#now think about him in elegy

[angeart]

it’s time for me to tell you about boatem circus mumbo. where does he come from? how did he get into the circus? what’s the trauma he carries? 

boatem circus mumbo is an enderman hybrid. they’re kind of rare, and some people are very interested in their teleporting ability. this leads to mumbo getting captured and taken to a specialised lab to be studied entirely against his will. 

this lab is a floating manmade island. entirely surrounded by water. 

water hurts endermen. which means mumbo can’t use his abilities to get away, because there’s nowhere safe for him to teleport to, outside of this island that’s now become his prison. he’s put in a small room, the walls of which are infused by running water, serving as a constant barrier. a perfect cell to contain an enderman hybrid.

but it’s more than a cell. it’s also the research lab. it’s not made with a sliver of comfort in mind; quite the opposite, it’s imbued with countless traps and mechanisms, from spikes and pits to fire and lava. it doesn’t contain a bed, even though it’s meant for long-term containment.

the research is set up to focus on studying the limits of teleporting. all the hows: how far, how often, how many times in a row, etc. the way they’re doing this is, essentially, by putting mumbo in harmful situations. hence the traps littering the room! lava from the ceiling? floor dropping from underneath him? water from somewhere? spikes? lots of ways to hurt him!

he doesn’t have a choice here. mere survival and fear of pain takes over. he’s forced to teleport to avoid harm.

he’s kept in almost constant motion. his mind is in overdrive. there’s a constant sense of danger and impending doom of not knowing where it’ll come from this time. all he knows is to jump away from pain. (personally, i like to think this is where mumbo’s antsy restlessness comes from.)

it goes on for days. weeks. with barely any breaks. 

it exhausts him. he can’t keep up. at some point it’s simply too much.

he’s so scared. everything hurts. he can’t.

he can’t do it anymore. even if he’d want to, he can’t.

they wear him down to nothing, so much so that his teleportation abilities fail and he can no longer get out of the way of danger at all besides belated stumbles which do very little, and aren’t what the researchers are after. they grant him longer rest, but it barely seems to fix anything. he’s burned out, overworked, done. stripped of everything that used to make him seem special in their eyes.

it reaches a point when they consider him useless. that’s how exhausted he is.

and this is when he overhears them talking about dropping him overboard. just dumping him in the water. into the ocean. (that’d surely kill him.) getting rid of him as if he was nothing.

he can’t do anything about it.

but someone proposes to sell him instead! that way they can at least get some cash for him.

so they take him to a black market. put water-magic imbued shackles around his wrists (they hurt, they burn), shove him in a cage, and start figuring out how this whole selling hybrids works.

scar, coincidentally, crosses their path.

he sees this hybrid, worn down and caged and terrified, and… he has to act, right? he has to.

what happens is that he cons them. (<3) he uses his wonderful silver tongue, gives them some money, and says he’ll sell mumbo for them, he has contacts, etcetc. and then he’ll give them the rest of the money once the deed is done, based on how much mumbo sells for! a great deal! don’t worry about a thing!

he smooth talks his way until he has mumbo in his possession.

they’re still in the black market. mumbo’s still shackled and caged. he’s terrified. he doesn’t know scar, or his intentions. he fully expects to be sold to someone horrible, or to another hell of a lab.

scar takes him somewhere private, and instead of anything mumbo expects, he… opens the cage.

mumbo presses into the far corner, so so so scared, and he flinches at scar’s approach, and—

scar apologises?

so softly.

and he undoes mumbo’s shakles.

the very moment they’re off and the water magic relents, running on pure instinct and fear, mumbo teleports. 

just once. not even very far. just outside of the cage.

it’s as much as he can manage, honestly. teleporting carries so much for him now. memories of danger and pain and fear tangled with the ever-present fatigue that pins him in place.

he didn’t even really mean to do it; it’s just become instinctual when he feels a smidge of a possible threat. he did it without thinking, and… he can’t do it again. he feels weak and dizzy and nauseous, half-ready to collapse just from that. even though his freedom is at stake, he simply can't do it.

(but he doesn’t have to. he doesn’t. scar’s there. mumbo’s going to be okay.)

gently, quietly, scar tells him it’s okay. he won’t hurt him. he tells him that he’s free to go, but if he has nowhere to go, he can come with scar. 

it sounds like a trap. like just another scam.

but mumbo has nowhere to go. and scar is so gentle with him?

he ends up giving in and going with scar. and scar never gave him a reason to regret it.

he becomes part of the boatem circus. and even then, he doesn’t teleport for months afterwards. and he doesn’t participate in the circus shows for the longest time. (not until grian comes along.) 

[vilhelios]

— WAIT FOR ME / I'M STILL SOMEWHERE ;

( you're getting older without me and i'm getting scared ) ; in which rafayel still hopes that there's a life where this works — where you do not crush his bleeding heart in your hands, & he still loves you despite, despite, despite.

cw: not beta read; spoilers for abysswalker rafayel's "sea of golden sand" myth, "fragrant dreams" card, "siren's song" anecdote, & main story ch. 7; angst ; some fluff ; mentions of blood, injury & death ; theories + headcanons about mc & rafayel's past lives ; kinda pretentious rafayel lore analysis ( can't help it, i just love him a lot! )

"RAFAYEL, do you think we're lovers in every universe?"

in the stillness of the night, as he mindlessly draws designs on your skin with his thumb, rafayel lies through his teeth: "yeah. i'm sure we are."

it's all he can manage. how do you tell your lover—your dear, sweet muse, whose presence makes the sea of your heart ebb and swell—that you've wondered the same thing lifetimes ago, and know the answer with bittersweet certainty? you continue talking about an article you read, in the morning—something about "consciousness energy fluctuations" and "that feeling of deja vu" and "soulmates."

and rafayel wonders, humming along to your rambling, if that's what you two are: soulmates.

"i wonder what we're like." you sigh, burrowing your head into the warmth of his chest. surely you can hear the rapid thrumming of his heart—he can't help it, the organ so helplessly weak in your presence. "you're the most creative man i know; got any ideas?"

"i think," rafayel starts, runs his fingers through your hair, "there's a life where i'm a merman, you're the human i've fallen deeply in love with, and the barrier between the waves and the shoreline is all that's stopping us."

rafayel remembers being younger, lifetimes ago. he remembers swimming upstream, through a little river that becomes a smaller creek, settling by your quaint home. he remembers playing you a song on his flute, an elegy for lemuria that became your song. he still remembers your head peeking out from the window and the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen staring down at him. you were like sunflecks dancing upon the water's surface—dazzling—and he, denizen of the deep dark sea, couldn't help but fall in love. he gave you his heart, his blood, his voice.

"hmm... reminds me of an old fairy tale." you press a kiss to the beauty mark on his chest, your lips curving into a smile against his skin. right above where his heart is, where the proof of your pact would shine bright. "do you think you'd have gotten a pair of legs and we'd live happily ever after on land?"

"of course i would've." rafayel smiles.

(he does not think about the way his voice grew hoarse as he sung lemuria's elegy. he does not think about the dagger he'd clutched so tightly in his hidden hand, as you approached him on the shore. he does not think about the hug, the warmth of your body making his resolve flutter. the warm blood on his hands, in the water, seeping from the heart he once loved and now carved out and cradled. he does not think about returning to a ruined lemuria, everything he's ever loved ripped away from him in a night.)

"then i like that one. what about another? knowing how we quarrel, do you think we were royalty hailing from opposing kingdoms?"

"hmm, close. i'd say that i'm an assassin, sneaking into your lovely highness's bedroom window."

"hah! i can see that." his heart flutters when he hears you giggle. rafayel wishes he could trap that beautiful sound inside a conch shell, it almost seemed possible, the way it felt like molten gold—sunlight. "i'd leave the windows open just so you'd have an easier time coming in."

"glad to know you'd still fall for my charms." he finds it in himself to smile, pressing a kiss to your forehead. "even if it might not be the brightest idea, dummy."

"hmph, but if we still loved each other then, you wouldn't kill me." your hand reaches upwards to cup his cheek, a thumb aimlessly stroking comforting lines across his skin. his breath hitches at how naturally it comes to you. "you'd fall for my charms too."

(why wouldn't it? you've done it so many times before, as you—dear highness of philos—gingerly removed his mask. he, who was destined to carve out your heart; and he, who could not bear to do so, who fell apart in the warmth of your hold. any hatred he'd held in his heart for the humans that desecrated his home —beautiful, sacred lemuria— dissolved with each ripple of the lake you both had danced across on that silent night. how could he ever hurt his beloved, who in another life he'd devoted entire oceans to?)

"yeah." he breathes out, almost a chuckle. "yeah, i guess i would, your highness."

"rafa?" you murmur, words slurred with the call of sleep, ushered in by him running a hand through your hair. "i really hope that we're soulmates even if it's in the silliest lives you could ever think up. do you?"

(and he hopes for more, a case study in greed. he hopes for the most blissful lives with you—where he's the receding sea and you are the sands of the shore, or you are an anemone polyp and he is the rock you've decided to settle upon, or he is the deepsea fish that looks longingly upon the warmth of the sunflecks that dance upon the water. he hopes there's a life where this whole thing works: where you do not crush his bleeding heart in your hands, & he still loves you despite, despite, despite.)

and rafayel smiles, presses the umpteenth kiss tonight to your forehead, watches you draw closer into his hold. and then he whispers his little wish against your skin, as soft as a siren singing lullabies to a sailor:

"yeah. i hope so too."

a/n: on this lovely valentine's day i offer the rafa stans: angst 🤩 the ending was a bit rushed because i... was no longer in an angsty mood. this fic is very much so a product of a time where i knew less of rafa's lore (see: did not finish the myth) so there may be some lore inaccuracies ... please do listen to berenstein by the band camino!!! l&ds' plot feels like an amalgamation of some of my favourite songs (berenstein, heartbeat by bts, isohel by EDEN)... and it's just such a good plot so far. please send me rafa lore stuff/general thoughts bc i'd love to try and play around with some of them (i have an idea for his birthday fic already) ,,, i'd love and appreciate you immensely ♡

[sincerelywhistler]

⊹ ₊ ❤︎ VIX ❤︎₊ ⊹

My husband, Fox, received Desire Demon as his Redacted demon quiz type result. So, naturally, we cooked up a DemonSona for him. And by we, I mean he called all the shots and I had the utmost pleasure of drawing this flirt. (We also made Vix and my DemonSona, Wolf-Rayet, smooch. Because we’re gay.)

Vulpecula… Vix… like a vixen… l-like a Fox yeah you get it.

Vix’s Pinterest Board

More about Vix (from Fox himself):

HELLO TUMBLR ITS FOX AND ITS MY TURN ON THE WES ACCOUNT, STRAP IN

• Vix first began writing as a way to better understand human desires on a deeper, personal level through passing on letters with anonymous pen pals

• Through sending these letters back and forth, he found his passion for writing as a whole. He excels in writing romance and poetry.

• After sending his pen pals rough copies of his creative works, they encouraged Vix to publish his books. He decided to publish his books under his full name, Vulpecula

• The general public has been lead to believe that the name Vulpecula is a pseudonym, and that it is a pseudonym that was passed down from anonymous writer to anonymous writer as generations passed. Empowered folk likely know that an immortal race— like a demon or vampire— is the person behind the pen

• He was a voracious reader from the start. Vix’s place on Elegy houses an impressive collection of books of all ages and genres

• Vix primarily feeds on humans’ general attraction towards him rather than from sexual relationships. Think of his dietary situation like something rent-a-boyfriend haha. Need a plus one to a wedding or work party? Don’t want to waste a Friday night by staying home? Want a shopping buddy? Call him up, he likes both the company and the attention.

