#to both Rhukkadevata's followers

[reginrokkr]

◟༺✧༻◞ Collected Miscellanies #6

Even as I speak, strange events that I cannot comprehend are unfolding in Sumeru City. Fortunately to Tighnari, though he lacks knowledge of the full situation, his intuition has saved him from becoming entangled in it. In Tighnari’s opinion, however profound and esoteric knowledge may be, it does not equal virtue. Elitism and deceit can lead to no good. Ironically, the Akademiya sages who manage knowledge neither comprehend the true meaning of knowledge nor understand the yearnings of human heart. Though Tighnari has rejected them several times still their pleas come, time after time, to his door. Let’s see where exactly the path of stubbornness and ignorance will lead them in the future.                                                                                                                  —Tighnari miscellany.

[...] Good things come to those who are willing to work toward their dreams. [...] Growth means different things to different people. Some simply wish to grow up in peace while others pursue loftier goals. As for Collei, she believes that overcoming the past is a necessary step on the long journey to the future she pursues. This is wise. For to overcome is to move forward, not to wallow endlessly in the past. …Pity that my former travel companion, for all their years of rumination, lacks Collei’s clarity on this. …Or perhaps some situations are simply too complex to be resolved by good intentions and honest effort alone…                                                                                                                 —Collei miscellany.

In my travels across Teyvat, I’ve heard people say that “curiosity was mankind’s original sin”. Perhaps everyone has the impulse to explore the deep secrets of the world, but only scholars can truly fulfill such ambitions. Cyno can relate to some degree. Placing the mysteries of the universe before scholars with a burning desire for knowledge would be like placing a dragon-themed deck from Genius Invokation TCG in front of him... Both are irresistible temptations. Perhaps the Akademiya established the Matra not principally to punish wayward scholars. But rather, to protect them... because the gravest crimes committed in the name of wisdom may be beyond the matra’s ability to punish.                                                                                                                 —Cyno miscellany.

People who have lost their guardian deity often display the greatest interest in the gods. But having never seen a god with their own eyes, the far-fetched products of their naïve imaginations are poor substitutes for reality.                                                                                                                 —Candace miscellany.

I must stress that I am a warrior and in no way versed in the disciples of song and dance. If anyone was expecting my philosophical musings on these topics, I’m sorry to disappoint. But while I am no connoisseur, even I find myself moved once in a while by the sight of an extraordinary performance. Even for the Nation of Wisdom, citing the pursuit of rationality as a justification for refusing to acknowledge the comfort that an audience can find in the arts is sheer arrogance. When groups clash or human ideals conflict with the rules of the world around them… disputes of this nature most often arise from the inability to tolerate the existence of that which is different from oneself.                                                                                                                —Nilou miscellany.

[reginrokkr]

SHIPPING INFO. Answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

What’s your OTP for your Muse(s)?

I can't say I really have one, but throughout my RP experience the ship that resonated the most with me was Dain and Blade.

What are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

Everything so long as it doesn't involve cheating or toxic behaviors (or at least uncooperative, as I'm aware that Blade as a character isn't a stroll on a field of roses precisely). This is because when I ship I want to see everything there is to have, from the beginning to the proper romantic relationship phase. Me saying that I'm not a fan of toxic behaviors is a reflection of saying that I don't think Dain would be interested in one like that to begin with and he's heavily down to earth for that. At the same time, I do acknowledge his difficulties and by no means I want to say that shipping with him will be a walk around the park either.

How large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

Writing someone like Dain makes this question... curious given the many years he has lived, so what I'll say is that what would make me uncomfortable in what's concerned about age is the lack of reflection that another individual is of age and by this I mean necessarily both physically and mentally. I give special importance to the mental aspect because shipping with Dain will require a certain maturity that not everyone may have, no matter if they're already of age.

Are you selective when shipping?

I am and part of the reason is past experiences of mine in my early times as a RPer. The other part is that I like to have the liberty to gush about our muses' ship without feeling like I'm inconveniencing my RP partners, and / or if there are time constraints that impedes us to write consistently, that at least we can keep that interest via private discussions.

How far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

As soon as erotica begins, I'd say, as nudity doesn't necessarily have to be involved for this to be present. Likewise, nudity involving genitalia is another go-to tag the IC interactions appropriately.

Who are other muses you ship your muse with?

Diluc, Al-Haitham, Rhukkadevata, Neuvillette and Sunday.

Does one have to ask to ship with you?

Granted that I stated that communication between muns is important to me as a requirement to ship, yes. It'll be bound to happen. Moreover, as a note I want to say that don't let my short list of muses I ship Dain with discourage you. This comes from the perspective of not having had the chance to think about it too much or having shipped Dain much to begin with and there are some characters I haven't mentioned that might bring interesting results if discussed.

How often do you like to ship?

I want to preface that what I like isn't a direct representation of the reality of shipping. I love shipping and I'd love to ship more often, but what really happens is the opposite and part of it is due to the complexity Dain has a muse by himself, which I don't want to disregard. I'm aware that the odds of shipping more frequently would've spiked if I ignored this, but I simply... don't want to. I've been an observer of how Dain is treated when the key traits of his character are ignored or watered down (not limited to RP and not necessarily in RP, more so through fanarts, Twitter, etc.) and I don't like what's done to him, hence I won't contribute further to that myself.

