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chibivesicle · 7 months

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Kekkai Sensen character clothing colors continued

I've been under the weather with epically bad seasonal allergies and a busy few weeks of work on top of deciding to draw and write for fun. Oh, and working on my Daniel Law cosplay for the future. Anyhoo, I'm back to thinking about clothing colors and outfits in KKSS and of course I'm stuck on my man, Daniel. Which might be less about clothing colors and more about the fact that he's got different outfits compared to the rest of the cast.

The most common look and appearance for Daniel Law is from the anime as shown here.

He has his dark brown hair, white dress shirt, red tie, brown suit and tan coat.

In the same episode we later see him kicking back at the office with his messy desk without the coat but still wearing the rest of the drab brown suit. I still want to know how smoking is still allowed in offices and he's got his own ash tray at his desk, where we see the smoke rising up in the entire scene from every angle.

Later on when he appears in season two, he still maintains the same look, tan coat, red tie, white shirt and brown suit.

This is most famously highlighted in the OP where he's on the fire escape here looking at the camera while the rest of the police are not.

He really got the short end of the stick in season two; despite being in the OP and ED (standing near Steven in the ED beyond the yellow police tape) he had one scene in the background looking disgruntled as they arrest the men Steven froze. I'm guessing he's on the phone with Steven or something to that effect.

Of course he shows up in the finale only to yell at Libra that they are finally there still wearing the same outfit.

All of the above scenes except for the Get the Lock Out bit (where he isn't even in the manga chapter) are from the KKSS volumes 1-10. Interestingly, when he's introduced in the manga, Daniel has a light colored tie, both with the policesuits and during his formal introduction through Steven and Klaus.

I guess we are to retroactively interpret this tie to be likely light green since he'll sport one much later in Back 2 Back.

One thing I noticed while reading Back 2 Back was the fact that his suit and tie colors were different depending on the arc.

For the Noctova Smile arc, Daniel sports his most popular look (based on fanart) the pinstripe waistcoat and pants. We first get a look at his pants under his signature coat when he tells Steven to get back to Klaus as he leaves the crime scene.

Later on we get many panels of him at the precinct wearing this waistcoat which save for one page is dark so I'm going to go with red tie. By far this is his best outfit and I refer to it as his outfit upgrade.

The next few stories settle on a mismatched suit pants combination. It is most obvious in the My Life as a Doc chapters.

I guess this is a light brown suit jacket with dark brown pants and a red tie? We also see this in the dead lynx short chapter with Brody & Hummer, as well as Neyka and Patrick's backstory chapter with Guinness.

When the final story of Back 2 Back starts, the Calamity Auction arc, Daniel is back to wearing a light brown suit and red tie. This is likely to contrast with his brother Marcus appearing for the first time with an actual name since his introduction in the background of Bloodline Fever/chapter 5.

Marcus is show back at the precinct wearing a white dress shirt, light green tie and his firearm holster.

This also gets back the the point that I keep thinking about - does Daniel even carry a gun in the story for the most part? Sure he shoots at Nightow in the omake; yet we only see him pull his gun on the auction house manager when he's under arrest with plenty of support. Which makes Daniel's own gun pointless to aim at him.

Adding into the mix was the manga color chapter here after the official introduction of Marcus.

An interesting thing to note is that in the full color page, Daniel is wearing black oxfords which are clear if you have the acrylic stand. Here we have Marcus in a medium grey suit with red tie while Daniel has a purple-grey one with the light green tie. Or perhaps, Marcus is wearing a sort of navy suit which would be the most popular and easiest.

The only signature aspect of Daniel's look are the following; tan coat, white dress shirt and a tendency to wear earth tones, the brown and purple-grey (stone?) sort of color above. He's got a mix of red and green ties just like his brother. Perhaps, the scenes where he's got the darker pants color is when he's wearing this purple-grey suit? There are a few shots of him with dark shoes which may be black instead of brown.

We sort of have to wing it, so I'll go with Daniel either having brown or a possible purple-grey suit.

Brown - this is seen as a classic suit color and one that had the additional vibe of a person being honest, humble, approachable etc. When thinking about Daniel's character, I feel that he's almost honest to a fault - when Luciana Estevez prevents him from entering the hospital to make an arrest he expresses is discontent with a kick to the pipe as well. He's got that scruffy hardworking vibe that he's not trying to impress anyone and instead means business.

Grey-purple - it is hard to determine where this color falls; I'm just putting it under the general darker grey category. It has a warm undertone and would be very practical. Professional but not over the top.

Pinstripes - the Noctova Smile arc was the one time Daniel was sporting pinstripes which are a very formal and power play for menswear. This makes sense since he was the head of the operations to take the object outside of HL via police escort. Additionally, this was a chapter where Daniel was incredibly confident with his plan and back up plans. You couldn't help but feel sorry for him as even his intricate plans did not work out. In his defense he didn't include Curious showing up . . . Return of his pinstripe outfit when Nightow?

White dress shirt - the most classic and practical thing to chose. So, very much Daniel. I could see him rationalizing it based on the fact if it gets dirty, he'll just bleach it. Really, you can't go wrong with white and it works well with brown suits.

Red tie - a clear power color. Shows that he's in charge and fits with his personality to quickly get people to move to action. This is quite obvious across media and styling especially in the States.

Green tie - a confident color. Another example where Daniel is demonstrating that he knows what is happening and competent. I don't think it leans towards the concepts of envy or jealousy. Apparently, much more popular in the UK than the States. Which, now that I think about it, green isn't really a thing in the States. I personally, feel the green is also more youthful; maybe Daniel is trying to compensate for his exhaustion?

