#what if it magically like just doesnt function tho :)

[forgivenfolly]

i think i was not built for trying to build a platform or audience for my art lol like i just noticed a single other person downloaded my makeup and now i feel like i need to go lie down

[thatdeadaquarius]

PART 2 - Genshin Impact SAGAU / Isekai: Gifts to Give Your Allogene!

ELEMENTS HERE: Dendro, Hydro, Cryo, Geo

Part 1 / Part 2 (you're here!)

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Sun: Gender Neutral Reader (they/them only)

Planet: General SAGAU / Isekai Stuff, Platonic Cuteness

Orbit: Headcanons-ish, a couple sentences for each

Stars: a little bit of everybody as of Baizhu/Kaveh update! including rare beloveds like Aloy! (I hope I got them all… at least the playable ones… ) Please understand that some characters are more “foreground” characters and have more screen time so I may have written some more for them because I knew them better!

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: weapons for gifts?? 16+ Older Teen Audiences Advised, light cussing

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& Trigger Warnings: None Known.

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Edit 1/1/24: Hey I expanded on this in my Eldritch Fanfic Post Part 2, but I just wanted to vet the old posts and say I did do a form of exoticism by including the word "Huangdi" throughout this.

I've since replaced it for better readability with "Emperor" but I didn't want to erase my mistake like it never happened. I'm genuinely sorry about this, I never had ill intentions by including it, but regadless of intentions that's the impact of my actions. I'm absolutely going to be looking out for kind of thing in the future/get a sensitivity reader/a beta read from that culture to check me.

I hope you still enjoy my writing and can understand.

Dendro Allogenes:

Tighnari = with some help again to put magic into it, you give Tighnari some head coverings you sewed together that have the power of Cryo in them! So now he can actually see what plants are out in the desert, visit Cyno, or just enter the desert to his heart’s content, which, yes, his tail started unconsciously wagging after you explained what it was. “Oh! For me? Well I’ve taken to avoiding the desert if I can because of… wait a minute, you say it has cryo in it? What? How does that work?? You think it’ll genuinely help me in the desert?? You made it???” Tighnari’s ears are all twitching with excitement, and he’s holding the covering (that matches his clothes/dark green) like it’s a new plant for study, omg he pulled out his magnifying glass and everything-

Collei = so she’s actually a really good seamstress, and makes plushies a lot, esp for kids! but one day you found one of her first attempts, a ragged looking sort of pale pink bunny… her first attempt at a plushie Baron Bunny!! so you decided to mimic her design (still baron bunny but with a sort of Sumeru-like clothing on it), and sew her one! You made a whole day of it, eating together, going to the best spots to sightsee (for as long as Collei was up for it/not too tired) and then gifted her the plushie Baron Bunny! She accidentally let out a small scream that startled both of you tbh, and then snatched that shit so quick lmao, kicking her feet on the picnic blanket and everything! With your permission of course, Collei then tackled you for a hug lol, she ranted about all the little details and made you tell her several times over how you made it so she could make some more in the future too! She may or may not have talked about missing Amber and teared up… but then you redirected her attention to the bunny saying, it’s like a gift from Amber and you really! (you also added a function where, if you squeeze the Baron, it’ll dish out some healing power and some heat! …Collei tackle hugged you twice for that one)

Alhaitham = what a hard person to get gifts for, he’d probably be like “thanks” no matter what you got him 😭, he means it tho, it would just be underwhelming… but on the bright side, he definitely seems like he’d show a deeper appreciation for handmade gifts! Since you learned how to make one for Yoimiya, you decide this calls for another handmade hammock (also bc Teyvat doesnt have hammocks)! You painted symbols like green crystals and geometric patterns, but also lions and a golden Palace of Alcazarzaray for Kaveh, and your symbol, the eight point star (like the four point but with flare/not like the jewish symbol with equal points lol)!! So that way he can keep lazing away, and avoid people more comfortably lmao, and also if he is going to do that, he doesnt have to sit on rocks or hard structures for hours reading, and you hope it’s encouragement for him to spend time outside/take a break and nap! (Haitham knows that’s part of why you gave him this, even if you didn’t say it, and so he makes a point to do that more often to make you happy, take the advice for his health) oh look, after thoroughly looking at your craftsmanship for 10 minutes, you got a smile in addition to a “thanks”, damn, that’s actually how you know he likes it a lot <3 :)

Nahida = you remember vaguely from Nahida’s storylines/friendship levels that she loves games, and so you collect her a nice deck for Genius Invokation TCG! You also made her a cute bag and container for it, her bag is a rose maple moth crocheted bc really this was an excuse to just make the cutest character in Sumeru look even cuter, (like this, i tried very hard ok, bc this doesnt exist yet, im shocked) The first image is most correct, (imagine the face and stuff is cuter/simpler) as that’s also the backpack part! Her eyes were so big when you handed it to her, (you honestly were shocked they even could get any bigger lol). She jumped up and down excitedly with the backpack on (ur fucking heart, just like you intended, the wings flapped around and everything <333) you are also currently working on a luna moth (the pale green moth) in case she wants it to match her outfit more! even tho Nahida insists something handmade once is enough, you can see the childish yearning in her eyes, like a kid trying to say no to a toy that’s being offered right in front of them lmao

Kaveh = pretty girls deserve pretty things, and you were definitely feeling the pressure to make something high quality enough for Kaveh, tho u know he’s sweet enough that he’d appreciate anything you’d take the time to handmake (and tbh.. it sounds a little arrogant, but ur hoping something so cared for by what he, or at least most people see as some kind of all-powerful god above the archons, will boost his self-esteem/confidence in his own worth more, or at least let him know one more person cares about him…) so you didnt make it super detailed, and you put a note on it too to let him know your not as great at that as he would be, but you made a model of the part of the teapot house you’re going to design for him! Like a sort of sneakpeak, you made a small lookalike of Alhaitham and his house, but filled it with decor like if Howl didnt hoard all the cool shit in his room in Howl’s Moving Castle, but instead spread it out, and sort of used your modern taste for layout, (not the ugly ass corporate aesthetic) and a small garden. You also made nearly all the decor and stuff something interesting (like some primogem strings, they can be pretty small, for string lights, lampgrass from Mondstadt that he’s never seen etc.) and while you very shyly handed him the model at first, he was practically vibrating with excitement!! “You made this?! Oh of course I don’t expect perfection, it looks wonderful so far, especially if this was your first attempt!!” Kaveh has like sat down, and is delicately holding it and looking around, and when you tell him it’s an actual space, meant for him, he gently sets down the model and grabs you by the shoulders, “Show. Me. Now. …please?” looking at you with very determined puppy dog eyes lol

Yaoyao = …idk what you expected. It was so obvious. A crocheted bunny backpack. brown, so it matches her, since her basket was brown, or you could leave off the feet, whichever u prefer, and anyway, Yaoyao is always doing things for others, so the little girl was so cute and pink when you actually gave her something instead! (once again, using ur old trick of making the person think u need something then shocking them with a handmade gift instead hehe) She IMMEDIATELY switched it out for her basket and has pretty much converted to using it full time! (tho when she needs the more solid one she’ll still wear it, she just alternates, esp if there’s some occasion she’ll deffo wear the bunny backpack, it’s her “fancy god-made bunny backpack!”)

Baizhu = the doctor isn’t one to talk about himself a lot, so you weren’t sure what he would like other than some new tea… but you wanted to make it yourself so while you were a little disappointed it was just a basic pet gift, you wanted to maybe put a little extra into it so maybe Changsheng will use it and Baizhu will think it’s cute! You crocheted a little pet pod/cave for her to hang out in (imagine this but a Jueyun Chili hehe) and it also has a little crocheted vine rope so the little Jueyun Chili cave can be hung from things, or even tied onto Baizhu’s apron/hold it like a purse! That way Changsheng doesn’t always have to drape across his shoulders/has somewhere to retreat! When you shyly showed Baizhu and Changsheng, he literally clapped, so did Qiqi lol (he usually does those tiny smiles… but this one was the brightest most genuine you’ve ever seen, even in game…!!) You find that Baizhu’s eyes look like that type of person’s eyes were they just look like “happy”, like there’s a little fond sparkle in his eye. Changsheng was all like “about time I got something instead of him! I’m basically an assistant too y’know! …thank you very much, my Emperor.” (if you’re NOT squimish of snake pics, pls look at this cute smile Changsheng would give)

Hydro Allogenes:

Barbara = …so even Barbara was a little hesitant at first, but came around to the idea after some convincing, and some encouragement (and showing her she was capable of it) but you basically ….may ….or may not have… found a loop hole for her being a catalyst? So, thru a lot of persuading Barbara to train with you and Childe (who also thought it was amusing to see such a young girl who’s literally a nun and a singer do this) you got Barbara to make water bombs! Like her circle of notes that float around her when healing, she sings and gestures and similar to her ult, (but like Childe’s E-skill it just switches between the two), the notes fly out and explode in the direction she sings/aims! You wanted to remind her of her old dream of being recognized, and wanting to help in battle in a more combat way, and besides, you’re sick of women getting regulated to the healing magical role in games/anime fantasy, so yeah. You and Childe are literally evilly giggling to each other in the background as Barbara sends quater notes and lines of music that explode (like how water can sharpen and cut things like Childe’s blades? Yeah he taught her that) so intensely that it cuts into the Pyro Lawlachurl, bringing it to its knees- Barbara accidentally cuts its head off as the finishing blow. While she gasps in a little fear, but mostly shock, Childe jumps up and down and starts cheering.

