#seaborn witch

[the0phrastus]

Last day of the holiday and I just passed 35,000 words on a new novel--something new I've been thinking about for a while, no connection to any of my previous books. My goal is to complete a first draft around March and refine from there.

Hope everyone had a happy New Year!

Nothing I am currently writing has anything to do with Aristotle, but if you're wondering about the image: that's a small section of the wall of bookcases full of books behind me where I sit at my desk. I used to collect Aristotle's works--I have 200+ books by, on, and about Aristotle on the shelves. That folio-sized one, second from the left is my Madius edition of Aristotle's Poetics, published in Venice in 1550. (Vincentii Madii Brixiani et Bartholomaei Lombardi Veronensis in Aristotelis librum De Poetica communes explanationes: Madii vero in eundem librum propriae annotationes) https://www.SaltwaterWitch.com

[skeleton-out-the-closet]

across both the main story and events, and even in other modes like IS, Arknights has proved it's ability to create haunting, powerful images, framing the horrors of the world in ways that are both terrifying and intriguing

Enemies like Patriot, the Seaborn, the Witch King, and others are carefully shown in ways that manage to convey all sorts of emotions, both on their own and through the context of the story they are part of

But none of them will ever reach the same level of sheer terror and emotionality that the newest, most powerful CG has managed to reach

The absolute, unstoppable, undeniable force of...

The disapproving, judgmental gaze of a married lesbian couple.

[zeravmeta]

the law of laterano which synchronizes entire races. the firstborn leviathans and seaborn a product of the alien technology which homogenizes species through a collective will and evolves them. the preserver project which copies the consciousness of individuals that die and uploads them into itself. civilight eterna which preserves the memories of each individual who inherits it and passes it along.

the kargereich of the witch king which revealed the truth of originum, and took the form of a universe made of thought.

originum, which absorbs the souls and consciousness of those who die by way of assimilation into a new universe.

priestess' experiment wasn't an anomaly. Originum IS meant to hurt a newborn civilization, by using it as a sustenance to jumpstart its function.

It wasn't a failure, it was the final working prototype for their original civilizations goal: a way to remain immortal even once space itself goes dark at the end of the universe, and even potentially a way to fight back against whatever threat the starpod was made to protect against.

[hermitsmirror]

🧜 P I C K 🌊  A  🐚 C A R D 🧜

Close your eyes. Breathe deep. Imagine yourself stepping into warm, calm salt waters and slowly sinking beneath the waves. You can breathe under there—how magical! And as you look around, you see a surprisingly colorful world. There seems to be music and the song of sirens. Once you feel their vibrations, pick a card from the Seaborn Kipper by Siolo Thompson and me.

What will you pick? Left? Center? Right?

If you need more time, take your time to explore the world of fish and coral, seaweed and sea witches. Swim and float and flip around. Become one with the waves and find their flow. Ride the currents and explore that inner mystical sea until you come to a still point where you can rest and relax.

How does that feel? I hope it was fun and that you were able to settle into our waters.

Now pick a card (if you want) and read its message in the reveal.

Let me know how it resonates, and share the post with those who might benefit from a little Seaborn wisdom.

And if you want to gift yourself (or someone else) a copy of this deck, it's available and on sale through Llewellyn Worldwide.

[fortythealien]

WARNING. ARKNIGHTS CHAPTER 15 spoilers under the cut. WARNING.

What the fuck, huh? Watching Sciel stream chap 15 and this shit bonkers yall.

Of course i got no translation, but i can list some notable elements and speculate from there.

1. Priestess is back, maybe she 3d printed herself from the originium?

1.1 She has a cautus kid. LMAOOOO

2. Misery is fighting Ascalon for some reason?

3. The Veil/fake sky gets shattered

4. Kal gets Thanos dusted????

5. The game mechanic for this chapter is PRTS messing with the map and deploying some enemies and traps which is freaky, ALSO ORACLE'S SPECTER STOPS YOUR DP generation???

5.1 Also drones that lock you out of operator deployments! As in they get a big red diamond timer on them and you have to wait before you can deploy them. Seems to favor the biggest dp cost first.

6. There's a cg where kal and Mont3r is doing that anime forehead to forehead thing bruh Mentor-student?? Mom-daughter?? Sisters-in-arms?? Platonic partners?? Yuri?? Just what is their deal!?

7. The Laterano LAW gets screentime, Also witch king, Also maybe the seaborne?? The three terraforming tools that Oracle and Priestess used way back when?

