#Vinster

[thelittlepoetworld]

#86 ‘DI PWEDE

Mahal kita, Vin Ngunit ‘di tayo pwede,  Minamahal ko. Copyright © 2021 BALOCSIN

*Disclaimer: This is just pure fan fiction of my favorite ship in HORI7ON that was created by my fellow Vinster fans.:)

[asiljebrand]

Lågt hängande frukt

Vanligt mönster till misslyckande När vi går efter det vi vill ha så finns det olika stilar att nå sina resultat. Många försöker hoppa från 0 till 100 på en gång i.e., hon har inte läst en bok på 3 år och nu ska hon läsa en bok i veckan. Denna approach fungerar oftast i tre veckor tills det psykologiska och eller det emotionella motståndet blir för stort som hon faller till baka till gamla…

[aromanticasterisms]

OH SHITT

[halfwoman]

äsch :( 🇸🇪🇫🇮

[beantothemax]

I don’t know what’s about to happen in 3H but our moots seem to be ominous posting about it and I wanna let you know that we’re all here for you

I fear that the ominousposting will soon bear fruit as like it or not, chapter 15 mission time be upon me

[washeduprockstr]

more Vinny plz..

yyyyeesum. have a vinster

[svenskjavel]

En gruva som kommer klyva en sameby itu samt förflytta vinster från en redan fattig kommun till Stockholm

[incorrect-koh-posts]

Hello I have a bit of a weird question here , well , do you think modern women or modern women we consider beautiful in our time now would be considered beautiful in the medieval times ? Let’s say conventionally attractive women of this time such as Tyla , Madison beer , Sabrina carpenter , women we agree all that they are beautiful, do you think they would be this appreciated in let’s say medieval Europe or the crusader kingdoms ? Thank you very much for reading and answering 💗

Hello, anon! Sorry for the extremely late reply 🙈

Ngl, I had to google these people because I had no idea who they are. So in case any of my readers are like me and lack a basic understanding of recent pop culture, here they are for reference:

All in all, medieval ideas of beauty were actually not very different from our present ones. Looking at descriptions of beautiful women in medieval European literature, we see that, in general, writers prized features that are symmetrical and signal youth and health - which also pretty much sums up our 21st-century understanding of feminine beauty. So it is likely that those we as a society consider beautiful would have elicited a similar reaction from Baldwin and his contemporaries. (Though I imagine they would have had a word or five to say about the future's skimpy clothing, and not only for reasons of modesty. Like, where are the swathes and swathes of luxurious fabric? Are we too poor to afford it?)

Of course, medieval and modern ideals differ in some particulars. As you asked specifically about medieval Europe and since the crusader kingdoms largely followed the customs & culture of the French court: Yes - to get the obvious out of the way - there was an emphasis on the whiteness of a woman's skin at the time. Which is here not only an issue of race (a whole 'nother can of worms to open) but also of class, as lighter skin would have been regarded as a signifier that the woman was (or looked like) a member of the nobility, who did not have to do physical labour in the fields etc. where the sun would have been beating down on her all day.

That said, there are examples of dark-skinned characters in medieval European texts who are described as beautiful, such as Queen Belacane in the early-13th-century German chivalric romance Parzival. However, I would be denying history if I didn't acknowledge that even these characters, sometimes subtly, sometimes considerably less so, tend to be presented as an Other. In Wolfram's Parzival, for example, Belacane's people are "liute vinster sô diu naht" ("people dark as the night", Parzival 17,24). She is thus deliberately constructed as the opposite of the European ideal of the courtly lady (Mieger 191), who tends to be described as things like "liehters denne der tac" and "touwegen rôsen" ("lighter than the day" and like a "dewy rose", Parzival 24,6 and 24,10).

I haven't found any specific research materials on beauty standards in the crusader states, but I'd imagine this might have been less of an issue there than in the more remote parts of Europe, given that the cultural melting pot of the Levant would have exposed its inhabitants on a daily basis to different ideas and ideals of beauty. First and foremost, in any case, would have come considerations of religion - a beautiful "heathen" would have had to be very appealing and otherwise virtuous indeed for a European writer to apply courtly adjectives to her, whereas a Christian woman, no matter the colour of her skin, would have been regarded a little more favourably (though again likely exoticised as an Other if she wasn't white).

What did European courtly culture consider appealing then, other than ominous "dewy roses"? As far as text sources go, medieval society liked women to have a slender figure, healthy but not too thin, with a small but full mouth, a well-formed, not too prominent nose, rather small feet and hands, a long elegant neck, and white and even teeth. Mathieu de Vendôme’s Ars versificatoria (late-twelfth century) uses the example of Helen of Troy as the epitome of beauty. His Helen has golden and free-flowing hair, a “Milky Way-white” forehead, black and separated eyebrows “like arches”, sparkling eyes “like stars”, rosy cheeks, a straight nose which is neither too flat or too large, rosy and delicate lips, straight teeth that are “whiter than ivory”, and firm, small breasts (da Soller 98).

Another interesting example is offered in a thirteenth-century Castilian translation of an Arabic folk story, La historia de la doncella Teodor: “the beautiful woman has eighteen signs: three long, three short, three small, three white, three black, and three red. three long: torso, neck, and fingers; three white: body, teeth, and white of the eyes; three black: hair, eyes, and eyebrows; three red: cheeks, lips, and gums; three small: mouth, nose, and feet; three wide: hips, shoulders, and forehead” (101).

So, going back to the three women you mentioned, I'd say they fit the medieval ideal pretty well. Though we prefer somewhat more prominent curves and probably slightly more striking facial features nowadays than our ancestors (as well as fortunately moving away from prizing only light skin), I think we do see here that the difference between medieval and modern isn't actually that large. There's still an undercurrent of kalokagathia in our society's thinking, i.e. the idea that outward beauty signals inner virtue (think, for instance, of the fact that our fictional villains tend to be conventionally unattractive as opposed to the usually attractive good guys).