• Bringing people out of their shells to try new things or go on dates is his favorite thing to do, which is why he wants to study Wolf-Rayet’s reclusive self under a microscope so badly in a gay way

• HOW THEY MET IS SO CUTE BUT I DONT THINK I CAN SUMMARIZE IT ALL LIKE WES WOULD BE ABLE TO SO LOOK AT THE THUMBNAIL OF THEM MEETING INSTEAD

barcode: the pleasure is mine

• …I LIED IM DOING IT ANYWAY. Wolf-Rayet finally got out of the house to visit the quaint mom and pop book shop to pick up some new books to read to his patients. By happenstance, Vix was there, setting up for a book signing when he spotted WR looking lost and awkward in the romance section. He caught Vix’s eye in more ways than one, so of course he had to go fluster the shit out of WR. WR explodes and fucking dies because a McDonald’s sprite would kill that Victorian man, but also because Vix wants to see him again, so he handed WR a copy of one of his spicer books he’s published, and on the back he wrote “we could make such a beautiful library together”. It’s then that Wolf-Rayet learns that he is actually the author of that book signing before bolting out the doors in embarrassment 😭

• He and Wolf-Rayet speak Latin together!! Vix learned it because he’s a sucker for dead languages and WR picked it up because he’s old as fuck medical terminology is heavy with Latin roots

• Vix calls WR “his hound” like from Fox and the Hound

That’s all I will share for now GOODBYE TUMBLR

-FOX

[leftoverghosts]

the covenant

Patrick's emotions simmered, a mixture of fascination and frustration swirling within him as he observed you. Your defiance after your rebirth was both infuriating and alluring. You were an enigma, the sun that was meant to give life but would surely burn his soul to damnation. No matter how hard he tried to possess you, you eluded his grasp, making him want you even more.

But tonight, there would be no resistance. The walls between you had been chipped away over weeks of tumultuous passion, arguments, and feedings. Now, in his dark bedroom, you sat quietly by the window, the moonlight casting a haunting glow upon your features. Finally, you had woken up, you were his in a way that he would not dare to make any one else.

He approached with caution, the intensity of his presence drawing your attention away from the book in your lap. His hand rested on your shoulder, as cold as the December night. "I trust you have been enjoying my family's collection," he said with a grin playing upon his features.

You looked upon him with a disdainful expression, holding forward the book. "Your family's library is full of deceit, just as you are Patrick. These supposed histories are nothing more than propaganda against humans. This segment is naught but lies about how we are no more than mere chattel."

Patrick chuckled, leaning down to glance at the title, Elegy of the Mortal Flock by Tashi Duncan. “Oh, darling, did you really expect unbiased truth in a room owned by creatures like us? The stories are written by the victors, and we’ve always made sure to come out of top.”

You scoffed and allowed him to take the book from your grasp, watching as he carelessly tossed the ancient heirloom onto his desk.

“Everything they have told you about me, about our kind," his voice was dripping the excitement of a scholar with a new pupil, “is only half the story. We are not the monsters they paint us to be."

“Your companions certainly are,” you retorted, standing as he reached for your hand. He guided you towards the bed with slow deliberation.

Patrick laughed softly, the sound rich with amusement. “Oh, I will not deny that. Tashi is insatiable and Art is a cunning bastard.” He drew you closer, his arms encircling your waist. His breath was cool against your ear as he whispered, “But I am not them.”

“No,” you murmured, turning your head. “You are just the cub pretending not to have claws or fangs.”

Patrick's expression tightened with a sinister smirk as his hand trailed over the side of your neck, lingering over the faint scar from where he had marked you with his bite. "And yet, here you stand before me," he purred, a mixture of awe and lust in his voice. “Do you think a lion is defined only by its teeth and claws?"

“There is also its pride,” your tone was sharp. “And its hunger.”

“Ah, yes, my hunger.” He nodded in agreement, his hands moving to your hips, his touch turning rapacious. “And you, my love, are the only one who can satisfy it.” His lips replaced his fingertips, trailing the column of your neck, sending shivers down your spine despite yourself.

"How amusing," you muttered sarcastically, tilting your head to give him better access. "Considering all the women hidden away in your so-called pleasure wing that seem to keep you well-fed."

The keening sound Patrick let out was low and menacing, his eyes darkening with desire. "Pleasure, yes," he murmured, the tips of his fangs lightly grazing your throat. "But never true satisfaction. None of them compare to you."

You wanted to resist his words, to call him out for the lies they sounded like, but you could not. Not when his hands caressed the curve of your belly, lingering on the small bump that had irrevocably altered the relationship between you. His smile softened against your skin, the feral edge of his touch giving way to something achingly tender.

“This miracle has changed me,” he whispered, his hands splayed over your stomach, cradling your belly with reverence. “This life you carry… it was once thought impossible, but now it is our future.”

"Pretty words, Patrick," you said, but your voice caught with emotion as his mouth traveled lower, brushing against your collarbone.

"Do you truly doubt my sincerity?" he asked, dead blue eyes twinkling with mischievousness. "Perhaps you’re right. Words mean so little. But actions, my dear, actions speak louder than any words." He took hold of your chin, forcing you to meet his unwavering gaze. "You are bound to me now, body and soul, whether you like it or not. Your God forsook you the moment you woke as one of us." His voice held a possessive edge once again. "You carry my child, and you will stay by my side faithfully until the day you die."

“When will that day be?” you asked with frustration and anger. But before you could say anything else, he fell to his knees in front of you, his hands sliding up your thighs.

The sight of him kneeling—Patrick Zweig, a monster so formidable and otherworldly, now entirely at your mercy—made your breath hitch.

"Patrick," you started uncertainly, torn between pulling him back up or succumbing to him completely.

"The day you die?" He whispered, his voice dripping with sorrow and hunger, gripping your nightdress in his hands, lifting it. "No, my pet, I will never willingly let you meet your end." His eyes glinted with adoration, as inch by inch, he slowly uncovered the apex between your legs. He pressed his face forward into the coarse hair, breathing deeply, before chancing a lick. "You are damned, we belong together," he warned, the promise of protection laced with a frightening undertone.

As his kisses explored your body, you realized that this oath was sealed in blood and would bind you to him for eternity. Quivering under his touch, the rational part of your mind could not help but ponder if this love was worth the cost of your very soul. You silenced it.

This redoubtable being had claimed you as his companion and the guardian of his legacy. A future filled with peril and sacrifice lay ahead, but right now, the only thing that mattered was the unbreakable connection between you and the nosferatu who held your destiny in his grasp.

[cenorii]

In 2021, dirty secrets about the use of bioweapons are revealed inside BSAA + there are direct hints in Umbrella Corps that Wesker is alive. I just combine the two puzzle pieces together in my head. So let's look at another interesting post-2009 scenario.

AU - ELEGY OF FREE RADICALS

Chris was once careless about eliminating Wesker. Knowing his nature, he still didn't check Wesker's presumed place of death properly. Relying on his own luck, Chris left the place of battle and never returned there. But he had to go back. It has become his mistake.

Chris reported the scene of the victory to the BSAA. Rotten BSAA could have used that data in any way they wanted. Like going back there and checking out the volcano. They could have indicated on the documents that they were headed to clear the area of the remnants of Uroboros, but in fact to search for Wesker's remains to get rich off the sale and study of his unique biomaterial. But what they didn't expect was to find him alive. Badly injured, helpless, but somehow alive.

Taking advantage of the weakness of the still living organism, he was taken to the secret laboratory of the headquarters. Now Wesker could be under the supervision of BSAA scientists for a very long time. He's much more useful alive than dead. His knowledge, skills, all of it could be utilized. And it was also possible to conduct endless experiments on his unusual body... Testing the limits of his abilities, testing various poisons, looking at the lethality of their new weapons, and etc. He was once again a puppet, as he had once been in Spencer's hands, from which he had miraculously escaped.

The BSAA kept Wesker's abilities under strict control, he was trivially stripped of any PG67A/W injections, replaced with an alternative that was only necessary for his body to regenerate damage after the battle in the volcano, but didn't provide any additional benefits. So he would remain weak but healthy.

Another remedy was also applied to him, eliminating the consequences of merging with the Uroboros, which modified his body in a volcano. It was discovered in 2011, after the events of Revelations 2. It was rude to call it just a serum, it was something more, because it did not remove the virus itself from the body, but brought it into a more stable form, allowing Wesker to take his ordinary appearance. With him, in this form, it became easier for employees to work.

The BSAA restored Wesker, stripped of his strength, any dignity, as well as his freedom. He was bedridden for several years and various weapons were tested on him, then recorded how his body reacted and at what rate it recovered. An immobilized lab rat, a deserved punishment for someone like him? Perhaps. It was thanks to his "sacrifice" that the anti-regeneration weapon was invented, which had once come in handy for Chris in the battle against Mold.

Just think… how many things could the BSAA have invented using the infinite resources of Wesker's body? He was terrified of these thoughts. Terror at the realization that he had no chance of escape, that he was trapped here forever, that he would continue to have his organs taken out of him and be forced into endless pain. He reflected that he hadn't actually managed to do so many contradictory things to deserve eternal torment. And it's better to let him die than to endure this hell. But his own body played a cruel joke without dying. It was an expert on regeneration. His pride was trampled when he begged for death.

BSAA absolutely did not spend any painkillers and sleeping pills on Wesker, absolutely all experiments were carried out when he was conscious. They had already spent a lot of money on him during his recovery, it was a waste to spend even more on someone who could repair any of his damage.

Pain and terror haunted him for six years. He cursed what he used to idolize in himself.

And then he was forced to work for them. In 6 years he had grown accustomed to the constant pain and had already learned to see himself as nothing, sending his consciousness into free floating. Deep in his thoughts, he created a place where he learned to ignore the endless physical torment. But when he was put on his feet and pulled out of this place… Wesker was even more devastated.

It was unusual for him to suddenly return to normal work, all this created a mess in his head, reality seemed to be nonsense. The usual paperwork after hell? Are you kidding me?!

Morally, he was destroyed. His psyche was severely damaged. Wesker from the "torture room" was locked in a cell that looked like a combination of a room and a laboratory. For fear of being put back on the operating table again, he dutifully began to work and develop various things that BSAA would use in the future. But it wasn't life either. Weakened body, lack of abilities... he wanted to die, but he couldn't afford it, because he was practically immortal. Although, even if he used a weapon that stops regeneration on himself... he still wouldn't kill himself.

«Not here»

«Not like this»

At times he thought he was balancing on the fine line between normalcy and insanity. He saw people at best once every two weeks who came to check on his work and were not at all talkative. Wesker had always been convinced he didn't need company, but 12 years without socializing had made him question his beliefs.

Once a month he was provided with food, and then carelessly, because he didn't need food. His body, experiencing hunger, could devour itself and regenerate immediately.

The only reason he was given a room and released from the operating table was because the organization wanted to see what he could offer them. Of course, they didn't stop studying his unusual body and conducting experiments, but Wesker was already in charge of the process himself. Independently amputated his limbs and so on. Only closer to 2019 were these experiments stopped, because they had extracted all possible benefits from his body.

Wesker remotely, horrified, realized that thanks to his body he would live much longer than the average person, if not forever. Which led him to believe that he would be kept in this cage for centuries. BSAA would close, others would take their place, find him, torture him again. And so on in a circle, for all eternity, as long as human society and greed existed. This had to end... but how? A plan was needed, a complex one that could not be unraveled.

His life and existence was a BSAA mystery from 2009-2021. For 12 long years he was not allowed out of the walls of this cell.

Of course he wanted to escape, he had many unrealistic thoughts in his head about it. He was also interested in meeting Chris, aged, changed. To see his reaction, genuine shock rather than the anger he'd reacted to Wesker's earlier 'resurrections'. Is Chris even still alive today? What year is it now?

But this life couldn't go on forever, the BSAA was cracking at the seams. In 2021 it was revealed that they were using B.O.W. soldiers, something Chris couldn't ignore. So he headed over to European headquarters to deal with it - right where his nemesis was located, a complete headache. Chris couldn't accept that his organization, which was fighting biological weapons, would use them. It didn't fit in his head. He had long ago stopped trusting the BSAA, but this was the last straw.

Arriving there, Chris did not expect to meet someone in the basement laboratories whom he had buried a long time ago.

What was he going to do with him? Shoot him in the head without any thought? That would have been logical and in Redfield's character, but over the years he'd stopped being a complete hothead, learned to think first and then act. Gained a little equanimity.

It will turn out that it was Wesker who was involved in the creation of the B.O.W. in BSAA. Especially since these soldiers are improved clones of Chris himself. Who else could have come up with such an idea? Only to a man who thought Chris was "one of his best men".

For the past 6 years, Wesker has been forced to be an advisor to BSAA, sharing all the knowledge and ideas. He might have been able to pull it all off, if only to get back at that organization, turning Chris' anger on it, and turning his attention to himself at the same time. After all, only this "one of his best men" was the only one who could save him. Yes, Wesker was pathetic. He felt he wasn't even worthy of his former name, being so pathetic as to enlist the help of his enemy. But it was the only option. There was no more talk of pride.

