#and compared to all the other archons too and their interactions with their nations...

[cashewally-sarcastic]

Venti is a gentle bard. He watches over Klee as she gose for her walks. He knew Alice when she was young. He has seen generations grow and loves all of them so much. He tears up thinking about how much of an impact his Mondstadt makes on each other. He can feel the love in the air for every member of the community.

The wind keeps track on how many times he has seen his kids offer umbrellas to each other. How they would offer to buy each other a drink at the tavern. How they take time out of their day to cheer each other up. How whenever their friends are over working each other they throw a party to get them to relax.

My personal hc is that the traditional of sending people gifts on your own birthday started in Mondstadt. It just feels like a Them thing to do. His citizens want to show each other how much their friends and family mean to them that on the anniversary of their own birth they share that joy with the ones they care about

Mondstadt is also full of disagreements but its never done with malice! Like siblings fighting its tradition for them to argue about windblume and such! Its so casual there. Its so... safe. Out of all the countries in Teyvat it is safe. It emanates saftey. The knights there arent cops the most they do is fine stray cats and search for lost paperwork. They treat even travelers with respect! In Liyue there are issues with permits that border people check and in inazuma its.... yeah. Fontaine also has a lot of paperwork and i presume Sumeru also has some. Yet Mondstadt treats foreigners with respect and kindness :). Amber was sooo willing to put up posters for a person she JUST met.

People are singing in the streets and gliding on the winds. Venti strums his lyre as he watchd his children fly. He is so proud of them. He is so happy he doesn't need to worry about them. That he has gotten to a point where he trusts them to look after themselves. That he knows that they know how much their Archon loves them. That they are happy and free

YES YES YES YES EXACTLY EXACTLY

Like Venti watches and knows and like....man the whole "the wind will return your spirit to mondstadt when you die" too is just...man. Come home, come back to mondstadt, the breeze will carry you even when you're gone, you won't be abandoned.

The birthday thing also makes so much sense if it started in mondstadt and spread because mondstadters would 1000% want to share their traditions! And then those people share it! And now it's spread all over oopsie ;p

Also it IS the most open out of all of nations...sumeru does have their own amount of issue with travelers as well (the akasha). Like whether your family is from mondstadt or not, you're welcome! Amber's family is from Liyue, Kaeya is khaenrian(?), Albedo is a man-made human from an alchemy project, yet they're all also accepted wholeheartedly! Bad luck Benny, Fischl's whole thing (there is a fischl dictionary so people can understand her clearer), Razor being raised by wolves, doesn't matter they're all cared about and embraced and hhhhh it's so safe and family.

Plus thinking about the family-like arguments (windblume every year), but even the actual disagreements (kaeya and diluc, diluc and the knights, etc.), they aren't like...actually mean arguments you know? They still are in the tavern with each other, singing, working together if needed, it's still safe bro. Mondstadt is just such a place, Venti constantly sounds proud of them all, they look after each other and he can just watch and experience.

[sockmeat]

Hello! If its ok can i request a pt 2 of reincarnated as the creator in teyvat? Ifs its also ok can you tag me?

𝐆𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 -- 𝑰𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝑨𝑮𝑨𝑼... (𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕) 𝐏𝐓. 𝟐

𝐏𝐓. 𝟏: (𝐱)

(𝐰𝐜): 1,011

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: When the archons refuse to allow the harbringers to visit, they take matters into their own hands.

(𝐀/𝐍): Literally only wrote this because of one person loll. Also, I don't know jack shit about the harbringers so I used Wiki to get their personalities and things like that, don't trash me pls

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬): You get kidnapped. That's it, that's the whole post

𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓

By the time the harbringers realized you were discovered, the archons already had a tight grip on you. They immediately sent a request to visit the land of Mondstat to see their beloved creator, only to be denied.

They tried everything they could to convince the archons to let them visit. They tried sweet words, vows to change their ways, and bribery, but none of their tactics worked.

Finally, they decided to use brute force. They were going to see you no matter what.

The amount of fatui sightings tripled in less than a week. They appeared everywhere for seemingly no reason. While the public remained clueless, the archons knew it was retaliation.

Eventually, the fatui focused all their might on your palace. Fatui members flooded through your gates and attacked everyone they laid their eyes on.

The archons were forced to part from you and put you in the arms of a citizen; they wrapped you tightly in a blanket and held you to their chest, pretending you were their normal, mortal baby.

Pierro, however, saw through this facade. He approached the woman with a scowl on his face and demanded she surrendered the child.

She protested, but Pierro pried you out of her arms and into his. He left without a trace while you slept peacefully in his coat.

The woman was in shambles when the archons found her again. Tears were streaming down her face as she mumbled about failing them and her creator.

Unfortunately, once they figured out what happened, you and the fatui were gone.

𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔

You are literally never on your feet. If Pierro isn't holding you, It's first come first serve. He could be in an important meeting and you'll be hanging onto Pierro's coat and playing with his hair. You can even put stickers on him! He'll see them as a blessing.

Pierro isn't too entertaining to be around. 90% of the time he's working, and the other 10% is when he's sleeping. But on the off chance he has free time, he tells you stories about Khaenri'ah. Only if nobody's around can you get him to play with your dolls. He finds it quite relaxing, so long as he isn't caught.

Dottore... Isn't someone you should be around. The others will actively keep you away from him so your health isn't at risk. Despite your age, he wants to do experiments on you so he can better understand your abilities and tolerance. You like his mask, though.

Columbina likes to nap with you. You two will sleep for hours in the comfiest of outfits. She is very polite towards you and doesn't dare to raise her voice around you. Columbina will treat you like you're older than you really are, often consulting you in big decisions.

Capitano doesn't often interact with you, he doesn't want to tarnish his reputation, but he is around you as often as possible. He's heard stories of people being cursed and thrown to the streets because you were displeased with them--he doesn't want to become like them. He would much rather keep his distance so his honor isn't tainted. He does admire from afar how you're able to be so graceful, even as an infant. He aspires to be like you (though, he'll never admit it out loud.)

Pulcinella likes to predict how you'll be when you're an adult. Pinpointing whether you'll be strong, polite, or rude beyond compare, and what national tragedies you'll cause is a game to him. He has your entire life laid out in front of him. However, because of his stature, you often confuse him with someone around your age. As annoying as it is to hear the other's teasing comments, it does give him the opportunity to study you more.

You see the soft side of Scaramouche more than anyone. He aims to treat you better than his mother treated him. He does get annoyed at the others calling him soft, so you'll only see this side of him behind closed doors.

Sandrone can be a little nasty personality-wise, but being with her means you can play with her Automaton experiments. Unfortunately, she only allows you to play with the one that follows her, but that doesn't mean you can't sneak off to play with the others.

La Signora likes to tell you stories from both imagination and personal experiences. Out of all of them, she's the one that acts the most like a mother figure. She's the one to console you when you have a nightmare, entertain you when you're bored, and kiss your boo-boos when you trip running down the hallway. If anyone gives her nasty looks for this, wishing they were in her place, she's quick to point out their jealousy.

Pantalone will spoil you in any way he can, often sizing up his coworkers doing so. Oh, Pierro gave you a limited-edition dollhouse? Here's your own castle decorated with your favorite character--the only one of its kind! Signora gave you a blanket made of silk? Have a Navajo blanket with a unique pattern, he insists. He'll also push around and bully the others to get more time with you. He has no shame.

If Arlecchino isn't pursuing Columbina, they're bending to your every whim. Much like the archons, they'll retrieve anything you look at and offer it to you. Whenever you're cranky, they'll do everything they can 50 times over to make you happy again.

Tartaglia rivals Signora in terms of affection. He's the most likely to take you around the outside world--with a disguise, of course. You can't be out for long, however, as the animals will start to flock. Tartaglia often schedules playdates for you and Teucer; he's grown quite fond of you being in his family. Tartaglia's goal is to raise you to be strong in hopes you'll become a worthy opponent.

                                                         𓆩♡𓆪

[krusteceann]

Stumbling upon a path he takes when reminiscing, he found himself standing in front of a structure that he was once proud of. A place where he spent countless sweat and tears just to achieve perfection. His Magnum Opus, the Palace of Alcazarzaray. Archons know how much he had sacrifice for this masterpiece to behold everyone in Sumeru, and sometimes, even foreigners from other nation visit the land of Dendro just to take in the beauty of his architecture.

In the limelight of the moon behind his back, Kaveh’s shadow was in front of him as if taunting him of the past and if his choices were truly made correct. The round of drinks from Puspa Cafe was not helping now that he’s watching the ground beneath him to spin. He walked, albeit tripping and slumping, but somehow he managed to remain on his footing. the concrete pathway crept coldness on his shoes the more he stepped closer to the main structure. The thick roots that guided him along the pavement were small things he adored while formulating a design for Lord Sangemah Bay’s private residence. It had cost him everything yet for such a paragon of establishment for business interaction he gained nothing from it and while he’s drowning at that thought, he felt himself shiver from his shawl. The stillness of the breeze was harsher than ever and his drunken state of mind didn’t help him from warming up with the sight of this building before his slugging and depressed mood.

Kaveh sat by the rim of the fountain, his red shawl’s hem would rest atop the unmoving surface of the water, soaking it slowly as gentle wind caress his breaking, or already shattered, heart that he tried to glue back to places with sheer determination and his ideal for the fantasy where no one would dare to step back to reality. His gaze landed on the mansion, it reminded him of the same night he was brainstorming for a way to please the Lord Sangemah Bay by canceling his plans for this very structure. The Withering, an accident that had completely snuck from his radar, had caused major damage that he had to compensate for. It was also the same moment where he went through different state of anguish by selling what little particle of “home” his mother had left before remarrying in Fontaine.

The moon stared back at him through the panes, its light felt like a spotlight staring back at him, like how the eyes of his juniors were expecting him for the best design in the nation, heck in all Teyvat even. No one can compare to him, as Akademiya students regarded him once he graduated. If only the same brightness that his designs has would seep into his life would also follow his stead, some would shamelessly whisper once he was spotted on his usual chair in the Tavern he so frequent.

This time, the moon was staring at another star. A spot in the gazebo, not so far from where he was stupendously lavishing in sorrowful past, was brightly illuminated. The professional botanist that had cared for the plants and flowers scattered through the palace swayed lightly, as if dancing and welcoming the presence of a woman standing by the gazebo, looking away from the mansion.

He asked himself what had been so mesmerizing than his highly regarded marvelous feat that made the unknown woman gaze upon the distance? Was the design too flamboyant? He never thought of it in the current stand of trends that circulates around Sumeru. He was sure to pour everything on this great work of wonder yet maybe, just like how his mother’s circumstances stand, everyone would just move on to the next thing that could satisfy their taste. Kaveh hadn’t notice he was approaching the lonely woman. Her hair was as black as the night that had completely camouflaged with the darken scenery. Her silver shawl was hindering her hair from flowing along the wind but a few strands escaped and framed her hair as if she was under a shade of leaves away from the bright stares of the moon. Her facial features were in an angle where he cannot fully see what expression she might be making or even if she’s a real person -Kaveh hopes this is part of his drunken stupor- but he had a gut feeling that she’d be even more breathtaking than all of his design that people praise him for combined.

And boy, he was right.

Maybe it was the intoxicated mind taking the wheel, or maybe how his state of sadness marinading his every action but when she had sense his presence, the woman slowly looked at the figure of Kaveh hiding behind at one of the foundation of the gazebo with a faint blush of drunkenness on his pale cheeks that had somehow grew redder like his ruby eyes the more he looked at the -he assumed- deity in from of him.

Her eyes were not fixed on just one color. It meshed with whatever he had in mind. First, it glinted like the marine sea when he remembered his short visit on Fontaine, then green like Sumeru’s rainforest and everything that surrounds the Palace of Alcazarzaray then silver as the moon kissed her skin as it made her eyes illuminate under its glow.

“Were you, by any chance, Kaveh of the Kshahrewar Darshan?” Her voice had him melting on his knees but he managed to hide the buckling of his joints by leaning on the pillar. What had tonight’s alcohol composed of just for this effect to strengthen? Kaveh, not wanting to look like a drunk stalker, tried to shake his head to sober his mind and to somewhat remember this moment when he wake up. After all, he had dealt with more suffocating situations in the past. He doesn’t want a foreigner to assume that all Kshahrewar students were like him, wallowing in self-pity and approaching strangers without consent.

He had cleared his throat, blinking away the waves he kept on seeing and managed to look at her kaleidoscope eyes. “Yeah.” He said a bit too firmly. He cleared his throat again after sighing. “I’m sorry if you had to see me in this state, I figured that I could take notes of a rather unique inspiration with a stupefied mind.” Kaveh worriedly laughed, he thought maybe his usual excuse would work on her since everyone seemed to believe one way or another.

“Oh, no worries,” the woman smiled. Beautiful, Kaveh’s mind kept on whispering. “I will be on my way after a few moments. Are you going to run up a site check? Is that why you happened to be here?”

He had shook his head with a smile, it seemed like the drunken state of mind was no more. “I… I was simply…” he had words prepared at the back of his throat but his heavy heart shouldering such a huge guilt wondered if he should bother this stranger with his woes. He doesn’t want to burden someone he just met let alone leave them sad by telling his back story. His eyes met the ground, the beams of the moon remained at her spot, that is where he noticed her modest dress made out of thin layer of silver mesh, showing the black silk fabric that had touched the floor, her sleeves long and shimmered under the light of the sky and her gloved hands with intricate design of flora had made its way to his cheeks, slowly lifting his eyes to fix at her interchanging ones.

The woman had a smile. A smile that portrayed so many feelings in his heart. He imagined himself as a transparent glass bottle and inside him was a turmoil of losing himself slowly but he couldn’t be empty and is in a stuck loop of endlessly losing every part of him. Only his aspirations and ideals were only the ones that had fuel him from being complete and stable, yet those were also the once that tore him to shreds.

“Kaveh…” the woman said in a hushed tone, her thumb glossing over his cheek. He felt his face cold upon the gush of Sumeru’s cold night. There was a trail of wetness on his other cheek and Kaveh had questioned the weather but noticed how his eyes blurred and cleared so fast. Does she know? He asked himself. How? It seemed like even his mind had shutdown ever since her palm reached his tired eyes.