All things considered though, I shall end this rambling lecture by saying that, ultimately, tastes differ, today as well as in the Middle Ages. It is understandable that you might wish to appeal to, say, your favourite medieval king, but after expounding at length on what's supposedly beautiful or not, let me remind you: As people (and especially women), we do not exist to be ogled and judged by others - you are valuable regardless of whether a particular person considers you beautiful or not. 💛

Sources:

da Soller, Claudio. "Beauty, Evolution, and Medieval Literature." Philosophy and Literature, vol. 34, 2010, pp. 95–111.

Mieger, Hannah. "Königin of Color – Belacane in Wolframs von Eschenbach Parzival als intersektionale Figur." Intersektionalität und erzählte Welten: literaturwissenschaftliche und literaturdidaktische Perspektiven, edited by Verónica Abrego, Ina Henke, Magdalena Kißling, Christina Lammer, Maria-Theresia Leuker, 2023, pp. 187-201.

[crabsy94]

Spoiler warning for the new Xbox glider description

Lokey feel bad for Dain and Vedrfolnir after reading the new glider description. Spoiler

Like Vedr was just doing his job and they blinded him and threw him in prison for it. Like what did bro see that warranted that response for him. I think it could be something to do with the vinster king inevitability destroying his nation and it probably was classed as an act of treason or something.

And imagine Dain’s pov of that, Dain served the king and the royal family and they (im assuming the king sentenced Vedr) did that to his older brother. Bro probably lost all faith in his king at that point.

I’m sorry for mocking your cataclysm trauma Dain and for you relationship with your brother and giving very hypocritical advice to the traveler knowing your own relationship with your sibling

Okay okay more on to my speculations regarding this information, other than the points I already included

1.) I think Dain and Vedr had a very close relationship before everything happened considering he was apart of the group that were supposed to save the nation, and he was still helping (somehow, I don’t have any ideas yet as to how they communicated while Vedr was in prison, my only guess is Dain abusing his power as Twilight Sword and using that to talk to him). This idea comes from the fact Dain seemed very reluctant to mention the sinners considering it was 3.8 or something that he first mentioned them or anything really about his family. As well as the line “The young knight, initially intending only to save his older brother” (adorable, kicking my feet reading that line) and the line mentioned about Dain’s family implies that his family was significant to him at some point (brotherless behaviour, it’s giving Diluc and Kaeya kinda -ex person waiting for genshin to let diluc and Kaeya make up, well not ex still am just moved on to Dain and Vedr’s relationship -it’s got more tea to it okay-, if you ship them dni right now either of the sets of BROTHERS for that matter)

2.) Dain probably knew the sinners before he gathered them to eliminate the threat to their homeland considering the line “the young knight gathered the brilliant young ones of the age”. Which implies he at least knew who they were, maybe they were all of equal footing at the time

3.) how old were the ‘brilliant young ones of the age’ cause that could imply early 20’s potentially late teens, or young in the sense that they are younger than majority in their respective fields in the royal court (I’m still rolling with the whole royal court job agenda) cause like maybe for example with Rhinedottir she might have been in her mid late 20’s around 27 ish working in the court as an alchemist while her colleagues (I’m assuming she had colleagues) may have been a lot older than her and more experience under their belts than her.

But then again they were all called the ‘best in the fields’ or something along those lines by Dain so maybe they were really young and just very talented like Rhine could maybe out do alchemists that had been working for 40 years or something and only be like 19-25.

4.) (I think I’m up to 4, this is getting long might have to split it into two posts) the question now being posed to me is how big is the age gap between Dain and Vedr, I’m thinking if we go for the whole late teen early 20’s thing maybe he was 23 and Dain was ~20 ish. but then vedr seems to young considering what he did cause like Mona travels and learnt from Barbeloth for X many years and appears to be in her early mid 20’s (I need ghost to play twenties when I see them, sorry getting side tracked) and she’s not a visionary, like she’s a good astrologist but not at visionary level. So maybe Vedr was in his late 20’s at the time and Dain (mid twenties) and gang were mid to late twenties (Rhine is the youngest and Dain the most immature, I don’t remember who said that originally, credit to them for the idea but it’s cannon now). Cause like I can’t see Dain and Vedrfolnir being more than 4 years apart considering how close I think they were

Anyways end rant -for now- bye bye to anyone who is still here till the end, I got a bit distracted (a bit is an understatement)

[kayetra-spade-queen]

Because I don't wanna make a video essay, so have a written essay instead because I absolutely can.

I'm gonna talk about the Loom of Fate, the 5 Sinners, and theorized what will happen to Teyvat.

(SPOILERS AHEAD. I SUGGEST GOING THROUGH THE QUEST FIRST)

I must warn you that these are all theories made by what's given by Genshin so far, so please don't take anything too seriously until we finally get the full picture.

Ok, so after AQ Bedtime Story (good god, that was a rollercoaster, although it was short), we've gathered a few things;

Loom of Fate is essentially made to replace or at least be on par with Irminsul, hence the connection between Ley Lines and people's memories.

The caused of the Khaenri'ah cataclysm wasn't the Khaenri'ahns entirely, but the 5 Sinners.

Celestia had been asleep ever since the cataclysm and hadn't woken up, even when Irminsul was altered and Focalors destroying her throne.

The Sinners (+ Dain) are trying to go up against a Vinster King.

The Sinners in question left Khaenri'ah when the cataclysm happened, leaving all of their people to deal with the bullshit they themselves had made. Talk about responsibility.

The Sinners

Hroptatyr The Wise: I assume that he will have something to do with the Forbidden Knowledge, that's why he was titled "the wise". We have not attain any information about him from any characters as of now.

Vedrfolnir The Visionary: We found out that he is Dainsleif's older brother, and we also found out that he is also the voice that we (reliving as our Sibling in memory) heard as "The Voice in The Head", and was the one who inspired Chlothar into founding the Abyss Order in the first place.

