-one duel, presided over by the armor’s lower half and helmet. Any attempts to use sneak attacks or group tactics will have the offending parties stomped to death by the armor’s mighty foot. If you manage to defeat her in combat, her armor shall become yours, whether you want it to or not.

(This witch was written by @thevideogameraptorboggle-blog rather than me and @honestlyboringperson)

Lorelei, the witch of Melusine with an alluring nature, it has the ability to hide in even the most shallow bodies of water, singing a siren song luring in possible suitors. It has the ability to speak, but only in water, striking meaningful conversation with the suitor, giving them reason to return back time and time again. After some time, it will claim to gather up the courage to appear to them as a beautiful woman, the suitor too distracted to notice the louse-like lower half, will go in for a kiss once sealed, the true fish form of this witch appears and swallows the victim whole, parasitizing off their lifeforce until they find their next suitor. There is the possibility that Lorelei will fall in real love with their suitor during the first phase, when the point comes, their kiss destroying Lorelei's grief, allowing her to pass on. For aversive suitors or attackers, it will give them a quick jab with their magical spear, if the victim survives, it will then use the much larger spear possessed by its true fish form instead.

Jill, the witch of accusations with a repenting nature. It's guilty of a crime it cannot remember. To redeem itself, it listens in to the clamoring of her prisoners, gossiping about the accusations judged from passerby's appearances, this almost never true, still the witch will send form gallows to lock the victim and have them starve away for their crimes. If one is actually guilty of the rumored crimes, the weight on Jill's shoulders will be lifted and will be defeated without interference.

Tonne, the schandmantel witch with a merry nature. Despite insults, shame, and rotten food, are flung at it by its familiars, its dulled senses and drunken whimsy drown out the humiliation. It happily trollops through the barriers, flinging the heavy iron balls attached to her barrel body, hitting all who are too slow to notice. If attacked, it'll spit out a stream of corrosive ale on those near it, even the ale's scent can cause one to lose their sense of being and become mindlessly shameless like the witch.

Tolosa, the bauble witch with a materialistic nature. A witch that shines high in the sky, it refracts light from the sun to take down her enemies with. It assimilates anything glittery or shiny to make itself dazzle like it once it did at some point in its life. Within her body, curses gather that erode her body so she spreads them in hopes of staying pure. This is counterproductive as her single-minded selfishness attracts more curses and she erodes anyway. The seventh part will continue on the witches seen in this big battle!

[allxgene]

There's a brief few moments of hesitation from the Chief Justice where he sat across from his dearest Warden, gloved digits wringing atop the desk behind which he sat. It was a difficult situation to bring forth, but he was hardly going to keep quiet after purposely calling Wriothesley there.

" There is ... Something important I need to tell you - not as Iudex , but as your mate . " Neuvillette began, eyes closing for a short while before he finally blurted out. " It seems I am carrying your child ... Our child . "

@constellaris

It isn't odd for Wriotheseley to make visits to the Overworld, it was his job to at least inform the Iudex about the happenings in the Fortress. Not at all minding the journey, nobody was on the aquabus this late into the night to bother Wrio except for the melusines which he was always polite to.

Standing there in the office it felt like that was distance between them, it had been some weeks since they last saw each other. Usually Wriotheseley would be walking over to embrace his lover in a firm hug but the tension was felt as soon as he stepped in.

When Neuvillette spoke the news it was shocking.

Though it shouldn't, both of them were far from human. Wriotheseley at times couldn't believe the Iudex was the long fabled hydro dragon.

What was one to say to news like this? What was appropriate?

"...have you've eaten? And don't say just water, you need more than that- have you've been resting more? Ah that's not the case since its well into the night we're having this meeting. Right rest, diet..what else oh yes reaffirming phrases and gestures."

He's taking is well....perhaps??

[primowishes]

w/ @vygiler {x}

Sigewinne smiled as she knit her fingers together, idly swinging her legs as she sat upon a chair hopelessly tall for the little head nurse.

"Mm-hm! It's a little village known for their tea, apparently. These candies have some beneficial properties to them as well, compared to many other sweets. Still, you shouldn't have too many - it's always best to balance your diet with a variety of nutritious foods." She didn't know how flavorful or not the little candies were to humans, but she did know how they often enjoyed such treats. So, as she sucked on one herself, studying its flavor profile without understanding just what about it was delicious to people, she did as she always did and studied the other's face for reaction.

