#day 1: poisson
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Deafening silence
General summary: Pre-canon. Din goes to the Wild Space on a mission to capture a Kaleesh bounty. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he didn't expect the mission to have permanent consequences on his life.
Warnings: poisoning, general violence, animal attack, animal injury, depictions of sickness, hallucinations, permanent nerve damage, permanent consequences on way of life. Some warnings are omitted to avoid spoilers. Proceed with care if any of the above are triggering subjects.
Author's notes: I'm so excited to contribute to this @ailesswhumptober!!! This work wouldn't have never happened without the talented @itzagoodthing, who's been the brainstorming partner in crime: contributed with many ideas, did tons of editing and proof reading. It has been sooooo much fun!!! I'm very grateful 🤩
This will be a 3 chapter fic. Upcoming chapters will come soon! Posted here, but you can also read it in AO3 if you prefer.
Happy whumptober 2023 everybody!
Chapter 1/3: The Bounty
Din woke up with a start. For a second he couldn’t figure out where he was. It was surely not the Crest. He closed his eyes, listening to the noises around him: the Covert, its members surely starting along with their day. The sound of heavy steps up and down the hallway leading to his quarters. That was certainly what had woken him up. He felt tired, but forced his eyes open. With the strong Imperial presence in the sector, the decision of going out one at a time needed to be taken, he knew it, and accepted it. The knowledge of their numbers needed to be concealed, hidden from the enemy to protect their covert’s whereabouts. But under such circumstances, the task of being beroya, the tribe’s provider, was starting to weigh and to take a toll on him.
Physically he felt exhausted. Their numbers were slowly growing, often taking in foundlings, or, more rarely, taking in the remaining members of other tribes that had been destroyed by Imperials in the effort of completing the Mandalorian Purge. They counted on him to gain enough credits to supply for the needs of the Tribe. But the toll was more than physical. Being almost continuously away from the Covert, his nearly complete absence to the daily activities and interactions with the other members of his Tribe, spending almost all his time alone in the Crest, started to take a toll also on his soul. He knew all this, but had promised himself not to dwell on it. Being the Hunter was his mission. He would stand up to his station.
Finding the strength to get himself up from his cot, Din put on his armor and pulled aside the curtain separating his quarters from what was now a busy Covert. He navigated the network of corridors. Sewers. He hated that they had been pushed to hide in the sewers. Everyone hated it but they all implicitly trusted that better times would come.
Moving towards the exit, Din crossed several other Mandalorians, who just watched him pass. None greeted him, so he simply acknowledged their presence and continued his stoic walk through the corridors. He was clearly spending too much time away. A deep sensation of being a foreigner in his own Covert made him quicken his pace. He exited behind Nevarro’s market stands, which were just starting to exhibit their goods, and made it to his ship.
Settling himself in the cockpit, he set up the coordinates to Nirauan. He didn’t need to check the three bounty pucks he had picked up from Karga the night before upon delivery of the previous assets. He didn’t think twice about getting the three highest bounties on the table. Unsurprisingly, they were all in the Wild Space Territories. And the high price was not for no reason: those were dangerous and distant worlds on which not much information was available. And on top of that, the fuel was very expensive these days. But desperate times made him take high stake bounties, so Nirauan, and the Kaleesh mercenary who he was after, was set to be his first mission.
As it had become a habit, Din spent his time in hyperspace preparing his gear and tuning his armor. Upon arrival to the Grandilis sector he quickly set course to the second of the worlds composing the Nirauan system. This was the first time he was in Nirauan, and the vibrant green cover of the planet struck him. Even if he risked being detected, he made a couple of passes around the last known location of the asset. Din figured it would be difficult to move through the dense forest and thus needed to pinpoint the best area to look for the asset. He landed several klicks away as the jungle-like environment covered most of the surface of the planet. The puck indicated the bounty was probably hiding in a partially destroyed fortress, where he detected numerous life forms.
“Calvrilhy pirates,” Din thought. If his information was correct, they took over the ruins of the fortress when it was destroyed by Rebels.
After securing the Crest, Din followed the puck's coordinates. Crossing the jungle he arrived at the base of the fortress. He knelt behind a large tree and got out his amban rifle. Through the scope, he scouted the compound. Several pirates were keeping guard at strategic posts, probably alerted by his survey of the planet. He presumed many more should be inside. He couldn't possibly take on all of them.
"This mission is going to be worth every single credit," he thought to himself, and decided to wait for the cover of night to infiltrate and search for his bounty inside.
Din couldn't believe his luck when, upon what looked like a shift change, a Kaleesh took over the easternmost post. The puck confirmed it. It was his asset.
Covertly, he approached the nearest wall and, after firing his grappling hook, started climbing the wall. Din had nearly reached the top when he saw that his asset had turned his back to him. Jumping to the top of the wall, Din’s movements were swift as he put the Kaleesh in a headlocked and pressed his blaster to the alien's forehead.
"Don't make a sound," Din whispered in the man's ear.
Shocked, the bounty remained quiet for a couple of seconds before he started struggling against Din's hold.
"You'll never get into the compound," the bounty said.
"Don't need to; I already have what I want," he whispered back.
"I won't come with you, bounty hunter."
"I can bring you in warm… or I can bring you in cold. Prize won't change. Your choice".
Din pinned the man against a nearby wall, and cuffed his hands to his back. Looking around to make sure his actions had not alerted anyone, he unrolled his whipcord. After securing the hook to the outer wall, he used the other end to tie the man’s ankles together.
"Wait", the man said, "what the hell are you going to…"
He didn't have time to say anything else. With one strong movement the Mandalorian shoved him over the edge of the fortress. The man screamed all the way down. The line stopped the quarry barely a meter above the ground. The Mandalorian quickly climbed down the line. He needed to act fast. The bounty’s screams had alerted the rest of the men guarding the compound. When reaching the ground, he unhooked the man from the line and stored away his gear.
Din pushed the Kaleesh towards the jungle in the direction of the Crest. There was movement starting to build behind them. The beginning of a searching party, he presumed.
Remaining focused, the Mandalorian kept directing the bounty towards his ship when heard a whistling sound coming from the depths of the jungle. His HUD didn’t give any signs of humanoid presence, and he discarded the possibility of a threat. Din increased his pace nevertheless. That was until the bounty gave him a wicked smile before whistling back in the same direction. Picking up on a certain cadence in the man’s whistling put the Mandalorian on high alert. He pressed the end of his blaster to the bounty's back and encouraged the man forward.
"Enough with the noise," Din threatened.
As they continued towards the ship, the bounty suddenly looked into the shadows and whistled once again.
"I said, enough!"
But the Mandalorian barely had the time to finish his word when, from between the trees, stepped out a small globulous green creature. Standing on two long and thin legs, its eight eyes stared directly at Din. It growled menacingly as it slowly approached Din.
In a rush of adrenaline, the Mandalorian shot the creature, which caused no apparent harm, the blasts bouncing off the animal’s skin. Clearly aggravated, it quickenedits approach on Din. Through the corner of his eye, the Mandalorian saw that the Kaleesh was trying to flee using the creature's attack as distraction, but Din shot him in one leg, making him fall with a loud thud to the ground. At the same time, he hit the ground himself, pushed by the blunt force of the animal jumping on him.
Pinned by the green creature, Din managed to turn around and use his vambraces to protect himself from its large teeth. Saliva formed in the mouth of the animal. The instant it hit the Mandalorian’s flight suit, the scent of burned fabric hit him, followed by an intense pain as the acidic fluids reached his skin. The Mandalorian found himself screaming with pain at the same time as the animal sank its large claws in his arm to prevent Din from escaping. Din activated his whistling birds, and half a dozen of projectiles hit the green animal.
At first, the animal seemed to reduce his pressure on him, and Din used the opportunity to roll away from the creature. Seeing it was still alive, with no apparent intention of retreating, the Mandalorian attacked it again, now with his vibroblade in hand, and stabbed it repeatedly. But breaking the creature’s skin caused it to release a gas that took Din by surprise.
Having an extremely strong smell to it, Din instinctively activated the seal in his helmet, not before breathing a small amount of the gas. With the creature now immobile on the ground, Din got back on his feet, panting. He allowed himself a few seconds to evaluate his status, what hurt, and if any injury required immediate attention. He got distracted by the noise of other people in the jungle. The search party was getting near. They needed to move.
He went back to the Kaleesh, who was lying on his back and smiling cockily.
"You got a good dose of my Divvik's gas back there. How are you feeling?" the Kaleesh asked.
"Stand up and move," was Din's only response, but the man didn't make any effort to stand.
The Mandalorian's patience now clearly exhausted, Din bent and grabbed the man's flighsuit collar forcing him to stand and, despite the man’s limp, pushed him again in the direction of the Crest. Din felt his limbs getting heavier, pain and exhaustion suddenly invading. He thought that to be weird, since normally adrenaline should be keeping him in working condition for some time longer. But he knew they needed to get off-world, and fast. His mission was close to being completed, but Din felt like he could fall asleep right there on his feet. By the time he could see the Crest between the trees, his vision started getting blurry. Having his goal in sight motivated him to push harder despite feeling weaker with each step. The Kaleesh noticed how he was struggling and was now outwardly laughing.
"You won't make it out of this planet alive," the bounty said.
The Mandalorian stopped for a minute and searched in his belt. Bringing out a stimshot, he thrusted the syringe into his thigh and emptied its contents, hoping that it would help him with the last dozens of meters and the take-off. Without waiting for the effect of the shot to set in, he immediately pocketed the syringe and restarted the painful task of pushing his asset to the Crest.
After what seemed like an eternity to Din, they reached the ship. He pushed the bounty into the hold, making him hit the ground. With the asset’s hands still bound behind his back, the Mandalorian quickly bound his feet as well before he tumbled to reach the ladder leading to the cockpit. It took a lot of his remaining strength to climb up but he made it and dropped himself into the pilot's chair. He could notice himself starting to feel confused. He needed to start the take-off sequence, a process which he had internalized so deeply with his years of service to the point of it being automatic. But at that very moment he realized he couldn’t remember if the ion flux stabilizers needed to be activated before the main engine pre-heating and ignition command. Panicking, he started to hyperventilate. He recognized he was losing control, there was no way he'd ever forget the take off sequence which was simply muscle memory to him by that point. There was something really going on.
"Keep it together, Djarin," he whispered to himself.
Din closed his eyes and breathed calmly and deeply. He needed to regain control of his emotions. Focusing, he went through the sequence again, the engines came online as he saw the pirate search party coming out of the woods on his starboard side. Blaster fire rebounded off the Crest's hull as Din pulled the ship up, engaged the thrusters, and set course towards the atmosphere.
He felt himself dozing off. His head was pounding, and his ears rang to the point of almost not being capable of hearing the usual and reassuring humming of his ships engines. The biosensors integrated in his armor told him he was starting to be bradycardic and hypotensive. He input the coordinates back to Nevarro on his navicomputer. There was one thing he clearly knew at this point: unless the effects of whatever product he inhaled back on Nirauan miraculously got out of his system, he wouldn’t be able to work the other two bounties he was set to capture in the Wild Space Territories.
Once he hit hyperspace, he dragged himself down to the cargo hold. The Bounty was now sitting against one of the walls. He looked at Din as he stumbled down the ladder.
"How are you feeling?" the Bounty asked with a grin. "I'll admit that I'm impressed. With the amount of toxin you got, I would have bet you'd be dead by now and I would be the happy owner of a… Razor Crest is it?" He said, looking around as if admiring a new acquisition.
"Get up," the Mandalorian ordered.
Grinning, the Kaleesh looked slowly up to Din with a defiant look, with no intention of moving.
"I said, UP!" Din was screaming now. He was tired, needed to tend to himself, and this bounty was just determined to test the limits of his patience.
Upon seeing no reaction from his bounty, he grabbed him by the collar of his flight suit and forced him once more to stand up. Making the Kaleesh take a couple of steps backwards, he set the man in the carbon-freezing chamber.
"No! NO! WAIT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" The man screamed, realizing what was about to happen.
The man, despite being bound from hands and feet, fought as hard as he could to get out of the Mandalorian's hold. Din continued to shuffle through the chamber’s controls as he pushed the man against the block. He was barely doing this by touch, his sight was getting blurrier, he could barely discern the buttons if it weren't for the colors flashing.
The man continued fighting, trying to get away from the carbonite chamber. Seeing the little effect this was having, he violently headbutted the Mandalorian. Despite being protected by the Beskar, the action didn't help the Mandalorian's pounding headache.
"YOU CAN'T PUT ME IN CARBONITE!"
With all the ringing in Din's ears he wouldn't have heard the Bounty if it wasn't for how loud he was screaming. Finally losing patience, Din grabbed the man by his neck, and looking straight into the man's eyes from behind his visor, he whispered coldly, "Watch me".
"YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE AND I WILL BE TRAPPED IN HERE, IN A SHIP ADRIFT IN SPACE, FOREVER."
Din punched the final button that activated the chamber and the bounty was finally frozen.
Once the Carbonite cloud started clearing and the chamber stopped its hissing, the gravity of the situation hit Din full force. He stumbled backwards until hitting the wall of the cargo hold and let himself slide down to a sitting position. His ears were ringing so hard it made him dizzy and nauseous. His left arm and leg started to feel numb. Letting his head rest on his knees he forced his foggy mind to reason and evaluate his situation: the bounty mentioned the name of the creature that had attacked him, but feeling increasingly confused, made it difficult to recall the name. One thing he was sure of, is that he hadn't seen or heard of it before. He also recalled the bounty talking about a toxic gas. Nerve toxin, Din reasoned based on his symptoms. He knew he could treat nerve toxins. But how?
The task of concentrating was getting harder. Growling in frustration, Din told himself to think. He knew his trade often worked with a neurotoxic species. What was it? He knew he carried treatment against their stings. Nasty little bugs. What was their name? He couldn't recall.
Not important, Din thought. Now, treatment. He knew he carried something against their stings when he worked the Outer Rim and the Wild Space. Where would he keep the shots? Time was important now, he knew this in the back of his head. Where. Concentrate on the where. The bunk. He kept his med kit in his bunk.
Get to the bunk. The idea turned around in his head, over and over again. Medkit, that was his goal. It was getting increasingly difficult to think. Was this toxin affecting him that fast? Or how long had he actually been sitting there? He tried to make his body move, get up from the ground. His left side wouldn't cooperate enough for him to stand up. Rolling himself onto his right side, he managed getting to his knees and then achieved a resemblance of verticality. Dragging his left side he aimed at getting to his bunk, supporting himself on the crates stowed on the side of the hold.
Din was now sweating profusely. The stimshot's effects were wearing out, he felt the backlash of the effects of whatever he had inhaled. Fumbling with his bunk's control panel, he opened the door and reached for his medkit, emptying its contents on the cot. For a moment, he couldn't recall what he was looking for. He continued ruffling the contents of his medkit. Shots. He was looking for a shot. Of what? He found a couple of stimshots. No, that wasn't it. He wasn't sure he knew anymore what he was looking for. He kept looking through the contents of the kit until he found a small box with vials labeled "Atropine - Kouhuns".
Kouhuns, yes. That's what the neurotoxic bugs were called. If he had a chance at surviving whatever he had inhaled, this was it. He fumbled to load a syringe with the contents of one of the vials, struggling to help himself with his barely working left hand. Din clumsily removed his left vambrace. He expected a loud noise to come from when it hit the ground, but never heard it with the overwhelming ringing of his ears. He rolled up the sleeve of his flight suit and tried injecting the counteragent intravenously without any success.
Frustrated, Din sat back and took a deep breath. He blinked hard several times, trying to clear his vision and then tried one more time. Sure that he had gotten it right that time, he injected the atropine. He never saw the syringe fall from his hand. He never felt it when he hit the ground.
#star wars#star wars fanfiction#the mandalorian#the mandalorian fanfiction#din djarin#paz Vizsla#young din djarin#young paz vizsla#the armorer#bounty hunting#injury#whump#ailesswhumptober2023#prompt 1#day 1: poisson
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Fish print fouta towel by Inoui Editions
100% cotton, £100
#poisson d'avril#april fool's day#fish#1 april#fashion#accessories#towel#beach towel#1er avril#print#animals#sea creatures#tropical fish#marine life#under the sea#surface pattern#pattern#surface pattern design#pattern design#textiles#textile design#printed textiles#inoui editions#angel fish
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Dear Listeners,
Happy 2024 to you, in all its weirdness.
I’m working on NEW MUSIC and will be sharing little bits of it and my process with you as I go along. For now, I’m putting the videos on Instagram and my Facebook Page and will link to them on my blog (sorry I let that lapse, somehow I managed to forget blogging existed). Here’s the first, a snippet of a song with the working title “Supernumerary”
instagram
What else? There are a few concerts in the immediate future:
March 15 - ArtYard - Frenchtown, NJ
March 16 - Underground Arts - Philadelphia, PA
March 17 - Le Poisson Rouge - NYC, NY
March 21 - Big Ears Festival - Knoxville, TN
The show in Philadelphia is opening up for my old friends, the Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. My connections to members of that band go back 20+ years to my 964 Natoma days. I first encountered Nils Frykdahl in the previous millennium while he was playing amplified flute in the rafters of the warehouse along with Dan Rathburn making noise and sparks with an arc welder that illuminated butoh performer Shinichi Moma Koga contorting himself on a metal grate. Anyway, Sleepytime is a delightful group of very talented avant garde art rockers and this year needs more of their unfiltered catharsis. I immediately said yes when they asked if I would play for one of their East Coast dates to support their new album.
The Big Ears festival is something I’ve wanted to play at for almost a decade, so I am beyond thrilled to be added this year. I’ll be sticking around for the festival to hear as many of the other artists as possible, it’s off the hook, check it out https://bigearsfestival.org/
More concerts dates are coming in the autumn. East, west, middle, as many as I can fit in ;-)
Thank you for listening!
celloly yours, Z
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In France they celebrate "Poisson d'Avril" (April Fish) where it's a tradition to hook small stinky fish to unsuspecting people. The longer it takes them to notice, the funnier it is (especially if it rots).
In Scotland they have "Hunt the Gowk Day" where gowks (fool, but also a kind of birdl) are sent on false errands to waste their time.
In Ibi, Spain, the entire town engages in a food fight so spectacular that they devise military stratagem in order to battle for control of the town and enact silly laws the rest of the town must follow or get fined.
In Sweden, on "Första April" they say "April, April, you silly fish, I can fool you anywhere I wish." Celebrations are much the same as anywhere else, except you have a second chance on May 1st.
On April 1, 1957, in England, the BBC reported that the spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland would be early that year because of a mild winter, accompanied by footage of trees draped in pasta being harvested.
Answer below the read more, please don't spoil it in your tags, but please do reblog to share the fun!
All of these are true! April Fools!
Please rb to share some silly traditions!
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Bracket B Matchups
Round 1
Let the Pun Fit the Crime (Wander Over Yonder) vs The Pitiful Children (Be More Chill)
Raphael's Final Act (Baldur's Gate 3) vs Fabulous (High School Musical 2)
The Hounds (Act II: The Father of Death by The Protomen) vs Heffalumps and Woozles (Winnie the Pooh)
Les Poissons (The Little Mermaid) vs Hero (RWBY)
A Series of Unfortunate Events theme song (A Series of Unfortunate Events) vs There Ain't Nothin' But Bad Days Ahead (The Swan Princess: Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure)
Cog in the Machine (I Expect You to Die 3) vs (The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs (Hairspray)
Hurricane (Death Note: The Musical) vs Love Doesn't Stand a Chance (Once Upon a Time)
Nothing Left to Lose (Tangled the Series) vs Who Will Know (Shin Godzilla)
E.G.G.M.A.N (Sonic Adventure 2) vs No One But You (Galavant)
The Mob Song (Beauty and the Beast) vs Biggering (cut from The Lorax)
The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera) vs Great At Crime (Epithet Erased)
Meant to Be Yours (Heathers) vs Magic Dance (Labyrinth)
Want You Gone (Portal 2) vs Wait for It (Hamilton)
Kidnap the Sandy Claws (The Nightmare Before Christmas) vs Big Shot (Deltarune)
Robot Hell (Futurama) vs Yodel-Aadle-Eedlie-Idle-Oo (Home on the Range)
In the Hall of the Mountain King (Peer Gynt) vs What's the Use of Feeling Blue? (Steven Universe)
Round 2
The Pitiful Children (Be More Chill) vs Fabulous (High School Musical 2)
Heffalumps and Woozles (Winnie the Pooh) vs Les Poissons (The Little Mermaid)
A Series of Unfortunate Events theme song (A Series of Unfortunate Events) vs Cog in the Machine (I Expect You to Die 3)
Hurricane (Death Note: The Musical) vs Nothing Left to Lose (Tangled the Series)
No One But You (Galavant) vs The Mob Song (Beauty and the Beast)
The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera) vs Meant to Be Yours (Heathers)
Want You Gone (Portal 2) vs Big Shot (Deltarune)
Robot Hell (Futurama) vs In the Hall of the Mountain King (Peer Gynt)
Round 3
The Pitiful Children (Be More Chill) vs Les Poissons (The Little Mermaid)
Cog in the Machine (I Expect You to Die 3) vs Nothing Left to Lose (Tangled the Series)
The Mob Song (Beauty and the Beast) vs The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera)
Want You Gone (Portal 2) vs In the Hall of the Mountain King (Peer Gynt)
Round 4 (Bracket Semifinals)
The Pitiful Children (Be More Chill) vs Nothing Left to Lose (Tangled the Series)
The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera) vs Want You Gone (Portal 2)
Round 5 (Bracket Finals)
The Pitiful Children (Be More Chill) vs The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera)
Winner: The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera)!
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This is real.
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day
In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.
People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
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Got some shows I'm very excited about - including my debut at Le Poisson Rouge NYC this June!
If you're in NY, I just might be playing in your area ;) Info and tix are in this link here:
https://linktr.ee/belle.skinner
THIS FRIDAY 5/3: @parktheaterhudson w Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise #hudsonny
Sun 5/12: Mother's Day Brunch at Colony Woodstock NY #woodstockny
Thu 5/23: Songwriter Round w @jimiwmusic and more at Glens Falls' Park Theater #GlensFallsNY
Sat 5/25: Daryl's House Club Porch Brunch Series #PawlingNY
Sat 6/1: (le) poisson rouge opening for China Forbes of Pink Martini #nyc
Sat 6/8: Voices in the Heights w/ Jeremy Aaron Music #bklyn
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Fontaine Review
I’ve mostly kept quiet til now, cus’ I wanted to get through most of the main story of Fontaine + characters before saying anything (and honestly, I still haven’t done much exploring or world quests yet, so forgive me for any lacking context there), but like. good god, Fontaine is THE single worst written region in the entire game, with some of the worst plots, character writing, and gameplay I’ve ever seen.
let's go
1) the hunting metaphor
if you don’t believe me, I’ll start off with a small example—one of the few things I’ll provide full dialogue reference for, because it’s honestly a little insane.
For reference, since this is a minor moment in the grand scheme of things, this is the conversation between the final ensemble, discussing their plans to trap Furina into telling the truth. If you’d rather just watch it, here’s the timestamp, but I’ll relay the relevant section here.
[dialogue start]
Clorinde: In that case, do any of you have experience in… hunting?
Lynette: Not that I recall.
Lyney: Freminet and I once used a wooden stick and a basket to catch wild rabbits when we were younger. As for Lynette… ah right, you were sick that day, weren’t you?
Freminet: I’ve also gone diving to catch some fish before. Does that count?
Clorinde: I’m afraid not. You may or may not have heard, but Fontaine once played host to a group known as the Marechaussee Hunters. Though that was their name, they did not hunt animals, but rather various monsters left behind by the ancient dynasty of King Remus. Today, Fontaine’s monster population has already thinned greatly, so the Hunters have blended back into society, taking up arms in other lines of work. They even left a unique methodology of hunting in their wake.
Clorinde: A trap comprises of the following components: bait, a trigger, and a containment device. Sometimes, a lethal implement will also be necessary to deal with the prey. So if we were to build a trap together right now, what would you choose to build it with?
Lyney: For me, I would prefer something basket-shaped. Pigeons and rabbits will see the bait and naturally enter the snare. Our line of work requires a deft hand, and we’re some of the best in the industry, so you can count on our techniques.
Navia: You used some of those techniques while moving the people of Poisson, didn’t you? My subordinates mentioned that you even performed some magic for the bawling children.
Lyney: Yes, and I even managed to gather some intelligence in the meantime—I’m quite the multitasker if I do say myself.
Freminet: I’m afraid I can’t claim that my strong suit… I prefer more stable methods, like placing bait in the water and waiting for the fish to come within reach… That’s the kind of method I would count on.
Paimon: Hehe, calm and steady—exactly the kind of person who would catch loads of fish.
Lynette: And I can be their assistant.
Clorinde: With discretion, I’m sure.
Navia: Hmm… I’d probably use some sort of mechanical animal. Papa once bought me some small clockwork squirrels, mice, and such. When placed in the forest, they can attract others of their kind. I remember that you liked those too, didn’t you?
Clorinde: I did, and that would be a good way to go about it. If they’re realistic enough, animals of the same kind will follow them all the way to the trap.
Navia: What about you, Monsieur Neuvillette?
Neuvillette: I… fear I do not have any related experience.
Clorinde: That makes sense. You usually solve problems directly, without the use of any such tricks. But I do have one more question for you, Monsieur. If we were to create a trap now, how would you design it?
Neuvillette: Hmm, I would like for it to be effective but bring no harm to the prey. A more gentle trap would be ideal.
Clorinde: Kind, as always. However, our intention doesn’t necessarily change the containment device and the type of implement we need. If we wanted to kill the prey in one strike, we would need a powerful implement. However, that also goes for prey that must be captured and safely contained.
Navia: Wait, why’s that?
Clorinde: Only a hunter who is a true expert at subduing their prey can snare it without harming it. The line that divides life and death is often exceedingly thin.
[dialogue end]
Now anyone would see that long, drawn-out hunting metaphor and think, “oh, so this is gonna be a big hunt, then? Hunting an Archon? A bit weird, given the vibe of the archon quest before this point, but that’s cool!”
But then—
[dialogue start]
Freminet: …So, are we going hunting together?
Paimon: Uh, we hadn’t thought of seeing ourselves as hunters. It kinda works… but maybe it’s still not the best metaphor.
Neuvillette: If our means of capturing and dealing with our prey is to put them on trial, then the hunting metaphor is actually quite accurate. But we shall require much more courage than any hunter to judge a god—a being whose seat is an exalted throne.
Traveler: That’s right.
Lyney: Oh, so that’s what is going on… sounds very interesting.
[dialogue end]
So not only are the characters within the scene confused by the metaphor, but then Hoyo itself has to step in with blank pages of text to dispel the audience’s confusion.
[image IDs: screencaps of white text on blank, black backgrounds reading as follows:
“Clorinde’s hunting metaphor was just that… a metaphor. You will not call this a ‘hunt’ because that is not what you should do at present, nor has the relationship between you and Furina reached such a dire stage. What you need is simply the secrets she is keeping. Attempting to take her secrets is an act of sacrilegious disrespect, but must be done to prevent Fontaine from sinking into the waters as foretold in the prophecy. There is neither hunter nor prey, but there must be a ‘trap.’ That is what you will need.”
End ID]
To be clear, hunting has not been mentioned as an activity or even a metaphor throughout the entire archon quest leading up to this point, and it’s so irrelevant after this point that the Hoyo writers themselves had to step out from behind the curtain to tell us that, no, the cast will NOT be hunting Furina, actually.
So like, what was the point? Hoyo just wasted several minutes of my time painting a complex hunting metaphor, only to tell me it’s nothing? Was it just an excuse to make Clorinde’s skills relevant in the final cast of characters? Why??????
Y’know what metaphor would have been fitting, though? I’ll give you three guesses……. Fucking STAGE PERFORMANCE!!! Performance and spectacle have been huge themes this entire quest, the entire country of Fontaine is mired in performance, and the entire last act of this quest is a literal performance-- why didn’t Hoyo choose that as the metaphor? Or, hell, even easier, just cut out the entire metaphor completely! We already know that the group is discussing what to do about Furina, Hoyo could’ve just cut to black at an earlier point in the convo and been done with it!
This may seem nitpicky as my first point, but it’s so telling of Hoyo’s writing philosophy—don’t write anything meaningful, and don’t commit to anything of substance. It’s really the core of all other problems, imo, and it’ll keep coming back again and again.
2) Traveler + Paimon
The Traveler issue is a bit complicated, and perhaps more subjective than my other issues, but bear with me.
Namely, the Traveler is supposed to be the player’s self-insert, while also being a character within the setting—a combination that just… doesn’t really work, at least not the way Hoyo approaches it
For one, Traveler has goals that often run counter to what the player wants to do. The obvious example being that Traveler just wants to get on with it and find their sibling, whereas we players want to take our time to explore, meet characters, and run through various sidequests. So this leads to a weird tension where the Traveler is simultaneously a kind-hearted errand-runner, always happy to help out… while also being very fed up with it all, anxious to just find their sibling and the truth of their separation.
There’s also the simple fact that we, the players, aren’t given any options to affect the path and choices of the Traveler, beyond “snarky answer” vs. “not-snarky answer”. This isn’t strictly a bad thing, not every game needs to have branching paths or complex character interactions… but it’s not exactly conducive to the “self-insert” approach that Hoyo tries to frame the game as, ya feel me?
And don’t even get me started on Paimon’s role in this! Even if Traveler has a personality, they can barely get a word in over Paimon’s constant whining and commentary. I’m not the first person to point out how annoying she is, but she truly is such an unnecessary plot convenience, when Traveler could easily just… speak for themself (and with a much more pleasant voice). Though that may be the problem-- I honestly think Hoyo only added Paimon so they could still claim Traveler as a self-insert, since Paimon usually serves as the mouthpiece for Traveler. Either that, or she’s supposed to serve as a lore dump to introduce Traveler to Teyvat, but like… Paimon is dumber than a rock, and other characters in the setting explain things far better than her.
Anyways, my point with Paimon is that, because she serves as the mouthpiece for Traveler, that means she also serves as the mouthpiece for the player. Which is infuriating, when she’s saying dumb shit I don’t agree with, but Hoyo thinks I’m supposed to. No, I don’t feel hostile towards Kaeya or think he’s “shady”, I actually like the guy! No, I don’t think Tighnari’s tangents about botany are boring—I’m a bio major, and I love hearing people talk about their interests in any case! Etc. etc.
thus, it feels like Hoyo is carefully straddling the fine line of “self-insert” vs. “character with autonomous personality” without really committing to either option, leaving me feeling unsatisfied and a bit frustrated (or often frustrated, when Paimon’s speaking).
But I will admit, this usually isn’t a problem. Sure, the “half-insert” approach bothers me sometimes, but at least Traveler’s dialogue options are often written vaguely enough that I’m not taken out of the moment, and Paimon… well, I try to just pretend she doesn’t exist. On the whole, the Traveler issue isn’t game-breaking…
Or it wasn’t, until Fontaine.
Suddenly, left and right, Paimon is being rude and dismissive towards more characters than ever (no, Paimon, I think YOU’RE making this moment with Neuvillette awkward, actually), and Traveler is not only agreeing, but inventing new, fun ways to act downright cruel (Lyney + Lynette, FURINA… we’ll get to them…). They’re both rude to a huge chunk of the cast-- not only the strangers we barely know, but the kind and charming characters who’ve never done a bad thing to us or anyone we know of!
It’s a heel-turn that suddenly emphasizes the problems with Traveler that were, up to this point, far more subtle.
For one, this behavior runs counter to how the players respond to these situations, as we've discussed. like, Traveler being rude to Lyney? Fan-favorite Lyney?? In a gacha game that’s trying to sell us our favorite little blorbos? What in the world kind of decision is that???
But more fundamentally, this personality switch runs counter to what we’ve grown to expect from Traveler. we expect someone who is open and understanding to all sorts of situations and types of people… but that’s not really the case, is it? Traveler is only here to find their sibling, and they’ve apparently grown tired of pretending otherwise. No more sympathy and understanding, the patience is gone.
I honestly think I’d enjoy the experience more if Hoyo committed to Traveler as a full character rather than a half-way insert. it doesn’t come up much in-game, but if you look at Traveler’s voice lines on their story tab, you’ll discover tons of fascinating backstory and personality. I want to learn more about their experiences in other worlds, and their thoughts about how Teyvat compares to other places! I want to know more about the apparently deep bond between Traveler and their sibling, and the trials they’ve been through together before Teyvat!
I wouldn't mind a bitter Traveler, if the Traveler was treated like an actual character, and we got to watch the progression of this bitterness over time… but we don’t get to see it, because they’re not treated like a full character. and I honestly don’t even think this was an intentional character choice, in any case.
This leads into the related problem of—
3) the Fatui
ok sure, the Fatui are not exactly trustworthy, that’s been proven time and again. I don’t blame Traveler for being wary of new Fatui characters, or even the organization as a whole. I get it.
however, Traveler has encountered many, MANY people on their journey, including many different Fatui operatives. There are many formerly-‘bad’ individuals (including Fatui) that Traveler has come to understand and even befriend, in many cases.
The obvious example here being Childe, who isn’t even among the list of “reformed” individuals. he’s literally still a Harbinger with violent streak, he’s implied to have a high death count, and he tried to drown Liyue (with Zhongli’s permission, sure, but Childe didn’t know that)… and yet Traveler STILL befriends him. I’m saying this as a huge Childe simp myself—I love the guy, but even I can admit he didn’t do a whole lot to earn forgiveness. Idek what the thought process is in that relationship, was Childe just too pathetic by the end of the Liyue archon quest to be considered a threat by Traveler anymore? Impossible to say.
But then Traveler will meet other Fatui characters and inexplicably act horrifically cruel. I think it starts with Ganyu’s story quest, where we’re encouraged to profile some random Fatui guy and extra-judiciously beat him up for the crime of… picking berries. And then Traveler just laughs it off like, “well, he had it coming anyways,” like HUH? WHAT?? And then the 9th Company in the Chasm… WHEW don’t even get me started. That whole Company was literally on the floor DYING of starvation, clearly no threat to anyone, and especially not anyone as skilled as the Traveler… and then Traveler STILL has the gall to act suspicious! The story basically had to drag Traveler, kicking and screaming, to help characters who-- I must emphasize-- were dying of starvation.
Real heroic character, there. Love playing somebody that’s clearly so kind and compassionate. Ugh.
At least the hostility towards Scaramouche makes some sense, given Traveler’s personal beef with him across several countries/quests, + Scara’s personality. Like, yeah, Traveler is rude to him after his defeat, but at least Scara gives as much sass as he gets. Still a frustrating double-standard, considering how nice Traveler is to Childe “literally still a Harbinger” Tartaglia, but whatever.
But Lyney and Lynette? The people who have been nothing but kind to Traveler? Who show genuine concern for Fontaine’s safety, who pass out free gadgets to help out the people of Fontaine? Whose tragic backstory involves literal child sex trafficking, and being rescued by the one single Harbinger that seems to have largely unselfish goals*? (*not saying Arlecchino prolly hasn’t done anything bad, but we’ll get there)
and Traveler still has the GALL to scoff at their trauma, and claim it doesn’t matter???
[image ID: a screencap of dialogue from the 4.0 archon quest, reading as follows:
Paimon: So that’s how you two joined the House of the Hearth.
Traveler: That’s all in the past, though. The Knave is after the Gnosis, isn’t she?
End ID]
If I thought the 9th Company quest was bad… WHEW… I’ve never wanted to reach through the screen and strangle the Traveler more than I did at this point (at least until Furina’s story quest <3 )
Hell, the House of the Hearth’s concern for Fontaine isn’t even a front, as is proven by Arlecchino and co. helping out in the final act. For all that Arlecchino and her House have likely done terrible things in the name of her goals, she and the siblings were completely honest about protecting Fontaine… and Traveler is STILL hesitant about the siblings, even when their sincerity has been abundantly proven.
[image ID: a screencap of dialogue from the 4.1 archon quest, reading as follows:
Lyney: As you know, the House of the Hearth has many reasons to seek the Gnosis, but our highest priority remains resolving the prophesized crisis. You can trust us on that.
Traveler: Sorry, I must refuse.
end ID]
Make it make SENSE.
Look, I would understand the hesitation if Traveler had never encountered any nuance in the Fatui before this point. Truly, I get it-- the Fatui is a powerful, deeply influential organization. I also don’t trust powerful, deeply influential organizations! but I must once again emphasize that TRAVELER IS FRIENDS WITH CHILDE. This just feels like a swift kick in the nuts, at this point.
It’s also worth noting that… Hoyo didn’t have to write the Fatui as cartoonishly evil. I’m frankly sick of seeing Fatui as the masterminds behind 90% of the evil plots in Teyvat, as if they’re the true root of all evil. For one, it’s boring-- I’d like to see other people making bad decisions for once, and I’d like to see more Fatui with more complex goals than “be evil, make profit”, such as the complexity of the House of the Hearth in this quest.
Hell, it’s already established that each Harbinger does their own thing with their resources/power.
[image ID: a screencap of dialogue from the 4.0 archon quest, reading as follows:
Lyney: But our organization is very, very large, and the Harbingers have very different personalities and goals.
End ID]
[image ID: a screencap of dialogue from the 4.2 archon quest, reading as follows:
The Knave: Don’t be too preoccupied with “sides.” The goal of the Fatui concerns not a single place or person, but rather the entire world. With such a grand goal in mind, it is inevitable that we must wear many masks.
End ID]
so I’m hoping we’ll see more of this nuance?? But this is Hoyo we’re talking about, so I’m not placing my bets on it.
But the more troubling thing abt the Fatui’s writing is that it feels very… Red Scare. Not that this kind of flat stereotype is exclusive to the Fatui—the Treasure Hoarders are a classist stereotype of “thieves” (despite the fact the Traveler prolly plunders far more ancient tombs and artifacts than the whole organization combined…), and the Eremites and related enemy NPCs are a racist caricature of ‘Arab’ peoples. So like, forgive me if I don’t trust Hoyo to continue to write Fantasy Russian Mob with grace and nuance.
but honestly, the real kicker is… I agree with the Tsaritsa’s goal of destroying Celestia. Celestia is an unambiguously genocidal god-state that can and will destroy any peoples that even hint at threatening their power. I joked abt Fatui being the root of all evil, but throughout Teyvat’s entire history, it seems like Celestia actually is the root of all evil. Like, yeah, blast that sucker out of the sky. Obviously I don’t agree with the free reign the Tsaritsa has given her Harbingers, but I don’t necessarily blame her for using that power to gain their loyalty.
And yet, the game continuously frames the Fatui organization as flatly evil—even Arlecchino, for all the good she did in this quest, clearly has her own agenda. Like, y’know that trope where the group resisting an unfair system is made to do cartoonishly evil things, thus delegitimizing their core goals? It feels like that. Yeah, it sure is hard to agree with the objectively correct main goal of the Fatui, when they keep starting civil wars across the map. Too bad nobody fucking else wants to fight Celestia… oh well, I guess we just have to accept Celestia’s iron rule!
The Fatui isn’t even the worst offender of this infuriating trope, tbh. Let us not forget Khaenri'ah—the people that didn’t want to be ruled by Archons, made their own, autonomous nation, and were thus completely annihilated by Celestia because their technology was “too dangerous”. and then the survivors are either cursed with immortality, or mutated to become black-skinned monsters wearing ‘tribal’ masks/outfits (the og racist caricature, if you will). But I’d be here all day if I started talking abt that, and it’s not related to Fontaine, so I’ll leave it at that.
I can’t predict what Hoyo’s endgame is for Celestia, so maybe they’ll surprise me, but forgive me for distrusting Hoyo’s obsession with authority and “divine rights”.
Which leads into the next problem—
4) the Fortress of Meropide
It’s one thing to have a fantasy world with fantasy ‘cops’ and some kind of punitive system. Like, sure, fine, it exists, but we don’t have to dig into it. Hell, we can even have ‘cop’ characters without it being a huge deal. at least Kujou Sara and Cyno-- for all their blind loyalty-- could eventually see the flaws in the system. Sure, I would’ve liked to see the systems themselves challenged-- to see the people of Inazuma not so readily forgive the Shogun, or to see the idea of “forbidden knowledge” questioned as a tool of control, maybe. but I wasn’t rly expecting that level of self-reflection from Hoyo anyways, so whatever. Ultimately, those systems are ‘fixed’ so they no longer subjugate the people, so I can’t complain too much.
but then we get the Fortress of Meropide. A literal prison—not even just a metaphor, it’s just. Literal, modern prison, but with a steampunk veneer.
Let me lay out all the issues here, beyond the obvious:
“autonomous” prison
generally, the Fontaine justice system exiles people rather than imprisons them. Long ago, all these “exiles” made their own society outside of Fontaine, both for survival and to “repent” towards Egeria (we’ll get to that). Thus, the Fortress is technically “autonomous” from Fontaine, since its population is full of these “exiles” rather than true “prisoners”.
But if that’s the case, why are the exiles still on Fontaine land? the Fortress is still within the borders, after all-- if they are truly just “exiled”, then they should be free to roam outside of Fontaine. Yet, why are these “exiles” escorted straight to the Fortress by Gardes-- as if they are, perhaps, prisoners of the Fortress?
The only way this works for me, logically, is if the Fontaine government claims no connection on paper, while still working with the Fortress under the table. This would allow Fontaine to exact whatever policies/cruelties they like on prisoners, without the oversight of official Fontaine policies to hold them accountable for this behavior.
Fontaine can’t violate their citizens’ human/worker rights, if the people in question aren’t actually citizens anymore.
credit coupons
Prisoners do not earn Mora for their work in the Fortress—instead, they earn credit coupons, and these coupons are only worth anything within the bounds of Fortress.
So let’s follow these facts to their logical conclusion: if prisoners can only earn credit coupons, then they can’t save up any real Mora (unless there’s lore abt credit-mora exchange I’ve missed). That means, when they’re eventually released from the Fortress, prisoners have no money to their name. and unless there’s some system in place to hold prisoner housing/assets safe (doubtful), then prisoners have likely lost their home, job, and any savings as well. So a newly-released prisoner is just as poor (if not worse off) than before. They will likely have to steal for survival, and end up in the Fortress again. if that’s the case, then why would they leave?
Like, gee, I wonder why so many prisoners choose to continue living in the Fortress after their sentence is done? Surely it must be because of the excellent accommodations!! 🙄
prison labor
the main job available to prisoners is factory work, building many of the machines used in above-ground Fontaine. No wonder Fontaine doesn’t want the prisoners to leave, they’d lose their free (slave-labor) workforce!
Notably, prisoners also help make Gardemeks—the robots that serve as a large chunk of the Fontaine police force, and prolly arrested many of the prisoners themselves. What a slap to the face!
welfare meals
Every prisoner apparently gets one free meal a day, after which they must pay for any other meals using their credit coupons.
But what about people who can’t work? the sick, the disabled? one meal a day is not enough to survive, and trying to do so would only make people weak and sick, which would make them even less able to work, continuing the vicious cycle. And the fact that prisoners didn’t even get that little crumb before is kinda nauseating.
Also why is their quality Russian fucking roulette??
[image ID: screencaps of dialogue from the 4.1 archon quest, reading as follows:
Paimon: Oh, you mean the meals are random?
Sigewinne: Yes, what you get to eat depends completely on your luck. You could say that it’s a… distasteful little game that Chef Wolsey likes to play here in the cafeteria.
End ID]
I know Genshin is a gacha game, but this is too much. Fuck people with food sensitivities or allergies, I guess.
EDIT: informed prisoner choice/consent
there's two main instances of uninformed decisions being thrown at prisoners:
A) Sigewinne makes special meals for prisoners whom she observes to be overworking themselves. instead of telling them this, though, she just silently slips her meal into their gacha-tin instead of their regular meal. thus, instead of understanding that they are being given a healthy gift by the Fortress nurse, prisoners just see a gross piece of meat and think they're being punished or poisoned for non-stop working 3 days in a row.
now, I'm slightly more lenient with Sigewinne's case, considering Melusine aesthetics and such. there's a chance that Melusines, idk, have a higher sense of smell or something, so she thinks she need not explain the healthy qualities of her meals to humans, bc they should just be able to tell it's healthy. MAYBE.
but Sigewinne has been working at the Fortress for how many years? seriously, how many years, I'm not sure-- at least as long as Wrio's been there. that's quite a while to not have picked up on human habits-- especially for someone like Sigewinne, who apparently spends all her time studying human behavior/emotions in order to give them the best care possible.
honestly, given Sigewinne's interests, this feels almost cruelly intentional? like, what the hell else am I supposed to think, when Hoyo takes time to note Sigewinne's interest in human emotions? and especially considering the manipulative role she played with Lyney and co... yeah, no dice, this girl is a razor blade hiding under a lolita dress.
B) Fonta wants to sell their drinks down in the Fortress, and in particular wants to test out a new drink they've come up with, to see if the prisoners like it. Wriothesley thinks Fonta sucks and believes only the dumbest of prisoners would spend their precious coupons on Fonta. so to prove this, Wrio slips a bottle of the special Fonta into certain prisoners' cells (those he deems to have recently made stupid decisions) to see if they'll drink it. without knowing what the drink is, prisoners only see a mysterious bottle of unlabeled, blood-colored liquid, and throw it out without touching it.
so, for one, it's really not Wrio's place to decide what his prisoners do with their money. he may think Fonta is stupid, but it's people's Archon-given right to spend their hard-earned money however they see fit! I don't want the president of my country telling me I can't have a nice, refreshing cola after a hard day's work, fuck off!!
but also, like. Wrio clearly knows what he's doing, here. he's giving this new product the worst possible chance at positive reception (pulling off the labels, leaving them in prisoner dorms with no explanation), and claiming it's Fonta's fault for making a bad product. fucking of course nobody wants the new product, they think it's literally blood, and probably some kind of threat!
I bet you a million bucks, if prisoners knew what it was, this blood-like Fonta would get at least some clientele. there's always a morbid audience to be found, and the chances may even be higher in a prison
Wrio doesn't even start offering prisoners his drink of choice-- high-end tea-- to be bought instead, so like. this isn't even a flex on his drink tastes so much as another way to control prisoner's very few means of recreation and personal choice.
medical care and general health
why is Sigewinne the only nurse? That’s insane, there should be a full staff of medical professionals-- the Fortress is huge. And considering all the leaky walls and rusting metal, I’m surprised more prisoners don’t have gangrene or tetanus.
Also being deep underwater, with few windows out into the surrounding lake, the Fortress gets basically no sunlight. it’s socially cut off from the outside world, and as far as I know, there’s little else to do beyond Fight Club (I’ve heard tell of a library, but I certainly never saw one!). the Fortress seems primed to turn people fucking insane and/or depressed. Humans need sunlight and fresh air, humans need intellectual and physical enrichment.
And y’know what? I’d accept all this if it was intentional—some commentary on the corruption of the state, and the way prison only destroys lives.
But that’s the worst part—it’s not.
The Fortress is framed as not only necessary to Fontaine’s functioning, but good for the people. Traveler and Paimon constantly comment on how “surprisingly nice” the Fortress is, how they love being there. Meanwhile, every time I’m in the Fortress, I feel like a fox caught in a bear trap-- I want to fucking LEAVE, but the game acts like I should love it SO SO much.
[image ID: a screencap of dialogue from the 4.2 archon quest, reading as follows:
Paimon: That’s right! Today is our last day in prison… But now that Paimon says that, it doesn’t feel like we were confined here. It’s actually been pretty nice.
Traveler: A lot of people have helped us out.
Paimon: Oh, yeah. Paimon feels fond of this place now.
End ID]
Hoyo voice: oh boy, don’t you just LOVE it here? Isn’t it so fun and great??
Not to mention the weird “redemption” undertones of it all.
…
[image ID: screencaps of dialogue from the 4.1 archon quest, reading as follows:
Wolsey: Now everyone gets a square meal every day, even no-good slackers who’ve never picked up a wrench in their whole lives. Nobody starves to death here.
…
Wolsey: Whatever the case, hard work is rewarded here. You’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else as fair and reasonable.
End ID]
--
[image ID: screencaps of dialogue from Wriothesley’s story quest and the 4.1 archon quest, respectively, reading as follows:
Wriothesley: Which is why in my opinion, learning to reconcile with oneself is the first step on the path to redemption.
--
Wriothesley: And with that, the people here stopped referring to the Fortress as a prison. They saw themselves as repenting sinners, who would regain their freedom once they had sufficiently redeemed themselves.
End ID]
How disgustingly Christian 🙄
this only reinforces the idea that prisoners are lesser citizens that deserve to live under the worst conditions, unless they “repent” and bring something “valuable” to society. Not to even mention that every crime is treated equal, in the scenario—yeah, sure, I definitely want the single parent who stole food for their starving kids to go to the fucking pit of darkness. Definitely.
And if it wasn’t already incredibly obvious, this is way too close to real-life to be comfortable—everything from credit coupons, to exploitative prison labor, to the idea of prison as “redemption”. This is how real-life prison works, what people think of prison, and how society often treats convicts.
It’s one thing to write a narrative that’s tone-deaf to the deeper implications—Hoyo does that all the time, I’m used to it. But this? This feels intentional. This feels pointed and vicious. This feels like Hoyo, mask-off, saying, “these are our unambiguous views about the state and punitive system, and we’re going to make you agree with us using a hot guy mouthpiece.”
Which is, of course, why I hate Wriothesley so much.
It’s not just that he’s a smug, insufferable bastard (though he is), but it’s more what he represents for this story.
Essentially, Wrio is not allowed to be wrong. This is partly bc he’s a high-spec guy and Hoyo is afraid of letting high-spec guys be wrong (see: Alhaitham), but mostly because Wrio is a thesis statement for the Fortress. Wriothesley is authority, and according to Hoyo, authority is always right. even when authority is manipulative and cruel, as long as the “proper leader” is using that authority, then it’s actually for your own good, so you should just shut up and listen.
Wrio can’t be wrong, bc if he is, then what does that say about the Fortress?
Thus, interactions between Wrio and the prisoners take on a different tone. Wrio’s not just some schmuck acting smug—he’s a guy with power, and he delights in lording that power over the people who can’t tell him “no”.
[image ID: screencaps of in-game dialogue from the 4.1 archon quest, reading as follows:
Deakin: Th- The Duke! Greetings, Your Grace! L-Lovely weather today, isn’t it?
Wriothesley: Greetings, my good fellow. I’m willing to imagine that the weather is as good outside the sea as you say it is. Ah, how great it would have been if only the Fortress of Meropide had been built on the coast. It would have been so convenient to enjoy a nice chat in the sunshine.
End ID]
[image ID: screencaps of in-game dialogue from the 4.1 archon quest, reading as follows:
Fitzroy: Ah, Y-Your Grace! Good morning… I mean, good afternoon!... No wait, what time is it again?
Wriothesley: What time indeed. Time waits for no one, so it’s best to keep an eye on it.
Fitzroy: Ah, m-my apologies, Your Grace! *panting*
Paimon: Geeze, that guy’s so nervous he almost forgot to breathe…
End ID]
these interactions kinda make me wanna vom! This isn’t playful teasing, and Wrio knows it—he’s got all the power, and he can wield it as he likes.
Also, knowing that Wrio was once a convict doesn’t make me like him more. He’d only work for me if he was like Roy Mustang—a smug bastard façade hiding a manic drive to tear apart the whole system from the inside, and then himself. But Wrio is the Duke, and little has changed in the Fortress. Class traitor? Die
Also, this is a minor problem compared to the writing issues, but the Fortress is just an awful place to navigate. Why does each elevator only move between two floors, when there are several floors? I should NOT need to turn on sparkle-trail navigation for a single goddamn building. Nightmarish, 4.1 was easily the worst quest in the entire game, bar none.
5) Furina
Furina herself is excellent—she’s one of my new fave characters, and the situation involving her, Focalors, and Neuvillette is insanely tragic and devastating. I’ll give Hoyo props for that one—that scene was insanely well-executed, and Furina/Focalors’ Eng va crushed it.
No, I’m upset with all the writing surrounding Furina.
It all starts going sideways when Traveler tricks Furina into the final trial of the archon quest. I don’t blame them for the situation, of course-- they couldn’t have known that Furina was about to maybe open up, if only they had a bit more time alone. but GOD that betrayal still stung… except the Traveler didn’t seem to agree. they didn’t show any concern for Furina in that moment, or at any point during the trial. But y’know what, fair enough—there are bigger problems than Furina’s feelings in that scene, so I don’t blame them for focusing on the more pressing goal of Fontaine’s safety.
But then they enter Furina’s literal mind. They see her desperately clinging to a mask of confidence, even at her deepest core. They see her scared and alone, frantic for solutions and sacrificing every part of herself for months and years, decades and centuries. They see her tears flowing over and over, desperately trying to cover up the fatal cracks in her façade.
[image ID: a screencap of a scene from the 4.1 archon quest. White text reading, “Scene 182375, Opera House, Furina,” sits on a black background. Hundreds of faint tally marks are scratched into this background, marking the days. End ID]
Traveler sees Furina at her most vulnerable, most broken, and her still caring more for the people of Fontaine than her own health and happiness.
And Traveler has the AUDACITY to demand MORE of Furina. To demand to see the “truth” of Furina’s situation, as if her trauma wasn’t already abundantly fucking clear by that point. Literally, if Furina knew anything else about her “mirror self”, Traveler would have seen it by then-- what do they even want from Furina at that point??
and THEN. after Fontaine is saved, and Furina fucks off to solitude (good for her), and Traveler now has an intimate understanding of Furina’s trauma concerning performance and spectacle… Traveler and Paimon make fun of her situation. Paimon makes fun of Furina’s clear depression meals and lack of life skills like cooking, as if it isn’t extremely fucking obvious WHY she lacks those skills.
And Traveler demands Furina return to the stage.
And when Furina decides that, no, she’d rather not act ever again, Traveler completely ignores her boundaries. Furina literally calls it a boundary that she refuses to cross, and this newfound confidence and self-worth is framed as a problem that needs to be fixed.
Paimon even calls her a “drama queen” for daring to set boundaries.
[image ID: a screencap of dialogue from Furina’s story quest, reading as follows:
Paimon: It’s amazing… even though Furina’s still being a bit of a drama queen about it all, she’s really fired everyone up!
Traveler: I’m really looking forward to the final production.
End ID]
As if it isn’t completely fucking obvious? Why Furina wouldn’t want to play as someone else again? to cover up her own feelings with a mask? to be ogled as a spectacle, an object? To be judged by the harsh gaze of her people?
Hell, even Neuvillette suggests that Furina belongs on the stage, but frankly that’s character assassination, imo. Neuvillette was HORRIFIED when he learned what Focalors did to Furina, and even if he saw the necessity, that doesn’t mean he was happy to learn that a dear friend of his has been suffering so severely for centuries. But anyways.
Furina finally makes a solid decision for herself—no coercion from outside parties, no playing a part-- she makes this decision all on her own, for herself. And the people she’s closest to decide that they know better. They decide that Furina doesn’t know what’s good for herself, and that they should dictate exactly what she needs.
Was 500 years not enough for you people? Was it not enough?? this literally makes me nauseous! It makes me want to burn down all of Fontaine and spit on the ashes! Sorry, Neuvillette, you may forgive Fontaine, BUT I FUCKING DON’T!!
And the real kicker, the true punchline to her “character arc”, is Furina receiving her Vision on stage. The culmination of her core character—her hopes, her passion, her will… is being pressured into playing a role. Again.
What a joke.
6) Melusines
One of my lesser problems with Fontaine, but I consider myself a connoisseur of creatures, and Melusines deeply disappoint.
design
Melusines are supposed to be slug-things, but they just look like toddlers? YAWN, give me real slugs!
Also they look like cutesy toddlers, and they don’t wear pants. Really bad vibes, there
behavior
Melusines have this whole schtick abt not understanding human communication/emotions, but it doesn’t land when they look, act, and talk like tiny humans. When Sigewinne calls me “cute”, it feels weird and infantilizing, because she’s a tiny human calling another human “cute”.
infantilization
speaking of, Genshin has always treated nonhuman objectification and boundaries weirdly (I could say a lot abt how Gorou is treated..), but the treatment of Melusines is especially uncomfortable.
Like, they’re fully autonomous adults that have been alive for hundreds of years, and they’ve made their own underwater town… yet everyone keeps infantilizing them?
Like when Eloffe wants to use Kiara as a model for child clothing
…
[image ID: screencaps of a scene from Neuvillette’s story quest, featuring the short, pale pink Melusine Kiara, and the human Eloffe. The dialogue is as follows:
Eloffe: Hear me out. I’m planning to release an outfit for children next month and wanted to hire you as my model. Is that okay with you?
…
Eloffe: I think light and frilly clothes look best on you. You’d definitely look cute wearing them.
End ID]
for one, this wouldn’t even work bc Melusines have different proportions than humans, but like… why not use an actual child to model child clothes? Why not make clothes for Melusines themselves? Why not ask them what styles they’d like to wear, instead of just assuming? This is kinda rude??
And the worst part is that the Melusines don’t even seem to notice this infantilization—as if they’re so far ‘removed’ from human culture, they don’t realize when they’re being objectified.
[image ID: a continuation of the previous scene, with the following dialogue:
Kiara: I love them too! Especially the soft and fluffy kind…
End ID]
Not gonna lie, it’s creepy!
Slug-girl racism
slug-girl racism is dumb. It’s already dumb when stories do cat-girl racism, so making the characters slugs instead doesn’t make that narrative any more profound. At least the racism is over by the time the story starts, but that was a rly dumb aspect of Neuvillette’s story quest …
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Poisson Spot
read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/u9jeAvr
by wwhand
It's a sunny day in Gotham. Even a shadow has its brightest center.
Words: 1661, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: The Batman (Movie 2022), Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: Gen, M/M
Characters: Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Dory (The Batman Movie 2022)
Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne
Additional Tags: Fluff, Bruce Wayne Acts Like a Sad Wet Cat, Clark Kent is a Ray of Sunshine, Bruce Wayne is Good With Kids, the Wayne manor turned orphanage, Post-The Batman (Movie 2022), Apple Pie
read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/u9jeAvr
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Is this the best April Fool's ever?
The news report was produced as an April Fools' Day joke in 1957, and presented a family in the canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland gathering a bumper spaghetti harvest after a mild winter and "virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil". Footage of a traditional "Harvest Festival" was aired along with a discussion of the breeding necessary to develop a strain to produce the perfect spaghetti noodle length. Some scenes were filmed at the (now closed) Pasta Foods factory on London Road, St Albans, in Hertfordshire, and at a hotel in Castagnola, Switzerland.
Panorama cameraman Charles de Jaeger dreamed up the story after remembering how teachers at his school in Austria teased his classmates for being so stupid that if they were told that spaghetti grew on trees, they would believe it. The editor of Panorama, Michael Peacock, told the BBC in 2014 how he gave de Jaeger a budget of £100 and sent him off. The report was made more believable through its voice-over by respected broadcaster Richard Dimbleby. Peacock said Dimbleby knew they were using his authority to make the joke work, and that Dimbleby loved the idea and went at it eagerly.
At the time, 7 million of the 15.8 million homes (about 44%) in Britain had television receivers. Pasta was not an everyday food in 1950s Britain, and it was known mainly from tinned spaghetti in tomato sauce and considered by many to be an exotic delicacy. An estimated eight million people watched the programme on 1 April 1957, and hundreds phoned in the following day to question the authenticity of the story or ask for more information about spaghetti cultivation and how they could grow their own spaghetti trees; the BBC told them to "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best".
The origins of April Fools Day are not clear but it is known that the tradition of practical joking and mischief-making dates back to Ancient Roman times.
It would appear that the festival is closely related to the coming of Spring.
Ancient Romans and Celts celebrated a festival of practical joking at about the time of the Vernal Equinox, as do millions of India's Hindus.
The French also mark 1 April but instead of April Fools they call it Poisson d'Avril (April Fish).
Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com
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Fish bag by Anya Hindmarch
Raffia crochet, £350
#poisson d'avril#april fool's day#1 april#1er avril#fashion#bag#bags#accessories#ombre#stripes#crochet#raffia#surface pattern#pattern#surface pattern design#pattern design#textiles#textile design#fish#animals#sea creatures#marine life
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The Smile Sad face killer
This is my first ever creepypasta OC. I made him when I was 8, so if the story is a little weird, that is way. Anyway, I hope you like it <3
TW: identity crisis, demon, demon poisson, murder, blood, axe
Word count: 10,792
One fateful day, while sifting through dusty jars in an old lab, Lee unearthed a weathered leather journal. The book's spine cracked and its pages yellowed, but Lee couldn't resist its alluring aura. As he turned the fragile pages, he realized that this wasn't just any old journal; it belonged to the infamous Smile, Sad Face Killer. The handwriting within the pages was eerie and twisted, as if written by a different person entirely. As he began to read, Lee found himself drawn into the tortured mind of the killer, feeling an unsettling mix of revulsion and empathy.
"1/12/99. Everyone here is so nice to me; they didn't make fun of me. There's this guy; I don't know his name because he keeps looking me up and down. I think he likes me. Maybe I could... no, that's stupid. I'll just wait. Maybe he'll talk to me first." Lee's heart sank as he continued to read. The pages were filled with the twisted musings of a tortured soul, detailing the daily struggles and small victories of the Smile Sad Face Killer. He felt a strange sense of connection to this person, as if he were peering into the deepest, darkest corners of their minds. The more he read, the more he realized that the killer was just as much of a victim as their countless victims.
"2/3/99. They said I would get surgery to fix my face. But I don't have any problems with it, or at least I don't think I do. They say it's for my own good that I'll be more beautiful. But I don't want to be beautiful. I just want to be left alone." Lee's brow furrowed as he read these lines. The killer seemed to be struggling with their own identity, grappling with the idea of being "fixed" against their will. He felt a pang of empathy for this lost soul, trapped in a world where they didn't belong. The handwriting on the page grew more erratic, as if the emotions were becoming too much for the killer to contain.
"2/3/99. The guy who keeps looking me up and down said I would look better if I wore more 'revealing clothing' or something. I don't know what that means, but I think it's rude. I don't want to look better; I just want to be me. Why can't they understand that? It's like they all want to change me into something I'm not. Maybe that's why I'm like this. Maybe it's because they never accepted me for who I am. I wish I could just disappear, just fade away into nothingness." The pages continued to chronicle the killer's inner turmoil and their struggles with identity and self-acceptance amidst a world that seemed intent on changing them into someone they didn't want to be. Lee felt a deep sense of sadness well up within him as he read on, his heart aching for the lonely soul trapped within the twisted mind of the Smile Sad Face Killer. He could feel the weight of their suffering pressing down upon him, as if he were the only one who truly understood their pain.
"2/4/99. They fucking ripped off half of my face; they lied to me! I wish I was dead. I wish I never woke up from that dream. Why did they have to do this? I can't even look at myself in the mirror anymore. It hurts so much, and it's not like it's going to help. It's not like anyone's going to love me now. They all just want me to be pretty and perfect. Well, fuck them. I wish they could see what they've done. I wish they could feel this pain." Lee's stomach churned as he read these words. The despair and anger were palpable, almost tangible. He could feel the weight of the killer's suffering pressing down on him. It was as if he were living through this nightmare himself. The journal continued to detail the killer's descent into madness, chronicling their first kill and the twisted justifications they made for it. Lee couldn't help but feel a sense of horror and disbelief as he turned the pages, each new entry more chilling than the last.
"3/1/99. They gave me a mask to hide my face; it has half a smile and half a sad face. They said I would 'look better' and 'I look good in this' mask that hides me. I hate them, I hate this place, and I hate myself. But I don't want to die; I don't want to be alone. So I'll keep going, I'll keep smiling, and I'll keep killing. Maybe then they'll leave me alone; maybe then I'll finally be free." The pages of the journal grew increasingly stained with blood, the ink running like tears. The killer's handwriting became more and more erratic, reflecting the turmoil within their minds. They spoke of the pleasure they found in watching their victims suffer and the relief they felt when they finally took their last breath. The world around them became a blur of pain and confusion as they struggled to maintain their tenuous grip on sanity.
"6/23/99. They won't stop calling me Test 609; my name is Cabal! I can't take it anymore. The voices, the pain, the faces. They all blur together into one endless nightmare. I wish I could just sleep and never wake up. But no, they won't let me die. They keep me alive; they keep me suffering. Why? What have I done to deserve this?" The killer's thoughts spiraled out of control, their handwriting becoming more and more illegible. They spoke of their hatred for the doctors, the nurses, and the orderlies. They dreamt of escaping, of finding a way out of the labyrinthine hospital. But each time they tried, their weakened state made it impossible. They felt like caged animals, trapped in a world that didn't want them to exist.
"8/2/99. There is this demon, and he keeps telling me that if I let him in, he would end all my pain. I don't trust him, though; he makes me feel like if I let him use my body, he will kill people, and I won't be able to control my body." Lee flipped the page, his heart racing as he read the killer's inner turmoil. I can't sleep, and I can't eat. All I can do is think about them and how they look at me. I want them to suffer, just like I do. I want them to feel the pain that they put me through. I want them to know what it's like to be trapped in this body, in this prison."
"8/9/99. The demon keeps talking to me; I can hear it; it's in my dreams now; it won't let me sleep unless I let it in; it says if I let it in, it will end everything; it will end my pain; it will make them suffer for what they did; it will make everything better. I'm so tired; I just want to sleep, but the demon won't let me. It keeps whispering in my ear, and I can't ignore it anymore. I feel like I'm losing control, like I'm not in charge of my own body. It's so hard to think straight and to remember who I am and what they did to me. The demon is winning, and I don't know how much longer I can fight it." The journal entries became increasingly erratic after that date, with incoherent ramblings about the demon and its promises of revenge. Lee could feel the killer's sanity slipping away, their grip on reality growing more tenuous with each passing day. The entries became more violent, with the killer expressing a desire to hurt and kill everyone around them, not just their original victims.
"8/11/99. Who am I? What is my name any more? Is it Cabal or Coco? I don't know any more. The demon has a name; it's name is Darcy, and it tells me that it will help me and that it will make everything better. It says that we can work together and that we can make them suffer. It tells me that it will give me the strength to escape and find my way out of this nightmare. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can feel it inside me, whispering to me and guiding me. It feels so good to finally have someone on my side, someone who understands what I've been through. But at the same time, I'm scared. I'm scared of what it might make me do. I'm scared that I might lose myself completely. I wish there was someone who could help me—someone who could make it all stop. But there isn't. There's just me and Darcy, and the endless cycle of pain and suffering." Lee feels bad for the killer and for the desperate situation they're in. He wonders if there's anything he could do to help or make things better. But he knows that it's unlikely. The hospital is a fortress, and the killer is a prisoner, trapped in their own mind. There's no easy way out of this nightmare.
"8/12/99. The demon is getting stronger; I can feel it. It's taking control more and more, pushing me towards things I know are wrong. It tells me that it will make everything better and that it will help me escape, but I can't shake the feeling that there's something else going on. Sometimes, when it's in control, I feel a cold, dark presence inside me. It's like there's another person living inside my skin, and they're not the person I want to be. I try to fight it, but it's hard. The demon is so powerful and seductive. It tells me that it loves me, that it will always be there for me, and that I don't have to be afraid anymore. But I am afraid. I'm afraid of what it will make me do and what will become of me if I let it win." The killer's desperation is palpable in their words. Lee can feel the weight of their suffering pressing down on him. He wishes there was something he could do to help, but he knows that the hospital is not a place for heroes. He continues to read, hoping to find some clue as to what might be going on inside the killer's head.
"8/13/99. The demon is in control now. It's been hours, maybe even days. Time doesn't mean anything anymore. All that matters is the voice in my head and the whispers that tell me what to do. It's so strong and persuasive. It's like it knows every weakness I have, every fear, and every doubt. It uses them against me, twisting my thoughts and my feelings until I don't even recognize myself anymore. I can feel it changing me, turning me into something dark, cold, and unfeeling. I want to fight it, but I'm so tired. I just want the pain to stop, even if it means becoming something monstrous in the process." The killer's struggle becomes increasingly apparent as Lee reads on. The weight of the demon's influence grows heavier with each passing day, and the killer's grip on reality slips further away. Lee can feel the hopelessness and despair emanating from the pages, and it's a heavy burden to bear.
"8/14/99. Oh god, the blood is everywhere. What happened? I blacked out, and now there's blood on the walls and on my hands. I can't remember. What did I do? I can feel something inside me; it's like this thing—this thing that's not me—it's like it's alive, it's inside my head, and it's making me do things. I can hear it whispering, telling me that it'll make everything better and that it'll protect me from them. But I can't trust it; I can't trust myself. I just want this to stop. I want to go back to before, when I was just a normal person with a normal life. Who am I?"
#my writing#writers on tumblr#beginner writer#creepypasta#creepypasta oc#creepypasta story#tw demons#TW demon poisson#tw blo0d#TW blood#tw axe
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3 related questions:
1. Does Elena like soup ?
2. if so what's her favorite soup ?
3. would she accept this bowl of soup ?
THE SOUP CATTTTTTT!!! CATS AND SOUP NIK!!!! HES SO ADORABLE 😭😭😭😭😭
Elena actually LOVES soup! :)
Her fav is Soupe de Poisson à la Rouille 🤍
She absolutely would accept the soup I mean she might be taken a back abit by Nik being a cat but yk she just expects anything to happen at this point
Maybe ill draw Elena as cat with soup
THIS MADE MY DAY! 🫶🫶🫶
#tysm for the Q!!!#CAT SOUP NIK#HE IS SO ADORABLE#codz#cod zombies#codz oc#cod zombies oc#nikolai belinski#Elena Bellerose
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uhhh anyway. so like yesterday was my first time ever doing story day 1 and i have many Thoughts about the AQ. mostly positive unfortunately my major gripes do relate to the childe/narwhal situation which kinda dampens the overall experience more than any other part being underwhelming would given (gestures in general direction of self). like we all know the multitude of diseases i have on the subject 💀
dunno how much of a complete nonsense rambley writeup thisll be i think i might take some time to sort out my overall thoughts and write sth more coherent specifically on childe/narwhal stuff, maybe leave out some other aspects i have more pointed thoughts on as well so this wont get mega long but eh lets see. this just all kinds of thoughts i have for now And its a mess so Beware
anyway. firstly. as scarred as i am by melus and silver. Its also just. holy shit man theyre truly just straight up tapdancing on teppeis grave like THIS is how you write NPC deaths in an actually emotionally impactful way. dunyarzad was a massive glow up already in terms of NPC writing in general but she didnt die so. but like the way their characters and bond to both callas and navia is built up and how the writers actually managed to make them feel like such dynamic people even if their roles are ultimately quite straightforward made their fates just... genuinely heartbreaking like what the fuck 😭😭😭 AND THE WAY THEY STILL SAVED NAVIA FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE AND SAID THEIR FAREWELLS I JUST. I CANT. i just teared up thinking about it again
idk what could be said about navia that hasnt been said a gigabillion times before like. Wow. she is just. Truly the moment. like she fucking blindsided my ass in 4.0 bc i wasnt expecting anything like how dynamic and compelling and complex her arc and characterization has been like. everything about navia her resolve her grit her experiences and her bravery and stubbornness just feels so incredibly human and raw and she is just? a wonderful character i never foresaw falling in love with her this much like truly. and she delivered JUST as hard in 4.2 too like if it werent for navia being the conduit through which we first experience the devastation of poisson i dont think it wouldve ever hit as hard as it did. i just wanna comfort her shes already been thru so much yet i also admire her insistence to keep going and keep living like man 😭😭😭 give her a happy story quest hoyo idgaf if it gets called shallow or some bs she deserves a break!!!!!
i think some ppl are disappointed by arles relative lack of presence in fontaine overall and while i get that i can genuinely say that its been so fucking refreshing to have an AQ centering on a conflict thats not entirely or mostly fatui based. its not like the weight or intimidation factor of arlecchinos presence has been any lesser just bc shes been largely on the same side as us. like personally i just Really enjoyed seeing her characterization throughout. the way shes been just so reasonable thus far makes me extra excited for whenever she might actually snap (at least hopefully she will). like both childe and scara think shes fucking insane?????? but yea. i also really enjoy arles dynamic with the HoH kids too like. i do think she genuinely cares for them in a way but i highly doubt thats all there is to it. and thats really neat. goes for things like her help to spina di rosula and poisson too; theres definitely strings attached to that aid lmao. even if arle has no particularly malicious designs in mind, shes a harbinger. like cmon. and i really like that!!
i dont have like. that extensive thoughts abt what i call the . uhhh. this is mean but extended cast of act 5 JKJKDWJKDJKAJK like HoH gang, clorinde, sigewinne, wrio. tho i do very much appreciate that clorinde dodged the sara allegations for good like. it was looking a little bit unfortunate in 4.0. her role wasnt super major but i love her english VA and this kind of grounded sort of character she ultimately is. also sigewinne jumpscare during furinas trial i love her so much.
mona n nicoles thing was unfortunately mostly a whateverburger for me bc. im sorry im not that interested in hexenzirkel lmao i feel like such an outlier in any lore discussion circles bc im just not that hype about them (gold is an icon however) idk why. it was neat, it happened, didnt bring any mega hype. what i liked the most was honestly just the talk with mona about destiny and fighting against it and all. she really felt like a friend trying to help us navigate our thoughts on this insane horrible situation going on!!
in terms of plot things uhhh i went in mostly blind? as to the actual events. i had spoiled myself a bit on some specific aspects (my own fault) but ultimately most had no effect on how much i enjoyed everything. also lowering my expectations on the. ahem. worries i had abt childe that unfortunately came true so i was less let down on the spot wjjkajkwdjkwd. my biggest issue was actually that i had to progress lyneys story quest TWO FUCKING TIMES by a pretty notable amount bc it was blocking locations. and that dumbass office drama world quest like i was morbing.
a particular standout moment (beyond the Obvious. i need not name it THE LAUGH THE FUCKING THUMBS DOWN also singed FL can kinda lowkey 100% absolutely get it) for me was when i was so invested in our conversation with furina in poisson and in the magic box that i actually fucking forgor about the whole trap scheme thing even existing and then the box fell open and i was like WAIT WHAT THE FUCK and started laughing for like a solid 5 minutes i was caught so off guard. what an incredible moment. bc like. when the thing we were hiding in w furina started shaking i was just hell yeah narwhal modcheck? narwhal modcheck? bc obviously i would. and didnt question for a second that it could be something else. like the trap we were LITERALLY plotting to set up just a bit earlier it actually killed me. altho the fact that one of the cursed lyney quest situations were in between the scheming scene and the poisson segment prolly had to do with it. anyway it was just really funny
i think this post is gonna take me 287382 years to finish if im gonna go into the like furina character arc situation and her trial and focalors and all that shit super in depth (+ narwhal/skirk things) but like. BELIEVE me i fucking loved it so much like its so awful and painful and horrible and just. best written archon easily. zhongli n venti i think r very well written but theyre p static characters bc oldies so its a bit different. raiden is. inazuma moment no comment needed. nahida is good but tbh i never truly reconciled with the way rukkha getting irminsuled sorta just erased the central conflict behind her inferiority complex so it somewhat ruined her character arc for me even if it did make me cry and i do love her chara overall. but furina i think they executed the whole setup and reveals and everything so incredibly well its insane like. god. 500 years........ and like. the way furinas arc just flops everything uve known about her and the interactions uve had with her sideways and turns it upside down realizing the predicament shes been in and what shes been grappling with. its just incredible man. harrowing but incredible like they truly delivered on that one. like that portion of the finale was just really well done
anyway not all thoughts i have by any means but whatever. ive just been Thinking. overall had a great time with the AQ n cutscenes in particular are only getting better and better, i thiiiiink this one tops sumeru for me? but like its sorta unfair bc i was never a scara stan whereas. even a narratively mishandled narwhal is a fucking world-devouring narwhal. unfair advantage. childe being there at all even if i have my gripes is too much points in favor KJWJKWJKDWDJKJK. theres things that make me really hopeful for the future writing but also things that concern me. so its an interesting situation rn. but im glad it went as ambitious as it did even if my fave got arguably sidelined the most. just hoping they actually do sth more with childe sooner than later if they want to leave all those loose ends unaddressed in 4.2. interlude rights PLEASE
#(cracks knuckles) anyway. hopefully ill have the energy to do some Takes tomorrow.#anyeay this post isnt coherent at all!!! deal with it!!!! HSJSJGK#rambles#genshin#genshin spoilers#4.2 spoilers
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Best Laid Plans (Part 1/8: An Ordinary Day for Logan Sanders) [Sometimes Labels Shift Series]
Fandom: Sanders Sides
Relationships: Virgil & Logan, Virgil & Patton, Virgil & Roman, Logan/Patton
Characters:
Main: Virgil, Roman
Appear: Logan, Patton
Mentioned: Remy, Emile, Janus, Remus
Summary:
Virgil (now) Sanders was once a villain vigilante kid down on his luck. After being injured helping the superhero Bluebird, he ended up being adopted by him and his husband. Logan and Patton Sanders helped Virgil in ways he didn’t even know he needed. Since then, he’s put away his persona of Shadow Caster, the strange, hard to label, super who haunted the city for a few years. Instead he’s opted for being a normal teenager and university student.
But while Logan and Patton often forgot in the midst of ice cream and movie nights and arguments about silly little things who he had been, he never had. And when worst comes to worst, Virgil will be willing to reach for a mask once again despite his fathers’ wishes and expectations.
Sometimes even the best laid plans fail.
This is the sequel to Sometimes Labels Fail and set 3 ywears after it. I highly recommend reading Sometimes Labels Fail before this one. Other stories in this universe are optional, but greatly improve the reading experience. You can check them out here.
Notes: Superhero AU, past child abuse, past child neglect, implied/referenced torture, blood and injury
“Menace.”
It was the first thing out of Logan Sander’s mouth upon spotting the figure leaning casually against his car’s passenger side door in the faculty parking lot.
Said figure had the audacity to lazily glance up from his phone with a small smirk before going back to typing. He had on the touchscreen compatible gloves Patton had gotten him, though aggravatingly he was not wearing a matching pair, but two gloves from different pairs. The right was purple and the left black. Even more aggravatingly, Logan was unsure if this was a purposeful choice for his ‘aesthetic’ or if he simply could not find a matching pair. However, Logan did count his blessings that he was wearing gloves at all. Before the touchscreen compatible gloves, he would often be found with bleeding hands seeing as he had sensitive skin prone to drying out and prioritized texting over skincare. Logan watched the boy finish his text and push send.
Logan’s own phone pinged the next moment. “If that is a goddamned meme, Virgil,” Logan said.
His lovely, amazing, brilliant son gave him an innocent look as he stuck his phone back into his coat pocket. “What’s a meme?”
“Just get in the car,” Logan sighed, unlocking it with his key fob.
As Logan slid into the driver’s seat, both his and Virgil’s phones went off, indicating to him that whatever blight upon the English language Virgil had just concocted had been sent to not only Logan, but to the family group chat.
Logan decided to ignore the amused chuckle Virgil let out when he glanced at his phone in favor of starting the car and beginning to drive. Virgil typed something more and Logan’s phone dinged again.
“Must you add insult to injury?” Logan asked.
“You don’t even know what I wrote!” Virgil said, but the amusement in his tone told Logan everything he needed to know about how intensely he was currently being mocked in the group chat.
“You wasted an entire one of my classes!”
Virgil laughed. “I said the words ‘Poisson integral.’ You wasted an entire one of your classes.”
Logan scoffed and Virgil laughed again.
Virgil had decided to come sit in on one of his classes earlier in the day. It hadn’t been a completely unheard of occurrence since Virgil had moved into the dorms on campus. Virgil enjoyed coming to ‘hang out’ with Logan during his workday. This usually happened during Logan’s office hours, but he would also sometimes stop by a class during his free time on a whim. Usually he was not disruptive, but today he’d apparently decided to be an agent of chaos and had turned up to Logan’s Introductory Ordinary Differential Equations course. Within the first 5 minutes he had managed to completely derail all of Logan’s plans in a way only Virgil and Patton had ever been able to. Logan hadn’t realized how long he’d been talking about harmonic analysis until one of his students had needed to leave to get to their next class on time.
Virgil had said, “You guys are welcome. Try asking him about Schuader Theory the next time you don’t want to take a quiz,” and then left the classroom. Logan had adopted a gremlin.
Virgil was still smiling at his phone and typing when Logan pulled into the parking lot for ‘The Hideout’ and parked next to Patton’s car. Once the car was properly parked, he finally reached for his phone.
More messages had been received in the time it took Logan to make the short drive from his office building to his favorite coffee shop, so he had to scroll up a bit to get to the crux of the situation.
The inciting text was a photo that Virgil had clearly taken himself at some point during the 50 minutes that he had invaded Logan’s classroom. Either Virgil was very talented at taking discreet photos or Logan had been truly distracted, because he did not remember said photo being taken, yet it was of high quality. In the picture, Logan was standing at the chalkboard. Virgil, a budding action photographer, surely, had managed to catch him at a moment where his glasses had slid slightly down his nose and become crooked. He was in the middle of pointing at a messily drawn circle (which he had later used to explain a concept) in a fairly enthusiastic manner.
The picture was captioned, “Father Explaining the Chore Wheel” and there was an emoji sticker in the corner of a face with its tongue sticking out.
Logan’s husband had sent back a cat with its mouth open in such a way that it appeared to be laughing. Either Patton or the person he’d sourced the image from had drawn tear drops near the sides of its eyes to further illustrate the point that the feline was amused.
Logan was not amused. He looked over at his son who was clearly waiting gleefully for the reaction to his misdeeds. “Run,” Logan said, and oh did he listen. He full-on bolted out of the passenger seat and made to dash towards The Hideout’s door. His retreat reminded Logan very much of their dog Missy’s reaction to Logan attempting to regain one of his socks from her.
When he was certain his son could not see it, he cracked a small smile and shook his head before sticking his phone into his pocket and following the boy inside.
He opened the door just in time to see Virgil make his last dodge around the other patrons to latch onto Patton.
“What’s this?” Patton asked, his voice bemused as he returned the hug.
“Save me!” Virgil responded.
Patton looked up as Logan marched across the room. “Logan, are you attacking our poor innocent child again?” Patton asked. His eyelashes were fluttering in the way that told Logan he knew exactly what was going on.
Logan narrowed his eyes at him. “You are also in trouble for the cat picture.”
“Am I?” he asked mildly. His hand rubbed up and down Virgil’s arm absently as though to warm him, probably feeling the chill from him standing outside in the cold waiting for Logan since the short ride had not given the car’s heater time to warm up.
Logan shook his head at the two, feeling fondness crack through any real or feigned ire. He leaned over to give his husband a kiss on the cheek. “Your son is getting decaf coffee today as he certainly already has too much energy,” he said near Patton’s ear. Since Virgil was still latched onto the man’s other side, he easily overheard.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Virgil hissed.
“I’ll buy you caffeinated coffee, baby,” Patton promised.
“Patton, we are supposed to provide a united front when parenting,” Logan reminded him.
“Aw, but look at his face,” Patton said, turning to squeeze Virgil’s cheeks between his palms. “How could I ever not give in to that face? Sorry, Logan. You’re going to be parenting all on your own.”
“I’m buying you the tuna sandwich,” Logan told him, turning away to head towards the cash register.
There was an affronted gasp from behind him that made the corners of his mouth curl up. “No!”
The owner’s daughter, Sadie, smiled at him as he approached, not a stranger to Logan and his family by any means. This was an ordinary day for Logan Sanders.
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Part 2
Labeled Master Post.
My Masterpost.
#sanders sides#virgil sanders#roman sanders#patton sanders#logan sanders#logicality#platonic analogical#platonic moxiety#platonic prinxiety#adriana writes#not pieces fic#labeled universe#sometimes labels shift#best laid plans#past child abuse#past child neglect#implied/referenced torture#blood and injury
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Texts and Relative Documents in Supply
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/f9IQonl
by DemDifferentStories
Rose Tyler has always taken note of the blue door on the strip of shops near her job at Henrick’s, but has never had a chance to step inside. But when she needs to get away from her abusive boyfriend for the night, it’s the only place that’s open, and she befriends the eccentric owner, Doctor John Smith (scientist by day, bookshop owner by night).
As she starts to visit his little shop, he begins to learn that Rose is a wonderfully intriguing creature, and she tries to keep her dark secrets hidden from her newfound friend.
Words: 4555, Chapters: 1/11, Language: English
Series: Part 1 of TARDIS Bookstore
Fandoms: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Categories: F/M
Characters: Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who), The Doctor (Doctor Who), Rose Tyler, Jimmy Stone (Doctor Who), Donna Noble, Jack Harkness, Jackie Tyler, Jeanne Antoinette Poisson
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler, Jimmy Stone/Rose Tyler
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Friends to Lovers, Abusive Relationships, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Secrets, Books, The Doctor Loves Rose Tyler, Rose Tyler Loves the Doctor, Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Pining, Mutual Pining, book clubs, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Major Character Injury, Injury Recovery, Trauma, Healing, Anxiety, Medical Procedures, Fear, Protective Doctor (Doctor Who), Human Doctor (Doctor Who), Drunkenness, Love Confessions, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Doctor Who References, Strangers to Lovers, Bonding, Friendship, Romantic Friendship
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/f9IQonl
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