Rhinedottir Gold: We know that she is the creator of Albedo and his siblings. She was the one who brought abyssal monsters into Teyvat in the first place. For the longest time, I've suspected that she had been dead by getting killed, but now I think that she's still alive due to Kaeya's voiceline saying; "The Sinners are the ones that remains".

Surtalogi The Foul: We know that he is the master of Skirk. He was the one who brought the All-Devouring Narwhal onto Teyvat, and we know the whale isn't from Teyvat itself, and it came from somewhere in space. The whale got attracted by the many Primordial Sea because of the Fontainians are beings made out of Primordial Sea until they became fully human.

Rerir Rächer of Solnari: In mythology, Rerir wanted to avenge his father's death. Rerir in Genshin (who is a female due to the Rächer noun is feminine) could be indicating something similar, but what? Maybe... A death of a loved one?

Vinster King

So the Sinners are trying to go up against the Vinster King because of... Something.

First and foremost, the identity of Vinster King.

I believed that it's Phanes, aka the Primordial One. The one that created the 4 Shining Shades, and the one who founded the Heavenly Principles in the first place.

Why do I say that? Realized that Dain said that their goal is to stop the Vinster King from "continuing the rock foundation of this world"?

Phanes, in a sense did create Teyvat. Killing the Dragon Sovereigns and taking over their land, not to mention creating the civilization we know now is a form of "creating" this world, the world of Teyvat we all know now.

The Sinners had a reason to try and fight the Vinster King, or I guess in this case, the Primordial One.

But what? What happened between them that angered Phanes so much?

Creating a New World

I believe that the reason of the Sinners trying to fight Celestia was that they're trying to create a new world.

Was this a bit of a stretch? Maybe. But they are the ones who left Khaenri'ah when the abyss started to take over and when Celestia have to do what they could to stop it from spreading towards to the other nations.

Loom of Fate was one of the key factors into creating this new world, the same way Irminsul was. There could be other factors into making this new world the Sinners are trying to make, and one of them could involve the Forbidden Knowledge.

See, although Phanes did "make" Teyvat in a sense, it was still a stolen land by the end of the day, so maybe the Sinners are trying to create a world made by their own hands, and transporting the people of Teyvat to that new world, so they could live in a "pure world", where it was entirely theirs. Loom of Fate could also be made to make people forget about Celestia altogether, making the new world a purely-humanity-based world with no divine intervention.

Now, why would they do this? As mentioned before, these 5 people were the best in their fields, better than their own peers. I'd assume they got greedy and selfish, and when they found the power of the abyss, it brought them to the point of insanity, so they made these insane stunts to reach their goal, even if it meant putting their own people, and by extent everyone in the world into a bridge of chaos and suffering.

Hroptatyr & Rerir

We know 3 people so far, but how about the other 2?

Hroptatyr is called "the wise", which he is most likely to tie himself onto knowledge, and probably academically unparalleled back then among his people.

What if he got greedy, trying to get more knowledge? The Forbidden Knowledge was most likely his key to an otherworldly knowledge, something that no one, not even Rukkhadevata could understand as the god of knowledge. It won't be far fetched, since the power of the abyss was so powerful it can either be on par or exceed the power of the heavens to the point Celestia can't cure it.

Forbidden Knowledge can be very essential for creating the new world theory I mentioned in the previous section. Creating the very foundation of a world requires a ton of knowledge, so who's to say that Hroptatyr aren't trying to get his hands to that knowledge so he can't start making that world?

Rerir here is trying to avenge something (hence the word "Rächer"), but what? In the original Germanic mythology, Rerir is the son of Sigi, succeeds his murdered father and avenges his death. He rules in Hunaland and becomes a powerful ruler.

So, Rerir here in Genshin must've had something to do that's tied to death at some point. A dead loved one maybe that got killed by being murdered?

If that's the case, then Rerir is trying to avenge her loved one, or maybe a comrade, but to where? Maybe Phanes got something to do with it, but I'm not entirely sure.

I have my own speculations that Rerir is trying to resurrect that said person. Which, I get it, it doesn't follow through her title, but given that she attains the power of the abyss, who's to say that she won't try to do the art of resurrection? She'll definitely try to take advantage of that power and do whatever she could think off possible to make whatever she wished come true, including bringing back the dead.

Maybe that person got involved with Celestia, and Celestia was the cause of that person's death. Which would make sense if Rerir getting involved with Phanes herself because of it; she doesn't accept that the person she cares about being killed by the person who was supposed to be a god who loved humanity.

Celestia

Celestia, as we know it, is the cause of plenty of shit;

The one who destroyed an entire nation

The one who put a curse on said nation

The one who the archons are putting their distance at

The one who drove our Sibling to continue the Loom of Fate operation

The one who made the Tsaritsa going grocery shopping for the other archons' gnoses

The one who made the prophecy to drown Fontaine because Egeria made the sin of making Oceanids into humans

Stole a whole planet upon arrival

Killed the original residents of said planet

Using the remnants of the 3rd Descenders into making the gnoses

What we didn't know until a while ago about Celestia was;

Destroying the entire nation because there's no cure for the abyss and they're trying to protect the other nations

The power of the abyss was so powerful, it drained them to the point of slumber

Cursing the people of the nation because they thought the people responsible for creating the cataclysm was still there, not realizing that they had already left. Though I still disapprove of them cursing the entire population when they had absolutely nothing to do with it and was caught in a crossfire

Celestia wasn't the one who started the eradication of Khaenri'ah in the first place because they disapprove of the nation's independence; they were merely trying to protect the world from the abyss because it's the only way the knew best and are the only powerful method they had

Celestia exhaust themselves so badly, they went into a slumber that not even Focalors' stunt could even wake them up. So they've been inactive for the last 500 years

For the longest time, we've been under the impression that Celestia is the ultimate big bad of the game, which we have reasons why; the archons are against Celestia, a whole nation got destroyed by Celestia because it was assumed that they're being erased because of their independence, hell even trapping us into Teyvat without any way of leaving and locking our powers away.

