#sethos was amazing too

[ceniwen]

Cyno sq was so cute he is so loved

[otomiyaa]

Traveler's Training

Aether & Sethos

A/N: Today is also the bday of the lovely @eliankrios!!! Happy birthday Elian! This one is for you^^ I hope you have a wonderful wonderful day!

Summary: Aether and Sethos spend some quality time and end up training for, well yes, the next time Sethos will challenge Cyno. Aether knows just the way to beat him... (Also on AO3)

Word Count: 1.2K

"Wow, wow, wow!"

Aether smirked proudly. That was already the 3rd time he heard such amazed and excited cries. He watched Sethos run around, look around, explore, cheer, and come back to him with sparkling eyes.

"Amazing, huh?" Aether said.

It wasn't his intention to, well yeah, turn Sethos' attention away from Sumeru's rainforest only to brag about his beautiful Realm Within, but it kind of happened when Cyno and Tighnari left them alone for some business they had to attend to.

Introducing Sethos to the Serenitea Pot Realm was possibly the best way of entertaining him in the meantime. Without Tighnari and Cyno by his side, Aether wasn't too confident about guiding him around Sumeru after all.

"We entered that thing, and -?" Sethos admired the vast exteriors and looked around the realm inside the magical teapot.

"Yes. When I'm not out camping or staying at inns and spare rooms, this is my home," Aether said with a proud smile.

"It's amazing, woah!" Sethos ended up dropping himself in the grass, and he looked up at the sky.

"All this, in that small teapot," he sighed. Aether sat down next to him and smiled fondly.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. And also that you and Cyno have been getting along well, lately!"

Sethos glanced at him and nodded slowly. "Me too. It's a breath of fresh air to hang around him, and Tighnari. I still hope to beat Cyno sometime, though."

"Hmm?" Aether cocked his head. Sethos blushed a little when he noticed him staring.

"What? He beat me in a duel, of course I wouldn't forget that, even though we became friends."

Aether smiled fondly. He had grown pretty close to Sethos in a short time. For him to be this honest with him, it was quite sweet.

"I know," Aether said.

Sethos frowned. "Know what?"

"I know a way to beat Cyno in a duel. In a different kind of duel I mean," he explained.

Sethos gave a sigh. "I hope you don't mean that card game. I tried it once and he just completely..." Sethos kicked with his foot into the air.

"Beat my ass."

Aether laughed, poor Sethos was so new to everything! How could Cyno be so merciless with Genius Invokation TCG! Give the guy a break.

"Hehehe, yes Cyno is indeed quite the die-hard card player. But no I didn't mean that. I meant..." Aether rolled over and reached out.

"This!" He tickled Sethos' side which was perfectly exposed since he was relaxing comfortably in the grass while resting his head in his arms.

"HUUUU!" Aether jolted as well at the funny sound that left him. Sethos jumped up like a cat that had its tail stepped on.

"What, what?" Sethos cried. "Why did you tickle me? It really tickled."

Aether snickered and covered his mouth. "Did you not ever have a tickle fight? It's like a duel, but with tickling."

Sethos sighed and shook his head. "I know about tickling, yes. I'm pretty ticklish. But to use it in combat? Hmmm."

The way he talked about it made Aether laugh even more.

"It's the kind of technique I think you could use to beat Cyno. He is... rather ticklish. Even I beat him once... no, twice," Aether said, remembering that second time which actually wasn't really a tickle fight. Just Tighnari holding Cyno down, and Aether having the time of his life teasing and tickling him. Good memories.

"Really?" Sethos sounded genuinely interested. Aether nodded

"Would you like to practice? I can give you a personal training. I tickle you, you try to tickle me back. After some practice, you'll have some good chances of beating Cyno if you use this technique."

Sethos nodded. "Alright then." But without giving him a heads-up, and without getting in position first, Aether already tickled him again, this time with two hands.

Flailing his arms and legs, Sethos let out a hysterical cackle and he threw his head back.

"Hohoho hahahang ohohon I wahahasn't reheheady! Wahaaaaah!" he cried out. Aether chuckled and wiggled his fingers rapidly all over his sides and tummy.

"Then I'd get ready if I were you! Cyno may be ticklish, but he's also quite fast and strong, so I think you'd want to follow this training well," Aether said, clawing at the ticklish guy's torso without mercy.

"Buhuhut! Wahahah! Noooo!" Sethos howled, and his hysterical movements allowed him to turn himself over onto his stomach. Not that it stopped Aether. Pinning him face-down in the grass, he climbed on top of him and attacked his ribs from behind.

"Eyaaaahaha!" Sethos squealed, trying to wriggle himself free. Aether started to wonder if Sethos could ever beat Cyno in a tickle fight. The poor guy really was too ticklish!

"Alright, alright. I'll give you a chance. Tickle me back!" Aether exclaimed and he jumped up and watched Sethos pick himself up on all fours.

Breathing heavily, he stood on his legs and reached out with his hands formed into claws, But Aether simply dodged, caught both his hands and pulled him forward, then threw him back down in the grass and resumed the tickle attack on him.

"You missed!" he sang.

"Waaaahahaha that wahahasn't fahahair!" Sethos cackled. Aether gave him two or three more chances like that. But one time Sethos only tickled him once before Aether easily turned the tables. The second time, Sethos was a little too hesistant, so Aether tickled him before he could even strike.

And the third time, heh. Sethos already started laughing before he even tried, seemingly anticipating Aether's counter attack.

"I wasn't doing anything yet," Aether said as he watched Sethos flinch and giggle.

"I know - but! Waahhh!" Aether tackled him down again and decided to tickle him until he begged for mercy, just to teach him how tickle fights like this could work.

"Do you surrender?" he asked, but Sethos shook his head and laughed hysterically.

"Nohohooo! I dohohon't!"

Laughing along with him, Aether tickled him some more, wiggling his fingers under his arms, against his sides, all over his tummy and even behind his knees, finding the sweetest tickle spots to make Sethos squeal and giggle.

Before Sethos surrendered, they were already interrupted by the arrival of Tighnari and Cyno.

"What is going on here?" Tighnari asked. Aether moved off Sethos, and the latter also got surprisingly well back on his feet with ease, his cheeks a little flushed and his hair messy.