She worried that Crosserya was dissatisfied with her place here. Whether she stayed or left would be ultimately left to herself, but Sigewinne wanted to make every effort to integrate her in amongst them in the meantime.

"Oh, no, not at all. Almost every person I know was born in Fontaine." There were a great many reasons for that, from the previous distrust of humans toward Melusines, to Sigewinne's long tenure in the Fortress of Meropide, but she of course cared very much for the people she did know. "Clorinde went to Liyue for a festival, and she brought me back these as a souvenir. She did tell me about quite a few people who I would like to be acquainted with, if I ever have the opportunity to travel abroad."

It was an empty statement, though, with little motivation for Sigewinne to fulfill it. She'd rather stay closer to home, where she knew many people would need a doctor to look over them. No, she was perfectly content where she was, even if she wouldn't be opposed to such an opportunity, as she said.

"You're from Sumeru, correct?" She recalled such from when Crosserya was hired on. "Is it difficult to be so far away from your friends and acquaintances from there? If you have a hard time adjusting, please don't hesitate to let me know."

She knew that arrival at such a place, underwater and often surrounded by the human misery of imprisonment, could take a toll on one's psyche, and that fell under her care as much as physical ailments did.

[theaoaofficial]

Health Tips with Melusine: Fruits

Health Tips with Melusine: Fruits This one's dedicated to all the fruitarians.

Photo by Jane D. on Pexels.com “But Mel, didn’t you already do this exact same thing last week, but for vegetables?”– probably Arion or Aspen Shut up, peasant. It’s my blog, and I’ll write about what I want. Consider tonight’s tip a sequel to last Wednesdays, Citizens, because we’re tackling the pros and cons of eating fruits regularly–and no, the fruitarian diet is not exempt from my…

[jagged-hearts-blog1]

Burgraviate of Ulstrich - A Brief Profile https://www.patreon.com/posts/dispatch-6-of-36293236 Ulstrich, situated near Lake Vahn in the heart of the Volgish lands, is great city with a rather remarkable history. Its jewel, the Great Cathedral of St. Melusine, once hosted diets called by the Grand Duke, but none of these have been held in many years…

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Melusine - A Review

by Wardog

Saturday, 27 January 2007

Wardog indulges herself with Sarah Monette's debut novel, Melusine.~

Don't you just hate it when you start out liking something in a smug, ironic way and somehow end up it liking it for real? I began Sarah Monette's Melusine (which, for the record, sports a half-naked wizard on the cover with a haunted look in his eyes and a flag of red hair flying out behind him) expecting trashy, easily mockable fun but, having devoured the book with such enthusiasm and responded in such a genuine way to the characters, I cannot in good conscience deride it. Yes, it's trashy fantasy but only in the sense that it possesses in abundance all the strengths of that kind of book, by which I mean it's engrossing, intriguing and blissfully easy to read. Textual chocolate, if you will; the best, sweetest most meltingly delightful Lindt chocolate. Indulge yourself.

Here be (mild) Spoilers

Set in the pseudo-Renaissance(ish) city of Melusine, the book follows the fortunes of two half brothers, the seemingly upper-class Felix Harrowgate, spectacularly screwed up wizard, and the staunchly lower-class Mildmay, slightly less screwed up cat burglar. Felix gets tangled up in a Dastardly Plot to overthrow the city's magic and goes through about three hundred pages of hell, in which he is raped, abused, threatened, driven mad, sent to a lunatic asylum, forced to take the fall for the Dastardly Plot and generally broken into a thousand tiny pieces, before he and Mildmay finally meet.

As I said earlier, the book capitalises on many of the strengths of the genre, but it also shares some of its weaknesses. If you actually want, y'know, something to happen fantasy is perhaps not the genre for you. There is, I am sure, a plot in there some where but the characterisation is so deft and the world so well delineated that I actually didn't notice its absence. The book only really finds its focus when fate and circumstance bring Felix and Mildmay together; the preceding action feels rather like an excessively long prologue. Felix's plot, at least, has the virtue of necessity; understanding what he's gone through is a small step in the direction of not finding him unbelievably irritating and he is, after all, the key to the plot. Mildmay, however, seems to be marking time until the book moves on sufficiently to allow him to fulfil his main role in the story as Felix's only protector. Although things happen to him, they all feel a little irrelevant.