In a sense, Celestia is still a big bad, but maybe not as big as the Sinners? I know I said that they're probably transporting the people from Teyvat to a new world they're making, but considering the fact that they left their own people to die, who's to say that they would most likely let the world perish and recreate their society and the entire humanity from scratch? And in order to do that, the existence of the previous humanity of the previous world have to be eradicated.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk :)

Extra:

Farewell Atossa

I apologize for making you know me unwillingly

Still, I do not wish you to forget me

(Translation by me, cuz good god this took so damn long translating this letter by letter-)

I'm so unwell y'all- :')

[monards]

super duper curious about the lack of proper documentation on Rhinedottir pre-cataclysm now, especially since it's been confirmed it couldn't have been that she was just someone working under the nose of society,, and that she would've been esteemed enough to have had (at the bare minimum) majority of khaneriahns known of her, and her accomplishments, which knowledge would have then passed onto the surface of teyvat, in some capacity-- especially since any figure with THAT major of accomplishments, who'd be public, would and should have proper documentation ;; especially considering the phrasing of the log in "???"

" It seems that there was an alchemist from Khaenri'ah named ”R” who joined a secret order. From what fragmentary records exist, it appears that they made significant headway. But the available materials are scarce… If Rene doesn't recover, the Ordo will slowly dissolve. And if we were all mistaken, and the colossal beasts and apocalypse are false, will there be others who shall research the trail left behind, as I am now…?"

Compared then to what Dain described her (and the other sinners) with,

Clearly, these two perspectives are. not matching up!!!! The ambiguity used to refer to her in the Log clearly insinuates there's a HEAVY lack of proper knowledge or documentation on..,, anything she'd done. or who she even WAS ;; "an alchemist from Khaenri'ah named ”R”" also insinuates something as simple as her name wasn't known which is...,, very problematic considering who she is. THEY DONT EVEN KNOW HER GENDER OR PRONOUNS EITHER????? "they made significant headway" huh!!!! ;; . "From what fragmentary records exist," insinuates that, not only would these documents consisting of what was likely considered some of (what would've been) the most revolutionary and highly advanced alchemy at the time, were scarce; they were in NO way preserved which is. already. very odd!!! It's common knowledge by any civilization or group or ANYTHING that it's essential to properly document important knowledge for safe keeping;; Obviously, we know Khaneri'ah has( and is being) actively sort-of wiped/ignored in common Teyvat's history & knowledge (some relevant considering the utter lack of ANYTHING on it from the average person) ;; but the issue is that ordo was active 400 years ago-- a point where there'd still be people ALIVE from the cataclysm to tell the story and share that knowledge.

And this isn't even mentioning the fact this implies that the other 4 sinners have no known / found records.,, at all.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the only possible things my brain can come up with to explain this at 11:57 pm is that either 1 -> The things the sinners were doing, which were a big no-no by most laws and rules of teyvat, was explicitly left undocumented as to not have that knowledge taken. or to simply cover their tracks 2 -> Said proper documentation was destroyed by someone (likely from Khaneri'ah) who thought it was too dangerous to be left as it was 3 -> Irminsuil fucking with it 4 -> the heavenly principles fucking with it 5 -> these mfs were the most well kept secret by khaneri'ah ever and they SOMEHOW miraculously never had knowledge of them make it's way up to the surface realm.

Considering the entire concept of them originally trying to stop the "vinster king" + their entire thing with the abyss (meaning inherently anti celestia) ;; i can only assume it's gonna be somehow associated with one of those two authorities. but who knows!!! maybe we're gonna get hit over the head with it actually just being a big oopsie daises!!!!!

[blood-orange-juice]

Hello!

I think this is my first time sending in an ask :D

I was curious about something I noticed having only recently finished Fontaine’s Archon Quests-

When talking to Skirk, she mentions Surtalogi, her master being called the “Foul” which immediately reminded me of Childe’s Foul Legacy???

I’m pretty sure there’s a connection there and I haven’t see any post pop up on my dash about so I thought I’d ask.

(Feel free to ignore this if you’ve already talked about it ;-;

I love seeing your posts on my dash- they give me so much brain rot-)

Have a great day!

I apologise for taking so long to answer... You probably have already figured it out.

In case you haven't, it's not the same in Chinese, the guy is called "Extremely Evil Knight" and Childe's Foul Legacy is called "Armor of the Demon King".

But also Childe's last two constellations have "Extremely Evil Technique" part in them, iirc, so they are still connected, just through other skills' names.

And the latest Dain quest establishes that Surtalogi was related to a "vinster king" (Middle High German for "dark" and I'm thinking that was Irmin because of the rare Germanic reference. I don't know what word was used in Chinese), so maybe the "armor" is his (or maybe it's from that guy inside the whale, who knows). That would be another point of connection.

In any way, they are connected through his martial tradition since Surtalogi is his mentor's mentor.

[merrrgun]

I'm posting the angst because I spent the whole night writing it. Lol. Lmao, even. Merry Christmas.

After Anton comes clean about the favor he was asked to do, Thia suggests a bath and they abscond from the campsite to a nearby river.

Briefly references an unposted "chapter" in which Anton battles with similar feels. Will post that one later.

[Warnings: Not smut but Anton do be vaguely horny for a minute. Also this is long because I don't fuckin know how to shut up]

Thia fidgeted uncomfortably.  That talk definitely had to happen.  She knew that.  Anton knew that.  After his disappearance in the night and turning up a drunken mess in the middle of Krina, there had been no way around it.

But now the air was heavy with the weight of what they had discussed.

"Let's, uh--" she stammered.  She wanted to be angry at his secrecy but couldn't bring herself to be, because it was clear how much he was hurting.  Besides, she knew his reasons, and empathized.