8. Endfield and Ex Astris connection??? Wtf

10. THE SHIP IS FUCKING GONE??? WHERE ARE WE GOING TO STAY??

9. The boss fight looks so damn hectic i think some of yall softies (affectionate) might actually have a panic attack from this cuz we have this huge giant drone thing that locks you out of deploying 4 operators at a time and PRTS is deploying some enemies and traps and the boss is this giant floating mess of monitors and electronics its so cool.

9.1 Also the boss theme is FUCKING BREAKCORE WOOOOO

11. Kal might actually be fuckin death cuz it seems like Mont3r rose from her ashes

12. Kal's Operaror records!!

13. Wtf i though bloodline of combat show's the ops in their peak?? Then wtf is this about?? MAAAAN

Maaan the status quo seems to genuinely be shaken up. One of the founding members, gone. The damn ship, gone. Hell maybe we don't have the PRTS system in-universe anymore idk!!

This does makes me pretty excited over where we are going because this looks like we're actually about to tackle the originium problem instead of playing knights with seige and co.

[besiegedhunter]

Siracusa, Zaaro and Authority.

It's Siracusa season once again! Fittingly I want to talk about the theme of authority within Il Siracusano's story, particularly how Zaaro embodies it, why it makes him the main boss of Il Siracusano and various characters relationship with authority. As well as where future events set in Siracusa, following the Signore dei Lupi, could take it.

A disclaimer though: I'm not a professional analysis writer, nor am I knowledgeable on this subject but I do want to talk about this nonetheless.

This post includes content from Terra: A Journey but without further ado:

Beast Lord

If you look at the Nations within Arknights, you can point out a specific aspect of that Nation as the major driving force for the stories taking place there. Whether it's the Seaborn in Iberia, Demons in Sami, Yan's Sui, Leithanien's Witch King. For Siracusa the first thought may be the mafia but with Zaaro being the main boss, accompanying Lappland going forwards and Red's story beginning at the end of Il Siracusano being purely about them, I'd say it's the Signore dei Lupi that are at the heart of Siracusa's story.

So what are the Signore dei Lupi? They're a group of Beast Lords, supernatural immortal animal spirits, and specifically the Lords of Wolves, inhabiting Siracusa's wilderness. They engage in a never ending game where each Signori trains one Lupo to be their Fang, their Assassin, and have them kill each other. The last Fang remaining's Signori then becomes the Packmaster and the cycle continues.

Zaaro is one of the Signore dei Lupi but I'll get back to him in a bit. Firstly I want to just state that of all the Nations in Arknights, Siracusa is the only Nation who revolves around the Beast Lords and appears to be where we're learning the most about them, through the Signore dei Lupi.

So, let's contextualize what a 'Beast Lord' exactly is and tie them to 'authority' because it seems obvious how they could, right? They are Lords, however to quote Lunacub's files and likely Kal'tsit:

"They sometimes call themselves the aristocrats of beasts, though they rule over nothing, that much I can guarantee."

And sure enough, if you look at the Beast Lords present in game they don't appear to rule over anything particularly. But I want to offer two theories. The first I want to say is likely possible for all the Beast Lords but we've only seen illustrated by the Signore dei Lupi and it comes from this passage in IS-10 just before Zaaro's bossfight:

In it Zaaro exerts his 'authority' over the cast of Il Siracusano. All the named characters present are Lupos, so it's likely something that the Beast Lords can do to anything considered 'kin' with them.

The second is illustrated in Terra: A Journey:

The Signore dei Lupi led to an unnaturally high amount of wolf packs in Siracusa's wilderness, implying that the Beast Lords have a part to play within the ecosystem and subsequently that because to my knowledge, Siracusa is the only Nation to have such an irregular Ecosystem via the Beast Lords, the Signori are doing something wrong.

So, authority is inherent to the Signore dei Lupi per being Beast Lords and regarding the ecosystem and Lupos it could be said that they've been taking their authority for granted and abusing it.

Now look at Siracusa. It revolves around family beliefs, whether that's an actual family or a business, a school, etc. It's emphasized by Siracusa's main race being Lupos and it's the same for the Signori being Wolves.

And as the Signori mirror the family beliefs of Siracusa, the authority that the Signori represent and which they abuse is also shared about those family systems within Siracusa. It's all in the components of Siracusa, how it's the one nation to look at the Beast Lords, to delve into their authority, Siracusa is commentating on how authority is wielded within these systems.