Mona = got sparkly eyes, nearly snatched the gift out of your hand, you made her some awesome earrings from the character banner wishes! All pretty ombre pink and blue they swirl and look so pretty framing Mona’s face, she only wears them on special occasions despite your claim of everyday use, they also help her figure out where the clearest view of the night sky each night but glowing brighter and brighter when she gets closer to seeing clearly, Mona is almost? weirdly envious?? for her past self that had to suffer thru all the inconvenient cloudy nights lmao

Childe = like anon said, a new pair of knit gloves, using the fur from the snow king boar! he’s amazed they never wear out now, and he totally uses them as an excuse to hold your hands all like “I just can’t get over how soft they are, feel them, you did amazing comrade! even better than some Snezhnayan shops!!”, exactly what you expect he’s leaning into your face and everything- 🙄

Xingqiu = an ao3 account you had a hard time with Xingqiu’s, afterall, he’s from a wealthier family, so he can get mostly what he wants, and you don’t wanna just get him another book… so you kidnapped him to Inazuma! (idk if this is canon, or happened in an event or smth I missed idfc) So, you also kidnapped Albedo for this trip, so that Xingqiu could actually see the impact his writing made overseas! While you intended for this trip to make Xingqiu feel better abt his writing, (and to help Albedo feel appreciated too, despite him not expressing much low self-esteem in his art, compliments heaped upon him def cant hurt, plus u can see him go pink too hehe) you also wanted to surprise him with a author book signing! If he was up for it, of course, which he “I absolutely, definitely, certainly am, my liege!” Kid’s practically hopping in place, as you get him all ready for his book signing (and not rlly Albedo bc he’s always fucking perfect, u dont have to do shit, even his messy hair looks nice 💀) …you also may or may not have given him some hair decorations (to help his asymmetrical cutting, not that it looks super bad, but for a change at least)

Yelan = …it’s official. You are intimidated. It’s only pretty hydro women and Ayato from here on, on your “Gift List”. Needless to say, like a few other allogenes, you wouldn’t know shit about this woman if you didn’t read her lore… it’s not a fine replacement, you don’t think, but with (lots of almond tofu, and osmanthus wine too) dev access to help you, you created another bracelet for Yelan. Inscribed (just like the heirlooms) inside simply says “You Are Not Alone”, with your eight star symbol following after (like a four star but with some flare, and also not the Jewish star lol), it glows an otherwordly gold, a contrast to the bright blues of the other bracelet. Its function is a geo shield, to protect Yelan and any teammates nearby when it’s activated, she can also leave the shielded area in one spot, so she can do her e-skill and still protect people. You’d just casually asked her to meet up with you one day in that teahouse you know she runs for intel, and when you presented her the bracelet, she held it delicately, saying nothing as she examined it, reading the inside. A small smile tugged her lips up, and she slips it on as she sips her tea, “…Well, I’ll have to show this to present this one to the family shrine, I think this more than makes up for the heirloom I failed to keep. A replacement from the Guide of Teyvat themselves… Thank you, my Emperor, for this handwrought gift you bestow upon a mortal such as me. …and thank you, for not leaving me alone.” Yelan bows a little in her seat, sharp blue eyes more softened than you’ve ever seen her, trained on yours. Her hands are together in that same praying motion that gives you the weirdest sense of deja vu…

Kokomi = so you don’t know much about her, as the it seems the character lore for Kokomi you can remember was… lacking, to say the least. Hoyo definitely plays favorites, BUT YOU DON’T!! At least when it comes to gift givining so everyone feels appreciated, you got a pretty book (handmade or bought) and got it/made it kinda small, like the size of the book in her idle animation, bc turns out that’s her diary of sorts. You know the priestess feels if she expresses any opinions that her people will just take her side, or her word as… well, a divine priestess, the weight of her title you suppose. She also keeps track of how many spoons she has! Like what things drain her, and what things make her feel better (big social interactions vs. reading a war treaty book by herself for example) So you made her a bullet journal! (here’s one of my favorite bullet journal youtubers, here’s a flipthru of her completed journal) you didn’t fill out the whole thing, just some example pages, to show her the possibilites! …you were kinda worried bc she turned away at first after delicately accepting it, and since it was just you two, she allowed herself turn back around and start excitedly chatting your ear off as she leaned in- and wow. Kokomi’s eyes really are, dreamy, like cotton candy… and they’re so much prettier when she smiles…

Ayato = …you know exactly what to do. Interrupting his busy schedule (and only actually taking one day out of it actually bother him so he can have the others as a secret vacation hehe) to come over to the Kamisato household and homemake some boba drinks for him, Ayaka, and Thoma to try! Mostly Ayato tho, you got all the syrups, the milks teas, the boba, and luckily, were able to get some help from Xiangling in experimenting in making… popping pearls! (they’re edible boba pearls that are actually filled with juice/syrup flavors and burst on your tounge when you barely bite them! they’ve very sweet, and Inazuma definitely didn’t have any different pearls other than tapioca, those squishy black pearls you see in his regular boba tea) …Ayato is literally holding your hand like he’s about to drop to one knee, this man is down bad for boba (and you) and… are those tears?! Is he tearing up?! “I can’t believe… THE Akitsu Mikami… blessed me, personally, with boba?? With NEW boba teas and pearls I’ve never even seen?! …Thank you, my beloved emperor!” Mans has quite literally gotten on his knees, but bc he’s so tall, he can still comfortably hold both your hands in his bigger gloved ones …Thoma is desperately trying to get Ayato up, Ayaka is getting onto her brother in the background.

Candace = it’s not exactly a traditional gift… but the reason Candace doesn’t wear a lot of her jewelry or finery is because of the hard job she has as a Guardian/in the desert, so you figured giving her more things she can’t even really wear wasn’t the way to go.. So instead! You gather a journal or advice from Ningguang, Keqing, Yelan, Zhongli, and all the others in the Qixing who were willing to help you, and kidnapped Ganyu for a sight seeing trip! (since u and Ganyu has that whole “in between two very different worlds” bond) You brought Ganyu because you know if anybody would be good at managing something/getting it started (like the music fest back for Lantern Rite… that I missed bc I dont understand how lantern rite works 😭😭😭 VIOLENTLY SOBS ITS BEEN 2 YEARS AND I HAVENT GOTTEN A SINGLE LANTERN RITE U GUYS-) it would be Ganyu herself! …and to also give her a break. See Aaru Village suffered from little to no economy before Candace finally negoiated with the elders to let Sumeru merchants travel into town/buy from them/sell to them, but she’s had a rough time keeping the old coots from being dicks about it since, …and it’s also hard to convince the younger generations to come back after many wanted to see the outside world because of this… So what better what to solve two birds with one stone?? GANYU!! And all the economy and business advice you could gather form Liyue! You hope that the village flourishing (and helping Candace cut down on shady merchants) would impress the older generation, yet also get more money in the town so they can dress it up a bit more (like fixing unsteady bridges, also u kidnapped Kaveh to help revitalize their cultural architecture buildings back into life/or help make the simple buildings just prettier) Now Ganyu and her are besties (Candace rlly needed another friend besides just Dehya alone to come out and see her in the desert) and the adepti was very willing to come visit her and Aaru Village to help the economy maintain its footing/run smoothly, and Kaveh also comes and works on it/checks on her/the village! …When you initially showed all the plans to Candace, saying it’ll impress the old by bringing back old designs/architecture plus interest/satisfy the younger generations to know their hometown is advancing and make it more appealing to come back to… The Guardian puts her shield and spear off to the side, she lowers her head, and greets you, bc u kinda just started rambling without saying hello- whoops- , “Salaam aleikum Qore, **I have already become the first Guardian to have been blessed by the gods, to receive this Vision was the only aid I could turn to in trying to help my village, my community… but to be blessed once more? I would never have dared to dream, let alone the Ogdoad Qore… I am grateful on behalf of myself, my village, and all of King Deshret’s people. …truly, I did not expect a gods eyes to turn favorably upon us since my ancestors’ time. Thank you, my Qore.” You just give her a smile back, she taught you the return phrase, so you hope it’s appropiate, “Waaleikum us salam.” :)

Nilou = This woman is consumed by dancing, other than keeping the peace (well, within reason apparently bc she’s okay with a coup-) but you’ve heard how hard it can be on dancers, how plenty of them have to have strong muscles to perform consistently. So, using adepti magic, you’ve enchanted this minakari you’ve painted (a type of metalwork that’s then painted by artists, on Earth countries like Iran, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan make them) like the teapot! It’s a small island that has a dance studio, and more importantly, a spa with hot springs, a sauna, and a room full of medical supplies dancers would need like salves, heating/cooling pads (using pyro/cryo), and space for stretches! Overall, just a place for her to get away from all the people and to heal her body up for the next performance, and after getting it all prepped/packed up with supplies, and showing it to Nilou… she literally had her hands over her mouth the whole walk around the rooms and showing her everything. Nilou had already been shocked you’d painted her a minakari piece, let alone all this! Like some others, she was quick to drop the formalities, and before you could even say “I hope you like it!” she was wrapping her arms around you and squeezing as tight as she could, tearing up and saying how happy she was that someone understood how hard dance can be on the body and how hard it can also be to take care of yourself, and how she can’t possibly show her gratitude- wait a minute. She’s pulled back and gripping you by the shoulders, not even bothering to wipe her eyes, before she swears to give you a dance every year with all the culmination of her work as she learns and makes newer and better dances!! <3

Cryo Allogenes:

Kaeya = horses so he’s actually a calvary captain- you actually wanted something that’d emphasize the handmade part of the gift, to really let Kaeya know somebody out there really cares about him, cares about him in the way that they’ll sit down and think of an idea and think of him, and then work for hours, sewing, drawing, crafting something just for him, to happy about. You make him a small, pocket sized photobook, and have a picture of every person who cares about him in all the slots, and near the end, from his last birthday where you gathered everybody together to celebrate, is a photo of Jean, Klee, Albedo, Sucrose, Venti, Rosaria, Noelle, Amber, even Eula, Diona, Mika, Barbara, and Mona came! But most importantly, you got Diluc to host it at Angel’s Share, and after some convincing, got him to get in the picture, you’re slightly off center, sandwiched by Kaeya and Diluc, where Kaeya is mid-laugh at the center, having just seen Diluc’s embarrassed face. It’s the last one in the mini album, and each photo has an even small message at the bottom, giving Kaeya a message from everybody, just for him. At the very end, with the group photo just before, is one of yourself and him posing together, you having taken him out roaming Mondstadt for the perfect picnic spot, just to give an excuse why you wanted a picture with him. And at the time, he found it a little suspicious, but was just flustered enough he let it slide. But now, opening and unfolding this tiny album, full of smiling friends and caring words, Kaeya gives a small, watery chuckle, you’ve left him a message too. “Take care of yourself Kaeya, because someone out there really cares about you. :) “

Rosaria = After seeing her “nun” outfit, there’s no doubt in your mind that Rosaria is yearning for clothes closer to her preferred aesthetic. So, using your knowledge of punk clothes and modern goth religious aesthetics, you’ve made some pieces for her to try! Some black pumps with metal crosses for heels, yes they’re sharp and this nice shawl with beads, and finally, a nice lacy skirt (no you did not make fucking lace, jesus christ, you’re not a miracle worker, despite the belief of some teyvatians-). All of which, wow, got Rosaria to give you an honest to god… smile. A full, genuine smile from Rosaria… yeah that made all your hard work worth it.