Tan coat - classic detective garb in American media. This garment goes back to film noir and detective stories of the early twentieth century. Daniel (and Marcus) are simply more examples of characters who are visually identified by this obvious clothing silhouette. The cigarette adds to his classic detective appearance and the only thing missing is a fedora honestly. However, I don't think that most men have such cinched waists as seen with Daniel. The exact style of his coat also varies from time to time. It could be variability in the artwork (most likely) but I like to think with all of the crazy shit in HL, that's how many coats he goes through in the line of duty.

Anime Daniel is considerably stockier as well as shorter when compared with his appearance in the manga. He is also notoriously slouchy in the manga, making him have posture that is as bad as Steven's. The tight waist is not a part of his character design and they really went with very drab colors besides the red tie. I'd be curious to know what the decision was to change that aspect of his appearance. Hell, I've always been curious why the made Steven's suit charcoal instead of light grey.

Interestingly, the color which is never associated with Daniel is blue - either the classic navy blue or even a more blue-blue. I feel that we might get Marcus wearing navy blue in the future. Hell, it might be sort of what he's wearing in the color panel a navy blue suit with red tie is just classic, lazy, American male power look.

Whatever the color is, it is clear that Daniel does not wear blue. I feel that his color palette is earth tones that are warm. It shows that he's serious, confident and capable but approachable. With a slight issue of getting mouthy or hot-headed when people do things he thinks are really bad ideas. I would guess, Daniel shows that he's somewhat unconventional and doesn't try to default to looking how people expect him to. Instead, he's got a clear retro vibe showing he likely isn't one to follow any sort of trends. He makes his fashion statement with his coat not his suits or ties for the most part. All in all, I think his style choices are deliberate to make sure he looks decent. Yet, at the same time not putting to much effort into it for fear someone would judge him as shallow or vain.

Anyways, that's all I've got on this for now.

#kekkai sensen #kekkai sensen meta #kekksai sensen manga #lieutenant daniel law #daniel law #assistant inspector daniel law #blood blockade battlefront meta #blood blockade battlefront anime #character color choices

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abigail-nicole · 1 year

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tgcf liveread, part 4

archiving my live-reading of Heaven Official's Blessing, the best danmei and one of the most enjoyable novels I ever read, officially translated and available legally now from Seven Seas publishing, featuring Fearless Zen Himbo Xie Lian and Sexy Angry Calamity Everyone Is Afraid Of Hua Cheng. this finishes out book 1 and starts book 2

originally live-tweeted on 3/29/2020

Is actually adorable that the heavenly officials are like “we respect that you’re friends with hua cheng”

baby Xie Lian loves swings.....adorable....

Sad? Try jumping into the first well you see

Oh no going to see his parents graves!?????? I’m dying a little

QI RONG YOU DISRESPECT MOM XIE????????? HES GONNA KILL YOU

Oh my god THIS is where we end book one ??????? NIGHTMARE

Thank god I’m not actually waiting for a chapter & can jump into book two immediately!

BOOK TWO :

IS THIS GONNA BE ANOTHER MDZS LEVEL FLASHBACK MY TINY HEART DOESN’T WANT THAT

Xie Lian, With some Dramatic Timing,

I often read books really fast bc dramatic tension makes me nervous & i need to know what’s going to happen. Because getting too invested in a thing with a sad ending kills me!! So a spoiler that a story has a sweet happy ending INCREASES MY ENJOYMENT OF A BOOK

Young Qi Rong more annoying than green ghost qi rong

any time someone has one eye covered in gonna jump in screaming WE KNOW WHO HAS ONLY ONE EYE

WAIT AFTER THIS WHOLE SCENE THERES JUST THAT ONE PARAGRAPH i mean i know well get more later but ummmmmnmm FEELINGS MUCH

Xie Lian, stand up comedian

I read this passage to my spouse who was shocked & said “I THOUGHT THIS WAS A ROMANCE NOVEL” and then I said “OH SO ROMANCE NOVELS CAN’T HAVE BIG THOUGHTS ABOUT THE STATE OF THE WORLD?”

and continued “JUST BECAUSE MOST NOVELS THAT ENGAGE WITH PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS HAVE HETEROSEXUAL ROMANCE DOESNT MEAN THAT CANT HAPPEN WITH HOMOSEXUAL ROMANCE TOO”

I’m sorry I said Xie Lian was a himbo

just kidding the inability to see outside of moral imperatives is the mark of a himbo. also I love & appreciate himbos

These flashbacks are really illustrating Xie Lian’s character growth over 800 years. That’s some Good Writing

A ONE EYED CHILD WHO KEPT A SHRINE TO XIE LIAN???? YOU SAY????

My tiny heart clenches up

Xie Lian to Hua Cheng: yeah when I was young & stupid I once told someone to keep living for me hahahaha isnt that dumb

Hua Cheng: (four side eye emojis)

Watching Xie Lian lose control and realize how powerless he is ..... that’s rough, buddy

When i call heroes “dumb babies” and say there are only Villains and Dumb Babies..... this is exactly what i mean

The Hero is The Fool pass it on

I hate reading scenes where things systematically go to shit in every single way ........ reading with one eye closed, turning pages hurriedly, like waiting for the monster to pop out in a scary movie....