Now, to narrow it down to Zaaro and Il Siracusano. He embodies authority in the context of the event. Not just as a Beast Lord but by integrating himself into the Bellone Family and desire to wield the 'Power' of a mafia to attain his goals, he embodies it even more than any other Beast Lord.

And the relationships he has with different characters reflect this.

Vigil

It was his Azione Solo which inspired me to think about Zaaro through this lens with these lines from his Azione Solo:

If you look at Vigil, his entire story is about how he's influenced by different people. Whether it's Penance whose influence is deemed bad by Demetri, who he himself tries superseding his methods and telling him what is best for his family or his Dad who leaves him out of his plans, decides what he should do and expects him to be just a pawn in his plans.

Zaaro, the embodiment of authority, is this unavoidable truth for Vigil that he and everyone are just pawns for people like Bernado, Alberto or Sicily. His story goes on to have him make his own choices and resolve the situation with his own methods. He walks a different path from Demetri, stands up to his Father, faces down Sicily and withstands Zaaro trying to exert his authority over him.

It's a similar story for other characters. Rubio defies the authority that the mafia has over Siracusa. As a result, Penance who's been an enforcer of it's authority through the law gathered people to fight against it and Danbrown, who wanted free from the authority of the mafia, of his family in the Saluzzo famiglia, confronts Alberto.

Bernado himself as an interesting story. He saw how insignificant the mafia really was when he had left it and the city. He realized that the authority the mafia held over Siracusa was not as insurmountable as people thought and put in his plan to destroy Siracusa's authority.

But to do it he becomes the utmost authority in Siracusa besides Signora Sicily. He uses the mafia but at the same time he uses Zaaro, because they represent the same thing. And in the end, when he pulls off his plan to destroy the mafia, he takes his own life as well, betraying Zaaro and destroying any chance that he could win the Signori's plan.

He might've been an authority figure to Vigil and Demetri and everyone in Siracusa and abused that authority but he hated this authority all the same. For Zaaro, this embodiment of authority, he was his greatest pawn and he wanted nothing more than to spite him and the mafia all the same.

It's for these reasons that Bernado isn't the final boss, because he, like everyone, was a puppet of the authority of Siracusa that is the mafia. But as much as he and Lappland, want to destroy it, it's not really something you can destroy. But Zaaro embodies the same authority and he can be stood against and fought, even if he is invincible himself.

Emperor

So as stated, if Zaaro and Beast Lords represent authority and in Siracusa and Il Siracusano especially, what does that mean for Emperor as a Beast Lord himself?

Well, as this was the first event we see Emperor interacting with other Beast Lords and where Beast Lords as a concept was introduced, we get a lot of contextualization actually for him, in part from the characterization of the Signori:

The Signori are characterized as being extremely prideful in their "purpose" of creating a Packmaster through their game and here they project that same duty onto Emperor, believing him to have left his purpose behind.

But really this is a bad argument from the Signori. They let Siracusa's ecosystem fall into disarray, they made their game up so it's not their duty and as that last image shows: they're tiring of the game.

It can be argued though that this is the point: the Signori uphold this game, conflating it with duty when it's just to give them the feeling of being rulers when it's purely something they constructed themselves. That people in positions of power disguise their ego and desire as duty.

But I think there is an element of truth in what they say about Emperor. A Beast Lord's territory lets say would be important and leaving it is putting one's identity behind. His path from the Tundra, to Leithanien, to Columbia and wherever else, appears to be him looking for his place in the world.

And it's here when the real contrast between Zaaro and Emperor begin, with the introduction of Texas.

As stated, Zaaro embodies the authority of Siracusa. The Signori as a whole represent the family values and violence. They are manifestations of Siracusa or rather Siracusa formed in their image, forming their beliefs on the Signori.

And Texas's story is about how she grew up, being instilled with all the violence and abuse of Siracusa. She grew tired and resentful of it, tried to get away but she is Siracusan, no matter how much she tries to ignore that fact.

When Zaaro appears in the beginning of the event, he represents everything that she tries to ignore about herself as he is Siracusa made flesh. Everything that we see happen when Texas is brought back to Siracusa is just illustrating what this beast named Zaaro is. What this beast named Siracusa is.