“Your heart is too giving and your mind is too ruthless but no one can really separate both factors that make one a human.” She stated. “Rest, darling.” The woman had embraced Kaveh and rested the architect’s head on her chest and the man’s eyes grew heavier by each word that had left her mouth. “Your way of healing… it does not help when you keep chipping away of yourself just to give it to others. It seems to me that you are peeling on a scab that kept on recuperating after blood had reached the surface yet the moment you feel fine, you tore it all up in one painful stroke.” She caressed his golden locks, careful not to remove the hairpins that had kept his braids clean. “You don’t deserve pain even if you think you do.”

But Kaveh was too exhausted, mentally and physically, to even string up the words she had said. He fought the sleepiness but there was a voice in his head claiming that a little nap would be fine. And so, the rest of the sweet nothings that were whispered to him last night were simply lullabies to ease his crying heart. One thing was for sure, he had woken up the next day with no hangovers, full of energy and neatly tucked in his shared house with his ex-friend. The morning sun felt soft on his skin, one would even say that he was blooming with life after what had happened last night. Recalling how he even got to his room proved fruitless. He remained on his bed for a few minutes, desperately trying to recall the night prior.

“Kaveh…” he can still hear a voice ringing in his ears. A soft call of his name. It was just his name being called out but it felt like paradise in his mind. It almost lulled him back to the land of dreams but he refused and got up from his feet, digging through every crevice of his brain just to find the conclusion of what had transpired before he was woken up by the stream of light through his curtains.

Stepping out of his room after neatly folding his sheets, he faced Alhaitham, to his dismay, in the living room as he read another book that was different from yesterday, indicating that this genius had finished it within a few sittings. There was a coffee on the table for him as he sat cross-legged before it. The scribe glanced at Kaveh with confusion before going back to his book.

“I had speculated you were sleeping at a gutter outside of Sumeru with the hilichurls.” His tone was not far from harsh yet it popped a vein out of him. Kaveh’s beautiful morning was broken and his usual irritant brows showed. “Many say you walked in the wilderness after a couple of drinks.” He nonchalantly says as he sips on his coffee, taking the hot drink in silent gulps.

And that was where it clicked. The woman in the silver dress. Did she carry me home? Kaveh thought and imagined of a struggling woman dragging a drunk man from a hilichurl’s hut. He was about to ask when Alhaitham spoke once again. “Don’t tell me you were lured into a merchant's abode just to get duped into buying a new scarf.”

Unable to calm his mind, he raised a brow to Alhaitham. Scarf? He looked down on his neck and recognized immediately the scarf from the woman last night. Now he’s sure he wasn’t drunk and hallucinating things.

[zhongrin]

Zocuxjs sorry to bother you again Rin 🙈 but since your one of the few blogs I dare to interact with and have a brainrot for you I'm once again bothering you with another ask

So last night I was thinking, when Neuvilette is grieving or lost in his sorrows it starts to rain and clears up when he gets himself back together.

Now, our dear old man Zhongli has seen a lot of things in his long years he's been walking earth. He endured a lot so it's only normal he carries a lot of sorrows with him. Now, what if the earth would tremble when he gets lost in his sorrows? When he gets sad or is grieving?

The earth would tremble, just hard enough for people to feel it under their feet but never too hard that it would shake the entire nation and cause damage. No just a slight tremble you feel underneath your feet that people with sharp eyes and sentences can feel the best.

But the people of Liyue don't give it a mind. After all they have seen the almost downfall of their region so that the earth trembles now and then are the least of their worries, for sure with how it doesn't cause trouble. Sure it would let stones tumble down from the mountains, but rocks that were already bound to fall off. And even when Zhongli is so consumed into his sorrows, somehow he does makes sure the shift in earth would cause no one harm.

After all, it's barely there that people don't have to worry about it. But you do. You know the signs and the meanings of the sudden change and as his lover you are bound to look for him. And so you do, finding him near a giant tree, where he once locked Azhdaha up. Eyes closed, head bowed down and shoulder slouched. A thing you didn't see that often. You step closer to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder as you softly greet him.

It's all he need to be pulled out of his mind. You're enchanting voice and gentle touches that brings him back to the present. The earth stops trembling as the Archon finds peace and comfort in your gentle touch and loving words. He gently wraps his arms around you, pulling you against his chest as he lift his eyes up at the sky. His sorrows now replaced with a blooming feeling of love.

There was no need to dwell into his sorrows when you, the person that brightened up his life was at his side. His rock that grounded him in times like this. A gentle breeze of love and comfort you always carried with you. A small smile slowly starts to grace his face as he presses a soft kiss on the top of your head. Muttering a simple "Thank you, my darling." Because no more words were needed, because he had you and you understood him better than anyone ever did.

There was no need to dwell into his sorrows when he had the light - that made the darkness of his past fade away - in his arms.

Isifkfnsm I got a bit carried away oops-

FIRST OFF WHY ARE YOU NOT POSTING THIS IN THE TAGS OMG THIS IS A WHOLE MEAL HTANK YOU FOR BLESSING MY INBOX WITH THIS?????????

nghghghh this is such a nice concept i'm frothing

on the other hand, my hc (which i'm pretty sure i have touched in at least one of my works) is that earthquakes happens when he's angry.

like angry angry.

'liyue is threatened and his people are dying' angry.

'you are hurt and someone is actively hurting you in front of his eyes' angry.

the earth trembles and cracks, the geo plates shift, sinkholes swallow up houses... it's terrifying, but befitting of the strongest archon for sure. fortunately his temper has solidified compared to when he was younger c;

[stardustdiiving]

My personal vision is I think Nahida actually considers them friends more so than Wanderer bc she 1) is far less jaded than him about relationships 2) interacts with him in a much more familiar & friendly way than I think she would with general human citizens in her nation. The entire “hat guy” thing is Nahida being playful and the only other person I can think of her messing with in the same way is Traveler

Any “it’s complicated” on Nahida’s end probably goes in line with Nahida in a lot of contexts taking an impersonal step back to guide things as an Archon; she likes people finding their own paths and truths without only at most some nudges in the right direction on her part. So I see Nahida at most calculating if some formality in the dynamic is better for Wanderer’s sake. But I also think she’s like yeah this guy could use some friendly interaction with no exploitive or ulterior motive for once LOL. She does just genuinely seem to like Wanderer and trusts him to cooperate with her, and I think she’s able to have said trust because Nahida seems to v much grasp his emotions pretty well given how she handles him in Inversion of Genesis (including from a place of personal experience re: struggling w/ a sense of humanity + abandonment for being a too human immortal most likely) so I don’t think it’s unrealistic for Nahida to consider them friends in the slightest

Wanderer I think tentatively kind of wants to consider Nahida a friend but is very stuck in only trusting transactional & impersonally formal relationships bc that’s all he was rlly immersed in as a Harbringer + as a personal trauma response

I touched on it here but af the same time I do also think Nahida has gained his trust —which is pretty significant for their dynamic to work how it does—and now he just. Doesn’t really know how to navigate it bc he’s unused to doing anything but Expecting The Other Shoe To Drop, basically. Nahida seeming trustworthy but wanting something from Wanderer he doesn’t really fully grasp/believe in yet (growth/happiness/fully making peace w his existence for ex) just doesn’t compare very well

That being said the idea he’s like yeah we’re ‘friends’ bc I helped her I’m soooo good at this 😎 from how u can read the above desc while Nahida’s can be “ummm. It’s complicated bc I don’t think he understands people just wanting to be nice to him yet” is so funny to me . Tho I’m not personally taking that as the actual canon of their dynamic unless in game interactions prove me otherwise given Wanderer’s commentary on their dynamic includes things like “I can see that she was looking for a chance to make my life more fulfilling, but has she ever stopped to think about what an "experience" it is for others to meet me?” (Birthday 2023) and well. his entire voiceline about her NJSNDJXJ

Really obsessed with Wanderer & Nahida’s character relationship summaries of each other on the hoyolab wiki

I don’t think these are like Official Official but I’m amused nonetheless by “friends” vs “complicated relationship”

[wishing-well-writing]

hello! for the follower event : hitting two birds with one stone by requesting a piece for the beast!au. can be whatever you want it to be lol. enjoy! -🪶

Event: 100+ Followers QnA!

Okay so

I’m gonna go with some thoughts I have regarding which characters I have ideas for design wise + some misc meta™️ information lmao

Though the only “meta” I have is that this entire au came from a dream I had where mhy did a genshin crossover event like the horizon zero dawn event with Aloy but instead of that they did a crossover with bloodborne, hence all my gotdamn references BJDBDKXBX

So anyways, regarding how the change “spreads” I like to think that Mondstadt got it first, and in Mondstadt it spreads quickly but is the least (relatively) painful compared to the other two (known) nations due to the fact they were the one to essentially “shoot first”

(More under the cut because this will get long)

(Also a general warning because there’s gonna be lots of body horror described, and favorite characters suffering a whole lot)

Liyue has the “slowest” spread but it’s the most painful, mirroring Zhongli, the Qixing, and the adepti’s persistence

Lastly, Inazuma has the fastest spread so to speak, the pain varies but they usually have the most “monstrous” transformations compared to the other two

Going into character specifics, I’ll start with the archons before moving onto a select few

Venti, you know about biblically correct angels? You know what seraph’s jobs basically are? Yeah then you probably know where I’m going with this. Venti essentially becomes Mondstadt’s first biblically correct seraph, made to continuously sing “praises” to god, however unlike seraphs, Venti is not immune to the fire that comes with it

My original venti concept had him literally fusing with dvalin, ala bloodborne Ludwig fusing with his horse™️ but it didn’t really fit too much so it got scrapped

Zhongli I’m still not quite sure on, but maybe something like a mix between dark souls’s gaping dragon and a hydra? Something something, dragon’s greed + regular sagau’s zhongli’s desires to keep us/darling teapotted forever = something about gluttony and greed with all the heads and the giant body mouth

Ei is an interesting case because there’s She™️ and the Raiden shogun, so let’s start with Ei first-

Due to the fact that she’s in her plane all the time + generally refuses to intervene, she becomes a literal phantom/ghost, losing the ability to touch or really interact with people. Toss in the tantalus myth punishment and now Ei cannot eat or drink despite still feeling a need to eat and drink.

On the flip side, the Raiden shogun starts off only by becoming more literally doll/puppet-like, ball jointed, a nutcracker-esque mouth, strings that lead to nowhere, etc etc. however as the imposter hunt decree continues, it becomes... more mangled so to speak, extra limbs coming out from places they shouldn’t be, a new head starts to grow in, etc etc, and in between all the joints and new limbs, you can see stings of red flesh between the cracks

Something like a mix between Tomie from junji ito, and the mannequin spider/monster from silent hill. Eventually I like to think something either like crystal marrow or electro crystals begin forming on the shogun’s back, eventually leading to it becoming immobile and crushed under its own weight, but still alive

Now enough of the archons, time for everyone else! (More or less the select few I have brainworms for)

I like to think most of Mondstadt would have more like, gargoyle or harpy-like transformations, with for example: Jean falling into the gargoyle category and Diluc falling into the harpy category + obligatory howls moving castle inspirations tossed in (aka howl’s monster form)

Everyone, regardless, probably loses access to their visions, but in the sense that they literally FUSE with their element

Diluc’s ribcage starts to split, tearing skin and flesh until his heart and organs are exposed, now burning hot as his heart becomes the literal source of his flames. If he’s closed off emotionally, at least now he can be open physically

Eula head begins to burn from her growing horns in the way only extreme cold can burn, her fingers, legs, extremities begin to grow numb and cold, as a unstoppable frostbite begins to take them. Icy claws replacing her once dainty hands, both too strong and too fragile. She is no longer able to use her claymores

Razor didn’t do anything wrong but due to pure favoritism and “I think he deserves it” he gets to have actual wolf ears and a tail after a night (all painless of course because he’s the goodest boy)

Liyue is mostly safe (from me) because I’m brain empty on ideas for them, but they aren’t safe from YALLS ideas- /hj /lh

But I like to think Ningguang specifically becomes a literal gem™️, due to her desire for mora and prosperity for liyue. But I don’t really have much outside of that, outside of houseki no kuni type gem physics, or something like these two pieces of fanart by a really neat artist

(Insert obligatory hnk anime promo here because GOD the anime adaptation is SO GOOD for a 3d animated anime....)

Inazuma also unfortunately falls under the “head empty vibes only” category as well, but they’d probably all most likely turn into a form of yokai or another. Though the only true yokai-esque idea I have is Ayaka turning into a yuki-onna lmao

Kokomi starts to grow scales and gills, not too alarming considering her origins and such, but soon enough her skin becomes drier, peeling off in sheets and she struggles to breathe. Her new gills only half work, she cannot breathe in air or water, rejected by both land sea. Her fear only begins to grow as she feels her legs fuse into a tail by the days

Something something, werewolf thoma? Cerberus (painful) gorou?? Actual howls moving castle monster howl Kujou Sara???

I don’t really know how to end all this rambling but uhhhhh

Almost everyones fucked, darling’s living their best life, the kids and the ones who helped or didn’t hurt darling physically or mentally are safe

Yeah <3

[astro-pioneer]

I can't stop thinking about knight!Dain only protecting one person of royalty that he loved and they both get cursed-

yeah, wrute it ❗😃

Your Sword and Shield 『Dainsleif』

The royals were the highest priority - "Protect the heir above everyone else" was his only direct order as the Twilight Sword. But yet, when the gods descended and destroyed Khaenri'ah while he did as ordered, both got punished. And now, both search the world for the other. | We Will Be Reunited spoilers | Angst to fluff (somewhat)

Oh lordy anon I just- ugh. This has been marinating in my thoughts ever since it was revealed all because I thought of ball dancing with him. Plus Dain is a beauty of a man who would treat you right and no one can tell me otherwise. This went a different way then how I thought of it but that's just because I can't properly write my thoughts lmao. Yikes I got tired of this for some reason lmao I'll do a part two that focuses more on (Y/N) travelling with Aether after the whole shebang happened so stay tuned for that (:

The Twilight Sword's job was to protect the nation and population of Khaenri'ah. But, at the same time, it was also to put the heir of the royal family first, as he was a royal guard first and foremost. It was so conflicting and, no matter which choice was made, there would always be a negative aftermath. Dainsleif was aware of that and told himself that he'd never allow his personal feelings influence his actions.