Ultimately, though, this is typical of the genre; it doesn't have prologues, it has first books. And, on the subject of first books, Melusine is clearly the introduction to a series, and very little attempt is made to maintain its readability as a standalone book. If I didn't know Amazon was winging book two, The Virtu, to me as I type, this review would be harsher because I'd be screaming with frustration. The internet tells me Melusine and The Virtu were originally planned as one book, which perhaps goes some way to explaining (if not excusing) the weakness of the ending.

On the other hand, although not a satisfactory conclusion to the action of the story, it was nevertheless a satisfactory conclusion in terms of character. One of the things I particularly relished about Melusine is the depth and detail of the characterisation and, whether it not it was a deliberate decision or a consequence of the division of the book, I found myself appreciating the way the Big Plot is always subsidiary to individual actions and character, especially in the sort of genre where saving-the-world-from-evil tends to be the order of the day. Basically I'm trying to say that if you're used to the way fantasy works then you'll have no problems with Melusine and you'll be refreshed by things-not-happening for legitimate character reasons as opposed to pointless fantasy tourism or spurious authorial intent. If you're not a fantasy aficionado, Melusinemight still be an excellent place to start but wait until Sarah Monette has finished the series.

Melusine is narrated in alternating sections from the perspective of its two central characters; the constant changes in perspective and attitude works exceptionally well, and gives the book the same sort of bite-sized moreishness as the early Song of Ice and Fire novels. Felix and Mildmay have very different voices, Felix's very i-centric, faintly evasive, often madness-driven, interiority-focused narration contrasts strikingly with Mildmay's wryly humorous and action-packed street cant. It's the perfect device for exploring the world without subjecting the reader to tedious world-building exercises (sorry if I sound bitter, I've been living on the equivalent of a Super Sized Me diet of fantasy novels) and very soon creates an intense bond between the reader and the characters. I am hugely impressed by Monette's ability to evoke the atmosphere and the richness of her world without sacrificing the pace of the book in unnecessary explanations for the sake of the reader. The complicated calendar is an excellent example of this; knowing it's there enriches the reader's experience but I am infinitely grateful that Monette felt no obligation to inflict its intricate workings upon me.

The character of Mildmay is, quite simply, wonderful. Monette somehow succeeds in completely rejuvenating the stock fantasy trope of the thief-with-a-heart-of-gold. His street-slang is very well judged, never impedes intelligibility and never feels like a gimmick. The language slips occasionally. I remember tripping over "it commenced to rain" Mildmay, surely, would never use commence if he could say start. But for the most part he's beautifully written; his stories of the city and its history, particularly, are fascinating.

The Felix sections are slightly more difficult to deal with than the Mildmay ones I was certainly interested in him but I'm still not sure whether I like him, or how far the author wants us to forgive his flaws and think he's cool. To be fair he spends most of the book being mad or driven mad but, regardless of whatever brilliance he possess, he is still vain, self-destructive and shallow. There are reasons for this but the fact that Mildmay survived his (admittedly slightly less gruelling) upbringing with compassion, integrity and generosity intact and Felix turned into an utter prick doesn't do him any favours. As a case in point, near the end of the book, the brothers finally arrive at the Gardens of Nephele where they hope to find a cure for Felix's madness. Mildmay nearly kills himself getting Felix there; it is telling that, on waking up, his first act is to ask about his brother, whereas Felix's, on being cured, is to ask for some earrings to remind him of his former life of high society glory. Enough said?

Although an utterly absorbing technique, there are some problems with the alternating narration. It focuses the book so completely on Felix and Mildmay that secondary characters seem shadowy. The wizards were particularly indistinguishable, and very often secondary characters would fall away with little or no explanation. It makes sense that they would (Felix and Mildmay aren't omniscient after all) but it does make the book occasionally emotionally unsatisfying. Furthermore, because we only ever see other characters through the eyes of Felix or Mildmay it makes them less convincing than perhaps they could be. The villain, Malkar, for example, purrs in a sinister fashion and does terrible things to Felix but his plans, motivations and behaviour remain so oblique that he seems to be being Evil simply for the sake of it. And as for Felix's former lover, the beautiful Shannon, he basically flounces through the book, professes love for Felix but fails utterly to support him and throws a huff when the abused and broken Felix won't sleep with him. This little betrayal would have been far more effective had I been able to see even slightly what Felix saw in him. Similarly, we are constantly told that Felix has a cruel and devastating wit; but, when he isn't being mad, his flaying tongue seems primarily capable of delivering a fairly juvenile brand of sarcasm. I feel his pain.

