#and then you have the whole thing about him being the grand sage and how that can be considered as him becoming the right hand of god after

[polrification]

okay 1 1/2 paragraphs done with this assignment and once I'm finished with the second I mgiht start scouring the genshin and honkai wikis for my crackpot hunch

[yostresswritinggirl]

What Do You Mean I'm The New Grand Sage?!

Alhaitham, Cyno, Tighnari, Kaveh x Grand Sage! Reader; separate, gender neutral

In some twisted turn of events, Lesser Lord Kusanali herself thought you are the best candidate for the position of the Akademiya's Grand Sage. From a Haravatat Researcher to soon running a whole region, how do you deal with this? And do the prodigal scholars approve of you?

'It's been weeks now and there's still no proper Grand Sage.'

'If it were me, I would have fired the two remaining sages, they might scheme as revenge.'

'How can we trust the choices of the next Grand Sage anyways? What if history repeats itself?'

Despite the House of Daena being respectfully quiet with only murmurs and mumbles from the surrounding entourage, these unspoken words taunt and occupy the mind of the Dendro Archon as she takes into account all the thoughts of her people regarding the matter.

All the candidates for the Grand Sage and other sage positions, as well as the exceptional figures of each darshan (some of which are familiar to her) crowd around the table where the Lesser Lord situated herself.

Unfortunately, based on Nahida's standards, none of them qualify for the position.

"Lesser Lord Kusanali?" Opening her eyes, Nahida tilts her head to the Scribe situated on a seat next to her, a quill unused in his hand. "Is something the matter?"

"Just deep in thought." Crossing her arms, the god of wisdom would hum to herself as she tapped her chin. "For example, what would the new Grand Sage do once they get appointed?" And with that, she closed her eyes again.

As expected, more thoughts filtered through her mind as the audience took the bait and began pondering on the provoking question in their minds.

'Just do what the past Grand Sage did? Minus the evil? This is easy.'

'As a Grand Sage, I would probably fire all the personnel, they can't be trusted.'

'Cultivate wisdom and govern Sumeru as best as possible, right?'

'With the Lesser Lord in power, probably just answer to what she wants.'

'Hm, to what extent did Azar mess up the system anyways? It would definitely be good to fix the things that he deliberately abused as soon as possible, right? The unnecessary laws, look into the international affair decisions he's done too, he might have signed contracts that would be damaging to Sumeru in the long run -'

A hit! But an unfamiliar voice. Opening her eyes, the god of wisdom looked around the area to look for the voice to match a face.

"Are you looking for something, Lord Kusanali?" Cyno straightened up on his stance by her side as he watched the archon stand on her seat. The action urged him to scan the area too, albeit for different reasons.

'Why am I thinking about this right now? I should really hurry home -'

"Over there!" The crowd parts like the sea as everyone in the area turned towards someone in researcher garb. Which looks to be... drenched in water. Looking up from wringing the sleeves of your robe, you finally notice all the attention on you.

"Ah! Sorry about the mess, I fell in the fountain in front of -"

"You shall be the new Grand Sage, (Y/N)."

The whole Akademiya seemed to have quieted down to the point that you could hear the individual droplets of water splatter from your hair on to the marble flooring of the House of Daena.

"Huh?"

And like catharsis, everyone exploded in exclamations of disbelief. Including you.

"With their determination alone, their steadfast effort is enough to shape them to the right person to hold the title of Grand Sage."

With the absence of the Akasha Terminal and the person that holds records of documentations and research, Alhaitham was reasonably the person that people flocked towards for information about you. Despite the inconvenience, there are a lucky few that the Scribe entertained.

The male personally knows you as a Haravatat graduate who researched about the current civilization and quality of life of Sumeru in great detail, something that honored your name for being their darshan's most cited thesis. And when asked about your eligibility to be the next Grand Sage, he repeats those words, even when the archon herself asked.

After all, he himself had been privy to that determination. Your dedication to graduate and use your knowledge to create something worthwhile, beneficial, purposeful. A kind of vigor for knowledge so pure and immense that not even he remembers having the same amount of passion.

Even now as he pretends to be occupied with his book, he watches as you practically lay on the huge table for Azar the Grand Sage in exhaustion, Alhaitham was confident that your sighs results from your worry of finding the best solution.

He lowers his eyes back to the pages just in time with you finally lifting your head. "Alhaitham?" He pretends the small smile was out of politeness, not because you have yet to get accustomed to being entirely formal with him.

"Yes, Future Grand Sage?" Alhaitham masks his voiceless laugh with the book in his hand at the sight of you huffing, sputtering at the foreign title.

"Azar had you draft the gazette when he makes up a new law or order, right?" He nods, you grip your head as if you were having a headache, which is quite likely at this point. "If you don't mind, do you think you can give me a copy of all of the laws he created? And the meeting transcripts too?"

"That is certainly doable. However," you straightened up when Alhaitham stood across the table to stare you eye to eye, placing his book on your table. "That would be hundreds of documents to go through, are you sure you're able to utilize that amount for your perusing?"

The expression on your face showed that you haven't exactly accounted that part. But there it was, that flicker in your eyes that captures you so perfectly, the perseverance that had always kept you afloat. Now he can bare witness to it. "I'm sure."

Even if he didn't have to, Alhaitham stayed by your side the whole time, assisting you about certain laws and contexts if you ever needed it.

And when you fell asleep on the table after hours of reading, he immediately placed his cape on your shoulders, because you needed it.

Surprisingly enough, Alhaitham is the one who puts in a good word about your designation out of all of them.

What they're unaware of is that he's quite fond of you and your prestige, being in the same darshan had him subtly defending you from the rumors other darshans/candidates spread.

You should be grateful that you have Alhaitham as your Scribe. Not only is he meticulous and dedicated to his work, but he acts as your assistant with how closely related your positions are.

Perhaps his usefulness and help also stems with the fact that he was the most recommended candidate before he declined, and the knowledge he had honestly makes him look like your master and you his apprentice.

A lot of times, you end up comparing yourself to him when you feel like you're lacking.

Thankfully, Alhaitham's perceptive made him aware of your tells, and knows when you're having such thoughts. He would try to derail that train of thought immediately, subtly remind you of your progress, or straight up tell you you're wrong.

For such an emotionless co-worker, he sure does well with being your hypeman.

"A lack of harmonious relationship with the archon, even with the people of Sumeru, became the downfall of Azar, . That level of respect is crucial in ensuring that history would not repeat itself."

As Lesser Lord Kusanali's main guardian, it was only logical that his beliefs about what the new grand sage should embody reflects that. And perhaps there were also some details that influenced his opinion, details that he would never elaborate on.

This isn't the first time he had been less receptive to the decisions of the archon (the first being the punishment of the Sages, if you can even call it that) but this one has more potential to go awry than any other.

His cold stare only grew colder, sharper, now that you've been assigned the highest seat in the Akademiya. You can tell his prejudices without him having to spell it out.

The harshest of glares usually happen when you request an audience with the god of wisdom, him always standing by her side in case you become hostile. Which is honestly quite a hilarious take - you? Harming a god? But with the history of the previous Grand Sage's you can't exactly call his fault.

In your case however, despite the stories of Cyno's job as the General Mahamatra, you never once feared the possibility of his judgment on you as an academic. After all, if you had done nothing bad, then you're out of his case, right? So as far as you know, this is your first time knowing about each other's presence.

Although, being nominated after you fell in the Akademiya's fountain and made a mess everywhere you walked certainly isn't the best first impression.

However, after one too many times you feel a chill up your spine yet see no one when you look around the area for a possible cause, you're starting to suspect that he may know you more than you know him.

"She's currently resting in the Sanctuary of Surasthana, don't -"

"Ah, no, I'm not here to ask about Lesser Lord Kusanali today." At your sheepish demeanor, Cyno opted to close his mouth and wait for your reason to approach him. So you continued. "I was actually hoping if you could accompany me to Aaru Village."

"The desert?" Why him?

"I've heard that you've been closely working with Lesser Lord Kusanali to rebuild the relations with the desert side of Sumeru." Your fidgeting made him notice the thick notebook tucked under your arm. "I wanted to ask questions about the details, as well as see for myself what else could be done."

There was a long pause of silence that passed by with you mostly avoiding looking into his eyes directly. Humbled but respectful. Cyno sighs. "You're not in proper attire to journey to the desert, nor do you have the proper equipment." Your gaze followed his retreating form until he stopped and looked over his shoulder to you. "Are you coming or what? Standing around does not count as preparing."

"Right! I'm on it!"

It was a long process, but you managed to convince Cyno of your worth, especially when it comes to your efforts to help the desert. He had seen it all himself and at this point he couldn't deny it any further.

Cyno would find his tailing to be out of security instead of suspicion, often times finding himself walking by your side as your protector whenever you had to go out. After all, you're still an important figure, your safety is high priority.

Soon, it would be you who he would go to concerning updates about the desert, hearing out your efforts for rehabilitation. Your desert internship program to help Setaria with her education efforts is by far his favorite.

Despite being the General Mahamatra, he found a bit of his job description changing: being the protector of the Dendro Archon and the new Grand Sage.

Whenever you have to cross to the desert to either talk with the village chief or negotiate with the Eremites, he would always find time in his schedule to be your escort.

Perhaps it was his mistake to doubt Alhaitham's judgment on this one. At the very least, Cyno became your ever reliable check-and-balance.

"At the end of the day, well intentions are enough of a factor to understand the path one would trek no matter the adversaries."

Tighnari was positive that he wouldn't have to deal with the Akademiya anymore after Lesser Lord Kusanali, maybe even enjoy a more peaceful life in the forest now that the Withering had stopped spawning together with Eleazar disappearing.

But of course, the exiled sages just had to be dropped into his forest for their 'tap on the wrist' punishment. Perhaps that would be the end of the Akademiya pestering him now that there's no need to exploit him for some evil scheme.

Well, the world had never been to kind to the forest watcher, what would make this any different? The hybrid would sigh as he watched a group donning Akademiya robes approach Ghandarva Ville, none of which he's familiar with.

This is a larger group compared to the ones the previous sages trying to coerce him back to the city brought - now that he squints, there seem to be Corps of Thirsty members tailing the group, too. This doesn't bode well at all.

At least Cyno's there. "And what business do you have in Ghandarva Ville to cause such a ruckus so early in the day?" Straight to the point, Tighnari stares dryly at the person that seems to be in charge of the group.

However, at the sight of Cyno freezing up in his peripheral, the forest watcher immediately realized that this is unlike any other encounters he had dealt with. Unlike the arrogance of the other scholars and sages, he could see how you looked conflicted from speaking.

"Seeing as you don't look to be well-informed," ah there's the Akademiya scholar he expected. The researcher gestures to you. "The Future Grand Sage is here to see the exiled former sages in hopes to interview them about their previous positions."

He wants to bite back, he really does - why was he not informed beforehand? Why are there so many personnel with you? How sure are they that you are not trying to conspire with Azar? Why are YOU the next grand sage?

"Alright." And he will never admit the relief he felt when your despondent look immediately lifted at his response. "It's a bit of a walk from here. And being the person assigned to oversee their training, I would like to be there during the exchange too."

"Thank you." You cut off the arrogant spokesperson before he even uttered a single word of protest, presenting a bulky journal in your hand to the forest watcher. "I actually prepared a set of questions to ask that you could verify -"

Old habits die hard, and admittedly, Tighnari didn't want to treat you more than the people he works with everyday, the people around you can easily do that for him. But he refrained from letting any past prejudice cloud his judgment on your character: there is undoubtedly something different about you in comparison to the old sages, and he didn't want his attitude to change that.

One day during one of your many visits however, Tighnari may have spilled a bit about his discontent about the attention your entourage brings to his forest. Even with you next in charge, he still dislikes bringing the affairs of the Akademiya to the forest rangers' territory.

He thought his words was out of pocket when letters of notice regarding your arrival ceased. Did you get all the information you needed from the sages? Or was what he said finally drove you away? That wasn't at all his intentions.

One random encounter brought him answer when the suspicious cloaked figure waving at him from behind a tree turned out to be you. "You said you didn't want my personnel to come so I decided to visit discreetly from now on."

At least you were... considerate. Conversation came easy without multiple glares constantly stabbing him in the back, talking about your progress as well as the conditions of Ghandarva Ville on the way to the training area of the sages.

While he was wary and skeptical about your appointment despite his utmost trust in the dendro archon's judgment, Tighnari soon came to accept your honesty and determination.

That transparency and good-intended perseverance are what Azar lacked, but under your rule, perhaps Sumeru would really be in good hands now.