READING WITH ONE EYE CLOSED AHHHHHH TOO MUCH TRAGEDY. Closing doors to refugees struggling who need help & punishing them for seeking aid? TOO MUCH LIKE REAL LIFE

This is Too Real For 2020

Dumb Baby

Growing up is rough

Book 2; in conclusion,

WHITE CLOTHED CALAMITY APPEARS

yes the refugee killing was too real for 2020 & then a plague appeared

their first fight together omg and he’s like...... you should get a scimitar.....a cute one.....

ghklcdukbj ffl lolololol i was NOT expecting this land of the tender scene

NOW THERE’S A PANDEMIC IN THE NOVEL???? THIS IS TOO REAL

THANK GOD IM DONE WITH BOOK TWO

I’m so excited to be done with book two i’m gonna make myself some nice tea. Then read some Older Wiser Less Upset Xie Lian. As a treat

I’ve never been so happy to have Qi Rong back

Ling Wen deserves BETTER

ID PRAY TO YOU

I would PAY MONEY to watch “The Red Demon Burnt The Temples of Thirty-Three Gods And Not Even The Heavens Could Do Shit”

“Wait this wasn’t as gay as this in real life.......well.....okay maybe it actually was”

THREE THOUSAND!!!!! I JUST SCREAMED TO MY EMPTY LIVING ROOM

but oh honey you know that’s going to make your boyfriend uncomfortable i know you wanna piss off all the heavenly officials but

Pei Ming is like I DON’T NEED A PLAY TO TELL ME WHEN FLIRTING IS HAPPENING I CAN SPOT FLIRTING BETTER THAN ANYONE

He just wants to be debt free and has a side gig: Xie Lian is the God of Millennials

Grudge Fetus and Xie Lian's Cross Dressing (second for this novel) Exorcism continued in next part!

#tgcf #tgcf liveread

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crowning-art · 2 years

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TGCF SPOILERS

-------------------------------------------------------

WHAT?

WHAAT?

LOL is this in even possible?? Can someone roll their eyes out of anger???

Fu Yao was going to roll his eyes from anger. “THEN WHY DON’T YOU LET ME GO SO I CAN TRY, HUH??”

Lol It looks like Xie Lian unknowingly brought down the three tumors (I mean if it counts that Pei Su brought Pei Ming down), unless Pei Ming has smt else?? That's kinda funny lol

no wait

it's not T-T (Wind master my beloved, I think of you every day)

Wait nooooo, wdym???//

Fu Yao puffed a laugh from exasperation and cut him off. “That’s enough! It’s not like no one knows of the personal grudges between you two. Help him investigate? Would he even have the chance to flip this around then? If you want to use this chance to drag him down and laugh at him, just say so instead of acting all fake.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN? THIS IS SO SAD, WHY WOULD U HAVE A GRUDGE T-T I thought Mu Qing stood by him when Xianle fell qflkfnekfj Im so sad WHY DID HE LEAVE

Lmao, I love this, like just imagine a nicely dressed toddler going off at a heavenly official and the official is LOSING lol

Fu Yao glanced at him and taunted, “‘Kid’?”

Hua Cheng returned his respects and mocked back, “‘Junior Official’?”

Fu Yao’s face dropped slightly.

Lmao This was golden

Someone like Mu Qing, even though he’s narrow-minded, petty, sensitive and skeptical, has a bad personality, constantly guessing, doesn’t say nice things, likes to nag, always offending people and has a lot of people who dislike him, has no friends, can remember small, unimportant details for a long period of time…”

“...”

Xie Lian went on in one breath with a straight face, but in the end he concluded with, “...But I’ve known him since we were kids, after all, he’s still got principles.”

“...”

Xie Lian continued, “He might spit in the cup of someone he doesn’t like, but he would never poison the water to harm others.”

“...”

Hua Cheng commented flatly, “Really? That’s still gross though.”

Fu Yao was popping veins. “NO! He would never spit either!”

“Laxatives then,” Xie Lian said.

ok, at this point, if any big reveal happens, it means someone we already know (AND MAY LOVE) will be brought down. In this case..

WHAT THE FU

WHAT THE FUUUU

FIRST OF ALL, FENG XIN WAS MARRIED?? OR ATLEAST IN A RELATIONSHIP???? WHAT IS THIS????

ok in retrospect I should have seen this coming since he had such an aversion to women which means there's obvi some backstory

AND THEN

THE FREAKING FETUS CHILD IS HIS SON???? HE IS THE DAD? WHAT IN GOD'S NAME???? IM REEELING ILFBWILBFILWBF I DIDNT SEE THIS COMING FROM A MILE AWAY???

WRONG??/

WRONG???

I WASNT EVEN CLOSE

OH GOD I WAS SO IGNORANT, SUCH A FOOL BACK THEN GOD THIS IS SUCH A DISASTER, A TRAIN WRECK, AND I DONT EVEN KNOW FOR WHO

what happens to my fengqing ship now :(

Jun Wu, why u being so creepy? Lmao Hualian having a moment and he's just sitting in the corner lol. Plz knock

Ouch...

Xie Lian had long understood that leading people and leading armies wasn’t something he was good at.

Lol why can't Hua Cheng just end the slaughtering himself? Like the final ghost from the 'kiln'. I mean he will be in control once the slaughtering starts, right? and it won't benefit him to have another supreme anyway.

I mean if he does still go out of control, then nvm lol

HE'S SO CUTE

Xie Lian was amazed watching this. He leapt up lightly, hopping out of the window. As he stood among the field full of little earth mounds, it gave him the illusion of being a giant looking down below.

