#✦ ic.

[iustitians]

Meanwhile...

Within the Court of Fontaine, the activities of the film festival are in full swing. Filming crew members run there and back again getting everything they need set up and prepared for their next hit, children in costumes joyfully gather sweets, visitors from all across Teyvat and even beyond are participating in events, visiting food stalls, playing games and having a time of their lives.

Outside the Court, however...

---

With a powerful blast of Hydro, Neuvillette sends another group of strange, otherworldly monsters crashing into each other and dissipating into dust. Even before they vanish for good however, a new mob of adversaries already emerges from behind them, baring their long fangs and strange weapons as they approach.

The Iudex frowns, eyeing them as he gathers his energy in the palm of his hand again. These are not foes rising from the Abyss - they have come from somewhere else entirely, completely separate from Teyvat.

... Not that it is difficult to figure out how they made their way here, he thinks, holding back a frustrated sigh as he glances upwards. Behind a wall of clouds, he has managed to carefully conceal the sight that would send the people into a panic in an instant -

the firmament full of flickering holes, torn through in multiple places like a cheap piece of fabric in an encounter with a sharp knife.

Neuvillette winces. He can hold his own in a fight like this for a considerable length of time, but re-forging the sky is another matter entirely. Right now, there is little he can do beside steel himself for a long battle to protect the city at all costs, and hope that something changes.

He clenches his fists, Hydro sparkling between his fingers anew.

If the damned Usurper would like to do anything, now would be a good time.

[mauvehound]

"MAUVIER!"

Marni's demanding voice pierces through the ballroom and she stops in front of the poor man with her hands on her hips. A dangerous smile is on her lips; a sure sign of disaster on the horizon coming from a chronic troublemaker.

"I need you to lift me up. You see the big guy over there, Mauvier?" She points extremely openly to a rather tall mustachioed man. "I need to write something on his head in exchange for tricking Griss into eating a sweet bun."

Augh, but this is Mauvier they're talking about, famous stick in the mud! He hardly ever does what she wants! What to do, what to do...

She does have one thing at her disposal, however.

"If you do, I'll give you AND Lady Veyle my brooch or whatever!"

(no pressure to reply if you're too busy for the ball, just wanted this sent for posterity haha)

"..."

Originally, Mauvier had no intention of participating in the ball in any formal capacity. These types of occasions are simply not for him - he is not one for balls and celebrations, he does not feel comfortable in a large group, and others are likely to not feel great near him either, causing him to simply kill the mood. For those reasons and more, he keeps to himself and lets others have their fun.

But, having finished all of his duties, he found himself with nothing else to do, and so he thought to simply... peek in and see how everything is going, see if anyone needs help, make sure Lady Veyle, Divine One and others are well. Get in, get out and move on, right?

And yet, mere minutes after he found a corner to stand and observe the fun, he is being dragged into a Situation by none other than Marni.

"You need to do what now?..."

Normally, Mauvier would excuse himself from these sorts of shenanigans, and he can see that Marni expects him to try. The promise of a brooch for himself means little to him, though for Lady Veyle... he could do a favor.

But above all else, after the everything that they had gone through, he finds himself struggling to say no to her, even for something like this.

And so, he merely sighs. The tall man she had pointed to happens to be alone and unoccupied for the moment, so Mauvier approaches him and clears his throat.

"Okay, well..."

"Hold still for a moment..."

[skipppppy]

I think she’d respect his methodology

[solidwater05]

Pros of hyperfixiation:

Happy!

Art ideas

Life is good

Cons of hyperfixiation:

I am going to blow up

All my art is of the same guy

If I don't think about this 24/7 I get violent

[chic-beyond-the-wall]

More medieval dyes for y'all!

[vangoghcore]

by petr.kosykh

[triski73]

Kiddos hear EVERYTHING

[mousemilf]

its actually very silly that if ur any type of art kid as a teenager everyone is like oh have u thought abt graphic design or advertising. yeah the little emo dude who fills sketchbooks with anime gore all day would be great at making customers buy product.

[sleepyminty]

Timebomb-Jayvik dynamic is so funny bc we have:

Begrudgingly acknowledge each other despite that one time Ekko haggle the fuck out Jayce and Jayce accidentally polluted the underground

Two strikes and they started throwing slurs at each other

[iustitians]

A Father's Day Off

By now, he can be safely certain that he has lost all the eyes that were attempting to follow him. This one tabloid writer was particularly pesky today, but the Iudex has centuries of practice in the art of vanishing into thin air without letting his “opponent”, for lack of a better term, realize that he was aware of their presence. Between curious onlookers, stubborn journalists and the Fatui, it works like a charm, every time without fail, much to their frustrations. He, for his part, takes no satisfaction in doing this. Yes, he dislikes attention, and does not appreciate being followed, either. But above all else, he must ensure the safety of those he watches over.

By the time he could be spotted again, it is already near the Statue of the Seven in Elynas, a place few visit and fewer still attempt to make their home, due to the terrain – eroded remains of a monster, or an alleged one, anyway – being unstable to this day, so much so that an old aquabus project for this area ended in failure, and any other hopes of establishing human settlements in the area were also dashed. But, perhaps, that is for the best. It means his wards can live in peace.