Tighnari leaned against the tree as he watched your passionate discussion with the previous Haravatat sage. Undeniably, you as you are now without the title, greatly reminds him of someone dear.

"We've long realized that wisdom alone begets arrogance. Perhaps fixing the prejudices against the pursuit of art and whatever this and that Azar has gotten his grubby hands on should be first priority."

"Let me through! I must speak with them, this is important matter, too! If the new grand sage is really -"

Turning your head towards the commotion, your conversation with Alhaitham ended shortly as a tuft of blonde became visible from the sea of Mahamata's trying to keep him away from you.

Patting the imaginary dust off his sleeves, Kaveh would look into your baffled gaze with unyielding resolve. "I've heard you had been meticulously gathering the opinions of Sumeru and thought I could be of help."

"Exercise some tact, Kaveh, we're in the presence of the appointed Grand Sage here."

"I don't need your sass today, Scribe -"

"No, it's fine, Alhaitham. I was actually planning on talking to Kaveh at some point, anyways." Wait, you are? Kaveh dumbfoundedly asked as he watched you move a few books around to get to a worn out journal under the pile. "I assume you're here to represent the arts."

Besides the conversation, Kaveh insists he takes you out to the Bazaar and his magnum opus to properly showcase the culture. Alhaitham, who looked positively displeased of the impromptu outing, had to stay back to focus on documenting a new batch of submitted thesis.

It was endearing to see someone as passionate about change in Sumeru as you talk about the harmful acts Azar published against the Bazaar and the pursuit of arts. Well, what else can you expect from the Light of the Kshahrewar?

Talking to him about anything and everything felt like you were conversing with friends, a very vocal and expressive friend. Especially when you're introduced to the Palace of Alcazarzaray, something he looks at with both pride and regret.

"I am simply making sure that Alhaitham had not brainwashed you with his sense of morality. Knowing him, you won't gather such thoughts about the importance of arts from him."

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention." You really were, after running around from here to both ends of Sumeru, you're very grateful that your source of info decided to come to you instead. "It's not an easy feat trying to undo 500 years worth of corruption."

"I can already see how Sumeru would be under your care." He flashes a genuine smile. "Thank you for hearing me out as well, future Grand Sage, I'm rooting for you. You're already doing much better than the previous Grand Sage."

It was a simple reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, but when he finally sobered up from the feeling of elation, Kaveh can't help but scream to his pillow about how buddy-buddy he acted to THE FUTURE GRAND SAGE!

Kaveh offers a fresh perspective and a lighter, reassuring encouragement in comparison. Perhaps being the person who knows less of the details helped form a positive judgment.

Like Tighnari, he keeps a level-headed approach when it comes to your position, but less about respect and more on shared beliefs.

When it comes to efforts to rehabilitate certain areas, Kaveh is always quick to offer his guidance and opinion. He knows you trust him due to his honesty and genuine want for a better future for Sumeru.

He's also the type to casually waltz in to your office when he has a brilliant idea or important information to share. At this point, he's talked to you more than the new Kshahrewar sage - if he's so adamant to be heard, why didn't he accept the nomination?

Whenever he stumbles upon you when you're outside or he sees you pondering the giant orb™ in your office, he's quick to voice his concern and urge you to take a break.

His intentions recently are hard to read, but he really does believe in you, and he's not shy to voice that fact.

You just find yourself missing the quietness of your office before Alhaitham and Kaveh's banter in front of your table became commonplace.

"The Akademiya and Sumeru as a whole would surely flourish under this new samsara if I were to lead it with you by my side."

Lesser Lord Kusanali gives a knowing look at the sight of you standing straight in the presence of the archon, opting to offer your seat (which she declined) and refusing to sit down as a sign of respect.

She didn't need to read your mind to know. "How have you been? I've heard from the others that you've been working really hard to prepare for your inauguration."

Conscious, you pulled at the grey sleeve signifying your position as the current sage of Haravatat. Admittedly, it was a little stiff and stuffy for you, thicker and more uncomfortable than your uniforms in the Akademiya as a scholar and researcher. You missed those times.

"I've gathered a lot of opinions and information about operating as a sage as well as the current matters of Sumeru." Nahida smiles widely at this, before her expression faltered when you still had a bothered look on your face.

As far as she knows, you've gathered all the resources you need, more than you need even. So why do you seem troubled still despite your meticulous preparation? "Is there something in your mind?"

"I don't - I respect your wisdom, I really do and I'm honored that you think of me this way. But I'm - is this really the right decision? Am I really fit for this?"

Oh, so it's about that! You looked up from your journal laying on the table at the sound of the dendro archon's giggles, not at all expecting that reaction. Was your question that laughable?

"Not at all, I'm just amazed that you haven't noticed." Floating over to where you stood, her tiny hands reached up to give you - head pats? Embarrassed but too scared to deny, you took the gesture. "Since that day, I was certain that there would be no other puzzle piece that would fit the position of Grand Sage other than you."

You part your lips to interject, but she was quicker.

"And besides, there are many who share my view. I'm not the only one who believes in you, and you will see it for yourself when the time comes."

"When the time comes?" Holding on to your hand, Nahida starts pulling you towards the elevator and out of the House of Daena. Only when you reached the double doors of the Akademiya did she finally let go.

"You have these doubts because you are a good person, (Y/N). And even then, your own thoughts cloud your mind from seeing that the only person that doubts you now," Nahida would gesture towards the door. "Is you."

Looking back and forth between the entrance and Nahida's encouraging smile, you took a deep breath before pushing open the door -

Only to be met by a roar of cheers and explosion of applause.

Your fellow Sages, Alhaitham, Cyno, Kaveh, even Tighnari (with his ears pressed down) stood near the entrance with smiles of their own. But looking past the Akademiya staff and scholars, a crowd made up of Sumeru citizens from Port Ormos, the Bazaar, Ghandarva Ville, and even Aaru Village occupy the platform and every inch of the paths going up and down the Divine Tree.

Their collective chants mixed together to convey their utmost respect and belief in you.

"Every single one of them are here to root for you," turning to your side, Nahida stood next to you with a gray hat cradled on her palms. "Grand Sage."

Biting your lip to stop a big wobbly grin, you finally let out a relieved sigh as you kneeled in front of the god of wisdom, closing your eyes as she walked forward to place the hat of the Grand Sage on your head.

"People of Sumeru, may I present to you the new Grand Sage, (Y/N)."

The overwhelming amount of support from everyone made you take off your monocle to rub at your eyes.

And when your biggest supporters stepped forward to congratulate you, everything felt just right.

You got this.

Can't believe my random idea got written first lmaao alright we're in the good feels arc now

@ireallylikehamsters

[ixiot-ghostrebel]

Hello there sagau brain rot like in many sagau versions reader/creator are often to soft to kind to my taste and then Idea comes to my head what if creator reader shows his cruler uncaring side to the pepole he truly hates or thinks deserve thier wrath like I can image that in place of raiden shogun the creator kills Singniora after begin defeated by traveler, azar the grand sage after whole begin in that day loop, and scaramouche when he had audacity to think that by begin inside giant mech he is now a God becose even if the creator is the kindest begin in tevyat.....his wrath has no bounds

@zardas75 welcome back to my very dead mailbox LOL—Let me see what I can come up with with your brainrot.

I don't fully get the Raiden Shogun vs Signora part, so I'm going to (unfortunately) not include that in this post.

The Creator Being Moody Fr (Jkjk—Unless? 👀)

(Disclaimer: Might Be OOC & Spoilers to the Genshin Impact Archon Quest Lore!)

Boy oh boy...where to begin...

To put it simply: It's Azar's Fault. Blame and point your fingers to the rusty old man, bois, we ain't forgiving him any time soon. It all started with him.

The moment you saw him in the Archon Quest, you knew, without even needing the slightest hint of evidence, that you did not like him and he was sus.

And when things escalated throughout the Archon Quest, you swore so loudly it shook the entire nation of Sumeru, if not all of Teyvat.

Here were Some of the Sumeru People's Reactions:

Cyno

He finished his confrontation with Azar and was waiting outside when you swore like your life depended on it. During his entire time being under your presence, Cyno was aware of how much you hated the guy—every moment you had gotten, you were seething and spouting insults from your mouth about Azar.

Even the General Mahamatra was stunned and shocked to the very core. He didn't you could and would do this.

And when you made it clear that your tantrum was yet to end, Cyno just braced himself for the fate of Sumeru to be in your hands.

"At least Azar is truly facing the wrathful judgement of the gods..." he mutters to himself, trying to convince himself of the situation at hand.

(Meanwhile You in the background: "YOU MF HOW DARE YOU. HOW DARE YOUUUU I WILL F—KING KILL YOU IF YOU CONTINUE THIS YOU SON OF A B—")

Scaramouche & Nahida

(Decided to add them both here since It's the False God Fight. This is kinda for the sake of convenience—)

Nahida never knew such intense emotion could ever erupt from Their High, Almighty Grace, and here you are, cursing and insulting Scaramouche. It wasn't as bad as Azar's, since you weren't throwing in any "I will have your head by morning" or anything similar threats, but it was still pretty intense.

Scaramouche, on the other hand, has heard you yelling at the old man Azar, and he already been yelled at for—quote on quote—"killing Teppei" (REST IN PEACE, TEPPEI 😭), so he knows what your wrath was like.

He did not like it then, and he still doesn't like it now. That much was a solid fact. Nevertheless, he has an image to uphold, especially in front of that Buer.

"Their Almighty Grace is really mad..." Nahida thought as they were confronting Scaramouche. (Cue you in the background still insulting Azar) "And it seems they won't be forgiving Azar anytime soon..."

"So, Their Grace still hasn't let go of their grudge against me..." Scaramouche mutters to himself once he was out of the view of Their Almighty Grace in his mecha. "Tch. Whatever...I'll make them see my true potential one I've squashed these insects."

Dehya

She knew you were explosive. She's seen it happen by the way you were cheering to beat Rahman's ass and "save the kid's grandpa!"

She knew you were pretty emotional on behalf of them. She's pretty happy and honored about that—that means Teyvat meant a lot to you.

What she was not expecting was to hear you curse and scream at Azar at the top of your lungs, as if that was the only enjoyment you were able to indulge yourself in.

You sounded murderous, and yet here you were, just yelling. Dehya would've shrugged it off, since she understood getting things out of your system was good, but she was not expecting the world to shake with your voice.

She looks over at Rahman. "You think Their Grace is handling this well?" "Probably not...Hard to say, Dehya." "Well, we'll just have to wait it out, then. They'll get it out of their system...eventually..."

Dehya was not expecting to wait until after beating the False God for it to be truly over. Gosh, that was scary...

Tighnari

He sensed that you didn't like Azar the moment you saw him, and frankly, he's pretty glad you don't trust him too. What he wasn't expecting was your explosive personality.

For all the stories about the Almighty Creator's kind and gentle nature, you were ANYTHING but. And you were proving it HARD.

Tighnari thought he heard it all when he got struck by lightning. Boy, was he wrong, because you just one-upped his expectations with the amount of cussing, cursing, threats, and insults you were hurtling in one go, streaming out of your mouth like you were running a marathon with your words.

So here he was, waiting in some form of dread in Pardis Dhyai, waiting if you were going to strike down the Akademiya with your godly might.

"I hope they don't accidentally blow up all of Sumeru..." he mutters to himself as he prays to all the archons that the nation wouldn't be turned into water or something.

Alhaitham

He should have taken account of your behaviour to the plan. You did play a crucial part. That was the sole mistake he overlooked.

Then again...it didn't seem like you were doing anything other than yelling at Azar...So perhaps the plan wouldn't change all that much.

He should keep in mind of how reactive you are, though. You...remind of his roommate sometimes...

"Hm. It seems Their Grace has yet to let Azar go of their scandal." He says it so calmly as he waits in Aaru Village. Candace stands a few feet away, looking unsure of what was going on—and probably praying that Their Almighty Grace won't strike down Sumeru in their anger against the rogue Grand Sage.

And let's not talk about the Traveler or Paimon. Those two are both used to it and still terrified. But they're okay with you dw 👍

Ghost Rebel Side Notes: IM COMING BACK WOOO! I'm so excited! There's been quite a few more requests than I usually got back in the past, so I'm a little stoked. They'll be out real soon, but I hope you enjoy this one! Hopefully I'll have time to do them all! :D

✦ Check out The Ghost Rebel’s Blog Description & Info Page to See if Their Mailbox is Open! ✦

[rhenuvee]

Table for Two [Alhaitham x reader]

Summary: Alhaitham receives a love letter from you, and after reading your words he tries to find you, except you seem a little shy to come face to face with him...