Wow, ok things are gonna go down so fast now, if Jun Wu does end up going to finish the final ghost and Xie Lian is put in charge. I mean how much more messier can it get?

wait no.

Nvm.

It can get worse -_-

NEW INFO

So white-clothed calamity was the worst of the four???? so much so that Jun Wu had to kill him himself???? BRO WHAT DID HE EVEN DO?? AND HOW BAD DID IT GET THAT JU WU HAD TO GET PERSONALLY INVOLVED???

Curious to see what Hua Cheng is gonna recommend as an alternative (and interesting that he's suggesting it, I guess it might be cuz he doesn't want Xie Lian involved with such a messy place as the upper court. Like it was pretty messed before many people were brought down, so who knows how much worse it is)

Also, at this rate, I'm gonna run out of shocked face gifs to add cuz of how many times I need to use them lol

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven's official blessings spoilers #heaven’s official blessings #tgcf spoilers #xie lian #jun wu #hua cheng #feng xin #tgcf journey #ch 140-142 #what a mess

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curiosity-killed · 3 years

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hua cheng, the accidental person

okay this is for @bodhimcbodeface because i can’t shut up and make this concise enough for discord. spoilers ahead yeehaw

this is...not comprehensive. i’ve written 11 tgcf fics and am generally a bit fixated on Hua Cheng as a character so. there’s definitely things missing but i tried to hit the main points that i thought of while writing? also obviously this is just my interpretation! i do not expect anyone else to be like “ah yes curio the sage is so correct i have changed my thinking on this” like go live your life with your own versions of hua cheng! this is just the hill upon which i have firmly planted myself and from which i refuse to be budged. as u do.

anyway, LONG explanation of my very niche and very uh self-indulgent, not-necessarily-support-by-canon hua cheng apologism LMAO

tl;dr: (this is really Too Long i’m sorry) I think Hua Cheng reluctantly becomes a person during his 800 years of searching, starting from a point where he views Xie Lian not as a person but as an immutable god and focus of devotion and developing into a person who doesn’t really acknowledge that he’s a person because realizing that you want to live and do things for yourself is scary and overwhelming at times, and he ultimately falls in love with Xie Lian during the novel itself as he recognizes and is in wonder of the humanity of Xie Lian instead of his divinity or absolute judgment.

POINT 1: Hua Cheng doesn’t actually fall in love with Xie Lian till the ox cart

but curio! you say, “my beloved!” he calls him his beloved! and the land of tender!!

shhh. IMO Hua Cheng is more Wuming than Hua Cheng for those 800 years. By which I mean, for most of that time he’s, at his heart, a nameless soldier trying to find and serve his crown prince/general/god. He still views Xie Lian as this perfect and immaculate figure—a sculpture, a painting, a work of art that is untouchable and immutable. And he’s utterly and wholly devoted to that figure but devotion is not the same as love

So Hua Cheng is searching and trying to serve Dianxia all these years and then His Royal Highness finally ascends and is a god again and Hua Cheng shows up in all his glory to give this power and strength and wealth to serve him and—

and he’s met not by a powerful and reckless martial god or an unstoppable calamity but by a young man dressed in bridal robes who lets Hua Cheng lead him up a darkened mountain, who doesn’t lash out with spiritual energy or a sword but instead, only eventually, with the cursed bandage he was carrying back in the darkest part of his life.

and i think that throws hua cheng. like he’s had this image of his god all these years, this divine painting made over and over and over again—and he carries that belief and devotion with him, but there’s a crack in the sculpture and the stone is starting to flake off to reveal a human underneath it

so he puts on an approachable, malleable, unassuming skin and finds xie lian collecting scraps and being a lil awkward, a lil bumbling, generous and kind — and i think hua cheng, after 800 years of knowing everything, having everything — I think he looks at this discovery with wonder

Bc tbc this does not mean Hua Cheng views them as equals. For him it’s like, dianxia has even more to him, is even more than I knew. He’s seen Xie Lian as the flower crowned martial god in all his glory and as the white-clothed calamity in all his horror — and now here he is, wonderful, multitudinous, and human

Meanwhile I don’t think Hua Cheng even views himself as a person really, much less a human.

also i mean. the internet & allo ppl prove time and time again that you don’t need love for horniness so. land of tender’s right out as proof on that

POINT 2: The Live For Me thing

so obviously and undeniably, using one person as a reason for living is....not healthy. Not going to argue that. but my take on it personally is that, when Hua Cheng’s a kid who really, actively wants to die and sees no reason for living, Xie Lian gives him a reason to keep going. he doesn’t have to live for himself—that’s too much, that’s too big of an ask—but he’s been given a command and purpose by the one person who’s been kind to him/whom he respects. it’s a little like... “My life has no meaning but my cat needs me to feed him and clean his litterbox and so I need to keep getting up and taking care of him even if I don’t see a larger intrinsic purpose to my life.”

and i think like...it’s easy to forget that for all of books 2 & 4, Hua Cheng is young. He doesn’t live past 18—he’s still like...a kid. And that’s not to say that teenagers/young adults can’t make moral and rational decisions but I’m going to be honest, when I was that age I contemplated joining the Air Force because of tuition assistance and the snazzy uniform despite the fact that I was a vocal pacifist and repeatedly got into arguments with teachers about school rules and conservative politics. It’s not like. The Most Rational and Mature Age, lbr.