"U-uh ah... I was getting some of the, eh, Traveler's training," he explained tiredly.

"Training?" Cyno asked. Aether signaled to Sethos not to say more; he still had a long way to go before he could beat Cyno successfully in a tickle fight.

"Y-yeah you know. We were just playing around. So, shall we go on or would you like to rest here first?" he asked Tighnari and Cyno. They smiled.

"It's nice here, let's stay for a bit longer," Cyno said.

"I agree," Tighnari said. "Do you have any tea at home?"

"I do," Aether said, and they followed them into his home. Meanwhile he patted Sethos on his back.

"We can practice again next time. Until then, let's keep this training a secret," he whispered. Sethos nodded.

"U-understood. I'll do better next time." Smiling, Aether thought he actually couldn't wait. He was having that much fun!

[yeonban]

Sethos being serious is one of my favorite things btw. Playful Sethos is obviously amazing too but there's just SOMETHING about a man who typically upholds a carefully crafted persona finally allowing himself some reprieve and showing his real thoughts on a matter

[c6jpg]

okayyyyyy cyno story quest 2 brain dump

tldr; very good story quest aside from a few things near the end and slow ramp up i enjoyed it immensely 👍

the beginning was reaaaaaaaaally slow ig bc they wanted to set up the scenario but once it got going oh boy did it get going!!!!!! (positive)

nice seeing al haitham and kaveh having civil and productive conversations for once LMAOOO #married

also love that al haitham just. casually knows All the secrets

god there was so much power of friendship in the first half of this. we even got AL HAITHAM saying "don't forget to ask for help if you need it." AL HAITHAM. THE MAN WHO DOESN'T WANNA DO SHIT OUTSIDE OF HIS 9-5

like I know he cares but I just found that kinda funny fnbdjskfjdkks it felt a little forced especially with the scene with dehya/candace right after where candace basically said the same thing like they really want to drive home this "you can rely on your friends" thing

also was kinda like. why wouldn't candace at least come with us to aaru village come on

I really like sethos!! honestly he's more or less exactly how I expected him to be. his (chinese) VA did a fantastic job of switching between the playful/casual and super serious/somber tones

also i actually said "DAMN" out loud to this like DAMN sethos the boy is only 16 cut him some slack!!!!!!!!

i also really loved this shot of him for some reason. i can't tell if i love or am unnerved by his eyes though tbh they really do have that monster energy drink vibe to them ajflkadjsf

i was a little miffed that like. they just conveniently had cyno not really remember anything about the temple of silence from his childhood for plot/reveal convenience but whatever this game's writing has had worse offenders

curious if anything happens if you lose both of the duels with traveler/tighnari? i didn't try lol. i feel like the game would have to force you to win at least one?

i HATED that they played that one mondstadt challenge theme (make haste, partner) right before cyno and sethos' duel. like it COMPLETELY killed the vibe for me it didn't match at all the mood was way too serious for that (and at least use a sumeru track maybe???) i couldn't focus on them saying all their little determination monologues and stuff

the cutscene was fucking AWESOME though ough love love loved it they never miss with the action cutscenes ESPECIALLY when cyno is involved. literally every cutscene cyno has been in has been fucking amazing

felt a little bit of whiplash though when it suddenly went right into the huge lore dump from bamoun like okay fine yay lore but also talk about super forced??? i couldn't pay attention to it well because it felt so sudden

also really didn't like the entire conversation after being like "oh yeah bamoun and cyrus actually planned/anticipated for this to happen all along!!!" like. sigh. not everything needs to be some dude's grand scheme come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn but ig they need to make everyone a good guy on the same page at the end. how about just having people with different agendas/goals and leave it at that huh?? HUH?????

that funeral part would have been better to have the lore dump cutscene imo, like at that point i think sethos would have been very willing to share the history of the temple with everyone. but ig we as a viewer just got it all through bamoun's mind before he passed away

also lol. of course they had to somehow tie in tighnari's ancestral significance to cyno. i don't think its really necessary to make everything "fated" if you get what i mean let them be their own people in the present ya know but whatever i'm sure the shippers are going to run to hell and back with this one

also power of friendship coming back full circle cyno being like "obviously because you're my friend now sethos 🙄"

MADAME FARUZAN????????? that cameo was super random but I mean ig it is true she IS the desert exploration expert fhrhjsjdnsj

when cyno took us up to the top of the tree i was lowkey hoping for a nahida/wanderer cameo... alas just more power of friendship reminiscing. the very end with cyno and cyrus and shout out to lisa was cute though

in hindsight we got a lot of damn cameos in this story quest huh

wish the temple of silence had a map that place is HUGE but ig it's being treated like an inside area and those don't have maps. but it is awesome that it's actually a permanent area you can revisit, also love the detail that it doesn't appear on the big map (but does appear in mini map in corner)

so yeah some of the stuff at the ending docks off a bit for me but i give it like an 8.5/10 maybe idk i'm bad at rating things

[chaldeanu]

genshin impact special program 4.7 ノ

THE LOREEEEEEEEEE ! ! ! FINALLY ! ! ! GIVE ME THE JUICE THE SAUCE THE PLOT ! ! !

i knew from the leaks that dainsleif will finally come back, but i’m glad we’re really getting into the history this time. i wish for some angst :3

the animated short was heart-wrenching and i love the parallels between dainsleif and paimon… they’re our guardian angels ♡

seems like sigewinne’s story quest will finally reveal her secret why does he look so different from other melusines — super excited about this one! clorinde’s story quest better make up for her minimal archon quest appearances or i will be angry >:(

gameplay-wise, unfortunately, i still have mixed opinions about both girls. not sure if they’re not too overcomplicated in return for… underwhelming performance (especially looking at sigewinne). i personally dislike bow gameplay and aiming with charged shots, so sethos is a no for me, even though his animations are super cool.

oh i am so excited about the new genshin mode! you will see me completing it all just like the abyss hehe ♡ I WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET THAT AYATO POSE AAAAAAAAAAA SCREAMING ♡ i can’t wait to see more characters get new poses for pictures!

ALSO— we won! finally abyss that resets every month!!! i must say that hsr is really comfortable with its memory of chaos and pure fiction resets, so i was getting tired with spiral abyss coming every two weeks.