But when Zaaro got Texas out of Siracusa after her family's fall, she left to Columbia and it was there that Emperor found her, alone, having lost everything. Emperor saw this and he devoted everything to giving her a place she belonged, like what he was searching for. He created Penguin Logistics, a place she could work and live and he hired all the PenLog members who'd end up as her friends.

If Zaaro is the abusive home that she left but had created her, then Emperor is the healthy home environment and while her boss, Emperor has only ever wanted the best for her unlike Zaaro who only saw a pawn.

This is the point of Zaaro and Emperor's relationship, this contrast on the sort of home Texas has. It's why she doesn't have an Bernado or Alberto in her story, because this takes it's place.

And it gives more meaning to Zaaro being the final boss for her event. For while Rubio's speech made her realize that Siracusa has a chance, that the authority that is the mafia, that is Zaaro is strong, it can still be defied. Why like Vigil and Penance, who've been affected by Bernado and the very systems of Siracusa, she joins to fight against the authority that is Zaaro.

But it's not them who beats Zaaro in the end. It's Emperor who was this Beast Lord like him but who gave Texas a healthy home that stopped Zaaro, the embodiment of Siracusa's abuse and abusive authority in the end.

And as we know, Texas does not stay in Siracusa. She's not Nearl of Gavial who go to their homes to continue making a change. She is as much a member of PenLog as she ever was and throughout the event her friends have been helping and supporting her.

And I find it interesting that he's with the other Signore dei Lupi. They're just there to remind Zaaro that he's lost and his vengeance is pointless. They don't care for the symbolism of Il Siracusano's cast fighting against him or Emperor stepping in.

And yet, Zaaro's actions were born from him growing tired of the game. Agnese, Lunacub's Signori, is trying to leave despite still being in the running because she tires and she looks to Emperor as a role model. She's the one who states that the Signori laugh at him but she herself understands his actions.

She wants to do for Lunacub as Emperor has for Texas. She's not the good Signori however. She isolated Lunacub from society to train her to kill. She harmed her. But she's looking to Emperor's example and taking responsibility for her harm to provide Lunacub a happier, healthier life.

And as Texas's file says: "At the same time, the game that the Signori dei Lupi have played for many years has come to the surface. This round is coming to an end, and the impact it will have on Siracusa is yet unknown."

The Signori must change and at least in this moment the Signori stand beside Emperor who represents a healthy home, against Zaaro who represents what they as the Signori represent.

But the thing is, I don't think that Zaaro is going to always embody the abuse of Siracusa. He might continue representing Siracusa but he's changing as well.

Lappland

We'll put a pin in that thought just for now because we don't follow Zaaro's story, we follow our Operators and as Il Siracusano came to and end we see that while we'll be seeing Zaaro's story continue, it'll be from Lappland's point of view. So what's her situation?

If most of the characters in the story are building up to their rebellion against Siracusa and it's authority, Lappland was already there. Her story goes that when she was little she disliked how she was being raised to be the new head of the Saluzzo family and her Father, Alberto, didn't show her any love and so she rebels against him.

Alberto outside of Zaaro is perhaps the most obvious authority figure who abuses his power, moreso honestly. His relationship with Lappland demonstrates it the most as he doesn't just neglect her but physically abuses her and her Azione Solo demonstrates how he destroys what brings Lappland happiness and how she felt caged by him.

She, like Texas, realizes that this treatment is at the heart of Siracusa. She calls herself the "perfect Siracusan" because of how violent and remorseless she is and her end goal of destroying Siracusa is clear recognition of the abuse Siracusa has and her answer to it.

But at the same time, when she loses to Texas during the Texas family purge and watches her leave Siracusa her worldview is tested. She thought Siracusa a swamp that was inescapable but Texas left and it goes well with Texas's own feelings. As said: Texas ignores and does not accept that she is Siracusan. Lappland fully embraces her Siracusan side, event when Alberto kicks her out, and she wants solely for Texas to return, to face her Siracusan side and prove that a Siracusan is everything that she is, that Zaaro represents. That it's inescapable.

And when Texas returns, she's resigned to be Siracusan but that's not where her story goes. After Giovanna's assassination attempt and the Rossati turning on her, when things look bleakest, Texas feels at her lowest and probably most resigned to the nature of Siracusa. But Rubio does his speech.

Texas realizes that Siracusa is everything that Zaaro represents, it is all this abuse of power, but that they can make a change and fight against that authority. It's in this moment that Texas proves Lappland wrong, that she is Siracusan and can accept it but she can be so without embracing it fully like Lappland and becoming like Zaaro.