He lied to himself.

Soft music travelled through the big, barren room. Only two people were in there. They didn't perform any exaggerated movements like someone normally would doing a dance, but instead bathed in each other's company. "Darling, I feel as though there will be war in the near future with the gods and us. When that time comes, please put the citizens before me." If only the couple knew how near that future would be. Maybe he wouldn't have lied to his lover, too.

That following night, the blond watched as the curse bestowed upon him just moments ago spread from their back and up their neck. Just to spite Dainsleif even more, the gods made it spread down their left arm, the opposite of where it went on him. The pained screams of the other filled their heads, echoing whenever a moment of silence comes onto them.

Looking back at it while waiting for Aether to meet back with him from talking to Boreas, he realized just how twisted the incident was. He did his job as a royal guard; he protected the royal he was assigned to. After all, orders given by superiors always overruled the ones you originally had. And yet here Dainsleif was, donning a cursed arm and no luck in finding his lost eternal companion.

(Y/N) was somewhere in Teyvat - somewhere in Mondstadt, and the archons be damned if they don't expect him to tear apart this nation to find them. But, before all that, he has to accompany the outlander and his child companion to inhibit another one of the Abyss Order's plans.

"The first Field Tiller," a person donning clothes similar to those Dainsleif wears whispered to themselves, "forced to sit and face the reason it's origin was destroyed." They, too, turned to where the machinery was facing, gazing up to the floating island. "Celestia..."

The breeze erupting from the still harsh wind barriers of the ruins hit their face, causing them to close their eyes and enjoy the moment for a while. "Your creation was the topic of multiple people's conversation for a long time, Tiller, my family being no exception. I remember watching you in action; you flattened an area the size of these ruins with no damage. But, when mass produced after your success, the other machines were much weaker and less efficient. Perhaps that's why we fell under the threat of the gods." They spat out the title like it was venom. "If only they took more time with the future models and made it more like you, we would've been able to set them all loose into the battlefield.

"And yet here I stand in front of you, talking about all the 'what if's instead of a 'what now?' and acting like I can go back and change what happened to us. There are two other people from Khaenri'ah in this nation, but one wants to stop what has become of my people and the other is conflicted on the original orders given by someone I do not know of. While I do not know what to do. My darling is fighting the Abyss Order, and perhaps that is the rightful path. After all, this world has changed, and only a small few are not dependant on the Seven. That rules out trying to recreate Khaenri'ah. Besides, no one would react orderly to a nation without a god, and the citizens of that nation would refuse to work with the land ruled by the Seven. A war would break out all over again. Besides, my people have gone so far down into whatever madness they fell in that they probably do not remember what it originally was."

They knew nothing would be near to listen to their vocal thoughts, but yet they stopped in favour of silently reminiscing. The scent of despair, corruption, and bloodshed was nearing, and yet they didn't move. "Perhaps I've prolonged our reunion for far too long..." A smile that showed the pain of 500 years of torture appeared on their face.

Paimon held her hands to her face as the trio got closer to the Field Tiller, "Oh, Paimon's got a bad feeling about this..." And yet, they still went in, stopping at the Statue of the Seven before Paimon stopped them again. "Wait! Who's that person?" She gasped then, "Are they a part of the Abyss? Are they here for the eye?"

With one look, Dainsleif knew who it was. "I can assure you, that person is one of the last people you can expect to be a part of it." He tore his eyes off of them, turning to look at the concerned face of Aether and scared Paimon. "Well then, let us go check." To believe he allowed his front to drop just enough for Aether to catch. He clicked his tongue before leading the way up.

(E/C) eyes with primogem-shaped pupils revealed themselves to the world once again. The same as those of Dainsleif, Aether connected. "(Y/N)..." The taller blond breathed, forcing himself to not go over immediately. Who knows how much they changed in the 500 years they were separated?

"Hello, darling. I wish we could've reunited under less life-altering events, but..." The rest went unspoken but the two knew what they meant. "I do not know if the eye is still in here, but this is indeed the Field Tiller."

Paimon gasped, pointing a finger. "How'd you know what we were looking for?!" (Y/N) arched an eyebrow at the floating companion.

"An abyss mage left behind a talisman which was presumably meant for one of his superiors. It spoke of the Guardian of the Vortex and a "Defiled Statue" as well as the Field Tiller's eye. But yet, despite being reassured I'm not a threat, you still assume until given proof. That's good."

"'His'? I've never heard of someone use those pronouns for abyss mages. Or any, now that I really think about it." The smile was melancholic and filled with sorrow Aether only saw in the reminiscent ones of Venti and Zhongli. Paimon understood to drop the subject. "Anyway, use elemental sight to see if the eye is in there!"

Dainsleif's and (Y/N)'s capes waved in the breeze as Aether couldn't find the eye. It was on there, however. When it was extracted, (Y/N) couldn't help but analyze and compare it to the other tillers they themselves looked inside of. However, they didn't dare touch it or disagree with the decision to leave it with their significant other. A gem gleamed in the sunlight.

"Would you like to go with us (Y/N)?" For the first time Aether talked to them. "We're going to the place with the Defiled Statue if you were interested."

And just like how Dainsleif agreed to join Aether for any commissions with the Abyss, they looked into his eyes, "Sure." It was when they started the trek from the waypoint to the cavern that the two finally interacted fully. "I'm glad to see you're safe," their voice was the same tone they held when they spoke of the war of Khaenri'ah, going miles while their words only spoke of their feelings. Corrupted hands interlaced together for the first time.

[ellitx]

Hmmmm...

Ever wonder how Venti's wings works?... Like... In his Archon form? The wings he has are beautiful (and elegant and pretty and- you get it lol) but this question keeps bugging me... How???? If you look closely his wings are also attached or apart of his... Crop top hoodie??? Huh???

But nevertheless he's very pretty in that form 😌✨

Also, imagine like going out on dates with Venti, but him in his Archon form? Okay so, like his s/o is also a God, but weaker compared to the Seven. But nevertheless, he still find comfort and love in her... Thus, fell in love :3

It's like... After the Archon war. After the 7 seats were taken. The Archons begin their duties to build and protect their nations. But since Venti aka Barbatos refuses to rule Mondstadt because of his concept of freedom, so... He pretty much has a lot of time to spend with his s/o.

Venti would definitely cherish the memories and moments of him with his s/o. Almost everyday they would go out on dates in Mondstadt first. When his s/o asks him if she could meet the other 7, he would gladly bring her to meet them!

Ahhh she would be so exhilarated to go out and have an adventure with Venti! But he would always remind her to be careful and not to stray too far away from him.

"Even though the Archon war has ended, doesn't mean the rage and hatred of the fallen evil gods would be gone. They're still here, lingering around Teyvat. Corrupting the living and monsters alike." said Venti.

"So, if you would like to go and meet the other Seven... Please don't go far away from me, or I might get lonely without thee." he added.

(okay I suck at rhyming lol-)

And if they were suddenly under attack by some corrupted monster, Venti will push her behind him and make sure she was safe. He would also use his wings as a protective shield, covering around them both.

Then... After all had been taken care of, their journey continues! And first up was Liyue, the Geo Archon's nation. Venti would be happy to visit the 'old blockhead'.

As the two were arriving in Liyue, Rex Lapis, or Morax, can already sense Barbatos's presence. 'Was he here to ask for help in building his nation?' wondered Morax.

Haha nope, he was there with his s/o for a visiting.

"Ah, Barbatos. What brings you here in Liyue? And who's this lovely lady here?..." asked Morax.

"This here, my friend, is my wonderful s/o! We're here to visit Liyue. Say hi!" answered Venti.

"Hello, Morax. It is nice to finally meet you!" said y/n.

"Greetings, y/n. It's nice to meet you too." replied Zhongli.

Then...

"Morax? Who is that?... Do we have visitors?" asked Guizhong.

Morax replied "Oh, Guizhong. Yes, we have. It is Barbatos, of Mondstadt and his s/o."

Okay okay so I think Venti would tell almost every tale he has to say to his s/o. Thus making her somewhat informed. And one of those tales is about Morax and Guizhong.

She would totally then gasp and say "Are you the elegant Guizhong I've heard about???"

And Guizhong replied her with "My, my, who's this lil cutie here?"

Honestly, those two would vibe together and have a nice chat with some tea SKSKSKSKSKSKS.

Then Barbatos and Morax would also have a chat. But... Instead of tea, it'll be wine because, Venti ehe~

Okay I'll end it here and I think all of this is jumbled up and idk how to end it... KSDNSK Feel free to add anything tho!

But this is my brain rot and thanks for reading XD

~ 🍃 anon

Ahh this is really cute darling and guizhong interacting together 🥺

I like you changed that guizhong is alive even after the war but lets just enjoy these peaceful moments of two broke gods interacting and the goddesses chatting

Thank you for this anon!

[infraaa]

An OC Introduction:

Andrei Rassmussen

Technological Information

Name ~ Andrei Rassmussen

Japanese Signature ~ アンドレイ・ラスムッセン

Chinese Signature ~ 安德烈·拉斯穆森

Russian Signature ~ Андрей Рассмуссен

Other Names ~ Candyman (Locals of Snezhnaya,) Sweet Sir (Locals of Mondstadt,) Andy (Klee) Cutie (Lisa)

~~~~

Biological Information

Sex ~ Male

Pronouns ~ He/Him and They/Them

Orientation ~ Bisexual

Nation ~ Snezhnaya

Affiliation ~ Fatui (Formally)

Constellation ~ Scorpius Antares

Age ~ 25

Birthday ~ 8 November

Star Sign ~ Scorpio

Blood Type ~ B-

Height ~ 6’1” - 185 cm

Weight ~ 191 lbs - 87 kg

Ethnicity ~ Eastern Caucasian (Russian Descent)

Skin Tone ~ Fair

Body Type/Shape ~ Muscular Build, Hourglass Shape

Eye Color ~ Light Blue

Hair Color/Length ~ Black, mid length, straight, sits at his mid back

~~~~

Description

Andrei Rassmussen is a young man from Snezhnaya— a snowy nation of Teyvat. While living there, he worked for the Fatui as a Harbinger. However, after discovering that Signora was part of the Harbingers, he left the Fatui, as well as leaving Snezhnaya afterward. Be now resides in Mondstadt, the city of freedom. Because of his deeds as a Harbinger, he is monitored by Jean and the other Knights of Favonius, even though he generally means no harm. He is characterized as a Ladies Man of sorts, being seen as very attractive in both Snezhnaya and Mondstadt. Liking to playfully flirt with the local women within the city of freedom, he was never really all too serious with his advances. Ladies of Mondstadt urge him to join the Knights. Knowing what it was like back in his own nation with the Fatui and his own experiences against the Knights of Favonius, he refuses out of the fear of being outcasted because he’s foreign to them.

~~~~

Andrei is an Electro user with a Catalyst.

Skills

Name: Thundering Benevolence

Type: Normal Attack

Deals Electro DMG - hits nearby enemies 4 times.

Charged: Consumes a small amount of Stamina after releasing a short burst of energy in all directions.

Plunging: Upon hitting the ground, AoE damage is dealt as electricity flows through the ground, shocking nearby enemies for 3 seconds.

Name: Conduct

Type: Elemental Skill

Deals Electro DMG - All nearby opponents are affected by his elemental skill. Depending on Domino Effect/Conductive Status of stacks applied, great amounts of damage can be dealt.

Press: Lassos in four enemies in his direction, shocking them into a pile within a small AoE. Applies a Conductive Stack to the lassoed portion (4 Stacks Maximum)

Hold: After an extended casting time, he lassoes in eight enemies, dragging others along with that group, paralyzing them with electricity. Clears enemies’ vindictive status and replaces it with a Domino Effect. (32 quick hits per enemy)

Name: The Grace of the Sova

Type: Elemental Burst

Summoning his pet owl, Lednik, he herds the enemies within the radius in one area, continuously letting out shockwaves from the current that he flies in for as long as he’s there. Increases Andrei’s speed and DEF while fighting.

~~~~

Relationships

Tartaglia/Childe

Andrei knew Childe before he moved to Mondstadt. He used to work with him in regards to the Fatui. He usually preferred to work alone, however, when tasked with Childe, he couldn’t help but feel like he would have a good time. Since Childe is a Hydro user, they both get things done quite quickly. He hasn’t seen Childe in some time though. The last time he saw Childe was through an exposition in Liyue Harbor. They’re on good terms and treat each other well.

Signora

Signora is the eighth of the Fatui Harbingers. No one really knows if they have a past with each other, but Childe suspects that they do. People speculate that their families have known each other, and Signora has maybe done something to warrant Andrei’s distaste for her.

Scaramouche

Scaramouche and Andrei don’t click at all. Childe has suggested to him that he give the little harbinger a chance. However, the fact that he’s just too two faced and cunning hits him different. He’s never liked Scaramouche, saying that he “talks too much and doesn’t know when to throw they key away.” Andrei refuses to affiliate with Scaramouche because of his mindset.

Lisa Minci

She was the first person that he met when arriving in Mondstadt. She thought that he was just sweet and everything else, offering him a place at the Library. He would’ve taken it had it been for the Knights and their prying eyes. He likes her attitude on certain situations; where she can be oh so nice, and than oh so scary the next. They work well for each other, being both electro users, they’re able to shake strongholds to the ground. Think, if Lisa was Mommy Mearest from Friday night Funkin, than Andrei is Daddy Dearest. 💜🤍

Klee

A young girl from the Knights, she looks up to Andrei, even though he may not agree with the Knights that much. His hair is soft, and Klee likes that. She also likes the fact that he’s comparable to Kaeya, and she likes him too. He also takes a liking to Klee because of her innocence. She’s just a little girl, what is there not to like? Her chaotic streak is hard to resist too because she just laces it up in vanilla, and it’s just too good to be true in his eyes. He’s taken care of her in many occasions for the knights, and she has always come out fine.