Eula = a book on common manners so Eula is actually great at cooking! So what better chaos to gift to her other than introducing her to Xiangling! Especially since you’ve given the young Liyuean cook recipes from your own world for her to try out, she’s been on a rampage of new things, and so what better new experience than a cook from an entirely different country? You also made a small book of recipes (look up how to make a zine book on youtube it’s actually kinda easy) from your world, different from Xiangling’s because you thought Eula would like different recipes than her. …So needless to say you were then being berated by two chefs for not sharing all the recipes lmao, tho that really just gave them reason to share recipes! Also any new spinoffs Xiangling’s already made from the initial ones you gave her, and now Eula not only graciously thanks you for the recipes, but also her new pen pal! :)

Diona = So, to prep for this gift, you forced converted the Cat’s Tail to a non-alcoholic cat cafe during the daytime, and only in the evenings do they start serving alcohol/cats put up. You also got onto Margaret for hiring a child to make alcohol, so instead have Diona work better hours, and only during the cafe time, so she’s not making alcoholic drinks either. (you also checked in on child labor laws in Mondstadt, and ran some paperwork by Jean just in case) But most importantly, you teach Diona all kinds of new drink recipes to make, like Shirley Temples, smoothies, etc. You even (once again, by getting help from Xiangling and Diluc) made a drink for hangovers, but more importantly, helped her make one called “Sober Up” which magically flushes out the alcohol out of someone’s body, so Diona can finally sneak people a drink that (while still cursed to be well-made since Diona made it) is a trip to drink lol, it’s like a blast of carbonation/electricity to the system and will typically make most people very nauseous (but since magic’s doing it, they dont need to throw up, they’re just sick feeling for an hour depending on how much they drank). Diona nearly cried after she saw the effect on hungover customers, and immediately started sneaking them into her father’s drinks, so now he’s leaning more toward sobriety most days, and after finding out what Diona did, started to talk to his daughter more. The next time you see her, and ask after her father, she just wraps her little arms around your waist, the highest she can reach, you hug her back.

Chongyun = for prep for this gift, you painstakingly, slowly convince Chongyun to accept more and more moments of warmth, like trying some spicy food that’s gone cold, but just away from people so he can be silly out in the Liyuean mountains instead, and to try and use exposure therapy to try and get him used to yin energy/warm/excitable things, rather than the inefficient method of just avoiding it all (as it doesn’t always work/deprives him of so many nice things!! >:[ ). So that way! You can finally! Take him to have fun!!! You haul him (and Xingqiu bc the more the merrier) to go swimming in Luhua Pools, go jumping off all the peaks from one to another paragliding, using cryo to surf down waterfalls, and most importantly, go to a hot springs at the end of the day! Chongyun was worried about them being too hot and activating his yang energy, but you all agreed he had been training to get used to it, so now he when he goes to try it, he just relaxes into the heat. He could feel the tug to get out and run in circles and get excited, but finally, Chongyun could just choose to sit and relax into the warmth with friends instead :)

Ganyu = if I had a nickel for every woman In teyvat who just needs a break I’d be fucking rich …Obviously, a day off. But an ACTUAL day off, with work regulated to others, and unless there’s an Osial level incident 2.0 (fuck his wife, you put Shenhe on duty to protect Liyue just in case) NO ONE. IS. TO. DISTURB. GANYU’S. FIRST. VACATION. IN. DECADES. You get her to show you the prettiest viewing spots in Liyue, and as you go, tell stories from your life on Earth, showing her pictures on your phone (from both the internet and ur photos), to show her how mortal you are on one hand, but then how different you are here, upgrading her weapons and artifacts, and most importantly, her gift, a Teyvat modified cellphone! Albedo and you had been working together for months to try and make something close enough to connect ur two worlds, while introducing him to adeptal magic and other powerful objects like primogems and wishes that you have to help power it, that way the only other person who might understand immediately how it feels to be (literally lol) caught between two worlds can always rely on each other! …Ganyu cried. Yep, tears down her cheeks and everything, “…I- I- don’t even- even know what to say? All this, telling me about your mortal world, helping me get stronger, and now- now this? I may not have much to give in return, other than my company and my bow… but should you ever need me, or even wish for me, I will hold you as steady as I hold together Liyue itself, my Emperor." Ganyu’s smile is so, so, so pretty, and all the prettier now that her soft blue hair and sweet eyes are framed by the sunset, like it’s her own gift back to you.

Qiqi = A backpack for herbs! You’ve made sure to stitch her name into it so in case she forgets it’s hers, she’ll just see her name again, and lots of little pockets so she can carry all the herbs/make deliveries, it looks a little like this but with a goat instead of cow, and some cocouts lmao, literally a “coco-goat” milk backpack! She is now the cutest person in Liyue, everyone agrees, nearly every single person who comes into Bubu Pharmacy gives Qiqi a compliment now, and Baizhu will periodically take a break just so he and Changsheng can coo at her lmao (Qiqi made sure she wrote down in her notebook in big letters next to your name “This person made my cocogoat backpack, remember to thank them during prayer times, and collect lots of fresh herbs for them”)

Shenhe = It’s kind of a lot, but really, at this point, you’ve done more for some of the others so this probably isn’t even scratching the surface of how big of a gift you can give, so why not. Going full steam ahead, you furnish her a house at the edge of town, so that she’s not overwhelmed by all the human traffic/people, but still close enough to make the friends she wants! When you first show her the dining/living room so plenty of guests can come over, and begin to tour her through it, the strongest woman you’ve probably ever known gently holds your shoulders and stops you from speaking, and turns you to face her, Shenhe’s eyes are sharp with observation as they roam your face, and then settle on your own wide eyes. Her eyes soften, and a small smile warms her usual stern face, (idc how tall you are, she’s taller, I fucking promise) as she leans down a little to look at you closely in the eyes, “Thank you for being a kind god. You did not have to be so generous to me, and yet here you are. If you ever feel like you’re an outsider in Teyvat, in any country or company you find yourself in, please, promise me you’ll come here. Come home to me?” ✨💘✨

Ayaka = You manage to get her away from her duties to take her out to Sumeru! Mostly so you can introduce her to Nilou, see her performance, and the flourishing arts that now fill Sumeru City’s streets, and more importantly, a dress you made so she could dance with Nilou + dance on stage, she wasn’t confident enough/didn’t want to dance for a crowd, so it’s just you three or just you two after awhile. Ayaka looks the happiest she’s been in awhile, more so than you ever saw in game, and it’s… almost like a breath of fresh air to see her away from what you felt was such an isolating environment, even after the Vision Hunt Decree was over. For her last dance, Ayaka does so alone, a little after the sun has set, so it’s all blue, and the stars are coming out, finally, you get to see an even better version of the dance she gave the traveler that night. She only opens her eyes at the end, to give you the giddiest smile you’ve ever seen on her, cheeks cute and plumped up bc she’s smiling so hard, and bows to you (Ayaka’s thanked you a million times, but she doesn’t need to, you can feel how happy she is just from this)

Mika = THE BOY!! One of the most boys to ever boy in all of Teyvat!! Your boy!!! :D What a boy, he nearly fainted when you handed over his gift one day, and you had to reach out and steady him, then hand him it again 😭 It’s similar to the Marauder’s Map, since you enchanted it (once again, what’s the point of dev access if I can’t make gifts for my skrunklies?) and since you don’t want it to end up in bad hands/get spyed on, it only shows itself with a phrase as well “I wish upon a golden star, to know this land as well as its player.” and it’ll show him everyone in public spaces in Mondstadt, not private homes, but like the plaza, the church, the Knights of Favonius, etc. He thanks you every single time he sees you for the map, as it’s both fascinating to him to have a proper well-drawn map of the city of Mondstadt (you copied it from the Teyvat in game map, but there were some buildings missing bc they’re more real here/more fleshed out as a irl city) but that just made Mika even happier bc he can go and map them out!! Literally can’t talk to you bc all he’s saying is “T-TH-TH-THANK-THANK YOU ALL FURST-!!!” before running away most of the time lol

Layla = An embroidered tiny pillow for her to easily clip onto her bag/fit in it, and take on the go with her! (this but the text just says “Sweet Dreams Layla ♡” ) that you’ve also added scent to, including some sleep inducing magics, so she’s guarenteed to sleep well and efficiently when she uses it! She blushed so hard you thought she was sick at first when you gave it to her, and she also used the pillow as a shield to hide her face as she thanked you lmao, and she made you a pillow in return! …even if she thinks it’s not as good as yours, both craft wise and function, Layla worked for weeks on it! …lol now ur the one hiding ur face behind a pillow (this but they’re all plants of sumeru)

Aloy = …if you had a nickel for every person you’ve provided with a house, you’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice… Poor damn heroine just got dragged from one world to the next, just as the last one finally was at peace, now she’s here in Teyvat, where nothing’s familiar, the entire world is set up different, people are nicer and more open here, and there’s still threats looming on its horizon. Needless to say, she is tired, and misses her own homeworld. You really wish on her behalf that Hoyo hadn’t done a crossover, but since she’s here, you figure you might as well make it easier on her. You’ve made another teapot-like adeptal magic container, so she can have a place all to herself, and given her a ticket to your own, afterall, if anybody knows what’s its like to get yanked to another world, specifically Teyvat, it’d be the travelers and yourself, and sure enough as time goes one, Aloy becomes closer with you all, and begins to finally feel a sense of familiarity, she wraps an arm around your shoulders the first time she saw you tried to make her own personal teapot place emulate her homeworld. The widest grin you’ve seen on her face, she gives you a squeeze, “It’s just been one adventure after the next, and when we started out, you were just another stranger in a world I didn't understand. But after everything we've been through, I can say this for certain: My bow is yours, now and always. Thank you for the second home, my king.” Aloy says teasingly, laughing at the face you make.

Geo Allogenes:

Noelle = goddamn when will the busy women trend END these poor souls Motherfucker, you’re gift to Noelle was to knight the damn girl yourself. No, but you nearly talked Jean’s ear off for an hour, after gathering evidence (both from eyewitnesses, and Noelle herself, including other knights and Jean herself) about why the literal fuck Noelle wasn’t a Knight of Favonius yet, and why she should be. After genuinely shaking Jean’s nerves a little, she agreed, and finally, Noelle was going to knighted along with any other potential recruits during the testing season, (as people with high reputations, which, once again, using your god status for all its worth, could recommend new recruits) but most importantly… You gave her a 5-star claymore, which, you do have to somewhat work on yourself physically in teyvat now, but your dev access lets you cheat a little (like the cooking meter on cooking dishes, you’re the goddamn cooking god when hosting guests hehe) so you also are allowed to edit it, like adding a Geo-bonus to the weapon itself! When the ceremony for knighthood was going, and pretty much all of Mondstadt came to finally see Noelle get knighted, you made a fun show of walking out where you were hiding and replacing Jean, to knight Noelle yourself. She’s gone completely red in the face, and is starting to sway a little in her down on one knee position, as you gently place the blade on both shoulders, and grin at her as you turn and pull out the claymore for her. She actually does end up falling over, pale as a ghost, whoops-

Albedo = internet access so he can become a fucking god basically the alchemist is a hard guy to make a gift for, another person you’re a little afraid high-quality handmade gifts would impress him more… so you worked hard, and eventually you managed to make three big notebooks for Albedo, one with lined paper, one bulleted, and one blank for sketches (you did the title page a decent sketch of his pretty face smiling and “For Albedo” underneath, and while that one had a picture, the other two had just the words) and you also loaned him your cellphone for awhile, and suggested the idea of a laptop to make for himself, as he already managed to get you connected to Earth’s internet again, that’s part of the reason you customized/made him notebooks, so he could research from the internet and write down any notes he wanted! …wow. you really did it. after explained all this, and leaving him notes about the laptop idea as loose paper stuck inside one of them, you managed… to get Albedo to… smile. At you. Like a FULL smile, pretty lips, wide smile, and flushed cheeks-!! Albedo caught the notebooks you almost dropped.