However, it didn't matter now, Chris had come here to punish the founders, so their prisoner, their chief counselor, might prove to be the best informant. And an ally.

Natural intuition made Chris believe his former enemy, the biggest manipulator of them all. As if he was definitely not lying now, because he was in such a big asshole that he couldn't let his words sound unconvincing. Earlier, Chris would have easily recognized his lies, but not now. Right now, completely honest and dull eyes were looking at him from beneath translucent glasses. So damn pitiful that Chris automatically assumed the role of the hero rescuing the damsel in distress.

Chris was quickly combine the information together in his head: the situation, the physique, the setting... His opponent had been held hostage by his own ambition, it couldn't help but bring a smile to Redfield's face. But he hid it in his thoughts, because he deemed it inappropriate once he read Wesker's imprisonment papers. Chris had some free time to devote to the situation.

He read about what had been done to Wesker. About all the torture. And Redfield clutched his head, when he got to the description of his ammunition that he'd used against Mold a couple years ago. He was terrified that this weapon had been created in such a gruesome way... through the suffering of his enemy, who, even considering all his guilt, didn't deserve all this. Chris felt that Wesker should have died and rid the world of himself rather than suffer endlessly. Even for him, he thought it was inhumane.

The first thing Wesker said to Chris was: - Now you've taken on the role of captain of the «alpha» too. This jabbed Chris slightly, but he noticed how the hostage said it without malice. Redfield involuntarily remembered 1998, the mansion, the betrayal, the deaths of the Alpha and Bravo group...

The compartment Wesker was in was to him both an office and a laboratory, and a room. A kind of prison, which he could not leave on his own because of his weak physical condition. He was weakened by the daily injections putting his viruses inside his body to sleep.

Releasing him and examining him at arm's length, Chris made sure that in the state Wesker was in now, he posed no danger, just an ordinary disgust. He resembled only a pale copy of his former self.

The BSAA operative dragged him carelessly behind him like some sack of garbage, concerned only with keeping the information in his head intact. But in his mind Chris still held images of what the BSAA bastards were doing here to Wesker. He didn't want to feel sorry for him, but he couldn't control it, Redfield had never been heartless. Initially he had only cared about information, but it wasn't long before he didn't even notice how protective he had become of him. As if a friend, which in truth, he never was. His captive's behavior was different from what Chris remembered. It was different, like a throwback to the past. Perhaps 12 years of imprisonment had had that effect on him.

He was docile, which wasn't surprising, since Wesker had been treated like an object by the organization, and the operating table had been a good teaching moment. Chris couldn't believe that after so many years of hell his former enemy's mind was still intact, that he hadn't lost his mind and was capable of dialog.

Time passed unnoticed during the proceedings with the BSAA about B.O.W., eventually the organization was destroyed and all its equipment, along with Chris's squad, transferred to TerraSave.

Chris during all of this had to sign Wesker into the Hound Wolf Squad as either a prisoner or an advisor. To keep him from getting shut down again, that was the deal. He helps them, they help him. Over time, he was getting back to normal. The food and good company had done their job.

However, Chris didn't know that his new ally hadn't lost all of his strength, and the ones he had were sleeping under the influence of the medicament. But time passed, the medicament slowly stopped working without new doses, and Wesker understood it perfectly well. And felt it. It didn't affect his appearance, so he could play his role for as long as he wanted. But was it a role? Sure he was portraying a courtesy that annoyed Chris to the point of nausea, but it was partially sincere. Having broken with his past at the fault of the BSAA, Wesker could only hope to find a new purpose. After all, as Spencer had raised him, there is no life without purpose.

Therefore, was it so necessary for him to betray Hound Wolf Squad? Would it be beneficial to him? Chris is a strong point. He has no doubt that if he kills Redfield - another will take his place, and will definitely get him into the basement wheel of samsara. So Wesker had no grand plans yet. After all, any of them would be doomed to failure as long as there was anyone in the world capable of resisting.

But Chris risked to give him a goal, which, however, called impossible - to become the best version of himself. To help the Hound Wolf Squad, to work with TerraSave, to use his knowledge for something other than endless failed experiments. Stop being Spencer's failed experiment. The only option Chris would give him a chance at.

Those words stuck in Wesker's head for a long time. Mentioning the old man was like a low blow. Chris knew where it hurt the most.

It had been several years since Wesker had joined Redfield's team. All that time he'd been hiding his abilities so as not to lose the fragile trust in his person. But the truth couldn't help but surface one day....

On one of the missions connected with B.O.W., the blade of an exploding helicopter blew off Wesker's head, and then another piece of debris cut his body in half.

But he didn't die.

Chris was enraged. With resentment, he felt cheated. What else could he have expected?

First, the black mass connected the body, restoring functionality to it, and then this silent carcass picked up the head. It was slow. It looked helpless and creepy. Chris's squad was on edge, but he ordered to wait. The black substance emerged from the base of the neck and attached the head to itself, then the calm expression on the reanimated head changed to horror. Was he in unbearable pain from the newly received oxygen? Or from the fusion of tendons?

When Wesker recovered, he couldn't at first think of a response to Chris' "explain yourself!"

Everyone's fragile trust collapsed, but not Redfield's, for he knew that if his former adversary had wanted to betray him, he would have betrayed him long ago, he wouldn't have let himself be so ridiculously exposed. Especially after all the torture he'd endured. Chris could understand why Wesker was hiding his powers. Redfield had stepped on the same rake of trust again, convincing himself that he had everything under control.

Wesker, ever since the prototype had merged with Uroboros in his body, had acquired a number of flaws, chief among them an unbearable sensitivity to pain. The only time he could not feel pain was when he was BSAA injected with force restraining drugs. But without them, all the disadvantages came out.

Whereas before he could recover from any wound without feeling anything but minor damage, now the pain was so obvious that every regeneration was accompanied by agony. Especially if it was a burn, for heat is a major weakness for Uroboros. The healing places on his body, after that helicopter situation, hurt like hell.

He was closer to human now than he had been before, and Chris seemed to realize that. That was why he hadn't killed him a second time, but had accepted him back into his squad. It was not only a gesture of goodwill, but also a precaution, a way to keep a dangerous object as close to him as possible so he wouldn't do anything.

How long will they have to cut off the heads of hydra in the face of the creators of bioweapons?

- Why do you trust me, Chris?

- I still believe that anyone can become the best version of themselves. We should prioritize fighting for the future to give someone a quiet life that you and I have been robbed of. I know about Project W. Together we can stop new organizations and prevent many tragedies like this from happening again. And you can help us, Wesker. BSAA took away your choice, but I'm giving it to you now.

Wesker at first couldn't find the words to respond, but after a moment he barely audibly whispered: "Thank you."

From a man who never thanked anyone, Chris was shocked to hear that. And he was proud of him. Had he forgiven him? No, his deeds were unforgivable. But Chris wasn't the kind of man who would turn his back on his one chance to make things right, to make things right on Earth, to save someone's life. In this truce, he sees a future that's bright for everyone.

[hazymoonlinh]

Art.

Logos x Reader

(Reader can be doctor if you want)

Why am I cooking this at 2AM 💀🤟

…

___

“Who should you love?”

It was a title of a post that y/n saw one day. It was a boring night after all, so she didn’t scroll down, instead, she keeps reading it.

You should love a poet, a musician, a painter.

An artist.

Because when they love you, they will create masterpieces of you.

Y/n thinks this is something that only happened in stories, so she just let out a silent chuckle.

But oh now how wrong that is.

Unknowingly to her, she’s now the muse of one.

That man, that artist was Aefanyl.

And you too, are an artist of love.

___

Logos will not admit it to anyone, but you've become his muse. The way you talk, the way you laugh, the way you smile.

Everything about you is a masterpiece to him, one that he wants to commit to memory, to write poems, to immortalize it with words...

But most importantly, to hold you close to his chest, to feel the steady rhythm of your heartbeat against his, the feel of your breathing, the sound of his name...

His name, on your lips.

He feels... inspired... to write. For the first time in a while, Logos feels the inspiration hit him. He knows what he wants to write. That spark of inspiration he hadn't felt in quite awhile.

His pen moved with new found vigor, his words flowing...

It's you.

Logos use a bone pen to elegantly cast incantation, a bone flute to let the banshee's music echo.

Being a Sarkaz means using even those things to fight, to accept the blood flowing in his veins, to fight for eternity without rest.

The talented young Banshee has known it since he has awareness of his surroundings.

But now,

He finds himself writing poems with that pen, instead of casting spells or incantation.

Or playing a tune for you to hear, this time the song doesn’t burn his blood anymore.

_____

You haven’t touch the brush for a very long time, it has become dusty under a pile of old documents. But now, you saw yourself painting him, the brushstrokes are a bit different.

He has the most beautiful appearance that you have ever seen. Even prettier than a lot of woman.

Delicate features as if crafted by the gods themselves, long eye lashes, soft lips, smooth skin.

His red iris-a red iris is truly mesmerizing, almost otherworldly in its intensity. Its vivid hue is captivating, exuding a sense of mystery and rare beauty.

The deep, rich color draws you in like a gemstone glowing with an inner fire, making it impossible to look away. It’s a bold and stunning feature that leaves a lasting impression, hinting at stories untold behind those eyes.

After finishing the painting, you feel a pride in your chest. But what do you do with it now? Whatever, let’s just hang it in your room.

You know you're bright as the morning, as soft as the rain

Pretty as a vine, as sweet as a grape

________

Logos once wish that his mother would sing him the elegy if he dies in the battlefield, that way he would be in the arms of his kind until the end.

But now, with you here, he wishes to live a bit longer, praying to himself.

“Please, let me stay with her until the very end.”

He wants you to also sing the elegy. Logos's mind is filled with the thought of you. That was his new wish, with the thought that if he's to die one day, he'll die at least knowing you'll be singing for him...

Love still bloom in this doomed world, like how he still finds his way back to you after every battle he faced. In your arms, he’s not the lord of the Banshee, nor Logos, just Aefanyl.

He loves all of it. The way you laugh, the way you smile, the way you hold him. He loves it all. He loves *you.*

The way you kiss him, the sounds you make, the way you hold him close, the way you wrap your legs around him. The way he gets to hold you close, to feel your breathing and your heart next to his.

He can't seem to get enough of it.

_____

He finishes writing, quietly setting his pen and paper aside before gently holding you close against his chest, his lips pressing gently against your forehead.

(It’s 3:30 now bye 💀)

[cleolinda]

Re: Couch fucking

Since people saw “JD Vance fucked a couch” mentioned in the “Tampon Tim: He’ll stop the red wave” post and went “What? JD Vance fucked a couch?,” no, he did not fuck a couch in his youth. The rumor was started by a random shitpost on the service I will continue to call Twitter until the heat death of the universe:

(Archived by Snopes, now view-limited by the author)

@rickrudescalves

can't say for sure but he might be the first vp pick to have admitted in a ny times bestseller to fucking an inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch cushions (vance, hillbilly elegy, pp. 179-181)

7:58 PM • Jul 15, 2024 • 1.8M Views

No draft or edition of Vance’s book Hillbilly Elegy ever said any such thing, but the inclusion of page numbers made “JD Vance fucked a couch” look very truthy (file this away as a tactic to look for in other propaganda you see). Neither Vance nor the Trump campaign can fully deny this because that would only draw more attention to the concept of “Vice presidential candidate JD Vance fucked a couch.” In great frustration, a campaign spokesman has finally said,

"We're not going to talk about couches or coconuts or whatever weird fetish KamalaHQ is into. When we have something to say, we'll say loud and clear. If Kamala is a coward, we'll call her a coward. If Tim Walz is a liar, we'll call him a liar.”

JD Vance then proceeded to lie about Tim Walz’s 24-year military record, calling it “stolen valor.”