Warnings, A/N: reader is gn and portrayed as shy/anxious, this was written on a whim because I literally had a dream about this... ANYWAY-

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

"Hi, um- excuse me... Alhaitham?"

You have just entered the cafe where he would be relaxing while drinking his coffee. Alhaitham feels a light tap on his shoulder, and he looks up from his book. He sees you; a familiar Akademiya student by your attire, and nervous from the way you're avoiding eye contact (but still trying to maintain it) and the slight quiver of your lips.

Oh how you wish you could just disintegrate right here and now. You've been harboring a bit of a crush on the Scribe, or Acting Grand Sage now. It's a bit silly when you think of it, though... because you most definitely are catching feelings over miniscule things that Alhaitham probably doesn't bat an eye to.

The word "crush - romantically " doesn't exactly exist in an Akademiya student's vocabulary. If anything, that word would be used to describe what they wish a giant boulder would do to them before an exam.

You were working with other Ksharewar students on a project, when the renowned architect Kaveh came by to give suggestions. A while later, Alhaitham came by and it didn't take long for them to start bickering. Nonetheless, you and the other students continued to work on your parts. It wasn't until a shadow was looming over you, and by the shape of the cape you started sweating, already knowing who it was.

"Did you make this?" Alhaitham says while crouching down to your level to meet your gaze. Your eyes widened, being so close to the Scribe (who not to mention, is quite good looking as well).

"Yes... right now we're testing different methods of insulation since the location in Sumeru is closer to Fontaine, so the air is more moist..." You try to give a confident answer, while Alhaitham has a thinking face.

"Hmm, I'll admit this is impressive." The Scribe says quietly. Your heart fluttered at the compliment, even if it was directed to the whole group, but it made you glad that Alhaitham is not as stoic as he is said to be. It wasn't long until a voice interrupted your thoughts.

"What was that Alhaitham? Speak up I couldn't hear you." Kaveh says with his arms crossed. It seems he secretly heard the comment Alhaitham said and wanted him to admit this project he was leading was good. Alhaitham stands up and leaves to bicker with Kaveh some more.

"The only reason you can't hear me is because of all that hammering you do every night."

"Why- you!"

And a few days after that, you leave the Akademiya to go to the nearest river to dunk one of your industrial projects to cool it down. Suddenly you take notice of a figure sitting nearby, which turns out to be Alhaitham when you give him a second glance. To your surprise, he looks up from his book and gives you a small wave. The Scribe? Waving? At you? Clearly Teyvat is an upside-down world. You ended up awkardly waving back, then realizing how embarrassing it was wearing all your safety gear from before and being covered in dirt.

He looks at you and points at his forehead. Forehead? What? You look at him confusedly until he beckons you to come over and you do. He stands up, leaving his book opened on the ground. Then he reaches his hand towards your forehead and brushes some scraps that have been dusted onto your hair.

“You’ve got wood dust on your hair. You must have been working hard.” he says casually. You are taken aback again as he says something you never thought he would, and you manage to utter out an “I guess so” and “thank you” before he has a small conversation with you, then both of you going back to what you were doing.

Point is, there have been interactions with him like these in the past few weeks have been making you all lovey dovey. You’re hoping that Alhaitham will at least be willing to go somewhere with you even if he doesn’t return your feelings.

"Thank you, I'll... take a look at it." Alhaitham says with a slight suspicion in his voice. You nod and quickly run to exit the cafe. Oh god oh god oh god… you may just have to pay a visit to the statue of the seven to pray to Lesser Lord Kusanali to summon something to eat you alive. Oh but as if that would help you. Even in the afterlife it would come haunting. What were you thinking?

“Wait.” Alhaitham calls out and you stop in your tracks and look back. “You’re (y/n), right?” You nod slowly, then he nods signalling he’s got your confirmation and you scurry out the cafe and quickly to your next class.

To be honest, Alhaitham was confused when he saw you approach him and give him a letter, sealed and signed and everything… a bit fancy for an essay isn’t it? He finishes his coffee quickly, pays his bill and goes on a walk around Sumeru to read it.

Dear Alhaitham…? Soon enough, he realizes it’s not an essay you wanted him to review. He reads through your words and can sense how you were probably nervous to write your feelings out.

Suddenly he sees Kaveh approaching him who has an insult ready to hurl at him. After reading the letter, he makes a note to quickly find you to respond. But first, he had to get away from his roommate.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

More than half the day has gone by and you’ve been on edge the whole time. You were shuffling so fast between classes, it probably looked idiotic from other people’s point of view.

“Hey are you okay?” Your friend whispers who is sitting beside you. You clear your throat before answering.

“Yeah… why?”

“You seem tense… but I think I know why.” Oh no, has your friend found out about your love letter to Alhaitham?! “It’s because the Scribe has been looking for you.” What?

“The- looking for me?” You say in shock.

“Yeah, I’ve seen him going around and asking students if they’ve seen you.” This sends you into a panic as it gets you thinking about the possibilities. He is probably going to reject you right? And with his piercing glare and cold tone. The thought of this makes you zoom out of your last class once it was dismissed, knowing the Scribe was looking for you.

“(Y/n).” You stop like a deer in headlights, and see Alhaitham standing outside near the one of the Akademiya walls, with your letter opened in hand.

“Al-Alhaitham!” You blurted out.

“I read your letter.” He says flatly, and it sucks because you wish you could tell how he’s feeling by his tone. “And I'm flattered. I appreciate your courage for telling me this. If I’m being honest, I enjoy your company as well. You are one of the few people who is able to talk to me normally.”

What does this mean? Is he friend-zoning you? Did he not understand your message?

“If you’re free now, we can go to Puspa Cafe, my treat.” At first your mouth falls at an O-shape, shocked that he's inviting you for a meal. (You wrote the letter expecting good things, smart one!) His offer still makes you unsure whether he meant this as a platonic thing, but nonetheless you smile and nod your head eagerly. Your assignments and projects can wait.

“Hold on…” Alhaitham says before you both set off to eat together. He bends down to your height and his right hand brushes the side of your face- a familiar feeling like that one time. But it’s different this time, because he leans closer and gives you a soft kiss on the cheek. You blush and he pulls away a little, enough for him to get a full glimpse of your face and look in your eyes. You don't think friends do this.

“I understand I’m still a little intimidating to you, so that’ll have to do for now.” He says quietly. With the warmth, still in your skin, you nod shyly and Alhaitham gives what you think is the slightest smile, pats your cheek and pulls away completely. He offers his hand out, and you put your hand in his. Then he closes it, his large hand engulfing yours, and leads you to Puspa Cafe.

“Ah Acting Grand Sage, come for your usual coffee?” The manager of the cafe calls out to him as you both enter.

“Thank you, but not this time.” There’s a pause, in which he takes to look at you while he says this. “Table for two please.”

And oh, how that makes your heart flutter even if it was a small thing. You could only wonder what would happen after the “for now” Alhaitham said.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Bonus:

“Well how was it, did you give them that winning smile I told you to give?” Kaveh asks while lounging on one of the seats as his roommate comes through the door, letter still in hand.

“No.”

“…you- do you even like this person?! This student has either got to be the most boring or the most charitable and tolerant to like you.” Kaveh is having a crisis over Alhaitham’s lack of romantic behaviour, especially now when it’s necessary.

When the architect ran into the Scribe earlier today, he got excited and thought he’d be nice and help him respond to this admirer. However to Alhaitham, Kaveh’s instructions probably sounded more like blabber, because he couldn’t bother to listen to him.

"Did you at least say something romantic? Oh- Archons, Alhaitham. You really know how to woo someone don't you?" Kaveh says sarcastically to express his disappointment. “Can you at least tell me their name? Or what they look like? Because I want to find them and tell them how stupid you looked pacing around the Akademiya today asking students if they’ve seen them.” Kaveh snickers to himself.

"Even if you did approach them, I doubt they'd respond to a weirdo like you. They're too smart for that."

"You're one to talk!"

However, Kaveh stops shooting the many quips he has prepared for Alhaitham being dense once he catches the slight pink dusting his roommate’s cheeks before entering his study. He'll most likely find out himself sooner or later.

Plus, he can’t deny he loves a good romance, even if one of the characters is his hopeless, stubborn, and aloof roommate.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Part 2??? Update: Part 2 here!!!

Please leave a like, reblog or comment if you enjoyed this, and follow me if you'd like to see more of my works!

[youremyheaven]

Mrigashira: The Price of Speaking The Truth

I have been studying the themes and patterns of Mrigashira nakshatra for a while and I thought it's time I made a post about the same.

The myth associated with Mrigashira involves Daksha, the son of Brahma. Daksha organized a grand Yajna (a ritual) but intentionally avoided inviting his daughter Sati’s husband, Shiva, whom he despised. Sati went to the ritual without Shiva’s consent, where Daksha insulted her and Shiva. Sati couldn’t bear the humiliation and jumped into the sacrificial fire. Upon learning of Sati’s death, Shiva became furious and destroyed Daksha’s yajna. Yagya, the presiding sage, turned into a deer and ran away, but Shiva caught up and killed him. His head became the Mrigashira nakshatra, which symbolizes sacrifice. (there are multiple myths associated with each nakshatra and another myth about Mrigashira involves Rohini, Brahma's favourite daughter leaving heaven to escape Brahma's incestual interest in her and taking the form of a deer on earth)

From this myth, we know that making a sacrifice for doing the right thing is a theme in the lives of these natives (Yagya was only overseeing the ceremony, he did nothing wrong, he never insulted Shiva, he was just doing his job). Another prominent theme is escaping someone's wrath or escaping to seek safety.

The yoni animal of Mrigashira is a serpent.

Serpents feature prominently in many mythologies and are commonly associated with renewal and transformation.

The ouroboros represented in this picture is a serpent eating its own tail. Carl Jung, saw this as a basic mandala of alchemy and said:

"The alchemists, who in their own way knew more about the nature of the individuation process than we moderns do, expressed this paradox through the symbol of the Ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail. The Ouroboros has been said to have a meaning of infinity or wholeness. In the age-old image of the Ouroboros lies the thought of devouring oneself and turning oneself into a circulatory process, for it was clear to the more astute alchemists that the prima materia of the art was the man himself. The Ouroboros is a dramatic symbol of the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow. This 'feedback' process is at the same time a symbol of immortality since it is said of the Ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes himself, and gives birth to himself. He symbolizes the One, who proceeds from the clash of opposites, and he, therefore, constitutes the secret of the prima materia which unquestionably stems from man's unconscious."

It speaks of human nature and how we must consume the opposites within ourselves to integrate into one whole being. Every nakshatra serves a cosmic purpose. Each nakshatra is a journey forward, its every step in the process of discovery. If you look at the standard descriptions of some naks, some are explicitly negative and others are overwhelmingly positive, while this is a simplistic understanding of nakshatras, it does point to how to retain balance in this universe, we need all kinds of energies, light and dark, good and bad, but every nakshatra contains within themselves these opposites, like the yin & yang symbol which shows a balance between two opposites with a portion of the opposite element in each section.

In Taoism, distinctions between good and bad, along with other dichotomous moral judgments, are perceptual, not real; so, the duality of yin and yang is an indivisible whole.

The serpent then can be seen as a representation of the eternal truth of reality, that all is one.

Truth telling is the purpose of the serpent in mythology and this is universally true across mythologies from different parts of the world.

This also seems to be innately tied to the nature of Mrigashira natives who speak their truth or make sacrifices to expose the truth. A simpler manifestation is how blunt and straightforward these natives can be.

Edward Snowden- Mrigashira Stellium in 1h (Sun, Mars & Rahu)

In 2013, Snowden revealed evidence of a shocking global surveillance programme run by the USA’s National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) which have been monitoring the internet and phone activity of hundreds of millions of people across the world.

The Internet itself was allowed to spread at a magnanimous pace and reach people all over the globe because it serves the interests of people in positions of power by allowing them to track and monitor us, inundate us into a permanent state of distraction with ads and useless content, that fill the pockets of the already rich. It wasn't some lucky happenstance incident, the internet exists for a very malicious reason and if you read about reports from the 90s when the internet was still at a nascent stage you would know that many people called out this bs. In an occult sense, the internet is an all-pervading manifestation of Maya or illusion. It wraps itself into our reality and there's no escaping it, it becomes harder and harder to see the truth and most people are so completely immersed in this illusion, believing it to be real.

Like the serpent that lured Eve out of paradise, a Mrigashira native, Snowden became the harbinger of an era where we now know that companies including Facebook, Google and Microsoft were forced to hand over customer data under secret orders from the NSA. And that the NSA recorded, stored and analysed ‘metadata’ relating to every single telephone call and text message transmitted in Mexico, Kenya and the Philippines.