Ningguang = what do you get the woman that has everything? so you started to think of things that’d make an experience, and after remembering her lore about her making a chess game, you decided a board game would be good! And if you make the little pieces, it’d be one of a kind too! (she’s the type that really loves handmade gifts/as long as you put effort in it doesnt matter how “bad” it looks to her, she’ll believe it’s still good <3) …So you made a Teyvat version of Monopoly. You figured the business part would be in her realm of expertise, and maybe she could use it to play with business associates or friends, and of course, she’s a competitive woman, so she thinks it’s great, and even asked permission that a marketable version be made (one that’s not nearly as nice quality as hers from you obviously)! Ningguang also treated you very well as a thank you for making it for her, a nice dinner at Liuli Pavilion, with a useful gift of places you haven’t seen in Teyvat yet bc it’s more expansive now that you’re physically here!! You may have gotten over-excited about it… and she may have chuckled at you… and you may have gotten flustered after she rested her pretty hand on yours for nearly half the dinner as you stuttered thru and explanation of the game…

Zhongli = …what do you get the man that has everything (ningguang problem 2.0)?? Well, since you thought of something for her that was an experience a little bit, yet also one of a kind, you figured the same path for the previous God of Wealth/literally invented money/etc. would do, plus he’d the type to deeply appreciate handmade gifts too! Using a few chunks of Light Realm Core, 3 Masterless Starglitter, 1 Intertwined Fate, and 1 Condensed Resin, to make a nigh indestructible Ginko leaf hair pin, which also to replace his last pin, which while not broken, was getting old and beat up (he’s immortal he doesn’ notice these things unless they’re like magically long lasting items lol). But in a few spots are these peach beads like this instead of all white beads, like on the ring both have symbols of longevity, and are usally associated with immortals, you wanted to make something that’d also hold memories (hence the resin, from leylines) so if the erosion ever took him, Zhongli could hold the pin and see some of his favorite memories played back (like misty glittering gold projections)! When you told him all this, the materials, (he obv knew the symbols) and the intentions, and then handed him the gift, his soft smile got bigger and bigger, until you could see him small fangs (❤️‍🔥) and then he turned around? You were confused, until he look over his shoulder, his eyes flashing gold in the sunlight, “Will you do me the honor, my Emperor?” OH- you unclip his old geo cor lapis one, and pull his hair up into more of a low bun, and put the hair piece in. the golden ginko leaves chime softly in the breeze. The old god turns back to you (idc how tall you are, he’s taller, and he had to crouch a little so you could reach lol) and gives you that blinding, beautiful smile again, the kind that makes his eyes look warm and happy. He takes your hand delicately, like you’re made of something fragile instead of stars and magic stronger than any he’s ever seen, “Truly, you bless me too generously, my Emperor. Thank you, for caring for a forgotten god like me, for caring about my heart.” …Zhongli presses a soft chaste kiss to your knuckles, right on the middle finger’s knuckle, his lips are warm and so, so soft, like they’re barely even there. <3

Yunjin = a bit difficult because she’s so theater focused in life, but you figure since she does solo shows a lot, she’ll still be the one to benefit the most from your gift, you made some floating plaustrite lanterns to help heft some platforms for more stage space/cool effects! (this but a little more detail, you painted some bamboo and a few simple adepti on them) Like putting props up there or lights to aim on actors, or even actors themselves since the floating rock is steady enough! Yunjin practically squealed (which immediately made every actor in the vicintity be like “YUNJIN!! UR VOICE WILL GO HOARSE STOP-”) and gather the whole troupe to thank you! But she especially told you that although she already intended for you to have front row seats every time you came to see her plays, she especially wanted to get some stories from your life, or even just your favorites from Earth for her to perform for you!! (she even suggested that one of the platforms could be your special seat, like an opera box seat lol)

Itto = you know that belt buckle he wears that’s just an Oni head? Yeah, you made him a second belt but with a onikabuto beetle as the buckle instead! (kinda like this) but a small enough it’s not inconvenient and poking his stomach, which you definitely got a Inazuman blacksmith to help out, you mostly painted it, and when you show Itto the belt, mans literally just wraps his buff arms around you like a hug but then just starts spinning you rapidly, and lets out the highest pitch “EEEEEEEEEEE-!!!” you’ve ever heard him make (and you’ve given him a few trinkets before, so this is a new record wow). No, it doesn’t matter to Itto how much you weigh, have you seen his abs?! He says as he’s still got you a little off the ground, and is now walking away with your limp body and wearing his new belt, “This, and a proper meal to thank you are the bare minimum, my wonderful emperor! Come on, the gang’s already there anyway, you gotta try my Granny Oni’s food, and I’ll make something too! My best, most special, sandwich, Way of the Strong!! Y’know, because if anybody deserves it, it’d be the strongest, and sweetest, you!!”

Gorou = since teyvat isn’t exactly the pinnacle of advanced civilization, though there are some advancements sure like the Kamera, there are still a fair amount of things that’re just left up to locals to produce and make using whatever process they’ve got, regardless of efficiency, and one of those is soap. Yep, soap. Earth is more advanced when it comes to beauty products, but also hygiene products, and Gorou has a hard time maintaining his tail he’s said when he’s stressed/overworked. So, you used some knowledge from your interdimensional smartphone (love u Albedo) to find a homemade recipe to make soap! (…for dogs, but you don’t know if he’d find it offensive… so you don’t tell him LMAO) and you even made it a cute shape (just so when you handed it over, he’d open it and of course, go all red all the way down his neck even, hehe, (he secretly liked it)

You towards all of Teyvat, except it's not even their birthdays (idk if u want it to be it can)

☆

PLEASE LET KNOW IF ANY LINKS/PICS ARE INACCURATE FOR A CULTURE/MISLABELED ETC.

Me after writing all this:  _」(´ཀ`」 ∠)__

… so I may have hyperfixated a little too hard on this one.

Did the OG asker want this? …probably not…

Did anyone ask for this?? …no.

…did I do it anyway….…yes.

…sorry?

(I promise I only thought to do this because there are so many characters left out in favor of the more popular ones for most SAGAU posts, and bc i never want any of my babes to feel any less loved than any others if I was actually there in Teyvat… you get… this mess.)

sorry!

☆

Safe Travels,

💀♒

☆MY BELOVEDS☆

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche

[ganondoodle]

you know what i just saw some more of that weird ass reward for getting all shrines in totk, and tbh im still so

what is that?? there are no dog like sentient species in this version of hyrule?? the most is the sonau themselves but they got no tails??? i dont think anything in this hyrule has a tail like that? and sonau legs are pretty normalish human too areant they? they dont even have proper claws, just veguely longer fingernails- i guess there are the statues in the underground that kinda look like it (they dont got tails either tho do they??) but like ,,, theres nothing you can learn about them right? its never mentioned or even hinted at despite there being so goddamm much of the sonau still just up and functioning- their lil "material deposits" in the depths arent even withered beyond some plants growing on them, all their 'tech' (isnt it just .. magic tho? where the mechanism actually? its usually just some stone animated by green swirlies ... but ill mention that in another post) just runs perfectly like it was made yesterday

where does that thing come from?? and its supposed to the the HERO FROM THE TAPESTRY???? huh????? and its decked out in sonau clothing head to toe with clear gerudo refs too?? that so weird bc youd feel like there would have been some mention of this, especially considering that that thing is on the tapestry and impa(was it her? or purah?) RECOGNIZES ITS THE HERO FROM THE TAPESTRY???? like, CASUALLY even?? like a well known fact ?? did i miss some big lore part somewhere that talked about that dog gerudo sonau thing?? and if its on the tapestry that means it wasnt that long ago really (i mean ... all the sonau shit is still pretty much fully intact so arguing that they came and went in the time between totks past and botws past isnt that plausible either imo ..??) o how come you never see anything from that and yet its somehow completely known for them, and you cannot tell me she saw the abstract version of the hero and then looked at that armor and went thats the same bc two colors veguely matched or what?!! also given that its fully clothed in sonau stuff .. like the arms are literally raurus bracelets .. thingies, but then the sonau where supposedly a complete and unknown mystery until it suddendly came all raining from the sky and revealing its been there and EVERYWHERE the whole time apparently? with the most we knew was some flimsyly made stereotypical barbaric armor set in faron in botw? which i guess is also fully undone by totk since it shares absolutely zero in desing to the 'actual' sonau stuff we got in totk

and if it where some sort of descendant from the mix of kids rauru and sonai kinda .. must have had (unless they did away with zeldas bloodline stuff too .. which .. why even call it zelda anymore at this point lol) then again, where did those features come from (like the tail and red hair, the strange googly eyes? is there a mix of goron in there too??) and how was it then not documented or seen anywhere else?? youd imagine the mutant kids of the first tragically dead king and queen of this hyrule would be known in some way .. that is assuming it was that, but given the weird features no other species has still is ... it just doesnt add up

(i had the awful thoguht for a second that it might supposed to mean the gerudo came from that but .. the gerudo are already there LITERALLY the 1:1 same as in the present, just like all the other species ... which is also disappointing as hell, like seriously? not even different feather colors for the rito? literally the same clothing for the gerudo as in botw but white with golden stuff instead?? some vaguely different zora features? idk ? anything? also the hero would never be gerudo, we know only evil comes from that *explodes*)

if its supposed to be a mystery then they absolutely failed in making it any interesting or intriguing but still something that feels like its part of the world, like botw was very good at giving you mysteries you wanted to talk and theorize about that still felt organic, harmonic with the world, but in totk its all either boring answers or just ... completely out of nowhere and just kinda stumps you (in a bad way)

*sighs* yet antoher ramble rant, this game could have had it all, it was right there on the plate in front of them all they needed to do is grasp at it, why wouldnt you ..

totk will never not frustrate me huh ಠ_ಠ

[corvidares]

thoughts and feelings about fnaf: into the pit

(spoilers! talk of endings!)

so, while i enjoyed playing this game a lot, i am left feeling dissatisfied in a lot of ways, mostly in relation to what the hell just happened

on the side of things i LIKED:

the pixel style!!! good god this feels so perfect for fnaf. obviously we've always had the minigames in the retro style, and while fnaf has had a fine enough "look" for years, i really hope to see more stylization like this. the pixel art and animations are beautiful and full of character

there's a lot of visual detail, both in the sense of easter eggs (of course) and background clutter. fnaf games are always good at having gross settings, and this definitely does that. even the cloud of dust that pops up every time you jump in the ball pit is yucky, lmao

speaking of details, the sound design is also VERY good. it conveys a lot of what is not seen; the closer you get to a kid thats been captured by spring trap (pit trap? guys idk what to call him) the more you hear their cries and whimpers. of course, as always, sound is a part of the gameplay too, helping you know if spring trap is close and that you need to hide

the writing in terms of dialogue and such is good! i like that oswald is.. well, he's kinda dumb. rightfully so, for a kid! he does things that arent always logical, it takes him a hot minute to figure out that hes in the past, etc

its also genuinely distressing and sad to see him suffering, to see him try to tell his mom that something is deeply wrong, only to be brushed aside because (presumably) the possession magic is invisible to adults. to see his trauma get worse and worse as the days pass; nightmares, visions, straight up sleeping through his school day because he's been up all night! even his idle sprites are always sad and scared

the gameplay itself! the learning curve felt appropriate, i liked the strategy of using the noise makers, hiding, and the vents. fwiw i did play the "creepy" setting which is essentially easy mode. but i still died plenty, its not a complete cakewalk or anything.

