#cities - impacts | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jaggedjot · 4 months

Text

Louis and Claudia are not just identifiable as American by way of their speech (“American? Your French is ugly.”) and movement (“You could tell from his walk, he was an American.”), but are posited by the narrative to be symbolic representations of postwar America itself (“The American vampires appeared to be as dull and plain as their tourists and soldiers were.”, “Do American vampiresses all wear pastels?”, “And are all American vampires as alluring as you?”). The pair set themselves up in France as “moneyed Americans”, described by Armand as having a “velvet-heeled arrival” despite the pair coming to the city on the back of a truck. That Paris has been left by the war with deep physical and societal wounds is treated as an inconvenience that they have to impatiently endure. Santiago picks at these stitches during the performative execution of the pointedly foreign Annika, invoking the paranoia of occupation with his line “[...] the next time you're in the pew, you turn to your neighbour and say, ‘Peace be unto you.’ They'll give you up... in a wink!”. It is telling that the only explanation Armand gives for his choice of victims to the coven is that they are profiteering from the suffering of postwar France (“Whilst their countrymen clutch ration cards, they've made quite a killing manipulating the black markets.”), a statement which seems to deepen their appetite for the ensuing slaughter. These are not resentments and histories however shared by Claudia, who may revel in the massacre but has already knowingly associated with a woman branded as a collaborator, or Louis, whose attempts to engage with the world through photography only further positions him as an outsider. This detachment is what causes Louis and Claudia to be regarded as interlopers, suspected to believe themselves to be too important to heed traditions, manners (“It's custom and practice for traveling vampires to make themselves known”) or the welfare of their temporary home (“We were constantly cleaning up for them.”). Though American soldiers played a role in the later stages of the liberation of Paris, the increasing presence of Americans in the city is framed as another more insidious occupation (“[...] our Anglican friends now invading Paris postwar”, “My dear American friend [...] who has dominated my mind”). As Americans, Louis and Claudia are granted more privileges in society than other black ethnics groups (“But I wasn't an Algerian. I was an American”). It is not just that the French theatre troupe composed of multinational actors now has “five out of every seven” of their performances in English, but the coven has been instructed by Armand to remake itself as “an English company” and speak the language offstage too. Armand’s welcoming attitude to increasing American influence in the city, how it creates a “more receptive” and “optimistic” audience, is not a simple or universal one. There is a distinct bitterness belying the fanfare accompanying Louis and Claudia’s arrival, particularly from Santiago (“I ask you, Maitre, was it worth the wait?”), but it is also notably still present in Armand’s lighthearted teasing (“Seventy-seven years and it still feels like a slight.”, “Five months removed [...] the Americans were finally coming to Pigalle.”). At least during these early months, Louis and Claudia seem to view Paris more as a static backdrop against which they can discover themselves and heal their relationship. This is a mistake that they will likely only realise when it is already too late, for this fragile and volatile setting is entwined with the tragedy that awaits them.

#working title v1: an American vampire in Paris #(two references for the price of one!)#working title v2: take a drink everytime someone says 'American' in this episode #this really is a continuation of @saintarmand's points about parallels between countries and characters #the line about Louis and Claudia's irresponsible disposing of bodies made me think about discussions of the ecological impact of tourism #Louis' line about how they frequently move cities I'm sure will come up again #it would be really interesting if one of the tensions the coven have with Madeleine is their perception of her as a traitor #Louis de Pointe du Lac #Claudia #Armand #Santiago #Interview with the Vampire #Jagged Jottings

283 notes · View notes

yuriisclumsy · 2 months

Text

𝖯𝗋𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗎𝖾, 𝙰𝚌𝚝 𝙸: Start Anew

Last Chapter | Next Chapter

𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗈𝖿𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌 𝗍𝗋𝗎𝗅𝗒. 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 3,083

Authors note: Hope everyone's day is good. I have been working on the story for a while -- it takes time to write a chapter -- getting inspirations and tidying up the plot a bit. I really love were this is going! Side Note: If you want to ask more about the story, or want to clarify somethings, my ASK! is always opened! I think I will also be accepting request from this fandom as well. So, don't be shy. PS. This is the longest chapter so far.