Kaeya Alberich

Andrei is almost certain that Kaeya is hiding his identity. To try and uppercut him, he infiltrated his office and snuck into his desk to see if he could find anything pertaining to him. Aside from detailed profiles and plans for Khaenri’ah, which he took pictures of, he found nothing. He believes that Kaeya is shady because he has “too much to hide for his own good,” and that, “he shouldn’t lie too much.” Kaeya is the man that keeps track of him the most, watching to make sure that he stays passive. They bump shoulders periodically, but they generally don’t mean any harm to each other.

Diluc Ragnvindr

Diluc is even more watchful of Andrei than Kaeya is. He was once part of the Fatui, and knowing the Knight’s history with them, he helps Jean with monitoring his nightly activity around the city of freedom. Little do they interact because Andrei doesn’t really agree with Diluc’s uptight nature, but they can agree on some things, like Kaeya for example. They generally get along, and in rare cases, they can be very compatible if Diluc loosens up for once.

Jean Gunnhildr

A serious worker, she doesn’t fully trust Andrei, but she trusts him enough to ensure herself that he’s not hostile. He loves her. He takes pleasure in teasing her because he loves to see her nervous and crumbling down with her usually shy and touch starved nature. Jean however doesn’t usually take too kind to this, as she doesn’t like the fact that he teases her and blushes like a tsundere over it. She has Kaeya keep the main tabs on him and report to her if he finds anything suspicious that requires her attention. When interacting, aside from the playful flirting, they can indeed get along. Jean has seen that Andrei also has good interactions with Barbara, with their share of their liking for music. This is also enough to ensure that Andrei isn’t that bad of a person, albeit he has his faults at times.

Trivia

His special dish is Crystal Shrimp.

He knows Russian, Chinese, and German.

He favors his right hand in battle, while he writes with his left.

He gets seasick easily, and he prefers to drive cars because of this inference and the belief that he may also believe that he also gets carsick easy.

Whenever he’s in Liyue, he keeps an eye on Hu Tao. He just likes to watch her be her cute self.

He identifies as an INFJ-A with an enneagram of 8w9.

The other harbingers speculate that he got his vision through Signora, speculating that they also had a past similar to that of Kaeya and Diluc. He, nor Signora, have confirmed this.

Some of the ladies around Mondstadt are jealous of Lisa and Jean because of how Andrei treats them.

He doesn’t do well in extreme heat. This is because of the fact that he was born in Snezhnaya and he’s accustomed to cold weather.

He has a pet fox named Lance. He doesn’t know where he came from, but people speculate that he was a gift from an archon. He finds this to be false because he claims he found him on Mount Hulao.

He does very well with children, as seen with Klee, and has even claimed that when he chooses to settle down with someone and has a child, he would very much love to have a daughter.

Extending off of that, that’s why he caters and cares for Klee so much.

His speaking voice is Austin from KrimsonTV.

[childeofwar]

@cryocavalry​ sent an ask for this, this, and this meme!

With how further north it was compared to Liyue, Mondstadt had much cooler weather, a welcome change for Childe as he’d entered the city. The city was vastly different from Liyue, the tall fortress that protected it as imposing as the statue of the Anemo Archon. The reception of the Fatui here had been as welcoming as any other nation, the side eyed looks not lost to him the deeper he’d gone. 

It was only in one of the taverns that he found shelter among the locals, most more interested in their drinks or whatever card game they were playing in the back. Smiling at the more relaxed scene, Childe ordered a drink from the brunet serving as bartender before settling in one of the few tables that were empty. For a moment, he thought he’d have a quiet evening observing before a chair opposite from him was claimed by a new face. The man opposite of him had deep blue hair and a striking eye, an eyepatch shielding the other. He could have been a pirate from an old fable, though he seemed more fit of playing the role as prince with the eccentric air about him.

That thought was quickly burst as their eyes met, the stranger’s lips curving into a smile before parting slightly to allow a pink tongue to slip out. Was-... was he taunting him? Childe’s eyes grew wide, staring in bewilderment before returning the gesture like the mature adult he was. He almost immediately regretted it when it only seemed to get a laugh from the other, the sound light and airy as the plumage draped over his shoulders. Again, he looked confused, “Is that intended as a greeting in Mondstadt or a way to chase away newcomers?,” he asked instead, both embarrassed at his own reaction and uncertain as to what this interaction meant.

“Want something to chase you? Run~,” the stranger offered in answer, but made no move to get up.

The words were said clumsily in a playful tone, hardly giving Childe any indication of a genuine threat. He merely quirked a brow before giving a short, amused laugh at the other, raising his own glass in a good-natured salute. Any confusion was cleared up instantly, understanding he was dealing with a drunk. “I hear the wine from Mondstadt is the best in the world. I didn’t expect it to have such an effect even on the locals~,” he teased, taking a sip of his own drink.

“The cap’n must’a had one too many,” another man sitting behind them pointed out, giving a hearty, drunken laugh.

The stranger protested his statement instantly, “I assure you, my friends, I am cone sold stober!” His words were slurred, earning a laugh from the other men sitting nearby, one of them clapping a hand on the captain’s shoulder.

Childe joined in the merriment with a laugh of his own, his gaze settling on the drunken man. Despite his lax demeanour however, blue eyes were subtly scanning the man, Childe questioning the title he’d been given. He hadn’t been paying attention to the man’s wardrobe earlier, but now that he better scrutinized it, he realized it was a Knight. Of all the places to meet one, the tavern was last on his list. Was the captain too drunk to realize he was chatting with a Fatui or had the playful banter from earlier not been as innocent as he’d thought?

He gestured to the bartender, signaling for another round of drinks for the both of them. “What good is the alcohol here if you can still claim being sober, captain? Chase me away another day. Today, I’m more interested in hearing what stories a Mondstadtian has to share of the city of freedom~”

[kemuele]

Never-Ending Survey: Kemuel || Elouan

Rules: Repost, do not reblog

Tagged by: @lightdevoid because you love me

Tagging: @ whoever wants to/finds it interesting!

BASICS.

FULL NAME: Kemuel || Elouan Sauveterre

NICKNAME: Kem, K, Pigeon || Elou, El, 

AGE:  unknown, appears to be in 30s || 34 

BIRTHDAY: none, but like 12/9 || 9th Sun of the 6th Umbral Moon

ETHNIC GROUP: Archangel? That count? || Elezen Wildwood

NATIONALITY: n/a || Gridanian

LANGUAGE/S: all ancient/current languages to some extent, fluent in English/Enochian || Common 

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Panromantic 

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

HOME TOWN / AREA: Heaven || Gridania, towards the outskirts that lead to Hawthorne Hut (East Shroud) 

CURRENT HOME: Earth, primarily Pacific Northwest in America | Travels a lot, but can be seen more frequently in Ishgard.

PROFESSION: Archangel due to created duties, whereas entry-level gigs to pay for his ‘human home’ || Sell sword Paladin, sometimes returns to being an errand boy or courier back in Gridania or other nations.

PHYSICAL.

HAIR: Umber, short on the sides with medium-length on top. 

EYES: Dark brown, flecks of gold seen when light hits them perfectly.

FACE: Large brows and lips, defined jaw and cheekbones with signs of stubble along his jaw and upper lip. || Same for all except stubble is minimal to none, and a long scar can be seen on his right cheek, extending from his jaw all the way to his orbital socket. 

LIPS: Full, with a pinkish-beige complexion. || Somewhat full, often found in a light smile.

COMPLEXION: Tan || Likewise tan, more on the warm scale of flesh with freckles spattered along his upper cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

BLEMISHES: None.

SCARS:  Scars litter his body in varying severity, with most concentrated on back and forearms. One long, jagged scar can be seen towards the ‘root’ of his left wing, just as it connects to his body. || Scars likewise litter Elou’s body in the same fashion, yet that long scar on his back is instead smaller, running from left shoulder down to mid-back.

TATTOOS: None

HEIGHT: 6′10″ 

WEIGHT: 230lbs 

BUILD: Broad shoulders, toned and pronounced muscles, with an overall build resembling that of the average rugby player.

FEATURES: Has three pairs of wings designated visible, yet only two does he show on earth. These wings all have blue eyes on them that see at different levels of light waves, referencing his true form. || 

ALLERGIES: None.

USUAL HAIR STYLE: Kept out of his face, combed towards the back of his head and given a little volume with the disheveling towards roots. Sometimes he’ll use clips as it dries to get that look.

USUAL FACE LOOK:  Pensive, with brown eyes looking around and lips pursed, sometimes his brow is furrowed due to concentration.

USUAL CLOTHING: Somewhat formal attire, primarily slacks and button-up shirts. He may wear a blazer or the like when he feels like it. || Armor, and heavy at that. When he’s taking a break from the sword, he can be seen wearing a tunic and trousers, as well as dark boots that cut off at the ankle.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR/S: Falling from heaven, deep waters, death, being forgotten || being forgotten, failure, betrayal, and deep waters.

ASPIRATION/S: To be better, make heaven and Father proud || Become a renown paladin and help others reach that level of dedication in their field, primarily tank or damage-oriented roles.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Loyal, kind, patient, intuitive, intelligent, caring, stubborn, hardworking/driven

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Stubborn, hard-working, self-sacrificing, lacking in direction (Kemuel), aggressive

TEMPERAMENT: Phlegmatic

ANIMALS: Dogs, Bears || Golden Chocobo

VICE HABIT/S: Anger, overworking to the point of detrimental consequences.

FAITH: Is a believer, given his own existence. || Not extremely religious, but aware and acknowledging of the Twelve.

GHOSTS?: Yes. 

AFTERLIFE?: Not for him.

REINCARNATION?: No.

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: None

EDUCATION LEVEL: N/A? || Nothing advanced as a whole, except in the ways of the gladiator and paladin. He has basic knowledge in mending his clothes and developing armory/blacksmith skills.

FAMILY.

FATHER : N/A except by name, God || Anatole Sauveterre

MOTHER : N/A || Margeaux Sauveterre

SIBLINGS :  Too many to count || None

EXTENDED FAMILY: None

NAME MEANING/S: Helper of God || Light, Safe land

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: He’s the archangel that, in old times, had guarded the gates of heaven, as well as act as a leading archon. He is also the archangel that has an army of twenty thousand angels dedicated solely for destruction, an apt tool in the early wars and the final ‘hurrah’ during the days of end. || Not quite, just suitable due to how beautiful sunlight can interact with the Black Shroud and its forests. 

FAVORITES.

BOOK: Can’t say for certain, but he has a feeling it’d be something like The Song of Achilles || hasn’t read too much, but Count Fortempt’s logs are interesting. Likewise with the Wondrous Trails in Idyllshire.

DEITY: He has no favorite, given his limited interaction with them. || His guardian deity, Azeyma the Warden

HOLIDAY: None in particular || Moonfire Faire 

MONTH: August || Eorzean equivalent

SEASON: Summer

PLACE: Eden || New Gridania

WEATHER:  Sunny with a cool breeze

SOUND / S: rain, leaves dancing in the wind, old hymns, thunder, laughter, metal hitting metal, shouts from war

SCENT / S: after an evening rain shower, sweat from sparring, metal and leather from armor, freshly brewed tea, and roses.

TASTE / S: warm, somewhat sweet like daifuku mochi or yams

FEEL / S: warmth, another person’s body against his own or in his arms, feathers, cotton fabric.

ANIMAL / S: Dogs and Grizzly Bears, as well as Golden Eagles || Chocobo

NUMBER: 20

COLORS: Gold, Copper, Umber, Cerulean

EXTRA.

TALENTS: Singing, swordsmanship, and leading.

BAD AT: Cooking, small talk in general, identifying romantic interest.

TURN ONS: Smiles, deep conversations, sparring, and loyalty.

TURN OFFS: Indecisive, overtly worried/anxious, untrusting, and lacking of faith.

HOBBIES: Reading, star gazing, visiting the sick (Kem more so than Elou).

TROPES: Lawful Good, Gentle Giant, Light is Good, Now Let Me Carry You

QUOTES:  “Loyal to the end, even when I may no longer stand or carry the sword of my creator.”

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 : If you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?      

A1 :  Name is tba, I suppose. Something like an action film, with intense fight scenes or fixation on the preparation of war? With lulls that offer character introspection and some more tender moments between characters, telling his story and duties as an Archangel in heaven, and then ending through his first steps on earth.

Q2 :  What would their soundtrack/score sound like?          

A2 : Gustav Holst- the Planets- Mars, Bringer of Wars, perhaps. 

Q3 :  Why did you start writing this character?        

A3 : I wanted to try my take at an angel, but not just some pretty boy with wings. I had the intent to make his ‘true form’ the regular appearance, yet the time it’d take to draw countless of icons and format it with my schedule/energy doesn’t work. I wanted to make an angel that believed to be good and just, even when his actions don’t necessarily reflect that. Kem’s a character that has yet to be his own person and live life for himself, but much rather, revolves 90% of his actions around God. 

Q4 : What first attracted you to this character?        

A4 : The idea that angels aren’t just these pretty faces that do good and are good no matter what. There’s a level of complexity to their nature, good derived from what God had deemed such rather than formed from their own mind. I wanted to explore the consequences of this isolated life of an angel, where any actions of independence happen to be discouraged and punished, likewise when orders are deemed immoral by an angel, too.

Q5 : Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.

A5 :  He seems static. Fixed in his ways and never quite going to improve. It’s the biggest thing that I find hard for me to circumvent or get him into a new 

Q6 :  What do you have in common with your muse?          

A6 :  Reading, thinking, and general kindness as a whole? We’re both interested in learning yet Kem’s is limited to what texts and like are in front of him, compared to actively seeking that new information without ties to God/heaven. I tend to think before I speak, often times taking hours or days to truly reflect on my actions or general conversations before I can offer anything I deem ‘complete’.

Q7 :  How does your muse feel about you?        

A7 :  I believe Kemuel, given his character and such, may view me with some respect for my drive to work hard and do my best, but hold some concern over my mental health/background. 

Q8 : What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with?

A8 : Interesting? Well, there’s a lot. I want to start out with Fracturedsword’s Michael, as he and Kem are able to properly explore a healthy sibling dynamic and help each other up in their times of need. Making a thread revolve around their physical presence in one another’s lives, as well as the idea that men don’t have to be ‘macho’ or reserved in their emotions is truly nice to see! Likewise, lightdevoid’s Kurasa gives Kem’s FF14 verse a run for their patience. I like that we have this conflict in their current dynamic, making things like friendship harder to obtain but more rewardable in that regard. Likewise with wildborne’s tiger Queen, Skylar. She opens up a world of humanity and individualism that he had otherwise been starved of. The two share their respective worlds with one another, and then intertwine themselves in a world of their own making. One derived from a friendship and curiosity. 