"I could go for a bath," she finally decided on. "Join me?"

It had been almost a couple of weeks for both of them, but it was Anton that could really use it.  He was rugged from the drink.  There were still traces of vomit on his boots.  Thia made a mental note to clean those for him later.

Anton agreed.   He could smell himself.  He would have asked to escort her anyway, given everything. 

After gathering a bag with drying rags, spare clothes, a hairbrush, and soap, the two departed from the campsite to the spot they had stumbled upon a couple weeks prior:  a stream of running water in a clearing nearby, but enough of a trek away from the site that they had about an hour's walk.  They ventured in relative silence, aside from the occasional discussion about which direction to take.  Under other circumstances this would have been a pleasant, quiet walk together.  Instead it felt somber and heavy.

Thia tried to dispel any unpleasantness by holding onto his hand from time to time.  She didn't look to gauge his reaction whenever she did; she didn't want to get caught staring.  However, his initially tight but gentle grip on her hand and soft squeezes thereafter told her that the gesture was appreciated.

As they eventually approached the clearing, Thia took hold of Anton's hand once more and led him to the water with a quickness in her step.  He dragged behind just slightly, thoughts elsewhere.

He had to tell the Queen.  It was his duty as her appointed spymaster.  But moreso, it was his best bet at protecting Thia.  The Queen would make certain nothing could hurt her. Right?

Then again, disloyalty to Vinster is what would put the target on Thia's head in the first place, so what if--

No.  He had to tell Orchid.  As far as he was concerned, Thia was already in danger because of him.  Again.

"Hey," he heard, snapping out of his thoughts.  Looking up at Thia, he saw the look of concern and knowing on her face.  Why was she so damned selfless?  She should be furious with him.  But she wasn't.

"Here, sit down," she said, indicating a rock near the water that was big enough to act as a seat.  He obeyed.  She set their bag down, having procured a small rag from it, and knelt down in front of him.  He didn't protest when she started unbuckling his boots.  He didn't have it in him.

Thia silently took Anton's boots off and moved to the water to clean them, humming a tune as she did.  He gazed at her silently and tiredly.  Tired.  He was so tired of failing her.  He was so tired of her forgiving him for it.

When she was done, she turned with a smile on her face.  He could tell it was forced.

"There, good as new!" she said.

Anton just continued to look at her with a tired expression.  She frowned.

"Hey," she said.  "You okay over there?"

"I don't know," he responded with a lie.  He was well aware that he was not okay.  Her frown deepened.

"You're not."

Shit.  Just another way he failed her: being caught in a stupid lie.  Good fucking job, Anton, he thought.

He didn't notice his lip tremble, but Thia did.  Her expression softened as she stood up and made her way back over to the rock Anton was perched on, setting his boots down and sitting on the rock next to him.  She said nothing as she pulled him into her lap, cradling him in her arms.  He trembled as he held onto her as if for dear life.

"I want you to be honest with me, sweetness.  What are you thinking?"

"I..." he trailed off, desperately looking for the words.  She pulled away just enough to look at his face.  His eyes were threatening to spill.  She had only seen him cry once before.  She sighed sadly.  She had a feeling she knew what he was thinking.  At least, to an extent.

"You don't have to answer that," she said gently.  "I understand."

"Oh, do you?" he burst out, then immediately regretted it.  The look of hurt and godsdamned empathy on her face made him regret everything.

"I'm sorry," Anton choked out, holding onto her once again.  Tears spilled down his face onto her shoulder as she rocked him gently.  How? How could she be so gentle with him after all he had done to her?

"You should-" he tried to say, his voice cracking.  "You should- shouldn't have-"

"Hey.  No," Thia interrupted, stern but still gentle.  "Get that out of your mind right now."

"Please," Anton said meekly.  He wasn't even sure what he was asking for.  For her to leave?  For her to go home and forget about him while he betrayed the Queen to protect her?  Or for her to forgive him for fucking up once again?

"Anton." she said softly.  "Darling, you're spiraling."

He fell silent, aside from quiet sobbing.  Thia held onto him tightly.  She was trying to keep composure herself.  She had never seen him so thoroughly broken (not to mention for the second time in 24 hours), even the time before.  He needs me, she thought, holding in her own tears with determination.  I need to be strong right now.

They sat there for a while, Thia holding Anton as he cried softly into her shoulder, continuing to rock gently and stroking up and down his back to sooth him.  Eventually his choked sobs fell silent as his grasp on her weakened and his body gradually fell limp in her arms.  He had exhausted himself.

Not surprising, considering his lack of sleep, his drunkenness that morning, and his heightened emotions overall.

"Hey," Thia said, pulling away to look at his face again.

"Mm?"  Anton's eyes looked tired and reddened.  His face was wet with tears.  Thia felt profound pain in her chest at the sight.  But still, she was determined to remain composed for him.

"I'm going to take care of you, okay?"  She gently wiped away the tears that were still passively falling down his cheek.

"M'sorry," was all he managed to respond with.  He was sorry.  Sorry for everything.  Sorry she was married to someone like him.

"Shhh," she replied.  "None of that."

Thia stood up from the rock beneath them, picking Anton up along with her and standing him on his feet but keeping hold of him until she knew he could support himself.

"Can you stand?" she asked.  Anton muttered an "mmhmm" but his knees buckled as Thia began to let go of him.

"Okay, it's okay, I've got you," she said, catching him and guiding him to sit back down on the rock.  He did.

"I'm going to undress you for a bath, okay?" she said with a hand gently holding onto his shoulder as she leaned over him.  "Is that okay, precious?"

Anton hesitated.  He already felt horribly vulnerable in a way he did not like.  He didn't like her seeing him like this, even though he knew he was safe with her.  He was safer with her than with anyone else, ever.  But godsdamn did he hate how weak he felt and probably looked.

But then, the sound of a bath was enticing.  It would probably make him feel better to get rid of the stench of his previous drunkenness.  Not to mention that of having been without a proper bath in awhile.  It made him acutely aware of how badly he wanted to go home in this moment.