so Wuming is absolutely capable of looking at what Xie Lian is doing and being like “hey maybe war crimes aren’t a great idea” but he is young and traumatized and the one person he believes in, the one person who gave him a reason to keep going, is deadset on this task which tbh I don’t think either of them (or...necessarily...the society in which they live) views as war crimes in the modern sense (which isn’t to say that we as readers should view it any more lightly bc i think the narrative directly and firmly contradicts that idea) but as revenge, as an eye-for-an-eye. so, bad, but character-wise, I think it’s more nuanced than we sometimes consider

anyway back to the fixation on xie lian. i stand by the assertion that in those 800 years, hua cheng wasn’t exclusively focused on xie lian. like was finding and serving him his top priority? oh god yes. undeniably. there is no other version of this story. BUT eight hundred years is like....a lot of time. and i think in that time he started doing things for himself, even if under the guise of serving xie lian. hua cheng is curious and adventurous—he clearly likes to learn even if he plays it off as nbd—and i think he starts to realize that about himself in those centuries even if he doesn’t allow himself to acknowledge or consider it.

POINT 3: Mt. Tong’lu in General

“okay, sure but what about the thousands of sculptures and murals of xie lian, curio. what the fuck about them.”

Yeah. FINE. okay we will DEAL with this. dealing with this is the entire reason i wrote “(like i do) in the tall grass.”

disclaimer: this is probably not supported by canon! i also. Do Not care. My Ghost King Now.

so I have two general avenues I take with this:

going back to the devotion > love — when Hua Cheng reaches MTL, he’s seen xie lian beaten and cast down. what do gods need to survive? worship! we see throughout how important divine statues/portraits/etc. are throughout canon. in this interpretation, the cave is a concentration of all that worship in an effort to support and serve xie lian and hua cheng doesn’t view himself like...as part of it. the sculptures could have been carved by any hand so long as they are xie lian and the worship and devotion that goes into their making can support and bolster him.

my personal favorite version: amNESIA IN THE CAVES —okay i don’t have the text pulled up rn but y’know how Guoshi says Hua Cheng was almost dispersed, in terrible condition, etc., when he reached Mt. Tong’lu. so if baby boy is in terrible condition, barely hanging on, etc., then my immediate favorite option is that he doesn’t, at that time, have even the...uh threadbare sense of self he did in life/as Wuming and is running on only a vague and urgent sense of Something driving him—something he has to do, someone he has to serve—and in that case, the paintings and sculptures are part of his trying to piece together and process his memories as he can grasp them and figuring out who he is/what his purpose is. Is this canonical? PROBABLY NOT. and yet here i am. firmly planted on this hill

Also w/ MTL I think a thing that’s often skated over is the mortals, creation of E’ming, and his ascension. Which is important from a meta lens of Hua Cheng and Xie Lian vs Jun Wu but that’s not the point of this rambling monstrosity and i’m trying not to get too distracted. ANYWAY I think this is one of those times when Hua Cheng does something that he would probably excuse as like “well His Highness would’ve wanted me to” or “His Highness wouldn’t have been willing to sacrifice the mortals” because Xie Lian is still largely his moral compass—but it also is a peek at the complexity Hua Cheng doesn’t acknowledge within himself.

uh i got distracted anyway and no longer know what point i was making here. Hua Cheng Ascension Important....maybe i will remember this at some other point...

POINT 4: Live For Me (Revisited)

I sort of got distracted writing that point but anyway coming back to it now: I maintain that although Hua Cheng’s primary pursuit is protecting and serving Xie Lian he also does develop/realize his Accidental Personhood throughout his 800 years. this includes a lot of things, as previously stated, that are under the guise of serving Xie Lian (I’d put learning the Banyue tongue, finding out about the Gilded Banquet, collecting swords, beating the 33 officials etc., in this category) and things that maybe could be but...are not really (e.g., his friendship alliance with He Xuan, Paradise Manor* in general, the Gambling Den, learning the Wuyong tongue, bullying Qi Rong*, bullying FengQing*, playing with gold foil palaces, etc.)

(*these are ones that like...could be said to be for Xie Lian and I think he might say are for Xie Lian but also have a personal element that is just for him.

Like yes Paradise Manor is a lavish and well-stocked residence fit for a god or crown prince...but it’s also a luxurious and extravagant collection of all the things he couldn’t have in life. it’s like giving a kid a credit card with no limit and letting them run wild through uh. Fuck. A Fancy Department Store.

And sure Qi Rong was awful and turned on Xie Lian in pretty damning ways, but I also genuinely think part of Hua Cheng’s grudge with him is from the childhood abuse and from just...hatred that Qi Rong is around and looks like Xie Lian and gets to be there when Hua Cheng can’t find Xie Lian (which is about Xie Lian but for Hua Cheng).

Similarly with FengQing, sure a lot of his hate is for them abandoning Xie Lian—but he doesn’t even know till Book 3 when they abandoned him, and consider how much more he hates Mu Qing, the guy he blames for kicking him out of the army, etc. Some of it is totally “in service” to Xie Lian but some of it is because Hua Cheng carries a grudge like a goddamn pro and finds catharsis in beating the shit out of immortals who bounce back and can’t stop tripping over themselves and onto his blade.)

#hua cheng #tgcf #tgcf meta #long post #i'm sorry i cannot be concise or clear with my thoughts :<#this is why i write fic #bc i can just mash these interpretations through prose and then they turn out more clearly #....i think #i hope anyway bc this sure as fuck isn't that clear

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ravioxhilda · 3 years

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Hello everyone! I have written a version of the Champions’ Ballad but with a Miphvali twist. I hope you enjoy this version of the Champions’ Ballad!