She tells Lappland as such and it's turned on her. For as much as Lappland despises Siracusa and her Dad, she has been so defined by it that she embraced it. She remained as trapped as her Musbeast in her Azione Solo. Waiting to see if Texas could leave and she does. She proves that Lappland can't escape Siracusa but she doesn't need to let it define her or stay shackled to it.

And it's then that she faces her Dad, the biggest authority figure in her life and cuts ties with him. For as much as she has rebelled, she's never been able to accept that it's really possible to accept what Siracusa has done and strive forwards in spite of it. This is her first rebellion that meant something, that actually stood as a defiance against Siracusa and it's authority over her.

And so, while she's always been rebelling against Siracusa, against her Dad, against Sicily, this is the first one that truly mattered and it's why fighting Zaaro when she does isn't a repeat of all her past rebellions. It's only now that she can look at Siracusa and not see an insurmountable swamp but as something she can fight back against.

But as she says, she's going to destroy Siracusa. That's her goal. I think that it will be a more personal Siracusa to her, the Siracusa that created her as opposed to all of Siracusa but even still, she's not put her past behind and is moving forwards like the others.

She's still got to fight Siracusa, she's still got to walk alongside it for a bit longer, maybe even as Zaaro says and essentially for her whole life. And that's why she fights Zaaro again, fight Siracusa like she always had, but now she can walk alongside it in understanding of what it is. Siracusa doesn't control her anymore, it cannot destroy her.

And I think that in walking alongside Lappland that Zaaro is going to make some realizations himself about the nature of Siracusa and the Signore dei Lupi.

But that is it for Zaaro and mostly for Il Siracusano. We'll have to see where Lappland and Zaaro's stories go in the next Siracusa event but for now that is it. That is why there is so much meaning behind Zaaro's role in Il Siracusano, what his bossfight means when on the surface he just wants to kill Vigil out of spite.

I could say that we'll learn more about Demetri's relationship with authority and Siracusa in the next event. Why the Bellone family was so important or the ways of Siracusa. I also think it's interesting how Signora Sicily shows no surprise, reverence or respect towards Zaaro because she has overcome Siracusa's authority of the mafia once and so what is Zaaro to her?

But instead I want to talk about another instance of the same 'authority' that Zaaro tried and failed to exert over the Il Siracusano cast.

Projekt Red

The 'authority' that Zaaro tires to exert over the cast in IS-10 is the exact same that phenomenon that causes Lupos to be afraid of Projekt Red. It actually makes Lappland's Trust 2 more interesting. In it she says that Red would certainly kill her in a fight but that she wants to fight her and is confused as to why.

As the core of it is authority, it's essentially "what if Lappland faced Zaaro's authority before she was ready?" she still wants to rebel but she's afraid of it. Perhaps afraid that it's pointless, she'd still be trapped, because Texas hadn't returned yet. All the cast of Siracusano was able to stand against Zaaro but besides Demetri maybe all of them had resolved themselves to fight Siracusa and the authorities over them.

But Red. It's difficult, even for myself as the self proclaimed expert on her, to say exactly what her story, themes and beliefs are. I believe though that it's possible that she ties into this theme of authority herself and not just because of her ability to exert her authority over Lupos.

Consider this:

This shot is from the second concept trailer. Their story has been entwined since that long ago and if Red is supposed to be connected to 'authority',

Isn't it perfect that her arch nemesis is called 'Crownslayer' ?

And it does seem that their story could be following such beats. Red is almost certainly going to be proven the strongest of the Fangs as the only one besides an unnamed one left. Grandma is going to become the Packmaster and lead the Signore dei Lupi.

And Grandma... god... I feel that she could be the purest example of an abusive figure of authority. Moreso than Alberto. Certainly more than Zaaro.

I've talked about how Lunacub contrasts Red's situation and Agnese taking responsibility for the harm she's inflicted to Lunacub is one such way because Grandma would never. She is illustrated to be the most cruel Signori, teaching Red no useful skills outside of killing and Red's module shows how Grandma cares only for Red's use to her and how Red broke because of Grandma's upraising.

A lot of Red's problems, like her speech, education, cutting things close to her, can be followed right to Grandma. Red also has no recognized the harm that Grandma has inflicted upon her, choosing Grandma over Rhodes and even Kal'tsit couldn't help Red because of how deeply ingrained Grandma's indoctrination was.