the classic fnaf snark sense of humor is definitely here in this game, and i love it. the achievements? hilarious. the tips on the loading screens, jeff's entire character?? good stuff.

misc things i noticed:

for whatever reason, after night 1 i had a constant "bloody/strain" filter at the edges of my gameplay. not sure if this is like, random? game footage ive seen doesnt have it, and one even had a different filter. not sure what to make of it, it seems odd to just be a meaningless, randomized detail?

i got one glitch: after checking the cameras while the other kid is in security with me, oswald's sprite didnt reappear and i couldnt do anything. so i had to restart the game lol. not major, and i have no idea how common it is. otherwise everything was quite functional iirc

regarding the more critical side of things.. im mostly frustrated. now, i know fnaf, i know it never serves you answers on a platter. i know theres always an abundance of easter eggs and secrets (which i have tried to research, tho the game is still new). but upon finishing the game and seeing all the endings, i realized i didnt get answers about a lot of things i thought i would. for example;

where the hell is foxy??? the other core three are there and get added as enemies when you progress. his stage is present and some kids at the past party mention they miss seeing him. but he's not on ANY of the imagery throughout the pizzeria. in fact, we don't see him at all. if i didnt know who foxy was, i would only know his name. the only exception might be some empty masks in the backgrounds, but honestly i doubt it. this seems.. really strange to me. ill elaborate later

why did spring trap tie up oswald's dad? what was he going to do to him? did.. did anyone even die? oswald rescues everyone!

this is probably silly and i acknowledge that. but what was up with the giant spider jump scares..... i assumed itd be a new enemy or something but nah. THAT SPIDER WAS TOO BIG. WHY

what was oz's dad doing this whole time? was he trying to escape at some point? why is his shit all over the resturant?

onto just general critiques:

the gameplay did get a bit formulaic and sometimes fetch quests felt repetitive and/or like busy work. like why did i have to get five different sets of keys. bruh

the story has a lot of plotholes. and again, this is fnaf, these games have always looked like swiss goddamn cheese. but i can still be frustrated about it

for example, how is time passing in the past versus the present? IS it passing if we're not there? how do we affect the past? why does no one in the present acknowledge what happened here?? did spring trap get caught in this timeline? did anyone die? was oswald always a part of these events or did he change the timeline? this is presumably the first four/five murders, but a lot doesnt add up. is there a timeline where oz is one of the murdered kids? in the bad ending, he gets possessed, but not stuffed in a suit.

how does spring trap's possession even work? back then he was still alive and perfectly mortal... right? but then again, he supposedly strangles himself in the end, then leaps back to life to kill jeff? huh???

why is spring trap so animalistic? he doesnt seem human, and his eyes glow, which i dont think is something that suit can do (though i could definitely be remembering wrong)

speaking of which, i dont think the og four's eyes glow either, but they do in this game.

the "true good" ending does not make any fucking sense, first of all. second of all, considering the amount of work one would have to do to get it, it is extremely minimal. if i had done all that and only gotten a slight dialogue change as well as a "yay happy eating pizza at jeff's" scene i wouldve been PISSED.

also, speaking of not making sense, im sorry but oswald's lie to his dad about what happened is so obviously not true. why does he not question this at ALL? ESPECIALLY considering he has a fucking CHUNK OF HIS ARM BITTEN OFF. we see in jeff's ending that that shit bled a fucking lot! was his dad too concussed to call him on the obvious lie of "you fell and hit your head". and if he was, he would OBVIOUSLY NOTICE LATER THAT FIVE DAYS HAVE PASSED. AND THAT SOMEONE WAS WALKING AROUND PRETENDING TO BE HIM. WHAT (and dont say "oh he thinks he just lost his memory of those days" YOU DO NOT LOSE HUGE CHUNKS OF MEMORY UNLESS THERE IS MAJOR BRAIN DAMAGE OR TRAUMA. UH UH)

while talking to my gf, we came up with a couple theories.

one, she thinks its likely this game had more planned. and i agree - the missing presence of foxy is the biggest indicator, in my opinion, but theres other things too. for example, despite the fact that we're never able to enter the library or mill, both places have a map that can be pulled up when you press the map button outside those buildings.

the mill, especially, obviously has a ton of animatronic parts in the trash, and we all know that can be important... it seems to be too big a thing to be a simple easter egg, but what do i know.

another thing that feels way too big to be an easter egg is gabrielle; the girl who gives you a notebook with information about the animatronics (not foxy :( ) that provides hints for later. she mentions that her grandfather was a technician that worked with them back in the day. he never talks about it now though (the ONE acknowledgement we get in the present that bad shit went down!!!)

like.. is this henry? someone else? SURELY that is not a random guy. but it's a one and done interaction. i thought, when meeting her, that she would become a friend and ally, that we'd be able to learn more. the writing seemed to slant that way, but no. we're never able to talk to her again afaik

all this lends itself to the idea that the game was pushed. i can perfectly picture, like a year ago, someone telling the team "fnaf 10th anniversary is august 2024, get it out for then" and them having to cut stuff they had planned (but perhaps not developed, as afaik there are not missing assets showing foxy or the other things mentioned)

which is obviously a shame, and if thats the case i of course commend the team! this is a great game, especially if it was rushed. but this is becoming a pattern with fnaf games, and considering this is such a big successful franchise, that should not be the case.

anyway! overall, i truly did enjoy playing into the pit, and im very glad it was my first experience playing a fnaf game myself rather than watching a playthrough. and there are secrets that seem to be deliberately cliffhangers, in true fnaf game fashion. such as the photo that stuns spring trap, or the minigames.

[daenystheedreamer]

what are your thoughts on the seven? Like, what are we to make of them as deities?

just reread the series, and on first pass (tho i plan to go back searching for this) it seems like the seven come off as... less Tangible than the Old Gods/R'hllor. like melisandre births shadow assassins. bloodraven Exists. clearly there's something to these gods. maybe not what their worshipper's think, but like. a Power, for sure.

By contrast, the seven seem to exist solely in the minds of those who believe in them. Trials by combat seem to be 50/50. Tyrion win's Lysa's but loses Cersei's. the faith of the seven are notoriously corrupt, and after the sparrow's takeover, is going full-tilt crazy fundamentalist.

Yet these gods bring a great deal of comfort to the characters who believe in them. And I can't help but think about Septon Meribald, wandering the war-torn riverlands barefoot to give out oranges and flour and alms to those in need. That kind of religious-charity seems to be exclusive to the seven.

So given all this... idk, what's their deal? Are they "gods as a reflection of humanity"? "gods as a reflection of society"? I feel like "they were always 100% fake and anyone who ever prayed to them was praying to nothing" is a little too grimdark for grrm, but idk!

Sorry for the long ask jfjsjjd

i am not a good meta poster or essayist so my apologies for what will surely be a poor answer 😭 so introduction. grrm is lapsed catholic and the seven is like soo barely removed from catholicism. also rhllor/old gods doing things in text doesnt necessarily make them, the gods, real. the magic is certainly real but that doesnt mean the gods themselves are real. and so that goes into the whole Do the gods of planetos actually exist at all. so the faith isnt actually alone in having the Are the gods real? question

the faith is based on faith right, belief without necessarily having proof. it's pretty unique actually for that. the old gods have weirwoods and dreams, rhllor has shadowbinding, but the faith doesnt even have martyrdom/saints/incorruptibility/miracles/etc. its purely a social function; hierarchy, laws, morality and life-after-death existentialism.

i think this is what grrm is exploring, another brick in the wall of Society. like how is religion used as a hammer for hierarchy and how does it interact with power, with patriarchy, with classism. yes, the faith descends into fundamentalism but its also one of the only ways the peasant class can organise and attack the establishment. its social mobility in a way they cant otherwise access.

so i guess in all my rambling, i'd agree with the assessment that its 'gods as a reflection of society/humanity'. i dont think the fact that theyre 100% fake is bleak, really. i think all religions are fake irl but that doesnt take away from the beauty and love and joy they can bring to people. for every cruel septa/on, there's a meribald who brings peace and forgiveness.

idk again i am not a good meta poster i cant pull out quotes for shit 😭 but i remember the moments of jaime earnestly praying. and you look at melisandre who uses her faith in rhllor as a desperate attempt to justify her own sense of self, her suffering, her actions. its similar in a way to the faith. melisandre's total belief in rhllor, no matter how delusional, is just as important as if rhllor himself actually existed.

so to summarise, the meaning we gain from metaphysical concepts can be just as important as the perceived power of the metaphysical concept itself. idk im sure im making a mess of the philosphical idealism vs materialism plus i am making no sense and making no actual points but i hope this communicates my personal interpretation of the faith of the seven!

[faerynova]

Hey, 🥝 of the queue system here again! I'm sorry if I'm clogging up your ask box here, but im pretty sure my previous ask got eaten. Anyways- I was wondering when exactly raph's OSDD came to light?