Today was a day of celebration, a day of hope for all of Hyrule as those who had been chosen to defend the kingdom against Calamity Ganon would be gathering to be honored by the King himself.

He had summoned the four Chosen Ones to officially appoint them not only as the Champions of Hyrule but also publicly recognize them as the pilots of the four Divine Beasts.

It was a show of triumph and that even against their greatest enemy, they would prevail and win the war.

At least, that’s what was written in the summons that the Royal Messengers had delivered to Revali, Mipha, Urbosa, and Daruk all across the land.

Mipha, Urbosa, and Daruk had accepted the summons graciously and immediately began making preparations to travel to Central Hyrule for the inauguration ceremony.

Revali, however, had rolled his eyes and dismissed the Messenger with a halfhearted promise he would attend.

Which was true, he would attend, though he wasn’t exactly thrilled to be presented and paraded like a trophy in front of so many, especially to a King who he barely felt loyalty to, and when he could be training instead.

Nevertheless, Revali had soon finished packing what sparse materials he would need for traveling to survive this short trip, triple-checked there were enough arrows in his quiver, and flew off from his peaceful home in the mountains towards Central Hyrule, with a small group of Rito Warriors in tow to represent the village alongside him.

It had taken only about half the day for Revali to reach Hyrule Castle with only a few breaks from flying to eat to regain energy while resting his wings.

The area around it was mainly flat open plains with some forests, as well as scattered Hylian settlements and stables.

However, the roads that snaked throughout the entirety of the region were packed with travelers, either on foot or by cart, though Revali felt he would be ill just by the sheer amount of people there were.

He could also see those from other races arriving as well as he approached Hyrule Castle.

Gorons were rolling in from the direction of Death Mountain and Eldin, with Daruk in the lead standing out with his rather large beard and boisterous laughter.

The Gerudo arrived on horseback from what Revali could assume was the direction of the desert, Urbosa riding in front, the spokes of her golden headdress sparkling in the sun, signifying her position as Chief of the Gerudo.

Finally, there were the Zora, arriving from the waters of the rivers surrounding Central Hyrule, and even though Revali had sharp eyesight, he could still barely make out Mipha standing tall, her elaborate jewelry shining in the sunlight as she led her people to Hyrule Castle.

It had seemed that the other three had been chosen and invited to the Castle as well, though it did not surprise Revali in the least. He had suspected for some time now that the King would do something to honor them as Pilots of the Divine Beasts, but this whole gathering was certainly over the top from what he could tell.

Mipha looked above from where she was walking to see Revali and a small group of Rito following behind them, though she could recognize him anywhere with his navy blue plumage. It stood out quite nicely from the more muted browns of his countrymen against the clear pale blue sky.

She thought back to her home, Zora’s Domain, where her father and younger brother had decided to stay behind to keep watch over the Domain, instead sending along a small entourage of Zora to accompany her to Hyrule Castle.

How she missed Sidon’s chubby red cheeks and the way he wandered about, his head-tail that was much too long for his small body trailing behind him.

She giggled at the thought of her little brother trying to figure out where she had gone, as she had come to find out that whenever she was away he ran around the Domain asking anyone who would listen where his big sister had gone.

Of course, any Zora would listen to their baby Prince, even if he hadn’t been royalty, and would stall him long enough so that a Guard could come to retrieve him and take him back to King Dorephan.

While it pained Mipha to be away from home for so long so often, it was necessary to ensure the safety of her people by working together with the Pilots to drive back Calamity Ganon’s forces, though her true duty had yet to be fulfilled.

“Good afternoon, Princess.”

Mipha looked up to see that Revali and the Rito accompanying him had landed next to the Zora marching in place and joined in with them.

Revali fell into step beside her, his armor reflecting the sunlight much like Mipha’s jewelry was, though her jewelry sent little beams of light across the grass.

“Oh, Revali, how lovely to see you again! I trust that your journey went well?” Mipha asked, and Revali shrugged nonchalantly as though journeying halfway across the kingdom was a breeze for him.

She supposed it most likely was a breeze for him, as he could fly through the sky instead of traveling by foot like the Gerudo or the Gorons had done.

“Oh, it was quite uneventful, nothing much occurred besides perhaps being shot at by a few Bokoblins, but nothing major.” He said airily, though the way his tone sounded so confident meant that Mipha couldn’t help but believe him.

“That is wonderful! We luckily did not have many problems either, though the amount of monsters we have had attack the Domain is becoming quite worrisome. I do hope my people will be alright whilst I’m here.”

The atmosphere suddenly felt quite gloomy, though Revali could understand her worry. He had believed Rito Village was under attack once again when they had first met, after all.

“Have some faith in your warriors, Princess. I am sure they will protect your home well. That is why they were chosen, correct?” He asked, and Mipha nodded, though it did little to ease her worry.

“I will try. I can only hope the Princess will allow us to return home for a few days before we are sent out on our next mission.” She said wistfully, and Revali could sense that she missed being home very much, which he could relate to. He was never home much to begin with, but leaving his Flight Range hurt every time he did so.

The two continued to walk in silence after that, the only sounds were the murmurs of conversation between the Zora and the Rito amongst themselves, and the march of their feet against the ground.

They soon arrived at the metal gates of Hyrule Castle, the sunlight reflecting off the glass and iron that made up the two large doors.

Two guards stood at attention, though by the looks of it they were low-ranking as they wore the standard Royal Knight armor.