Before I wrap this up in a storm of praise and adoration, I probably ought to make some mention of non PG content. Some pretty nasty stuff happens to Felix early on in the book including a rape scene that, although not graphic, is still quite unpleasant. And, let's face it, any book in which one of the protagonists could be described as "an ex-prostitute gay wizard" isn't likely to be appeal to everyone. Oh yes, I should probably say that Felix is gay, which could presumably be offensive to homophobes. I should add that Felix is gay in a rather well-done and understated way. He just is: no big deal. Move along. Nothing to see here.

In conclusion then, and nitpicking aside, this book is one of the most enjoyable works of fantasy I've read for what feels like a very long time. If you don't mind the slightly risqu content and won't be put off by the lack of a concrete conclusion, I heartily recommend that you give Melusine a go. It's immensely engaging, has a genuinely rich and complex setting that never oppresses you with unnecessary detail, and two excellently written protagonists. I'd even go so far as to say that it has revived my interest in fantasy. I could gush more but The Virtu has just arrived and I have to run off and read it.Themes:

Books

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Sarah Monette

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Sci-fi / Fantasy

~

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Rami

at 22:17 on 2007-01-27Sounds good! The only other fantasy I've ever read that featured a gay character was Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy, which did do the "OMG it's a GAY! How will the society DEAL with THIS?" thing a bit too much...

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Wardog

at 22:54 on 2007-01-27Yeah, I loved it to pieces. I've so far ducked the Black Magician Trilogy but I may get round to it at some point. Mercedes Lackey does a selection of gay wizards as well, but they spend all their timing angsting and never getting laid. What is with wizards and teh gay - there's probably an article in there somewhere. I think it must be the fact they're generally depicted wearing dresses...err...robes. Can't be good for the manhood. I really like the fact Felix's sexual preferences are incidental - of course he's getting all incestuous over Mildmay now so it'll be interesting to see where Monette goes with that.

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http://ruderetum.blogspot.com/

at 10:51 on 2009-09-13Another one wich is perhaps rather more bisexual is David Feintuch's The Still, which is also handled very realistically when it comes to peoples reactions and all.

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Wardog

at 13:05 on 2009-09-13Oh really? I'm kind of burned off pretty, vulnerable, sexually ambivalent heroes for the moment (I didn't enjoy the 4th book of this series, for example, there's a Damage Report knocking around somewhere) but thanks for the recommendation. I'll look it out one of these days.

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http://ruderetum.blogspot.com/

at 13:00 on 2009-09-16It's a good book and it was nice to remember it after I read your article. That has happened quite often after I stumbled in your site while reading the articles. I read The Still as an adolescent in 1997 and I was a bit confused to really appreciate its kind of...hard fantasy, if that's the correct term.

I should probably read it again myself, since on recollection, it is a very well written work, with good characterization. It takes the risk of intentionally building the central character as an arrogant whiny teenager who, although with some reason, alianates people close to him before he learns how to behave like an adult and be a good leader. Although the he is a he and a heir to the throne to boot, it really centres on his development into aa adult and what it costs a person to be a leader.

Also, I'm not sure, but I think it might be pretty unique in a western fantasy story to have a love triangle of two males and a female where its center is on the male and it is represented completely straight and serious without comedy and with significant effect on the plot and not necessarily in a good way.

Sorry, but I'm unaccustomed in writing in english so the sentences seem to build up a bit. Oh well, more practice I guess.

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Wardog

at 16:32 on 2009-09-16Your English is thoroughly excellent - and much better than my command of any other language. I'm definitely curious now, sounds like a really interesting book and I'll certainly try to lay my hands on a copy now, and I think you're right, a straight up love triangle that isn't two women / one man seems pretty rare. I can't think of any other examples, actually.

I'm not quite sure what 'hard fantasy' is compared to say, 'hard sci-fi' (which I know is lots of science) but I guess I'll find out when I read it :)

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http://ruderetum.blogspot.com/

at 19:35 on 2009-09-16I use it in the sense that if there's a thing called magic, it is very rare and very restricted in its application if there is any magic at all. For example Guy Gavriel Kay's The Sarantine Mosaic with only mystical phenomena a few times during two books compared to the Wheel of Time series.

[vila-of-burning-waters]

ooo sure :3

Vila offers a small plate of... something that doesn't look safe to eat in any way.

"Here you go! I hope you enjoy it!"