It’s been a while since I arrived here; a place filled with unknowns and mysteries.

Not knowing where I was…frightening to say the least. Being far away from my home, into a land of magic.

If I hadn’t tried pinching myself every time I encountered a creature right out of a fantasy anime, I would believe I was in a dream, crazy even.

When I awoke, I found myself inside a big hole with cecilia flowers blooming in the dark. It was deep in measure, as I couldn’t see the surrounding area. As confused as I was, I decided climbing was my best option to take.

A few hours went by as I tried getting out the ditch.

Out of all the places to spawn in another world, a hole isn’t on the list.

If not for the fortunate encounter of a blonde haired boy, I would have still been there as I speak. He rescued me, helping me reach the top of the pit. Afterwards, when I thanked him, he understood nothing. He spoke to me, and I understood nothing.

And so, my second problem since coming to this strange place began: language barrier.

With the limit of communication between the two of us, we attempted to introduce ourselves. The boy pointed at himself and said Sirius… It meant the brightest star in the night sky in Greek.

I followed suit and copied him, pointing at myself, and said my name. It’s nothing special so I won’t waste my time saying it–mother would have said otherwise giving me a frown in disapproval.

We smiled. We solved the problem of how we could get each other's attention. The happiness didn’t last long hearing rustling in the bushes. In defense, Sirius took out his sword. The sight of it made me freeze, though not much the sword, but the way it appeared out of thin air.

My mind twisted, frustratedly trying to grasp logic to reason the sudden appearance of the sword. There’s just no way a sword can just materialize out of nothing. Was I going insane? I would've believed myself to be if not for the thing that came out the bushes belonging to imagination.

I think I passed out after seeing it because when I woke up again I saw Sirius' worried face. What I saw was a smile. A cute, yet very dangerous, slime. If this place could give me more to think about how stupid this all was, it would be the weird fashion of these clothes.

At that point I noticed that I wasn't wearing my school uniform. I wore a cloak. It’s not all I had–I think anyone would notice if they were buck naked, but that is the only noteworthy item I wore; the rest is plain and simple, except for the hair piece on the left side of my hair; It’s a crystal, surrounded by gold with engravings on it.

My thoughts at the moment reflected my confusion. Perhaps, I had miraculously found myself on the other side of the globe! …but that’s just hopeful thinking. I knew monsters weren’t meant to be real, nor these gravity-defiant clothes we wore existed.

Reality Dawned on me a few days later being graced with the same routine: Waking up thinking it was all a dream, greeting Sirius, eating, moving on in the plains to who-knows-where, encountering monsters, repeat.

That’s how it was, up until we fished out our third party member.

She is…something. At first, I worried the poor thing had drowned in the pond, but after making sure she was alright I discovered she could float. That killed my sense of urgency.

How could a fairy, who literally floats, drown?

The fairy, who later gave us her name–Paimon, teached Sirius the language of this planet. Apparently, I was speaking a different language than the one I’m using right now. Sirius pointed it out after he learned to formulate sentences, albeit broken, but understandable nonetheless.

Two months passed since then.

We were sitting on a beach enjoying its offerings. Sirius and Paimon–the fairy we helped–were closer to the shore drawing images in the sand. I relaxed under the protection of a palm’s shade, not wanting to get a heat stroke from the scorching sun.

But this peacefulness did not last long.

A loud sound played, akin to that of a classic German symphony, short but loud enough to make my eardrums ring. It made me dizzy when I heard it.

Some sort of vision, screen-like, projection, showed up in front of me when I heard the sound.

“So…what you're trying to say is that you fell here…from another world?” I heard Paimon speak.

Two shining stars, traveling from an unknown place onwards to the sky itself.

“But when you wanted to leave and go on to the next world, your path was blocked by some unknown god?”

A space between the clouds and stars was shown to me; there was Sirius, and someone that looked exactly like him in the opposite gender.

Then I saw her.