As much as people enjoyed Walz’s quip that he would love to debate Vance if Vance would be “willing to get off the couch,” I do agree that Democrats should not stoop to such Republican tactics as (off the top of my head)

Telling lies about presidential candidate John Kerry’s military service (which inspired the general term “swiftboating” “to describe an unfair or untrue political attack”)

Claiming that then-presidential candidate Barack Obama was born in Kenya and not an American citizen, which would disqualify him, leading to an entire “birther” movement headed by Donald Trump

Accusing Democrats of trafficking children in the basement of a pizza parlor that had no basement, leading one man who sincerely believed this to “[travel] to Comet Ping Pong to investigate the conspiracy and [fire] a rifle inside the restaurant to break the lock on a door to a storage room during his search”

Claiming that North American schools keep kitty litter on hand for students who “identify as cats,” a “joke” meant to target protections for transgender students

And, as mentioned, splitting hairs over exactly what rank Tim Walz had vs what he retired at, elevating this to a far more serious accusation of stolen valor. In fairness, this is probably revenge for the couch thing.

So yes, I agree, we shouldn’t use the same tactics that the Republicans have been using for decades. It’s tasteless and it does not make us look better. I would perhaps remind you of the saying “Live by the sword, die by the sword,” but yes, we should stop confusing people into thinking that JD Vance fucked a couch. No couch was ever fucked by JD Vance. I endorse this message.

[anemoi-i]

Venti’s Presence in Mondstadt and in Lore: A Comprehensive List

Barbatos is an Archon that does everything in secret and wants virtually no recognition for it. Desiring not to become like Decarabian, he "disappeared" so Mondstadt could be free and without a ruler, yet he has still done what he could to retain Mondstadt's peace. Here is a comprehensive list of everything of note that he has done.

Disclaimer: I may miss details. Some things such as character voice lines about Venti, save for Xiao’s are largely omitted. All sources are present.

I. Wind Gliders

“The ability of wind gliders to glide is reliant first and foremost on the Blessing of the Anemo Archon. Of course, it’s also been intertwined with human engineering.”

Wings of Companionship

II.  But I do not intend to make my readers think that we could do without archons. On the contrary, say, if Barbatos had not guided the warm monsoons to Mondstadt with his divine powers, would Mondstadt still be so bountiful as to produce the brews that it does?

The answer would be no. Mondstadt is an inland city and would have struggled to provide for itself if not for the grace of Barbatos. If we look back through history, we learn that Mondstadt is situated on a land that was once frozen, where the living conditions were harsh and brewing would be virtually impossible. It was the power of Barbatos that changed everything.

Along With Divinity: Prologue

III. The songs that had once flown joyfully in the wind were drowned by a venomous dragon [Durin]. In the wake of its earth-shaking footsteps, even the cries and the flames were ripped asunder. The Anemo Archon heard their agony, though he had refused to rule. But to protect his old friends' dream, and defend the wind-kissed fields of green,He woke from his long slumber anew, and with the sky dragon [Dvalin] in battle he flew...

Elegy For The End

IV. In ancient times, Barbatos softly strummed his lyre and summoned the pure thousand winds and songs. Charmed by the free-spirited winds and songs, Dvalin the high dragon descended and swore loyalty to him. Barbatos rejoiced in making a new friend, and entrusted the people of Mondstadt to Dvalin. And so, the wandering Anemo Archon and the Wind Dragon forged Mondstadt's dawn with their relationship.

Skyward Harp

V. On the cliff facing the eastern sea, the ancestors worshipped the masters of Time and Anemo together. The two are intimately related, as expressed in the saying, "Anemo brings stories while Time nurtures them." This bow tells the story of the pioneers and the hardships they went through.

Sacrificial Bow

VI. When Mondstadt was born anew, and the Church finally unshackled, the scriptures of the winds could bear no longer being confined to a shelf, and so the book took flight, left the Church's treasury and was gone. Like the winds of Mondstadt, and like the people of Mondstadt, it belonged to freedom and the winds. The elegant handwriting on the title page reads:

Children of the Anemo Archon, heed these words:

From the winds we have come, and with the winds we shall go.

Never, ever grieve for me.

'Tis but my flesh and bones which rest in the soil:

My soul has become one with the thousand winds.

When flowers bloom, when leaves sway,

That is me who sings the songs of freedom, of the winds.

Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds: Scriptures of the ancient winds, passed from generation to generation among the observers of ritual in service of the Anemo Archon.

VII. The Skyward Atlas consists of 100,000 odes to a single cloud or wind and calling it by name. The cloud atlas gave form to the winds, and odes infused them with personality. The myriad formless winds are now friends and family in the eyes of Barbatos. Legends tell that in ancient times, Barbatos summoned the four winds with the original version. He thawed the snow, drove away vicious beasts, summoned rainfall, and created Mondstadt.He permitted the atlas to be shared and copied among the people, giving it the name of Cloud Atlas.

­Skyward Atlas

VIII. In the days of the ruling aristocracy, the Church that revered the Anemo Archon was once split in twain by a schism: On one side stood the clergy, who ate at the lords' table, and overturned the archon's statues with them even as they wrote songs and hymns of praise. On the other stood the saints, who held no clerical office, and who walked the streets, the wine cellars, and the world beyond the walls. These saints drank cheap moonshine, blessing the slave and the plebeian with the original holy manuscripts that circulated amongst the people and with words that the wind brought to them.

And while they did so, they penned forbidden songs and poetry.

When the gladiator from a foreign land [Vennessa] arose together with the re-awakened Anemo Archon and raised the banner of rebellion, the aged saint known as the Nameless Shepherd mobilized the true adherents of the Church of Favonius.

Song of Broken Pines

IX. When he opened his eyes, he was in the sky above a mountain swept by roaring snowstorms, the green, tranquil land had already been painted crimson by fire and blood,and the song of that sky-blue bard's lyre was almost drowned in the howling tumult,and that bejeweled, lovely dragon, like a tender lover, had now pierced his neck through with its sharp fangs.

"Farewell, Mother! My journey is ended. I shall sleep beneath this white, shining silver... and perhaps this, too, is good. Farewell, O lovely bard! And farewell, O lovely dragon! Would that we had met in a different time and place, to meet, to sing and dance together!"

So he thought most sincerely as he lay dying.

Durin (Dragonspine Spear)

X. They say that a region's character follows that of its archon, and that this holds true both for the people and the land itself, but was it the unfettered archon who bestowed a love of freedom and wine upon the land and people amidst conflict? Or was it the people who nurtured the Anemo Archon's love of freedom as they pined for it amid the howling wind and frost?

This is a question that can no longer be answered.

Freedom Sworn

XI. Twenty-six hundred years ago was the era of Mondstadt's most ancient inhabitants. They swore a solemn oath, after the new Anemo Archon descended and reformed the world:

"For Mondstadt, as always. For the verdant plains, for the hills, and for the forests of Mondstadt. May they continue to flourish, as always."

"For Mondstadt, as always. For the everlasting freedom of Mondstadt from the blizzard and the tyrant, whose coldness and oppression are one and the same."

­­Royal Longsword (Refers to Gunnhildr Clan & the oath to protect Mondstadt.)

XII. Ludi Harpastum

Ludi Harpastum was established in commemoration of how Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, taught his people to brew wine and live freely. It was a festival meant for all people to enjoy. However, by the time of Vennessa's rebellion a thousand years before Genshin Impact's main story, Barbatos had long departed to avoid becoming a tyrant like his predecessor, while the aristocracy that ruled Mondstadt grew corrupt and abused their power.

The event turned into a mockery of what it originally was. It became an event enjoyed only by the wealthy elites. The head of the Lawrence Clan, the foremost clan among the aristocracy, cared not for the enjoyment of the people and canceled all the games, leaving only the climax of the harpastum. However, only Lord Lawrence's son, Barca Lawrence, had the right to touch that harpastum. Anyone else who dared even approach the ball would immediately face torture. Furthermore, Barca was also given the rights to take the maiden who will throw the harpastum home.

Barbatos awakens during the climax of the Ludi Harpastum in the manga and seizes the Harpastum.

Genshin Impact Manga

XIII. The Letter in the Chasm

Not as if I were to be outfitted as that guardian of Khaenri’ah,

Not as if my destructive self were made to be the lyre of Barbatos,

Not as if I were meant to soar like a Pegasus,

Not if I were the swift, snow-white pair of Morphes,

Add these to the feather-footed and the winged,

And likewise, call for the swiftness of the winds,

And though you should harness these, friend, and offer them to me,

Yet I should be tired to the bone, and worn away by frequent faintness,

My friend, while I would search for you,

The heavens fall to pieces,

And falsehoods collapse.

Mysterious Letter obtainable after completing The Chasm related Archon Quest(s) & World Quests (Information gathered by CatWithBlueHat)

It is important to note that each player who finished these quests only received one line of this letter in Abyssal Language, indicating this is a bigger part of something and made to be very secretive and hard to decipher if not for the efforts of players to translate it.

XIV. The Hexenzirkel

“Once upon a time, it even challenged the Anemo Archon himself, but he replied: “Let us make music, not war, and resolve our conflicts through song.”

Alice, The Mage’s Tea Party (Windblume’s Breath)

XV. Waterborne Poetry

“A soft breeze beckoned me unto a spring. “Sleep, weary wanderer. Your journey is over. May the dancing petals sweeten your slumber.”

Callirhoe, who recalled her journey to Springvale (Waterborne Poetry event)

XVI. Presence as a significant figure to Xiao

He longs for a day to come when he will wear the mask and dance — not to conquer demons, but to the tune of that flute amid a sea of flowers.

Barbatos appears as a cameo in Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti, playing the Dihua Flute. It suggests his music is powerful enough to suppress Xiao’s Karmic Debt. He also has a line for Barbatos indicaing he knows who he is, but cuts himself off.

Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti & Xiao: Mask (Namecard)

Other things to note:

As of Version 4.3 Mondstadt is the only nation that does not suffer from any “filth” that needs to be purged either by a Sacred Tree or otherwise. The battle that took place 500 years ago with Durin did not affect the nation in any way, instead, Durin died on Dragonspine which was already affected by the Skyfrost Nail and is an inhabited land that only Adventurers see as an area to explore. No one lives there. Even with the presence of his “heart”/”core” still beating, it would forever lie in the frozen wasteland unless someone were to deliberately disrupt it.

There are no storms in Mondstadt. Vind, one of the Sisters/Storm Watchers, says that she hopes she never has to do her job.

A large amount of npc’s around Mondstadt, especially in the area of the Anemo Archon statue, revere Barbatos and speak highly of him

It is important to note that during the second rebellion, Barbatos also forged Rex Lapis’ signature to dismantle the Aristocracy, indicating he would go to such lengths to establish freedom for the nation.

Barbatos’ voiceline about Albedo suggests that he knows close to “everything” about him, especially about his fear of “destroying Mondstadt.”

In addition to the above, Barbatos contradicts himself: “Ah, never mind! What goes on within Mondstadt's walls is up to Mondstadt's people to deal with!” Except that twice when the people cried out for help, he awoke to help them and has actively been helping Mondstadt with no recognition. From liberating Mondstadt to helping an Oceanid, this line will not hold any weight in any argument that suggests that Barbatos does nothing for Mondstadt.

Barbatos was already attempting to purge the Abyssal corruption from Dvalin prior to the Traveler’s appearance.

There is irony in Diluc and Jean finding out Barbatos’ true identity considering both the Ragnvindr’s and the Gunnhildr’s were primary protectors of Mondstadt.

The Skyward Atlas suggests Barbatos was originally a catalyst user while Amos’ Bow suggests he changed his weapon to a bow to honor Amos’ memory. He uses Der Frühling (E Skill) in a way a catalyst user might.

His appearance as his dear friend, the Nameless Bard is to honor his memory for the skies, bright sun and birds he could never see. To honor the songs he could no longer play.

[dollfaced-erin]

𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟'𝕤 ℂ𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕝𝕖 (Blade x F!Reader x Jing Yuan)

PART 18

PART 1 , PART 2 , PART 3 , PART 4 , PART 5 , PART 6 , PART 7 , PART 8 , PART 9 , PART 10 , PART 11 , PART 12 , PART 13 , PART 14 , PART 15 , PART 16 , PART 17

A/n :

i'm trying my best to schedule myself, but reading all the rqs i have, im getting pumped up to write again ! though i am having some trouble writing some rqs and it either may take me some time to think about it, or i'll really be stumped looking at it... these days i havent been feeling much motivated so i've been taking time for myself to reconstruct words and redevelop nice and pretty sentences again. I...also am feeling like changing the pictures i use for dragon's cradle...i'm not sure how to though...dw, i'll canva through it ! PENACONY 2.2 IS DROPPING TOMORROW AND IM SO EXCITED-- (this is pre-2.2 dont come at me please,,,) ROBIN WANTERS WILL BE HAVERS TRUST !