Let's just go home, he wanted to say. Let's go home and I can do this retched favor for Vinster and keep you safe.

"Anton?" Thia asked, and Anton realized he had just been staring at her without giving any sort of response.  "Is it okay if I bathe you?" she asked again.

So godsdamned selfless.

He nodded.  He needed it.  She nodded back and, with her ever gentle hands, began unbuckling the straps of his pauldron.  Sliding it off his shoulder and setting it aside, she went for his belts next, being careful handling the holstered pistol.  She worked away at his armour and clothing, until he sat on the rock naked and exposed.

Seeing that he was able to keep himself sitting upright, she began undressing herself, discarding her armor and clothing next to his.  He found it hard to focus on anything else.  His gaze wasn't lewd in nature; he simply didn't want to look at anything but her.

She either took no notice of his staring or didn't care.  When she was fully undressed and had retrieved the soap from their rucksack, she approached him once again, handing him the soap and bending down to pick him up the way she had on their wedding day.

"Come, little love," she said with unadulterated affection.  Her words made his heart swell and ache.  "Let's get you cleaned up."

As she walked toward the water, Anton kept his tired gaze fixed on her.  Unworthy repeated in his head over and over.

She caught his gaze and smiled a comforting smile.  The ache in his chest sharpened. Unworthy Unworthy Unworthy.

Thia lowered herself and Anton into the clear, running water of the stream, deep enough to bathe in but shallow enough to sit in.  She found a smooth rock in the water to sit on and positioned Anton in her lap with his back to her.  Taking the soap from his hands, she began bathing him.

Anton stared into the water at his reflection.  He looked rough.  Almost feeble, even.  He cursed himself for being so weak.  He wanted to scream at the face staring back at him, but didn't have the energy.

Thia's hands worked up and down his back and shoulders, down his arms, and across his chest with the soap, working up a good lather.  When her hands trailed down his stomach, he tensed up slightly.  She halted.

"Is this okay?" She asked.  He hesitated.  There was a stirring in his abdomen that made his face hot with shame.  Now was certainly not the time.

"I can stop," she said, beginning to retract her hands.  His own hands caught them almost instinctively in response.  They both froze for a moment, both of them unsure where to go from here.

"Tell me what's okay and what's not, sweetness," she said gently.

"Keep going," he finally muttered.

"You sure?"

"Mhm."

"Okay."

Thia continued working the soap into his skin, being gentle with spots she knew were particularly sensitive for him.  Getting him worked up was not her current objective.  Which would make washing his hair particularly challenging...

Anton focused on his breathing to calm himself.  Even though his body reacted to her touch, he was in no mood for sex.  It would only make him feel worse afterwords.

When it came time to wash his hair, Thia guided him to tilt his head back in the water.  He shifted to lie back, his head resting on her lap as he let her wet his hair.  As she did, he tilted his head to look at her face.  He met her gaze and held it.  He saw a cautiousness on the surface of her expression, but beneath it, he saw the same adoration she always looked at him with.

The pain in Anton's chest slowly began to give way to warmth.  Memories of tender moments between them thus far flashed in his mind.  She brought her hand up to stroke his cheek, and he found himself remembering their vows.  The Unworthy repeating in his head was slowly replaced with Until death do us part.

Tears threatened him once again.  "I'm sorry," he said, sincerity mixed with sadness in his eyes.  "For everything."

"Hey, shhh," Thia soothed.  "It's alright.  We'll be alright."  She leaned down to press a kiss on his forehead.  "Come up now, little love.  I'm going to wash your hair."

Anton obeyed and sat up, his back against her once again.  Faced away from her, he let a few tears free but otherwise tried to keep his breathing controlled.  What was it about her that made him lose composure so easily?

Well, that's obvious, he thought.  She's Thia.

He closed his eyes as her hands carefully lathered soap into his hair.  She made sure not to pull it in any way, knowing that was a particular weakness for him, sensually.  She was of the same mindset:  this was not the time for sex.

As she worked her fingers along his scalp, Anton relaxed a bit more, let his guard down a bit more, enjoying the feeling, the closeness, the intimacy.

Until death do us part, he thought again.

Thia tilted him back once more to rinse the soap out of his hair.  She noticed his face had become a bit more peaceful.  She felt a profound sense of relief: he was beginning to calm down.

As he came back up, she turned him to face her.  With another stroke of her hand against his cheek, she asked, "Are you alright, little love?"

"Getting there," he said softly.

"It's a start." She smiled.

Anton tried to stand up with a stumble in his step, the running water making his legs feel weak. He was really tired.

"Woah, hey," Thia said, catching him and pulling him back into her lap.  "Where do you think you're going like that?"

"I, uh..." Anton blushed slightly, suddenly bashful.  "I was going to return the favor."

"Oh, darling."  Thia smiled, the warmth in Anton's chest growing at the sight.  He really did want to bathe her and let her relax.  It was the least he could do.  Besides, memories of washing her hair the first time they ever bathed together were coming back to him, and he was feeling sentimental.  But she had a point when she said, "You need to rest."

He frowned, unhappy not with her saying so, but rather, the reality of it.  He could barely stand up in the water.  Even as small as he was, the current wasn't particularly strong.

"I want you to go get dried off and rest while I clean myself.  Can you do that for me, sweetness?"

Anton relented.  They had an hour's worth of walking back to do, after all, and soon; the overcast sky was growing darker.  Thia had gained some muscle since they went back on the road, but Anton wasn't about to let her try to carry him for an hour, knowing she would if he did.

After drying off, he wrapped himself up in the drying rags and watched Thia wash her hair.  It had been pulled back for the past few weeks, and he had forgotten how long it was.  It touched the small of her back when wet.  His hand reached up to touch the side of his head, which was becoming less fuzzy and more soft at this point.  He was due for a haircut, himself.  He made a point to himself to not mention this to Thia, at least not tonight.  She would have done it for him, not taking no for an answer, and she had done enough today.