Hope you're good ^^

it didnt get eaten its in my drafts with like 5 paragraphs of nonsense sldkjfsdk

dw tho youre not a bother i love getting asks and talking about my fics. it can just take me like a while to respond if its something i have to actually think about

honestly im still figuring out details!! its not relevant to connective tissue (the big fic im working on w my friend) so its not super high priority, but im dipping my toes in a raph backstory oneshot to explore his whole everything

uhhh rambly under the cut!!

i think hes like 11 or 12 when he figures out hes a system. but also i think that he pretty consistently heard and even talked to mind raph for years and just assumed that like... he has a very animated inner monologue (donnie's words, not raph's). mind didnt see any need to say anything otherwise because it kept the system functional

tbh all the boys are so weird in their own ways that raph's weird stuff (garbage memory, "mood swings", hardcore zoning out, randomly going nonverbal, talking to himself) is hardly a blip on anyone's radar so he didnt really think about it either (raph is also autistic you'll pry it from my cold dead hands so theres another reason he just didnt second guess anything)

i think what tips raph off eventually is the memory stuff. if he forgets something, or blanks out a whole day, then why can mind raph remember and give him tips and reminders for things? he shouldnt know things that raph doesnt.

basically: slow realization, nothing sudden or alarming. unnerving yeah but on raphs end it gets worked out through communication w mind raph and then the rest of the system. and from there honestly he IMMEDIATELY tells the rest of his family that hes got other people in his head. that part im sure of. the collective doesnt hesitate with telling everyone else

its a lot of confusion and antics with splinter being halfway convinced raph is possessed (absolutely nothing bad comes from it. splinter just doesnt know what the fuck osdd is and he knows magic is real so like. reasonable assumption on his end), and then its april to the rescue because her dad is a psychologist and she can be like hey this thing has a name actually and ive got info from a ~professional~

reactions vary--splinter has some v e r y complicated emotions. donnie and leo both get a bit overbearing/invasive asking raph all sorts of questions about his system and april is beating them back with a stick. mikey is mildly confused but is having a blast getting to meet the rest of the collective properly. everyone gets to figure stuff out together from there

[noneedtofearorhope]

one of my complaints with vintage story is that the food system is shallow, which is funny since i know i've seen it used as a promotional selling point, boasting something like 'cook over 10k unique meals!'. actually, just looked it up, the 2022 promotional trailer on the front page of their website says it's 350k! but there isn't really a mechanical reason to explore all these combinations. most are functionally identical, boiling (heh) down to just a few basic types. like, there is the 5 food categories, which keeping full gives you more health, which is certainly something. but the astute among you may notice that 5 categories only gives 31 possible combinations a meal could be, a far cry from 350k. on average you have about 11k ways to make each combination of food types. but why?

food and cooking is interwoven with its production, so the different soil nutrients and different temp ranges adds some depth. but really, you get such an abundance of food from every harvest, you only have to figure out one crop from each of the three soil nutrient types and just stick with those. gets too cold/hot, who cares, you already got more food than you know what to do with, no need to rotate crops seasonally. i mean, you get multiple harvests in one season as it is (which ive heard from vets is preferable to when farming times were more realistic). and realistically your grain is going to be flax, because you need the fibers, so that's your k crop, and you can just use bushes or trees for fruit, and since you already need animals to fulfill dairy might as well use the meat for the protein. the only food category left is vegetable, which you can find in both n and p soil nutrient types, with onion being perhaps the best choice because of its longer shelf life. which i guess shelf life is another supposed layer of complexity and depth but as i just mentioned its still just an easy minmax type thing. but also it doesn't matter because its just so easy to have an overabundance of food. so outside of aesthetic or roleplaying reasons, there just isn't really a reason to have real diversity and variety. flax and berry porridge. meat and onion stew. and wash it all down with sheep milk.

to be fair, it's really not an issue exclusive to vs. i felt the same way about rimworld, tho i did find myself having to continue to pay attention to soil type and growing times for longer into a playthrough, even if overall it was more shallow, due to fluctuations in settlement numbers and various disasters. skyrim i guess has different effects you can get, but honestly you can just spam wheels of cheese or w/e to restore health and not worry about any of the rest. plus im not sure if the magical effects type thing would fit vs. maybe temporal or cold resistance. i enjoy playing with the xskills mod, which gives buffs like increased mining speed thru 'quality' meals. but yeah, just doesn't feel like a vanilla vibe. and yeah, without a skill/leveling system in place, effects are more limited. no buffing destruction skill when it doesnt exist...

[madam-monarch]

What horrifting ways does the Lamb sona "Lomando" do to the poor mortals animals.

P.S. I like to see more creepy stuff from the Lamb sona.

[ Yippee someone asked about mah Lamb sona Lomando!!! ]

[ But yea they do have sertain way's to fight and kill! ]

[ Also heads up englisch aint my main language so this will probably have weird writing and spelling mistakes! also this is pretty long i kinda went full in! XD ]

[ Also just a quick content warning for talking about murder [obviously] and also a bit of mind terror, i mean Lomando is a scary motherfucker so its a bit obviouse but just in case! :) ]

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[ Their basic fighting style is rlly just whit their bare hand's, yes they can summon weapons from their crown, but mostly choose not to, they are just physicaly strong and like a bit of a challenge! ]

[ Tho one thing they can do is body mutation, that one's quite hard to use when there's mutiple enemies at once, but if its just one or two, they do like to use it! ]

[ Say'd mutations ussualy are either tentacles from their body, or unusual growth of limb's, it take's a bit for them to grow, which make's them a bit defensless in the moment, hence why its only smart to use it whit as few enemie's as possible! ]

[ Also doodle from last night to kinda show an example what it would look like ]

[ also when they do murder someone, its rarely quick, they do like to take their time on their enemie's, tho they try not to do ''uesless'' kill's, i mean, they do want follower's and a ''good'' reputation, would be bad to just go massacre everyone, tho they sometime's feel like it whit all their pumped up anger thats hiding behind their smile! ]

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[ Now one thing i wanna get into is the fact while they definetly kill, they prefer scae tactic's alot more, they love to scare their enemie's more than to kill them [They still love murder tho lol] and will sometime's even leave enemie's alone if they fuck off because they are to scared. ]

[ That doesn't mean that its over tho, they will definetly terrorize their enemie's not just in real life, but just go straight to their dream's and give them nightmare's, which yes, makes his enemie's suffer much more, no sleep, no energie, passing out, cannot function anymore. ]

[ Now its importand to know that Lomando has Illusion magic given by the crown, they dont look super scary to everyone! ]

Who see's them ''normal'': Followers, anyone who doesnt precieve them as evil [Most NPC'S]

Who see's the real face: Dissenters, The Bishop's, Follower's of the Bishop's, The One Who Waits, anyone who precieves them as evil, Mirror's [I'll get into that]

!!! EXAMPLE !!!

[ Rlly quick lore, Mirrors are not allowed in the cult at all times, justs o the followers wont find out about his real face ]

[ Ok but why is this importand? Well thanks to their illusion magic, they can not just look more appealing, but combined whit their mind powers [which they use to get into enemies dreams like stated above] can look into his enemies head and put up an illusion of a loved or lost one]

[ Example: Enemie corner's them, out of safety they look into the enemie's mind, find thoughts about an old dead lover, BAM! Perfect food for mindfuckery, take the form [or illusion] of say'd lover ]

[ There is a downpart tho, Nr 1, the eye's don't change, which some enemie's are smart enough to tell in an emotional moment. Nr 2 Lomando doesn't learn anything about say'd person they take the shape of, they could figure it out, but that takes a LONG time, meaning they kinda have to freeball the whole act, which sometimes goes bad and the enemie can tell that its not rlly their close one. But if it goes well, they can strike a pretty nasty attack on the enemie! ]

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[ In a whole, yes they kill, and that pretty brutaly whit bare hand's, but they do prefer more to get into peoples head's, and dream's, or let's rather call them nightmare's! ]

[ Anyway info dumping done! Ty for the question, was rlly fun to talk about my bby!^^ ]

[ghostreviewsstuff]

Dr Stone (manga)

dr stone is.... a mixed bag. but the parts of it that are good are FAR more interesting that the parts that are bad. dr stone is "bad" in the more boring, predictable, and expected ways typical adventure shonens tends to be bad. you can probably guess what most of those issues are just from the genre.

but dr stone is good in ways ill probs be searching for a way to articulate for years to come.

i do consider it to be the greatest deconstruction of both the lone super genius archetype, and the nihilistic asshole super genius archetype. and i think it succeeds where others fail in part bc Senku is presented in a way easily mistaken for that Type Of guy, but he isnt. it doesnt matter how smart he is, he needs the power of friendship if he wants to get literally anything done. he isnt a nilihistic asshole, he's just immature and rude, and he's actually very optimistic and has an upbeat attitude. he's a great protag i have a lot of love for.

but while i can wax poetic circles about my fascination with how intellect is handled in dr stone, thats an essay for another day. lets talk about the story as a whole.

dr stone's setting is set by a mysterious light turning all of humanity to stone for 3700 years, sending everyone back to the stone age. however its less a time travel isekai so much as it is a lord of the flies caveman arms race. it primarily functions under the typical shonen formula with the notable factor that it's magic system is... real life science. altho a bit elevated for dramatic effect.

the true zeitgeist of dr stone is the back and forth problem solving to build various contraptions to achieve various goals. every character has their own skill sets and personalities that allows them to bounce off of each other and play a role in reaching goals. the cast also has pretty great chemistry making exchanges and banter very entertaining 99% of the time.

while i think the characters are very well written, i have that opinion within the context of dr stone being a plot driven story, not character driven. character arcs are subtle and take a backseat to the wider plot goal posts. i dont consider the low level of character development to be a bad thing, the story just isnt about that and the cast is charismatic and enjoyable for the roles they play.

the setting of dr stone is very well realized in its simplicity. the artist, boichi is capable of drawing some beautiful scenery. the art overall i think is much more good then bad, and the character designs are fun and distinct if you can tolerate the girls looking kinda busted (boichi.... can not draw women i fear) ironically i found the moe eyes growing on me. but ill be real, the fan service isnt that bad. annoying, yes, but not nearly as bad as it could be. you wont ever see a guy fall on top of a girl and accidentally grope her boobs, so much as the occasional jarring ass shot and weird angles around badly drawn women. that said the young girl and mascot character, Suika, is never sexualized in this way, even though she is grown up by the end of the story

i wont claim the girls in the cast dont suffer from some of the typical shonen misogyny, but Kohaku and Suika at least are very well realized characters and solid female leads i like a lot.

i always feel like i should be harsher in my criticism towards this series, i do genuinely consider it enough of a mixed bag of quality ill hesitate to recommend it to people (tho lets be real, the fan service is always the biggest barrier recommending any animanga regardless of quality despite that) but i really do struggle to make a nuanced critique. even things that are more controversial among its fans, like the way the story progresses in its final arcs, i struggle to complain about. structurally the story delivers on its foreshadowing and progresses in ways that make sense and i do think was planned out by at least the half way point of the story.

the biggest most glaring issues are... extremely basic. very typical levels of shonen misogyny and weird politics. it gets kinda weird in the middle in a way i dont really feel equipped address in detail but am grateful a lot of that.. mess doesn't carry over into the rest of story. it gets tied up in bad, but also very common and unquestioned, colonialist mindsets and tropes just as much as it SUBVERTS and DECONSTRUCTS those same bad ideas. which honestly drives a lil nuts if i think about for to long. the narrative loves to kneecap its own themes and progressive philosophies to a frustrating degree, but i do genuinely think the end product is far more good then bad.

i have a lot to say about this manga, but know are to actually articulate maybe a fraction of it. after watching enough youtubers attempt to review it, im clearly not alone in that. lots of people seem to share my struggles in expressing why they also think dr stone is so good. and i think that complexity of how it grabs people in ways that arent easy to understand, are in itself is an aspect of what makes it what it is.

its a very good adventure shonen series that i think deserves a bit of staying power