Her story will follow Grandma's abuse of her and how she recognizes Grandma's abuse and gathers the strength to overcome her and it'll be interesting to see how she reacts to the sort of authority that Zaaro and her can exert because of Grandma's hold on her life and her facing her down like the Zaaro bossfight.

Likely we'll see her and maybe Crownslayer in the next Siracusa event so we'll see then.

I may have more thoughts but they're not rising to the surface at the moment so that is the post! I thank you for reading this far, I hope it was interesting and I'm excited to see what future Siracusa events add to it!

[sarahmeeps]

The backstory I wrote for Seaborn, my first d&d character who never saw the table and now is only blorbo from my bedtime stories:

***

She was born to parents Ptellac Windrider the Warrior and Ptellac Dawnsinger the Druid in the Pterran Vale, the largest pterran settlement on Athas. They named her Sunscale, for she shone vibrant orange like the sun just before it dipped below the horizon. (She would later learn that the color was near identical to copper, but metal does not exist on Athas.) They called her twin Greeneye, for the vivid witch-eye mismatched with the more common brown.

She and Greeneye chose the path of the druid at maturity and spent two years as traveling missionaries, spreading the knowledge of the Earth Mother and working against the defiler wizards who drained the remaining life force from the wasted land.

Eventually she returned to the Vale to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a priestess. As a holy woman, she was granted the domain of sunset, heralding the evening with prayers as her mother welcomed daybreak with song.

Greeneye returned from her mission with a different worldview. During her travels, she had encountered a group of wizards who took great care to mitigate the damage their spells caused to the land. These preservers fascinated her. She abandoned her mission to study with them, and, when she left them, her master gifted her with one of his precious, forbidden spellbooks. Greeneye returned home with a secret.

Greeneye spent years privately studying before revealing her blasphemy to Sunny. This revelation left Sunny aghast, but this was her sister, her twin, her Greeneye. Perhaps she could learn to trust these preservers, for her.

But she was not given the opportunity. Days later, during the Festival of the Longest Night, a band of defilers attacked the Vale. The Earth Mother’s priests and priestesses joined to oppose them, and in a moment of desperation, Greeneye exposed her secret to defend her people.

They fought side-by-side, druid and wizard, but the defilers were too strong. The twins were separated. She heard Greeneye call out for her; her sister’s terrified face was the last thing she saw before a blast hit her chest and her vision went dark.

***

She awoke in the cool of night, facedown in the sand, with a strange, ceaseless rushing sound filling her head. Her limbs felt heavy as stone, and her head throbbed with every pulse of her heart, but she staggered to her feet, for the defilers could have been still near.

Shock and fear and a great, deep sense of reverence overtook her. A magnificent expanse, not of silt, but of true water, stretched into the horizon, lit brightly white by a full moon’s glow and flinging wave after wave toward the shore to creep toward her feet.

She had never before seen the sea. Oases, steams, and once a clear lake that perfectly reflected the color of the sky, yes, but there had always been land on the other side, never this overwhelming, unending water. Only one sea remained on Athas, and even that was a thing of legend. She knew then that her journey would be long, for the Last Sea existed far to the north, through harsh terrain, past the mountains and cities of men. The defilers may have banished her, but she knew her stars, and she knew her Earth Mother would lead her home.

But even on that clear night when the stars shone more brightly than she had ever seen, she was unable to find her way, for the stars she saw were not her own. She could not find the Pterrax and his Rider, nor the Priestess, nor even the Earth Mother’s Everstill, that radiant, unmoving beacon that could lead even the most feckless pterran home.

These stars were not her own.

And this sea was not the Last Sea.

***

For weeks she wandered alone, along the cool, pale shoreline, across the rocks that lined the beach, into barren cliffs that gave way to fragrant, needly forests. She knew that if magic had sent her to this place, then magic could send her home, and she walked in search of a city that could provide such a service.

She ached for her sister and her parents and her home, but above all, she yearned for her goddess. This place, curse those defilers, had left her unable to commune with her Earth Mother. Her prayers went unheeded day after day, and after a time, she began to fight the horrible creeping fear that she was simply being ignored.

Her journey finally led her to a road that slowly transformed from dust to pebble to stone as it wound across the countryside and up to the spiked gates of a city. She breathed a great sigh of relief, raised her hand, and called out to a guard in the common tongue of Athas.