Several major companies including Apple, Google and WhatsApp have improved the default security and encryption provided to users. Greater consumer pressure has pushed the industry to strengthen its approach to protecting users’ privacy.

We know how algorithms work, we know that our user data is being tracked, we know why we see targeted ads. We know that most content out there is an ad in disguise. Still, we have no real choice in the matter (except maybe clicking the "reject all cookies" button lol), we're forced to stay in a state where despite knowing that something is deeply wrong with society we still have to participate in it. This is Rohini, who had to stay with her father Brahma in the celestial heavens even though he made incestual advances towards her.

In Mrigashira, the truth dawns on you and you have no choice but to act. The reason Rohini ruled by the Moon is connected to manipulation is because these natives cannot exit their unideal situations safely, they are forced to stay and to survive, they must manipulate their reality. Their freedom is curbed. Even if irl, there are no restraints, these natives feel restrained within, so leaving isn't an option for them, they stay and make things worse to cope or in hopes of changing things.

Mrigashira is Mars ruled and is the first Mars ruled nakshatra. Mars is all about taking action and marching forward. The truth can set you free only if you let it and Mrigashira natives deeply understand this. They are determined to remove themselves from these circumstances and stand in their truth. It may not always be literal but this pattern of setting boundaries, establishing a distance between what is "false" and what is "true" is deeply tied to the nature of Mrigashira.

Snowden sought asylum in Russia where he lives to this day. Being in exile or having to escape your home is also Mrigashira coded simply because the home is a toxic/unsafe/unhealthy place for the Mrigashira native to be. I have talked about it before but Mrigashira is connected to the story of Rapunzel.

Naomi Klein, Mrigashira Moon is an author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses; support of ecofeminism, organized labour, and leftism; and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism, ecofascism and capitalism.

Her book No Logo which came out in 1999 is a landmark book that exposes the evils of corporate globalization and franchises and how the Global South are being exploited to fatten the pockets of companies in the Global North. It greatly expanded the growing anti-capitalist consciousness and anti-corporate activism in the decades since. Here's a video where she explains her research. Its chilling to think this was made over 2 decades ago considering how all these things still persist in society and now hurt people more than ever.

Honestly, all her books are amazing exposé work and that's on her Mrigashira Moon.

Louis Pasteur- Mrigashira Moon

He was a French chemist, pharmacist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization (named after him). His research in chemistry led to remarkable breakthroughs in the understanding of the causes and prevention of diseases, which laid down the foundations of hygiene, public health and much of modern medicine. Pasteur's works are credited with saving millions of lives through the development of vaccines for rabies and anthrax. 

He was a very controversial figure in his lifetime who was known for deceiving people.

This article explains it well. Here's an excerpt from the article:

"His most famous experiment was on a young boy, Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by a rabid dog and was doomed to death, and whose mother pleaded with Pasteur to treat him. Pasteur reported that he had previously used his rabies vaccine on 50 dogs without a single failure.

Again, the laboratory notebooks show that this account was misleading. Pasteur had tested a vaccine on dogs, but it was prepared by a completely different method than the one he used for the vaccine given to Meister, and he had no conclusive animal results to show that the vaccine worked. But he had guessed right."

Pasteur often lied to get his way and used "deception" to advance his practice. It is ethically questionable for sure but the work he did has helped millions of people and one could say it was all for the greater good.

He disproved the then prevailing notion of spontaneous generation (it was believed that any exposure to air anywhere causes the generation of living organisms) through his experiments and was initially disbelieved and ridiculed until his experiments began to be accepted as true and was recognised by the scientific community.

Mrigashira natives often have a tendency to gauge things or call people out on things even when that thing/person is widely accepted. The native may get flak for it and be shunned for it but eventually their ideas become widely accepted and everyone sees the truth. They may or may not get credit for this. They see the truth before others do.

Aldous Huxley- Mrigashira Rising

He was an author and philosopher who is best known for his novel Brave New World although he has written over 50 books. Brave New World (the title itself is very Mrigashira core, don't you think?)

The idea that government control is dehumanizing is the overarching theme. In Brave New World the government controls every aspect of the citizens' lives. They are created and born in a government lab. They are raised in a government facility while learning society's values.

It was published in 1932 and lets just say that the audience wasn't ready for such an alarming dystopian tale.

A notable critic of Brave New World was the author H.G. Wells, whose 1923 novel Men Like Gods (a book about a man who visits a utopian world and then returns to earth) had been an inspiration of sorts to Huxley, who told a friend in 1931 that he was writing a novel about the “the horror of the Wellsian Utopia and a revolt against it.” Wells said, “A writer of the standing of Aldous Huxley has no right to betray the future as he did in that book.”

H.G Wells was known for his utopian visions that permeated nearly all of his published work. Interestingly, he was a Shravana Rising. The thing is, Wells never used these utopian visions to criticize the reality of the world we live in, it was more of a "look how good things could be ughhh". This once again reflects Moon's nature which is idealistic but not practical or rooted in confronting situations as they are, if you ask them for a solution to the war, they'll say "if only everyone could get along and we could all stop killing each other" instead of saying "the power imbalance between nations is alarming, they create crises in other nations, put puppet governments in place, exploit them for their own benefits and when it no longer serves their interests, leaves the people to deal with the mess themselves". The former is a more emotional response but it also comes down to Lunar nature believing things are that simple, that if everybody could get along, then everything would be okay. its basically not a solution but a nice thought. I have made posts in the past about Moon dominance and manipulation but what i had failed to mention is that the reason Moon dominants resort to manipulation is because they lack the ability to think in concrete, tangible, practical terms since Moon is tied to the emotional mind which is incapable of rationality or logic. They have to manipulate because they do not know how to think critically. Being guided by your emotions is not reliable or healthy which is why Moon dominance often results in toxicity and manipulation as they are emotionally reacting to what is said instead of responding with their mind or logic.

Wells himself later said about his novel Men Like Gods, "It did not horrify or frighten, was not much of a success, and by that time, I had tired of talking in playful parables to a world engaged in destroying itself."

Do you notice how passive his tone is? He speaks as though he is not part of this world and that all he can do is merely observe its self-destruction (if not writing "playful parables" to it lol??). He thought his book was a flop because it did not "horrify" or "frighten" people (implying that, thats what sells) when the reality is that its more effective to read about the horrors prevailing our society that we are ignorant of instead of reading 300 pages about a perfect alternate reality where everything is wonderful. one calls to action, another encourages passive daydreaming. This further differentiates the nature of Mrigashira vs Moon dominant natives (Mrigashira follows Rohini's fall from heaven or realising the truth).

"There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception"- Aldous Huxley, Mrigashira Rising

George Carlin, Moon (conjunct Ketu) in Mrigashira

Here's an excerpt of something he said that has stuck with me and exemplifies the truth telling nature of Mrigashira.

"But there’s a reason. There’s a reason. There’s a reason for this, there’s a reason education SUCKS, and it’s the same reason that it will never, ever, ever be fixed. It’s never gonna get any better. Don’t look for it. Be happy with what you got. Because the owners of this country don't want that. I'm talking about the real owners now, the real owners, the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the senate, the congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I'll tell you what they don’t want: They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. Thats against their interests. Thats right.

They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table to figure out how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don’t want that. You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers. People who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork, and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you, sooner or later, 'cause they own this fucking place. It's a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club.

And by the way, it's the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head in their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table is tilted folks. The game is rigged, and nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care. Good honest hard-working people -- white collar, blue collar, it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on -- good honest hard-working people continue -- these are people of modest means -- continue to elect these rich cocksuckers who don’t give a fuck about them. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don't care about you at all -- at all -- at all. And nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care. That's what the owners count on; the fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick that's being jammed up their assholes everyday. Because the owners of this country know the truth: it's called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it."

Mrigashira natives are the most likely to be critical of society, modern living, capitalism etc among other things. They see through to the truth of things and thus feel dissatisfied and disappointed with the world. There is a reason they say "ignorance is bliss", those whose eyes are veiled, can tune out of all this cacophony of living and pretend everything is fine. Mrigashira natives have to live with the weight of knowing.

Jules Verne- Mrigashira Rising

He is widely regarded as the father of science fiction and his works have inspired a generation of scientists like the pioneering submarine designer Simon Lake, Igor Sikorsky who often quoted Verne and cited his Robur the Conqueror as the inspiration for his invention of the first successful helicopter, the rocketry innovators Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert Goddard, and Hermann Oberth are all known to have taken their inspiration from Verne's From the Earth to the Moon.

Edwin Hubble, the American astronomer, was in his youth fascinated by Verne's novels, especially From the Earth to the Moon and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Their influence was so strong that, like Verne, Hubble gave up the career path in law that his father intended for him, setting off instead to pursue his passion for science.

Jules Verne lived in the 19th century (he passed away in 1905, aged 77) but he described technologies that would later be invented (some were directly inspired by what he had written). He had prophetic vision some would say he had described submarines, helicopters, the moon landing, holograms, newscasts, space travel, video conferencing,

“In the Year 2889, instead of being printed, the Earth Chronicle is every morning spoken to subscribers, who, from interesting conversations with reporters, statesmen and scientists, learn the news of the day,”

He even made political observations that have since materialised,

In one of his later works, called The Purchase of the North Pole, an auction is held for rights to the North Pole. The mysterious buyer who wins out over a number of national governments is a private company with a plan to fire off a giant cannon will jolt the planet and change the tilt of Earth’s axis, adjust the length of the days and climates around the earth, and melt the polar ice caps. With the Arctic melted, the execs planned to mine the north pole for coal and make a fortune. This is more or less what is currently happening lol

He invented a new genre to talk about things that did not yet exist. This is tied to Mrigashira's quest for truth and imagining possibilities.

Kanye West, Mrigashira Sun

Do I think Kanye is problematic? Extremely. Do I think he's also telling the truth on some occasions especially when he's trying to expose Hollywood or the system? Yes, I do

This is a bit of a tangent but we have seen time and time again how mental illness has been weaponized against people (ex: Britney Spears) to control them (Mariah Carey also speaks about it in her memoir), I do think a great number of celebrities are victims of this because their management/people in their lives benefit from exploiting them (would it not be vvv scary knowing that your career is what pays the bills of a whole crew of people? they depend on you to live? what if they're greedy or evil? what happens to you then?) so I wholeheartedly believe Kanye when he says "people are trying to conspire against him for telling the truth" (look at how many whistleblowers have been killed and had their deaths written off as suicides).

Sometimes I wonder if he's deliberately ruining his public image so that he just comes across as a crazy guy saying crazy shit that no one takes seriously. This is a safe option for him because if he appeared to be a normal sober serious guy exposing the system he might get killed. Deception is also a huge part of Mrigashira's truth telling.

Who can forget him exposing Taylor on that phone call? lol

Anyway, I want to make it clear that I don't condone or endorse any of Kanye's politics or most of the vile hateful garbage he spews.

Amy Winehouse-Mrigashira Rising

Amy was known for how candid and straightforward she was. If you listen to this song, you can tell how frank and honest the lyrics are?? (its about women who try to score rich men). Amy was always so real and unapologetically herself.

Pamela Anderson, Mrigashira Rising

She's such an icon and such a dignified woman after everything she's been through. She came forward to speak her truth and take control of her narrative. Unfortunately not many women in her position can or will do this. She empowers sooo many others by standing up for herself and speaking her truth.

Mia Khalifa, Ketu in Mrigashira (a lot of people ask me why I include placements other than the big 3 and the reason I use Ketu specifically is because it is a karmic planet and Ketu's position in the birth chart is thought to indicate ties to previous lifetimes. It represents life experiences and knowledge that people may carry from past incarnations. Yes, I am aware that Ketu is a generational planet and people born across the same year have the same Ketu placement but the reason why Ketu placement is significant especially in the charts of accomplished people is because they are channelling the collective unconscious and I believe that in order to receive recognition for the work you do, you have to skilfully channel your Ketu as it represents your latent creativity and potential that connects you to the whole)

whew went off on a tangent 🤪(me with everything i post lmao)

Mia Khalifa has come forward exposing the porn industry and calling out its predatory nature and has candidly spoken about how she was "intimidated" into doing her infamous hijab scene and that her toxic ex husband encouraged her to pursue porn. I hope Mia heals from everything but she's sooo brave for calling out people/society/porn industry on their toxicity, misogyny, double standards when the same men who fap to her porn are the ones calling her a whore (she made a mistake when she was 20 and has been out of the business for 10 years at this point, at what point will we let her move on with her life and shed this image for good?)