Neuvillette offers Focalors a nod in greeting as he passes by her likeness. Though he and the Archons are destined to end up on opposing sides regardless of his personal feelings, and his opinion on her is not crystal clear either, he does hold respect for the work they have done and still do, and does not mind showing it.

Unhurried steps take him to the small, inconspicuous pond nearby. He walks forward silently until his feet touch the water, until it is up to his knees, his waist – and then he vanishes beneath the surface, leaving behind no trace, not even the slightest wave. His disappearance successful, he quietly dives into the depths, accompanied by nothing but a few fish and the sound of rushing water in his ears. Before long, he reaches the bottom – and then shoots upwards with one fluid motion; leaping out of the pond’s other end, one shrouded in darkness, and plummeting into the hidden world below.

(He does, sometimes, wonder how someone like Mr. Freminet has not found this place. Could it be because he prefers to dive in the wide open sea, which holds an exit, but allows no entry? Or is it possible that he simply has not looked, preferring to keep the hidden village in his heart as a dream?)

(Neuvillette knows that dreams and fantasies are important to humans, even if he doubts he could ever understand the reasoning behind this. Why do they put so much hope in what they don’t know or don’t believe is real?)

(He will not ask or pry, so perhaps he shall never know. And that is fine.)

The whispers of the gentle breeze that ruffled his hair on the surface is replaced by the humming of calm, little creeks that flow through the remains of what once was a living, breathing organism. One that simply wished to love and be loved in return, but for some beings in this world, even that is too high a luxury to ask.

He huffs at the thought. Some Fontainians would consider such a statement to be heresy, but when one thinks about it, Elynas and Egeria had more in common than one would expect.

He lands safely on the crystallized remains of what used to be a blood vessel, and from there, another jump takes him safely to the ground. Once he has arrived, he spends a moment to greet Elynas, silently paying respects to his heart. Though he has never heard his voice the way the Melusines used to do, that is no reason to be disrespectful towards their parent and his host. A Hydro Crystalfly comes to him, landing on his outstretched fingers, as though to give him a greeting of his own. He watches it for a moment, motionless, unwilling to chase it away – until it eventually flies off on its own, heading to wherever its fleeting life may lead.

Water splashes under his feet as he continues on his way, heading into the small, easy to miss tunnel, concealed behind greenery. He still remembers when he stumbled upon this place the very first time, when he surveyed the aftermath of the fateful battle between the Marechaussee Phantom and the Narzissenkreuz Ordo. Who would have thought that from such a tragedy could emerge something as precious as what he found that day. He reminisces about it wordlessly, smiling faintly to himself as he does, his fond expression concealed by the darkness around him.

That is, until the glowing plants reveal a familiar face ahead of him, causing his smile to widen, just as she notices him and waves cheerfully to him as she runs towards him.

“Monsieur Neuvillette! Hello there! Have you come to visit?”

“Of course. How have you been, Cosanzeana?”

“I’m good, and my garden is doing great, too! Come on – let’s go to the village together!”

Her hand slides into his, and they walk side by side the rest of the way, which is not long at all. Within minutes, the murky greens surrounding them give way to the familiar blue and purple light, and soon they emerge out of the tunnel and into the greatest opening within Elynas:

Merusea Village, the place often found in human fairytales, and yet no less real than any other.

Cosanzeana runs ahead, joyfully announcing his arrival to everyone, and within moments, Neuvillette finds himself being greeted by all residents of the upper floor. Serene, the eldest sister, greets him first before running off to the waterway, heading to the lower level to let the others know about his visit. Laughter and cheer follow as he takes his time to say hello to each and every one of them. 

“Monsieur Neuvillette! It’s been a while! Have you been well?”

“Thank you, I’m good. I hope everyone here has also been well.”

“Monsieur Neuvillette! Did you bring us more tokens like you promised?”

“Of course, here they are.”

“Monsieur Neuvillette! I’ve completed my practice for the Marechaussee Phantom exam, could you check it for me?”

“Naturally. Show me what you’ve done and we’ll go through everything.”

“Monsieur Neuvillette! We found this new book, could you tell us what it’s about?”

“Another book in the wreckage, you mean? Let me take a look.”

Lively chatter erupts all around him, matters big and small that piled up in his absence are brought to his attention, all while he gives out hugs and pats heads, smiling all the while. Minutes quickly turn into hours, but he pays time little heed, as do Melusines themselves. The celebration and the joy of his visit lasts well into the night. It will not be until dawn breaks on the surface that he will once more bid them farewell, already with the promise of their next meeting.

There is much that he can say humans taught him, and more still that he gives credit for to the Melusines. Among those important truths of life is one that has, for centuries now, shone brighter than any other for him:

However busy one is, it is important to take time to visit with family.

[kingdeath000]

TRANS WOMEN ARE REAL WOMEN AND DESERVE REPRESENTATION IN MEDIA JUST AS MUCH AS ANY OTHER WOMAN

This post is cancelled. Look at quakke instead ⤵️

[agentmilayawithshield]

Sunfyre learning Common Tongue because Aegon never learned how to speak in Valyrian

[sabertoothwalrus]

wait a second wait a second wait a second wait a second wait a s

[ur-daily-inspiration]