The sound of Thia's soft humming drew his attention back to her.  It was the same tune from before.

Anton watched as she finished rinsing her hair and emerged from the water.  He had set a drying rag down next to him for her to sit on.  He pat the rag, signaling for her to sit down next to him.  She did.

"How are you faring now?" She asked.

"Better.  Tired, but better."

"Good, good."

A pause.

"Let me braid your hair," he said.

Thia blinked at him, a smile spreading across her face.  "You want to braid my hair?"

"Yes."

"I suppose I can allow that."

Anton stood and retrieved the hairbrush they had brought.  He worked with a gentle touch to match hers, and when he was done, he snaked his arms around her neck from where he stood behind her and kissed the top of her head.  His eyes fluttered shut and he took a deep breath, taking in the scent of her freshly shampooed hair.

Frankincense.

The stirring in his abdomen returned.  She smelled like this on their wedding night.

With a small start, Thia's back tensed against him.

Oh, he thought. Shit.

Anton moved his hips away from her.  "S-sorry," he said.  "It's uh, it's just--"

"It's okay," she said.  "But I, uh, I don't think we have time, and you should really--"

"I don't want to."

"Oh.  Okay."  Thia relaxed a bit.

"Not here at least."

Thia nodded.  "Agreed."  She stood up and turned towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder.  "And not until you've rested properly."

The two put their spare clothes on, electing to carry their armor.  They were both tired at this point, but they managed to make it back to the campsite before dusk, the quiet trek being much more pleasant this time around.

With the rest of the party having taken the day to tend to their own business, Thia and Anton were able to retire to their cots soon after arriving at the campsite.  With the cots pushed together, they were able to have some semblance of closeness as they laid together.  Since it was still early, they also had the continued luxury of privacy in the tent.

They laid in silence for a bit.  Both had thought the other had gone to sleep when they broke the silence simultaneously.

"Hey, uh--"

"Anton, I--"

They both stopped and looked at each other.  They exchanged small smiles.

"You first," Anton said.

"It's just that I love you."

Anton blinked. That much was crystal clear.

"Thia, I love you."

He took her hands in his and kissed them adoringly.

"Then, can you do me a favor?" she asked, a seriousness in her tone.

"Anything, darling.  Anything."

"Tell Orchid.  She needs to know."

A long silence followed.  Thia gave Anton time to respond.  She knew this was not an easy ask.

"Okay," he finally said.  "Tomorrow.  We'll find a way to contact her."  Uneasy as he was at the thought, he knew it was what had to be done.  "But we should tell the others first.  They deserve to know too."

Thia nodded.  "Good.  Thank you, little love."  She stroked his hair.  "Now, what were you going to say?"

"Oh, uh," Anton blushed, feeling bashful again.  "It was nothing important."

Thia just looked at him expectantly.  He relented.

"I was going to ask what song you were humming earlier.  It was--it was pretty."

She blinked.  "Oh!  That's right, you probably wouldn't remember it," a blush creeping onto her own face.  "Considering I uh, only sing it to you when you're asleep," she admitted, embarrassed.

Anton's eyes widened.  Wait, then that meant--

He remembered.  He heard her softly singing that melody as he was fading in and out of consciousness the night he almost got eaten by the cloaker in the Underdark.  His dreams were horrible that night and he had had trouble staying asleep, but Thia's voice had provided a small comfort.

"It's a lullaby of easing one's suffering," she said, a touch of sadness in her voice.  "I sing it to you often."

"I, Thia-" he stammered, taken aback.  "Why?"

"Because you're in pain."

Anton shot up in the cot, grasping Thia's hands tightly.

"Where is this--what--Thia, what do you mean?"

She gave him a sad, knowing look.  "Because we've hurt each other."

A breath caught in Anton's throat.  "You--what--"

"I started singing to you the night you almost got eaten."

So that was the first time that he had heard her.

"That was my fault," she continued, squeezing his hand again as he started to protest, silencing him.  "I led you into the Underdark.  You went down there for me.  You are not the only one with guilt, Anton Fleetfoot."

"Wh--I--No. I would follow you into Avernus, Thia.  That's my choice."

"Then do me another favor."

Anton just looked at her eagerly.

"Forgive yourself."

Anton choked.  Forgive himself?  "How--how can I--"

"By taking responsibility.  Tomorrow.  You tell Queen Orchid."

Anton furrowed his brow, waiting for more.  Thia continued.  "Then, when this war is over.  We go home.  And you give me as many years as you have left.  And I'll atone for my own sins by staying alive for all of them."

With a blink in disbelief, Anton wondered if it could really be that simple.  Another squeeze of his hand as Thia finished:  "When this is all over, I just want a quiet life with you while you're still here."

Ah yes, that was a topic Anton had been avoiding.  He wouldn't live nearly as long as Thia would.  She was already over a century old and still had several left in her.  Anton had only just turned 31 and could only give her a century more at best.  This had been weighing on both of their minds in private, but Anton was content to let that be a problem for the future.  For awhile, so was Thia.  But as the days passed by with more responsibilities piling up and more near-death-encounters and less and less time to just love each other, the concept weighed more and more heavily on Thia's mind.

"Okay," Anton said, letting out a shaky breath. "Okay."

Thia closed her eyes and pressed his hand against her cheek as silent tears fell onto the cot pillow beneath her.  "Thank you," she said.  "That's all I ask."

After a moment of silence, Thia continued.  "Lie back down, little love.  We won't have this privacy for much longer."

Anton did hear the stirring of others outside the tent and he realized that dinner must have concluded by now.  She was right, people would be coming to bed soon.  He lay down next to her, looking into her wet, purple eyes.  "I'll fix this," he said with sincerity and determination.  "I'll fix everything."