The few other travelers on the road scattered as the guard yelled an unfamiliar word and leveled a crossbow at her. Quicker than she could think, a bolt struck her in the shoulder, a second pierced into her calf, and she fled.

***

She had left the road far behind by the time she stopped, lungs burning and wounds throbbing. She collapsed at the base of an enormous, twisted live oak tree, cradled within its roots, and cast a healing spell on herself to no effect. Again and again she tried, and when the wounds stubbornly refused to stitch themselves closed, she ripped off a piece of her own robe and bandaged them, and then, for the first time since her banishment, she cried.

She knew then that the Earth Mother had truly left her. She wanted to scream and rage and ask her goddess why, but she knew she would receive no answer. An ugly flash of doubt whispered that this was her punishment for following her sister in blasphemy, but her heart railed against the thought. All that remained were her memories of home, and she would not let bitterness sully them.

Loneliness overwhelmed her, and in one last fit of despair, she pressed her hand to the coarse bark and attempted to speak with the tree.

A gentle, calming presence filled her mind. The tree answered, brushing a thin tendril along her cheek, rustling its branches to create a soft rain of leaves above her. She let the tree and her tears soothe her to sleep.

Days passed. The trees and flowers and animals became her friends, and apart from them, she lived in solitude and silence.

It was in those woods that she chose a new name, for she had begun a new life. In those woods, she became Seaborn.

***

But Seaborn was not the only being to speak to the trees. Soon enough, the plants and animals began to pass word of the lonely creature living in the woods. The message reached the ears of the druids who lived in the coastal cliffs, and they sent a delegation to her, to invite her to join them. They taught her their Common, and about their stars and plants and wildlife, and she in turn told them of her homeland.

These druids were a mixed lot, a collection of foundlings and wanderers whose numbers swelled and dwindled like the tides. At times, its members would scatter, but they would always, eventually, return. After years with them, Seaborn decided that the time had come to brave society once more, for the sake of the outcasts, as she herself once had been.

***

(I still think about you, Seaborn, my love. You were formed from the beginnings of my deconstruction. Your bitterness at your god was a reflection of my own. And together, we were healed by the love of people and learned that it was never us who were broken.)

[atiny-crew-musings]

Jjongie look at this thing, it’s called a photo, I think Woo dropped it after he visited another realm, I don’t know why but something seems a little off about this cause Hwa don’t look like this in real life

[photo in question]

“Why hyung stepping on bunnies!!!!!”

Idk, and what kind of wizarding/witch hat is that on his head. It’s so…. Limpy.

“You know what else is limpy…”

Seaborn Seonghwa: "what in the fresh hell is that"

Eldritch Wooyoung: *wheeze*

[rael-f-wae]

"I've heard a tale that's told upon the sea, by sailors, and all other seaborne sorts, and which, before my henceforth telling thee, already made the rounds of every port. There was a witch, who roved the ocean's floor, for that she could not breathe the wholesome air nor set a single toe upon the shore; and this her sunken fate seemed most unfair. One day she spied a lusty seaborne prince while peering from the cave in which she dwelt, and by his beauty was at last convinced that something must be done, or she would melt for love of him, and join the ocean's blue; to make him hers, she anything would do."

index | next

[xmischiefwinterx]

Phoebe Halliwell Laufeyson-Barnes [Phoebes], Osmond Lovett Laufeyson-Barnes [Mischief Winter], and Paige Matthews [Telekinetic Witch]. A Magic Family. Edited By Seaborn.

[petterwass]

She doesn't. Its specifically a alter of her Witch Feast costume, Priory of Abyss and her weapon is the same little cute D20 familiar as in that costume. This little thing:

Only grown huge and revealed to actually been a metroid-like monster jellyfish/seaborn the whole time. That's the one doing the attacking.

6 star alter for your favorite character but the move from a decent/strong subclass to a barely used/worse one

[the0phrastus]

Hoping to see some of you at Boskone 62 in February! I'll be on a few panels--details as the program is finalized toward the end of the month.

[hermitsmirror]

🧜 P I C K  🌊  A  🐚  C A R D 🧜

Close your eyes. Breathe deep. Imagine yourself stepping into warm, calm salt waters and slowly sinking beneath the waves. You can breathe under there—how magical! And as you look around, you see a surprisingly colorful world. There seems to be music and the song of sirens. Once you feel their vibrations, pick a card from the Seaborn Kipper by Siolo Thompson and me.

What will you pick? Left? Center? Right?