Nicole Kidman- Mrigashira Sun

who can forget this iconic interview when Nicole exposed the truth behind her meeting with Jimmy lol, he was so sh00k

She starred in the 2003 movie Dogville where she plays the daughter of a mob boss who runs away because she cannot stand the stuff they do (running away because they can't accept the circumstance they are in is a prominent Mrigashira theme). Its an arthouse film about the nature of evil and it shows how after Nicole's character has run away to Dogville, she has to provide labor for the community in order to be allowed to stay (Mrigashira natives making a "sacrifice") and ultimately towards the end after enduring a lot of abuse, Nicole's character destroys the whole place.

Jim Carrey- Mrigashira Moon

He is hella problematic for sure but he has this existential side to him where he is always dropping truthbombs. Remember this iconic video where he says NYFW is meaningless lmfao

Parveen Babi, Mrigashira Moon

Parveen Babi was a Bollywood superstar in the 70s and 80s. In 1977, she started dating the filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt (he has a reputation for being vile, crass asshole) and he insisted that she go to a psychiatrist following which she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. I cannot comment on whether or not Miss Babi was misdiagnosed but what is apparent is that her relationship with Bhatt took a severe toll on her mental health, there are tons of people who've said he's kind of a psychopath, so I don't doubt that he may have gaslit and abused Babi to a point where she may have lost her sanity. For the rest of her career she struggled with episodes of debilitating paranoia, delusion and violent aggression. She once even blamed Amitabh Bachchan (the biggest star in India) for being her biggest adversary and claimed that he was trying to kill her (I know this sounds delusional but we do not know what kind of relationship they had with each other or what might have led her to believe that she was in potential danger, its cruel to dismiss everything someone says as "oh but she's mentally ill").

Babi quit acting and was a recluse in her later years. She died alone in her apartment when she was 51 and her body was only found 3 days later. Mahesh Bhatt helped organise her funereal when nobody else stepped forward to even claim her body at the hospital. Her life is a tragedy and a cautionary tale.

Mrigashiras are doubtful of absolutely everything. They do not trust people easy AT ALL. They question absolutely everybody's motive and whilst this can create thought provoking and interesting art and make a person inquisitive, honest etc, it can also be exhausting and draining to constantly be on guard and watch your own back.

“Slowly, one by one, I lost trust in everybody and everything around me,” Babi wrote. “Have you ever wondered what it is like to function in life, distrusting everything and everybody? We trust most of the things and people around us without questioning. We trust the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe...It is impossible to function in life without trusting. And that is precisely what happened to me.”- Parveen Babi

Mrigashira natives are prone to paranoia and feeling unsafe (this ties back to their mythology) and I truly feel for them :(((

Oppenheimer- Mrigashira Rising

Oppenheimer’s infamous meeting with Truman took place in October 1945. It did not go well: Oppenheimer failed to convince the president of the need for international control of atomic energy, while Truman confidently stated the Soviets would never get the bomb. Getting nowhere, Oppenheimer really did confess his guilt over the Manhattan Project, which turned Truman’s stomach.

Oppenheimer's morality is dubious and questionable etc etc but it is known and clear that he felt guilty for the role he played and the destruction that was caused as a direct result of his research. He stood up for what was true, although unsuccessfully.

Khloe Kardashian-Mrigashira Moon

Khloe has always been praised for being "real" and honest. She has opened up about a lot of different things and had this to say about having a baby via surrogacy:

“But a surrogate process – Kim knows – is very hard for me. It’s a mindf***. It is really the weirdest thing,” she bravely shares about her nine-month-old cherub, Tatum. “I do feel less connected. People do say it takes a minute to feel connected but Kim said hers was easy. This is not easy. I definitely was in a state of shock from my entire experience in general,” she said. “I felt really guilty that this woman just had my baby and I take the baby and go to another room and you are separated. It felt like such a transactional experience because it is not about him. I wish someone was honest about surrogacy and the difference of it. But it doesn’t mean it is bad or good. It is just very different.”

Compared to the kind of stuff that all the other Kardash-Jenners say this is a rare and sincere moment of truth telling.

John Cena Mrigashira Moon and Rising

He is known for his honest, humble and sincere personality.

In an interview about the Meltzer rating system, Cena honestly said:

“So how do I put this… I am much more concerned when I perform for WWE in how the audience as a whole feels about my performance rather than one individual trying to grade me in a level of stars. Not that it doesn’t matter, because that is a great way for those to try and get equity and try to get noticed. It’s a great ranking system and I do appreciate it. I’m not knocking critics. I’m just saying my process is to make sure that everyone who paid a ticket had a great night. And if that gets me a zero star match, I still know in my heart of hearts that I entertained my audience that night.”

if you type in John Cena honesty into google so many articles pop up lol, i guess thats a great thing to be known for. Zero bullshit that's Mrigashira for you

I hope this post was interesting and informativexx

thanks for reading<3

[surelynotaspider]

Losing interest

Al-Haitham x gn!reader

-> IN WHICH Al-Haitham loses interest in you and you can't stand it anymore.

-> Wordcount: ~1.1k

Masterlist

Alhaitham has lost interest in you. You knew that. He never confirmed this theory, but you noticed the hints.

Your lover never came home for dinner for the last few months. He's always late, always so late that even after 11pm he's not home. You spent days in your bed alone, even though you two were sharing it. Not even in the morning he had the time to greet you and say goodbye.

He just left. Without a word.

You two didn't have normal conversations either. When you do see him (which would be considered a miracle) he brushes you off. Saying you could talk later. You never did. You never will. He doesn't have time. He has more important stuff to do (What is more important than the love of your life?).

Through your pain you shrugged it off.

He's just stressed.

He doesn't mean it.

Soon everything will be like before.

It's okay, I'm overreacting.

It never did. Matter how much hope you had. It never got any better.

Even the most hopeless romantics lose hope someday.

"Can we talk? It's important." You try your best to communicate with your lover. You woke up before your usual routine just to have a chance of meeting him.

"Can it wait? I have to go to work." Alhaitham again brushes you off with his (now) usual monotone voice. Like he doesn't pay attention to a word you're saying. Just perceive that you're mentioning something not worth listening to.

"No it cannot-" You couldn't even finish your sentence as your partner has already left the house.

It took everything for you to not scream out of frustration. Instead, tears rolled down your face. Uncontrollable sobs escaped your mouth. You covered your eyes with both of your hands as you fell on your knees. What seemed like hours and hours with no end were probably only a few minutes. What happened?

Were you not enough?

Were you a burden?

Did you annoy him too much?

All these things did not matter anymore. You got a new job offer in Liyue a few months ago. Just as Alhaitham's weird behaviour started. You first hesitated. Why would you leave everything you had?

It took everything in you to finally accept the job offer. A break is what you need right now. A new country, a new area and maybe many new friends.

Who wanted you here in Sumeru anyway? It's not like you had any friends.

It was just you and Alhaitham.

Now it's just you and your pain.

Clearly, Alhaitham didn't want you here, so you being gone for a few months shouldn't hurt, right? You leave in 2 days. That's why you wanted to talk to Alhaitham today, but he seemed... busy.

You lay down on your bed and cried into your pillow. Hours passed and you haven't moved an inch. Not even to go drink or eat something. You just laid there and did nothing, but cry.

For the last 2 days you tried to talk to Alhaitham about your leave.

And for 2 days you failed to talk to Alhaitham about your leave.

It was just like the last months. Not one glance. Not one word. Not one conversation. Just you. Alone. Crying yourself to sleep.

You have packed your items for your trip and your transportation was just a short walk away. You didn't bother trying to tell Alhaitham about it.

He clearly doesn't care.

You closed your eyes. Took a deep breath and stepped out of your shared home.

Goodbye, Sumeru. I will see you in 6 months.

And hello Liyue. My new home for the next 6 months.

Alhaitham sighed in relief.

Finally.

He has been busy with so many different tasks and missions of utmost importance for the past months. As the Acting Grand Sage he had now new responsibilities which didn't make it easy for him. Especially after the whole chaos.

But now he was finished. Now he could spend some quality time with his lover. Oh, how he missed you.

He didn't want to tell you about it. He thought it would bring you unnecessary stress and worry. He didn't want that. He loves you with all his being and seeing you sad or mad makes his heart ache to the point it's unbearable. You, his precious angel.

He knew he had been neglecting you for the last weeks. He missed being near you as well. Your touch, your voice, your delicious cooking. Everything.

He was about to make it up to you with a nice date. He knew one date couldn't compensate for all the wrongs he did the past months. But he planned the best date you could even imagine. He even bought tickets for one of Nilou's shows. They were hard to get but Alhaitham knew you liked her so much and used his position and power as the Acting Grand Sage to get the VIP tickets.

"[Name]?" Alhaitham yelled through the house. "Sweetheart I'm home!" No answer.

The Sage looked confused. It was Saturday, you should be free.

Maybe you were asleep? Yeah, that's probably it. You looked very tired the last few times he saw you.

He quickly checked your bedroom. Empty. Weird. You would tell him if you had appointments or meet-up with friends. But you didn't...

In all his worries he asked Kaveh. His beloved roommate.

"Kaveh?" He knocked on the door. As he got permission to enter he opened the door.

"What?" Said roommate looked at him annoyed. Alhaitham however ignored that. It's nothing new between them.

"Have you seen [Name]? They aren't home and I'm quite worried." He announced his worries.

Kaveh stared at him blankly. "Are you serious?"

Alhaitham blinked in confusion. "... Yes? Have I missed a certain appointment today? Was it important?"

The architect couldn't believe it. Was he serious? You left to Liyue and Alhaitham didn't know? He didn't even notice?

"Alhaitham. You're telling me you didn't notice [Name] leaving about a month ago? A month?! Are you serious?!" Neither of them could believe what they were witnessing.

"W-What? [Name] left? Without telling me?" Why wouldn't you tell him? Have you perhaps forgotten him?

"Without telling you?! Are you hearing yourself? [Name] has been trying for weeks to get your attention, but you were oh so busy with work, that you completely neglected them! They left for Liyue about a month ago because they got a pretty good job offer. They tried to tell you but you were so dense you didn't care. Don't come to me and whine about how they didn't tell you because they tried. You can apologise to them in 5 months when they come back. If they even want to anymore." Kaveh scoffed and closed the door right in front of his face.

You left a month ago and he didn't notice?

You will come back in 5 months?

Part 2

Not proofread.

[haeresysabound]

Sometimes I think about Dottore's "I have no intention of being rejected by my homeland for a third time" voiceline and how he sounds genuinely bitter/disappointed that he wasn't acknowledged by the nation as a whole. How he still values everything Sumeru stands for and still sees himself primarily as a scholar despite being outcast and branded a heretic.

How he has ascended beyond the limitations of the Akademiya and yet the very first thing he does is go back there and work with the Sages to do something he very easily could have achieved himself through underhanded means.

How he doesn't even try to hide it, because the very first thing you hear about him is, "I hear the Heretic is back", and the very first thing he does is introduce himself to the Traveller in a grand expression of his genius and innovation with the Akasha because he wants to be seen and acknowledged.

Dottore ultimately went too far but he still sees himself as fundamentally Sumerian; still sees Sumeru as his homeland even if he sees himself as above it. He still lives and breathes everything Sumeru raised him to be.

Sometimes I just think about that, you know?

[chocolatetittymilk]

Heart Burn | Alhaitham

Tears run down your face as you stare him in the eyes. You shouldn’t be so surprised, nor hurt. in all honesty it should be funny, that you decided to keep things going.

Alhaitham looks down at you, a condescending look if anything. Still the stern lifeless expression as usual, just a bit more irritation. how typical. “Why are you being so emotional over trivial matters.” He states, clearly over this whole ordeal.

You sniffle a bit, “Well I guess what hurt me most of all, you were playing with my heart…” you say, you look down tears spilling onto the pavement. Fists clenched with anger and regret.

months running around sumeru with him, being his little academic guinea pig. Yet, there was still some sort of spark right? He smiled, and even laughed with you, even would give you your favorite book if you mentioned it…

Days where you’d sit on your couch and banter over a scandal or a story between you two. Alhaitham’s eyes crinkling ever so slightly when you make an odd comment joke.

“Tell me why am I emotional…” You look up at him, his turquoise eyes gleaming with something behind them. His expression still not changing, only faltering just a little on edge. You laugh a bit, the whole thing right in your face.

Yet every time you got closer, he’d push you aside. Left you wanting more each and every time. Knowing full well that you wanted to kiss him, to hold his hand. It was like a game.

Swallowing all of your pride, as others would whisper about the acting grand sage, how handsome and smart he is. You knew he heard it all but he didn’t care in the slightest. He told you, ‘You’re one of the rare finds i can trust in.’