"We'll fix it together," Thia responded, eyes slowly falling shut as she relaxed into the cot.  "I love you, Anton Fleetfoot."

"I love you, Thia Fleetfoot."

He watched for a few moments as she drifted off to sleep.  A deep part of him felt healed.  He would keep this promise.  It would be his salvation.  Until death do us part, he thought once more.  As his body succumbed to exhaustion and he began to fade from the waking world, he fell asleep with two words lingering in his mind, a reminder of what he needed to do.  What he vowed to do tomorrow and every day after.  Take responsibility.

[askthesinclairs]

Vinny, I feel lime nobody appreciates you

**hugs da vinster**

Vincent sighs and nuzzles himself against you "..your right.."

[twilightichor]

Given the lore drop related to Dain, Lumine and Khaenri'ah (I'd dare to say that it's 「Bedtime story」 #2 as it's a continuation of what Dain revealed, as well as bits and pieces of what Chlothar said in 「Caribert」 in the Xbox wind glider, I'll write a breakdown of parts of interest under cut. Beware if you decide to proceed, as it contains the description of content to-be-released mixed a tiny bit with a leak I discussed a while ago:

◜The young knight was not of insignificant background, but that was worth little in the grand scheme of things. The royal golden-haired heir's fate was far nobler, but now having lost her world, she yearned for but a single realm.◞

This confirms that Dain either belonged to a relevant family within Khaenri'ah or it's through his own deeds as well as Vedrfolnir's (he was the Visionary, an oracle, after all) made them be important in the kingdom. Despite not including himself among the other five as being the best within their respective fields, he was among the six that carried the hopes of the people of Khaenri'ah (in Dain's case, most likely for a reason I'll mention briefly). If it's the family aspect that makes their background important besides what they did for the kingdom, I have to admit that it's a bit underwhelming that they lack a family/clan name like the Alberichs do.

◜Later, the young knight was promoted, and the title "Twilight Sword" bestowed upon him. As for the royal heir with the golden hair, she was led by the last Vinster King, down, down, down to the kingdom's deepest depths. The young knight, initially intending only to save his older brother, who had been imprisoned and blinded in both eyes for giving a prophecy, the young knight gathered the brilliant young ones of the age. Their righteous deed, that of saving the nation, was but a deed done in passing.◞

This part here was very sad to me, seeing the lengths Dain took for saving his brother (another important detail bound to come in a bit). It sounds like Vedrfolnir was forced to deliver a prophecy to king Irmin and either a) he didn't like it, so he blinded him as a result of it as if to wreck him for good for the thing he was known for: a Visionary or b) there was something in the content of that prophecy that made Vedrfolnir blind as a result of it, possibly related to the Abyss. A good example to take is the oracle Sybilla from Remuria, who was also an oracle and because of her exposure to the Abyss, eventually she got blind too. I think that this lines up fine as to how Vedrfolnir was able to tell Lumine's fate in 「Caribert」 too.

That aside, the premise that Dain likely saved Khaenri'ah from whatever "minor" incident (if compared to the Cataclysm) that threatened the kingdom as a secondary thing to him wanting to save Vedrfolnir? That genuinely impressed me and it may add some spark of sense as to why Lumine criticizes him for having failed to save Khaenri'ah if he already did once. The details on this are still very muddy and it's highly likely that the circumstances were different, but still, that's a grand thing to do and it reinforces the notion that he was an outstanding figure in combination with the other five.

◜But the golden-haired heir was used as a vessel by which unlimited Abyssal power could be absorbed, and she became the key to the world's near-annihilation. This was the moment that their paths intertwined— one a noble, tumbling from the light into the Abyss, the other a humble existence, climbing upward from the darkness. Regicide, righteousness, assassinations and betrayals, until all was rendered desolate.◞

Now, this here needs a special mention too. This may explain how Lumine has control over the abyssal power in the first place, if she was used as a vessel to absorb an unlimited amount of it most likely to be used as a weapon against the gods (as Chlothar did say that they believed that the Abyss could topple the gods), and also to plunge the world into darkness as per the statuettes that now, more than ever, are confirmed to be about king Irmin —the Vinster King—. It reminds me of that one leak that talked about Dain having considered to kill Lumine all the way back then because he saw her as a thread to Khaenri'ah/the world, but ultimately decided against it. Because if according to this, this act alone of absorbing the abyss turned her into the key to the world's near-annihilation (the Cataclysm?), then that makes her dangerous enough to consider that seriously.

It also makes me wonder if this is the disaster he said that could be prevented that is related to the Vinster King and that none of the Sinners did nothing about it, what's more— maybe Lumine didn't get to absorb as much abyssal power as it was intended, but the Sinners did when they shared among themselves that very same power. The leak I mentioned before also talks about how something the Sinners did caused the destruction of Khaenri'ah, or at least they initiated it and later on did nothing to defend it when things got a turn for the worse with the descent of the gods.

Anyhow, this makes me think about the regicide. At first it was a joke when I starting talking about it, as it seemed that Dain did something about the Vinster King while the other five didn't, and this might be just it— killing him with his own hands. I'm not sure if the incident of saving his brother and subsequently saving Khaenri'ah and the regicide are part of the same episode, or maybe one led to another, but this is something crazy to think about. What's clear is that following king Irmin's "indisposition", the Marshal General Anfortas took the reins as a temporary regent (I'm unsure if he's an Alberich or an Alberich took after him later), so there must've been some time in between this incident that brought the need to save Khaenri'ah once and the actual Cataclysm later.

[vatterson]

hey guys appreciation post:

GAHH @flareonssoup YOU INSPIRE MY BREATHING AHAH

vin does such cool stuff and inspired me to start writing (cough cough TSDAU) and also inspired my style of art too!!

vins art is so silly and eatable you cannot change my mind grrr

vins channel on yt is https://youtube.com/@flareonssoup?si=jGbmuqD8KZKNar3n

I LOVE YOU VINSTER!!!!!!!!/pla/gen