Taglist :

@rebeccawinters , @nayukiyukihira , @pix-stuff , @fluffy-koalala , @swivy123 , @starxao , @kaoyamamegami , @kimura-uzuri , @rsvye , @seikouryuu , @just-here-reading , @matsulovesyou, @sincerely-aaronette , @prettyliliy , @chibiduck , @hermosacolibri , @la-diablas-thingz , @farelady-fate , @everi-eve , @shadowfoxey , @helloyuki , @immahuman , @samptlay , @boomie-123

Vidyadhara elegies are the traditional music of the Vidyadhara people. The Vidyadhara use only simple castanets for musical instruments, relying on extremely diverse sets of melodies.

Originating from their folk songs, the style is generally that of mournful dirges. Vidyadhara elegies can be said to represent all of the most tragic aspects of Xianzhou culture, as Vidyadhara players tend to sing about loves lost and pyrrhic victories.

"The previous High Elders have all met with a fate worse than death..." Said an old voice, troubled by the troubles that have been plaguing him ever since his rise onto the position.

"From the first Imbibator Lunae...they have all met their demise in a way no one would expect. The challenge to overthrow them is just getting audacious by the day !" Exclaimed another voice, a woman, perhaps trying to convince someone with her thoughts and principles.

Yes...there was always the threat of assassination from all corners, and if he didn't choose well and right before his time came, be it naturally or by the hand of a forsaken soul, the Luofu shall be plunged into peril without the proper head of a scion to properly guide them...

The horned man thought deeply about this, his gaze looking out the window. His bright and intelligent eyes were gazing up at the moon, as if asking for the guidance of the entity that graced his name. He was supposed to be the wise one, guiding his people and stirring them away from chaos and destruction that may befall upon them. Be it in his time or another...he had his responsibilities set out for him.

So the dragon sighed softly, hoping that none of the Preceptors had heard his little act of impatience and negativity, apprehensive that they may assume that he was finding this all a hassle for him to think about, or even find his improper and impolite behavior discourteous.

It was...too much for him to assume alone. The matter now was in his hands, and not those before him. What he did now would paint portraits towards his ancestors and previous incarnations, and stain the names of his future reincarnations...

He looked beside him, where there was a beautiful young woman, sitting, minding her own business. On her hand was a lovely ring, a sentiment that she was taken by her betrothed. Her (h/c) hair gleamed under the moonlight's grace, letting it shine brighter that the waves of the deep ocean that submerged Scalegorge Waterscape.

Her bright eyes landed on his troubled figure, gracing him with a smile that washed away his worries, akin to a waterlily floating on the surface of the water of an untouched lake. She got up, silks embroidered by the masterful hands of the Vidyadhara craftsmen cupping his cheeks lovingly.

"What's troubling you, my beloved...?" She asked sweetly, her glossy lips still gracing the smile that he wished to protect with every fiber of his draconic being.

Though she wasn't a High Elder, and didn't possess much abilities that were deemed extraordinary to the eyes of the Preceptors. But she was the one that managed the quell the rage that continued to flare in his heart, calming him down with a mere caress of her smooth hands, smoother than the moondrop flowers growing in the silence of night.

To him...she was wiser than anyone else of their caliber.

Being childhood lovers, she watched him grow, she was by his side when he received the eye of abysm, she stood proud in the crowd once he was declared the full-fledge Imbibator Lunae.

His beloved wife.

"My...moon..." The saddened High Elder whispered, his hands rising up to cup her gentle hands that caressed her cheeks. "I...am deeply sorrowed..."

"I must choose the next descendent for our lineage..." He said, leaning into her healing and comforting touch. "Perhaps...we could choose the egg together...?"

"Like...choosing our own children...?" The wife asked, almost jumping in place in surprise. Her (e/c) eyes were wide, almost elated at the prospect of...children.

It was a foreign concept to them, since Vidyadhara's aren't able to reproduce like regular Xianzhou natives. But imagining it...

"Yes...just like--huh ? Children ?" The Imbibator Lunae said, blinking his eyes at her with confusion. Was she serious ? No, that cant be...

"Wait, not one child ?" "Huh, why just choose one when we can have two ?" "But what about the Dragon Heart ?"

"What about it ? One could have it, and we could ask the Perceptors to bind them as siblings, or...perhaps, grow them together to be siblings."

"Siblings..." Imbibator Lunae thought, remembering that Xianzhou natives and Foxians had that concept. It clicked in his mind. His lover had a point, and he had come to realize something.

This...burden of being the Imbibator Lunae...was too much for one person to handle. One responsibility too much for one soul. He...wouldn't be able to protect himself if he was too occupied with the affairs that concerned him more than his own being, like his beloved...

Even the past High Elders had met with a demise no one could foresee, meaning...that there was also no one else to back up and they only had one goal. His stress was thankfully managed by the presence of his beloved, which had grown by his side since she had broken off her shell. But what about the past Imbibator Lunae...?

It was...too much for one person. Too easy to overthrow.

But before the couple could properly choose their heir...the beloved...had fallen before he did.

In his arms, he held the dying and distraught woman in his arms, a gaping hole in her chest from the knife that pierced her without warning, leaving it to penetrate her body before she managed choose their heir together.

Today was supposed to be a joyous day...a day where the two of them would hold hands and walk with the Pearlkeepers to look at the eggs that gleamed brightly, hoping to find potential that would help the Luofu prosper more than in his time. But as they turned their backs, they were blinded by the threats that still lingered to take the couple down, and not even Cloudhymn magic could save her now...

The Imbibator Lunae roared in pain and despair, holding his beloved's dying body close to him, knowing he had to quickly rush her to the egg and let it heal her. But he just...wanted to see her one last time, and give her one last kiss.

The dragon bent down its mourning self, lips pressed against its mate's forehead one final time as tears streamed down his eyes, now dull after the tragic robbery of his beloved from his embrace.

He...couldn't survive this world without her. He couldn't bear the days where she would no longer stand by his side, holding his hand, cupping his face with her small and warm palms. He couldn't bear the days where she wouldn't smile at him, where she would no longer be able to press her lips against his.

No...he couldn't...

So he decided to take the final step, and return his beloved into the egg the Pearlkeepers had kindly provided for her, quietly leading the mourning husband to give his wife her final goodbye.

"I'll see you again, my beloved." He whispered, kissing her forehead with tenderness he had never shown her, not even on their wedding day.

"And...my heart will always be with you. Because one the day we met...you have stolen it, and had always kept it safe. So I'm giving it to you, to remember that only you will ever have my heart, be it the one pumping blood in my body, or the one that my power stems from."

"Without you here by my side...what is all this power for if I cannot protect the one I love...?"

"My dear...Saltator Lunae..."

So he chose his new descendent.

And thus...was born two dragons with beautiful horns on their heads, the older brother's arms curling around his newly hatched sister protectively. His grip was tight, arms holding her close and his teal colored tail coiling around her small form. Their embrace was too heartwarming, not even the maids dared to separate them.

Perhaps this child wished to protect her, vowing deep in his heart to never let anything happen to his precious baby girl. A dragon who had horns just like him. A little smile was etched on his face as he inhaled the scent of lilies that radiated from her soft tufts of hair even though he was deep in slumber.

The Preceptors had to hold a meeting amongst them, trying to figure out what to do with these two set of children. It seemed that they had inadvertently inherited the power of the Permanence, both with the outstanding traits of the true heir to power.

"But the boy was hatched first before the girl ! He is the one with true power to the throne !" One argued, quickly hushed by the other. "But the shell he was cast off from wasn't the one which the past Imbibator Lunae had instructed us to watch over so carefully !"

"The girl is the one with the heart. The one that had passed those trials and irrefutably inherited the power of the Dragon Heart. Both...succeeded in the Transmutation Arcanum..." the oldest of them said, his voice ruling over all other reasons.

"The boy had hatched earlier, with horns and the potential reeking from his form no one dared doubt." Said the wise Vidyadhara elder. "Even the inspectors from the Xianzhou Fanghu had acknowledged that power and potential seeped from these two eggs..."

"But no one...could have ever anticipated the birth of two individuals with draconic traits." Said another. "Everyone had experienced the tremor of incredulous potential, yet we merely betted on which would be the true successor..."

"What if...their fate was to rule together...?" said a woman's voice, loud amongst the chatter and discussion.

"The previous High Elder once wrote in a will, that shall it be a boy that was hatched from the shell, his name Dan Feng, and if she was a girl...name her Dan Jia." The wisest of them all spoke, his voice thundering through the hall as they began to rise to a conclusion.

"But those were the terms for the egg so closely guarded..." He said, little confusion at what was apparently happening.

"Born first, we had called the boy, who bore an uncanny resemblance to his predecessor...as Dan Feng." The old clan member reminded. "And for the egg that had been announced as the next heir...with the dragon heart in the small vessel...she will be named Dan Jia."

"For the first time in the Xianzhou history, let there be two High Elders ruling on the Luofu, siblings, who would equally rule and succeed in aspects failed." He said, rising upon his seat at the head of the table. "One destined for power to eliminate the abominations of celestial bodies, and the other, protecting the heart that stems greatness for them both !"

"The boy is named Dan Feng, the Imbibator Lunae as his predecessors once were...and the girl...shall be named Dan Jia. Saltator Lunae, just as the couple that reigned before they were born."

The table of Preceptors began to clap, finding this new embodiment of power astounding and magnificent, never seen before. Their sounds of clapping was thunderous, almost disturbing the pair that was sleeping a couple rooms away.

"Ngh..." muttered the young boy, curling around his little sister even further, hiding her in his chest to prevent the sounds from hurting her ears and frightening her.

The paper written for the will was yellowed, yet the words on it were still clearly visible to be read. It was preserved despite the passage of time, reflecting the man who sat by his desk, holding the brush in his hand.

"Imbibator Lunae is for the man who enjoys his drinks, watching the moon that gazes so brightly upon him. But where lies the joy of drinking such fine liquor without a desirable dancer ? For the Saltator Lunae would accompany him in his darkest days, moonlight bathing her skin and showing him the way."

(Y/n) looked at the soldier, kneeling before a Foxian healer who had...an unnerving smile on her lips. She didn't have a good feeling about this. Why wasn't this healer laying him on the ground, treating his wounds ? Or why was she standing over him, as if waiting for something to happen...?

The soldier looked as if he was really experiencing torment, his head cradled in his hands as if it were about to burst. Yet the healer did nothing, merely watching as his progress began to deteriorate.

Before (Y/n) could warn and pull March back, the unaware girl began to take her hand and rushed towards the pair.

"Here ! There are still survivors !" March said, almost relieved to see that there were still living people despite the blood battleground she had just witnessed earlier. Perhaps it was a sight to behold, as she wasn't as trained on these grounds as Welt or (Y/n) was.

But Welt seemed to catch on quite quickly, his gaze sharp as he observed the scene before him. It was as if he knew that something was indeed amiss, the same something that (Y/n) was experiencing.

"Hmm...?" Hummed the woman, turning around to face the group that had approached them. Her gaze seemed to be pleased for a bit, before it turned into a scowl. "You're not the Knights...what is your purpose here ? It's dangerous."

There was something in her tone that made (Y/n) feel uneasy. She sounded like she was...worried, but there was a certain hiss in her voice that made (Y/n) sure that she wasn't happy with them intruding in her...business with this knight.

"We're reinforcements sent by the General. Where's everyone else ?" Welt asked, trying to keep the situation under control and calm. Well...with this situation, it wasn't hard to see where it would eventually end up.

The Foxian woman scoffed, crossing over her arms as she heard what Welt had just relayed. "Tsk, resorting to short-life species as reinforcements...hehe, Jing Yuan is really running out of options..."

The taunting and worrying smile was back on the 'healer's' lips as she mentioned that Jing Yuan was possibly running low on manpower to properly eradicate the current problem. And it seems that she hadn't yet noticed that (Y/n) was with them.

It was expected, since communication the the Alchemy delve has been cut off since a few system hours ago. There would be no way for them to know of the current issue happening on the other bodies of the Luofu, such as (Y/n)'s awakening.