“…when i knew it from the start.” You whisper, finally realizing you had played yourself. Alhaitham clenched his jaw, not sure what to say.

Part of you knew that someone like Alhaitham couldn’t have been with you… You narrow your teary eyes at him, wondering where this part of him came from… Maybe it was hidden in the shallows of his eyes.

You turn around, handing him the books that he had given you and walk away. Knowing that this was the end, knowing that your heart burned.

my genshin master list : m!list link

2024 © chocolatetittymilk : do not repost or translate my works anywhere. do not copy or use my works in any site.

[dead-lights]

grand occult baking championship || episode 1.7

Just a little interlude before judgment!

In case you haven't seen it, I've been posting little interviews with the cast. Please feel free to send me questions, anonymously or not! I'll put them up in batches between posts.

first // prev // next

Most characters have canon origin stories! It's just Elle, L, Brandy, and Morgyn who don't. Caleb isn't wrong about how long it would take to get through it all, but I can make some space at the bottom of the post :)

canon

Most of this comes from dialogue from Werewolves, which I put up here.

Celene & Lou: attacked by Greg while on a date after Lou provoked him - she took the cure, he thought he could ride it out.

Lily: fled into the tunnels when Vlad tried to turn her, where she was bitten by a rabid werewolf. Spent years wandering around feral before Kristopher found her.

Caleb: turned by Miss Hell in a bar bathroom with the door on backwards. It's unclear whether he asked to turn or not, but I'd say most likely not.

Jacob: got lost in the woods as a small child after being traumatically separated from his family. He was hunted by a werewolf and a vampire, and then rescued by Kristopher.

Wolfgang: visited Moonwood Mill to escape the rat race in San Myshuno, decided he liked the werewolf lifestyle, and asked Kristopher to turn him.

Inna: turned by Caleb in the official trailer. Based on promotional material and the paintings from vampires, she seems to have been a thrall for centuries before that, possibly as early as the 1600s.

Darrel: born a spellcaster. Because he has the strong bloodline trait, he must be at minimum a 3rd generation caster.

Emilia: recently ascended according to her household description, presumably by Morgyn, since they're the only sage she knows by default and they're both friends with Grace and Tomax.

deadcanon

Elle: born a vampire during the first half of the Century Conflict. Her parents were former spellcasters who were turned during Operation Eternal Flame.

Brandy: attacked and almost killed by a member of her girlfriend Samantha's coven of origin. Samantha turned her to save her life.

L: an orphaned street urchin. Was accidentally transported to the Magic Realm after pickpocketing a spellcaster and taking his Glimmerstone. She met Keisha and immediately started badgering her for power and secrets.

Morgyn: a teen runaway. They found instructions to get into the Magic Realm in a library book, thought the whole thing sounded extremely rad, made their way to Glimmerbrook, and immediately started badgering Tess for power and secrets.

I wanted a Century Conflict veteran, which is why I made Elle so old. Brandy possibly has a mundane brother, so I didn't want her to have been born vampire. I love foundlings in stories (yes, I'm a big Mandalorian fan, fuck off) so yeah Morgyn and L are foundlings.

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Side A Round 1 Match 30

Propaganda:

Alhaitham -

"He’s handsome, successful, and also autistic (headcanon, of course.) But, allow me to elaborate on my headcanon.

Caution: slight spoilers ahead! First of all, he wears noise cancelling headphones everywhere. He is never seen without them. Many people say this is a major reason why they consider him to be autistic-coded, and I agree.

Second, he is very asocial. He always has been since childhood. He doesn’t care what others think of him, and he states that his mindset allows him to avoid complicated social relationships. His few friends (Kaveh and the Traveller for instance) usually fail at convincing him to join social gatherings. Alhaitham is difficult to get a hold of because he’s usually curled up with a book somewhere away from people.

The man is also pretty routine bound. He orchestratesd an elaborate and risky plan to save Nahida so just he could keep his 9-5 job. I’m not even kidding. He resigned as quickly as he could from being the acting grand sage so he could assume his regular duties as the scribe.

NOW, Some argue that he understands society and other people. Okay, sure, but I don’t think that comes intuitively to him. Masking is a thing unfortunately. Plus, he’s a scholar in linguistics so he’s learned most of what he knows about human interaction in an academic setting. Which, by the way, is how many autistics learn social skills.

Alhaitham often comes across and pompous and eccentric to others. He’s constantly accused of having no empathy. Truth is, he does feel empathy but he doesn’t express it in ways that most people understand. I could honestly write a whole dissertation on why I think he’s autistic, but I don’t want to take up too much time or space with this. Thank you for listening!"

Balam -

"My precious baby boy!!! Hes like if Ariel from the little mermaid was an eight foot tall demon that can destroy almost any monster without breaking a sweat. Obsessed with biology and animals and learning about what kinds of creatures live in the human realm. Not to mention he's like the sweetest character in the whole show i want nothing but the best for him."

[cinnamonest]

Male Majority AU brainrot has consumed me once again. Also cucking because we love it. Dropping this blurb here for no special reason, hoping you like it nonetheless hehe

Alhaitham is quite surprised when he finds out Kaveh got himself a girl. It was apparently, after his graduation right as the popularity of the architect spiked up. Before said architect fell into crippling debts as well. Only someone as brash as Kaveh wouldn’t see it coming, wouldn’t be prepared for that outcome. So it’s not as surprising to Alhaitham when his senpai beg him to house him and his girl. He accepts, though not without a price of course.

You see, Alhaitham has never paid much attention to the other sex before. Of course he has seen women, the Grand Sage, the Darshans, anyone of power has one always stuck to their side. Those higher-ups loves to brag, and frustrate Akademiya students even more since it’s practically impossible for anyone who hasn’t graduated to get a woman for themselves (and even then, it depends on how successful you are— beside, it’s difficult taking care of a being so delicate when you never have free time). But now that you’re here, living with him, he realises what he’s been missing.

You’re a bit shy, always worry about not bothering him, and you stiffen when he addresses you. You’re still adamant about showing how thankful you are for this housing arrangement though. While he’s working or reading at home, you always bring him water and snacks now and then. Always call him ‘sir Alhaitham’ or ‘master Alhaitham’. You try your best to greet him when he comes home, to compliment him, ‘W-well done at work today’ and it makes him laugh because you obviously have no idea what his job is. He acknowledges your efforts, but small things like you— they’ll never reach even an average man’s intelligence (you seem aware of that at the very least.).

He feels a bit bad for you too, your owner can’t see past his own nose. Kaveh does his best taking care of you, cuddling you, bringing you gifts, even ask your opinion on some of his architectural projects but he never tries to listen to you, does he? Anytime he finds you two interacting, the architect runs in-between screeching ‘Don’t speak to my darling you lunatic, you’ll corrupt my beloved! Are you alright sweetheart, he didn’t touch did he ?’. Such reaction only makes Alhaitham want to try to get closer to you more and more, see how far he can get away with things.

So he does, small touches here and there that ends up in cuddling sessions, bringing you some gifts now and then. ‘I need your presence at the Akademiya, please put this on and stick close to me.’ You’re unsure about putting the collar with a clear Alhaitham’s…. Yet you’re aware you don’t have a say in this, only following his order. You won’t do anything the whole day beside being arm candy, But what can Kaveh do about it, under the threat of removing him from the house? It teaches him a lesson as well— who is dumb enough to end up almost homeless while owning a girl? He truly doesn’t realise the danger he put you through there.

Perhaps Alhaitham should look into putting you into shared ownership. Stealing a girl is illegal of course, but cases of women who got a second owner because the first one fell under tough times aren’t unheard of. He’s getting tired of waiting, he’s been looking forward to bedding you for a while now.

AHHHHH I love this, Kaveh WOULD make a horrible financial decision like that lmao. Even in general it would be so awful, Alhaitham would absolutely be that third wheel that gets constantly inconvenienced because the other is constantly making adjustments and doing things without asking first lmao

Also since there's no like canonical heights to my knowledge, there's one part mentioning reader being comparatively shorter than them

----

To be fair, it's an act of benevolence to begin with. This unjust world is a constant weight on Kaveh's heart and mind, he's one of the most unfortunate people to have to exist in this universe, given he's such a bleeding heart. They have those charities and such that are supposed to advocate for better conditions and humane practices for the poor girls, and he's emptied his pockets for those more than once.

But buying one was not a selfish act, no. It may just be one, sure, and there are still plenty more suffering out there, but at least he can sleep well at night knowing he has made a difference, even if it's just in one person's life. After all, it was so pitiful and heart-wrenching, passing by those markets in town all the time and seeing them put in cages and look so miserable, he HAD to get one. It weighed on his soul, you know?

Such is how he justifies it, when questioned on it. He's doing a good thing. He's very happy about it initially, too.

Granted, it's not particularly normal for someone of his current economic status to make this decision, even pre-debt, it's not like he's super filthy rich or anything. He may or may not have taken out a loan... but no big deal... right...?

It's also true that neither of them have had any real opportunities to interact with the opposite sex — the Akademiya, of course, has no female students. Well, except for the fact that there's actually been a few cases of some particularly brazen, stupid girls being caught managing to disguise themselves for some time in attempts to get educational certification (presumably try to maintain the act long enough to become self-sufficient), but of course it never lasts long and is swiftly dealt with, given that students are incentivized by the policy that if someone discovers and rats a girl out to the institution, that person will get to keep her. But regardless, neither of them ever encountered such a thing.

Poor Kaveh is rather awkward at first, but he openly acknowledges that -- that is, he's more just awkward rather than shy, has no trouble being up-front and transparent about never having spoken directly to or been so close to a female before. He's pretty confident in his capability to be a good owner, though, he's done a lot of research and knows how to be sensitive and careful.

It's a fascinating experience, though. He's very touchy, and not even in a sexual way, often just reaching out to brush his hands over your skin, almost in a sort of awe. He realizes that for whatever reason, he had more or less subconsciously thought of them to be like inorganic objects, perhaps in part due to having spent almost more occasions seeing them portrayed in statues in architecture courses than in real life (which is very common -- no matter what nation you look at, one learns that in the anthropological sense of things, females are constantly made the subject of art, music, marblework, poetry, and virtually every other aspect of culture, often by men who have very little experience with real-life ones beyond their own mothers and the occasional few hours with prostitutes).

So it almost feels surprising to be reminded that you are made of flesh and blood, and thereby are, in fact, soft and warm and fleshy. It's an exhilarating feeling, holding onto you, even just the slightest touches and wrapping arms around you gives him a sort of natural chemical high, a buzz that's nearly overwhelming. Which, sure, he's heard described before, and has even read about quite extensively in anatomy and biology in the first years of general education, but experiencing it for oneself is totally different, and far more intense of a feeling than he had imagined.

He's really one of the best possible owners you could get, though. Very caring and doting, often to a point that it's suffocating.

And, of course, protective... which becomes an odd dynamic when he's forced to seek alternative living situations and you end up living with Alhaitham, seeing as most protective people probably would not be comfortable with a living situation in which one is living with another guy all the while.

Well, he is uncomfortable, but he doesn't have much of a choice. When his finances go plummeting, he knows who to reach out to... and while Alhaitham knows full well he'll give in and take you two in, there is some hesitation when he thinks about it. It could invite trouble, if someone sees you walking around the house and all... he'll just have to be careful.

Thankfully, Kaveh's still only paying rent for one person. Alhaitham did think about increasing it to something reasonable for two people, but... well, you're not really a "person," so to speak. When it comes to public transportation fees, usually females are considered a carry-on object, like a dog or a large suitcase, and only add an extra fee, which is less than the boarding cost for a person. So, out of generosity, he just leaves it as is.

Alhaitham soon comes to realize, however, that the decision to take you both in has some unforeseen consequences, namely being nagged and hounded about every little thing he does.

He's constantly getting chastised — they're fragile, you know, need ideal conditions. Yes, there needs to be a fire because your kind are very temperature sensitive (shouldn't he know that? Did he not pay any attention in biology??), yes he needs to buy (read: Alhaitham needs to buy) silk sheets because your skin is more fragile, yes they need to start buying (once more, read: Alhaitham needs to start buying) higher quality food for you because your it is critical that you get certain nutrients and vitamins or it will throw off your hormones and biles and all that and make you sick.