4.7 is so amazing when it comes to QOL updates! i cannot imagine how they will spoil us in natlan and 5.0 aaaaaah

and the most important… okay, so… natlan looks absolutely sugary sweet and definitely took inspiration from early 2000s jungle-themed games like my beloved childhood game kao the kangaroo hehe :3

though, i really hope that the story there will be extremely dark — contrasting with the beautiful weather and the shining sun — because we’re already past the time to dive deep into the lore.

[chilapis]

i’m so in love w coming to visit ur blog every few days bc i’m always like hmm i wonder what lapis is up to and it’s always some post abt childe w the funniest tags imaginable keep up the absolutely amazing work boss

It is literally always such a delight to have you around, thank you. I hope you’ve been taking care? And that you aren’t being too hard on yourself for the disrupted sleeping schedule. It happens to the best of us, I just hope you’re seeing to the rest of your needs; medication, hydrating, stretching, nourishment, etc. Also, I always find it so heartwarming to visit your blog to new Sethos musings as well; your affection for him feels so genuine and soft, it’s so lovely. The Sethos mutual to ever exist.

What is Lapis up to on this lovely Thursday afternoon (2.5k word Tartaglia analysis on main)

[cynicalmusings]

hiii how are you??? i'm really curious if you did cyno's story quest 2 (I'm so sorry if you already talked about it. I can't find anything myself). I've been really enjoying your writing and as another cyno lover I would like to hear your thoughts!!! Also what do you think about Sethos? Cos he really climbed up my ranking of fav male characters for some reason... His eyes have hypnotizing power I tell you lol

hello! i posted a little about his story quest here, but to reiterate, i think it was really fun, and it was great to finally get some cyno lore after so long. the cutscene was really well-animated, and the parallels between sethos and cyno’s characters were cool. also, the little cyno pictures at the end of the quest were impeccable. beautiful. amazing.

from what we’ve seen of him, i really like sethos so far! his confidence as a leader and the humbleness he shows when he loses the duel are admirable, and it’s always nice to see character experiencing on-screen emotional beats, too.

his eyes are very pretty… i agree.

[cinnella]

7,14,15,16 for all of them

7. What’s their handwriting like?

Eris

Syro

Morana

Calyx

Libelle

Sethos

Mungo

Neith

14. Favorite fruit?

Eris

Green apple!✨

Syro

Kumquat!✨

Morana

Clementine!✨

Calyx

Honeydew melon!✨

Libelle

Passion fruit!✨

Sethos

Watermelon!✨

Mungo

Lemon!✨

Neith

Strawberry!✨

15. Favorite vegetable?

Eris

Lettuce!✨

Syro

Cherry tomato!✨

Morana

Cucumber!✨

Calyx

Carrot!✨

Libelle

Hates vegetables.✨

Sethos

Pepper!✨

Mungo

Also hates vegetables.✨

Neith

Also pepper!✨

16. Do they have any mental illnesses? If so, what are they and how do they make everyday life harder?

Eris

General anxiety, depression and slight paranoia. None of them are to the point where it makes her life difficult, but she has her days when she breaks down. And her paranoia gets worse when she's in the dark alone. She's got nyctophobia, and she's not proud about it either.✨

Syro

I would say mild PTSD when it comes to the things he fears and has lived through. Like almost getting killed by a bear, those things stuck with him and he doesn't deal well with anything that reminds him of that incident.✨

Morana

Depression, considering there's been so many times she's doubted herself emotionally, physically and ability-wise. It took her a while to get over it and it isn't as severe anymore, but there's still times when it gets to her.✨

Calyx

Depression and anxiety issues, and slight ADD. With him, his anxiety is more severe than his depression, but it can get to the point where he wants to be completely alone, and try to calm down. And there's days where he simply cannot concentrate on anything, and fumbles his words a lot.✨

Libelle

Depression and anxiety which led to suicidal thoughts and tendencies. In the beginning, it was less about the way she looked and more about her personality, being too naive and soft hearted which almost got her killed one too many times.✨

Sethos

Mild depression. He grew up with almost no friends, he lost his father and his mother at the age of 5, both a couple of months from each other, his sister two days after being born, his aunt to suicide and then his sister AGAIN to the plague. It's amazing how he's still alive, but it's gotten better the past 3 years.✨

Mungo

Severe PTSD which led to anger issues, severe depression, abandonment issues, suicidal thoughts, tendencies and attempts and disassociation. He went through 8 years of emotional neglect and 5 years of physical trauma. It makes almost every day hard, but with the help he's been getting, he's slowly letting go of the past.✨

Neith

Mild anxiety and ADHD. Although she's been getting help and medication on both of them, they can sometimes get out of control and give her panic attacks or simply render her unstable and unfocused, which leads to slight deppresive episodes.✨

[hizzalot]

Sethos: 02. My Butler and I by @SecretlyClawed

Driving into the city of Aberdeen usually took us a good couple of hours, us being Gerald and myself. It was a trip we took at least twice a week sometimes more if business or boredom required it. I did have a nice apartment in the city and it wasn’t completely uncommon for me to use it, but being who I was and living in the city with people everywhere wasn't that good of a combination. Besides the city was too noisy and wouldn’t allow me as much freedom to do as I please which my country living did. If you asked my alter ego he would snort and huff you in the face hard enough that you thought a tornado just winded by at the mere idea of living full time in the city because no matter how gullible and unaware many humans were when it came to the existence of other beings, most people would still notices the difference between a large bird and a 10 feet tall dragon, and no matter what you think they don’t scream like they do in movies and runaway. No today the little twats with all their technology want pictures, film clips, autographs and all other sorts of things. I'm being serious, they want it all if they could they want a goddamned interview and any of that is just a big no no. 

I do have full control of my animal, well at least as much control as one can over a partly wild beast. In most cases I can stave him off if I have too but he is a demanding son of a bitch. Unlike me, I'm the least temperamental person you can meet, but don’t tell Gerald I said that because he will most likely get a heart attack he doesn’t like bent facts. Anyway, my dragon if he is denied his time to fly, hunt and play for too long he will eventually force his way out no matter where I am or what I'm doing, he can’t be stopped in those situations. In the early days that happened quite often because I had refused to accept what I had become. Gerald was many time forced to clean up my messes for many years, until one day about 25 years after my dragon first appeared. One day he had enough and sat me down for a talk, if that's what you want to call it. 

After having to use every trick in the book to get me to listen even Gerald patience ran thin. He'd ended up taken me by the ear, and when I say by the ear I mean by the ear. Imagine being a 45 year old man in human years being dragged away by his ear, it was horrifying let me tell you, humiliating and nothing I care to experience ever again. He made me see sense so to speak even if he had to do it while I kicked and screamed like a child. Yes, it wasn’t one of my finest moments. I was young, childish and still blamed my unknown father for making me into a beast and in the end taking my mother from me, so I had cursed him off and refused to take my fate serious. When I still wouldn’t listen and had cursed Gerald too he had left me to my fate. 

Trust me when I say don’t piss off the hand who feeds you especially if it runs your household, take care of all the nitty details that you never have to bother with because if you do you are left to tend to them yourself. It took me a lot of groveling and a hell of a lot more begging to get Gerald to come back, many years later he told me he never really left he just wanted to teach me a lesson, I should have seen it coming but didn’t. I didn’t dare chance it by cursing him off again but I might have grumbled about it for a while. Today Gerald is my one and only true companion, living side by side with me and as long as he does we are linked together. He was my father’s companion for many years and he is linked with both of us by blood. He is this ordinary human, if you can ever call Gerald ordinary, as anyone else but with the benefit of being linked to me by blood he is what you would call my human servant. He can feel me as I can feel him, we have a bond and as long as I live he will live too.  

Gerald as my butler and personal adviser love to drive that was why we never invested in a helicopter to take us to the city. No he wanted to do it the old fashion way, the long way and he even drove an old Classic Alvis, the love of his life. I think he even loved that car more than me and he said he was pretty damn fond of me, but not more than that car. Gerald was the father I never had, no matter if the man who went under the name of Lord Stravos had father me. The irony being that it was not Gerald I was now going to have to save. Gerald said driving calmed him and gave him time to think how to work out the latest mischief I gotten me, us into, as for me well I enjoyed the quiet. If I got too bored I would fired up the laptop and do some work, work being searching for the next object for my personal collection. I both sold and collected antique goods and being 250 years old with more money to spend than I could find things to buy it was a good job and hobby. My money came both from the inheritance my mother had left me in property and money that had been well invested and my own personal wealth.

I had a very large and impressive collection of objects ranging from small coins, rings and bullets up to full warrior armor gear, to swords and my personal favorites, cars. I had built many garages over the decades to be able to store all 150 or so cars that I owned. I had every car that you could imagine a T-Bird original, an Oldsmobile, several different Mustangs; let's just say I have a thing for really old classic cars and Muscle cars especially. I even have a first model ford car, the so-called Ford Model T it was my pride and joy it didn’t race you down the streets but it was the first T Ford ever produced and it was bought by me. It was worth more in sentimental value than money to me. Considering the shape it was in I could probably get a good 100 grand for it but why would I ever need another 100 grand that I had in plenty, First produced T Ford not so much. The most amazing thing with these cars were that they all worked. Then they were all bought by my own hand, most of them but not all hadn’t been owned or driven by anyone but me, family bought and owned. I took pride in that. To others of course I simply let others believe I bought and restored or that they’d been in possession in my family for decades which in itself was impressive enough. Because to claim I bought a car in 1908 when I looked no older than 30 wouldn’t fly. 

Closing the lid on my laptop I put it back in my bag letting the bag rest against the seat next to me. I let out a deep sigh watching the steep mountain of my home disappear before me as we kept heading for Aberdeen. I'm sure you are wondering about this thing with my father. I do too sometimes, it is a story of its own and rather long but for you to fully understand it I better take it from the beginning. My father was the longest living dragon shifter the earth had known. He lived long before what we today call civilization and long before that even existed. Tales of dragons started because of him, and because there were actual sights of him as he flew the skies of earth there were rumors about giant monsters that could fly and had spiky tails. Gerald told me all about it once I had finally come to a stage where I would listen to what he had to say. He told me how my father had pretty much reacted the same way that I had done, but compared to me he was all in alone in dealing with it. He hadn’t met my father until much much later and by then he was all well good and pleasant with his other self, so much in fact that Gerald was the one who had to lure him back into human shape. The first few hundred years alive my father had been so besotted about being this giant powerful creature that he had mostly lived in the skin of his dragon. His dragon so strong that over time he almost completely took over Drake Stravo’s mind and soul. Gerald had found him in the nick of time becoming the man to save my father’s humanity, that was how he had become my father’s butler and human servant. Gerald was the humanity to keep the dragon lord grounded. 

Before Gerald he was a hunter, alone, living out in the wild, surviving day by day the only companion being the smoke that made him high. One night when he'd come face to face with a real life dragon it'd been the stroke of midnight he'd been lying by his campfire fire, and had just finished eating his one and only meal of the day and was high as a kite. That was when all of a sudden the flames of the fire had been shielded by this large shadow and this enormous creature without a name had appeared before him. At this time he didn’t know what a dragon was, and being high as a kite he didn’t even react in fright or other, Drake Stravos lay still on the ground watching the stars while the Dragon spoke to him in his mind telling him that he would be the new lord of dragons on earth, a predator to keep humankind in check and the one chosen to lead the Dragon Clan. That was how he became Lord Stravos 

Some hundred years later here I am, Dragon Shifter extraordinaire, disguised as an antique dealer, the only offspring of the magnificent Lord Stravos his legacy like a chip on my shoulder. It is 2019, leather jacket is on and I have an old fashioned Butler in tow. We look like oil and water trying to mix, me with my 'going with the times' attitude, your average Joe persona. Then we have Gerald who refuse to live in the now with his fancy accent and polite manners that make people look at him like he is from Mars, which to be honest is not to far from the truth. I have a job to do, buying and selling antiques, if you ask Gerald it is to save his Master (I am only Sire) my job is to save a father I never met from the evil Elves in the realm beyond and reunite him with my mother. Because if I don’t his death will kill us all. No pressure!

It all sounds pretty stupid when you say it out loud therefore I almost never do unless it is with Gerald and a dying must to ensure the man I have not forgotten about my real job. Dragons, evil midget elves and heroes saving other heroes and damsels in distress sounds just like a bad Hollywood movie. But for heaven's sake don’t tell Gerald I said that he will have my tail, literary because he takes this hero business very seriously. He takes saving his Master very seriously. My only problem is finding that damn door to the realm where my father is kept and the fact that the damn thing only opens once every decade makes the waiting process a fucking drag. 

“Sire. We are here.”

The window between the driver and passenger was down, Gerald always insisted on me sitting in the back, I was after all Lord Stavos offspring. Do you know how many times I’ve rolled my eyes at this, the legacy of man that is to me unknown is a burden all on its own. 

“Awesome!” I exclaim knowing perfectly well it makes Gerald’s skin crawl using modern slang or words. It tickles me so to tease the man, I mean what else should I do with my time, there’s so much of it to spill. 

“Splendid Sire, Splendid.” He emphasized each word giving me a stern look by using the rear-view mirror. Snickering I get out of the car before he has a chance to get out and open it himself. 

“Sire if you insist on acting like a brat I will have to treat you as such and give you a time out in the corner when we get back home.” He threatens calmly next to me, his exterior never faltering even though I have made him very annoyed. With a pat on the shoulder I turn to him.

“Oh come on Gerald. Take that drivers hat off and dance down the street with me, live a little old man. Who knows you might even get laid.” I say as I hang my laptop bag over my shoulder and start down the street eyes glimmering with mischief. 

“Corner it is then Sire.” Gerald shuts my door with a little extra force to show how serious he really is and all I do is laugh. Life’s good in o 2019. #MyButlerAndI #Eddark

[wearenecromancers]

How did you create your necromancer? Only using Player's Handbook, with some other literature or homebrew? I want to create one but I feel like version from Player's Handbook is a bit thin

Sethos and Anita are both from Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition, including some 3.5 supplementals. The Dread Necromancer class (Anita) is from “Heroes of Horror”, and her ghostly visage familiar is from the Fiend Folio. Sethos is mostly Player’s Handbook (and the Lich template from the Monster Manual), plus some feats from “Complete Arcane” - namely, Energy Substitution + Lord of the Uttercold (it’s an amazing combo). His franken-kitty familiar is Spellstitched (from “Monster Manual II”) and created via Sethos’ Stitched Flesh Familiar feat from “Libris Mortis: Book of the Undead.”

One of 3rd/3.5 editions’ greatest strengths was also its greatest weakness: it had so many sourcebooks. Only the core 3 where needed, obviously, but a common mistake many DMs made was not setting hard rules as to which supplemental books were or weren’t allowed in their game.

5e has taken more of a “make it yourself” stance when it comes to supplemental material, releasing its own supplements at a much slower pace by comparison (or releasing it within its published adventures).

The bottom line is though, the depth of your character is entirely up to your imagination. You can have all kinds of interesting feats and abilities, but if you don’t have force of personality behind them then the character might be little more than a tool box. Your character’s abilities can certainly be a prompt to inspire their character traits, but I wouldn’t worry so much about  acquiring interesting abilities as much as fleshing out an interesting personality.

If you’re still looking for some new mechanical toys to play with, talk to your DM about finding something in a supplement book that interests you, or something from the DMs Guild or some other homebrew. But I highly recommend working out your own homebrew with them too, as it gives your DM the opportunity to integrate a facet of your character into their campaign setting.

[rose-of-pollux]

If Wishes Were Cats (Napollya oneshot)

Title: If Wishes Were Cats Rating: PG13-ish Summary: According to an ancient legend, Napoleon has been granted three wishes from the cat goddess, Bastet.  As he deals with his feelings for his partner, Napoleon must decide just how to use those wishes as he hopes for a way for Illya and him to be together. Notes: Slash.  This fic takes place during various points in the first year of Napoleon and Illya’s partnership, and references several other fics of mine, namely the “Regret Saga,” “Serenade of Water,” “Nocturne of Shadow,” “Requiem of Spirit,” and “The Fundamental Things Apply.”

Again, please note that this is slash, and there is no gen version this time because the plot doesn’t really translate to gen this time...

Also fulfills the prompt “Pining” for my MFU Bingo card.

If you prefer reading on AO3, you can read it here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10746420

Napoleon was on alert as his guide—a local U.N.C.L.E. agent named Karim—led him around the ancient Egyptian ruins near Luxor.  It was a large temple built by the Pharaoh Sethos I near the beginning of the 19th Dynasty.  Napoleon only wished he didn’t have to be here without his partner; Illya, having only just returned to active status after recovering from a long torture session with THRUSH, had just completed his first mission since his return, and Medical had absolutely refused to let him go on a second so soon without adequate rest.  And so, Napoleon had flown solo, hoping to find some leads that would help his quest to bring in the Baron of THRUSH.

“It was right around here,” Karim said.  “Some tourists found several paralyzed cats—it looked as though that they had been given some sort of paralytic.  When I reported it to my section head, he informed me some time later that your Mr. Waverly was sending you here to look in on it.”

“Ah, yes, it’s pertinent to a case that I’m on right now,” Napoleon said.  His quest to stop the Baron of THRUSH and his paralytic gas plot was a secret from most of U.N.C.L.E.—but he was grateful that Waverly was doing what he could to provide him with any new information.  “When was this?”

“Couldn’t have been more than three days ago,” Karim said.  He sighed as cats of all colors and shapes—most of them Egyptian Maus—watched them from all over the ruins.  A few kittens came out in front of them and mewed, looking at them expectantly. “These little ones have no fear of people—most of the tourists play with them and give them food.  Everyone loves them and cares for them, so it was most distressing to learn that THRUSH had been using them as guinea pigs.”

“Are they okay?” Napoleon asked, as one particular kitten, smoky black, batted at his shoe as he walked.

“Yes; I have been looking after them since the paralysis wore off,” Karim assured him.  “Once I am satisfied that they aren’t suffering any ill aftereffects, I will release them here once more.”

“That’s very admirable,” Napoleon said.  “Sounds like something my partner would have done.”

“I felt it was my duty,” Karim said.  “This temple was built for the ancient cat goddess, Bastet.  Local legends say that the cats who dwell here today are her children.”

“People still believe in the ancient gods?” Napoleon asked, interested.

“Well, perhaps not in that sense,” Karim admitted.  “But the legends still persist; they always provide a bit of intrigue, and some will swear there is evidence to support them.  For example, they say that, somewhere in these ruins, there is a large, black cat—it is said that it is Bastet herself, and those who see her can request three wishes from her by phrasing your wish with ‘O, Bastet, I beseech thee…’ and then speak the wish.”

“Really?” Napoleon asked.

“It’s how the legend goes,” Karim shrugged.  “Of course, there is a disclaimer that Bastet decides whether or not the wishes are worthy of being granted.”

Napoleon chuckled.

“That’s clever,” he said.

Karim laughed, as well, but then sobered as they reached a roped-off part of the temple.

“This is where the paralyzed cats were found,” he said.  “We have sealed this place off for investigation and have closed the temple to tourists until we are certain we have combed every inch of it.”

Napoleon nodded, and he and Karim began to search.  There wasn’t much of anything; THRUSH had been good at covering their tracks, but Napoleon finally did find something as the smoky kitten that had been following him now arched her tiny back at something wedged between a small rock and part of the temple wall.

“There’s something back here!” he called to Karim.

It was an empty canister that had once held the paralytic gas.

“There might be a little bit left in there—perhaps enough to analyze and prepare an antidote,” Napoleon said.

“If there is, I will see to it that word gets back to you as soon as possible,” Karim promised.

“Thanks,” Napoleon said. “You can go head on back; I think that’s all we’re going to find, but I’ll do another quick sweep now, rest for a bit, and then head home to New York tomorrow.”

“Very well,” Karim said. “We’ll have our men do one more additional sweep before we reopen the temple to the public.”

“Good idea.”

“You are sure you don’t mind searching alone?  I can stay longer…”

“I’m sure,” Napoleon said. “Those cats are probably hungry.”

“Very likely,” Karim agreed, with a smile.  “Take care, Mr. Solo.  And give my regards to Mr. Kuryakin.  …He has recovered from his ordeal?  I heard he had been a prisoner of THRUSH for some time…”

Napoleon’s heart gave a slight twist, but he nodded.

“Yeah, he’s made a full recovery, but Medical still wants him to take it easy; we just had a mission in Hawaii, and they were adamant about not letting him go again so soon after that.”

“Oh.  Poor man.”

“I’ll try to see if we can both make it next time; I know he’d have loved seeing all these cats,” Napoleon added, gently petting the smoky kitten, who purred in response.

“It’s very inspiring to all of us U.N.C.L.E agents worldwide, seeing the two of you working together so well,” Karim said.  “Some of the other section heads are considering other transfer programs to promote international ties now.  Your partnership is getting along flawlessly—it’s quite admirable.”

Napoleon managed a grin.

“Glad we’re setting an example,” he said.

He said his goodbyes to Karim, who left after that.  Napoleon sighed.  Karim hadn’t been wrong about Napoleon and Illya’s partnership getting along flawlessly—they were truly getting along flawlessly indeed.  So flawlessly, in fact, that Napoleon’s feelings towards his partner were getting very muddled and confused indeed.

At first, Napoleon had thought the butterflies in his stomach had been something that would pass, but as months passed and they became closer, the butterflies never left.

And then Illya had been taken by THRUSH.  As horrific as the experience had been, Illya’s recovery had caused the Russian to open up to Napoleon all the more, causing Napoleon to fall for him all the more; the realization had hit him like a ton of bricks during their last mission together in Hawaii—he was in love with his partner.

He hadn’t said anything; he had no way of knowing how Illya felt or how he would react to such a revelation.  But that was why Napoleon was yearning for Illya to be with him in Egypt now—so that he could look at the joy on the Russian’s face upon seeing so many cats. Illya didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, so such displays of emotion were incredibly rare—but Napoleon loved to see his partner’s face light up.  Truly, there was nothing more beautiful than Illya’s smile…

Napoleon exhaled and drew out his communicator; he was feeling lonely for Illya again, and proceeded to call him on Channel D.

“How’s it going, Tovarisch?”

“How else does paperwork go, Napoleon?” Illya responded.  “It is incredibly boring.  Despite the summer heat, I really do wish I was in Egypt with you.”

“Oh, you’d love it here,” Napoleon said.  As if to prove his point, the smoky Mau kitten started batting at his communicator, meowing.

“…Is that a cat?”

“Plural,” Napoleon said. “These old ruins are crawling with them.”  He paused, and his voice darkened.  “The Baron has been using some of them as guinea pigs for his paralytic.  They’re okay, but…”  He trailed off as Illya swore in Russian.  “…My sentiments exactly.”

“We must stop him, Napoleon.”

“Well, hang in here, Illya. I should be home sometime tomorrow, if all goes well.”  He paused. “…You got any plans for tonight?”

“Plans?  Me?” Illya scoffed.  “Were I but braver, I would probably attend the office party that Agent Avalon is throwing.  But I am not. No, Napoleon; it is a nice evening at my flat for me.”

Napoleon had to confess to himself that he was glad that Illya didn’t have a date; even if he didn’t have the nerve to admit his feelings.  He then immediately chided himself for being so selfish; if he couldn’t find the courage to speak, then he had no right to think about Illya’s love life one way or the other… did he?  Was it fair to want Illya to be alone each time Napoleon was on a solo mission?

Napoleon sighed.

“Chin up, Tovarisch,” Napoleon said.  “With any luck, Medical will clear you for missions without breaks soon.”

“I certainly hope so,” Illya said.  “Take care, Napoleon.”

“You too,” Napoleon said, and he closed the channel with a sigh.  He glanced at the smoky kitten.  “…I should tell him, shouldn’t I?”

The kitten mewed and then, suddenly, followed some of the other kittens to a small set of steps nearby, where a large Mau, smoky black like the kitten that had been playing with Napoleon, sat, glancing at Napoleon with a regal expression as the kittens meowed around her.

Napoleon stared back at the large cat in amazement, recalling Karim’s words from earlier—

“They say that, somewhere in these ruins, there is a large, black cat—it is said that it is Bastet herself, and those who see her can request three wishes from her…”

Napoleon let out a quiet “Hmm.”  The legend was probably just that—an old story.  But how tempting it would be to wish for Illya to fall in love with him!

He shook his head. No…  Even if the wishes were real, he had no right to make such a selfish wish. And they probably weren’t even real. But, still… it couldn’t hurt, could it?

“Oh, why not?” Napoleon said, glancing at the cat.  “O, Bastet, I beseech thee, I wish that my partner doesn’t have to spend all his time alone whenever I’m not there.”  Hopefully not a date, but at least a way for him to keep his mind off of being alone…

The large cat continued to stare at Napoleon for a while before meowing loudly.  She picked up the smoky black kitten by the scruff of the neck and then bounded off somewhere.

“…Oh well,” Napoleon said, with a shrug.  “Didn’t help, but it didn’t hurt…”

His sweep of the area turned up nothing else, and Napoleon returned to his hotel room and left for New York the next day after checking in with Karim one last time.

It was evening by the time he had reached; a rainstorm in New York had delayed the landing, and it was still pouring as he left the airport.  Deciding not to have Illya drive out in the rain to pick him up, Napoleon took a taxi back to their apartment building.

Ever since Illya’s time as a prisoner of THRUSH, they had keys to each other’s apartment; Napoleon used the key to let himself in to Illya’s apartment to check up on him.

“Hey, I’m back…” he began, but then trailed off as he saw Illya sitting on his couch, cradling a small bundle wrapped in a baby blanket.  His mouth dropped open.  “What happened while I was gone!?”

Illya let out a quiet “tsk.”

“Napoleon, you’ve gone and woken her!”

Anything Napoleon was about to say was cut off by a small “mew” coming from the bundle.  He facepalmed.

“Napoleon, you didn’t think--?”

“Shush, you,” Napoleon said, his heart beating normally again.

Illya smirked at him.

“I found this little one abandoned in a small basket.  The rain was coming down; I could not let her suffer…”

Napoleon walked over to see the kitten—and froze again.  The kitten was a smoky black Egyptian Mau—looking exactly like the one he had seen in Egypt, before her mother, allegedly Bastet, had carried her off…

…Just after Napoleon had made his wish that Illya didn’t have to be alone when he wasn’t there.

“Her name is Baba Yaga,” Illya said, proudly.

Napoleon let the kitten play with his finger as he gently gave her skritches.  She was purring away, and Illya was absolutely captivated. Napoleon chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Congratulations on your new daughter,” he said.  “I’m going to go unpack, and then I’ll whip up a dinner for all three of us.”

“That would be wonderful, Napoleon,” Illya said.

Napoleon just smiled and moved to head back to his apartment next door; he paused as he headed out, watching the rare look of genuine happiness on Illya’s face as he doted over the little kitten.

He wasn’t sure how that kitten had gotten from Luxor to New York before him; whether it was a coincidentally similar kitten or it really was the same kitten, he would never know. And, he supposed, it didn’t matter; Illya was happy, and seeing that smile on his face was stirring up those muddled feelings in Napoleon once more.

…Well, assuming it was the wish, I’ve got two left, he silently said.  Maybe I’ll try them out if I still can’t sort things out…

                                       **************************************

Napoleon soon found himself on the opposite side of being separated from his partner due to an order from Medical.  After a run-in with the Baron in Germany and being subjected to the paralytic gas firsthand, Medical had refused to let Napoleon go on another mission until they were certain that he would be suffering no aftereffects.  And so Illya was off to gather intelligence on where the Baron’s grand demonstration of the gas was to be.

There were numerous things on Napoleon’s mind as he remained at home, looking after Baba Yaga while he waited to hear back from Illya.  The first was that Illya had been slightly reserved ever since their last mission; he had been under the impression that he was no longer a useful asset to Napoleon’s endeavor.  It had taken a lot of convincing to get Illya to agree to one more mission together. Napoleon had to worry that if Illya settled back into his routine of working alone on this case, it might not be enough to convince him to stay longer.

Baba Yaga was more concerned with playing, and was happily using Napoleon as a play mat as he lay there on his couch, thinking about what to do.

“So, let’s say that I do have two wishes left…” said, speaking to Baba Yaga.  “I suppose I could wish for Illya to stay…  Think your old Ma Bastet would go for that?”

Baba Yaga mewed at him in response.

“…Well, look at it from my side, huh?” Napoleon defended.  “I’m not really asking for that much--”

He was cut off as his communicator whistled.

“Illya?” he asked.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Solo,” Waverly responded over the channel.  “I do regret being the bearer of bad news--”

“Did something happen to Illya?” Napoleon asked, now sitting at attention.

“Hopefully not,” Waverly said.  “But we’ve lost contact with him; he was on his way back to New York on a freighter, but we lost contact with him when the freighter was attacked by a THRUSH submarine. His last communication was that they were going to try to outrun the submarine.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Approximately three hours ago,” Waverly informed him.  “I’ll keep you informed of any change in Mr. Kuryakin’s status.”

“Thank you, Sir…”

Napoleon put the communicator away, trying to ignore the familiar grip of fear upon his heart. Anything could have happened to Illya in three hours…!  And the thought of Illya dying horrified him—it always had.  But for Illya to die now, when they were so close to achieving their goal of stopping the Baron…  …When Napoleon had now realized that he was in love with him…

…That thought was too much to bear.  And there was nothing he could do, confined to rest, unable to go out and search for his partner…

“Okay, a wish won’t hurt,” he murmured.  Swallowing back the lump in his throat, he concentrated.  “O, Bastet, I beseech thee, I wish that Illya will return to New York safely.”

There was silence.

“…Do you think she can hear me?” he asked Baba Yaga.

The kitten meowed.

“…I hope so, too.”

Neither he nor the kitten moved; it was another hour before the communicator whistled again.

“Solo here,” he said, immediately.

“Napoleon?”

Napoleon slumped over in relief.

“You’re alright,” he said.

“Da—but barely,” Illya said.  “It was starting to look very bad for a while.”

“What happened?”

“THRUSH very nearly sunk us,” Illya said.  “The captain of the freighter got our boat moving as fast as humanly possible enough to pull away from the submarine.  It was almost a fluke, Napoleon—this freighter shouldn’t have been able to reach the speed it had.  But, nevertheless, it did.”

“Where are you now?”

“Very nearly home, Napoleon; I can see the lights of the city from here.  You can prepare dinner if you like; with any luck, I shall be home immediately after my debriefing with Mr. Waverly.”

“Right.”

“I hope my daughter behaved herself…”

“Oh, she did,” Napoleon assured him.  “She is a perfect angel.”

“Of course she is. Tell her I shall be home soon.”

Baba Yaga mewed, and Napoleon grinned.

“She heard,” he said. “I’ll see you soon, then, Tovarisch.”

“Da.”

Napoleon put his communicator away and reflected on what had just happened.  Had it been a fluke, as Illya had said?  Or had his second wish just come true?

He still wasn’t sure.

                                               ************************

Napoleon wasn’t one who blindly believed in things, yet the coincidences of his first two “wishes” seemed impossible to ignore.  And as the weeks went on with Illya seemingly preparing to return to Europe after their final clash with the Baron, Napoleon was considering the use of his final alleged wish.

He did not want Illya to go.  He wanted Illya to stay—to fall in love with him, as he had fallen for Illya.  And as they headed to Niagara (Baba Yaga being cared for by George Dennell in Section IV) and had another disagreement about whether or not Illya was better off going back, Napoleon was seriously considering making that his final wish—that Illya would fall in love with him, unable to tear himself away to return to Berlin.

Two of my three wishes were selfless, Napoleon rationalized.  Assuming this whole thing is true, then let my final wish be something for me—what I want most…

But, again, guilt stopped him.  It wasn’t right, assuming it was real.  It wasn’t right to effectively control someone’s thoughts for something like love. Even if it was granted by a wish that Illya would love him, it would never be pure, true love; it would be always tinged with deceit.

As much as Napoleon pined for him, if Illya loved him back, Napoleon wanted it to be because that was how he truly felt—not what a wish’s magic was making him think he felt.

Fine, then; perhaps I can just wish for him to stay here…

But his mind chided him for that, as well.  If he made that wish, how different was he from someone trying to keep Illya captive?

He couldn’t do that—not to someone he loved.  Trying to summon the courage to beg him to stay because of love wasn’t happening, clearly. If he didn’t say anything, then he had no right to force Illya to stay.

He would have to let him go, if that was what Illya decided in the end.  It was the right thing to do.

Napoleon sighed, deciding that his final wish would, like the others, be selfless.  There really wasn’t anything else he had wanted, anyway…

“O, Bastet, I beseech thee, I wish for Illya to find the happiness and love he so rightfully deserves.”

That was it, then. His three wishes were gone.  And Illya…  Illya would likely be out of his reach soon.

One thing was for certain, though; Napoleon would never, ever forget him—the partner who had stolen his heart.

                                            **********************************

It had seemed at first, however, that Napoleon’s final wish wasn’t going to come true.  In a struggle against the Baron, Napoleon and the Baron had fallen off of the Horseshoe Falls.; the Baron had been killed by the fall, while Napoleon had been rendered to a catatonic state of shock from it. He had been in a bizarre state between awareness and unresponsiveness, but he could still hear a grief-stricken Illya pleading with him to come out of his stupor—even vowing to stay with him in New York if Napoleon did so.

And then, to Napoleon’s utter amazement, Illya had confessed that he had loved him, and then had kissed him.

It was as though it had been magic—a curse breaking by true love’s kiss.  But Napoleon had come out of the stupor and had returned to awareness, much to the relief of Illya.  And Napoleon had been encouraged slightly after hearing Illya’s confession—despite the fact that Illya hadn’t specified what kind of love it was that he felt for Napoleon.

A shared duet some weeks later led them to opening up their feelings for each other—and a post-mission dinner that turned into their first official date.  The weeks turned to months, and as their relationship grew, things changed—for the better.

Illya and Baba Yaga had moved out of his apartment to live in Napoleon’s—they had given the excuse of U.N.C.L.E. budget cuts, vowing that the real reason would have to remain a secret from everyone—at least for the time being.

And it was early one morning, as Napoleon held his still-sleeping partner close to him, waiting for him to awaken, that Napoleon took note of the contented, happy expression on Illya’s face as he slept.

Gently, he brushed some wayward hairs out of Illya’s face.  Though still asleep, Illya smiled in response to his touch, nestling even closer against him, and smiling again as the scent of the bay rum cologne that Napoleon wore reached him.  …And Illya claimed that Napoleon used too much of it?  Ha!  Napoleon knew the truth now—caught him red-handed, enjoying it!

Napoleon merely chuckled to himself and kept his hand on his partner’s back, acting as a silent sentry against nightmares or any real threat that might come their way.  But, at that moment, he wasn’t thinking about threats; Napoleon was thinking about how lucky he truly was.

His final wish to Bastet had come true, after all—Illya had found the happiness and love he deserved—with him, which was something that Napoleon had thought too good to be true.  Despite the temptation, Napoleon had not used any of the wishes on himself directly, yet had ended up getting what he had wanted most—his true love by his side, and even a “daughter,” Baba Yaga, for them to raise together.

Napoleon couldn’t have asked for anything more.  And he would forever cherish what he had now—the blessings and gifts of Bastet.

[faustinaaurelia13]

10/10 would love again

Tagged by the amazing @chemicalcrush to name 10 favorite characters from 10 different fandoms

1. Twin Peaks - Log Lady

2. Ronin Warriors- Touma (Rowen) Hashiba

3. Gundam Wing- Chang Wufei

4. Amelia Peabody Series- Sethos or Ramses (too hard to pick)

5. Dice, Camera, Action- Strix

6. High Rollers-  Jiǔtóu Zhìjī Jīng (Close behind: Elora, Trellimar, Reynard, DM, Jasmina)

7. Marvel Cinematic Universe- Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Scarlet Witch

8. Sailor Moon- Sailor Saturn

9. Old Kingdom Series- Disreputable Dog

10. Cardcaptor Sakura- Yue/Yukito Tsukishiro