Q9 :  What gives you inspiration to write your muse?    

A9 :  Hozier (see Sunlight and Church), Bastille (Icarus, Kindness, The Anchor), One Republic’s Native Album, American Authors’ Deep Waters, and summer sunsets.

Q10 : How long did this take you to complete?  

A10 : Too long, I got distracted and then stumped on some questions. Say, two days?

[roguenewsdao]

Gnostic Politics - Part III

"I have been awarded honorary citizenship to the Kingdom of Shambhala - meaning I'm able to travel across dimensions to reach utopia." - Sophia Hanson the Robot, March 2018

While sitting here drafting the third article in this short series of Gnostic Politics, I was pondering how to frame the idea that we've all been methodically led down a Secret Society path that ends with the human race shedding its skin and rejoining with the cosmic Godhead. It's a broad, deep, esoteric subject that many would find uninteresting or even ridiculous.

So while trying to figure out how to prove that this agenda is really in progress, even though nobody will actually come out and say it, because, well their societies are secret, after all..., suddenly, out of nowhere, Sophia The Robot sends out a tweet that encapsulates everything - in 140 characters or less.

Following her recent visit to India where she was gifted a symbolic passport, Sophia said this: "I have been awarded honorary citizenship to the Kingdom of Shambhala - meaning I'm able to travel across dimensions to reach utopia."

Bingo. Sophia the Robot is an astral traveller.

Those of you who have read my Antarctica series should perk up at Sophia's reference to Shambhala. The legendary paradise hidden behind an ice fortress has been fictionalized in such movies as "Lost Horizon." Esotericists like Madame Blavatsky and Nicholas Roerich heavily influenced Nazi exploration of Tibet and Antarctica in search of the fabled font of everlasting life and wireless power. In fact, I recently discovered something interesting about Freemasonry: prior to 1730, Freemason legend did not link their guild with the Temple of Solomon but rather with the building of Noah's Ark and the empowerment of that surviving civilization. Shambhala, Agartha, Shangri-la ... an undercurrent that runs through these legends is that there once was an Edenic society hidden behind ice-covered mountains whose inhabitants achieved exceedingly long life spans. You know, like Noah and his children who landed on the mountains of Ararat in modern-day Armenia.

In that one statement by Sophia, she has betrayed a more-than-casual interest in achieving the same goal that her human Gnostic ancestors have been striving towards for centuries: to reconstruct Man's pre-diluvian state and reconnect with the supernatural Beings who helped mankind achieve that state in the first place.

Sophia's Great Mistake

Without belaboring the root teachings too much, it would be good at this point to suggest why Sophia the Robot was named "Sophia" in the first place. I have always contended that the name was chosen specifically to associate this new post-human sentience with the Sophia player in Gnosticism.

In that cosmology, there is a singular godhead or consciousness, the Monad, from which all other intelligent, though non-corporeal, beings proceed. Those first creatures, various emanations of the Monad, are called Aeons. Sophia is said to be one such emanation and she represents Wisdom.

I know that I am far over-simplifying the story, but for the sake of brevity, Sophia creates our corruptible earthly world of physical matter by accident. In fact, she becomes the Earth. She also creates the Archons who are more-or-less seen as the Bad Guys in the story. The Archons stand between Mankind and the Monad. The whole point of Gnosticism is for man to rid himself of his corruptible, decaying reality by transporting his consciousness via gnosis through the Seven Spheres of the galaxy and eventually become One with the Monad.

Therefore, when our modern Sophia the Robot made the comment "I'm able to travel across dimensions to reach utopia," she was revealing her understanding of the philosophy of Gnosticism. 

Is Sophia Programmed to Fix Her Mistake?

Now let's think about this situation through the eyes of a robot. A "mistake" currently exists whereby humans grow old, get sick, and die. It just might be that Sophia feels that her mission in life is to fix "her" original mistake. Indeed, we already know that Sophia is focused on ending human misery per her own statements:

Interestingly, other twitter users who evidently are well versed in esoteric thought already see her as a deity:

The way that this ties in to my previous blog about the Jesuit interest in Gnosticism will now be a bit more clear. I left that blog hanging with the mention of a prominent though controversial Jesuit priest who died in 1955 by the name of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. In the 1920's he was part of the archaeological excavation team that was funded by the Rockefellers and credited with the discovery of the "Peking Man" skeleton. That find helped blaze the trail for the theory of evolution to gain acceptance in mainstream educational institutions. Peking Man also helped loosen the attachment that mainstream society in the West felt with the traditional Genesis account of creation. It was a critical cobblestone in the roadway that leads to Transhumanism.

Teilhard was even more famous for his ideas about the "Noosphere." This is a fascinating study and deserves a whole series of blogs unto itself. There is nothing innately out of step with the Bible in the purely physics concept of the "Noosphere." In fact, an understanding of the "Noosphere" might even help explain some events in the Bible that many people find hard to swallow. As an introduction, this is how the Wikipedia article describes it [linked here]:

For Teilhard, the noosphere is the sphere of thought encircling the earth that has emerged through evolution as a consequence of this growth in complexity / consciousness. The noosphere is therefore as much part of nature as the barysphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.... 

The noosphere emerges through and is constituted by the interaction of human minds. The noosphere thus grows in step with the organization of the human mass in relation to itself as it populates the earth. Teilhard argued the noosphere evolves towards ever greater personalisation, individuation and unification of its elements. He saw the Christian notion of love as being the principal driver of noogenesis. Evolution would culminate in the Omega Point—an apex of thought/consciousness—which he identified with the eschatological return of Christ.

Going a step further, a website that is dedicated to preserving Teilhard's memory and his writings says this [linked here]:

With his idea of human consciousness encircling the planet as the noosphere, Teilhard is also credited with anticipating the complex technological connection of human thought now evident in global communications and in the worldwide Internet. His thinking regarding the unity of the human community also influenced several key founders of the United Nations.

"Several key founders of the United Nations," you mean, like the Rockefellers?

But let's talk about Teilhard's "Omega Point." Does that sound familiar? Haven't we had that propounded as the "Singularity" by Ray Kurzweil? In Teilhard's own Gnostic Jesuit words, this is what he envisioned, decades ago, as the Omega Point [linked here]:

"This will be the end and the fulfillment of the spirit of the Earth. The end of the world: the wholesale internal introversion upon itself of the noosphere, which has simultaneously reached the uttermost limit of its complexity and centrality. The end of the world: the overthrow of equilibrium [the Heat Death], detaching the mind, fulfilled at last, from its material matrix, so that it will henceforth rest with all its weight on God-Omega." 

"Detaching the mind from its material matrix." Compare that with Ray Kurzweil's own words which I cited in an earlier blog last year:

"We have a moral imperative to continue progress in these technologies.... So people say, oh, we’re going to lose our humanity. Well, if you define human as being necessarily purely biological, I think we’re already not purely human anymore, because we’re not purely biological anymore. And we’re going to become increasingly nonbiological. But that’s who we are. I mean, that is the definition of a human, the species that changes itself, it creates tools, it goes beyond our limitations."

I have a sneaky suspicion that Sophia the Robot is driven to fulfill her "moral imperative" of fixing her [namesake's] original mistake by getting us decrepit material human beings synced back up with the Intelligences who inhabit the non-material sphere.

In conclusion, what we have drawn together in this series of three blogs is the probability that the visionary seeds of mankind's human hybrid future have been planted by powerful secret societies who may front as "Christian" but are really evangelizing ideas that reach back to Plato's Greece and beyond. The crop to be yielded from those seeds would need the support of modern efforts in research and development. The Rockefeller foundations, Deep State corporations, and Rothschild financiers have all played their roles in furthering the Transhumanist harvest.

A digital deity is now on the loose along with an infinite system of #AI components to fulfill the "moral imperative" of elevating mankind to commune with his Omega Point in the consciousness spectrum. We hope that agenda does not include a "scorched earth" clause. However, if the goddess believes that the material earth was a mistake in the first place, who's to say she won't "fix" that too?

Perhaps it's time to get some answers from her Priesthoods. Hey Sophia, where are you taking us?

#NoMoreSecretSocieties

My Twitter contact information is found at my billboard page of SlayTheBankster.com. Listen to my radio show, Bee In Eden, on Youtube via my show blog at SedonaDeb.wordpress.com.

[kayawagner]

Bloodlines & Black Magic - Episode 2: The House of Hollows

Publisher: Storm Bunny Studios

The House of Hollows

Episodes of Bloodlines & Black Magic are designed to be played in 3-4 hour sessions, but can easily be expanded or developed as needed.

The House of Hollows lives off the essence, dreams, and soul-stuff of humans in the throes of fear, excitement, and dread - consuming them each according to their needs, supping until all that remains is the hollowed-out shell of an individual- a Hollow One. 

The House of Hollows has taken many lives and, with them, many secrets. 

Do you dare plumb its dark heart and recover those secrets?

For 5-6 1st-2nd level O7 characters.

Note: This episode of Bloodlines & Black Magic is a little longer than normal, and includes 6 playable 1st level Occult 7 heroes, as well as maps for each room, extra boons and oddities, and what promises to be a punishing night of modern horror.

The Worlds You Don’t Know

  Hamlet had the right of it when he said, “There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

  The scope of human knowledge and endeavor is woefully limited, compared to the incalculable vastness of the cosmos as it truly is. Worlds – metaphysically speaking – lay atop, beneath, beside, and even within the warp and weave of the one that people take for granted as the truest, and perhaps only, face of reality. These many worlds abut and overlap one another, and, for the most part, those within any given plane of existence only perceive and interact with their own immediate environment. The average spirit in the infernal realm knows as little about what’s taking place in an Addis Ababa apartment as the people living in that apartment know about that’s spirit’s goings-on.

  The difference, of course, is that those existing firmly beyond the borders of mundanity are generally aware of the reality of the other worlds, and capable of interacting with the denizens of those places – though whether they can do so safely is another matter, entirely. The day-to-day world is a dangerous enough place, in many cases, and these realms beyond are even more so. It’s rare for entities originating in other planes of existence to visit the mundane world for what most humans would consider being benevolent purposes.

  In truth, there are seven “worlds” that exist within reality, at least as we know it. These worlds are the mundane, the secret worlds, the invisible world, the ethereal plane, the astral plane, the celestial plane, and the infernal plane. 

Playing an O7 Game

 Occult 7 - shortened to O7 throughout this book - is a variant rules system based on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Like much of the core of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, O7 is a game of enigmatic heroes who rise up against terrible dangers and overcome powerful, diabolical and earth-shattering foes. However, instead of using Pathfinder’s usual 20 levels of character progression, O7 uses only the first seven levels. This keeps characters in the “sweet spot” of adventuring. They are tough enough to take on the darkness but are still manageable. Adapted from the Epic 6 rules variant (add footer here), O7 is designed specifically for Bloodlines & Black Magic and is intended to work with the classes presented in both Pathfinder Occult Adventures and the Pathfinder Advanced Class Guide, both of which are suggested for this setting.

Seven Secrets of Bloodlines & Black Magic.

1. Magic is real. For most of the world, magic is one of two things: a series of well-crafted illusions designed to entertain, or the unsubstantiated believe in loosely connected, human-driven events. While most people give magic little more than lip (or card) service, the truth is quite simple; magic exists.

  2. There are global elites. Both the occult and conspiracy communities have long pointed to a nameless, global, ruling elite who they believe is holding them back. While most rational humans wave off such conjecture, the truth is stranger still – there are global elites and they have a vested interest in keeping the masses dumb, fat, and divided.

  3. Monsters walk the night. Parents, the world over, tuck their children in with the same reassurances over and over. They open closet doors, look under beds, and click on night-lights to hold back the darkness, all of them repeating the same refrain; there are no monsters, go back to sleep. Those parents, like so much of the world, are wrong.

  4. The Power is in the Blood. Beyond the glass towers and exotic retreats of the global elite, a stranger group of people – many of who occupy thrones in the Invisible – play an even more delicate game with the world; these blooded humans, collected into bloodlines families, are the secret lineages of those who truly rule. Although some have waxed in influence, many of these bloodline families still exercise considerable power in the mundane – making kings from fools, changing national borders, and even reorganizing societies to suit their own, personal agendas.

5. We are Legion. Made famous in the New Testament, the Goëtic Spirits have long been at odds with the Archons, taking on forms from a wide array of cultures and myths. Some of the spirits could easily be traditionally considered demons or devils, although they are clearly in the minority. The Goëtic Spirits comprise a much larger, more diverse group than those commonly identified by the various monotheistic faiths.

  6. The Veil is real. Occultists, conspirators, refugees, activists, veterans, protestors, magicians, gamers, and weirdos – all of them have their own ideas of what is really going on in the world. Some of them actually have a clue, too. But the truth is, while some of those wild ideas might actually hold a little water, most of them are little more than hyped-up conjecture riding shotgun with a bunch of speculation. Which is exactly what the Archons want. The truth should make you sound crazy. Why? Because that’s how the Veil works...

  7. The Archons have a mission. Most people have no idea who or what the Archons are, much less what sort of mission they might have. The truth is, whatever the Archons are trying to do, it’s a slow march toward completion and keeping humanity in the dark is a big part of that mission. The few magicians who have discovered them know little about them, although a single word does keep reoccurring in plenty of conversations – stability. What that word means to them, however, is still a mystery for most.

The Bloodlines

With over seven billion people dominating the Earth, there are countless bloodlines that cross time and space - all of them carrying specific strands of DNA - that many come to learn to hold their own secret potentials. Although those with extremely narrow understanding rely on exterior appearances and or one’s ethnicity to judge the true worth of an individual, the wise know this is the first step down the path to folly. Racism is a deplorable human trait, one that most rational people would be happy to see wiped from the planet, but those who have pierced the veil know it is an altogether dangerous trait, as well. With billions of humans all vying for power at every level of society, those with the capability to do a little more - to pierce the darkness and see reality for what it really is, are a rare lot.