It's... irksome. He acts like every little issue that arises is the end of the world, exaggerates any harm that may come to you. And, of course, Kaveh tends to blame him for every negative thing. You get sick for a day and he claims it's because the house is too cold or too dusty, you tripped and fell and got carpet burn and it turned into a five minute lecture on how Alhaitham must have been the one to have mistakenly bunched up the edge of the rug and how he needs to be more careful, having a more fragile creature living here now. You knock something off the top of a cabinet (where they both tend to keep some foodstuffs), trying to reach it and it falls on your head, and soon Alhaitham finds his entire cabinets rearranged, optimized for your reach, and with the snacks you like placed in front of the other stuff.

Not to mention, of course, it's very awkward when he has to listen to you two go at it.

Kaveh's quick to justify that matter when Alhaitham makes some mildly passive-aggressive comment about it. No, it's not unethical nor coercion to have sex with you just because you depend on him for survival or anything. They NEED to have sex or they'll get sick... and in his defense, that's the common belief.

See, Sumeru is, predictably, the origin of a great deal of pseudoscience. Whereas other regions are more prone to bizarre and dumb traditional beliefs and stereotypes with no real basis that simply persist over time, Sumeru inhabitants prefer their misinformation to be peer-reviewed and doctoral-degree-verified, based on "studies" and "research" that is definitely not the sort where they intentionally set up the research to achieve predetermined results. You can even major in things of the sort at the Akademiya, like female medicine or female psychology, very lucrative fields seeing as they deal with primarily high-wealth clients (and otherwise men who are still willing to pay out the nose for the well-being of their beloved).

The Akademiya is also the world's leading institute on research for female hysteria, neurosis and psychosis, and cures thereof. The cause of such disorders is, generally, an imbalance of the humors and biles caused by hormonal deficiencies that are a direct result of the creature being undersexed. The Studies™ show that they become depressed and psychologically unwell as a result of several directly related causes, namely lack of orgasm and lack of having their pair-bonded mate's seed in them. Throws their brains off-balance.

Which is why Kaveh's not like the typical cruel, heartless person that buys these poor victimized girls just to use them like toys and objects, no, he's doing this because it's a necessary part of your care. The intention is what matters, and thereby makes it non-exploitative... also, of course, actually having mutual love for each other makes it non-exploitative, which he insists is the case... he's especially insistent of this after a certain someone muttered an unnecessary comment just loud enough for him to hear that 'she has every incentive to *act* like she loves you, you know,'  which left him upset for some time.

He's not wrong... you do gladly proclaim you do. That's how you've always been trained to act — even if you met your master ten seconds ago, you are ready at any moment to muster a smile and say you love him. The universally understood rules are simple: you love your master from the moment you meet him, you show no signs of discontentment, and you pretend as if you came into existence that very moment — never mentioning your past, acting as if any previous owners or living situations have been wiped from your memory, and above all, never comparing your current owner to a past one in a negative way.

Especially seeing as Kaveh is obviously... on edge. It's not like he isn't well aware of the ticking time bomb of a setup he's managed to find himself in. Staying in a home with some other guy, while having you around... it's asking for something to go wrong. Most people wouldn't dare, and would view the choice as a rather stupid one.

Thus, Kaveh is always trying to deter you from interacting, telling you that the man who owns the home is either too calloused and will be a bad influence, or too insensitive and will hurt your feelings; there's no way someone as thoughtless and dense as him would ever be able to appropriately, properly converse with your kind, known for emotionally sensitivity and all. Besides, you have no real reason to even want to speak to him, right?

So you can talk only when they're both around, when he's there to ensure Alhaitham doesn't say something stupidly insensitive or offensive. Which leads to some disputes, the two bicker back and forth even more than they would normally. And you... well, they can't be upset with you for at least trying to intervene, trying to be soft-spoken and sweet so as to not make it worse. It's very awkward for everyone involved.

His affection for you makes him that much more infuriated when he finds out that Alhaitham has been taking you out of the house and, in his mind, forcing you to spend time with him when you obviously have no desire to, parading you around as if you're his. It frustrates him, it upsets him, but... he can't really do anything.

On Alhaitham's end, though, it's only fair, so he thinks. Come on. What was he thinking? Knowing full well that Alhaitham doesn't have one, and yet he still basically wants to torment him by having you there? It feels like rubbing salt in a wound, of course he should know this was bound to happen eventually.

It's just slowly building up to a much bolder move, or rather, a compromise. Just... once a month, maybe. It's what he's owed, you know? And he'll be sure to fill out the paperwork verifying that he has partial ownership, meaning he's entitled to physical relations anyway.

With no other options, Kaveh is more or less forced to agree, albeit very very begrudginly... but, of course, with limits! He doesn't exactly have any right to set those limits, really, but Alhaitham agrees to them if for nothing else but to save himself the complaining and chastising he'd get otherwise. It's only a very small allowance, once per month and only once, no more than half an hour, and absolutely no other exchanges of any affection outside of that! Not that he can be there to enforce that, but he trusts you'll tell him if that bastard makes any move to touch you or kiss you or try anything whenever he's not around... won't you?

Not knowing what else to do (and stuck between trying to keep two rather stubborn individuals happy at the same time), you're very quick to assure him that of course you won't allow such a thing, and, of course, that you love him so much more, he's so much better and he's the only one that can actually make you feel good, so on and so on... he's not exactly happy about the situation, but your words placate him. For now, at least, until Alhaitham keeps pushing the bar for what he's allowed further, and further, and further...

[jordansgarden]

grand sage's grand love

hoyoverse pls make more official alhaitham content so i have more pretty pictures i don't wanna use artists' work

THIS MAN HAS ME IN A CHOKEHOLD OHMYGOD BOOBAS

cw: sex, size kink, breeding kink, mocking praise, edging, overstim, dacryphilia, dumbification, masturbation(?), no mention of gendered parts for reader, switch reader and alhaitham, there's both dom and sub reader sections, this is a huge post lmfao

lots of nsfw below the cut

when i say grand love, i mean big dick.

this man has a massive dick and he loves to make you take it all at once because he knows you can do it darling :((.

his dick is so pretty, quite like his fingers. long, slender, a little curve at the end. it's not thick, but the length absolutely makes up for it.

you'll see the stars he loves to point out the moment he shoves his whole cock into you.

alhaitham is a very busy man, so don't waste his time by letting his cum leave your pretty body alright love?

he'll never admit it but it turns him on so easily just thinking of you filled to the brim with his seed after using not just your precious hole but your mouth too.

waste a drop? don't worry your pretty little head about it, he'll make up for it with another load! anything for his pet <3

he's quite rough sometimes, but alhaitham loves to praise you ever so slightly.

"i knew you could do it love, you're so perfect for me."

alhaitham's favorite thing to do is pushing you to the point where you can't behave anymore. he'll edge you and edge you, say "be good baby, you can do that can't you?" and he won't stop until you break.

"oh no, darling, you came."

it wasn't his words that got your attention, it was the lack of friction. his fingers pulled out of you, hands let go of your hair.

"w-wait- 'h-haith m'sorry- couldn't- mhg!"

suddenly his tongue pressed against you, slowly licking up the mess you made. too overstimulated, you writhed against the rope around your wrists and tried to move your hips away. alhaitham's hands held your thighs down and open, his thumb rubbing circles a little too close.

his head lifted, hands running up your body before tracing his fingers back down. following the hickeys and love bites he left, his hand replaced where his mouth previously was. up and down, up and down. the soft rubbing- oh archons it's so good.

you found yourself grinding against his hand, desperate for another release.

"haah.. 'haith please-" his hand stopped moving, eliciting a whine. "please what?" "hng- need more.." "why should i? you came, when i told you no." "i said m'sorry- please i- i need you- need you inside-!" "you're lucky you're so pretty."

he pressed his fingers against the hickeys littered over your skin. at once, tears pricked your eyes as a choked moan escaped. he was all in already!

"fuck- 'haith-!" he bent over you, holding your head against his neck as he groaned into your ear. "hah- you're still so fucking tight after all that." "move- move 'haith please please please move- fuck me fuck me please-" "gladly."

one. two. six. nine. you didn't know how many times you'd cum already. it'd been long since alhaitham fucked you silly. all you could think was the feeling of his hand pressing against your pretty tummy bulge. him sliding out and slamming back in every time. his cum sliding deeper and deeper with every thrust. dripping down your thighs.

"m'gonna- gonna cum agai-n!" "just- just a little more, be good and take it all, yeah?" "yes! yesyesyesyes!"

the moment he came again, so did you. alhaitham slowly pulled his dick out, slipping a pretty pair of panties on you to keep all his seed in you <3

"you did so well for me darling. would you like a little reward?"

being the fucked out pet you are, of course you said yes! well, saying yes was out of your capacity. his confirmation was received from the way your dazed eyes lit up again.

"then, come kneel here for me."

you would stay on your knees for a long time, his hands using your hair to help fuck your face while his cum dripped out of your mouth and stained your panties.

can you really blame him when you're just so good though?

now, pretty baby is so busy all the time! he just gets so tired that you just have to take care of him :(.

when you have work to do, it's easy to get him to sit under your desk and suck you off. alhaitham loves it! the feeling of one of your hands keeping his head between your legs is heavenly.

this man is obsessed with you, and i mean obsessed. mark him. hickeys, bruises, handprints, bites, anything. he'll trace them later and fuck himself thinking of you.

he's the prettiest crier. quiet, heavy breathing with his head tilted back while you milk every drop of his cum out of him. he swears, he doesn't have any more! he can't handle another one!

such an easy begger, he'll do anything for you to touch him, make him cum.

"please- darling please, i've been so good, please let me."

he'll swallow every drop of your cum or keep it in his ass. anything falls to the ground and he'll lick it up, no words necessary.

"mhn- dearest- i-i don't know how much more i- ouH~!"

there it is. your fingers pressed harder against that spot, another breathy moan coming out of him.

"please- use me, let me please y-"

slap. "aGH-!"

a sharp smack to his ass forced tears into his eyes.

"awh, you're so pretty when you cry." you kept abusing his prostate, tweaking at his pretty pink pecs.

"haah- okay- okay okay okay- hnG!" his back arched, precum covering his dick.

"fuck me- fuck me please-! pleasepleasepleaseplease-!"

ah, he's so cute. you smacked his ass again, his tears falling.

"oh my love, would you like to have me?" with teary eyes, he nodded frantically, hands tightening on the sheets. you'd been edging him for hours already!

your fingers pulled out, leaning back. "you'll have to fuck yourself first. make yourself cum once and i'll make you cum many more times."

his eyes widened, cheeks going dusty pink. touch himself? in front of you?

"j-just once..?"

"once. i promise i'll make you see celestia afterwards."

he sat up, his arms shaky. alhaitham squeezed his thighs together, soft whines leaving his swollen lips as he rubbed his tip just how you do.

soft strokes up and down his cock, up and down, up and down. heavy, labored breathing as he glanced at you. you, looking at him with the most adoring and pleased grin.

"c-close- so close- no-!"

he was right there, his release- but it slipped away. alhaitham couldn't please himself, not when you were right there, not when he knew you could do it so much better, not when he knows his body isn't his, it's yours, it's all yours.

tears streaming down his pretty cheeks, he panted while looking at you. "please- please my love i- i can't- i can't use myself the way you do- i can't do it- it's your cock- i can't do it- it's all yours, i'm all yours-"

soft snickers, and your hands were around his shaft. one, two, one, two, steady rhythm and his head tilts back. pretty moans and thank-you's, probably too fucked out to realized he's fucking into your hand like a little whore. soon enough, he cums all over said hand, continuing his steady stream of gratitude. you put your hand up to his mouth, and alhaitham cleans his mess up immediately.

"t-thank you.. thank you thank you thank you.."

"oh darling, i'm not done yet."

"wha- mph-!" your hand was back on his cock, tip so red and swollen. he bucked his hips, mewls and whines filling the room again.

he's such a good boy <3

[crossdressingdeath]

I knew it would be risky to give one of the netherstones to that loose catapult Orin, but when I look in her eyes I feel something, though I'm not sure what to call it - and after all, what's the point of a grand alliance of the Dead Three without old Bhaal? I thought I could depend on that aged stump Ketheric, however, it never even occurred to me he could be brought down by a random collection of shabby adventurers. Obviously, possession of the Weapon, but do the vagabonds possess the Weapon or does the Weapon possess them? It's just as the great sages say: a plan will take you only so far, and then you have to fall back on principles. And inasmuch as control is the guiding principle of the committed Banite, it's axiomatic that I must be in control of all three netherstones. The solution is obvious - pit the vagabonds against the loose catapult, and once they bring me the other two netherstones, we'll find suitable positions for them in the new order to follow. Not the illithids' Grand Design, of course, but the Golden Reign of Gortash. Yes, that has a nice ring to it. Then we shall deal with our naughty Absolute brain and its growing propensity to throw petulant psionic tantrums. It's no accident that I chose to place it in a domed cavern beneath the Upper City - the location is perfectly formed to concentrate the psychic force of the netherstones, concentrate it to such a degree that not even our Netherese-enhanced brain will be able to resist my commands. Once I control all three netherstones, naturally, and the sooner the better.