[hirokiyuu]

oh i finished the entire scholomance trilogy in the past three days and here are my thoughts (below cut for spoilers)

el. el. el. el. i love you el. el. baby girl. my favorite type of character. i love you

me when a girl is angry and trying and intrinsically Not Good and yet Doing Good Anwyas and also so so so fucking angry: h

i liked orion most in the first book i wont lie to you. i thought thats where he and el were most compelling as a duo wwwww i wish they'd gotten more focus? dev? in the second it wouldve sold me harder on [redacted] at the end u kno

honestly there was more htan one moment where id be reading and the flow was soooo astol/at which. u kno. makes sense. but id be like. oh yeah ive definitely read your got fic before u kno GLKSHDGKSHGD

most noticeable during most of hte orion/el stuff for me wwwww

everything abt the maw mouths was so fucked up and so good and all the concepts in this story were so sexy. a school that kills 75% of kids so that it doesnt have to be 90%. so so good so fun.

i really liked in general the stuff abt balance + the lesser evil discussion and i LOVED the magic system. so fun. intention + flow + balance + belief all coming together like that to make things Real is so good

ok i made it this far w/o doing a bullet point abt it but i think el/liesel. i. i dont have anything else to say but when they were sleeping together in the third book i was like. oh my god

of course i like liesel i like ruthless girls willign to do Anythign. sooooo tasty (chef finger kiss)

my ideal post book 3 fic is 'el on her journey around the world and she and orion are like semi-open rship and she bumps into liesel and accidentaly (lol) sleeps w/her again only they do have some feelings there and somehow it snowballs and then somehow liesel ends up tagging along during the summer w/her and orion and they fall into a weird hinge poly sort of but not quite situation esp bc she's also still definitely fucking alfie too' u kno. this is my ideal

ok i got that out of my system. i like liu a lot too the whole thing w/her in book 3 i was just like. h. liu.......... liu...........

honestly all the charas were really good...... all the main cast was very (chef finger kiss) i liked chloe and liu and aadhya all a lot obvs. girls. liesel...........

orion in general is such a fun character lol. i do wonder if h'ell just be functionally immortal tho u kno. or if not what happens when he dies. you kno

el + her mom were also so good duo. i really liked el+ her fam in general tbh but her mom's everything coming from her constant refusal to put any darkness into the world. soooo good so so good. so fun

book 1 was probably my favorite just bc it was a lot more of the rship dev i really liked if that makes sense. i like when characters are close and can rely on each other obvs but i do like seeing them get there and thats what book 1's focus was on the most so i enjoyed it a lot wwwww idk if i can rank them tho i enjoyed all of them. probably its like 1 > 2=3 for me wwwww

overall just tasty tasty books i looooved el sm shes so good. gorl

[myrfing]

Yeah! In the end WoLs are very personal to the players so I try to remember and not to be too judgey about it! And yeah there are some WoLs I really love as well! And my own was originally just a vague self insert with the name of an old OC and then they took a life of their own so I renamed them .. xD

Regarding wishing there was more freedom in choices in 14: I think that as an MMO there are just some limitations people just have to accept. The msq is linear for sure though I don't know if that's just because 1) it's Final Fantasy first and foremost, 2) it's a jrpg first and foremost (different game design philosophy between JP and US?) You certainly can't have multiple outcomes, I think, especially not with 14's infamous spaghetti coding. And the team already have so many tasks... (reason why I'm just rolling with the gender unlocking of certain glams being slow)

Though, I've never played an MMO prior to this, and most western RPGs don't interest me. So my lack of frame of reference is probably another reason why I can't really fathom choice freedom similar to, say, Dragon Age, in an MMO in general, esp not one as linear as 14 ... poyo.

(I could do with more fiddling around with GW2 tho, I do enjoy it whenever I boot it up for fun)

HAHAHA YOU AND I BOTH if it's. not obvious that "gourd appraiser" wasnt meant to be. well. youre so right suddenly theyre alive what can we do but give them the reins.

and for sure. I'm really mostly okay with xiv's linearity and rigidity; I think they wanted to tell a certain story and told it. I actually dunno if that's a western/eastern design philosophy and don't think choice/branching narratives is necessarily not a jrpg element but the concept of it with games like for sure DA or UT or even older text rpgs whatever have really popularized it here yeah. in xiv theres obviously some parts where im like He would naht do/say that. or some parts I wish weren't in the msq at all. but for the most part I'm glad things turned out the way they did and I've never struggled too hard to work with it. i think it'd sit wrong with me if the story went another way, if the wol like, just said I don't owe anyone anything and everyone shouldnt ask a thing of me and ran forever.

but that's mostly because I fell hook line and sinker for the world so when anyone in the story is like do you want to keep going and keep this world alive I'm like of fucking course AND it's going to be fun you don't even need to ASK bro. while for others I do understand the sort of disappointment that comes with thinking this could have gone another way that they would have liked better, but the devs chose this way, so they feel like they were robbed of that different outcome. and to me they chose this one because they wanted to tell a story about caring about others and finding hope in others and struggling together towards a better future in a world that is largely hostile to that, that constantly gravitates towards its doom, and I really like that. I like how it reflects in their own dev experience having to reboot the game too! but some people feels like it rings hollow, or they don't really care for that sort of thing, or this spirit just doesnt reach them, and well...wat can you do.

and you're definitely right in that mmos simply cant handle diversity of choice in a game meant to support..well..massively multiplayer online play. at most you get factions which are notoriously clunky and seem to only function in games without a strong central narrative. if 50% of the playerbase said fuck off to minfilia, fuck off hydaelyn, you can't tell me what to do, and went to live a low-stakes life then. that's 50% of the playerbase that needs something other than all the dungeons, trials, deliveries, sidequests, raids, pretty much fucking everything to do, that aren't gonna be a part of the roulette. and they wouldn't have been able to pull off the concept of azem's magic either, the weird living idea that as players of the same character you all walk the same path and thus are always at each other's side. or the funnier route would be well everyone who wanted to play gets the kino ass "shepherd to the stars in the dark" shit and everyone who didnt to play can just sit on their hands I guess.

but i dont think people actually expect it to have branching paths, they just wanted the devs to choose a different one. but there's so many good and fun things throughout the entirety of the game that it'd honestly feel pretty lonely to lose all of this over a nebulous refusal to owe anyone anything and be owed anything, because the wol does go through some painful stuff and has some high expectations placed on them...AS IFFFF everyone in the story doesnt suffer and struggle against the same things while the wol has the privilege of controlling more of their luck, AS IFFFFFFFFFF choosing a path where you say fuck everyone else wouldn't have been empty and boring. as if the antagonists that apparently care about us more don't have wishes and goals and duties and lives of their own and are only made to love you in some made up but easier, purer, assured way.

and oh hee hee gw2...I saw a golden chicken in that game and logged off forever I was like this is it. but I'm playing gw1 (slowly) with friends and while it's still campaigns it definitely does excel in that look at this big ass world go do what you want thing. and yeah mmos are fucking...expensive and terribly difficult to make and keep alive. there's a reason they're just dying out

[kleinstar]

so like vague ideas not an ad yet but feel free to hmu about event stuff - this is disembodied im hoping ill figure smth out while writing

rin:

threatens clan members and ...familiars too i think, wants to murder them so theres, obsessed with eiden. can use illusion magic though im slightly unsure if im missing any details on them - nonetheless disguise magic to "turn into another person" but it works like illusion. the only clues you might have is that he might know info beyond what eiden's know (im not 100 % if rin hasn't just stalked this info through but this is a dream so it can be just eiden's interpretation lol) so found out he'll just... skeeter off i guess

only problem with this that idk how to use him bc there's still like very little stuff about him other than he seems hollow of essence (he doesn't have any? i forget what eiden says exactly) etc.

Dead Zone:

void of any sort of vitality, plantation and water all dried up if you do find water its most likely not safe to eat. home to many mutated monsters, like for example these cuties, most of the things you find here are poisonous, flytrap saliva berries are safe tho! there's also burst of poisonous gases here and there as well as thick mists. there's also blades messy shack here, functional but strange looking

eiden's fears:

losing his sense of self-worth as well as being shunned. ofc he'll be also upset if someone important to him were to get hurt/killed/idk. my problem with these is just that i cant think of interesting ways to observe them lmao

sexyman murders him or at least tries idk(???)

sorry for the phrasing but basically first getting caught by some sexyman (tm) guy that turns into murdercreature and uh stab stab?? pew pew? chomp chomp maybe? ????? ???? yeah??? sorry this is as concrete as it gets???? OTL you see my vision right what do you mean no - idk how this would work as a thread tho if it doesnt end to eiden dying - now him being saved also works but then we'd need something more to this thread probably...

Astral Duo

Event setting from Nu Carnival It can serve as a setting to use just for the berserk-gone monsters if that's your preference OR for Eiden's nightmare in which case he might find certain fox youkai and forest guardian dead - also the option of them going being hostile with no senses to regain so they have to be killed and your muse will have to be the one to do that bc eiden's not strong enough lol.

[rowansinjune]

Some sleep deprived thoughts on casters, or at least my interpretation of them;

I don't like sorcerers. Conceptually, yes, mechanically, no. Lemme explain; theres the joke of how wizards spend years learning their magic, but then sorcerers are just born with it. An 8 year old sorcerer could theoretically cast a magic missile while a wizard had to take classes to pick that up. Its humorous, but it doesnt really make any sense.

Spells are crafted; evidenced by the fact some are named after their maker, and that the techniques found in casting it need to be recorded in a spellbook. They're strict, bound in instruction, requiring knowledge of components, incantations, and somatic elements. You need to learn to cast spells, so why do Sorcerers (and other gifted casters) just know these spells?

I mean, simply put, its a flaw in the spell-list system. Now, I dully understand why everyone is based off a spell-list; its easy and more convienent than having each caster have a fully different casting style, but it of course leads to these weird inconsistencies. I'd argue that a lot of casters, namely sorcerers, use magic to shape their environment in a more fluid and abstract way, compared to the structure of spells

Sorcerers are untrained fonts of raw magical energy; its a gift they inherited. They, in most cases recieve no formal training and are left to figure out how to harness this gift themselves. Its abstract casting, using magic to do shit as needed.

Metamagic is honestly a decent representation of this; its breaks the established rules of spells by changing damage types, targets, and other 'hardwired' parts of a spell. D&D 5e us not the right medium for this kind of abstract casting, so idk what can be done to represent this, but metamagic is a good start.

I'd argue a lot of casters work like this; druids and rangers definitely just manipulate nature around them; warlocks and clerics channel the power of their masters (though it could be argued they likely carry some level of training to allow them knowledge similar to, if not, spells (Prayers or hymns for clerics as an example)). Paladins could go the same route if theistic, but otherwise channeling off of themselves. Bards definitely learn songs which fill that niche, and artificers probably learn their shit too.

If each caster functioned way differently from each other than they do currently, I think it would really hammer in more solid identifies and unique playstyles.

D&D is just not the system for this though, so I get why its the way it is. The sorcerer problem still irks me tho, I just dont know how to solve it.