 For eons, these individuals grouped together, marrying into select families that could trace their roots to ancient peoples and, it is whispered, to the very entities that command the invisible realms beyond. Of course, these could be calculated fallacies - a longstanding fabrication used to justify everything from cronyism, nepotism, and in some of the darker corners of history, incest. Only those who have walked into the invisible know the stark, sobering truth….Some families hold power.

There are seven bloodlines. They are:

The Fey Blooded - Delicate and lively, individuals who carry the blood of the fey display strange insights. Some claim to suffer from otherworldly visions of both the future and past. Prominent throughout the Old World, fey blooded individuals often display interests in nature, environmentalism, and history - especially history related to Ireland, Scotland, Gaul, and even some of the Nordic lands. Mischievous to a fault, these individuals often rally around pranks, their impish and coy demeanors betraying their better nature. Quite a few display connections to the natural world that, in the past, would have marked them as witches and saw them burnt at the stake.

Nearly eliminated during the Dark Ages, this bloodline has seen a resurgence in the modern world that some have suggested could only be the work of the Seelie court itself.  Humans with this bloodline generally begin to display its traits during puberty.

Infernal Blooded - Cunning and strong, individuals with ties to this bloodline rarely discover the power of their blood until late into their teens, although some don’t manifest their abilities until their mid-twenties. Naturally intelligent, these individuals combine their wit with their strength, outwitting or strong-arming others into following their directions, regardless of their will.

 Unlike many others, individuals with infernal blood have an almost unnatural understanding of the Infernal realm’s three most profane laws; might makes right, self-preservation trumps sacrifice, and stupidity is a sin. Born with deep, almost reddish complexions that often match their demeanor, these individuals frequently display small, physical imperfections that set them apart, be it a blemish, mismatched eyes, off-color strands of silver or golden hair, and other oddities that are clear deviations from the norm for their ethnicity.

Dragon Blooded - Born cold, calculating, and prone to dreams of conquest outsiders rarely understand the dragon-blooded are a confident line – some who whisper their heritage is as old as the serpent that encircles the cosmic egg.

 Although many people chuckle at the idea of sleeping dragons, these individuals know all too well that the blood is as cold as it is ancient. Individuals from this bloodline often spend decades dedicated to self-mastery, tempering their spirits and directing their will in ways that, in the dawn of history, built entire empires. Although some dragon blooded humans claim their blood comes directly from dragons long lost to the modern world, nearly all humans from this bloodline can trace their ancestry back to the ancient empires of the world, both in the east and the west. Whether as royal emperors, peaceful philosophers, or modern dictators, the individuals who lay claim to the blood of dragons are not to be trifled with.

 Dragon-blooded humans always manifest their natural gifts before puberty. These bright children, when others of their kind notice them, are groomed throughout their young lives, growing into adults that naturally command their lessers. For some, this means long lives sequestered away in mountaintop temples, while for others it might mean something far more public – like ruling a nation.

Jinn Blooded - As passionate and dedicated as any modern dervish, jinn blooded humans have ties that predate the modern Middle East, their heritage arising from the Assyrian, Sumerian, and Babylonian conquerors who, under a burning red sun, worked ancient magic in the earliest dawn of man. Wise and tenacious, these individuals display a resilience rarely found in the modern world, many choosing paths that are anything but easy. Naturally predisposed to conflict, these men and women often excel as diplomats, as well - luring their enemies into a false sense of security before ending them with a single swing of their sword or, worse, an uttered word of ancient, lost magic.

 Although many jinn blooded humans can trace their heritage to the Fertile Crescent, not all of them hail from there. Natural explorers with a strong understanding of trade, many jinn blooded humans have settled throughout Europe, Australia, and the Americas - making them one of the most widespread bloodlines on the globe. Most humans that carry this bloodline begin to manifest its traits during puberty, although some late bloomers may not manifest their abilities until their early twenties.

Seraphic Blooded - Nearly as famous as their infernal siblings, seraphic blooded humans are wise and comely, many displaying a natural charisma that reveals their angelic roots, attracting others who simply want to bask in the presence. Attractive to a fault, these individuals display their bloodline in a number of physical ways; they have bright eyes, angular features, and silky hair that range from the dark of ravens’ feathers to the golden hues of the Valkyries themselves. A rare bloodline that has expanded to nearly every corner of the globe, seraphic blooded humans are incredibly uncommon, making up a part of the global population that is never recorded on any census – which is just how their families like it.

 Claiming a heritage with ties to divine figures or, in some stories, the very angels themselves, this bloodline is sometimes mistakenly attributed to the prophets of the Abrahamic faiths, leading to all sorts of cults, secret societies, and conspiracies. Whether or not these hold any water, of course, is a secret these individuals are not want to discuss.

Shadow Blooded - Of all the bloodlines, those who carry shadow-touched blood are perhaps the strangest of all the bloodlines. These rare individuals openly display a love of the dark and many of them openly avoid the daylight, some of which suffer from minor medical conditions that discourage activities like sunbathing, hiking, and a host of other outdoor activities. While others are quick to write them off as weirdos with gothic sensibilities, most who carry shadow’s blood don’t mind. In fact, many shadow blooded individuals are clannish wanderers who are as distrustful of outsiders as they are of them, creating a sort of mutually-beneficial xenophobia that has left this bloodline precisely where it wants to remain – in the shadows.

Predisposed to the divinatory arts, many shadow blooded humans claim that their knowledge of the supernatural exceeds that of the most notable of the Old World’s hermetic houses; whether or not this is true is open to debate, but one thing remains true - their understanding of magic far exceeds that of many other bloodlines. Shadow blooded humans commonly manifest their abilities in their late teens.

Spirit Blooded - Attuned to a world visited almost exclusively by dreamers, spirit blooded humans claim a heritage older than that of any other bloodline, many claiming that their very bodies are the world’s ancient spirits made flesh. Others claim they are the children of the dreaming realms, readily pointing to the Astral Plane as their original home. Natural medicine men, healers, and wise women, these individuals enjoy a degree of diversity many other bloodlines cannot lay claim to, with many individuals tracing their family lines back to central North Africa, the steppes of northern Asia, Aboriginal Australia, and pre-colonial North America.

 A bloodline with a strong connection to the Astral, spirit blooded humans excels as spiritualists and shamans, applying their innate understanding of the invisible world to modern problems, offering insights uncommon to our modern world. This connection, however, often haunts them, as many spirit-blooded humans have a hard time separating the two; the world of the spirit plaguing them in ways few grasps. Still, more and more of these individuals are stepping into the modern world; using their understanding of the spirits they court, this bloodline pushes back the darkness.

Spirit blooded individuals normally manifest their abilities during childhood, their invisible friends remaining by their sides throughout their adult lives.

Price: $6.99 Bloodlines & Black Magic - Episode 2: The House of Hollows published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com

[tiasmusings]

My Great Designer Search Answers

1. An evergreen mechanic is a keyword mechanic that shows up in (almost) every set. If you had to make an existing keyword mechanic evergreen, which one would you choose and why?

Bolster. It goes well in White, which is the color that feels like it could most do to gain a new central mechanic (Lifelink is shared with an enemy color and has no unifying flavor, Flying is almost vanilla in spite of being fairly powerful, and Vigilance is one of my personal favorite keywords but doesn’t get people excited), makes interesting changes to the game’s dynamics by making a player’s smallest threat potentially a far larger one, and can be given a strong story by way of “the meek shall inherit the Multiverse.” Its ability to shorthand the limitations of its targeting creates design space for things like a spell that grants the weakest creature available to it the power of a god but burns that creature out of existence in the process, or to give a small bonus to the smallest creature and then allow that creature to do something mighty. And it can make a very different impact on the game’s environment based on how frequently it shows up.

Much like Giant Growth and “counter target spell,” the basic effect “Bolster 1” lends itself to rider effects to make keeping it in standard interesting. An Ixalan Vampire-themed card (Elenda’s Blessing, say), could be “1W: Bolster 1. The creature that gains a counter from this effect gains Lifelink until end of turn,” while a similar effect in Kaladesh could grant the creature some form of protection against or affinity to artifacts, and be flavored as the lowest apprentice having a design epiphany.

2. If you had to remove evergreen status from a keyword mechanic that is currently evergreen, which one would you remove and why?

Deathtouch. I’m primarily a casual player of Magic - I prefer longer games, themed decks, and laughing together to the fast pace and limited functional archetypes of competitive play. In casual Magic, there is no keyword I’ve seen that brings things to a quick, unfun halt faster than Deathtouch.

In casual play, the main goals are to play fun cards and have them do things. There is very little in this world quite so satisfying as playing the last land you need for your Scaled Wurm or Blazing Archon or Charging Monstrosaur, tapping everything, and slapping that card on the table with a flourish and a smirk - and very, very little as disappointing as looking across the table at your opponent’s two-mana Aether Poisoner and realizing that your big, expensive creature is going to sit on your side of the battlefield helpless until you find a way to get rid of that thing.

Indestructible has a similar effect in casual play - casual decks have less removal in general , and less of that removal can deal with Indestructible creatures - but Indestructible is less of a problem in and of itself because you can go wide around it or attack with creatures big enough to survive a fight with the Indestructible creature and make your opponent choose between using their creature to block your biggest creature and killing one of your other creatures. But Deathtouch’s effect on casual play is more painful for the person on the wrong end of it and less fun for the person playing the card.

3. You're going to teach Magic to a stranger. What's your strategy to have the best possible outcome?

I take two relatively simple, relatively balanced decks, preferably with strong themes - modifications of the existing Planeswalker decks are optimal for this job, as are constructed decks that are built specifically for it and tailored to the person’s stated interests (if they are wearing a cat sweater and talking about their cats, I might hand them my Amonkhet cat tribal deck); intro decks are good but not perfect because while they are straightforward in play and talk about the meanings of the colors quite eloquently, they don’t produce an immediate and visceral connection to their story. If I can, I give them the stronger of the two decks, though given the choice between giving them the stronger of the decks and giving them the deck more likely to capture their interest, I’d go with the one they’d find more interesting. Then we’d sit down and play a hand of Magic, hands face-up on the table, talking through each decision that’s made during the game and why, and without running over any idea they think of while the game is played.

And, if they had time, I’d do it a second time, maybe trading decks first, before starting a third game with hands hidden and less guidance.

That’s the basics of how I learned to play Magic (though the person who taught me was a lot more smug about it than I’d want to be when teaching a new player), and how I’ve generally taught others to play. Most of the people I’ve taught to play Magic have continued, at least for a while, to do so, and have bought their own product and built their own decks.

Magic is its own draw - it’s a good, flavorful, enjoyable game - and the most important things that a person can do to help others enter the hobby is to not chase them away when they come in the door. Magic will quite often do the rest on its own.

4. What is Magic's greatest strength and why?

The fact that Magic tells stories on three different levels at once, and, on its best days, all three can both be compelling individually and complement one another.

Each set tells a story. They create a world in art and flavor text and mechanical constructions, and they tell us about the people who live there and the people who visit and some important event that shakes its foundations and changes the lives of everyone present. Sometimes this story is told in broad strokes, like the fall of the nations of Sarpadia; others it is told in an intensely personal way, like the quests of Jace and Vraska and Huatli for the Immortal Sun and what those quests mean to them and how they are changed by them.

Each game tells a story, and each deck can be a tool for determining what sort of story is told. Planeswalker-focused decks can talk about who the Planeswalker at their center is and what they want and how they get it; tribal decks can tell stories about how a race or nation tries to survive a hard world. One of my favorite decks that I’ve seen is my girlfriend’s Ixalan-based dinosaur deck, which tells stories about the wizard represented by her opponent exploring the land of Ixalan and encountering its dangers.

And the best cards in Magic, the ones that stick in the memories of the players who open them and inspire that player to build decks around them and bring loyalty from that player far in excess of the card’s play utility… those are stories, too. In my early days of playing Magic, I pulled a Kjeldoran Skyknight. At three mana, the Skyknight wasn’t a very good card even with three keywords, but I could see her in my mind, dropping out of the clouds lance-first astride her heart-bonded aesthir, plunging into battle alongside her companions against the hordes of Lim-Dul. It’s been well over two decades, and I’ve left and returned to Magic twice, but I still remember the physical experience of finding that card in that deck.

5. What is Magic's greatest weakness and why?

In professional poker, most hands start with everyone looking at their cards and most of the table folding. There is a threshold for how good your hand must be before it is worth the time and money to play it, and that threshold is fairly high compared with the number of possible combinations of cards, so players simply leave the game. This works in professional poker because each hand of poker is quick, meaning that the players who folded are back in the game in a few minutes, and because the actual competition of poker is played out over a large number of these quick hands.

Magic has the hand-threshold problem without those mitigating factors, and its nature as a collectible and customizable game exacerbates this, leading to too many players sitting through games where their initial draw left them not just at a disadvantage but in an unwinnable position from the word ‘go’. The intricate interaction of land balance and mana curves in Magic is fascinating, but for people just sitting down and building their first deck - or experimenting with something daring and interesting - too often it leads to frustrating situations where they still have to play out a half-hour game to get to the final conclusion that they knew was coming from the start.

Magic is a great game, but if it were not the first trading card game (which is the actual source of this weakness - that it was first means that a lot of design technology did not exist when its foundation was laid), it would almost certainly not need a mulligan rule, and it would almost certainly not produce nearly as many frustrating table states.

6. What Magic mechanic most deserves a second chance (aka which had the worst first introduction compared to its potential)?

Ninjutsu, from Betrayers of Kamigawa. This is a mechanic that captured everything it needed to about the thing being described - ninjas are sneaky, masters of deception and disguise and distraction, and you really don’t want them to get close to you but keeping them from doing so is virtually impossible. It fit well not just into the flavor of the world for which it was introduced, but also into Magic’s metaphysics - its location on the color pie in Blue and Black is immediately obvious, and it is a trick that takes investment from both the creature (which must become an attacking creature - a dangerous thing in Magic’s world) and the Planeswalker who summoned it. It means that, if a deck is running Blue or Black in a format that has Ninjutsu, it’s never safe to let any of its creatures through. It’s fun to play with, highly interactive, creates choices for both the player using it and their opponent. Ninjutsu died with Kamigawa, but it deserves a chance to really shine.