I can only assume this was written in the period between Ketheric's death and the start of act 3 cutscene where Orin reveals that Durge survived and is leading the "shabby vagabonds" who brought him down. I don't think Gortash would've been so dismissive in his writing if he knew his favourite assassin was on their way. Also, he clearly doesn't yet know about how one person alone can't control the brain. It's interesting seeing him talking about how he does in fact intend to stab his remaining ally in the back so that he could control all three Netherstones and the brain when he seems to have genuinely intended to rule with Durge (at least given him being genuine when he re-offers an alliance at the coronation).

It's fascinating seeing Gortash's response to the alliance with Orin as Bhaal's representative versus his response to having Durge as Bhaal's representative. Like... the alliance only exists because he really really liked Bhaal's Chosen. Having him now kind of lightly complaining about having to include Bhaal and talking about how he thought he could rely on Ketheric is absolutely bizarre when you know that all evidence suggests that he had to be forced into letting Ketheric into the alliance because he was entirely happy with it just being him and Durge. The tone of this also doesn't match with how pleased with their partnership he is when he's telling Durge about their plan. Maybe I just have Durgetash brainrot, but it really does feel like some of the spark went out of the whole thing for him once he wasn't going to be ruling with Durge.

Interesting that he seems to have always intended to uphold any bargain he made with the party, even before he realized he'd need at least one co-ruler to keep the elder brain under control. He wasn't going to rule with them, but he wasn't going to kill them either. It's also still very funny that he dropped the elder brain in a place accessed from right beside the Temple of Bhaal while grumbling about not being able to find the temple. And I love him calling Orin a loose catapult, because obviously cannons haven't been invented yet. The etymology doesn't really work (the phrase "loose cannon" refers to a cannon that's come untied and is now rolling around the deck potentially crushing people and breaking shit, which doesn't really happen with catapults), but it's still fun.

[it-was-funeral-grey]

Voice lines 1 - Introduction complete!

Masterlist

Characters: Al Haitham, Kaveh, Cyno

Summary: What do they have to say about everything that has happened so far?

Author's note: i tried. may come back to re-edit Kaveh's part after we get his actual voice lines!

Please give criticism! Also, if i missed any warnings, do tell me so i can add them!

Al Haitham: As the Acting Grand Sage

"I'm not entertaining any questions right now. I'm off the clock now, and-

…I'm doing a good job, you say? Well thank you, I suppose. Goodbye."

Al Haitham: Meeting her

"Oh? I'm surprised you know about her. She's from Vimara Village, and I came across her during a business trip.

...is there anything else...or?"

Al Haitham: About her

"I didn't meet her under the best of circumstances. But she treated me kindly- almost too kindly. It would be wise for her to be more cautious of others in the future. After all, letting an unknown person into your home for the night is dangerous."

Kaveh: Keys

"I recently made an adorable keychain! Not only is it cute, it'll also make sure that Al Haitham doesn't "mix up our keys" again, or "accidently take both". Again. Wanna see it? So, I originally thought of using Karmaphala wood to- huh? Wait, huh!? Where are my keys?!"

Kaveh: Meeting her

"Ah! Yes, her! Now, how we met isn't so important, but what is, is this! You see that, huh? Never thought Al Haitham could be reduced to a blushing mess! Because of her! And I got it all on kamera!"

Kaveh: About her

"Well frankly, I've not known her for long. And as far as I'm concerned, I'll probably never see her again. But! She seems like a calm, patient soul- especially if she could deal with Al Haitham. Did you know she cared for him when he passed out? For an entire night? An entire night! Most people can't even stand him for more than a minute once he starts running that mouth of his! Also, did you know she was able to make him listen to her?! Archons, she made the most stubborn man in Sumeru bend to her will! Oh, the things I'd do to get a fraction of her power... maybe then Al Haitham would finally listen to me and...(Kaveh goes on, and on...)"

Cyno: Work

"The fall of the sages and the termination of Akasha terminals have resulted in a lack of research projects. As such, there isn't much for the Matra to do, since most students aren't working on anything now. But, we must remain vigilant. There's no saying what trouble bored Akademiya students can get themselves into."

Cyno: Meeting her

"Kaveh and I met her on board a ship back to Sumeru City, where she was under arrest on suspicion for kidnapping Al Haitham. In the end we let her go, as it turns out that it was all just a misunderstanding. *Sigh* I've already apologised many times for the whole situation, but I still feel a little guilty about having her arrested."

Cyno: About her

"I told her a joke over the dinner table just the other night. She did not understand it at first, but she listened attentively to my explanation. It's a little strange to have someone listen so patiently to me without being intimidated by my presence, or asking me to stop. It's... a refreshing feeling. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that our paths will cross again."

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[xnchxntmxnt]

alone at the edge of the universe humming a tune

for merely dreaming we were snow…

Character: Alhaitham (Genshin Impact)

Warnings: none

Notes: I’m trying to make myself write again. whew. roughly inspired by dream sweet in sea major

gn reader

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Alone at the edge of the universe humming a tune…

“‘Haitham, where are we going?”

“You’ll have to see!”

“We’re going to get in trouble.”

He suddenly stopped his ascent up the ramp to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, forcing you to run into his back. You stumbled back, but his graceful hands caught you from falling.

You found yourself against his chest, one of his arms around your waist and the other clutching your back, helping you steady yourself. He looks up to the sky—the stars were stunning in Sumeru City, you’d thought that since the first time you saw them. But when your eyes found his again, you decided there was something more beautiful.

“Don’t you trust me?” he muttered, voice barely above a whisper.

You didn’t know why, but you slowly nodded. Despite being your boyfriend, you never quite trusted his midnight escapades. Him, though, you trusted.

He broke out into a grin and let you go, his hand dropping to lace with yours. The two of you finished your walk, no longer feeling in a rush, and got to the main doors of the sanctuary.

“I’ve seen this a million times, Alhaitham, this is where I take my lunch break when I have time-”

He put his finger to his lips and gestured for you to follow him. Without another word to you, he began climbing past the doors, walking on the branches that crossed over it. Slowly but surely, you followed and climbed the mossy branches until you met up with him.

The two of you sat, legs swinging over the edge of the doorway. If someone caught you, you’d be in incredible amounts of trouble, but he had a rebellious streak you always adored. You sat in the peaceful quiet for a while, enjoying each other’s company, hand in hand.

“It’s beautiful tonight,” you mutter, turning to face him. “Why did you bring me up here, though?”

“I just wanted to see if you’d sneak out with me.”

You scoff and nudge his arm. “Really?”

He buried his face in your shoulder, pressing quick, tickling kisses along your neck and shoulder. It made you tense up and giggle, holding onto him so you didn’t fall off. He took the opportunity to tickle your sides and behind your knee since your hands were busy.

“I yield!” you laugh, unable to say more than that with how much he made you laugh. He finally stopped, a smug grin on his face when he pulled away. “You’re cruel to me, Alhaitham. I wonder why I stay with you.”

Still smiling, he said, “I have no idea.”

**

You stood in the elevator of the Akademiya, impatiently waiting to get to the Grand Sage’s office. It was rather arrogant of whoever built it to make one floor the whole office, you thought, but it was rather convenient that you didn’t have to worry about getting lost.

You stepped out of the elevator, casually walking up to the desk. There sat Alhaitham, so busy with work he probably hadn’t heard the elevator. After the fall of the sages, he’d taken over as the Acting Grand Sage until the higher ups that were still in charge appointed a new one. You were certain they wanted him to just agree to the job, as was he, but he was stubborn about his word. ‘I’m meant to be a scribe, not the Grand Sage, dear’, he said over dinner once. ‘Anyway, I don’t know what I’d do with all that office room.’

That didn’t lessen his workload, though.

“Love?” you asked, leaning on the edge of the desk. “It’s nearly ten, it’s time to go home.”

“Last thing,” he grumbled as he scratched away at the paperwork. That was his usual excuse, but you knew better by now.

You sighed and took the pen from his hand. He opened his mouth to protest, but decided it wasn’t a good idea. “Bedtime.” You don’t leave any extra room for argument, so he decided to concede. There was always tomorrow.

He leaned back against the back of the chair, holding his arms out for you. It made you smile—after all these years together, you didn’t expect him to be very affectionate, but he still was. He pulled you into his lap, guiding you to sit across his legs.

“Talk to me, my love.” You ran your hands through his hair, making him melt into your arms.

He hugged you a little tighter and shook his head. “Nothing to talk about, just a lot to get done.”

You notice he’d opened several windows in the office and smile. At least he was getting some fresh air. “It’s beautiful tonight,” you said, eyes tracing the stars and all their shapes and patterns in the sky. “Might be a nice night for a walk…”

“A walk?”

“Up to the Sanctuary?”

He smiled and laid his head on your shoulder. “I can’t believe you remember that.”

“You only dragged me up there once a week during our time at school.”

He smiled at you, slowly shaking his head. “I adore you and your niche memory, my dear.”

“I think you’re making fun of me, you know.”

“I won’t confirm or deny that.”

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[gay-jesus-probably]

Ngl my best friend and I are doing a kind of rewrite of totk for fun and like. We had a more nuanced story in around thirty minutes, and I kind of want to work on it more. Here's the thing though, it's so easy to write this as a good story because it has so much potential, and it's like you said!! Taken at face value it's so boring!! I'm genuinely so frustrated with this!!

I know, right? Something I've noticed is that like literally anytime I mention the story being kinda shit, it takes like maybe a minute for people to look at the existing setup and think of something more interesting. Like, I briefly complained about the boring writing in a youtube comment, and I've seen three different people reply to that with more compelling takes on the story using very minor fixes. There's just so many bad decisions in the writing, I have no idea how the fuck Nintendo thought this was acceptable.

I mean goddamn, even putting aside all of the Everything with the imperialism in the memories, the memories existing at all is a horrible decision! They seriously made a role playing game where 95% of the story occurs in the past, where the only involvement the player has is our character being namedropped a few times. It worked in BOTW, because Link was there the whole fucking time, and also the memories WEREN'T the story - that was everything leading up to the actual plot kicking off! If a player just totally ignored the memories, the only real consequence was that you didn't really get to know Zelda! If you ignore the memories in TOTK, you are missing the entire fucking plot.

It's such an easy fix too, I mean ffs if the ancient past is where everything interesting is going to happen, just send Link and Zelda back in time together. Link can actually interact with the story and characters, he can develop his own beef with Ganondorf instead of them literally having nothing to do with each other beyond other people saying they should fight, and it'd fix the gaping plot hole of literally all the Sheikah tech being gone - none of it's been built yet. The story could take Link through working with the Sages, finding a way to heal the decayed Master Sword - fuck, he could even wield the ancient Master Sword in its place while he's in the past! They fight Ganon, seal him away, then for the grand finale Link and Zelda return to the modern day Hyrule shortly after they left, and discover it's basically an apocalypse kicking off, because why would Ganon bother to just wait for his enemies to get ready to stop him, he can just go apeshit the second he's free of the seal. This works in story, but also excuses the finale having some railroading - the chaos of the apocalypse stops Link from going off track, ensuring the devs don't need to put in the entire BOTW map just for that one finale sequence. Link retrieves the formerly decayed Master Sword from wherever he left it to heal for the last ten thousand years, and then him and Zelda go fuck up Ganon together, for real this time. Bam, problem solved. Link's in the actual plot, Zelda gets to actually exist for more of the story than just the ending cutscene, there's a reason for the map being completely different, and the Sheikah tech isn't just retconned into non-existence. Fuck, they could explain the runes being gone as just Zelda dropping the Sheikah Slate in the chaos before being yeeted into the past, or the slate being hit by Gloom and destroyed as well. Also, the expanded list of monsters and old monsters having different designs to include the new horns makes sense; they're ten thousand years in the past, of course things are different. Yeah it'd suck that we wouldn't really get to see the characters from BOTW, but... come on. They barely did anything with them anyways.

Alternatively, they could just do the story in the past with Zelda as the player character, if they're that hellbent on ensuring Link isn't allowed to do anything. It'd be a really cool twist! They wouldn't even need to change the gameplay that much, it's been years since the Calamity and Zelda's been travelling around with Link the whole time, it makes perfect sense that she would have learned how to fight over the years, and Link teaching her would give her a very similar fighting style.

It would have been so easy to give the game a more interesting story, it's just embarrassing that they fucked it up so badly.