"They're here to escort me. The General and the Master Diviner had laid out specific orders for them to tread safely, as well as ensure my safety to tend to the casualties." (Y/n) said, stepping forward to face off this 'healer'.

"You...who do you think you--" The angered look on the woman's face was quickly replaced with shock and fear as she realized the horns that grew from (Y/n)'s head.

"You cant be..."

"All of you ! Run !" Cried out the Knight who was still weak on the ground, battling his own pain that seemed to be almost unbearable for him. "She's a disciple of Sanctus Medicus !"

All color began to drain from everyone's skin, leaving them pale and terrified at the 'healer' lady before them. March's grip on (Y/n)'s hand tightened, indicating that this was not the outcome she had expected to be. A direct face off with the supporters of the Plagues Author !

"Silence." The woman hissed, looking at the fallen soldier. "If my healing worked, you'll become one of us. Then..."

She looked at (Y/n), the grin almost impossibly widening on her face.

"It wont be just me they'll be running from."

It all happened too fast. As if on cue, the fallen Knight began his gruesome transformation. Branches began to sprout from his skin, tearing it apart. His armor began to be one with his skin, almost molding entirely with his being. His body began to surge with incredulous power, rendering his senses numb and murderous intent increasing tenfold.

"Lady (Y/n) !"

"GET BACK !"

(Y/n) quickly pushed March behind her, taking up front with Welt by her side, who came to terms with the situation faster than the younger women. With a nod to the brunette, (Y/n) produced her glass hand fan from thin air, the weapon of choice materializing in her hand quicker than light. Welt held his cane, ready to unleash the power of the black hole that he had kept sealed, hoping to never unleash its full potential.

The knight began to rush towards them, tears in his eyes as he tried his best to land his lightest attacks for as long as he remained conscious, for a soldier's dignity lies in their death. Losing control and his mind...would be a warrior's worst nightmare.

His attacks were still deadly and heavy, but he had no control whatsoever over his doings. Though he was experienced with enhanced abilities, (Y/n) and Welt did their best to fend off the regretful man, hoping to put him to rest in the calmest and most humane way.

"Please...I'm sorry..." the man pitifully cried as (Y/n) parried his attack with her fan, swiftly landing a kick to his side. The dragon woman was indeed merciful, and she had her sympathies for the man who had lost all hope of regaining his former pride.

But why couldn't she get close in and quickly put him to rest...?

Unlike the Exhalting Sanctum...she didn't have much memory of herself to full deploy and outlet her power. But now that she was aware...why wasn't she...

She felt like there were still a reign of shackles tying her down...

"Why are you apologizing ?! Didn't you all come here to the Xianzhou to seek immortality ?!" The woman screeched, watching from the backlines as more celestial beings of abundance began to advance towards them.

"You don't have to appease Jing Yuan ! The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus can grant your every wish ! To be immortal like the Natives ! To have a long and prosperous life like the Vidyadhara people !" She cackled, eyes glinting with malice and insanity as she watched the group begin to get surrounded.

(Y/n) was busy fending off the lost soldier as well as getting herself surrounded left and right by borisins and their shadow kin. Though how many times she had launched attacks, she was never able to fully push them back. She was at a loss, she was afraid and worried...

She understood now. Why she couldn't blindly charge in...

She was afraid of losing control of her power if she used it without her brother by her side...

Welt was by her side, exerting himself to his greatest ability to never cause harm, potentially plunging everyone into deep danger if he lost control. March and Stelle were backing them up, with March using her bow and Stelle with her bat, coursing with the crackling power of destruction.

They were all fighting...they were all in danger...

"Please, Lady (Y/n)..." the soldier begged her. "Let me meet the end I deserve."

"Let me die with honor..."

"Honor...?" (Y/n) whispered, her voice coming out in breaths of white, cold from the ice she produced. But the man before her nodded, hoping she'd do the best thing she could.

She was afraid...hoping to never misuse her power in fear of destruction it entails. But he was right. She had people she must protect, whether or not her brother was there to properly keep her power in check.

"I understand."

With a small smile on her lips, the dragon lady began to come close to her companions, hoping that they'll be within her protection. With a single rise of her fan, just as she had done with Yanqing, rose an illusion of an ice lotus, trapping her companions to keep them safe.

"I'm sorry." (Y/n) whispered, looking at the infected before her, before her eyes began to glow, and her tail appearing behind her. She never wished for her power to be out of control, yet to protect, one must go through lengths far beyond boundaries.

(Y/n) held her fan tight in her hand, close to her chest. With a single swing of her fan, water from the sea surrounding the delve began to rise, turning into waves as it began to sweep away the entire colony, picking up the borisins and the disciples in its way, pulling them off to the edge with their powerful forces.

For those who managed to withstand her waves, she cast upon them winds that would cut through them and hinder their sight. With a single stroke of her fan, she sent amplified ice blizzards, cutting through their regenerating skins time and time again like tiny razor blades, faster than their demonic abilities.

With fingers to her lips, her pointer and thumb forming a circle, she blew on the tips of her fingers to send out her ice, freezing those in her path, starting by freezing the droplets of water on their body, piercing deep into them, and freezing the fluids that coursed as a source of life.

It was like the sea. So gentle and soothing, yet with forces so strong to pull enemies deep into the heavy and dark depths. Some place so comforting like a warm embrace, yet terrifying with depths of unknown danger.

Once the waves had washed off the pavilion, all that was left...were the frozen bodies of the loyal worshippers of the Plagues Author. It was cleaned out from the remaining infected lives that were threatening their own, reminding her of the sins that would be washed away by the sea when they were reborn...

"Woah ! Looks like the frozen statues of the antimatter legion back on Jarilo-VI !" March excitedly said, looking at the figures encased in ice for as long as (Y/n) willed for it.

The young pink-haired woman then turned to look at (Y/n), wanting to know more and perhaps ask about if she could do the same as (Y/n). But as she turned around, (Y/n) was already walking into the 'exhibit' of her power.

"Lady (Y/n) ! H-hey, where are you going ?!"

Then she heard little voices as she walked past the frozen statues...

"Brother...shall one day we cast off our old shells...would we be able to find each other again...?" Said a young child voice from afar.

"Maybe...my little moonflower. We'll never know..." Replied a slightly more mature voice, explaining to the young child in the kindest way possible.

"But should you ever forget me...the things you've done in this life is bound to make you remember little by little, no matter how hard you try."

Before her was the fallen Cloud Knight, who begged her to end him in the most honorable way. He was on the ground, kneeling, trying to control the plague that threatened to run rampant despite his exhausted state.

"It seems...that even you...haven't found the path yet, my Lady..." The knight said, laughing bitterly, yet still respectfully. "Leave, my Lady, for they have 'converted me'. I don't have much longer..."

"I'm here...to give you one last gift..." (Y/n) said softly, cold air leaving her thin lips, frosty like the gaze in her eyes.

"One...that may even help prolong your path to your fated end." She said softly as she knelt before him.

She was tired, having exerted most her powers into summoning the tides, still unused to properly controlling it over the centuries of unending dormancy. She wanted to rest, perhaps even curl up while she cuddled her tail like a child. But now wasn't the time for it.

There were duties to be fulfilled...

Swiftly lifting up her hands, she exercised hand signs of various meanings as if it were her second nature, much more precise than that blind woman that existed before she broke those shackles binding her down.

The only way to progress in life...was to accept and adapt.

Her pointer finger and middle finger together held up before her, she shut her eyes as she began to trace the spores that existed within the man's body. With swift and precise movements, she immediately moved swift as the wind, and as piercing as a dragon's talon.

Unlike the woman that had just awoken, blind and foolish to the world that revolved around her, tossing smiles and laughter like the fleeting leaves in the air...she was no longer shackled, nor bound.

Unlike her past...she would never act foolishly again fearing the recurring pitiful demise of a dreamer who lived to dance and love.

(Y/n) stood up, a soft sigh leaving her lips as she dusted off her clothes. The team approached her side, looking down at the soldier before them, lying on the ground as if he were taking a nap from a grueling shift. Her eyes softened, the feelings of mercy and regret ebbing away at her soul.

"What...happened to him ?" March asked softly, holding Stelle's hand for comfort.

"Did you...give him his final embrace, Lady (Y/n) ?" Tingyun slowly asked, trying to step around the bubbling waters.

(Y/n) didn't turn around to face them, but instead parted her lips to give her response, a hand raised to her ear to gently touch the trinket that hung from her pointed organ. "Nothing. Just...soothed his pain a little."

Then she took in a deep breath, looking forward, as if regaining her peace by touching the windchime. "Right. Should we stumble upon a recuperation camp, let's inform them of this one. At the very least, they would be able to send this one to the Ten-Lords Commission."

Along the path, they stumbled across more bodies that have been swept up in the clashing of worlds. Divine celestial beings on the ground with wounds healing at an impossible rate, fallen bodies of the Knights that have half transformed into the forsaken, life leaving their beings before their twisted methods were complete.

There were even some which (Y/n) had them stop in the middle of the way to provide relief, either putting them to sleep to induce the pain, or freezing their cores and helping them relax as they healed after fierce and relentless battles.

But one thing caught her eye. That amicassador.

The Dragon Lady's gaze never left her being, always keeping her in the outermost corner of her sight. There was...something odd about her. Perhaps the striders of the trailblaze would've never noticed, but she sensed...a cosmical energy emanating from that Foxian girl.

There's just something...off with this girl. The way she talks, her interests, her stance during the fight earlier. Something wasn't right.

She didn't have much time to ponder. Due to their thundering steps of different weights and paces, they began to alarm the individuals standing guard past the wall they were about to round.

"Who goes there ?! Show yourselves !" Called out a clear voice of a male, sense of urgency and alert in his tone.

Cloud Knights. They had really reached their temporary base.

Welt took charge, walking ahead of them to confront the guards. "We come in peace." He said, almost making the rest of them snicker in amusement with the way he walked up to them with raised hands.

The guards, of course, didn't seem to take this lightly. But there was relief shining in their eyes when they see the esteemed guests of the General of the Xianzhou Luofu escorting the long awaited Dragon Lady.

"Saltator Lunae !" They sighed in relief. "Quickly, in here ! It's dangerous outside."

"You knew we were coming already ?" March said as they were escorted by one of the guards into the camp, the other standing guard. March was quite curious to how the Cloud Knights weren't that much fazed by their arrival.

"The Master Diviner prophesized your arrival. We were ordered to wait for you under any circumstance." He assured with a steady nod of his helmeted head.

"So...the Master Diviner is already here ?" (Y/n) asked, storing away her fan since she deemed it to be safe for her and her companions.

"Yes. The Master Diviner ordered us to remained stationed here and went to scout ahead." He affirmed again. "They're saying the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus have returned-- they haven't been seen for an age. The troops are anxious."

"I...can imagine." She said with a slight nod of her own head.

"It's good you arrived. The Master Diviner said the Knights weren't to move out until you arrived." He said, but then remembered one more important note.

"Right. While you are here, and we're awaiting the next orders of the Master Diviner, there is something that needs to be clarified." He said seriously, looking at the group. "This is as far as Lady (Y/n) will follow you, esteemed guests of the General."

The group gasped a little, but they were by no chance much surprised. They knew they were missioned to just escort her, but was it just until here, or would they re-group ? But it was the General's orders.

"May I ask what happens from now on ?" (Y/n) asked, a little curious to her next course of fate that awaited her.

The Cloud Knight nodded, standing straight before the honorable woman before him. "Yes, my Lady. General Jing Yuan himself had ordered us to have you wait here. He will come soon, and lead a separate path from the Master Diviner."

"As far as we are informed, you will be joining him on a more confrontational matter."

For some reason she felt a tingle spark up her spine. For some reason she was anxious. For some reason...she was scared.

Something bad was bound to happen.

[truekingimperial]

This is a guide for everything (i could remember) you’ll need to know when creating an Imperium!AU OC (pre-cataclysm)!

You want to be a demon! Here’s what you need to know!!

You are on elegy, not aria. You can’t use tumblr on Aria

The cacophony is now called the cataclysm

The sovereigns are trapped in a prison in Aria to be fed on

If you don’t believe this is fair you will be kicked out of Aria and sent to Elegy, which you do not want because they hate you there and it’s hard to feed if you are a demon that requires positive emotions

You want to be a human! Here’s what you need to know!!

You have been taught that demons are feeders and freeloaders. Their whole goal is to make you feel whatever emotion they need to feel so they can feed off of you — It is up to you whether you believe that or not

The Imperium created by a man named Emile, the original King Imperial, and all of the following rule was passed down by lineage. However, the last Queen died without an heir, leaving the Imperial without a leader. Then, Sophia, Damien’s mother, took control of the Imperium. Sophia was not chosen because she was an heir, she was chosen because she was strong and a Human-Borne.

If you are found openly disliking the way the Imperial is run, you are taken away for correction, so be careful about what you say

You can volunteer to be a feeder human regardless of empowered status

If you are un-empowered, your life sucks!!

You are told that your job is a privilege that can be taken from you at any point without warning

You can work for the department (I.D.L.E), sometimes you’ll be a feeder — What this means is that you’ll be put into a room with a demon, and said demon will do whatever they want to make you feel whatever emotion they need you to feel to feed

If you are empowered, life is pretty alright

Respected

Respectable job

Your life is as good as it can get (not that good)

You want to be a vampire!! Here’s what you need to know!!

If you were turned by A regular vamp (most cases) — You are under the thumb of the Imperium, you work for them now. Unless you turn 100 progeny, then you are no longer under the Imperium. You are a mass maker

If you have already turned 100 progeny — You may roam free, doing what you like as long as you don’t hurt someone who works directly under the King

If you were turned by Old blood — You don’t belong to anyone, you don’t need to turn anyone

You are pretty high up on the hierarchy — you may receive prejudice from magic users.

Reoccurring Misconceptions I could remember

King Imperial’s tyrannical rule is as follows

If you speak out of turn, you are sent away and corrected — Not killed — You are only publicly executed for public acts of treason

The un-empowered are looked down upon

Demons are looked down upon

He tolerates vampires because having them benefits him

He thinks he’s doing the right thing by punishing Angel because Angel is committing high treason

He is NOT

Silencing them because of their unempowered status — he does love them, but hates that Angel is trying to destroy everything he is trying to build

(Also don’t talk to him about his dead mom, cmon you guys)

A haven is a trap!! They’re just making demons voluntarily go to their own prison

[songbird-and-her-fos]

Dance Lessons

Emmrich/F!Rook

Emmrich likes to indulge in the finer arts, including dance, and wants to share this with Rook. Sadly, Rook has little confidence in her dancing abilities

-

A quiet day at the Lighthouse. Lyrei “Rook” Ingellvar didn’t know what drew her to the small hidden room with the big piano, but she found herself there nonetheless. There were so many more enjoyable things she could spend her time with, she told herself, so why come here? Perhaps it was the instrument itself that attracted her to this seldom visited corner of the Lighthouse; Rook loved music, though she had never had the opportunity to learn to play. So her fingers only lightly grazed the ivories, never truly pressing any of them hard enough to produce a sound.

She missed music. Be it the lengthy elegies written for funerals back in Nevarra or lively drinking songs filling the air of taverns; she hadn’t heard any of that in way too long a time.

Hadn’t Bellara discovered an ancient Elven music box not too long ago? Just as Rook resolved to ask about it soon, someone entered the room.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, dearest. I’ve been looking for you.”

She turned around, her face lighting up with a smile. “Emmrich.”

He held up the artifact in his hands. “I asked Bellara if she would let us borrow her music box; there’s something I want us to try with it.” He placed it on a nearby table. “I had at first considered trying to teach Manfred how to play the piano for us; he was very interested, but I think he needs to focus on his magic training for the time being.”

“Now you’re making me curious”, Rook said cheerfully. “Don’t keep me in suspense like that!”

“My darling, have you ever tried dancing?”

Rook bit her lip. “I haven’t. I’m not sure I would be any good at it, to be honest.”

Emmrich stretched out his arms to pull her against him. “Nonsense. I see how you move in battle; you are a born dancer if I’ve ever seen one.”

Her eyes flitted about the room, for the first time trying to look at anything but him. “I don’t want to embarrass myself; especially not in front of you.”

Emmrich leaned forward and kissed her. “I would never judge you, you know that. Come, we'll start with a simple waltz. Without music, so you can get a feeling for the steps first.”

Rook hesitated for a moment, but found herself unable to say no to him. Not when he was so excited at the prospect of dancing with her. “...Okay, but I take no responsibility for any damage done to your toes.”

“Marvelous! It's easy, really.” He placed one hand on her waist and took hers with the other. “Start by taking a step forward with your left foot, then a sideways step with your right foot…”

This “simple waltz” felt anything but simple at first. She executed the steps just as Emmrich instructed, but kept losing the rhythm and felt her face heat up every time she stumbled. Just when she was about to ask if it was time to stop, Emmrich paused.

“Rook, my dearest, you are way too stiff. Relax. Don’t worry too much about executing every step perfectly. Just focus on me.”

Rook took another deep breath. “Focus on you. Okay. I can do that.” She concentrated on his eyes, gentle and loving as ever. No trace of judgement or annoyance. He moved, and she followed, her mind easing to a pleasant emptiness that left space for the two of them, and nothing else. She barely noticed when his hand slightly moved and the music box began playing. It was an ancient Elven song, a far cry from modern ballroom music, but it still flowed into their movements like a guiding breeze. That was her entire world in this moment; music and movement… and Emmrich, smiling at her as if she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“I knew you could do it.” Delight lit up his eyes.

“What can I say? I have an excellent teacher.”

Step by step, they twirled through the room, allowing themselves to get lost in the moment. One, two, three…

Emmrich’s hoarse chuckle slightly pulled her from her thoughts. “You are absolutely beautiful. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you.”

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards. “Says the stunning man in front of me.”

He laughed, and her heart did a little flip.

The song slowly fizzled out, and with a final spin, Emmrich, kissed her and then rested his forehead against hers. “I love you.”

“And I love you. And… thank you for teaching me how to dance. Maybe we can do this more often?”

“Whenever you like, my dearest.”

[royaltyspeaking]

There's a tweet about Prince Harry giving up generational wealth and it made me laugh because PH made more money by leaving than staying. Am I wrong? The spare never gets anything so I don't get why ppl think that he gave up a tone of money by leaving. Look at PA, he has to beg ppl to be able to repair his house bcus KC cut him off. That would be PH &M having to beg PW for scraps. Imagine having to beg someone that hates you to be able to live especially after PW told PH (fr the book)

Harry is now worth more than pretty much every member of his family, and he did that himself. It's funny to me how these people say that Harry is broke despite having one of the best selling memoirs of all time. They are the same people who agree that JD Vance became a self made multi millionaire from his memoir, yet Spare, which sold more copies than Hillbilly Elegy, didn't make Harry rich?

[nefellibatta]

That I needed you more, not changes

Jinx!Reader

Luffy, Shanks and Uta

Abandoned, betrayed and perhaps forgotten. More chaos after the events in Elegy involving Uta, y/n felt betrayed by two men: Shanks and Luffy, the one she lived with as a child. Violence is never the answer, that's what Shanks said, but how can he say it now, tied up like Luffy and Uta

The musty, metallic smell of blood got worse and worse during all that chaos. Envy: a feeling of anguish or anger that manifests itself when one wants to have something that someone else has. It can be a desire to have material things or qualities inherent to the person along with jealousy: a feeling of insecurity and threat that can be caused by several factors, such as distrust, fear of losing a person or something that one loves.

The feeling was what y/n always felt when she saw Uta with Luffy. The girl with bicolored hair irritated y/n so unstable as she looked furiously at her friend having fun with someone else. Shanks knew that when you're a child, all kinds of emotions get worse. The red-haired one didn't want any more children on his boat. He wanted to protect them, keep them in a little pot. Keep Luffy, Uta and especially y/n in a little pot and protect them until the end.

The feeling of traction ran through the veins of the betrayed girl, how can an emotion end a life? She ignored it while she saw the redhead's crew celebrate, she was behind a statue in the village where Shanks was, but when she heard "I never want to feel the feeling of losing you, Uta. My little girl". Damn, that messed with her mind, Little girl. That was the nickname y/n had, the nickname Shanks gave her. And as always Uta stole that from her, Uta stole everything from her just like the fucking marine did.

Luffy laughed with his crew, happy about their recent victory, and soon, as always, he filled his belly with Sanji's delicious food, walking to the top of the ship and lying down, but the sound of something like metal was heard. Luffy ignored it until he heard slow footsteps. He ignored it again, maybe it was just one of his companions, but everything changed when he saw strands of hair touching his skin. Damn. Since when did Nami or Robin or even Carrot have such long hair?

"Hey, you have long hair, huh?"

"Thanks for the compliment, Straw Hat. Bravo."

I said, making Luffy stand up, confused, completely confused, before he felt a cold gun barrel hit his neck, putting him to sleep. The thud echoed through the ship and Zoro, who was nearby, went up the stairs and said, "Captain?" Only silence greeted him.

Luffy was confused and saw through the reflection of something old and rusty that was missing his straw hat. He growled in anger and tried to free himself, but the ropes held him back.

"Hey! Let me go and give me back my hat!"

Silence and darkness were present, but soon a box from a child's toy, pink and orange candles lit up, making Luffy blink.

"I thought I had buried this place, but nothing dies in this world."

Slow footsteps were heard. Luffy saw himself where, when they were little, Y/N had caused a fire, destroying everything along with those bandits, and had supposedly killed Sabo. Ah… Luffy remembered how he abandoned and cursed Y/N.

"Y/N?!……Are we alone?"

"For now, maybe forever…..want to know a secret? The Navy thinks they created all that terrorist taking away everything I loved, Eliminate y/n, kill y/n, blah, blah,…..but you created me"

The slow steps as y/n wandered around Luffy's tied up figure

"Y/n, I didn't want to leave you!-"

"You never left me, I saw you in the shadows, heard your voice, felt you in the goosebumps on my skin"

"Listen…. I thought I hadn't made a mistake but when I had my crew…. I see them as family, just like I saw you, Ace and Sabo….. I thought I had been the hero but…. at a shrine I visited, I prayed….. I prayed to see you back y/n"

y/n fell silent and soon the candles went out lowering Luffy's guard, suddenly a small lighter was in y/n's hands

"Are we still friends?"

"Nothing will change that"

Y/n appeared in front of Luffy and said "I knew you would come back", Luffy was surprised when you grabbed the chair and pushed him, throwing the lighter lighting the several candles on the dinner table, and at the end, ropes tying Shanks to his chair with a dazed look, Luffy knew that Shanks could not hurt Y/n, the little girl he protected so much

"There's someone missing"

Y/n said as she left, Luffy looked at Shanks and they exchanged glances, Shanks couldn't hurt y/n……hurt an innocent child like her. y/n came back wearing extremely large gloves, one of them a Navy Vice Admiral's gloves, she threw a covered tray on the table and threw the gloves on the floor shaking her hands

"I paid a little visit to our little friend. Our dear singer Uta, I made her a snack"

Shanks and Luffy tensed up, Shanks tried to use Haki but it seemed like something was stopping him, Luffy looked away in fear and soon she took the tray away revealing Luffy's straw hat

"Wow, I'm not that crazy"

y/n laughed, as she went back into the dark and soon came back with a chair this time with Uta on it, both ropes had sea stones weakening the Devil Fruit users, not letting them get loose

"Let me see…where I'm going to sit"

Little y/n and y/n had drawn on a chair and soon she looked at the three at the tables and then y/n and put the gun in Luffy's hand

"Make her disappear, please"

Y/n said pointing at Uta, Luffy turned around refusing to do it and soon took the gun and pointed it at Uta and this made Shanks shake in the chair, y/n quickly took the mask off Uta's mouth and Shanks' mouth

"Why are you doing this?! Are you crazy?!"

"Uta! Don't say that!…..y/n, little one. Calm down remember what I said, violence doesn't solve-"

"Shut up! We're talking"

y/n screamed and shot a doll that looked like Sabo

"Why?……why did you trade me? Wasn't I a daughter enough?"

"Y/n, you know you're not my daughter….I laid eyes on you and saw innocence, something I knew the world would break, if I could I would protect you just like I did with Uta"

"But she almost died, didn't she?"

Y/n teased and lifted Uta's hair while laughing at her face and Uta just got mad but Luffy calmed her down, while turning to Luffy, Uta took a glass and cut the ropes and soon took y/n's biggest gun pointing at her

"Uta, no!"

"Uta!, put that gun down!"

Uta tried to defend himself to Shanks but Luffy screamed desperately when y/n just laughed and raised her hands in surrender, Uta shot but Luffy screamed no, y/n laughed and put the gun on the table and pretended to surrender while breathing shakily as if she was going to cry, y/n laughed and a purple glow in her eyes was present, and she quickly grabbed the gun and hit Uta in the face, soon Shanks and Luffy screamed Uta's name, their screams made y/n start to panic and cry, grabbing the gun and throwing it at the table, breaking it.

"I…..sorry…..sorry"

"y/n….don't cry, you're perfect"

Shanks broke the silence and y/n stood up, throwing the gun on the floor and picking up another one, she turned to both of them and looked at Uta who was passed out on the floor, she sat on the chair that only had y/n scribbled on it and looked at both of them

"I thought you could love me as I am now, Different. But you've changed too so……cheers to change"

Y/n said, standing up and picking up a weapon that looked like a bomb launcher, she walked slowly up the stairs and soon saw the Marine headquarters where the most powerful were, a pirate attack could start a war. Luffy screamed and tried to get out but couldn't, Shanks finally freed himself and ran to Uta, y/n put the king's Haki sphere, activating the bomb, and soon put it on her shoulder. Tears fell as she felt everything change, was this why she hated change so much?

Holding Uta and releasing Luffy who grabbed his hat, a huge blue light filled the room along with the impact, through the window they came, that missile crossing the damn bridge and soon hit the Navy silk, Luffy screamed knowing that his grandfather was there, he already felt the loss before it happened, the missile hit the glass and went through catching everyone off guard and soon exploded breaking the building and the room illuminating everything in blue, everything becoming chaos, y/n hated changes.

Walking along the wooden tip with Luffy in Shanks' support, Luffy screamed as she cried knowing that her beloved grandfather was gone without a fight. He loved the color blue, the color of the sea but now he hates the color blue, the color of that missile, the color of destruction, the color of a part of the Navy, the color that the Navy Headquarters got all dirty with blue, the color of y/n's hair. Does he hate blue, or does he love it? he hates y/n!…..really hates ?

[exactlycleverpirate]

Wild Theories About Rafayel

Spoilers under the cut.

So, I've been contemplating how the various deceptions Rafayel has experienced occured and how that connects in his story over all. He or his story references being deceived at least 3 times: in Anecdote 3, in the Myth, and in Your Fragrance.

Anecdote 3:

"The young boy sits alone in the middle of the coral reef, softly humming “Siren's Ballad.” Waves lap the shores, staining it dark red. The color blends almost seamlessly with the bloody setting sun in the distance. Those who deceived him have long since sailed away on their massive ships, laughing all the while. “Siren's Ballad” isn't a song of revenge. It's an elegy sung for Lemuria.”

Myth:

Amund: “I believe in Your Quintessence. Her method of acquiring the heart wasn’t forgotten, was it? If that island sparked the beginning of our demise, then everything should end there. The Lemurians cannot be deceived again!”

MC: “The Lemurian tales I’ve read said the God of the Sea died long ago… I’m sorry, you must refer to it as a “slumber.” How can there still be a God of the Sea?” Rafayel: “Does Your Highness know why he perished? His heart was stolen by humans.”

Your Fragrance:

“It must be an allergic reaction. This isn’t perfume. How dare they use such underhanded methods to trap me…” “Who gave you the perfume?” “Are you trying to run away again?” “I’m not going anywhere. You’re gonna lock me up again… You’re with them, I just know it. Don’t think I’m unaware of what you’re about to do. (MC name), I won’t fall for it again. Not this time.”

They all seem to be connected to you somehow, but not enough so to make him hate you or lose trust in you, as he is still willing to be incredibly vulnerable with you (Ebb and Flow), give up his life for you (Myth chapter 8-9), deeply love you, and want to be with you for the rest of his life.

So my thoughts are that MC has been used as bait against Rafayel in at least 2 lives. There seem to be events that reoccur in their different reincarnations, such as Rafayel meeting MC when they are young/children and vowing to find MC again. He gives her the blue fish, the Emissary of the Ocean, in both current and Myth lives as well.

So going with this idea of reoccurring events, I think on their first life, which I believe was the Island of Songs life, there was likely a vow made as children. But then as adults, I think there were a group of humans (or perhaps just one in particular) who decided to use her as bait to trap the God of the Sea and plunder Lemuria's riches while he was weak. She is unaware of any of this. She is offered to him as a sacrifice (think Bride of Habaek (manhwa)), essentially becomes something like a temple maiden trapped on an island. What she doesn't know is that those who sent her there are using her as a honey trap.

And it works. She and Rafayel fall in love and bind themselves to each other. Now, I haven't decided yet whether I think the humans knew he would go so far as to give her his heart or whether they just got lucky there. But the end result is, Rafayel is trapped when he is weak, Lemuria is plundered, and I believe they then go into hiding in the deep, becoming the stuff of myth and legend.

MC, meanwhile, is seen as the betrayer by the Lemurians, though not necessarily Rafayel, not completely at least. They curse her and turn her into a Sea Witch (Fragrant Dream). But eventually Rafayel finds her and saves her at the cost of his own life.

Now fast-forward to current day Rafayel. He has once again made a vow with her when they were children. And I think he is deceived by the same person/people as before, be they gods, reincarnations or some other immortal. And I think now that they are behind Ever Corp, Onychinus and related organizations. (I also like the idea that Astra from Zayne's Myth is somehow a part of all this.) So, they use MC as a lure, to draw him away from Lemuria, since even as a child, he is their protector. They once again plunder Lemuria, this time nearly wiping it out.

Meanwhile, I think they know MC has a Sea God’s heart, and were experimenting on her to find a way to use it. Hence the Aether core and what not.

Sometime in the far future, they will use what they learn from it to remake Earth into Philos, with a fake core that keeps all humanity immortal, except those sacrificed to it. Eventually, MC's immortal heart is essentially connected to the core like a battery, to drain, die, recharge the core, then be reborn to do it again. Essentially making all human life on Philos leaches off of Rafayel's immortality, draining him as well and eventually condemning him to eternal slumber if he does not reclaim it from her.

What do you think? Wild and crazy? Has some merit? What are your own theories? Let me know in the comments or PM me!

[pinkrose05]

Random thought: Silver Wolf's virtual companions seem to loosely correspond to the other Stellaron Hunters (+ a bonus)

Warning: Long post

For those not in the know, SW's weapon holds an A.I of her creation, which she calls Prometheus (hmmm). Prometheus comes with five modules -the chibis pointed out above- each of which has its own special name: Friend, Demon Lord, Whitecollar, Servant, and Preschool Classmate.

I'm unsure if they all look and act the same as they did upon creation, so the theory here is that she based or modified them using her colleagues as inspiration after joining the Hunters. Now, here are the parallels I think make the most sense:

1) Friend -> Kafka. Most of SW's appearances are on joint missions with Kafka specifically, and that -along with the banter they exchange all the time- leads me to assume she's the closest colleague to our tiny hacker. Friend is also the first and currently only companion that actually talks to us ingame and outside of the game (she shows up in one of SW's lines and in her Keeping Up With Star Rail video), and who was the first Hunter we encountered in the story?

Yeah.

2) Demon Lord -> Ren. According to SW's second character story, the companion is inspired by a poster she saw one time, and she based it off the idea of a veteran who lost the ability to speak. Ren isn't perpetually silent, of course, but he's a man of very few words, and is strongly associated with demon imagery as well (that one vidyadhara elegy, the kit icons, the clothing design, etc.). I also think Demon Lord is the chibi on the top left with the sword, right next to Friend, and what would you know- there's only one Hunter we know whose signature weapon is a sword!

(That and he's also seen a lot alongside Kafka. Neat.)

3) Whitecollar -> Sam. Admittedly there's pretty much nothing to go on in regards to Sam, and that makes him a weak link in this theory, so I hope for some future crumbs that can clarify things. All we know about him so far is that he's a more straightforward and efficient sort of guy who doesn't fool around on the job- if SW's express visit line is anything to go by. That makes for a veeeery threadbare argument that he'd make a good whitecollar with these qualities, but honestly they apply to any job, and Sam obviously doesn't sit around in an office all day...

4) Servant -> Elio. This is a pretty simple one: Elio is literally called Destiny's Slave. If that's not Servant, then who is? More crumbs are always welcome to give further proof or contradict this assumption, but for now it seems pretty reasonable to me.

Bonus:

5) Preschool Classmate -> Trailblazer. This one is the most interesting to me because, here's a fun fact: Preschool Classmate was actually deleted soon after its creation. This parallels the Trailblazer being left behind to join the Express and set the script in motion, in a way, and might explain SW leaving alongside Kafka without talking to them at all. But then this raises the question of why she personally visits them at the express, and why she became their gamer buddy.... hmmmmmm.....

Overall, I think this is a pretty nice design element, and while my theory has little substance to go on, I think it would be better if this wasn't a mere coincidence. If anyone has anything more to share on the topic, then by all means, go ahead! I love hearing about small tidbits and trivia and fuel for the found family agenda!

[gingersnaptaff]

Hello, it's me. I am back again to bore you all to utter DEATH.

Okay, so I was doing some reading in my lil book nook and I came across this poem:

(Sorry it's sideways. I hate it too.)

It's Ode Five by Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd (who is awesome in his own right. Might do a post about him if anybody would like it.) Anyways, there are two (2) things that jumped out straight off that I have highlighted:

1. The reference to Ogrfan Fawr who is Gwenhwyfar's dad. It's super interesting to me that it reads a bit like Hywel (or whoever is narrating the poem) uses Ogrfan to imply that he's being kept apart from his lover. (Presumably the fair - pls remember Gwen is another word for fair, or white, in Welsh - shy girl lady he mentions in the second line.)

Who's got fair in their name? Gwenhwyfar. "Okay, Sarah," I imagine you're saying. "Cool stuff. But what the fuck does this have to do with a twelfth-century poet dude and a fictional queen?"

Ah, okay. WELL. LEMME REFER U TO GARWY HIR:

He's the father of Indeg who is one of Arthur's mistresses, AND lover of Creirwy, daughter of Cerridwen. Now, I find the author's insinuation that the poem is specifically about Garwy Hir to be a bit of a stretch, because why tf is Ogrfan mentioned in the same breath as Garwy? They have little connection to each other in all honesty. (And I have never heard of Ogrfan, Garwy, being Cerridwen being connected.)

Well, there's a Very Prominent Lad who is connected to both of those ladies.

ARTHUR!!!!!

Husband to Gwenhwyfar, lover of Indeg. The dumbass boi himself. (Respectfully. He is just... look, a lot of Welsh sources are mixed about him. Gildas has Proper Beef with Arthur cuz he killed his brother. Also, this is the same man who called Maelgwn Gwynedd, 'a sodomitical grape.' So. He's not fuckin about.)

It sounds like - to me - this Ode could be perceived as a quest - much like his quest to Annwfn (Not outside of Hywel's subject matter. Man LOVED to intertwine war and love. Read his Gorhoffedd. You'll see what I mean.) - that's been forgotten about over the intervening centuries. One that Arthur went on to get Gwenhwyfar from her father's hall. Perhaps this is also - maybe - a far older version of the Gwenhwyfar/Guinevere and Melwas/Melegaunt myth, but idk. I cannot say for certain.

Now. You can think that this is all a bit tenuous. It very much is, I grant you. In 'The Arthur of the Welsh,' O.J. Padel suggests that Hywel is imagining himself as a suitor for Gwenhwyfar's hand (entirely fair. Right there with you, fella. I too would want to be a suitor for Gwenhwyfar.) But I think it makes a little more sense for the Ode to be Arthur.

Also, yes, I admit the reference to Gwenhwyfar is an indirect one, and I am running on 12 cups of coffee, and this didn't go anywhere, but still. It's FUN.

Now, go read about Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd, pls!!!!! His dad, Owain Gwynedd, gets compared to Cai, Cynyr, Gwalchmai, and Dillus in an elegy by Cynddelw, while his court at Gwynedd is seen to be like Arthur's at Celli Wig. (Cynddelw did a praise poem about Hywel too, which also contains lots of Arthurian references.)