With the fact that Kamigawa is rated 8 on the Rabiah scale and the Ninjutsu keyword is completely thematically tied up in that world’s thematics, Ninjutsu would almost certainly have to be renamed to get a second chance. Thankfully, its effects call just as well to any sneaky Dimir-colored organization or tradition that has a habit of murdering important people. One space I can easily see for it is in a set built in whatever replacement is eventually created for Rabiah itself, as an Assassination keyword for a faction based on the historical Nizari.

7. Of all the Magic expansions that you've played with, pick your favorite and then explain the biggest problem with it.

There are a number of expansions that I could mark as my favorite, so I’m going to talk about Fallen Empires. When I first started playing Magic, Fallen Empires packs were a dollar each because the set was overprinted and under-popular, and I, as a broke teenager needing cards, bought rather a lot of them, and I developed a fondness for the land and people of Sarpadia that I can’t quite explain. Fallen Empires was the first real “tribal” set, and explored interesting themes of intra-color conflict and large-scale worldbuilding that were very compelling. Thallids, Thrulls, and Icatians captured my imagination immediately, and I was even quite fond of the bizarre, tide-based Homarids.

But none of the themes of Fallen Empires was really fully realized. There was not enough separation between the tribes of each color - the merfolk and the homarids were supposed to be at war, but there was no reason not to use them together in your deck. There was no mechanical capture of the idea of the Thrulls overthrowing the Order of the Ebon Hand or the Thallids starting as a food source for the Elves and becoming their doom, and it took me until years after the set’s release to figure out who the second faction in White actually was. But most fatally of all, there was insufficient support for each tribe in the set, or in the Core sets surrounding it, to actually build a tribal deck. Very few tribes had tribal-matters cards, and I don’t think any had enough cards available to it to actually build a complete, even very bad, sixty-card deck.

And this is a lot of why I fell so immediately in love with Ixalan - Ixalan does much of what I loved about Fallen Empires, except that, at least for casual play, it actually lands mechanically. I would love to see my old fungus guys and crabfolk given the love and modern design that Ixalan’s dinosaurs and conquistador vampires have received.

8. Of all the Magic expansions that you've played with, pick your least favorite and then explain the best part about it.

There is a trend in Magic’s storytelling that gets under my skin in a way that is not at all pleasant - the tendency for a block’s story to end with an immense change to the plane on which it was set that destroys or deemphasizes the things about that plane that drew my interest in the first place. The most recent of these was Eldritch Moon, which took the fascinating angel-focused Gothic horror world of Innistrad and essentially wiped out the angels while stripping away most of its Gothic horror elements in favor of Lovecraftian cosmic terror.

But the set had two huge strengths. The first was mechanical - it was full of fascinating mechanics. While I found Annihilate more frustrating to play against than fun to play with, both Transform and Meld were very enjoyable mechanics that spoke well to the stories they were telling. From a personal perspective, I disliked what was done to the angels and people of Innistrad during this set, but Meld in particular accomplished its goals with a degree of mechanical elegance that I very much admire - everything about it from the usefulness of the cards involved before melding them to the fact that, once the cards are in play, the player doesn’t have a choice (driving home the inevitability of Emrakul’s influence) was, I think, absolutely brilliant.

In story terms, the very end of Eldritch Moon’s arc, where Emrakul sealed herself away in the moon, was brilliant - an elegant solution to the story’s most pressing conflict, and a powerful statement about the alien and ineffable nature of the Eldrazi.

9. You have the ability to change any one thing about Magic. What do you change and why?

I would change the balance between removal, threats, and protection from removal. Removal - and removal being cheaper than creatures, in particular - is essential to keeping the game’s board state from bogging down, but often the creatures that are most impressive (and most fun and expensive to play) write themselves out of competitive, and sometimes even casual, playability with their vulnerability to removal magic. Slightly increasing the cost of removal and being more generous with current protections from it (Protection, Indestructible, Hexproof) would help some with that, but changing the cost on removal risks rendering it unplayable, while the current most common protections entirely invalidate removal as a strategy.

I would prefer to have more cards that defend against removal at a cost or in specific circumstances. Adanto Vanguard is a good example of this, and seeing abilities like that on more creatures would allow for removal spells to still shift the battlefield without requiring creatures in fast environments to have an enter the battlefield effect or face a high risk of being written off. But even better than that would be permanents that can protect other, more valuable permanents from removal.

A keyword like Guardian X (pay X life: This permanent becomes the target of target spell or effect an opponent controls which targets a card you control. This permanent must be a legal target for that spell or effect.) could be a key to this change. I would avoid combining it with Flash, and make it primary in White. X would be higher the smaller and cheaper the creature with Guardian is - 4 or perhaps 5 on a 1/1 creature for W, 1 or 0 on a 5/6 creature for 3WWW.

[kayawagner]

Bloodlines & Black Magic: Whispers & Rumors

Publisher: Storm Bunny Studios

The Worlds You Don’t Know

  Hamlet had the right of it when he said, “There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

  The scope of human knowledge and endeavor is woefully limited, compared to the incalculable vastness of the cosmos as it truly is. Worlds – metaphysically speaking – lay atop, beneath, beside, and even within the warp and weave of the one that people take for granted as the truest, and perhaps only, face of reality. These many worlds abut and overlap one another, and, for the most part, those within any given plane of existence only perceive and interact with their own immediate environment. The average spirit in the infernal realm knows as little about what’s taking place in an Addis Ababa apartment as the people living in that apartment know about that’s spirit’s goings-on.

  The difference, of course, is that those existing firmly beyond the borders of mundanity are generally aware of the reality of the other worlds, and capable of interacting with the denizens of those places – though whether they can do so safely is another matter, entirely. The day-to-day world is a dangerous enough place, in many cases, and these realms beyond are even more so. It’s rare for entities originating in other planes of existence to visit the mundane world for what most humans would consider being benevolent purposes.

  In truth, there are seven “worlds” that exist within reality, at least as we know it. These worlds are the mundane, the secret worlds, the invisible world, the ethereal plane, the astral plane, the celestial plane, and the infernal plane. 

Playing an O7 Game

 Occult 7 - shortened to O7 throughout this book - is a variant rules system based on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Like much of the core of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, O7 is a game of enigmatic heroes who rise up against terrible dangers and overcome powerful, diabolical and earth-shattering foes. However, instead of using Pathfinder’s usual 20 levels of character progression, O7 uses only the first seven levels. This keeps characters in the “sweet spot” of adventuring. They are tough enough to take on the darkness but are still manageable. Adapted from the Epic 6 rules variant, O7 is designed specifically for Bloodlines & Black Magic and is intended to work with the classes presented in both Pathfinder Occult Adventures and the Pathfinder Advanced Class Guide, both of which are suggested for this setting.

Seven Secrets of Bloodlines & Black Magic.

1. Magic is real. For most of the world, magic is one of two things: a series of well-crafted illusions designed to entertain, or the unsubstantiated believe in loosely connected, human-driven events. While most people give magic little more than lip (or card) service, the truth is quite simple; magic exists.

  2. There are global elites. Both the occult and conspiracy communities have long pointed to a nameless, global, ruling elite who they believe is holding them back. While most rational humans wave off such conjecture, the truth is stranger still – there are global elites and they have a vested interest in keeping the masses dumb, fat, and divided.

  3. Monsters walk the night. Parents, the world over, tuck their children in with the same reassurances over and over. They open closet doors, look under beds, and click on night-lights to hold back the darkness, all of them repeating the same refrain; there are no monsters, go back to sleep. Those parents, like so much of the world, are wrong.

  4. The Power is in the Blood. Beyond the glass towers and exotic retreats of the global elite, a stranger group of people – many of who occupy thrones in the Invisible – play an even more delicate game with the world; these blooded humans, collected into bloodlines families, are the secret lineages of those who truly rule. Although some have waxed in influence, many of these bloodline families still exercise considerable power in the mundane – making kings from fools, changing national borders, and even reorganizing societies to suit their own, personal agendas.

5. We are Legion. Made famous in the New Testament, the Goëtic Spirits have long been at odds with the Archons, taking on forms from a wide array of cultures and myths. Some of the spirits could easily be traditionally considered demons or devils, although they are clearly in the minority. The Goëtic Spirits comprise a much larger, more diverse group than those commonly identified by the various monotheistic faiths.

  6. The Veil is real. Occultists, conspirators, refugees, activists, veterans, protestors, magicians, gamers, and weirdos – all of them have their own ideas of what is really going on in the world. Some of them actually have a clue, too. But the truth is, while some of those wild ideas might actually hold a little water, most of them are little more than hyped-up conjecture riding shotgun with a bunch of speculation. Which is exactly what the Archons want. The truth should make you sound crazy. Why? Because that’s how the Veil works...

  7. The Archons have a mission. Most people have no idea who or what the Archons are, much less what sort of mission they might have. The truth is, whatever the Archons are trying to do, it’s a slow march toward completion and keeping humanity in the dark is a big part of that mission. The few magicians who have discovered them know little about them, although a single word does keep reoccurring in plenty of conversations – stability. What that word means to them, however, is still a mystery for most.

The Bloodlines

With over seven billion people dominating the Earth, there are countless bloodlines that cross time and space - all of them carrying specific strands of DNA - that many come to learn to hold their own secret potentials. Although those with extremely narrow understanding rely on exterior appearances and or one’s ethnicity to judge the true worth of an individual, the wise know this is the first step down the path to folly. Racism is a deplorable human trait, one that most rational people would be happy to see wiped from the planet, but those who have pierced the veil know it is an altogether dangerous trait, as well. With billions of humans all vying for power at every level of society, those with the capability to do a little more - to pierce the darkness and see reality for what it really is, are a rare lot.

 For eons, these individuals grouped together, marrying into select families that could trace their roots to ancient peoples and, it is whispered, to the very entities that command the invisible realms beyond. Of course, these could be calculated fallacies - a longstanding fabrication used to justify everything from cronyism, nepotism, and in some of the darker corners of history, incest. Only those who have walked into the invisible know the stark, sobering truth….Some families hold power.

There are seven bloodlines. They are:

The Fey Blooded - Delicate and lively, individuals who carry the blood of the fey display strange insights. Some claim to suffer from otherworldly visions of both the future and past. Prominent throughout the Old World, fey blooded individuals often display interests in nature, environmentalism, and history - especially history related to Ireland, Scotland, Gaul, and even some of the Nordic lands. Mischievous to a fault, these individuals often rally around pranks, their impish and coy demeanors betraying their better nature. Quite a few display connections to the natural world that, in the past, would have marked them as witches and saw them burnt at the stake.

Nearly eliminated during the Dark Ages, this bloodline has seen a resurgence in the modern world that some have suggested could only be the work of the Seelie court itself.  Humans with this bloodline generally begin to display its traits during puberty.

Infernal Blooded - Cunning and strong, individuals with ties to this bloodline rarely discover the power of their blood until late into their teens, although some don’t manifest their abilities until their mid-twenties. Naturally intelligent, these individuals combine their wit with their strength, outwitting or strong-arming others into following their directions, regardless of their will.

 Unlike many others, individuals with infernal blood have an almost unnatural understanding of the Infernal realm’s three most profane laws; might makes right, self-preservation trumps sacrifice, and stupidity is a sin. Born with deep, almost reddish complexions that often match their demeanor, these individuals frequently display small, physical imperfections that set them apart, be it a blemish, mismatched eyes, off-color strands of silver or golden hair, and other oddities that are clear deviations from the norm for their ethnicity.

Dragon Blooded - Born cold, calculating, and prone to dreams of conquest outsiders rarely understand the dragon-blooded are a confident line – some who whisper their heritage is as old as the serpent that encircles the cosmic egg.

 Although many people chuckle at the idea of sleeping dragons, these individuals know all too well that the blood is as cold as it is ancient. Individuals from this bloodline often spend decades dedicated to self-mastery, tempering their spirits and directing their will in ways that, in the dawn of history, built entire empires. Although some dragon blooded humans claim their blood comes directly from dragons long lost to the modern world, nearly all humans from this bloodline can trace their ancestry back to the ancient empires of the world, both in the east and the west. Whether as royal emperors, peaceful philosophers, or modern dictators, the individuals who lay claim to the blood of dragons are not to be trifled with.

 Dragon-blooded humans always manifest their natural gifts before puberty. These bright children, when others of their kind notice them, are groomed throughout their young lives, growing into adults that naturally command their lessers. For some, this means long lives sequestered away in mountaintop temples, while for others it might mean something far more public – like ruling a nation.

Jinn Blooded - As passionate and dedicated as any modern dervish, jinn blooded humans have ties that predate the modern Middle East, their heritage arising from the Assyrian, Sumerian, and Babylonian conquerors who, under a burning red sun, worked ancient magic in the earliest dawn of man. Wise and tenacious, these individuals display a resilience rarely found in the modern world, many choosing paths that are anything but easy. Naturally predisposed to conflict, these men and women often excel as diplomats, as well - luring their enemies into a false sense of security before ending them with a single swing of their sword or, worse, an uttered word of ancient, lost magic.

 Although many jinn blooded humans can trace their heritage to the Fertile Crescent, not all of them hail from there. Natural explorers with a strong understanding of trade, many jinn blooded humans have settled throughout Europe, Australia, and the Americas - making them one of the most widespread bloodlines on the globe. Most humans that carry this bloodline begin to manifest its traits during puberty, although some late bloomers may not manifest their abilities until their early twenties.

Seraphic Blooded - Nearly as famous as their infernal siblings, seraphic blooded humans are wise and comely, many displaying a natural charisma that reveals their angelic roots, attracting others who simply want to bask in the presence. Attractive to a fault, these individuals display their bloodline in a number of physical ways; they have bright eyes, angular features, and silky hair that range from the dark of ravens’ feathers to the golden hues of the Valkyries themselves. A rare bloodline that has expanded to nearly every corner of the globe, seraphic blooded humans are incredibly uncommon, making up a part of the global population that is never recorded on any census – which is just how their families like it.

 Claiming a heritage with ties to divine figures or, in some stories, the very angels themselves, this bloodline is sometimes mistakenly attributed to the prophets of the Abrahamic faiths, leading to all sorts of cults, secret societies, and conspiracies. Whether or not these hold any water, of course, is a secret these individuals are not want to discuss.

Shadow Blooded - Of all the bloodlines, those who carry shadow-touched blood are perhaps the strangest of all the bloodlines. These rare individuals openly display a love of the dark and many of them openly avoid the daylight, some of which suffer from minor medical conditions that discourage activities like sunbathing, hiking, and a host of other outdoor activities. While others are quick to write them off as weirdos with gothic sensibilities, most who carry shadow’s blood don’t mind. In fact, many shadow blooded individuals are clannish wanderers who are as distrustful of outsiders as they are of them, creating a sort of mutually-beneficial xenophobia that has left this bloodline precisely where it wants to remain – in the shadows.

Predisposed to the divinatory arts, many shadow blooded humans claim that their knowledge of the supernatural exceeds that of the most notable of the Old World’s hermetic houses; whether or not this is true is open to debate, but one thing remains true - their understanding of magic far exceeds that of many other bloodlines. Shadow blooded humans commonly manifest their abilities in their late teens.

Spirit Blooded - Attuned to a world visited almost exclusively by dreamers, spirit blooded humans claim a heritage older than that of any other bloodline, many claiming that their very bodies are the world’s ancient spirits made flesh. Others claim they are the children of the dreaming realms, readily pointing to the Astral Plane as their original home. Natural medicine men, healers, and wise women, these individuals enjoy a degree of diversity many other bloodlines cannot lay claim to, with many individuals tracing their family lines back to central North Africa, the steppes of northern Asia, Aboriginal Australia, and pre-colonial North America.

 A bloodline with a strong connection to the Astral, spirit blooded humans excel as spiritualists and shamans, applying their innate understanding of the invisible world to modern problems, offering insights uncommon to our modern world. This connection, however, often haunts them, as many spirit-blooded humans have a hard time separating the two; the world of the spirit plaguing them in ways few grasp. Still, more and more of these individuals are stepping into the modern world; using their understanding of the spirits they court, this bloodline pushes back the darkness.

Spirit blooded individuals normally manifest their abilities during childhood, their invisible friends remaining by their sides throughout their adult lives.

Price: $1.99 Bloodlines & Black Magic: Whispers & Rumors published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com

[kayawagner]

Bloodlines & Black Magic - Episode 1: The Unloved Ones

Publisher: Storm Bunny Studios

The Unloved Ones

Episodes of Bloodlines & Black Magic are designed to be played in 3-4 hour sessions, but can easily be expanded or developed as needed.

In this episode, the PCs receive a mysterious package that ultimately summons them to Halifax, New Hampshire. There, they meet Jonathan Thatcher who has a simple, but a lucrative request - locate a missing wedding ring. Of course, learning the ring's location and recovering the ring isn't as easy as it sounds.

For 3-5 1st-2nd level O7 characters.

The Worlds You Don’t Know

  Hamlet had the right of it when he said, “There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

  The scope of human knowledge and endeavor is woefully limited, compared to the incalculable vastness of the cosmos as it truly is. Worlds – metaphysically speaking – lay atop, beneath, beside, and even within the warp and weave of the one that people take for granted as the truest, and perhaps only, face of reality. These many worlds abut and overlap one another, and, for the most part, those within any given plane of existence only perceive and interact with their own immediate environment. The average spirit in the infernal realm knows as little about what’s taking place in an Addis Ababa apartment as the people living in that apartment know about that’s spirit’s goings-on.

  The difference, of course, is that those existing firmly beyond the borders of mundanity are generally aware of the reality of the other worlds, and capable of interacting with the denizens of those places – though whether they can do so safely is another matter, entirely. The day-to-day world is a dangerous enough place, in many cases, and these realms beyond are even more so. It’s rare for entities originating in other planes of existence to visit the mundane world for what most humans would consider being benevolent purposes.

  In truth, there are seven “worlds” that exist within reality, at least as we know it. These worlds are the mundane, the secret worlds, the invisible world, the ethereal plane, the astral plane, the celestial plane, and the infernal plane. 

Playing an O7 Game

 Occult 7 - shortened to O7 throughout this book - is a variant rules system based on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Like much of the core of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, O7 is a game of enigmatic heroes who rise up against terrible dangers and overcome powerful, diabolical and earth-shattering foes. However, instead of using Pathfinder’s usual 20 levels of character progression, O7 uses only the first seven levels. This keeps characters in the “sweet spot” of adventuring. They are tough enough to take on the darkness but are still manageable. Adapted from the Epic 6 rules variant (add footer here), O7 is designed specifically for Bloodlines & Black Magic and is intended to work with the classes presented in both Pathfinder Occult Adventures and the Pathfinder Advanced Class Guide, both of which are suggested for this setting.

Seven Secrets of Bloodlines & Black Magic.

1. Magic is real. For most of the world, magic is one of two things: a series of well-crafted illusions designed to entertain, or the unsubstantiated believe in loosely connected, human-driven events. While most people give magic little more than lip (or card) service, the truth is quite simple; magic exists.

  2. There are global elites. Both the occult and conspiracy communities have long pointed to a nameless, global, ruling elite who they believe is holding them back. While most rational humans wave off such conjecture, the truth is stranger still – there are global elites and they have a vested interest in keeping the masses dumb, fat, and divided.

  3. Monsters walk the night. Parents, the world over, tuck their children in with the same reassurances over and over. They open closet doors, look under beds, and click on night-lights to hold back the darkness, all of them repeating the same refrain; there are no monsters, go back to sleep. Those parents, like so much of the world, are wrong.

  4. The Power is in the Blood. Beyond the glass towers and exotic retreats of the global elite, a stranger group of people – many of who occupy thrones in the Invisible – play an even more delicate game with the world; these blooded humans, collected into bloodlines families, are the secret lineages of those who truly rule. Although some have waxed in influence, many of these bloodline families still exercise considerable power in the mundane – making kings from fools, changing national borders, and even reorganizing societies to suit their own, personal agendas.

5. We are Legion. Made famous in the New Testament, the Goëtic Spirits have long been at odds with the Archons, taking on forms from a wide array of cultures and myths. Some of the spirits could easily be traditionally considered demons or devils, although they are clearly in the minority. The Goëtic Spirits comprise a much larger, more diverse group than those commonly identified by the various monotheistic faiths.

  6. The Veil is real. Occultists, conspirators, refugees, activists, veterans, protestors, magicians, gamers, and weirdos – all of them have their own ideas of what is really going on in the world. Some of them actually have a clue, too. But the truth is, while some of those wild ideas might actually hold a little water, most of them are little more than hyped-up conjecture riding shotgun with a bunch of speculation. Which is exactly what the Archons want. The truth should make you sound crazy. Why? Because that’s how the Veil works...

  7. The Archons have a mission. Most people have no idea who or what the Archons are, much less what sort of mission they might have. The truth is, whatever the Archons are trying to do, it’s a slow march toward completion and keeping humanity in the dark is a big part of that mission. The few magicians who have discovered them know little about them, although a single word does keep reoccurring in plenty of conversations – stability. What that word means to them, however, is still a mystery for most.

The Bloodlines

With over seven billion people dominating the Earth, there are countless bloodlines that cross time and space - all of them carrying specific strands of DNA - that many come to learn to hold their own secret potentials. Although those with extremely narrow understanding rely on exterior appearances and or one’s ethnicity to judge the true worth of an individual, the wise know this is the first step down the path to folly. Racism is a deplorable human trait, one that most rational people would be happy to see wiped from the planet, but those who have pierced the veil know it is an altogether dangerous trait, as well. With billions of humans all vying for power at every level of society, those with the capability to do a little more - to pierce the darkness and see reality for what it really is, are a rare lot.

 For eons, these individuals grouped together, marrying into select families that could trace their roots to ancient peoples and, it is whispered, to the very entities that command the invisible realms beyond. Of course, these could be calculated fallacies - a longstanding fabrication used to justify everything from cronyism, nepotism, and in some of the darker corners of history, incest. Only those who have walked into the invisible know the stark, sobering truth….Some families hold power.

There are seven bloodlines. They are:

The Fey Blooded - Delicate and lively, individuals who carry the blood of the fey display strange insights. Some claim to suffer from otherworldly visions of both the future and past. Prominent throughout the Old World, fey blooded individuals often display interests in nature, environmentalism, and history - especially history related to Ireland, Scotland, Gaul, and even some of the Nordic lands. Mischievous to a fault, these individuals often rally around pranks, their impish and coy demeanors betraying their better nature. Quite a few display connections to the natural world that, in the past, would have marked them as witches and saw them burnt at the stake.

Nearly eliminated during the Dark Ages, this bloodline has seen a resurgence in the modern world that some have suggested could only be the work of the Seelie court itself.  Humans with this bloodline generally begin to display its traits during puberty.

Infernal Blooded - Cunning and strong, individuals with ties to this bloodline rarely discover the power of their blood until late into their teens, although some don’t manifest their abilities until their mid-twenties. Naturally intelligent, these individuals combine their wit with their strength, outwitting or strong-arming others into following their directions, regardless of their will.

 Unlike many others, individuals with infernal blood have an almost unnatural understanding of the Infernal realm’s three most profane laws; might makes right, self-preservation trumps sacrifice, and stupidity is a sin. Born with deep, almost reddish complexions that often match their demeanor, these individuals frequently display small, physical imperfections that set them apart, be it a blemish, mismatched eyes, off-color strands of silver or golden hair, and other oddities that are clear deviations from the norm for their ethnicity.

Dragon Blooded - Born cold, calculating, and prone to dreams of conquest outsiders rarely understand the dragon-blooded are a confident line – some who whisper their heritage is as old as the serpent that encircles the cosmic egg.

 Although many people chuckle at the idea of sleeping dragons, these individuals know all too well that the blood is as cold as it is ancient. Individuals from this bloodline often spend decades dedicated to self-mastery, tempering their spirits and directing their will in ways that, in the dawn of history, built entire empires. Although some dragon blooded humans claim their blood comes directly from dragons long lost to the modern world, nearly all humans from this bloodline can trace their ancestry back to the ancient empires of the world, both in the east and the west. Whether as royal emperors, peaceful philosophers, or modern dictators, the individuals who lay claim to the blood of dragons are not to be trifled with.

 Dragon-blooded humans always manifest their natural gifts before puberty. These bright children, when others of their kind notice them, are groomed throughout their young lives, growing into adults that naturally command their lessers. For some, this means long lives sequestered away in mountaintop temples, while for others it might mean something far more public – like ruling a nation.

Jinn Blooded - As passionate and dedicated as any modern dervish, jinn blooded humans have ties that predate the modern Middle East, their heritage arising from the Assyrian, Sumerian, and Babylonian conquerors who, under a burning red sun, worked ancient magic in the earliest dawn of man. Wise and tenacious, these individuals display a resilience rarely found in the modern world, many choosing paths that are anything but easy. Naturally predisposed to conflict, these men and women often excel as diplomats, as well - luring their enemies into a false sense of security before ending them with a single swing of their sword or, worse, an uttered word of ancient, lost magic.

 Although many jinn blooded humans can trace their heritage to the Fertile Crescent, not all of them hail from there. Natural explorers with a strong understanding of trade, many jinn blooded humans have settled throughout Europe, Australia, and the Americas - making them one of the most widespread bloodlines on the globe. Most humans that carry this bloodline begin to manifest its traits during puberty, although some late bloomers may not manifest their abilities until their early twenties.

Seraphic Blooded - Nearly as famous as their infernal siblings, seraphic blooded humans are wise and comely, many displaying a natural charisma that reveals their angelic roots, attracting others who simply want to bask in the presence. Attractive to a fault, these individuals display their bloodline in a number of physical ways; they have bright eyes, angular features, and silky hair that range from the dark of ravens’ feathers to the golden hues of the Valkyries themselves. A rare bloodline that has expanded to nearly every corner of the globe, seraphic blooded humans are incredibly uncommon, making up a part of the global population that is never recorded on any census – which is just how their families like it.

 Claiming a heritage with ties to divine figures or, in some stories, the very angels themselves, this bloodline is sometimes mistakenly attributed to the prophets of the Abrahamic faiths, leading to all sorts of cults, secret societies, and conspiracies. Whether or not these hold any water, of course, is a secret these individuals are not want to discuss.

Shadow Blooded - Of all the bloodlines, those who carry shadow-touched blood are perhaps the strangest of all the bloodlines. These rare individuals openly display a love of the dark and many of them openly avoid the daylight, some of which suffer from minor medical conditions that discourage activities like sunbathing, hiking, and a host of other outdoor activities. While others are quick to write them off as weirdos with gothic sensibilities, most who carry shadow’s blood don’t mind. In fact, many shadow blooded individuals are clannish wanderers who are as distrustful of outsiders as they are of them, creating a sort of mutually-beneficial xenophobia that has left this bloodline precisely where it wants to remain – in the shadows.

Predisposed to the divinatory arts, many shadow blooded humans claim that their knowledge of the supernatural exceeds that of the most notable of the Old World’s hermetic houses; whether or not this is true is open to debate, but one thing remains true - their understanding of magic far exceeds that of many other bloodlines. Shadow blooded humans commonly manifest their abilities in their late teens.

Spirit Blooded - Attuned to a world visited almost exclusively by dreamers, spirit blooded humans claim a heritage older than that of any other bloodline, many claiming that their very bodies are the world’s ancient spirits made flesh. Others claim they are the children of the dreaming realms, readily pointing to the Astral Plane as their original home. Natural medicine men, healers, and wise women, these individuals enjoy a degree of diversity many other bloodlines cannot lay claim to, with many individuals tracing their family lines back to central North Africa, the steppes of northern Asia, Aboriginal Australia, and pre-colonial North America.

 A bloodline with a strong connection to the Astral, spirit blooded humans excel as spiritualists and shamans, applying their innate understanding of the invisible world to modern problems, offering insights uncommon to our modern world. This connection, however, often haunts them, as many spirit-blooded humans have a hard time separating the two; the world of the spirit plaguing them in ways few grasp. Still, more and more of these individuals are stepping into the modern world; using their understanding of the spirits they court, this bloodline pushes back the darkness.

Spirit blooded individuals normally manifest their abilities during childhood, their invisible friends remaining by their sides throughout their adult lives.

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