If you need more time, take your time to explore the world of fish and coral, seaweed and sea witches. Swim and float and flip around. Become one with the waves and find their flow. Ride the currents and explore that inner mystical sea until you come to a still point where you can rest and relax.

How does that feel? I hope it was fun and that you were able to settle into our waters.

Now pick a card (if you want) and read its message in the reveal.

Let me know how it resonates, and share the post with those who might benefit from a little Seaborn wisdom. And if you want to gift yourself (or someone else) a copy of this deck, you can get it through Llewellyn Worldwide wherever decks are sold.

[diazpoems]

love that when I was younger, instead of watching Disney like any other kid, my comfort show was a nineties political drama, and instead of being madly in love with cute dudes from tween sitcoms, I was totally gone for the handsome blue-eyed, dark haired dorky speech writer on the whitehouse senior staff. Iconic behavior.

[unseelieseraph]

I feel like this is part of why Arknights works though. Generally speaking, these sort of serialized soshage love to spin their wheels, and it makes most of the side-content just suck ass. They're largely separate from the actual main plot and really unstructured from the game in general. Arknights is cool because it has way more cohesion. Yeah, the seaborn and laterano and columbia are all in Some Shit, and yeah it weaves together a tapestry that can be somewhat impenetrable, but it gives it way more narrative heft. FGO for having ran for nine and a half years now with some of the most acclaimed visual novel writers of all time has managed to produce, what, maybe three stories of equaling quality to Arknights(Avalon le Fae, Nahui Mictlan, and pick your favorite of CCC/Atlantis/Ooku). And its not like Arknights hasn't done more separate things, even recently. So Long Adele is probably my single favorite story in Arknights, just this incredibly beautiful and well-structured tale that stands with the best of anything Key Visual Arts has put out, and it has basically no connection. Our dear favorite sad catgirl Jessica's event certainly built off a lot of threads, but the actual content itself is self-contained and really captured Jessica's character arc.

As to the apocalypse, I agree a bit inasmuch as Arknights has escalated a little too much, but it also hasn't really fallen into the problem of most where it lacks meaning or isn't really going anywhere. The new seaborn event and Caerula Arbor have largely wrapped up the bulk of the seaborn stuff, Lone Trail capped off a lot of the dread around Rhine Labs, we actually fucking killed the Witch King for real, the Icefields were banished to Endfield(thank god). There isn't that sense of stagnancy like in most serialized narratives of this type.

It does make it harder to get into, for sure, but I also don't know if thats strictly a bad thing. It's hand in hand with the actual gameplay of these games. Someone coming in 4 and a half years into its run is just simply going to have a harder time "catching up", as it were.

Arknights has kinda run into a problem with its long-term storytelling potential where the initial energy that made the game so cool was seeing characters with interesting hooks and then seeing those hooks get fleshed out years later. but now we've explored a lot of the main ones, and all the new operators coming out are largely associated with events, so their plots are already known. and they have largely stopped going back to explore unexplored plot hooks like Mr. Nothing or the Dreambind Castle, so it is just kinda iterating on what we've got established. It's turning slowly inwards and making it harder to jump in unless you have read Everything everything, and that's getting frustrating as somebody who has ADHD and doesn't read every event unless it REALLY compels me

[brave-symphonia]

FIRST OF ALL: I want no confirmation, no denial, no additional info on this. These are just my theories as a liveblogger who is only caught up to the story up to Episode 8, Rewinding Breeze, and Maria Nearl.

Forgot to say that when making the post, but someone commented on the post telling others not to spoil, so I figure I should also add a disclaimer in the actual post itself.

Okay, going back to the Ageless, I’ve got some theories.

I think the Witch King is one of them, along with the Seaborn that lives inside Skadi, they’re both like Kashchey.

They’re both voices that live inside people after they die, whispering to them over their lives, trying to take control.

Although, now that I think about it, I wonder about both of them. I don’t know enough about Skalter, and Ebenholz seemed like he was being artificially made to have the Witch King in him.

Maybe the Witch King experiments were done to try and artificially replicate the process?

Beyond that, I wonder by the name, if it relates at all to Kal’tsit, Emperor, or the High Priest.

Although, the birds feel like different beings, so that’s just a random thought. Someone pointed out that both Emperor and High Priest are part of the tarot, and I don’t think there’s a tarot card called the Deathless Black Snake.

Anyway, lots to think about with this.