Mipha couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. The armor was made from heavy yet defensive metals and the helmets they wore were much too large to the point where they could not see very well or move around as nimbly as they should have been able to.

Revali felt much the same way, though based on what the Princess had told them, these guards were meant more for charging through enemy ranks with brute force than actual strategic combat, so their armor was much appropriate than what the King’s Personal Guards wore.

“Halt! State your names and titles!” The taller of the two guards ordered, causing Mipha and Revali to glance at each other before Mipha politely cleared her throat.

“I am Lady Mipha of the Zora, a member of the Zora Royal Family and Pilot of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta.” She said confidently, giving Revali the feeling that she had gone through this process many times before, though he straightened his back and puffed out his chest proudly.

“I am Master Revali of the Rito, Chief Commander of the Rito Guard and Pilot of the Divine Beast Vah Medoh.” He declared, causing Mipha to giggle daintily as she pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle it, though the guards just seemed confused, but shrugged it off as they saluted to the both of them.

“Welcome to Hyrule Castle, Lady Mipha and Master Revali! Her Majesty is awaiting your arrival in the Sanctum! Open the gates!” The taller guard shouted, and the large metal doors began to slowly open in front of the two, revealing the long, winding stone path in front of them that led to the Castle.

Both the Zora and the Rito glanced at one another as Mipha and Revali began their trek up the stone pathway, and all of them were quite relieved that the large structure of Hyrule Castle blocked the majority of the sunlight that fell upon Central Hyrule.

After a long while, the group finally made out to the Sanctum, all tired out from the long walk, though Revali was also slightly irritated.

At the entrance, Zelda could be seen standing with Link, Urbosa, and Daruk, all having arrived sometime before, though Mipha and Revali noticed the different clothing on all of them.

They had, of course, seen Zelda in her Royal Gown before, as she wore it most days when in the castle. However, the other three had entirely different outfits.

In place of Urbosa’s traditional Chief skirt, she wore a blue skirt with the Vah Naboris emblem, with two decorated belts crossed over one another at the waist, the cloth fastened by a golden clasp with the Gerudo emblem. She had taken off her headdress as well.

One of Daruk’s chains that had crossed over his body was replaced with a blue scarf with Vah Rudania emblazoned on the cloth with white trim at the borders.

Link’s outfit had changed the most drastically, completely abandoning his Hylian Knight armor in favor of beige pants, brown boots, and a blue tunic that matched with Urbosa’s and Daruk’s scarves, and Zelda held two more blue pieces of cloth in her hands.

“Oh, Revali, Mipha, I am so glad you have made it! I apologize for the long walk up here, Urbosa and Daruk were complaining about the same thing when they arrived just a few minutes before. Will you be alright?” She asked, and though Revali wanted to snap at her, her concerned look and the shadows beneath her eyes calmed him down. It wasn’t her fault her home was so large.

“It was no fault of yours, Princess. I would have flown here but I do not trust your guards enough to not blow us out of the sky. Now, what is with all of this blue clothing?” He asked, Zelda breaking into a grim as she held out a scarf to both Mipha and Revali.

“I discovered in ancient texts about the Pilots of the Divine Beasts from 10,000 years that they wore something that signified their bond with their Divine Beast and with one another. As we all serve together for the good of our kingdom, I created these four scarves and Link’s tunic for you all to wear. Perhaps you can wear it for the ceremony?”

The two took their scarves, though Mipha smiled happily when she noticed the Vah Ruta emblem displayed on the cloth, the fabric feeling quite fine in her hands.

“It is lovely, Princess. Thank you. I suppose it is a good thing I decided to wear my special occasion jewelry instead of my royal jewelry. It will go quite nicely with the blue.” She said, fingering the tassels hanging around her neck and sash around her body.

Revali turned the scarf over to see Vah Medoh pictured, a small smile on his face when seeing his trusted mechanical companion. It was as if he could hear its call from Tabantha.

“I agree. You clearly put much effort into this, and I shall wear it proudly. Thank you.”

Everyone looked at him with a surprised look, though he didn’t notice as he examined the scarf more closely.

“Princess, would it be possible for us to change somewhere? I would feel a bit uncomfortable taking off my jewelry and sash in front of all of you.” Mipha asked suddenly, though everyone had to resist the urge to tell her she was basically naked all of the time anyway, though to a Zora it was more practical to be adorned with jewelry than actual clothing.

“Oh, um, you can change behind the pillar over there. No one should be able to see you.” Zelda said as she gestured to the aforementioned pillar. Mipha nodded her thanks and darted behind the stone, careful that she was out of sight.

“Well, I never would have expected to see the both of you showing up together. Did something happen?”

Revali glanced over to see Urbosa smirking at him, her arms crossed under her chest as she looked at him knowingly, giving off an aura of...smugness? That was all he could tell.

“We happened to arrive at the same time to the path before the gate. How did you and Daruk get past us? You were both arriving at the same time we were.” He asked, and Urbosa shrugged.

“Guess you’ll never find out. However, I think you should put on your scarf before the rest of the kingdom arrives, don’t you think?”

Revali grumbled as he wrapped the scarf around his neck, though something he realized was that it was a bit shorter than his beige one, and the Medoh Emblem was positioned in such a way that a more intricate way of wearing the scarf was needed.

Tying a knot would not be difficult under normal circumstances, but as he was tying the knot with a cloth around his neck without a mirror, he couldn’t quite see what he was doing.

“Princess, could you explain why you decided not to give us these garments until we arrived?” He demanded, glaring pointedly at Zelda who could only smile sympathetically in response.