Are you multiship?

Yes, but never with the same character. I'm aware that the same character can count to have multiple muses as it varies from portrayal to portrayal, but I want to have free reign to explore everything without having to limit myself to give bits and pieces to every ship with the same muse if I were to indulge in that practise. Once again, it's not my thing and not due to a lack of experience, which I had in my early times as a RPer.

Are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

Given my love for shipping, I'd lean more towards the former but I know that the reality is the latter. So somewhere in between, I suppose?

What is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

Dainsleif and Neuvillette without a doubt. From all the characters that have been introduced so far in Genshin, I find that Neuvi would understand him the most and both have a somehow similar mentality. Furthermore, they struggle with being somewhere in between human and otherwise that is interesting to think about how one would shoulder the other in that regard, as well as finding their own destiny or purpose in this world.

Finally, how does one ship with you?

Let me know about it. There is no shame in doing that even if our interactions have been brief or few in number. Everything can be discussed and in my years of RP experience, I find OOC discussions on the topic to be as important as IC interactions. That being said, and one thing I find important is that if we do this without having interacted much IC yet is that we can have the freedom to jump back and forth to different moments of our muses' relationship and not just get stuck in the romantic phase without at least writing prompts of how the development up to that point would've gone.

Tagged by: Found it in the depths of an old blog of mine lol Tagging: @seraphicus @jueying @astrxlfinale @madrites @apocryphis @celesticlnstcrs @guhamun @delusionaid @oneireth @lunaetis @lumoire @nagareboshiko and if anyone else wants to do this, feel free to take it!

[reginrokkr]

𝐗𝐋𝐈𝐈. Dain canon divergencies II: About Marana.

Alright, so following this post of the few canon divergencies worth noting for my portrayal of Dain, I have to add a new one related to Sumeru (only related because it’s when this was explored in a considerably deeper level, as this affects the whole world) which is concerning the Aranara quest chain. About the Maranara specifically (what a good name they chose for this by the way, couldn’t hit the nail on the head any better), so for this I’ll break down quickly what exactly this is and why it’s become a gripe of mine to make me decide go divergent in this regard.

Until now, we’ve known of everything that the abyssal energy / chaos / corrosion / void is capable of doing in briefer instances. We know that: 

1) it can warp the perception of those affected by it (see Dvalin as an example). 2) it can drive escapee gods from the rule of the Seven to madness in the Dark Sea. 3) it consumes everything that contains the seven elements (I’ll elaborate this a bit more later). 4) it’s the potential reason of why some humans become Abyss Mages / Lectors / Heralds or Husks (mark this last one for later, it’ll be important). 5) it makes people ill to the point of reaching death if left unchecked and in a similar vein to the escapee gods, it can drive them to madness. 6) it’s the source of energy that Khaenri’ah has been using to power the ruin machines up.

In Sumeru we’ve been introduced to Marana now, which is a Sanskrit noun that means death. And with it, we were also introduced to a few novelties alongside some confirmations of prospects that we met in the past:

- Marana urges everything towards death. The realization that all things meet their end makes the Marana fester further to the point that it becomes part of the memories. Said memories go as far as to engrave themselves in the Ley Lines, and into Irminsul by extension.

- The essence of memories is one of the things that can defeat Marana, but at the same time Marana not only can make others forget. It enters the consciousness and dreams too (familiar from a certain Archon, right?). Furthermore, this contributes to the Black Serpent Knights and Husks’ loss of intelligence and memories as an independent element to the curse.

- Ruin Machines are powered by Marana and it’s said that Abyss Wolves and Marana are one and the same. They are not natural. They do not belong to the cycle of heaven or earth.

So we have all these factors that define Marana, which seems to be the biggest issue the world of Teyvat is facing given that it kills everything. But even for such a critical matter like this, in my honest opinion we’re before this narrative gist typical of Genshin that makes us, as the Traveler have to deal with this despite the lack of strength and despite the fact that there are other capable characters that can do it. This case in particular I think that Dain would be one of the most suitable if we keep in mind his role as the Bough Keeper and his glaringly intimate connection he has with Irminsul. The Akasha is a legacy left by the Greater Lord Rhukkadevata for her people to garner knowledge from the tree, yes. There’s talk about a minority of people being able to attune to some extent with Irminsul, yes. But many more were driven to madness doing just that and as Haypasia said, there is no guarantee that in any of the attempts to attune with Irminsul one can be driven mad or have their consciousness be affected in some way.

In view of the importance of this matter and how tied it is to Irminsul, Dain will be the one who deals with the Varuna Contraption, helps the Aranara prepare the Festival Utsava (which isn’t just a festival, but acts more like some kind of preparatory rite) and fights alongside them against the Marana Avatar both during the Dark Cataclysm that Teyvat is suffering and in the present. Only a few Aranara will be able to remember him, mainly because those who fought the Marana Avatar at the time that still exist in the present have to give up all their memories as a source of power and because with time some passed away while other new ones were born that didn’t live the Cataclysm.