The god that Paimon mentioned; she was tall; her clothing were fit for the divinity she is; with her beauty, she’d be capable of killing the careers of hundreds of models if she were to join the modeling business.

“Outlanders, your journey ends here!” I shivered. Her voice was colder than any ice-cream that could give me a brain freeze on a winter’s day.

“Who are you?!” Sirius’ look-alike questioned.

“The sustainer of heavenly principles. The arrogation of mankind ends now,” the god summoned a red cube expanding its domain in the ground. It almost captured the outsiders, almost.

Jumping away from her attack, they each manifested a pair of glorious crystalized wings and swords; the sun shone through its glass making the wings seem like they were glowing; their swords–matching in style–live for the protection of their masters, and ready for battle; launching forward, they meet tentacles made of the same cube which tried to take them down. Every slash made by their opponent was evaded by them. They looked like butterflies dancing a duet; so serine and gorgeous.

But just like a game of chess, the enemy’s turn is finished, it is their turn to make a move. Readying their attack with all the power they can muster; they do a combined strike. Unfortunately for them, the god shielded their attack, rendering them hopeless to her.

The Queen eats a pawn.

With only a glare at the boy made him recoil. But to his dismay, his counterpart wasn't so fast. She was swallowed by the god’s swarm of red-and-black cube.

In a desperate attempt to free her, Sirius charged an attack with some power that is unknown to me. As fast as lighting, he was behind the god. The force of the power collided with the god making a big explosion.

Pawn moves.

Smoke was everywhere; Sirius catches his breath thinking the god was defeated.

His eyes widened, the fumes of the aftermath scurried off to reveal the god intact. Not even her clothes were affected. Intinctly, Sirius backed up, but found himself unable to move: the god had trapped him as well.

Queen moved, blocking the pawn from advancing. The game paused momentarily.

“Wait, don’t go!” His eyes looked desperately at the god, “give my sister back!”

In that instant, I could feel his emotions radiating through his voice. They barreled onto each other, it made me want to crawl into a ball and cry; anger, worry, sadness…the worst one of them was the feeling of separation–loss.

The scene continued, ignorant of my feelings.

“And just like that, the god took away my sister.”

I discovered Sirius had a sister; a twin intertwined in the stars.

“Some kind of seal was cast upon me, and I lost my power. So while we used to travel from world to world, we are now trapped here.”

“How many years ago was it? I don’t know… But I intend to find out,” the scene changed back to the sunny beach and the call of the ocean.

“I was completely alone from the time I woke — Right until I met you and [Name] two months ago.”

“Yeah, Paimon owes you guys for that. Otherwise Paimon likely would have drowned… So, Paimon would do her best to be a great guide for you two!” She vowed to be our travel guide across this unknown world.

Sirius looked out into the horizon with hopeful eyes for the future.

“We should head off.”

When the scene ended, Paimon and Sirius came to me to continue our journey.

“[Name] stop relaxing, and let’s go!” Paimon took me by the hand and lifted me up, dragging me to wherever we were going.

I didn’t share what happened, or what I saw. It's a secret for now.

Currently, we are on our way to our next destination: Mondstadt City.

The city belongs to the nation of Mondstadt–funnily having the same name. According to Paimon, it is the closest civilization from our location. Before going further we stop atop a hill looking out into the plains and what awaits us in the future.

And that is where we found ourselves. Standing idly at the edge of a mountain looking out into the wilderness….

Wait…. Did—did I just have an internal dialogue? I stopped enjoying the view questioning my sanity, before being rudely interrupted by a certain gluttonous-fairy.

“Woaww! This is certainly something Paimon could get used to waking up to see each morning!” She said happily. “What do you think, Sirius?”

Oh, so we’re just going to ignore me, are we?

“I also like the view…” I glanced at her. She looked at me with a sorry-d face.

“We like it, Paimon. Thank you for ask,” Sirius responded calmly.

“See, Paimon? It wasn’t so difficult to include me.”

“Oh look!” she pointed at a lake in the middle of the valley, trying to divert the conversation. “That’s a Statue of The Seven!”

I was unimpressed, but Sirius followed her enthusiasm.

“What is it?” He asked, looking at what looked like a pillar in the middle of a pond.

“They are statues showing The Seven’s protection over the world,” she said proudly, “you can find them scattered all over the place. Among the seven gods, this one belongs to the god who controls the wind.”

“And that is important to know, because…?” I found the information useless. The gods in my world are practically non-existent, or hard to contact unless you're a devoted follower they’ve shown favoritism to. The gods in this world are no different.

“Because! It can help Sirius find information on his sister and clear up if that’s the god he’s looking for, and help you remember who you are!”

I nearly forgot. I made an excuse of losing my memories when Sirius became suspicious for knowing the language but not the places a while back. I need to keep that in mind.

Darn you Sirius and your keen senses.

“...you’re right.”

“Of course Paimon is right!” So presumptuous she is. I’ll play along for now.

“Oh, what would come of me if not for the number-one-in-the-whole-world’s travel guide not being here with me?” I sounded overdramatic, yes, but she bought it and became even prouder.

“You would be a lost little Seelie, that’s for sure!”

Sirius giggled at our shenanigans. “Okay, Paimon is best travel guide. But, we need go. Will be late when arrive in city.”

“Oh no! We can’t have that. If we’re late, all the restaurants will be closed, and Paimon won’t be able to eat!” She was more worried about her empty stomach than monsters attacking us.

“*sight…* I guess the only thing inside that head of hers is food," I commented.

“Haha. Don’t let Paimon hear, she will eat you at night,” Sirius said with a jokingly-creepy voice.

“Ha-ha-ha… Getting eaten by a flying child is not on my experience list,” I said with sarcasm. “Anyway, we should follow her. We don’t want her drowning in another pond…”

The only response I got was him giggling. We ran after Paimon. She is not to be left alone for a second, lest you want your rations to go poof.

But nothing would have prepared us for what we would see in the sky that day.

“Are you confident we’ll be able to meet this god?” I said.

We managed to catch up to Paimon before she ran into any trouble. Now, we were closer to the statue we saw on the hill.

“Paimon’s not sure… Paimon has never meet any of The Seven in person, so Paimon doesn't know if they’ll answer. But, it's worth a try!”

“Better than nothing,” Sirius looked at me for confirmation.

“It’s progress,” saying that earned me a smile from him.

I looked away from him admiring the species of animal I’ve never seen before. Even the fruits were different. Reminds me that I need to try all the food I can. When in a new world, try all you can, especially food.

I’m thinking like Paimon now…

Approaching the statue, I stopped and looked at it from a distance. My mouth was left agape at the stone’s craftsmanship; from far it looked rather plain, but on closer inspection it was as complex as understanding chess; it was large, having angel wings in the back; the silhouette was that of a person, with braids and a good figure.

Was this the god of wind?

Paimon went in front of us before I could marvel at it any longer. I’ll have time to gaze at it later.

“As we all know, poetry and language flow like the wind…” she began.

“Wowww, Paimon. Didn’t realize we had a poet in our group,” I clapped.

“Oh, for goodness sake! Leave Paimon alone!” her tiny legs stumped the air, showing our companions annoyance.

I raise my hands to shield myself from her wrath. “Fine, fine. I'll leave you alone for now.”

“What do you mean ‘for now’?!”

Before Paimon’s anger flowed out, Sirius decided it was the best time to take a dip in the pond, splashing Paimon and I.

“Ah!” Paimon tried to take cover. But a little too late, she was as wet as I was.

“Was that really necessary?” I asked, looking at myself.

He smiled at us. “You two stopped,” He swam to the minuscule island in the pond where the statue was.

Paimon shook like a wet puppy, splashing even more water on me.

“OI.” I was ignored.

She flew right above the pond joining Sirius, leaving me behind. Thanks Paimon.

Do I really have to go there? I’m already wet, so I might as well.

I took my shoe and socks off, I didn’t want them smelling bad later after they dried. My right foot was the first to make contact with the water. Nope. It was iced cold. Not going. No, with a little spice of Nuh-huh. Sirius could get all the attention from the statue all he wanted because, I. Ain't. Going.

“[Name]! You coming?” Sirius got my attention.

“No, I’m good! I’ll just…look around the area!” I told him, quickly putting my socks and shoes on.

“Okay, don’t go far!” He told me before focusing on Paimon and the statue.

Now. what to do, what to do?

I walked around the pond finding nothing of my interest. Then, a sound came into earshot. It was the same one I heard when the vision appeared back on the beach! Was I going to get another one?

I see as Sirius touches the statue, and a ball of…air? Leaps into his body. The star in his chest and his wrist that were previously black, are now filled and glowing with teal.

My perspective comes back to the spot I was formerly.

What was the thing that went into Sirius’s body? I wondered.

Suddenly, a zephyr flowed in my direction. It was playful, messing with my hair. Then it became strong and lifted my cloak. I was amazed at first, right before the little demon made it fall, slamming it against my face. I yelped in surprise. I could hear soft giggles in the breeze.

The wind was mocking me.

I won’t forget this, you little…

“[Name]! There you are!” Paimon shouted as she got closer to me.

“You don’t have to yell for me to hear Paimon, I’m not deaf,” I winced.

“Oops, sorry.”

“It’s fine. So, did you two discover something interesting?” I asked, pretending I didn’t just see an orb go into Sirius’s body.

They both nodded with big smiles.

“Yup! Sirius resonated with the statue, and is now able to control the power of Anemo!”

“Excuse me?” I said dumbfounded.

“Uhmm, Sirius resonated with the statue?” Paimon tilted her head in confusion.

“No yeah, I heard that part. What do you mean he can use the power of Anemo?”

Sirius put his hand out and concentrated. Then a small ball of air was formed.

I was gone for two seconds, and Sirius is already getting powers??? How is that fair? I want powers too!

To say I was mad would be an understatement. I was furious.

Couldn't it have been me instead? All those times where I dreamed of having cool magic and powers have been shattered. They’re so close, yet so far away. Darn you Sirius!

“Now I’m the only one without powers… Great.”

“In his defense, he didn’t know he would get them,” Paimon defended. “Maybe the gods didn’t give you any powers because you are mean, [Name],” Was she trying to provoke me? She is reminding me of someone annoying I know.

I gave her a nasty glare before letting it go. “Now, can you please show us the way to Mondstadt city. I’m getting hungry and tired of this day.”

“Oh, Paimon is too! Paimon can’t wait to taste the sweet delicacies of the nation of freedom…” her mouth watered at the thought of her stomach being full, “Let’s move then!”

Paimon took the lead down a path to a forest. If there was a way to avoid forests I would tell Paimon to make a detour, but it seems this is the only way to the city, so I stayed shut.

From what I saw on the hill, the city is built on an island in the middle of a gigantic lake. It’s a good idea. It keeps enemies and monsters at bay. With only one entrance to the city, regulating who comes in and who goes out is as easy as pie!

Guess I was daydreaming about the city for a while, because before I knew it, we were approaching the forest. I could see a few signs from here.

I always get fascinated by old methods of engineering cities.

“Wow! What is that!?” I heard Paimon ask, “There’s something huge, in the sky!”

“Woww…” Sirius let out in amazement.

I turned to see what all the commotion was. Honestly, what was so amazing that both Paimon and Sirius were amazed.

“Huh?”

My eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

It was a dragon….

A damn dragon.

“HUHHHHH???????????”

𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚜: @udretlnea, @taurus-caeli, @humongousoperatorhairdoopera. Re-blog or Comment if you want to get added into the Tag section for The Divine City: Story. Back to The Divine City: Story Master-List.

Go to Arcs, a related series.

ᘻɑ𝘚Ե୧Ⲅ⧿ℓἱ𝘚Ե

Authors note: Found any mistakes? Leave it down on the comments and I'll change it! If you have not been tag, please leave another comment about it, I can forget from time to time!

#genshin sagau #reader input #reader insert #sagau #genshin isekai #the divine city #blond traveler #genshin impact sagau #genshin impact isekai #paimon #aether #dvalin

54 notes · View notes