Anyway, I have some warlock takes too. Hope you enjoyed this half-awake rant, and that it made any sense at all

[violetarks]

Hello!! I saw you were asking for fictif requests and was wondering if you haven't already, may I have some general fluffy headcanons for Felix? I hope you have a wonderful day💕

General Fluff Headcanons

Game: Fictif

Character: Felix Iskander Escellun

Most definitely craves physical contact

But its that kind of thing where he thinks the more he desires it and stares at you, the more of a chance the universe will tell you to walk over and hug him

It takes you a while until you turn your head, bc you feel like someone is burning holes into your head :))

But all you see is felix flipping the page of his book

Felix: "is something wrong?"

You: "do you... need something?"

Felix: "pardon? no, i dont need anything."

But you know better

He's blushing, embarrassed that you caught him or nearly did

And you can see it as he adjusts his glasses, clearing his throat

Anyway, you do hold his hand, hug and kiss him if he feels comfortable

You hold his hand through portals and in market, bc he doesnt want to be separated from you

Kissing him in public is fORBiddEN bc he'll get all flustered and not be able to function right, resulting in glaring your way and pouting

Hugging him is okay, as long as you dont see his face, so youre usually hugging from behind or digging your face into his shoulder

Speaking if which, it takes a while for him to get used to it all

The first time you grabbed his hand out of the blue, he jolted and squeezed your hand really hard, making you pull away

He apologised over and over again as anisa looked over your hand to check for any injuries (none)

Anisa only did that bc of how much felix was overreacting

He felt so bad that he avoided you for some time

After that, you walked up to him and held his hand again, just casually and this time he didnt freak out, just staring at you

Love :)))

Calls you darling or dear, bc he's old timey like that

But that only happens every once in a while

He'll be distracted or so relaxed that he doesn't notice, but everyone else does

First time, went like

Felix: "love, are you finished with my spellbook?"

You: "i... uh..."

Anisa: "what did you say, felix?"

Felix: "hm? I asked about the spellbook y/n borrowed from me."

Sage: "oh my goodness, you're so bold, felix. i supposed youre different behind closed doors, huh?"

He's so confused??

And you just hand him the book and dont talk about it until after dinner

He's blushing wildly before announcing his return to bed and hiding under the covers

His sarcasm is limited to sage and anisa, and only sometimes you

Bc he usually uses his sarcasm to show how annoyed he was

But with you, its more or a joking matter

Sage gets sad bc you get some privileges over him :((

You two do get up to some mischief tho

Like you both go ahead and make felix blush owo

But sage once convinced you to steal felix's giant coat, and you two ran around the building just playing around

Anisa and felix found you two on top of on of the highest balconies, trying to see if sage's spell for making objects levitate would work on just felix's jacket

Felix: "what do you think you two are doing???"

You, standing on top of the railing as Sage is about to push you off with only Felix's coat above your head like a blanket: "nothing"

Felix then cast a spell where sage becomes invisible to you and you cohldnt hear him at all

Anisa told felix to rake the spell away since sage was weeping in the corner

Sleepy felix :(((

He's at his desk and doing stuff when he falls asleep

You either drag him to bed or pull up a chair to sleep next to him

Although he is a night owl, he goes three days without sleeping and passes out for nine hours

Felix likes to sit next to you at dinner

Sometimes you use your magic to prank or tease felix

But it really never works since he's taught you all you know

He'll be looking for his spellbook and then sigh,, looking your way and just raising a brow

Felix: "drop it this instant, my darling."

You: "fiiiiiine..."

The book drops from the ceiling, right into his palm

Another thing

Felix feels the need to return the gestures

So he will kiss you on your forehead when you get giddy for completing your spell just right

And then look away hastily

Or he'll grab your hand and pull you away when youre about to bump into something

And he just wont let go

Sleeps next to you and once he knows youre asleep for sure, he kisses your palm or kisses your cheek

There are times when he doesnt know what to do

Like when youre upset

Maybe you felt extra sad this morning, or you were feeling homesick, or just not that great at all

Felix does not know how to deal with other people's emotions

The best you'll get is

Felix: "are you feeling well, my dear?"

You: "oh, yeah. i'm fine, felix."

Felix: "alright."

And he's screaming inside bc he cant ask you again now, he's embarrassed to

He knows for sure that something is dead wrong when you go to bed

Maybe your grip on him is too loose, or youre not holding him at all

And he's just thinking about what he can do

Sometimes you start crying and felix cant take it anymore

He turns around and digs his face into your shoulder, arms around your torso and pulling you close

He's holding you so tight that he thinks you'll break if he lets go

You slowly hug him back, crying into his hair

Felix: "... i dont know of what has happened, but you are free to tell me whatever it is that is bothering you, my darling. i... i can help, in some way..."

You: "thanks, felix. i appreciate it."

N e way :))

The most common thing to happen between you two is probably for felix to brush against you a lot

He's trying not to be suspicious so you dont see it, but its when he doesnt watch where he's going that he messed up

Felix, hitting his hip on the corner of the table in an attempt to step closer to you: "my lord, oh my goodness..."

You: "felix, you can just ask me to stand next to you."

Felix: "... i dont know what youre talking about."

Out of everyone in the group, he probably trusts anisa to take care of you the best when he's away

Sage and you almost always get into trouble and he can not handle the energy you two bring out to open

Anisa keeps you contained and helps felix feel at ease bc she can definitely beat a bitch or two

Felix likes having your head on his lap when he's reading

Its one of the only ways you can be close together like this once someone is busy

He's running fingers through your hair and up and down your arm, other hand holding his book as he reads through it

Felix: "are you already asleep, my darling?"

When you don't respond

Felix: "I love you..."

...

You: "I love you too, Felix"

Felix: "i knew it"

You play with his glasses sometimes

He'll be looking for another book or something and you steal his glasses from his desk and just play with them

Or if they're around his neck and you're sitting in front of him

You'll tug him from the chain of his glasses to give him a quick kiss

He burns red and then pulls his glasses on to continue reading

Wrapping your arms around his torso makes him putty in your hands

He immediately leans into you

Kiss him when he's annoyed

Just a quick smooch on his cheek

He' calm down and just dig his head into his hands

You're so warm and so kind to him

He feels like he doesnt deserve it but you assure him that he does, he deserves the world :))

[sehnsuchts-trunken]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLyWQKwNvTc

I FOUND THE REST OF THAT INTERVIEW

Or the start. Not entirely sure lmao

alright. i may have forgotten about this. but. im watching it now so lets go

first of all i love how casually rupert switches to first person when talking about leon-

also eion literally just joining was hilarious. like it wasnt planned to interview them both, eion just saw the camera and rupert and went "oh yeah lets fucking go"

eion in a ponytail again btw.

their theories about the characters backgrounds (well, ruperts theories about leon) are really sweet tho i gotta be honest. the thing about gwen was hilarious and i loved it and yes i will accept it as canon

THE FACT THAT THEY GET ASKED WHERE THEY WANT TO SEE THEIR CHARACTERS WHILE KNOWING WHAT HAPPENS IS TORTURE ARE YOU KIDDING ME. poor eion.

eion forgetting the date is amazing, i can very much relate, he literally didnt know what day it was lmao

awww theyre talking about their characters travelling <//3 are you kidding me. yes i want to see gwaine shirtless at a beach somewhere in the caribbean. in? at? on? idk. [edit: on the carribean. i mean yes i still dont know the right preposition but past me really was stupid enough to consider on]

REHAB LMAO YES THEY SHOULD GO TO REHAB

camelot counselling is a wonderful name. we've talked about gaius running a self-help group already, it's now officially called camelot counselling

EION SAYING THERE SHOULD BE MORE WOMEN LMAO HE IS LITERALLY GWAINE ARE YOU JOKING. gwaine (and leon and probably the others but absolutely gwaine) definitely snuck out to hook up when he said he was going on "quests" i agree

honestly yes ive thought about that too and gwaine would not give a crap about merlins magic. eion has nailed him down so well. gwaine would get him into even more illegal shit and also, yes eion, ask him to do very stupid very normal stuff like cooking but thats about it.

WAIT DID EION JUST. DID HE JUST. DID HE JUST SAY THAT HE (GWAINE) DOESNT LIKE WEARING CLOTHES AND THATS WHY HES ALWAYS SHIRTLESS LMAO WAIT LET ME HEAR THAT AGAIN

but about the magic thing, eion repeatedly says that gwaine already knew and even tho he gets corrected/corrects himself, i adore that he's headcannon-ed this the same way i have, like hell yes lets say gwaine knew about merlins magic.

also i love these interviews but the audio is so shitty my adhd ass usually only functions with subtitles anyway but this is like, bad bad. i genuinely had to replay some sentences five times and still didnt get them

[blazingstarship]

1, 4, and 11 for the questions that make you think? 👀

— @dark-magical-ships 💙

HEEYYYY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING IN DEAR @dark-magical-ships!!!💙💙💙

1. How does your F/O respond to seeing you hurt or upset? Do they act caring, immediately go into “who do I have to beat up” mode, or both?

Yusei tries to make contact with me and offers comfort first with words. He doesnt like it when Im upset and mostly when I am upset its easily been helped by just saying sweet things to me or an affectionate hug or snuggle time. Yusei cares and want to get whatever makes me upset or hurt me go away. He sure is also the type when he sees a bruise on my body he immediately asks “What happen, who did this?”

Im just like “Honest I have no idea. One day there is nothing and the other day well tada a blue spot. Tho it matches with my eyes dont ya think?”

Joke aside, when someone dares to lay a finger on me, Yus would go “touch her and I knock you out.” And he will.

4. Does your F/O prefer sunny days or rainy days? What about you? Do your preferences match? How do you both handle these days? What do you do together on either of these days?

Yusei doesnt prefer sunny or rainy, specially with duels like no matter the weather its always time for a duel.

Uhmmm tho sunny days (with a normal temperature) is very nice to do stuff outside like driving (I prefer sunny day driving) and walking and outside dates. But with rainy days I like to be mostly inside and just relax. Yusei just works inside and on his runner or repair works he does once in a while and Im just doing my own thing in the same area, and we end up doing something together inside like baking cookies, watch a movie and play the game old fashion way (no disks, no runners…just old school). It kinda became our thing during rainy days.

11. Does your F/O have any creative hobbies? If so, what are they? If you have similar hobbies, do you and your F/O encourage each other or work together at all?

Yusei really likes to create things from scarps and I must say I am impressed how he can make out from all those junk stuff something awesome and functional. While he is great with working with metal and computers, I think he would like to know how to do woodcraft. Im sure he would make wonderful things… We once made something together from scraps and it has a place in our forever home…well our forever garage.

Im more of the type that likes to draw, traditional and digital. I have asked Yus to draw something since he can design whole runners and concepts of engineering. Surprising he isnt such a bad artist, a hidden talent tho! I have asked him to draw me or us together but thats still on hold but not off the table. Tho I have an idea he made a sketch of me but hes just too shy to show or think its not perfect yet.