“I apologize, I did not realize that tying your scarf around your neck may have given you a bit of trouble. Perhaps you could allow someone to tie it for you, just this once?” She suggested, but before Revali could respond he heard the soft pad of someone’s feet behind him and turned to see Mipha walking out from behind the pillar she had changed behind.

Suddenly, it felt as if it had become quite difficult for Revali to breathe when he saw Mipha wearing her scarf for the first time.

Her blue scarf had been tied around the front of her torso, held up by a sapphire brooch, the other half of the blue fabric draping over her shoulder against her back. The silver collar around her neck had three small teardrop gems hanging from it, with a second longer one sitting below it, crossing just over her chest.

Her silver belt was still adorned with the same jewels, though her head jewelry had changed so the small gem that once lay on her forehead was gone.

Revali had learned from spending time around Zelda, Mipha, and Urbosa that women who were held in high esteem, such as royalty or as a chief chosen to use a headpiece with a gem inlaid where the wearer’s forehead would be, though why he did not know.

“Uh, Revali? You okay?”

He snapped back to reality to see everyone staring at him worriedly. Well, everyone except Urbosa, who just smiled at him with that oh so infuriating smug expression.

“I’m fine, stop staring at me.” He snapped, everyone turning away except for Mipha, as she reached out to gently take ahold of the scarf around his neck.

“Here, allow me.”

She then began to tie the scarf into a simple knot, though on the outside it looked quite intricate, simple but beautiful.

Her webbed fingers brushed against the metal of his breastplate as she worked, everyone staring at her in wonder while Revali was doing his best not to explode from the close contact. Close contact from her of all people.

“There, that should do it. What do you think?” Mipha asked, stepping back to admire her handiwork, taking all of Revali’s willpower to not pull her back towards him.

“What is wrong with me? I am having such strange thoughts about her, and for what?” He thought to himself, though realizing Mipha was still waiting for a response, he decided to place that train of thought on hold for now.

“It looks wonderful. Thank you, Princess.” He said with a small smile, causing Mipha to beam with pride, the most adorable thing Revali had ever seen.

“It was no problem, Revali. I am glad I was able to assist with your predicament.”

Mipha then went to speak with Zelda about something, presumably where to place her sash that she was holding in her hands to not distract from the ceremony.

“You okay, Revali?”

Revali felt a rather large hand land on his shoulder, as well the low, gravelly voice of its owner, meaning that it was Daruk.

Sure enough, when he turned around to see who it was, it was indeed his Goron teammate, a rather concerned look on his face as Revali grumbled.

“I’m fine. Honestly, why must you all assume I’m not alright for when I don’t speak for an extended moment?”

“Because you are always talking about something. When you’re silent, that’s usually a red flag.”

The two looked up to see that Urbosa had joined them, standing beside Daruk as she left Mipha, Link, and Zelda to speak to one another instead.

“Ugh, what do you want? And I don’t talk all the time.” He grumbled, Urbosa laughing heartily as she placed a hand on her hip, her expression turning serious.

“I’m here because it is quite obvious there is something going on between you and Mipha, and as I am trying to keep the peace of the group so we don’t stress out the princess, you’re going to need to tell me what exactly it is.” She said calmly, making Revali feel as if a parental figure was talking down to him, which he did not appreciate.

“You do not need to speak to me like I am a child, I am fine. Nothing is going on between Mipha and me, I barely know her!” Revali yelled, glaring at Urbosa, though she merely shrugged as she received a questioning look from Zelda, as well as a gesture towards the Sanctum.

“Perhaps we can continue this conversation at a later time. The ceremony is due to start soon, let us head into the Sanctum.”

Urbosa and Daruk walked to join the others, leaving Revali alone as he reluctantly followed them into the rather extravagant chamber.

The Sanctum of Hyrule Castle was where the King and Queen of Hyrule, or rather the King and Princess as the Queen had been gone for over a decade, would make their public appearances with the rest of the kingdom.

The room was circular, with two staircases alongside the back wall that to the King and Queen’s Thrones, where King Rhoam could be seen standing. Lush red carpeting lined the floor, and where there wasn’t carpet was carved stone that matched those that made up the walls, with banners hanging that displayed the Royal Family insignia, the Triforce.

Windows scattered around the chamber allowed in sunlight, though if there hadn’t been a few lanterns to illuminate the room, the Sanctum would have been much darker.

The Zora, Gerudo, Rito, Gorons, and Hylians that had all accompanied each Champion were gathered at the different angles of the room, each leader holding a banner displaying each of their respective emblems.

Revali took his place at the front of the Rito, glancing over to see Mipha hurriedly walking towards her fellow Zora, and he couldn’t help but think that the sunlight reflecting off her jewelry made her look extra beautiful.

“Get ahold of yourself, you’re not here to drool over a Zora whom you barely know.” He thought, though his attention snapped back to the front when King Rhoam cleared his throat, a bit too loud to be on accident. He began what sounded quite obviously to be a prepared speech, though Revali had come to expect that of Hylian royalty. Only Zelda seemed to put true heart into what she had to say.

“Welcome warriors! I’d like to thank you for joining me here today, and for your bravery in accepting this...fateful task. I officially appoint you Hyrule’s Champions, and bestow upon you this sacred garb. That blue is a symbol of the royal family, one that has been passed down for countless generations. Those garments you now wear were all crafted by my daughter, Zelda.”

King Rhoam paused for a moment, his once sweeping gaze landing squarely on his daughter standing in the middle of the Sanctum. