#the emperor's study sees some more action

[thatdeadaquarius]

PART 2 - Genshin Impact SAGAU / Isekai: Gifts to Give Your Allogene!

ELEMENTS HERE: Dendro, Hydro, Cryo, Geo

Part 1 / Part 2 (you're here!)

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Sun: Gender Neutral Reader (they/them only)

Planet: General SAGAU / Isekai Stuff, Platonic Cuteness

Orbit: Headcanons-ish, a couple sentences for each

Stars: a little bit of everybody as of Baizhu/Kaveh update! including rare beloveds like Aloy! (I hope I got them all… at least the playable ones… ) Please understand that some characters are more “foreground” characters and have more screen time so I may have written some more for them because I knew them better!

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: weapons for gifts?? 16+ Older Teen Audiences Advised, light cussing

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& Trigger Warnings: None Known.

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Edit 1/1/24: Hey I expanded on this in my Eldritch Fanfic Post Part 2, but I just wanted to vet the old posts and say I did do a form of exoticism by including the word "Huangdi" throughout this.

I've since replaced it for better readability with "Emperor" but I didn't want to erase my mistake like it never happened. I'm genuinely sorry about this, I never had ill intentions by including it, but regadless of intentions that's the impact of my actions. I'm absolutely going to be looking out for kind of thing in the future/get a sensitivity reader/a beta read from that culture to check me.

I hope you still enjoy my writing and can understand.

Dendro Allogenes:

Tighnari = with some help again to put magic into it, you give Tighnari some head coverings you sewed together that have the power of Cryo in them! So now he can actually see what plants are out in the desert, visit Cyno, or just enter the desert to his heart’s content, which, yes, his tail started unconsciously wagging after you explained what it was. “Oh! For me? Well I’ve taken to avoiding the desert if I can because of… wait a minute, you say it has cryo in it? What? How does that work?? You think it’ll genuinely help me in the desert?? You made it???” Tighnari’s ears are all twitching with excitement, and he’s holding the covering (that matches his clothes/dark green) like it’s a new plant for study, omg he pulled out his magnifying glass and everything-

Collei = so she’s actually a really good seamstress, and makes plushies a lot, esp for kids! but one day you found one of her first attempts, a ragged looking sort of pale pink bunny… her first attempt at a plushie Baron Bunny!! so you decided to mimic her design (still baron bunny but with a sort of Sumeru-like clothing on it), and sew her one! You made a whole day of it, eating together, going to the best spots to sightsee (for as long as Collei was up for it/not too tired) and then gifted her the plushie Baron Bunny! She accidentally let out a small scream that startled both of you tbh, and then snatched that shit so quick lmao, kicking her feet on the picnic blanket and everything! With your permission of course, Collei then tackled you for a hug lol, she ranted about all the little details and made you tell her several times over how you made it so she could make some more in the future too! She may or may not have talked about missing Amber and teared up… but then you redirected her attention to the bunny saying, it’s like a gift from Amber and you really! (you also added a function where, if you squeeze the Baron, it’ll dish out some healing power and some heat! …Collei tackle hugged you twice for that one)

Alhaitham = what a hard person to get gifts for, he’d probably be like “thanks” no matter what you got him 😭, he means it tho, it would just be underwhelming… but on the bright side, he definitely seems like he’d show a deeper appreciation for handmade gifts! Since you learned how to make one for Yoimiya, you decide this calls for another handmade hammock (also bc Teyvat doesnt have hammocks)! You painted symbols like green crystals and geometric patterns, but also lions and a golden Palace of Alcazarzaray for Kaveh, and your symbol, the eight point star (like the four point but with flare/not like the jewish symbol with equal points lol)!! So that way he can keep lazing away, and avoid people more comfortably lmao, and also if he is going to do that, he doesnt have to sit on rocks or hard structures for hours reading, and you hope it’s encouragement for him to spend time outside/take a break and nap! (Haitham knows that’s part of why you gave him this, even if you didn’t say it, and so he makes a point to do that more often to make you happy, take the advice for his health) oh look, after thoroughly looking at your craftsmanship for 10 minutes, you got a smile in addition to a “thanks”, damn, that’s actually how you know he likes it a lot <3 :)

Nahida = you remember vaguely from Nahida’s storylines/friendship levels that she loves games, and so you collect her a nice deck for Genius Invokation TCG! You also made her a cute bag and container for it, her bag is a rose maple moth crocheted bc really this was an excuse to just make the cutest character in Sumeru look even cuter, (like this, i tried very hard ok, bc this doesnt exist yet, im shocked) The first image is most correct, (imagine the face and stuff is cuter/simpler) as that’s also the backpack part! Her eyes were so big when you handed it to her, (you honestly were shocked they even could get any bigger lol). She jumped up and down excitedly with the backpack on (ur fucking heart, just like you intended, the wings flapped around and everything <333) you are also currently working on a luna moth (the pale green moth) in case she wants it to match her outfit more! even tho Nahida insists something handmade once is enough, you can see the childish yearning in her eyes, like a kid trying to say no to a toy that’s being offered right in front of them lmao

Kaveh = pretty girls deserve pretty things, and you were definitely feeling the pressure to make something high quality enough for Kaveh, tho u know he’s sweet enough that he’d appreciate anything you’d take the time to handmake (and tbh.. it sounds a little arrogant, but ur hoping something so cared for by what he, or at least most people see as some kind of all-powerful god above the archons, will boost his self-esteem/confidence in his own worth more, or at least let him know one more person cares about him…) so you didnt make it super detailed, and you put a note on it too to let him know your not as great at that as he would be, but you made a model of the part of the teapot house you’re going to design for him! Like a sort of sneakpeak, you made a small lookalike of Alhaitham and his house, but filled it with decor like if Howl didnt hoard all the cool shit in his room in Howl’s Moving Castle, but instead spread it out, and sort of used your modern taste for layout, (not the ugly ass corporate aesthetic) and a small garden. You also made nearly all the decor and stuff something interesting (like some primogem strings, they can be pretty small, for string lights, lampgrass from Mondstadt that he’s never seen etc.) and while you very shyly handed him the model at first, he was practically vibrating with excitement!! “You made this?! Oh of course I don’t expect perfection, it looks wonderful so far, especially if this was your first attempt!!” Kaveh has like sat down, and is delicately holding it and looking around, and when you tell him it’s an actual space, meant for him, he gently sets down the model and grabs you by the shoulders, “Show. Me. Now. …please?” looking at you with very determined puppy dog eyes lol

Yaoyao = …idk what you expected. It was so obvious. A crocheted bunny backpack. brown, so it matches her, since her basket was brown, or you could leave off the feet, whichever u prefer, and anyway, Yaoyao is always doing things for others, so the little girl was so cute and pink when you actually gave her something instead! (once again, using ur old trick of making the person think u need something then shocking them with a handmade gift instead hehe) She IMMEDIATELY switched it out for her basket and has pretty much converted to using it full time! (tho when she needs the more solid one she’ll still wear it, she just alternates, esp if there’s some occasion she’ll deffo wear the bunny backpack, it’s her “fancy god-made bunny backpack!”)

Baizhu = the doctor isn’t one to talk about himself a lot, so you weren’t sure what he would like other than some new tea… but you wanted to make it yourself so while you were a little disappointed it was just a basic pet gift, you wanted to maybe put a little extra into it so maybe Changsheng will use it and Baizhu will think it’s cute! You crocheted a little pet pod/cave for her to hang out in (imagine this but a Jueyun Chili hehe) and it also has a little crocheted vine rope so the little Jueyun Chili cave can be hung from things, or even tied onto Baizhu’s apron/hold it like a purse! That way Changsheng doesn’t always have to drape across his shoulders/has somewhere to retreat! When you shyly showed Baizhu and Changsheng, he literally clapped, so did Qiqi lol (he usually does those tiny smiles… but this one was the brightest most genuine you’ve ever seen, even in game…!!) You find that Baizhu’s eyes look like that type of person’s eyes were they just look like “happy”, like there’s a little fond sparkle in his eye. Changsheng was all like “about time I got something instead of him! I’m basically an assistant too y’know! …thank you very much, my Emperor.” (if you’re NOT squimish of snake pics, pls look at this cute smile Changsheng would give)

Hydro Allogenes:

Barbara = …so even Barbara was a little hesitant at first, but came around to the idea after some convincing, and some encouragement (and showing her she was capable of it) but you basically ….may ….or may not have… found a loop hole for her being a catalyst? So, thru a lot of persuading Barbara to train with you and Childe (who also thought it was amusing to see such a young girl who’s literally a nun and a singer do this) you got Barbara to make water bombs! Like her circle of notes that float around her when healing, she sings and gestures and similar to her ult, (but like Childe’s E-skill it just switches between the two), the notes fly out and explode in the direction she sings/aims! You wanted to remind her of her old dream of being recognized, and wanting to help in battle in a more combat way, and besides, you’re sick of women getting regulated to the healing magical role in games/anime fantasy, so yeah. You and Childe are literally evilly giggling to each other in the background as Barbara sends quater notes and lines of music that explode (like how water can sharpen and cut things like Childe’s blades? Yeah he taught her that) so intensely that it cuts into the Pyro Lawlachurl, bringing it to its knees- Barbara accidentally cuts its head off as the finishing blow. While she gasps in a little fear, but mostly shock, Childe jumps up and down and starts cheering.

Mona = got sparkly eyes, nearly snatched the gift out of your hand, you made her some awesome earrings from the character banner wishes! All pretty ombre pink and blue they swirl and look so pretty framing Mona’s face, she only wears them on special occasions despite your claim of everyday use, they also help her figure out where the clearest view of the night sky each night but glowing brighter and brighter when she gets closer to seeing clearly, Mona is almost? weirdly envious?? for her past self that had to suffer thru all the inconvenient cloudy nights lmao

Childe = like anon said, a new pair of knit gloves, using the fur from the snow king boar! he’s amazed they never wear out now, and he totally uses them as an excuse to hold your hands all like “I just can’t get over how soft they are, feel them, you did amazing comrade! even better than some Snezhnayan shops!!”, exactly what you expect he’s leaning into your face and everything- 🙄

Xingqiu = an ao3 account you had a hard time with Xingqiu’s, afterall, he’s from a wealthier family, so he can get mostly what he wants, and you don’t wanna just get him another book… so you kidnapped him to Inazuma! (idk if this is canon, or happened in an event or smth I missed idfc) So, you also kidnapped Albedo for this trip, so that Xingqiu could actually see the impact his writing made overseas! While you intended for this trip to make Xingqiu feel better abt his writing, (and to help Albedo feel appreciated too, despite him not expressing much low self-esteem in his art, compliments heaped upon him def cant hurt, plus u can see him go pink too hehe) you also wanted to surprise him with a author book signing! If he was up for it, of course, which he “I absolutely, definitely, certainly am, my liege!” Kid’s practically hopping in place, as you get him all ready for his book signing (and not rlly Albedo bc he’s always fucking perfect, u dont have to do shit, even his messy hair looks nice 💀) …you also may or may not have given him some hair decorations (to help his asymmetrical cutting, not that it looks super bad, but for a change at least)

Yelan = …it’s official. You are intimidated. It’s only pretty hydro women and Ayato from here on, on your “Gift List”. Needless to say, like a few other allogenes, you wouldn’t know shit about this woman if you didn’t read her lore… it’s not a fine replacement, you don’t think, but with (lots of almond tofu, and osmanthus wine too) dev access to help you, you created another bracelet for Yelan. Inscribed (just like the heirlooms) inside simply says “You Are Not Alone”, with your eight star symbol following after (like a four star but with some flare, and also not the Jewish star lol), it glows an otherwordly gold, a contrast to the bright blues of the other bracelet. Its function is a geo shield, to protect Yelan and any teammates nearby when it’s activated, she can also leave the shielded area in one spot, so she can do her e-skill and still protect people. You’d just casually asked her to meet up with you one day in that teahouse you know she runs for intel, and when you presented her the bracelet, she held it delicately, saying nothing as she examined it, reading the inside. A small smile tugged her lips up, and she slips it on as she sips her tea, “…Well, I’ll have to show this to present this one to the family shrine, I think this more than makes up for the heirloom I failed to keep. A replacement from the Guide of Teyvat themselves… Thank you, my Emperor, for this handwrought gift you bestow upon a mortal such as me. …and thank you, for not leaving me alone.” Yelan bows a little in her seat, sharp blue eyes more softened than you’ve ever seen her, trained on yours. Her hands are together in that same praying motion that gives you the weirdest sense of deja vu…

Kokomi = so you don’t know much about her, as the it seems the character lore for Kokomi you can remember was… lacking, to say the least. Hoyo definitely plays favorites, BUT YOU DON’T!! At least when it comes to gift givining so everyone feels appreciated, you got a pretty book (handmade or bought) and got it/made it kinda small, like the size of the book in her idle animation, bc turns out that’s her diary of sorts. You know the priestess feels if she expresses any opinions that her people will just take her side, or her word as… well, a divine priestess, the weight of her title you suppose. She also keeps track of how many spoons she has! Like what things drain her, and what things make her feel better (big social interactions vs. reading a war treaty book by herself for example) So you made her a bullet journal! (here’s one of my favorite bullet journal youtubers, here’s a flipthru of her completed journal) you didn’t fill out the whole thing, just some example pages, to show her the possibilites! …you were kinda worried bc she turned away at first after delicately accepting it, and since it was just you two, she allowed herself turn back around and start excitedly chatting your ear off as she leaned in- and wow. Kokomi’s eyes really are, dreamy, like cotton candy… and they’re so much prettier when she smiles…

Ayato = …you know exactly what to do. Interrupting his busy schedule (and only actually taking one day out of it actually bother him so he can have the others as a secret vacation hehe) to come over to the Kamisato household and homemake some boba drinks for him, Ayaka, and Thoma to try! Mostly Ayato tho, you got all the syrups, the milks teas, the boba, and luckily, were able to get some help from Xiangling in experimenting in making… popping pearls! (they’re edible boba pearls that are actually filled with juice/syrup flavors and burst on your tounge when you barely bite them! they’ve very sweet, and Inazuma definitely didn’t have any different pearls other than tapioca, those squishy black pearls you see in his regular boba tea) …Ayato is literally holding your hand like he’s about to drop to one knee, this man is down bad for boba (and you) and… are those tears?! Is he tearing up?! “I can’t believe… THE Akitsu Mikami… blessed me, personally, with boba?? With NEW boba teas and pearls I’ve never even seen?! …Thank you, my beloved emperor!” Mans has quite literally gotten on his knees, but bc he’s so tall, he can still comfortably hold both your hands in his bigger gloved ones …Thoma is desperately trying to get Ayato up, Ayaka is getting onto her brother in the background.

Candace = it’s not exactly a traditional gift… but the reason Candace doesn’t wear a lot of her jewelry or finery is because of the hard job she has as a Guardian/in the desert, so you figured giving her more things she can’t even really wear wasn’t the way to go.. So instead! You gather a journal or advice from Ningguang, Keqing, Yelan, Zhongli, and all the others in the Qixing who were willing to help you, and kidnapped Ganyu for a sight seeing trip! (since u and Ganyu has that whole “in between two very different worlds” bond) You brought Ganyu because you know if anybody would be good at managing something/getting it started (like the music fest back for Lantern Rite… that I missed bc I dont understand how lantern rite works 😭😭😭 VIOLENTLY SOBS ITS BEEN 2 YEARS AND I HAVENT GOTTEN A SINGLE LANTERN RITE U GUYS-) it would be Ganyu herself! …and to also give her a break. See Aaru Village suffered from little to no economy before Candace finally negoiated with the elders to let Sumeru merchants travel into town/buy from them/sell to them, but she’s had a rough time keeping the old coots from being dicks about it since, …and it’s also hard to convince the younger generations to come back after many wanted to see the outside world because of this… So what better what to solve two birds with one stone?? GANYU!! And all the economy and business advice you could gather form Liyue! You hope that the village flourishing (and helping Candace cut down on shady merchants) would impress the older generation, yet also get more money in the town so they can dress it up a bit more (like fixing unsteady bridges, also u kidnapped Kaveh to help revitalize their cultural architecture buildings back into life/or help make the simple buildings just prettier) Now Ganyu and her are besties (Candace rlly needed another friend besides just Dehya alone to come out and see her in the desert) and the adepti was very willing to come visit her and Aaru Village to help the economy maintain its footing/run smoothly, and Kaveh also comes and works on it/checks on her/the village! …When you initially showed all the plans to Candace, saying it’ll impress the old by bringing back old designs/architecture plus interest/satisfy the younger generations to know their hometown is advancing and make it more appealing to come back to… The Guardian puts her shield and spear off to the side, she lowers her head, and greets you, bc u kinda just started rambling without saying hello- whoops- , “Salaam aleikum Qore, **I have already become the first Guardian to have been blessed by the gods, to receive this Vision was the only aid I could turn to in trying to help my village, my community… but to be blessed once more? I would never have dared to dream, let alone the Ogdoad Qore… I am grateful on behalf of myself, my village, and all of King Deshret’s people. …truly, I did not expect a gods eyes to turn favorably upon us since my ancestors’ time. Thank you, my Qore.” You just give her a smile back, she taught you the return phrase, so you hope it’s appropiate, “Waaleikum us salam.” :)

Nilou = This woman is consumed by dancing, other than keeping the peace (well, within reason apparently bc she’s okay with a coup-) but you’ve heard how hard it can be on dancers, how plenty of them have to have strong muscles to perform consistently. So, using adepti magic, you’ve enchanted this minakari you’ve painted (a type of metalwork that’s then painted by artists, on Earth countries like Iran, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan make them) like the teapot! It’s a small island that has a dance studio, and more importantly, a spa with hot springs, a sauna, and a room full of medical supplies dancers would need like salves, heating/cooling pads (using pyro/cryo), and space for stretches! Overall, just a place for her to get away from all the people and to heal her body up for the next performance, and after getting it all prepped/packed up with supplies, and showing it to Nilou… she literally had her hands over her mouth the whole walk around the rooms and showing her everything. Nilou had already been shocked you’d painted her a minakari piece, let alone all this! Like some others, she was quick to drop the formalities, and before you could even say “I hope you like it!” she was wrapping her arms around you and squeezing as tight as she could, tearing up and saying how happy she was that someone understood how hard dance can be on the body and how hard it can also be to take care of yourself, and how she can’t possibly show her gratitude- wait a minute. She’s pulled back and gripping you by the shoulders, not even bothering to wipe her eyes, before she swears to give you a dance every year with all the culmination of her work as she learns and makes newer and better dances!! <3

Cryo Allogenes:

Kaeya = horses so he’s actually a calvary captain- you actually wanted something that’d emphasize the handmade part of the gift, to really let Kaeya know somebody out there really cares about him, cares about him in the way that they’ll sit down and think of an idea and think of him, and then work for hours, sewing, drawing, crafting something just for him, to happy about. You make him a small, pocket sized photobook, and have a picture of every person who cares about him in all the slots, and near the end, from his last birthday where you gathered everybody together to celebrate, is a photo of Jean, Klee, Albedo, Sucrose, Venti, Rosaria, Noelle, Amber, even Eula, Diona, Mika, Barbara, and Mona came! But most importantly, you got Diluc to host it at Angel’s Share, and after some convincing, got him to get in the picture, you’re slightly off center, sandwiched by Kaeya and Diluc, where Kaeya is mid-laugh at the center, having just seen Diluc’s embarrassed face. It’s the last one in the mini album, and each photo has an even small message at the bottom, giving Kaeya a message from everybody, just for him. At the very end, with the group photo just before, is one of yourself and him posing together, you having taken him out roaming Mondstadt for the perfect picnic spot, just to give an excuse why you wanted a picture with him. And at the time, he found it a little suspicious, but was just flustered enough he let it slide. But now, opening and unfolding this tiny album, full of smiling friends and caring words, Kaeya gives a small, watery chuckle, you’ve left him a message too. “Take care of yourself Kaeya, because someone out there really cares about you. :) “

Rosaria = After seeing her “nun” outfit, there’s no doubt in your mind that Rosaria is yearning for clothes closer to her preferred aesthetic. So, using your knowledge of punk clothes and modern goth religious aesthetics, you’ve made some pieces for her to try! Some black pumps with metal crosses for heels, yes they’re sharp and this nice shawl with beads, and finally, a nice lacy skirt (no you did not make fucking lace, jesus christ, you’re not a miracle worker, despite the belief of some teyvatians-). All of which, wow, got Rosaria to give you an honest to god… smile. A full, genuine smile from Rosaria… yeah that made all your hard work worth it.

Eula = a book on common manners so Eula is actually great at cooking! So what better chaos to gift to her other than introducing her to Xiangling! Especially since you’ve given the young Liyuean cook recipes from your own world for her to try out, she’s been on a rampage of new things, and so what better new experience than a cook from an entirely different country? You also made a small book of recipes (look up how to make a zine book on youtube it’s actually kinda easy) from your world, different from Xiangling’s because you thought Eula would like different recipes than her. …So needless to say you were then being berated by two chefs for not sharing all the recipes lmao, tho that really just gave them reason to share recipes! Also any new spinoffs Xiangling’s already made from the initial ones you gave her, and now Eula not only graciously thanks you for the recipes, but also her new pen pal! :)

Diona = So, to prep for this gift, you forced converted the Cat’s Tail to a non-alcoholic cat cafe during the daytime, and only in the evenings do they start serving alcohol/cats put up. You also got onto Margaret for hiring a child to make alcohol, so instead have Diona work better hours, and only during the cafe time, so she’s not making alcoholic drinks either. (you also checked in on child labor laws in Mondstadt, and ran some paperwork by Jean just in case) But most importantly, you teach Diona all kinds of new drink recipes to make, like Shirley Temples, smoothies, etc. You even (once again, by getting help from Xiangling and Diluc) made a drink for hangovers, but more importantly, helped her make one called “Sober Up” which magically flushes out the alcohol out of someone’s body, so Diona can finally sneak people a drink that (while still cursed to be well-made since Diona made it) is a trip to drink lol, it’s like a blast of carbonation/electricity to the system and will typically make most people very nauseous (but since magic’s doing it, they dont need to throw up, they’re just sick feeling for an hour depending on how much they drank). Diona nearly cried after she saw the effect on hungover customers, and immediately started sneaking them into her father’s drinks, so now he’s leaning more toward sobriety most days, and after finding out what Diona did, started to talk to his daughter more. The next time you see her, and ask after her father, she just wraps her little arms around your waist, the highest she can reach, you hug her back.

Chongyun = for prep for this gift, you painstakingly, slowly convince Chongyun to accept more and more moments of warmth, like trying some spicy food that’s gone cold, but just away from people so he can be silly out in the Liyuean mountains instead, and to try and use exposure therapy to try and get him used to yin energy/warm/excitable things, rather than the inefficient method of just avoiding it all (as it doesn’t always work/deprives him of so many nice things!! >:[ ). So that way! You can finally! Take him to have fun!!! You haul him (and Xingqiu bc the more the merrier) to go swimming in Luhua Pools, go jumping off all the peaks from one to another paragliding, using cryo to surf down waterfalls, and most importantly, go to a hot springs at the end of the day! Chongyun was worried about them being too hot and activating his yang energy, but you all agreed he had been training to get used to it, so now he when he goes to try it, he just relaxes into the heat. He could feel the tug to get out and run in circles and get excited, but finally, Chongyun could just choose to sit and relax into the warmth with friends instead :)

Ganyu = if I had a nickel for every woman In teyvat who just needs a break I’d be fucking rich …Obviously, a day off. But an ACTUAL day off, with work regulated to others, and unless there’s an Osial level incident 2.0 (fuck his wife, you put Shenhe on duty to protect Liyue just in case) NO ONE. IS. TO. DISTURB. GANYU’S. FIRST. VACATION. IN. DECADES. You get her to show you the prettiest viewing spots in Liyue, and as you go, tell stories from your life on Earth, showing her pictures on your phone (from both the internet and ur photos), to show her how mortal you are on one hand, but then how different you are here, upgrading her weapons and artifacts, and most importantly, her gift, a Teyvat modified cellphone! Albedo and you had been working together for months to try and make something close enough to connect ur two worlds, while introducing him to adeptal magic and other powerful objects like primogems and wishes that you have to help power it, that way the only other person who might understand immediately how it feels to be (literally lol) caught between two worlds can always rely on each other! …Ganyu cried. Yep, tears down her cheeks and everything, “…I- I- don’t even- even know what to say? All this, telling me about your mortal world, helping me get stronger, and now- now this? I may not have much to give in return, other than my company and my bow… but should you ever need me, or even wish for me, I will hold you as steady as I hold together Liyue itself, my Emperor." Ganyu’s smile is so, so, so pretty, and all the prettier now that her soft blue hair and sweet eyes are framed by the sunset, like it’s her own gift back to you.

Qiqi = A backpack for herbs! You’ve made sure to stitch her name into it so in case she forgets it’s hers, she’ll just see her name again, and lots of little pockets so she can carry all the herbs/make deliveries, it looks a little like this but with a goat instead of cow, and some cocouts lmao, literally a “coco-goat” milk backpack! She is now the cutest person in Liyue, everyone agrees, nearly every single person who comes into Bubu Pharmacy gives Qiqi a compliment now, and Baizhu will periodically take a break just so he and Changsheng can coo at her lmao (Qiqi made sure she wrote down in her notebook in big letters next to your name “This person made my cocogoat backpack, remember to thank them during prayer times, and collect lots of fresh herbs for them”)

Shenhe = It’s kind of a lot, but really, at this point, you’ve done more for some of the others so this probably isn’t even scratching the surface of how big of a gift you can give, so why not. Going full steam ahead, you furnish her a house at the edge of town, so that she’s not overwhelmed by all the human traffic/people, but still close enough to make the friends she wants! When you first show her the dining/living room so plenty of guests can come over, and begin to tour her through it, the strongest woman you’ve probably ever known gently holds your shoulders and stops you from speaking, and turns you to face her, Shenhe’s eyes are sharp with observation as they roam your face, and then settle on your own wide eyes. Her eyes soften, and a small smile warms her usual stern face, (idc how tall you are, she’s taller, I fucking promise) as she leans down a little to look at you closely in the eyes, “Thank you for being a kind god. You did not have to be so generous to me, and yet here you are. If you ever feel like you’re an outsider in Teyvat, in any country or company you find yourself in, please, promise me you’ll come here. Come home to me?” ✨💘✨

Ayaka = You manage to get her away from her duties to take her out to Sumeru! Mostly so you can introduce her to Nilou, see her performance, and the flourishing arts that now fill Sumeru City’s streets, and more importantly, a dress you made so she could dance with Nilou + dance on stage, she wasn’t confident enough/didn’t want to dance for a crowd, so it’s just you three or just you two after awhile. Ayaka looks the happiest she’s been in awhile, more so than you ever saw in game, and it’s… almost like a breath of fresh air to see her away from what you felt was such an isolating environment, even after the Vision Hunt Decree was over. For her last dance, Ayaka does so alone, a little after the sun has set, so it’s all blue, and the stars are coming out, finally, you get to see an even better version of the dance she gave the traveler that night. She only opens her eyes at the end, to give you the giddiest smile you’ve ever seen on her, cheeks cute and plumped up bc she’s smiling so hard, and bows to you (Ayaka’s thanked you a million times, but she doesn’t need to, you can feel how happy she is just from this)

Mika = THE BOY!! One of the most boys to ever boy in all of Teyvat!! Your boy!!! :D What a boy, he nearly fainted when you handed over his gift one day, and you had to reach out and steady him, then hand him it again 😭 It’s similar to the Marauder’s Map, since you enchanted it (once again, what’s the point of dev access if I can’t make gifts for my skrunklies?) and since you don’t want it to end up in bad hands/get spyed on, it only shows itself with a phrase as well “I wish upon a golden star, to know this land as well as its player.” and it’ll show him everyone in public spaces in Mondstadt, not private homes, but like the plaza, the church, the Knights of Favonius, etc. He thanks you every single time he sees you for the map, as it’s both fascinating to him to have a proper well-drawn map of the city of Mondstadt (you copied it from the Teyvat in game map, but there were some buildings missing bc they’re more real here/more fleshed out as a irl city) but that just made Mika even happier bc he can go and map them out!! Literally can’t talk to you bc all he’s saying is “T-TH-TH-THANK-THANK YOU ALL FURST-!!!” before running away most of the time lol

Layla = An embroidered tiny pillow for her to easily clip onto her bag/fit in it, and take on the go with her! (this but the text just says “Sweet Dreams Layla ♡” ) that you’ve also added scent to, including some sleep inducing magics, so she’s guarenteed to sleep well and efficiently when she uses it! She blushed so hard you thought she was sick at first when you gave it to her, and she also used the pillow as a shield to hide her face as she thanked you lmao, and she made you a pillow in return! …even if she thinks it’s not as good as yours, both craft wise and function, Layla worked for weeks on it! …lol now ur the one hiding ur face behind a pillow (this but they’re all plants of sumeru)

Aloy = …if you had a nickel for every person you’ve provided with a house, you’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice… Poor damn heroine just got dragged from one world to the next, just as the last one finally was at peace, now she’s here in Teyvat, where nothing’s familiar, the entire world is set up different, people are nicer and more open here, and there’s still threats looming on its horizon. Needless to say, she is tired, and misses her own homeworld. You really wish on her behalf that Hoyo hadn’t done a crossover, but since she’s here, you figure you might as well make it easier on her. You’ve made another teapot-like adeptal magic container, so she can have a place all to herself, and given her a ticket to your own, afterall, if anybody knows what’s its like to get yanked to another world, specifically Teyvat, it’d be the travelers and yourself, and sure enough as time goes one, Aloy becomes closer with you all, and begins to finally feel a sense of familiarity, she wraps an arm around your shoulders the first time she saw you tried to make her own personal teapot place emulate her homeworld. The widest grin you’ve seen on her face, she gives you a squeeze, “It’s just been one adventure after the next, and when we started out, you were just another stranger in a world I didn't understand. But after everything we've been through, I can say this for certain: My bow is yours, now and always. Thank you for the second home, my king.” Aloy says teasingly, laughing at the face you make.

Geo Allogenes:

Noelle = goddamn when will the busy women trend END these poor souls Motherfucker, you’re gift to Noelle was to knight the damn girl yourself. No, but you nearly talked Jean’s ear off for an hour, after gathering evidence (both from eyewitnesses, and Noelle herself, including other knights and Jean herself) about why the literal fuck Noelle wasn’t a Knight of Favonius yet, and why she should be. After genuinely shaking Jean’s nerves a little, she agreed, and finally, Noelle was going to knighted along with any other potential recruits during the testing season, (as people with high reputations, which, once again, using your god status for all its worth, could recommend new recruits) but most importantly… You gave her a 5-star claymore, which, you do have to somewhat work on yourself physically in teyvat now, but your dev access lets you cheat a little (like the cooking meter on cooking dishes, you’re the goddamn cooking god when hosting guests hehe) so you also are allowed to edit it, like adding a Geo-bonus to the weapon itself! When the ceremony for knighthood was going, and pretty much all of Mondstadt came to finally see Noelle get knighted, you made a fun show of walking out where you were hiding and replacing Jean, to knight Noelle yourself. She’s gone completely red in the face, and is starting to sway a little in her down on one knee position, as you gently place the blade on both shoulders, and grin at her as you turn and pull out the claymore for her. She actually does end up falling over, pale as a ghost, whoops-

Albedo = internet access so he can become a fucking god basically the alchemist is a hard guy to make a gift for, another person you’re a little afraid high-quality handmade gifts would impress him more… so you worked hard, and eventually you managed to make three big notebooks for Albedo, one with lined paper, one bulleted, and one blank for sketches (you did the title page a decent sketch of his pretty face smiling and “For Albedo” underneath, and while that one had a picture, the other two had just the words) and you also loaned him your cellphone for awhile, and suggested the idea of a laptop to make for himself, as he already managed to get you connected to Earth’s internet again, that’s part of the reason you customized/made him notebooks, so he could research from the internet and write down any notes he wanted! …wow. you really did it. after explained all this, and leaving him notes about the laptop idea as loose paper stuck inside one of them, you managed… to get Albedo to… smile. At you. Like a FULL smile, pretty lips, wide smile, and flushed cheeks-!! Albedo caught the notebooks you almost dropped.

Ningguang = what do you get the woman that has everything? so you started to think of things that’d make an experience, and after remembering her lore about her making a chess game, you decided a board game would be good! And if you make the little pieces, it’d be one of a kind too! (she’s the type that really loves handmade gifts/as long as you put effort in it doesnt matter how “bad” it looks to her, she’ll believe it’s still good <3) …So you made a Teyvat version of Monopoly. You figured the business part would be in her realm of expertise, and maybe she could use it to play with business associates or friends, and of course, she’s a competitive woman, so she thinks it’s great, and even asked permission that a marketable version be made (one that’s not nearly as nice quality as hers from you obviously)! Ningguang also treated you very well as a thank you for making it for her, a nice dinner at Liuli Pavilion, with a useful gift of places you haven’t seen in Teyvat yet bc it’s more expansive now that you’re physically here!! You may have gotten over-excited about it… and she may have chuckled at you… and you may have gotten flustered after she rested her pretty hand on yours for nearly half the dinner as you stuttered thru and explanation of the game…

Zhongli = …what do you get the man that has everything (ningguang problem 2.0)?? Well, since you thought of something for her that was an experience a little bit, yet also one of a kind, you figured the same path for the previous God of Wealth/literally invented money/etc. would do, plus he’d the type to deeply appreciate handmade gifts too! Using a few chunks of Light Realm Core, 3 Masterless Starglitter, 1 Intertwined Fate, and 1 Condensed Resin, to make a nigh indestructible Ginko leaf hair pin, which also to replace his last pin, which while not broken, was getting old and beat up (he’s immortal he doesn’ notice these things unless they’re like magically long lasting items lol). But in a few spots are these peach beads like this instead of all white beads, like on the ring both have symbols of longevity, and are usally associated with immortals, you wanted to make something that’d also hold memories (hence the resin, from leylines) so if the erosion ever took him, Zhongli could hold the pin and see some of his favorite memories played back (like misty glittering gold projections)! When you told him all this, the materials, (he obv knew the symbols) and the intentions, and then handed him the gift, his soft smile got bigger and bigger, until you could see him small fangs (❤️‍🔥) and then he turned around? You were confused, until he look over his shoulder, his eyes flashing gold in the sunlight, “Will you do me the honor, my Emperor?” OH- you unclip his old geo cor lapis one, and pull his hair up into more of a low bun, and put the hair piece in. the golden ginko leaves chime softly in the breeze. The old god turns back to you (idc how tall you are, he’s taller, and he had to crouch a little so you could reach lol) and gives you that blinding, beautiful smile again, the kind that makes his eyes look warm and happy. He takes your hand delicately, like you’re made of something fragile instead of stars and magic stronger than any he’s ever seen, “Truly, you bless me too generously, my Emperor. Thank you, for caring for a forgotten god like me, for caring about my heart.” …Zhongli presses a soft chaste kiss to your knuckles, right on the middle finger’s knuckle, his lips are warm and so, so soft, like they’re barely even there. <3

Yunjin = a bit difficult because she’s so theater focused in life, but you figure since she does solo shows a lot, she’ll still be the one to benefit the most from your gift, you made some floating plaustrite lanterns to help heft some platforms for more stage space/cool effects! (this but a little more detail, you painted some bamboo and a few simple adepti on them) Like putting props up there or lights to aim on actors, or even actors themselves since the floating rock is steady enough! Yunjin practically squealed (which immediately made every actor in the vicintity be like “YUNJIN!! UR VOICE WILL GO HOARSE STOP-”) and gather the whole troupe to thank you! But she especially told you that although she already intended for you to have front row seats every time you came to see her plays, she especially wanted to get some stories from your life, or even just your favorites from Earth for her to perform for you!! (she even suggested that one of the platforms could be your special seat, like an opera box seat lol)

Itto = you know that belt buckle he wears that’s just an Oni head? Yeah, you made him a second belt but with a onikabuto beetle as the buckle instead! (kinda like this) but a small enough it’s not inconvenient and poking his stomach, which you definitely got a Inazuman blacksmith to help out, you mostly painted it, and when you show Itto the belt, mans literally just wraps his buff arms around you like a hug but then just starts spinning you rapidly, and lets out the highest pitch “EEEEEEEEEEE-!!!” you’ve ever heard him make (and you’ve given him a few trinkets before, so this is a new record wow). No, it doesn’t matter to Itto how much you weigh, have you seen his abs?! He says as he’s still got you a little off the ground, and is now walking away with your limp body and wearing his new belt, “This, and a proper meal to thank you are the bare minimum, my wonderful emperor! Come on, the gang’s already there anyway, you gotta try my Granny Oni’s food, and I’ll make something too! My best, most special, sandwich, Way of the Strong!! Y’know, because if anybody deserves it, it’d be the strongest, and sweetest, you!!”

Gorou = since teyvat isn’t exactly the pinnacle of advanced civilization, though there are some advancements sure like the Kamera, there are still a fair amount of things that’re just left up to locals to produce and make using whatever process they’ve got, regardless of efficiency, and one of those is soap. Yep, soap. Earth is more advanced when it comes to beauty products, but also hygiene products, and Gorou has a hard time maintaining his tail he’s said when he’s stressed/overworked. So, you used some knowledge from your interdimensional smartphone (love u Albedo) to find a homemade recipe to make soap! (…for dogs, but you don’t know if he’d find it offensive… so you don’t tell him LMAO) and you even made it a cute shape (just so when you handed it over, he’d open it and of course, go all red all the way down his neck even, hehe, (he secretly liked it)

You towards all of Teyvat, except it's not even their birthdays (idk if u want it to be it can)

☆

PLEASE LET KNOW IF ANY LINKS/PICS ARE INACCURATE FOR A CULTURE/MISLABELED ETC.

Me after writing all this:  _」(´ཀ`」 ∠)__

… so I may have hyperfixated a little too hard on this one.

Did the OG asker want this? …probably not…

Did anyone ask for this?? …no.

…did I do it anyway….…yes.

…sorry?

(I promise I only thought to do this because there are so many characters left out in favor of the more popular ones for most SAGAU posts, and bc i never want any of my babes to feel any less loved than any others if I was actually there in Teyvat… you get… this mess.)

sorry!

☆

Safe Travels,

💀♒

☆MY BELOVEDS☆

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche

[melkyt]

Hero!Luffy and a Villain!Law

Luffy who is new on the scene, saving people left and right cause he feels like it, no concept of the system. No concept of the rules heroes have to follow and that they have to answer to the goverment. Its like if the world goverment tried to make him a warlord instead of an emperor in an attempt to control him and are failing in a spactacular fashion. Still they control the news and twist his actions to be on their side

Law never had a chance to be on the hero payroll. His power is valuable and dangerous, but not in a way where it matters if he is conscious. He has been on the run since childhood, hates heroes, and everything world government.

There is a big catastrophic attack, Luffy is there, probably somehow involved in it. Whoever attacked hurt his friends, got way too close to those he loves and the place he calls home. Luffy absolutely fucking up the man, crashing onto the street right where Law is, who is just there helping people.

Law swearing that he is going to have to deal with a goody two shoes Hero.

Then Luffy speaks, something along the lines of 'i will make you suffer, i will destroy everything you got' Luffy listing threats and smiling all the while.

Law *smitten* at the creative description of violence. He looks into Luffy from the meeting, and every recording on the underground is Luffy being savage to anyone who crosses him. Not killing but destroying them to the core. It only happens to be that he has taken out villains so far, but Law digs far enough to see shit the WG covered.

Luffy taking out officials, and every big hero that try to recruit him. Law is now obsessed. Though wonders if Luffy made some deal with the WG. Thats the only explaination why Luffy is still a 'hero'.

He decides to take that risk anyway, and approach the younger man. Coming up with intricate plans to convince Luffy to join him.

Inviting the 'hero' to get lunch in a public place, using his cover as a doctor, thats not much of a cover if anyone thinks about it for give seconds in the usual Law fashion.

Luffy has no idea who he is, ordering the whole menu.

Law sighing, and explaining that he needs help taking out an asshole.

Luffy says yeah, sure, whatever, before Law even finishes that its Doffy and is in the WG.

Luffy shrugs and says he'll do it on tv if Law wants, he bored with being a hero anyway and was gonna destroy the main WG guy eventually anyway.

Law, already smitten, is gone.

Cute and gunho about anarchy? Yeah, yeah, he is in love.

Luffy, on the other hand, is just chilling, not careing. They split ways. Law leaves with the note that he will get in touch. This conversation is recorded since it's a public place.

Which lands Luffy in hot water, not like he cares. Yet instead of targetting him, they target his family, his brothers.

Ace not having the protection of being a hero, but also not a villain. Vigilante that sometimes causes shit but mostly stays under the radar because of Luffy's status.

They arrest him, and equivalent of marineford follows.

Law is the one who helps Luffy out of the situation, helping Ace hide away, and treating the fire user with his power.

Which is what gets Luffy to really look at Law, something he hasnt done. People give him food and ask him for help all the time but someone giving him the same? Rare.

Luffy crashing in Law's apartment while they have to lay low. Usually he would be bored and itching to go fight and fuck up his enemies, two minutes into staying in one place.

Here he watches Law, all the little things, memorizing what the man likes and who he is. In that intense way Luffy used to study people pre-timeskip to decide if they were worthy of being friends. Its a kind of unblinking stare that radiates power and bothers most people.

Yet Law is unbothered, growing up around villains, with Doffy and dealing with men like Kaido. He is used to it.

Which only gets Luffy more fascinated. Law is different than most people. He has that thing Luffy looks for in friends, with the added bonus of approaching him first.

Law falls first, Luffy falls harder. And ofc immediately acts on it in true Luffy fashion "You're my boyfriend now"

Law no hesitation is just "Okay"

They get caught kissing on camera and that is what makes Luffy a villain lol. Everything else can be covered up, but a third gen hero, colluding with a villain.

With Law, who has been a thorn in the WG since he was born as he is a result of some superpower experiment and his blood holds some big secret, some formula they lost and need. Luffy should be capturing him, not fucking around xd

They ofc dont care, take out Doffy and topple the system and are a menace in general.

[cactusspatz]

August recs

Okay, I've got a handful of miscellaneous recs, and then ten recs for Victoria Goddard's Nine Worlds series, which I'm putting under a cut because at least two of you I know are still reading and the recs are full of spoilers for At the Feet of the Sun. Enjoy!

MISC

The Long Way Home by itsnatalie (DCU, gen)

With Jason tentatively back in the Batfamily, things are going pretty well for him--except for the whole thing with Tim. But who gives a shit about Tim Drake? But when Jason and Tim are pulled into a frightening race for their lives inside a labyrinth that's out to kill them, they may have to look past their differences just to stay alive. Maybe along the way, they'll discover they aren't as different as they thought, and family comes in many different forms.

Spectacular in every aspect: the horror, the action, the hurt/comfort, the brotherly devotion underlying their swarm of issues, and the ending. I really can't rec this one highly enough.

Late Night, North Station by raitala (Untamed, Wangxian)

Lan Zhan finds A-Yuan lost in the railway station. He maybe finds more than he bargained for. Some mornings you leave for the office and come back with a son (and possibly a husband too).

Sooooo sweet, with a lovely autistic LWJ POV. The sequel is still a WIP but is great so far.

Beginning at the End by WerewolvesAreReal (Temeraire, Granby/Little)

In many ways it seems that John's life revolves around William Laurence.

Lovely character study trilogy with Granby sorting out his unrequited thing for Laurence and his ongoing thing with Little.

thou, who art victory and law by The_Apocryphal_One (Goblin Emperor, Csethiro/Maia)

He couldn’t help his unintelligence, any more than she could help her father. And he was kind. She should try to remember that. (Or: Csethiro Ceredin goes into her betrothal to Emperor Edrehasivar VII with assumptions, and has every one of them challenged.)

Great Csethiro POV as she works through her pride and preconceptions.

NINE WORLDS

Embers by alfgifu

Kip Mdang returns to Solaara, hardly confident that the Imperial Service will take him back but sure that there is no place for him in the Vangavaye-ve. The City of Cities is still expanding from the backwater village it was before the Fall; the work of reconstruction continues but it is no longer a simple crisis. In the Palace the big political beasts are circling for position under the newly awakened Emperor. Despondent and determined to bury himself in work, Cliopher finds his former patron disapproving and the new Master of Offices openly hostile. But he is still a fifth degree secretary, and some problems are easier to solve when you feel that you have little left to lose… and don't care which enemies you make along the way.

Amazing!!! Basically a novel-length series digging into the difficult period between Kip returning and Kip becoming the Hands of the Emperor, with tons of bureaucracy and corruption and competence porn and of course, his devotion to His Radiancy and building a better government. Also features wonderful OCs, worldbuilding, a really horrifying bit of magic, some unexpected allies, humor, and Kip being just a really lovely (and determined, and traumatized) person.

thank you!!! no walnuts!!! by mage-pie

Pikabe has fucked over his army career (and maybe his whole life) by refusing illegal orders to commit a war crime and kinda sorta leading a mutiny (he was cleared of wrongdoing, but still, mutiny). He’s been shuffled out of the way to some random base where everyone gives him the side-eye (because mutiny) and he’s never going to see anyone from his old unit ever again. (Which doesn’t matter, his former lieutenant’s also-fucked-over life is none of his business, whatever, it’s fine it’s fine.) Then he gets a mysterious package and a mysterious Solaaran visitor who might have an idea about turning things around (a suggestion, even).

Fun possible backstory for Pikabe; part of a series that I haven't read in full yet but it stands alone.

Signals by Penguinity

Kiri cleared her throat, and the secretaries looked up as one. She waved the letters in one hand. “The stack in the second pigeonhole, what sort of letters are these?” “The ones from people who aren’t crackpots, but don’t need help from our office.” Cliopher nodded, satisfied. “Indeed, well-sorted.” Kiri held up a finger to silence him. “And?” There was a brief pause, before Gaudy gave an almost inaudible sigh and answered. “And who are flirting with Lord Mdang.”

SO funny, featuring the junior secretaries and Kip's ace obliviousness.

A Good Man by Quasar

It takes a while, but eventually Masseo discovers why a man with no name got saddled with a family curse.

Brilliant little premise run off that line about how Ludvic violating the Emperor's taboos would curse his whole family.

One Bed Too Many by white_hart

They slept beside each other on the deck of the vaha, and in a nest of cushions in the solarium, but this is the first time there's been a bed. In fact, there are two.

Sweet immediately-post-ATFOTS fic with them negotiating physical intimacy.

Five People Who Were Surprised The Next Time They Met Cliopher by Quasar

Five people who were astonished when they met Cliopher after the events of At The Feet Of The Sun.

What it says on the tin! A fun collection of people, culminating in Pali and Kip figuring out a detente.

Thrive in the Sun by electropeach

A day in the retired life of Cliopher Mdang: the sun, the sea, the wind, his fanoa… and a cousin baking up a storm in his kitchen. (Alternately titled "Enya Hears About Sardeet")

Immensely soft and funny series, with just a dash of feels about Fitzroy's tragic childhood.

The Tanà’s Day Off by rattyjol

Kip takes the day off. Fitzroy fills in.

In which they are so so cute and extremely married.

Homing by oliviacirce

Homing, adj., (1) having a natural ability to find the way home from a long distance away, (2) guiding or directing homeward; v., (1) to aim at something and move quickly and directly toward it

More on the theme of Kip and Fitzroy figuring out their asexual/allosexual relationship, with an assist from the retirement house squad. Lovely and domestic.

Kip Thistlethwaite by alfgifu

His tone was light on the offer itself, despite the sturdiness of his declaration of identity. She could refuse him with no embarrassment to either of them, turning this into a joke that they could laugh over with Basil later in the evening - but - but - those steady brown eyes were serious. “A marriage of convenience?” she said, equally lightly, “how gallant, sirrah.”

I am going absolutely feral waiting for more of this delightful series, in which Kip happens to be visiting Basil when Jullanar is blackmailed, and offers himself as an alternative. The second story deals with the Emperor finding out that his secretary is indeed married to THAT Jullanar.

[enchantedchocolatebars]

Do you remember my headcanon that Lilith and Belos were once close until Belos realized that his mission was under threat?

So, recently I came up with an idea for AU. Instead of pushing Lilith away, Belos decides that he can help her atone for being a witch. He likes this girl, who is also a descendant of his brother.

So when the Golden Guard is killed (on mission or by Belos), Belos offers Lilith to take his place and become his right hand gal. She is surprised, but she is glad that she will be able to help her sworn uncle. She trains hard, receives a staff of artificial magic from Belos, while still retaining her palisman. She tries to be worthy of this position. She doesn't want to disgrace the memory of the previous Golden Guard.

Belos is pleased with her success. To some extent, he is glad that Lilith's parents did not pay attention to her. Belos gives her what she has been lacking - parental love and attention. He uses a completely new approach because Lilith is different from the grimwalkers. So if there was a best parent contest on the Boiling Isles, Belos would have taken first place. And Lilith thinks less and less about her parents, but does not forget about her sister.

She tells Belos everything she knew about that incident, fearing that he would not like her action, but he is not angry. He tells Lilith that she is not to blame, that she was guided by the best intentions, he encourages her in every possible way, and after the conversation he goes to the Collector. Because the symbol from the scroll, described and drawn by Lilith, was hard not to recognize. The Collector tells him how to get the Owl Beast out of Eda.

Soon Belos personally comes to the Owl House, puts Eda to sleep and brings her to the castle to cure her. He distracted Hooty with a bucket of bugs.

While Eda was sleeping, Belos used the portal and studied how the human realm had changed. Many things struck him, many things he found disgusting but tolerable, but on the whole he was delighted with the achievements of mankind. And he had to reconsider his plans to destroy the witches, which made him sad. But only magic could solve environmental problems, hunger problems and much more.

The first thing Eda sees when she wakes up is Lilith in the form of a Golden Guard without a mask. And she is shocked, because she could not even think that the new Golden Guard is her sister. And she is surprised that Lilith calls Belos uncle. Belos tells Eda that she no longer has the curse, and Eda is glad that mom will stop coming with her healing attempts. Her words shock Lilith, who hardly remembers the last time she saw her parents.

Belos shocks Eda once more by cheering Lilith on. Eda wants to figure everything out. Lilith is glad that now her sister will be able to become part of the Emperor coven, but Belos says that Eda needs to recover and decide her fate herself. But Eda agrees to think about joining the coven in order to understand why Lilith behaves like this to the Emperor. She will be shocked many times. And gradually, she will also become part of their little family.

As for Gwendolyn and Dell... Lilith doesn't want to have anything to do with them, because she has a cool uncle. Eda will share her sister's opinion. Gwendolyn and Dell will be morally broken, but they are glad that their children are doing well even if they do not want to see them.

So, what do you think?

Hi, Anon!

I think I do (I think that's the one I had to delete, screenshot, and repost without character tags because someone left a rude comment on it).

But anyway, this au idea is really interesting! 👀 👀 👀

[differentnighttale]

Funny How This Is Love

Advisory: this is a poem written from the perspective of someone who hates love, sees it as poison and has horrid and hates it. This is just a literary work and the speaker, the character hates and blames women for some odd reason.

Also, I study both Literature and History in school, so I guess is to poke fun in both. 🙃 🫠

The mind of a writer is weird and complicated. It is mad and crazy indeed.

Now. Enjoy.

Funny How This is Love:

Funny how this love twists the heart, Blinds the strong, Breaks their will, Makes them grovel, Beg on their knees, Controls their actions, Easy to manipulate.

Made them lose all sense of reason, Hunger over needless words of gratifications, Forced them together like the world's end, Clashed our souls together, Meshed it.

Shatters deep motivations Ingrained deep, All because of wiles, words and pheromones. The stupid urge to reproduce, Let emotions guard the way, Let the heart wander, Made the legs fly. Made smart men stupid, Led them their deaths All because a creature sang You jumped in just to be with her Oh yes, Funny how this love,

Funny how this love Shattered kingdoms, Collapsed empires, Once great and strong, Pulled it out like a tablecloth.

Funny how this love flooded empires, Destroyed its monuments. Sank all the buildings, Drowned all those people.

Funny how this love made great kings made, Ruined their minds. Made them stupid. Hearts leeched by love.

Never were they dragged back down. It Ruins everything it touches.

We are animals you see, Wild and primitive, When one mate dies, We scout for another.

This love is replaceable, there is no such thing as that Hunger for more. Makes them a slave to them. Slices their heartstrings. Interwines their hearts. Ruins their goals. All for what.

A person to trample over them, Hurt them with words, Injurie them with the body, Ingrain them with lies. Oh yes what is this love. Intertwine bodies with lust, Craves each other's bodies. To their feelings driven by the animalistic mind. Fades over time. Then reality hits. The clock struck twelve. The future and hope faded away. It shackles them together. Two incompatible beings.

Funny how this love, Destroyed Egypt, Ruined empires. Blinded the strong made them weak. Destroyed all logic. Made a person hypnotized by their beauty, Their words, And bodies, Throw them on a pedestal and made them God, Reminds me of a great man, Who threw his whole work, A general in the army.

Now a man of love, Betrays his emperor, All because of her. His hunger for glory of Rome, To become to fateful ruler. That indecisive prick. His heart torn apart. Left the sister of he who had wedded, And took her heart too, Made it easy for the king to attack. All because of this love, For a queen. Lost a war. Then offed himself. All because he trusted her, A seductress, A power-hungry wrench, Bedded by many others.

Yes, funny how this love, Ruins all pure things, Taints them And destroys them, Oh yes, Funny how this love. The poison, This infection,

All because man cannot live alone. Man cannot be solitary. Of course, no man is an island,

Funny how this love Forced two kings to fight, Over a woman, Sworn to be a beauty, One kidnapped his love. Sent ships over the big wide ocean, Over his love to safe her, His men created a false horse, Used to lure the king, Stupidly let down his walls. Made him bare, Then ruined his kingdom, Maybe love isn't all that stupid, It forced a man to speak, To think, Funny how this love. Makes strong men weak. Blinded by delusions. Love Ruins all, Don't get infected.

PS:I had a creative spark in a threw hour train ride. Images found on Pinterest.

[santmat]

Hedonists and Gnostic Cave-dwellers Somewhere in Time By James Bean

The classic Gnostic soul struggled against the cruel hand of fate, astral archons (rulers), principalities, powers, emperors, and bishops. The Gnostic teachings from the Coptic/Greek period have quite an ascetic tone. "The material universe is evil", "be not of this world." Holy texts were studied by Pachomian monks living in caves not far from Nag Hammadi, Egypt. The discovery site of the Gnostic Gospels was near those caves. On the walls of some of those caves are examples of graffiti: crosses and fish symbols. After the Fourth Century, Gnosis mostly disappears from the scene in the Roman Empire due to extreme persecution from those who paid lip-service to phrases like "love your enemies", and' "turn the other cheek", but they had no concept of democracy and freedom of religion -- freedom for all religions. The Library of Alexandria was burned, the Nag Hammadi Library, buried.

In the East however, Gnosis continued to develop and evolve, taking on more of an ecstatic, poetic ethos during the medieval period. The type of Eastern Gnosis I follow isn't so ascetic as Nag Hammadi mysticism. After all, the lower material universe is no longer a "prison" for those who can freely come and go as they please. This changes everything. I know of some mystics that are very otherworldly and yet can also enjoy looking at the stars, feasting on great Indian food, love the ocean or a beautiful sunset. Very out-of-this-world during meditations, and at the same time, we come to see the Light of God everywhere, within everyone, in this outer plane of existence as well, all as a result of those advanced meditation experiences. "His Presence fills the Three Worlds". (Adi Granth) Such extremists we humans are, either hedonists or cave-dwellers. We were meant to go from state to state, from the world of action to the world of contemplation, from the waking state to the dream state to the unconscious state of deep sleep, and there is also the Fourth State beyond. This too can be divided into several levels or states: astral, causal or akashic, mental, etheric, and spiritual, the True State (Timeless, Sat, Haq, "Spirit and Truth". Full circle we come. The spiritual state can also be perceived as four different stages, ranging from the "drop" (the soul) remaining separate, to "nearness", and all the way to that of Oneness or merging into the Divine Ocean (Kaivalaya, Anadi, Anami, Ra-Dha-Swam-I, the "Nameless One in the Eighth").

Know also that the Reality has described Himself as being the Outer and the Inner, Manifest and Unmanifest. He brought the Cosmos into being as constituting an Unseen Realm and a Sensory Realm, so that we might perceive the Inner though our unseen and the Outer through our sensory aspect. (Ibn `Arabi, "Ibn Al `Arabi - The Bezels of Wisdom", Paulist Press) Not an easy balancing act, this concept of having one's feet upon the earth and yet one's third eye-soul ascending through various realms going toward the Great Light during practice each day, yet everyone will make it back there eventually. It's simply a matter of "time" and how receptive we are to this experience during the present life. Some are in a hurry to return while others travel much much much more slowly. It was for the sake of the God-conscious beings that our True Lord created this earth, and began this play of birth and death. (Guru Nanak) To Him We Shall Return I died as mineral and became a plant; I died as plant and rose to animal, I died as animal and I was a man. Then why fear disappearance through death? When was I less by dying? Next time I shall die To soar -- with angels blessed, But even from angelhood I must pass on; All except God doth perish. When I have sacrificed my angel soul, I shall become what no mind ever conceived. What you cannot imagine, I shall be that. Oh! let me not exist, for non-existence Proclaims in organ-tones, 'To Him we shall return.' -- Rumi "We have come from the Light and will return there again." We're already in heaven if we did but know it. A great Master by the name of Huzur Baba Sawan Singh was once asked, "How long does it take you to go to Sach Khand (the spiritual realm, Sat Lok)"? He closed his eyes for fifteen seconds, and then opened them again, saying, "just that long". This is the real Secret. Thy Light is within the beings, And the beings are all within Thy Light. O supremely Incomprehensible Lord, Thou Art perfectly filling all things. It is the Light that lives in every heart, And Thy Light that illuminates every soul. It is only through the guru's teachings that Light comes to be shown. (Guru Nanak, Peace Lagoon translation of the Adi Granth)

[lilyliveredlittlerichboy]

6 (continued)

In which we get a closer look at Mercymorn.

And Harrow finds out how to undo the nerve root twist keeping her paralysed; she would do well to heed Mercymorn's warning, tbh. That could have ended badly.

“Lie, Harrow. Now.” “Fifteen,” you said immediately, hoping your own meat would not betray you.

Why does the Body bid Harrow to lie?

I said, Put an age requirement in the letter! I said, Everyone will be pubescent if you don’t! And now we reap what he sowed. Hiss.

Hiss 🤣 Lady Mercymorn, you're funny.

She was right in calling Harrow and Ianthe babies. Idk how old Ianthe is, but she's still young as well. They're young for regular humans, nevermind Lyctors.

“You’ve met our respected elder sister, I see,” Ianthe said. “She accused me of being twelve, called me one of those animaphiliacs, then told me I wasn’t as good looking as someone called Cyrus. It was like being back with Mummy,” she added, with a touch of fond nostalgia.

Good to know Ianthe got the same treatment. Sounds like some Mummy issues are abound as well.

And what is up with this shuttle? We will see.

"Well, Nonagesimus, they do see action when the Cohort suddenly loses three warships to as many orbital radiation missiles, which is three more warships than we’ve lost in the past thousand years,” said Ianthe.

Eighteen thousand dead??? I have a bad feeling about this. Flashbacks to the prologue, when they were under attack from... those insecty things, who seem to be related to that thing the Emperor was talking about before. The Resurrection Beast.

As he drew closer, you could see that he looked as though he had prepared in a hurry; he carried a small bag, hastily packed, slung over his shoulder—the ever-present tablet peeked out of his pocket, along with what seemed to be at least five styluses—and he was dressed simply, as per usual, in a black shirt and trousers.

You know, for the God-Emperor, so venerated by everyone around him, he really just seems like some normal guy. Some totally normal, extremely powerful, practically immortal guy. Kinda like the Lyctors. I wonder what his story is.

Each leaf was intertwined with a match-sized infant fingerbone.

Sorry, anatomy nitpicking again. Infants don't have much in the way of fingerbones, it's mostly still cartilage at that point. What bones they do have in their fingers are going to be much, much smaller than matches.

Unless cartilage counts as bone, for these purposes? We may never know.

He turned to find the beautiful ward completed on the wall, and the Seventh adept quietly dying on the floor. There was a whorl of blood down her front; at some point she had levered her syringe deep into her subclavian artery. [...] Her expression changed from glassy-eyed expectation to resignation; she rolled over to kiss the dusty floor of the shuttle. You and Ianthe were left blinking, eyes and noses streaming, as though you had just eaten something slightly too spicy.

Ah, well, it's not Quite resurrection, as she wasn't Quite dead yet, but close enough. Interesting, the externalised power here, affecting Ianthe and Harrow. I want to study the Emperor and his powers under a microscope.

The non-sequitur conversation between the Emperor and Mercymorn is unnerving. When they start talking again, I have no idea what they're on about. I'm going to keep reading, assuming it will all be explained to me in due course.

She was deeply excited. That starry, far-off gaze refocused on you, and she whispered coyly: “Should we hold hands, in girlish solidarity?” At your expression, she puffed away a strand of colourless hair and remarked, “You’re the one who investigated my tonsils.”

Lmao, good point. I'm guessing that means she doesn't know the reason for the kiss - which I can only take as good news.

The shuttle might as well have been empty for all that you could sense within, except for that single foetal bundle of thanergy lying still inside the coffin.

Cytherea's, if I remember correctly. Ominous that Thalergy remains this long after she died.

Ohhh, we're getting more insight into The River and how it works. Absolutely Fascinating. It's like subspace, but also the underworld/afterlife, and apparently, full of man-eating monsters.

Interesting!! Sounds like a great place to take your two babyfaced new Lyctors to/through.

Mercy said lowly: “It turned out that being sensible and brilliant and careful doesn’t keep you from getting ripped to shreds by ten thousand feral ghosts.” Ianthe said, “But the Beast—?” “Emerged unscathed twenty minutes later,” the Emperor said. And: “Life’s a bitch.”

I wholeheartedly agree. It seems everyone here is grieving in some way.

You recalled the enormous construction of regrowing bone, your hands encased in it so that you could not wrench yourself free, your mind voyaging nauseously into the chamber of another person’s brain. God said, “You’ll need that skillset now."

How conveniently the narration/Harrow's memories twist themselves to avoid ever even mentioning Gideon.

And they're in the River, and this concludes the liveblog for the night. See you probably tomorrow for Chapter 7.

[kiliinstinct]

The Colosseum: Chapter 2

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Pairing: Nalu Rating: M

An update? To this fic? Sacrilege! How dare I update this after the years I've left it untouched? I promised I'd update it this year and update it I have! Also, thank @genavere for me. She beta'd this.

The funny thing here is the opening to this was literally done a week after I posted the last chapter. I can't believe it took me so long to get the rest of it. Whoops.

Note: There is a “different language” being spoken here. I wont make a translation key- as, I’ll be trying to detail what needs to be understood in the writing itself. The language used is not created by me, but is a Draconian Text used for some Dungeons and Dragons game.  Warning: This story is going to be the darkest thing I've ever wrote- but this chapter is tame. For the most part.

---

 ‘Tir ti enel-’

Princess Hisui had yet to learn the translation, but felt it had to be a form of insult. An exhausting week passed since she first visited the imprisoned Draconians, and despair settled deep in the Princess’ bones. All attempts to speak to the couple ended the same: the blonde silent and staring while the male growled and repeated the same phrase again and again.  

She recalled Faust mentioning the girl knew the common tongue and heard her speak it once--for a brief moment. Hisui hoped she would hear it herself, possibly ask if the girl the Emperor named ‘Lucy’ could translate and speak on the couple’s behalf. 

No such luck. 

All attempts at conversation failed, and Hisui changed her tactics to something more direct than talk: Action.  When she was permitted to see them, under the guise of study and curiosity-- she ordered her men to carry small items the two could use.

Usually it was food, stolen from the tables at supper or the pantries when her own guards dared to mingle with the cooks. Other times, fresh water, bandages, and, one time, even blankets. None of which were enough to be noticeable. Faust’s men didn’t check on them nearly enough, but any bit they were able to gather was far better than the rags that covered their stone beds and the scraps that had been deemed ‘meals.’ The Fioran Princess had yet to see if these small gifts helped. She worried they ignored the given food, but hoped it would, in the end, earn their trust. Even if just a little. 

‘Tir ti enel!’

The man - Natsu, he was called, yes?- merely kept repeating himself no matter her efforts.  Today, she considered giving up and stop risking the tentative peace. There were bigger worries to focus on than two slaves, and perhaps being left alone was  what he wanted, she mused.

Halfway up the stone steps, disheartened by the lack of progress she had made with them, she tried to stop her dismal thinking. As the heir and daughter of the Fiore throne, she would face greater challenges than this. It did not matter if they wished for solitude, freedom was what they deserved. A Fiore was just as stubborn as a Draconian, and made of a strong will, too.

Gathering her confidence, she took in a deep breath and counted to ten. A few more breaths and her will was set once more. She turned back, determined to try again with more fervor. They would have to accept her at some point, right?  She hoped her stubbornness wouldn’t lead her to a fool’s errand. 

They had already begun to eat their next gifted meal. A surprising amount of Natsu’s portion had been passed through the bars to cover Lucy’s plate and with it, another blanket. He seemed to intentionally give most of his commodities to his partner, keeping only a little for himself.  And while this sight was heartbreaking to Hisui, she also recognized it for what it truly was: a good sign. Could she consider that progress?

Another step closer and the male froze in position, a piece of bread halfway to his mouth. He tilted his gaze back to her and hissed low, spitting the phrase out in a mantra. 

Hisui steeled herself, she wouldn’t back down, not this time,  “I apologize, but I still don’t know what that means.”

Hisui hoped that maybe enough mention towards their obvious language barrier would lead to one of them explaining. But he only rolled his eyes in response. 

When he moved in front of the small window of his cell, the scales along his skin glimmered, reminding her of his heritage.  She wondered at Lucy’s scales, having barely glimpsed them during their debut battle. In comparison to the red that dotted Natsu’s skin, hers were lacking in luster, blending in with her skin. She wanted another glimpse, perhaps another chance to learn, but the woman was unwilling to move into the light. She kept herself shielded in the shadows, or against the wall of their joined cells, hands clasped in his.

It was…Tragic. 

There was no better word. Many could be said, but tragedy covered all in a neatly packaged bow. One she wished she could unwrap and return to the sender. 

They didn’t deserve this. To be locked up. Forced to fight. Away from their home: their friends and family– they had more than just themselves, yes?

Hisui chewed on one of her painted nails, ignoring the taste as she observed them.  What more could be done? If she freed them of her own volition, war could be declared between the Empire and Her Kingdom. 

Fiore was not in a position to handle war. Not now. Not against Faust. Helping them escape was the best option, but one Hisui couldn’t do. Not directly. Her people depended on her: Were depending on her. If she didn’t secure this alliance, everything could go belly up within a few years. 

That or her father would be forced to send her off to marriage, locked behind protocol and politics to serve as another man’s trophy. While nothing like the situation the blonde Draconian was in, Hisui felt a surge of empathy.  Anything, but that. She despised the thought of a marriage of convenience. Her father ruled the Kingdom just fine on his own, and while she would be the future Monarch, Hisui was confident in her abilities to do the same.

But if it meant the slow decline of her economy and the people she ruled over? Worser still, if Faust offered himself as a marriage candidate… She flinched, biting the nail to the quick. Tears stung the edges of her eyes and she sighed, staring at the two Draconians who never once took their eyes off her. 

“I don’t suppose you two have ideas on how I can earn your trust, do you?” She asked without expectations. They’d given her nothing so far, why believe they would now of all times? 

But Lucy looked upon Hisui through the fringe of her hair. Her eyes shimmered and her shoulders grew lax as if coming to a decision. For the first time in a week, she looked to consider Hisui’s words. 

“Nomagqe jaciv ui-ulph - uh… telling the truth?” She sounded it out slowly, unknown words mixing with known, and Hisui hoped the unfamiliar sentence meant what she thought it did. 

“Yes,” she urged, stepping closer to the bars in excitement. “Yes, I’m telling the truth, I swear!”

Lucy looked to Natsu, fingers clutching his own, and her head nodded. He growled in response, shaking his head wildly. “Thric, Lucinia. Thric. Jaciv wont klae hesi gewjtok ominaki.” 

Hisui couldn’t tell, but something in the way he glowered from the corner of his eye made her believe he was judging her for something.  It was clear, then, that Lucy was the one she would need to convince first. 

What had Natsu called her? Hisui knelt to her knees, ignoring the dust of the stone floor coating the white of her dress. She considered grasping the bars, but at Natsu’s warning, she withdrew. 

Casting a glance back to the entrance, her guard, Arcadios, kept careful watch. His tall, armored countenance filled the exit, ensuring her privacy: good. Nodding to him, she reaffirmed her resolve, sweeping her gaze back to the caged girl in silent hope.

“... Lucinia?” She asked, “Is that your name? I’m Hisui, the Princess Of the Fiore Kingdom. I promise, I am not related to Emperor Faust or his Empire in any way.”

When Lucy flinched, Hisui immediately regretted her words, “I’m sorry. I won’t say his name again.” If that really was the cause for her reaction, Hisui thought to herself, hoping it wasn’t the use of her name that did it. “Would you like me to call you Lucinia?”

She waited with baited breath, desperately trying to read Lucy’s expression. Would she finally breach the barrier of their language and talk to her? The silence settled around them with the dust and cobwebs. Hisui’s knees began to sting from the rough surface of the floor,but she would continue to sit there until her time was up, if she had to. Anything to make them realize she meant every word she had said. 

Unfortunately, time would never be on her side.

“Milady,” Arcadios whispered from his station, “Faust will start to wonder if we’re gone too long. We need to leave.” 

Disappointment filled her, but still she did not move. “A few more moments, please.” 

She allowed silence to fill the room until she felt close to drowning, waiting in hopes of some connection. Please. Please. Give me something.

Natsu was the one to respond, snarling as he reared up against the bars. It was futile as he couldn’t reach Hisui from the inside, but she understood the meaning. He wanted her to leave. The sooner the better. 

She sighed, disappointed she couldn’t make further headway, but stood to meet his eyes. They were dark, but lit up with flecks of gold. As if a burning fire simmered beneath the surface. Hisui wondered how they would look in the light of day. 

Defeat quickly burst through her earlier confidence, shoulders slouching. Perhaps she was kidding herself, or hoping for a miracle in too short a time. She would simply have to try again and again and. Teeth grinding tightly against the other, a shock of pain jolted through Hisui’s jaw, pulling her from her negative thoughts and straight to a decision.

“Take me back to my rooms, Arcadios.” She ordered, straightening her stance again. She would have to freshen up before being subjected to another hour’s worth of Faust’s boasting. The taller man nodded, no longer filling the exit with his tall frame, but pushing the door open to wait for her. 

Hisui’s heart was heavy.  There was a sickness in her veins as she turned her back on the two draconians. She felt so useless. Of course they wouldn’t trust her. The most she could do was place nice and that was far from what they deserved or wanted. Fighting back a sting of tears, she continued to contain herself, a desperate attempt to stand tall and appear strong. The emperor was not allowed to see her weakness and neither were they. Not now. Of all times.

Taking the lead, she moved to the open doors, barely nodding to Arcadios as she passed, taking the steps with tears of shame prickling the edges of her eyes. 

Two steps up and a meek, tired voice echoed up behind her, freezing her place.

“Lucy is fine,” the female Draconian whispered, followed by the disgruntled snarls of her partner. “Lucinia ui for wux, Natsuth.” The threatening growl cut off at the reprimand and calmed in an instant. Hisui felt a new hope soar.

Finally! 

Relief flooded through her and she smiled. A foot in the door was better than none at all. She left with a lighter step and renewed vigor. If her patience could earn that, she was confident she could handle anything. Even Faust. 

Unfortunately, within a few hours, Hisui grew to regret that confidence. While she kept her joy hidden—cradled in the depths of her mind for motivation, Emperor Faust was an entirely different beast that hammered away at her mental armor. 

Lunch was atrociously wasted. Not only had she changed clothes to hide the stains on her previous skirts, she even prepared an entire spiel of lies detailing the morning she had to keep him from the truth. Yet despite these attempts, not only did she not have the stomach for the meal presented before her, it was all dishes she’d specifically stated weren’t to her tastes to begin with. (Hadn’t she explained before that she preferred a vegetarian diet? Why have deer placed before her? Her stomach rolled at the memory.)

 Was this the hospitality Faust boasted? Or an intentional opening to antagonize her? 

Faust was nothing but narcissistic. Any compliment to his rule, his non-existing wits, and the beauty that was his cherished Colosseum, left him monologuing for too many candle marks. Hisui couldn’t wait for his tour through the gardens, the beautiful flowers overshadowed by the battlegrounds looming overhead. Anything was better than listening to him brag.

The facility's gaping maw was a dark stain against the greenery, revealing the true stain of Faust’s empire, a direct dichotomy to the pure white of the castle stone. 

If Hisui wasn’t careful, she’d blow her cover from her expressions alone, grimacing at the sight each time his back turned. He created a broad silhouette she had to choose between staring at over the other. Wearing shoulder pads that created an illusion to his stature, she realized everything about him felt like that: an illusion.  His robes were thick, draping across the ground to collect every twig and leaf along the way, much like his beard at the lunch table. As he prattled on, he would fall into fits of manic laughter. It echoed through her skull, while his sweeping, once cleanly brushed beard dragged along the ground with his cloak. 

How he managed to traverse his own halls without overheating was a marvel. A testament of his age that he needed the constant warmth of his rich furs? Perhaps. But he was too stubborn to let the passage of time send him to his grave. Hisui cursed the gods for such a slight. 

“Tell me, Princess,”–Faust’s sudden change of demeanor gave her pause, pulling Hisui from her thoughts and settled to a neutral, practiced expression–“You appear distracted. Whatever could be more fascinating than this?”

“Oh, am I?” She dismissed the claim with an airy wave, “Forgive me, I’ve been here for some time now, but the sights still feel like a giant maze. Your gardens are simply too majestic, Your Excellency.” 

“Ah, but they pale in comparison to the battlegrounds.” His gaze searched her own, filling Hisui with a searing dread. “Tell me, have I allowed you to view the actual grounds yet? Or has it only been from a distance?”

“I’ve had a wonderful view from the Nobles box.” Her answer was an honest one, but hid the horrified thoughts shrieking in her head. Don’t take me there again. Not again, please no-

“Hah! A great view it is, but it doesn’t quite pack the same punch as standing in the middle of it all. Perhaps we should-”

One of his advisors, Byro she recalled, cleared his throat. His short, boxy frame came to her hips, but he looked even smaller next to the Emperor, who barely inclined his head to acknowledge the man. “What is it, Byro?”

Hisui pursed her lips together, staring at the advisor with a raised brow. The man in question, looked beyond her as if she didn’t exist, coughing behind a gnarled fist as he bowed before Faust, words oozing with false sincerity. “I’m sure we can schedule a time to explore the Colosseum grounds further,” He answered calmly. 

Relief surged through her veins. This was just the pause she needed as she frantically considered the best way to decline Faust’s invitation before it had been uttered. Bile rose in the back of her throat as she sucked on her bottom lip, fingers delicately pulling at the seams of her gloves as she considered the least insulting options. 

The advisor continued, unaware of the turmoil in their guest. “Unfortunately, we don't have the time today. My apologies, but there are still many things to settle at court before dinner.”

Faust narrowed his eyes, his entire countenance darkening as the older, balding man, tensed. “Change the schedule.”

“Mi…milord?” 

“Have you grown deaf in your age?” Faust barked, spittle ejecting from his mouth. “I said CHANGE it. Whoever needs my attention can wait or join the gladiators.” His eyes narrowed to slits beneath unkempt brows, voice lowering menacingly, “As could you, if it pleases me.”

“Y-yes..!” Byro’s short stature was quick to move, bowing deep enough to almost knock his head into his knees. She spied his shoulders shaking as he shuffled off. “Right away, my apologies!”

Not for the first time, Hisui was glad she had diplomatic immunity. At least, she hoped he wouldn’t risk war by subjecting her to the same terrors as his own men. 

The couple down below gave her a swift reminder that even those outside his borders weren’t safe. But then, couldn’t the Southern Denizens come to reclaim their own? Or were the two Draconions not important enough for war? Hisui wished she could find the answers. If only they’d speak with her! 

Changing their route to follow the pathway towards the looming shell of the Emperor's pride and Joy, the Princess felt her lungs drop deep into her stomach. Perhaps, Byro had the right of it. and it was she who was the unfortunate one. Immunity or not, she would rather be rushing back towards the Palace like him than being subjected to viewing the field of battle once more. 

“Pardon me,” she said, tongue twisting on her words as she attempted to find the best way to phrase herself, “but is there really that large a difference to see the grounds close up, as above it?”

She still remembered the sights from the giant box seats he’d brought her to before. The view was far enough to be safe from all manner of weapons flying out of bounds, but close enough to see the brutality up close. She still remembered the bruised and battered bodies of his contestants, ferally attacking the others in a desperate attempt to have one more day to live. While the crowds screamed and cheered for their favorites, who swung their chosen weapons She noticed the wildness in their eyes, the sweat pouring rivers down into them. She couldn’t hear it, but she could see the way they gasped for air, hoping for any source of energy that would allow them to prevail. 

While the crowd and their emperor saw a test of honor and show of strength, she saw men and women, clinging to life in any way possible. A horrid show and testament of the human conscious. She dreaded going any closer to those grounds than necessary.

“Tch, of course there is.” Whether she showed her discomfort or not, Faust didn’t notice or care, beckoning her to look forward with a sweep of his draping sleeves, “How can you truly feel what my gladiators do if you can’t experience it from their perspective?”

Oh, I have a pretty good idea what they feel already,she acerbically thought.

But any further attempts to dissuade Faust went ignored. It didn’t matter if she feigned a yawned, asked for the time for dinner ( “I’m dreadfully hungry-” she’d said, answered only with a “You’ll enjoy your supper when you get it then, won't you?”), or dramatically pointed to nearby ruins of the older palace’s location in excitement. 

At least, she hoped it sounded excited, and not nearly as panicked at the prospect of having to enter the Colosseum once more. 

Unfortunately, that was also rebuffed. 

Faust stared disdainfully at the old remains as if it could shrivel it into non-existence. “An old relic of a bygone age. It’s useless to think about and holds no purpose. Now, quit dawdling, Princess! We’re almost there.”

Yes, she deflated, that’s what she was afraid of. Her gaze trailed back to the old tower, curious as to Faust’s reaction to it. It looked to shrink from view the further they walked and a flash of gold moved in the underbrush alongside it. Hisui blinked, confused, but the flash was gone. A reflection from a broken window, she figured. 

There wasn’t much time to consider the ruin further as the Colosseum’s shadow stretched over them as they walked. Her mood darkened, distracting her away from those thoughts. Its archways gaped like giant mouths, beckoning its prey in as its next source of sustenance. She had nightmares of its entrances, swallowing her up with the screams of its warriors and victims. The dungeons had been the closest she dared to venture, and now, she had no choice, but to follow Faust into her waking nightmare. 

Without a crowd, the arena was a void of silence. Hisui felt stifled by the air as she observed the open dome. The stands were pristine, constantly swept and washed down before guests filled them, now bare and open for a future she didn’t wish to see. The grand seats were juxtaposed by the dirt encrusted arena still full of dust and debris from past battles. The comparison from one to the other left Hisui breathless. 

Walking through the opened gates felt like being thrust into the jaws of a beast. Faust proudly strolled in, unaware of the monster he’d created and Hisui shuddered, eyeing the portcullis gates that loomed overhead as she passed, shackling her down as good as any irons. When they breached the open air, brushing aside bits of wood and iron stuck in the dirt beneath their feet, she eagerly looked up into the sky, clinging to its open expanse as a source of freedom. 

Anything to ignore the oppressive weight of the arena as it swallowed her whole. 

She forced air into her lungs, swallowing thickly passed the sharp, intense fear that settled in her bones. This was not an area she ever wanted to enter. Not from this angle, but he seemed undeterred. He was giddy, in fact, with arms widespread, strolling to the center of the grounds like a child exploring a toy store.  His grin wide, teeth gleaming in his excitement, eyes almost mad in delight. 

Her steps were slow, out of pace with his own, reluctant to go further than needed, but this displeased him. After he spun around, eyeing his beautiful arrangement, he lashed out, grasping her wrist to drag her close enough to smell the rancid sweet oils in his beard. Each breath an overpowering and nauseating sign of its misuse. 

“Do you see now?” he guffawed, staring back to the box that held his own seat. “The view from here is entirely different! Here, we are the center of everything, the center of beautiful battles for life and death. You can feel their stories from here, can’t you? The glory of their deaths? Look around. It’s astonishing!”

Her mind whirled in disgust. Disdain spilled from her lips in an exclamation of horror that was bit back in a sudden fit of coughing. Clearing her throat, she commented on the dust in the air to use as her scapegoat and willed her expression to remain neutral. Her eyes burned as she resisted the urge to scrunch her nose, willing herself to follow Faust’s direction.

Broken spears and a glint of old arrows were buried in the dirt, colored in the red of rust and dried blood. They dotted the landscape and Faust beheld them as one did an extravagant painting. He was right that she could see their stories, dotted in every gash and blunted knife around them. What he saw as a glorious tale of honor and entertainment, she saw as a grueling struggle of preservation. 

“Yes,” she whispered, voice hollow, “quite…astonishing.“

“And just think,”–Faust’s voice was too close, whispering in her ear. She bit into her lip to prevent a scream, stubbornly resisting the urge to shove the Emperor with enough force to cripple the older man’s knees. His gnarled fingers moved to brush along her throat, raising the hairs on her skin–“if you were to battle here, weapon in hand, you could be part of it. Your enemy is just ahead, dauntless in his task to take you down before you strike. All… just…to please me.”

What…was he saying? Hisui finally found her voice, hissing harshly, “You threaten war with that fantasy, Emperor Faust!” 

The air became clear in an instant. The touch of his fingers lingered as he stepped away, giving her space as he chuckled, eyes whirling in amusement. Digging her nails deep into the palms of her hand, she turned to face him, anger flashing in her green eyes.  

Digging her heels into the dusty earth, she planted her hands against her hips and stood her ground. Now wasn’t the time to reveal any weaknesses, nor the fact that her entire body was strung up tight  to keep from quaking. 

His smile widened, “You’re a beautiful girl, my lady. An old man can’t help but envision what could have happened if your Kingdom was at war against me. I’ve seen you practice bladwork with your own men. You’d have been an excellent actor on this stage of mine.”

Hisui swallowed down the bile rising in her throat, “...But we’re not at war.” She cautiously reminded, ignoring the loud voice screaming in her head. A fire burned in her heart, wishing against all logic that her words could be false. What she wouldn’t give for a chance to stab him in his grisled heart–

His laughter echoed around the stadium–a crackling sound that felt like the bones of dead warriors had sprung to his throat. “No, we are not. Aren’t you lucky?”  

The atmosphere shifted again as he stepped away, giving her more air to breathe, more time to think and less defenses to put up. Turning back to the wrought iron gate they’d entered, he motioned for his guards to follow after, laughing each step of the way.  

“I’m sure your guards know the way back to the palace,” he said, derisively, “but I'm tired of our visitation. Enjoy the view, Princess, we can discuss this more later.”

Somehow, Hisui felt she was being provoked. His back presented a glaring target and her own dagger, nestled against her hip, burned. Could she move quick enough, yes, but that would be the end of it. His guards versus her own would end poorly, and assistance from home was much too far to enlist. 

It was a target that mocked her and he walked with confident strides. Almost as if he knew her imagined fantasies of jabbing her knife squarely in his hunched back.

It would take Hisui many minutes before she moved again, paralyzed by the feuding emotions that rattled inside her brain. Arcadios, having advanced as soon as Faust left, found her that way and approached as one would a frightened animal. 

He gleamed in the sunlight, white armor blinding as his hair grew flat from sweat. The sun gave no partial judgment to the nobles or the damned.  He stood before her and waited for an invite to come closer. Even at that distance, she could see the anger swirling in his eyes, the gnashing of his teeth to hold back his words. 

When she didn’t acknowledge him, he chose to go against protocol, brushing a hand against her face to bring her back to reality. She flinched at his touch, hand reflexively moving to grasp her weapon, but he caught her just as quick. “Your Highness,” he attempted to sooth, fingers smoothing out the creases on her forehead, “He’s gone. For now, you can breathe again.”

It all came out in one exhalation, voice quaking as a sob cracked through her frozen throat. All the strength left her, and she clung to Arcadios in an attempt to brace herself. Her knees buckled under the weight of her myriad of emotions. Just what was that? What was Faust trying to do? Had she been threatened? Did he know what she had been trying to attempt with his prized prisoners? 

Hisui struggled to breath, unaware of the way Arcadios wrapped her in his cloak to drag her out of the arena. Her men, waiting at the entrance, took their places around her, all matching the captain’s expression of outrage. Their knuckles white against the pommels of their swords, and the tension from them sought to shackle her. She needed air. More air. More than they could provide! As the looming mouth of the stadium disappeared behind her, she wildly looked for an escape. Anywhere she could that didn’t involve stuffy, marble halls or the watchful gazes of Faust’s soldiers. She’d rather bite off her own tongue and die!

Spying the ruins from before, she grasped the only source of peace she could find. Faust had looked upon it in disdain, angry at a relic whose history was hidden from her. The only place that was safe from his maddening eyes. He wouldn’t go there. Not now. It was perfect. “Take me there!” She ordered, fingers grasping into Arcadios’ armor, ignoring the way the harsh metal bent her nails, “I can’t go back, not yet!”

They couldn’t get her there fast enough. Each step felt like an hour as her mind went racing through the altercation in a loop. She wondered if there was a deeper meaning to his words, and the recollection of his proximity made her skin crawl. If she could claw it off she would, desperate for the effect to no longer exist.  The tower, though dilapidated with age, was comforting. It was askew to the ground, leaning over as vines reached out in an embrace to pull it into the earth below. An old stone bench stood adjacent to it, as if overlooking its slowly decaying walls. Hisui made for that seat, pushing out from Arcadios on wobbly legs, ignoring the underbrush that clung to her dress and legs. It was thicker here, allowed to take over what was once a beautiful watch tower, and she inhaled the wild grass and sticker bushes in desperation. All but throwing herself onto the bench once she was close,and finally allowed herself to decompress.Her posture shifted, hunching over to gasp for air and allow hot tears to well up and drip down heated cheeks. Arcadios and his men followed, but kept a proper distance, giving her the time she needed to piece herself back together. They secure the perimeter, all eyes on the gloomy, pristine palace that housed a tyrant they all wanted to kill. Was peace and proper trade routes really worth this? 

Hisui gulped in oxygen like it was water, fingers rubbing along her shoulders as if to wipe away the filth of Faust’s presence. Was it like that for the two Draconians locked away? Had he approached Lucy in such a way? Had he touched her like that, too? What fury must they have felt? What sickening desolation? She would have to be careful in her next visitations, she knew that, but this occurrence only fueled her resolve further. 

She would get them out. Even if she had to risk war. Oh, how she’d relish the end if it resulted in that bastard's death! 

So engrossed in her thoughts, she almost didn’t catch the sounds behind her. A gentle rustling in the brush that could have been the wind, except there was none. Perhaps she heard footsteps or the padded feet of an animal, skulking away, or perhaps one of her guards had deigned to come closer and check on her. There were many conclusions to the sound, but her paranoia was on a hair trigger.Brandishing her dagger in a swift jolt, she spun to face the–

Too slow. 

A hand, much larger than Foust’s, grasped her from behind, clenching her windpipe just enough to provide force but not rob her of air. Another hand grasped the top of her own, preventing her from slashing out as a low, almost familiar growl reverberated behind her. 

For a historical moment, she thought Natsuth had escaped his cell and was rampaging, but the snarl was too deep to be his.

And the hand–eyes shifted downward, too large, and glistening in golden, angry scales. Not Lucy…but…  Another draconian? She tried to speak, but the grip tightened in warning, cutting off her words.

“Tir ti zhen, munthrek!” Hisui didn’t know the words, but she knew a real threat when she felt one.

[burnwater13]

Grogu wished life would slow down a little. He felt like he was always rushing from one place to another. He and his dad had so much work to do. He had so many new things to learn and practice and practice and practice. When was he going to have time to just watch Diggle and Daggle or read a tale of adventure and heroics or just watch the clouds go by? Not any time soon according to his dad, the Mandalorian.

Din Djarin had told him that bounty hunters had to deal with a lot of boredom and the cure for that was keeping busy when you weren’t on a job. That might have made sense if they hadn’t been busy chasing people all over the galaxy non-stop since they got their little cabin on Nevarro. Grogu had hardly been able to name all the frogs in the pond by the time his dad was saying, “Pack your stuff up buddy, we have to go to Naboo.”

Naboo? What was at Naboo? Probably some former Imp who was hiding there and trying to stay out of the hands of the New Republic. Naboo wasn’t quite in the Outer Rim, but enough stuff had happened there that certain Imps seemed to like to hide there. Probably because they had been from Naboo to begin with…

Grogu thought it was silly to essentially go home and wait to be caught by the New Republic or a bounty hunter, but then he supposed if you went home you’d know that place better than any other place and that would make hiding easier. Of course, people would know you there and they’d be able to tell the marshals where you were. Unless they liked you. But who liked the former Imps? Probably just their families. 

Grogu sighed at that thought. If you went home you would put your family at risk. But if you didn’t go home you’d miss them and have a harder time hiding from the consequences of your actions. 

Grogu had a hard time empathizing with his hypothetical ex-Imp. Technically the clones had destroyed his home on Coruscant and pretty much killed everyone he’d known for the majority of his life, but that was the beginning of the Imperial dictatorship. The few Jedi who survived with him were at constant risk because they had to hide and there was no home or family that they could return to. They had nothing but consequences to deal with but that wasn’t due to  their actions. Nope. They dealt with the consequences of the Emperor’s actions. The Emperor who was a lying sack of Sith. 

Oops. There he was wishing his life would slow down a bit so he could just enjoy smelling a flower or chasing a frog for more than a few seconds and he was spinning himself up because they were going to Sheev Palpatine’s home planet. That’s right. The person who had made so many people miserable had grown up on a perfectly nice planet. 

According to Grogu’s research, Naboo had magnificent cities, beautiful rolling green hills, oceans, mountains, all manner of creatures, including yob shrimp, and seven species of scalefish.  Grogu wondered how anyone could see all that stuff and think, “Nope. Not worth it. Destroy it all.” But he could never understand the greed of the Sith.

It took a while to get there from Nevarro and Grogu had thought that this might have been the time when boredom ruled and bounty hunters were grateful to have busy times coming up, but no. Not the way his dad taught bounty hunting. When Grogu wasn’t looking up and reading the entire history and background of politics, culture, economics, and whatnot of Naboo, he was running scenarios with his dad on how to flush a target out of virtually any kind of building, dwelling, cave, or tree stand. He was evaluating building plans, studying the geology of cave structures and learning how to operate underwater transports via simulation. That last part had been fun until Din told him there was no good reason to do so many loop-d-loops. 

When they finally reached Naboo it was all a big let down. The person they were sent after wasn’t an ex-Imp at all. They were just a person who was playing the role of General Durpin for the annual re-enactment of the Battle for the Naboo History Museum. Grogu hadn’t even known that they did a re-enactment of that battle. 

“I guess that means we need to update our data on Naboo. We should get a start on that. Who knows when we’ll have to come back here after an actual ex-Imp.”

Grogu grumbled at that. He was tired of loading and updating datasets. He just wanted to just take a minute to appreciate a beautiful planet for a change.

“Sorry, buddy. I forget sometimes that you still need time to meditate.”

His dad did seem sorry, so Grogu wasn’t going to correct him. He didn’t want to meditate either. He just wanted to sit around and do nothing. 

“Excuse me, sir? Is this your Naboo N-1 starfighter? We have some outstanding maintenance tickets on it.” One of the starport officials was speaking to Din as they next to the ship.

“Uh, just give me a minute. I’ll have the information you need.” 

His dad scooped him up and before Grogu knew it they were in the ship and off of Naboo. Grogu wondered what all that was about.

“How about we go to Tatooine and visit with Peli and Boba? I’m sure you could get some time there to meditate.”

Grogu nodded his head and coo’d his agreement to his dad. He was happy to go to Tatooine and just do nothing, uh, er, meditate. Yeah. He’d be meditating the whole time he and Peli played sabacc. Ha. 

[borreloadsavagedragon]

8 and 12 for the ask meme 👀

oh my god I reblogged that ask game knowing I am not a mean person AT ALL, so this is gonna push me to my LIMITS

(if you stand by anything in here, you’re cool as hell and I'm glad you interact with media, I am simply over sharing about fictional card game nerds like always!!!)

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I had to sit and stare at this one forever to come up with one because I am just so in my own little corner that I never really notice other people's interpretations of characters, like I have my bachelors and ph.d. in the ones that matter and I write my silly little fanfics using my deranged thinking, that's it, roll credits

BUT there is one thing I've seen a few times now across a couple of months in random liveblogs or opinion pieces that I kind of wanna touch on it

And that's that Kaito wasn't held accountable in Zexal.

I think a topic like accountability and atonement in fiction is going to differ very strongly between person to person and what they feel is the proper amount of justice to someone given their crimes, I understand that, but I just want to throw my own hat in the ring for why I disagree respectfully but wholeheartedly

Here's where I write about it in my analysis(WHICH IS 8K+ RN AND STILL GOING, GOD HELP ME)

"This is one I’ve seen a few times and I wanted to make an entire separate point for it because I do think it's a very interesting conversation to have in regards to the moral playground that a lot of the YuGiOh rivals in general have(with Ryoken Kogami from YuGiOh Vrains sitting as the reigning king in the topic of questionable ethics by some fans, but he’s another character study for another day), but the focus isn’t where I think it should be. I think it’s more fascinating that Kaito’s the character I see called out the most for his work as a Number Hunter compared to other fan favorites in the cast, especially when all we saw from Kaito since his actions in "The Seized Emperor's Key! Showdown, Kaito vs Shark" was his own form of accountability. We’ve known since the very scene following his introduction as the primary antagonist for the first half of Zexal I, Kaito despises the job and his employers based on how he can’t even look Mr. Heartland in the eye when he reports his progress and how his eyes drop to the floor when the premise of taking souls is brought up. He has a special distaste for those with Numbers because of what he was led to believe since we also learn later on he’s been fed almost nothing but lies about the Numbers so the times Kaito might have become far more conflicted with his circumstances sooner were always ripped away from him. In his mind, he's trapped and following orders is his best option right now, but if it means the only thing that matters most to him, his little brother, is ok, then he'll be the worst person in the world. And that's just the explanation for why he did it all. Because even with the truth, he doesn't excuse it.

Following Zexal I, Kaito continues to involve himself with the struggle against the Barians, and while most of it is with the understanding he's avenging the damage done to his family, it’s also in part avenging the damage he did to Yuma, Ryouga, and the many other people he’s laid a hand on. The idea that a character or a person needs to wear their guilt and redemption on their sleeve at every second is unreasonable. I also think it’s important to recognize that atonement isn’t just justice or forgiveness; Kaito, for example, never once asks for forgiveness, nor apologizes verbally. Instead, he shows up. He's there when he has to be and does exactly what he needs to do, because his actions are going to be worth more than his words are going to be. Kaito has always been and is always going to be someone who is going to act, not speak. Zexal I Kaito isn’t showing up to help handle the gang in the first few episodes of Zexal II. Zexal I Kaito isn’t taking Yuma’s place against Mizael in the duel in the sphere field. While Kaito continues to have alternate and additional motivation for his own newfound focus, he does not do these things for his ambition’s sake only.  Anytime accountability and Kaito’s treatment of his allies is brought up, I think it’s also very telling when some things are excluded, like how he pivots the entire project with Chris in the Arctic into getting Yuma sent to Astral World instead of them in order to reunite with Astral is largely overlooked. Another example is his complete turnaround behavior towards Gauche and Droite both in Spartan City, going as far to recognize how strong of a duelist and person Droite is when Gauche is possessed by Alito and that Droite is the only person suited for that duel despite him being seemingly such an asshole towards her in Zexal I. Hell, Kaito’s treatment of Ryouga is far different in one half to another, he goes from reducing Ryouga down to a waste of his time and just another punk who wants a piece of him to respecting him in his own weird little way where he has to pick a fight with him. We've all seen Zexal I, we've seen how Kaito truly treats people he doesn't like. --- I like to look at Kaito through the lens of rejection because loneliness is such a key portion of his character. I feel like focusing on those wrongs doubles down on the theme that’s in place. Kaito has hurt people. But he recognizes that, verbalizes it when he calls himself hell bound even, so he will continue to do better by those people."

THIS IS WHY IM HIS BIGGEST APOLOGIST

I just think he's so interesting, I wanna talk about him being a piece of shit because he IS, how mean he was to Yuma in I says a lot, but he's not THAT much of a piece of shit by the end, his development isn't overwhelmingly apparent, much like most rivals in the franchise, but it's VERY there

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

SPECTRE!!!!! I LITERALLY HAVE PIECES FOR HIS WIG AND HAVE HAD THEM FOR A YEAR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

I was AMAZED once to find out that people didn’t like Spectre because Spectre is so standout and fascinating. I HATE how he's boiled down to being creepy or "what happened to Aoi in their duel"-

Before it plummeted to hell, I got a tweet on my Twitter fyp from an rp acct that was like “like this if you hate spectre” and it had ~35 likes so I had to be cheeky and tweeted "what's it like to have bad taste" gjdsakldgskajg My one time with a mean streak..........

Genuinely though, what’s it like to not have taste, he's a freak, it's on purpose, I'd die for Spec

[fade-and-loathing-in-thedas]

will we get to see akroma in baldur's gate at some point 👀👀

Hi!!!!

Omg yes, she was my first finished playthrough of BG3 lol I still haven't finished it more than once despite a bunch of act 3 playthroughs just sitting there (including a level 12 honor mode I'm slowly working on finishing lol)

Her main party was usually a combination of Gale, Astarion, Shadowheart, or Karlach. She was a Wizard/Warlock multi-class (cos studied mage and curiosity lol). I stole Abdirak ritual knife to get a bonus whenever I bonus actioned to bleed lol (had to embrace the blood mage bullshit)

I also got the read 100+ books in a single playthrough achievement on her playthrough, cos yeah she read everything.

I didn't get as many screenshots as I wanted but here's a couple of her absolute gorgeousness 😁

She romanced Gale and encouraged him to research the crown of Karsus and he ended up a tin man who broke up with her lol It was never going to work they were both still a little bit too obsessed with their exes.

I ah also kinda tortured her (and myself) a bit lol I made the dream guardian a Alistair look alike... She of course slept the emperor in the Alistair form (yeah, I'm an asshole lol)

[quietbluejay]

Flight of the Eisenstein

Me reading this: aw where’s my blorbo's purple prose description cmon Guilliman and Horus got fun descriptions where is Mortarion's aura shenanigans James Swallow: say no more

It's kind of hilarious that the Death Guard are like this about Mort, but the Thousand Sons are NOT about Magnus like, if it was the Death Guard doing magic ritual oil shenanigans perfectly rational numerology they'd be fighting each other to help out. Well. Okay, maybe not fighting each other, they seem better behaved than that. Despite Magnus being….Magnus, the Thousand Sons seem to not be affected in the same way by his primarch aura as the Luna Wolves and Death Guard are by their primarchs. They have other stuff going on but they don't see Magnus through a Gaussian filter. Maybe it's because they're psykers so they can perceive enough to see him as more of a person than an idol? but it's funnier to think of it as his fashion choices killing his charisma. Just imagine. Every time Phosis goes on the battlefield he starts thinking "man I wish I could fight dramatically right next to Magnus- wait. The nipple horns. Never mind."

While you studied the blade, I was a nerd

I'm also psyched i finally get to see the sisters of silence in action!!!

Hmmm I may be running into my first example of a writer going “imperium good” I may be harsh here I’ll give him enough rope. I’m. Not a huge fan of how killing alien children is being framed as correct because of how monstrous they look.

Maybe I’m not giving the writer enough benefit of the doubt here. Maybe it's just more subtle than Horus Rising and not spelling things out. This is early in the book after all. But I got spoiled on some elements and given that, this is not looking promising Like also I hate to be the one who drags on about framing but - framing!

You know I’m glad I know more lore now cause if I didn’t, I'd think this meant cannibalism

the funny part being that they do do cannibalism! just not like this

also the death guard get described as gathering "like carrion birds around a corpse" and so they're all vulture-kin in my head now

Wow hello Mr. Obvious Bad Guy calls normal humans "it". I also see Swallow adheres to the nominative determinism school of thought when it comes to naming his characters. On the one side we have "Decius" and "Garro" on the other we have..."Grulgor".

Mortarion: your reward is drinking poison with me …that sure was a scene hashtag justdeathguardthings I bet death guard are big on l'appel du vide, and standing on cliff edges just to stare down.

Lmaoo I love the « it’s totes not a ritual guys that’s superstition and blah blah blah »

Also is anyone going to have an objection to the lodges that isn’t « imperial truth getting rid of gods ergo secrecy and ritual bad ».

The narrative is trying hard to get me to hate Grugnor so of course I’m starting to like him Garro also feels like a copy paste of Loken, but with less personality

That takes some guts to admit How do you know it’s not a trap?

JRRT would like to talk

Lmaoo Mort avoiding remembrancers Mort: ok I hear the order to take remembrancers but oops I am too far away from the ships with them what a pity what's that? you're breaking up I can't hear you byeee

Oh, Garro, like you wouldn’t be totally chill with a « Mortarion's Court » and figure out some way in your mind to justify that it totally wasn't the same thing.

Also our hero can feel based on vibes that something is off aboard the Vengeful Spirit They should have gone all the way and had him be a secret psyker he would have been interesting especially given Mortarion's psyker policy ...wait, IS he a secret psyker? That would add an interesting dimension.

Oh, huh, more Horus!

"I flexed and the armour sleeves came off"

Also this may actually make me like the Emperors Children out of spite, congrats I think Eidolon should get to stab Garro a little. As a treat. And Eidolon is such an asshole I wanted to get punched back in Horus Rising Garro: the emperors children are all dandies and they’re supposedly good at fighting but…are they really.. Saul, canonically his friend: am I a joke to you Oh Saul just showed up hashtag notallemperorschildren

More fuel for psyker!Garro:

to the point where I am legit wondering if it could be true update there's nothing on his wiki article man it would have been great…c'mon

come on man

like tbh it makes a lot of sense Grulgor who is from Barbarus doesn't like him - there's a bit where Grulgor says that Garro looks down on them for not being Terran/not being part of the Dusk Raiders before Mort was found, and that's not exactly unfounded, looking at this. also, pick one: "noble character" or "red right hand of the Emperor"

it. really sounds like he's talking about a WWI memorial. And then the next scene is a battle with WWI vibes including TRENCH WARFARE.

Once more over the top!

blargh it's just "the ones remaining loyal to the Imperium are the upright stalwart lantern jawed men full of virtue and also approved war crimes and all the traitors are evil and petty and smelly"

this is also, incidentally, one of the books where you can feel that it treats NPCs as NPCs instead of background people

I think I might actually drop this book and not finish it I'm going to go look up a plot summary and see if there's anything actually interesting that happens after this point yeah honestly there's nothing in here that seems appealing except maybe getting a look at Dorn

reading this book is like eating oatmeal made with water

I think I'm finally done with the Horus Heresy for now

Note from future Bluejay: you know, reading my notes on this, I think there might actually be something crunchy to dig into with Garro's cognitive dissonance, assuming the book goes anywhere with it. Could Garro have actual flavour? Maybe I'll give it a second chance.

[circumference-pie]

Writing patterns

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there’s a pattern! @thebansacredbanned and @junemermaid tagged me!

Feiliu eagerly digs his chopsticks into steaming rice, plates full of bamboo shoots and wood-ear mushroom, steamed egg, wild quail. (wind in the leaves, Nirvana in Fire)

This is a study of the academic practices of the Preservation Alliance, a small collective of planets outside the Corporation Rim. (The Old and the New: A Study of Academia on the Preservation Alliance, The Murderbot Diaries)

谁在乎？/ 我在乎。/ Who would care / I care. (our yesterdays have lighted fools, Love Between Fairy and Devil)

As a gesture of goodwill and a thank you for not flattening our kingdom with your combined powers, the emperor of Shuiyuntian has graciously allowed Xiao Lan Hua and her husband the Moon Supreme to go to Arbiter Hall and collect any items that she may have left before absconding so abruptly. (picture-perfect, Love Between Fairy and Devil)

The metal pot is big and shiny, filled with warming water and placed over a burner in the kitchens of the great airship Castle Wulfenbach. (Castle Wulfenbach: Adventures with Gil and Zoing, Girl Genius)

Ran could pinpoint exactly when it started: Tuesday, lunch period, in the school cafeteria, facing Sonoko and Sera across a homemade bento (hers), a cafeteria sausage roll (Sera’s), and a much more expensive homemade bento (Sonoko’s). (bad luck blues, Detective Conan)

The skies and waters in his Sea of Emotion are calm, waves lapping at the island of soft grass he and the ancient god sit upon. (A Shade of the Deepest Blue, Love Between Fairy and Devil)

“Mou, Shinichi, why did you drag me out here in the middle of the night? It’s cloudy and we can’t even see anything.” (your eyes at night, Detective Conan) * * actually this was co-written and I can’t remember which one of us actually wrote it. I think it was me, though.

“Was it all a lie?” (a bullet but not of silver, Detective Conan)

They find Shinichi’s body in an alley behind Tropical Land. (Follow you into the dark, Detective Conan)

See if there's a pattern...hmm. It looks like I mostly like throwing the reader directly a moving scene, whether it's through description of action or dialogue (1, 5, 7, 8, 9). The rest is exposition of a situation (4, 6, 10), a canon quote (3), or some consequence of a nonstandard format (2). I think this mix has been fairly stable throughout my fic-writing career. (Which is five years old now! Dang.)

I tag @sassybluee and @nemainofthewater.

I wonder how many of my fics total open with canon quotes and how many are in epistolary format. Let's see...

Canon quotes: deepest blue*, our yesterdays, wings of ash, two hugs, connect with friends -- 5/35 Epistolary: old and new, wings of ash**, tide, liang-wudi, shuffle romance -- 6/35

* "deepest blue" gets put on the list because it opens with a canon scene, even if the first line isn't strictly dialogue ** "wings of ash" is half-epistolary and half-narration.

So, about a sixth of my total fics for each, and I used to do more of both than I do now. Checks out.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 051

This episode suu-uuu-uuuu-cks...

So Goku Black destroyed Trunks time machine, but fortunately, there was a spare: the one Cell hijacked from his own alternate future.  That takes some explaining, so we get a flashback to the events of DBZ Episode 140.  The weird thing is that some of this footage is brand new.

And yet, some of it is from the original scenes in DBZ.  I don’t understand the purpose of that.  It’s not like Dragon Ball Super was ever shy about using footage from DBZ before. 

Also, this flashback is conspicuously in sepia tone.  Usually they just kind of tweak the colors to indicate that it’s a flashback.  I’m wondering if they did this to gloss over the fact that Future Trunks had lavender hair in Z, but now he has blue hair in Super. 

I’m pretty sure I remember some full-color flashbacks of Future Trunks in this arc, so I’m curious to see if those are still in this DVD set I bought, or if Toei edited the flashbacks to hide the lavender truth.  I mean, we already know they tinkered with some of the crappier animation. 

The thing is, it’s all pointless, because we have Kid Trunks in every episode of this thing, standing right next to Future Trunks, and everyone points out how alike they are, except no one mentions that they have different color hair.  I don’t understand this. 

Guess what happens in this episode?  Jack and shit, and Jack just left town.   Dr. Brief and his wife return from a trip, and that’s the biggest highlight of this episode.  It has nothing to do with anything, but it’s nice to see Bulma’s mom actually get speaking lines.  

While explaining the whole story of the second time machine, Piccolo asks why Bulma still has it, and she actually goes onto explain how she asked Trunks for the spare so she could examine it before he went back to the future in DBZ #193.  Did we really need this explained to this level of detail?   No, but this episode is desperate to pad for time, so that’s what we get.

Also, everyone keeps talking about how the spare time machine needs to be cleaned up before Bulma can repair it, but they just keep talking about it instead of actually doing it.  The episode ends with them getting ready to start cleaning it.  Not that I want to see an episode where they scrub the moss off a time machine, but the only thing worse than that is an episode where they talk about getting ready to scrub the moss of a time machine.

Back in the doomed timeline, Goku Black just sort of floats around and talks about how useful his fight with Goku was.  Seeing the real Goku in action helps him understand how to better utilize his body.  He wants to study Goku’s powers more, so he can get even more powerful.  Uh... why?  You already wiped out nearly all life on Earth.  How much more powerful do you need to be?  Who’s left?  Mai’s cat?  Yajirobe? 

Oh, and Trunks finally notices that the girl with Emperor Pilaf is the younger counterpart of the Mai he knew in his own world.  He takes her hands in his, and gets all sentimental, but it’s all meaningless.  Mai asks what she’s like in the future, and Trunks has this extended flashback of how Mai led the resistance, and they tried to trap Goku Black by dropping several collapsing buildings on him, but it didn’t work, so she had to save Trunks with a flash grenade. 

I mean, they really, really want the audience to buy into this cool post-apocalyptic resistance militia, but it just doesn’t make any sense.  Goku Black can defeat Trunks at will, and yet we’re supposed to believe a bunch of guys with shotguns can make any difference.

Also, the relationship between both sets of Trunskes and Maiseses is so poorly defined that it’s pointless to compare them.  The future versions are just very good friends.  Trunks is telling everyone what she was like, and as far as he’s concerned he may never see her again.  He thinks she’s dead, and he still can’t bring himself to say anything like “I loved her so much.”   Or “she was the only one who really understood me.”  Or “I never got the chance to tell her how much I cared for her.” 

Likewise, the child versions of Trunks and Mai seem to have no relationship at all.  Trunks seems to be sweet on her, but he’s too shy to say anything, and Mai seems oblivious to his feelings. 

Like they want this to be all profound or something, but it’s not.  These aren’t even the same characters at different points in their lives.  These are alternate universes, essentially.  Whis and Beerus can piss and moan about time travel, but at this point the two worlds are separate from one another.  One just happens to be seventeen years ahead of the other.  So it’s not like the adult Trumai is the culimation of anything that would happen to the kid Trumai.  It’s just a coincidence that in both worlds they have zero romantic connection. 

I mean, this whole business is further complicated by the fact that Kid Mai isn’t actually a child.  She’s the same Mai who was an adult in the first arc of Dragon Ball.  According to the Battle of Gods movie, she, Pilaf, and Shu were turned into children when they made a wish on the Dragon Balls, although this is never mentioned in Dragon Ball Super.  However, Bulma does make a remark in this episode about how they sometimes seem older than they actually are, and they panic, like their secret has been exposed.  So I think it’s safe to assume DBS is following the same backstory for the Pilaf Gang. Mai is a middle-aged woman in the body of a child.  This has made the Trunks/Mai ship a contentious issue in the fandom ever since. 

But I have a hard time getting worked up about it, because even though Dragon Ball Super keeps shoving it down our throats, there really isn’t anything to it.  Any romance between Trunks and Mai is only implied.   There’s no chemistry, no declaration of love, no nothing.

So yeah, that’s all I got.  Oh, and Goku goes to train while Bulma prepares the Time Machine for launch, but Whis and King Kai refuse to train him for this mission, so he’s kind of SOL.  That’s how weak this episode is.  They can’t even be bothered to show a clip of Goku training.  Fuck this...

[charm-in-spades]

◈ Sleep deprivation

Hurt Them With ___ Prompt || Long Post. 

𝙼𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙲𝙰𝙻 𝙻𝙾𝙶 𝙳𝚁. 𝙰𝙼𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚄𝚂 𝙼𝙰𝙻 𝙲𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙰 𝚁𝙴𝙿𝙾𝚁𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝙿𝚂𝚈𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙰𝚃𝚁𝙸𝙲 𝙾𝙱𝚂𝙴𝚁𝚅𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽

𝙿𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙴𝙽𝚃: 𝙲𝙰𝙴𝙻𝚁𝙸𝙲 𝙿𝚈𝚁 𝚂𝙿𝙰𝚃𝙷𝙰 𝚊.𝚔.𝚊 𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙴𝚃 #𝟽𝟷

𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚜:

Pre-Study | Watersday - Asset recovery was a success with several reports indicating that my patient sustained several life threatening injuries during the commission of his capture. However, the described wounds were well on their way to healing by the time the patient was inducted into my care. The rest of the refugees were sent to the stock rooms where they'll await assessment.

Patient was considered non-compliant during this time and administered 17 mg etorphine and 200 mg azaperone. A siphoning collar and magnetic cuffs were applied to the neck, as well as both wrists and ankles to hinder any future attempts of escape.

Asset #71′s belongings were confiscated, his body cleansed, and dressed in sanitized scrubs, after which he was rolled to his chambers and deposited. I shall conclude my documentation here, and reconvene once my patient is awake.

Study begins | Day 1 - Despite similar dosages used to incapacitate adult marids in the Gyr Abanian wilds, my patient remained unconscious for only ten bells before awaking with alarming clarity. While the purpose of my particular study is relegated to the patient’s ability to sustain prolonged psychological duress, these findings seem on par with previous studies conducted on hyper-tuned assets regarding their metabolic functions and physicality. Still, it is remarkable to see in action.

For the first five bells, patient maintained strict and quiet composure throughout, providing very little to document. Patient appeared to observe his chambers for possible weak points and upon finding none, pressed his back to the wall facing the single point of entry. I attempted to communicate with him, requesting name, rank and age to little avail. He did not respond. It is only after my third request that he regards my camera with little more than a look. Even as I write this, I am fascinated by the bearing displayed. Despite captivity, my patient seems calm. Collected. I await his first attempts at rest. 

Initial Tests: Actual tests began 17 hours after the patient's initial recovery from the sedatives provided. This phase of testing utilized sound sensory overload. The patient's chambers are capable of both amplifying and negating sound in its entirety. During this portion of the experiment we used an indoctrinating speech recorded during the emperor's crowning ceremony. It is reduced in speed and tone and then overlaid with a composition of Imperial Will, which had also been distorted and stretched.  It is utilized often to break prisoner's of war and is a collection of sounds straight from hell. In the moment that the subject attempted to sleep, the recording was played at a significant volume and was left playing for several hours after. During this time, Asset #71 made attempts to disassociate from the sounds via loud singing of his own song and the plugging of his ears to effectively blot out the sound. For now, we have allowed him some semblance of control to see how he acts and over time will slowly restrict his sense of it. It is rather intriguing to see his attempts at combating with mental torture. It is clear mental fortitude is strong, and provides some reasoning as to why the extreme conditions of the serum did not effect him psychologically in the same way it did other subjects. After several hours had passed with the speech, we would then activate the room's extreme sound canceling capabilities. To speak in this room would  be like speaking into a void. Sound is effectively swallowed as soon as it comes into existence. The longest anyone has been able to last in these conditions was just under one bell at fifty-seven minutes. Our subject lasted thirty two before beginning to show extreme agitation. Each cycle was repeated four times per series of tests lasting 3 days. By the third day, Asset #71 began suffering anxiety attacks from the prolonged silence and had lost his voice. By the fourth cycle, the subject appeared to curl into the fetal position with his hands over his ears.

I attempted to ask his name, rank, and designation. He told me to go fuck myself. For the duration of this study, we have decided against Passenger Protocols, as the ‘Lullaby’ state would act as a manner of rest for the repressed and dissociative state. 

Study Continues. Day 4: 76 hours out from capture we began the next segment of tests. The temperature of the room was dropped significantly and leveled at -6° C. For the safety of our orderlies, patients magnetic cuffs were activated and the asset was restrained to the floor. He reacted with extreme duress during this time though was unable to free himself. (Injuries sustained during this time healed over the course of the next few hours.) Ice cold water kept barely to the point before it freezes was then dumped over the patient’s body after which he was left to fend off the new conditions.

Once the magnetic cuffs were deactivated, Asset #71 immediately began by stripping from the wet clothes, demonstrating a knowledge of what to do with these extreme circumstances. He spent the next several hours pacing, exerting himself through various physical activities to generate and preserve warmth. It was noted that the cold seemed to be deteriorating his health more rapidly, never the less we were able to continue this phase of tests for an excess of 27 hours. Subject was forced to maintain activity for that duration or risk succumbing to hypothermia. Intent to survive was very obvious during these stages.  

Study Continues: Day 7: Asset 71 continues to function with obvious attempts of remaining composed, though his concept of ‘composed’ seems to be slipping. Pacing continues at a sluggish pace. Food has not been looked at in over thirty hours. He appears to be mumbling to himself repeatedly. Attempts at sleep have been repeatedly discouraged through various methods. Panic ensues whenever the magnetic cuffs are activated as the Asset has become aware that their activation means he is defenseless to an oncoming intrusion. 

On the most recent check-up, we extracted some blood and marrow to be tested in the lab. The bone marrow extraction was a great deal more painful than intended as anesthesia was decided against given it would interfere with the results of our study. The pain was much higher given the subject’s increased bone density, and we had to drill into the bone in order to extract. It was noted that the injury likely should have healed faster, but the Asset’s lack of sleep seems to have reduced the healing capabilities of his body. It would appear that even the Hypertuned have their limits.

I have attempted to speak with him through a layer in the wall, allowing him to see my face at last in the hopes this might inspire further discussion. I have never seen such hatred in a face. Admittedly, it disturbed me. These men are more beast than even the Empire realizes, but it is necessary for us to thrive. To advance ourselves so that we might be victorious. Surely, he understands his importance to the cause. This study shows us the levels of strength that can be achieved. 

Day 17: The asset has resorted to mumbling incoherently to himself. I believe he might be going catatonic as he no longer responds to the music, nor to the questions I provide in order to compare his baseline. The only real response shown is during extraction periods where we must restrain him. He cannot use aether, we made sure of that with the collars and cuffs, but his strength is still formidable. 

At one point, he managed to wrap several blankets around his cuffs, reducing their effectiveness to magnetize to the floors around him. Several orderlies were severely injured with one being killed during this time as he responded with increasing desperation and severity towards the threat of being restrained. We managed to subdue him, and extraction proceeded as normal. 

He was patched to the best of our ability and all blankets were removed to prevent further...ingenuity. As punishment, the temperature was reduced to freezing once more. He walked to the camera and screamed in primal fashion. I believe he means to kill me. This animosity is fascinating to me. It is the only time he seems completely cognizant by comparison of our other tests. 

Day 29: Alarms have sounded. I do not know how, but Asset #71 has escaped. I believe we are under attack. Not just by him, but by others. Those that found this must know the nature of what has been created: A monster of unrelenting drive, a soldier of unwavering dedication towards whatever mission he has fixated upon. He is not a man, but a creature that needs little sleep, food, or resources to survive. He will do so by sheer force of will and the desire to destroy anything in his path. I have read his files, and do not think I will survive. I hear pounding against the door. If it is him, I do not understand what strength he has left. I am not certain he is capable of differentiating friend from foe, but I know he remembers me. The door is crumpling and I have nowhere to run. I am not a religious man, but Twelve help us all. 

@sundered-souls - Thanks for the ask! It took forever to answer and I apologize. 

@glowinggunmetal - A file Lucien has perhaps found at some point. :)

@neheon-dotharl - I know you don’t play Seiwind anymore, but we had talked forever about her saving him on a raid. This is the one.  

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Glenn Loury: The Spiral of Silence in Social Justice

In the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, two swindlers promise to provide an emperor with magnificent new clothes that will be invisible to those who are stupid or incompetent. Officials see no clothes are being produced on the swindler’s looms, but none will say anything to avoid being seen as a fool. When the emperor walked through the city in his new “clothes,” everyone could see that he was naked, but no one would be the one to say it. But then came along a child who in his naiveté was willing to defy consensus and speak out.

The thing about the child in the story is not that he’s saying it, it’s not even that other people heard him say it. It’s that everybody knows that everybody else heard him say it. The child created a circumstance in which it’s now common, shared, knowledge that the emperor has no clothes.

German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann coined a term that describes this phenomenon: the “Spiral of Silence.” In a spiral of silence, when holding a certain view obtains a stigma, for fear of being seen as having that view people will stay silent. Thus the masses believe they are alone or in a small minority of people with the stigmatized view, and yet in fact they are indeed one of the masses.

In progressive controlled areas of our society today, we are suffering from a spiral of silence when it comes to the topic of social justice. In that half of America, many don’t like it when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee at a football game and says, “I’m not going to stand for this pledge of allegiance”, or when when a Black Lives Matter activist stands up with his balled fist and says “Burn this down” about a city, but they are too afraid to be the only one in their community saying it, to be perceived as a racist or supporter of racists for holding mild views that most of America holds.

Though censorship is often spoken of as the leading threat to open discourse, the more subtle threat is the voluntary limitation of one’s own speech creating a spiral of silence. It is not the iron fist of repression, but the velvet glove of seduction, that is the real problem.

Spirals of silence can cause people with extreme views to drive moderates, out of a conversation. In effect, the moderates "hoard" their opinions. Hence, the public discourse on some issues, for example abortion, can become more polarized than is the actual distribution of public opinion.

Once the practice of punishing those who express certain ideas is well established, the only ones who risk ostracism by speaking recklessly are those who place so little value on conforming to their community that they must be presumed not to share their dearest common values.

Those, for example, who genuinely value racial equality know that, even if they harbor reservations about the effectiveness or ethics of affirmative action, if they utter their reservations in the wrong circles they will be perceived as an opponent of racial justice; so they say nothing at all. This silencing of such conversations has a devastating impact on our ability to improve society.

The notion of "objective research"--on say police interactions with black Americans, or the lifetime effects of fatherless homes--can have no meaning if, when the results are reported, other "scientists" are mainly concerned to pose the ad hominem query: "Just what kind of economist, sociologist, etc. would say this?"

Not only will investigators be induced to silence, the very way in which research is evaluated and consensus about "the facts" is formed will be altered. If when a study yields an unpopular conclusion its author is subjected to ostracism, an obvious bias to "find what the community is looking for" is introduced.

Who, we must ask, will speak for compromise and common sense, when to speak in this way is seen to signal a weak commitment to "the struggle"?

Who will insist that we speak plainly and tell the truth about delicate and difficult matters which we would all prefer to cover-up or ignore?

Who will declare "the emperor" to be naked?

How can a community sustain an elevated political discourse, when the social forces which promote silence threaten to usher in a dark age? It cannot.

But, with a simple choice, with just a little bit of bravery, you can choose to be like the child who spoke truth to the empire and put an end to it all.

Join me in ending the spiral of silence at FairForAll.org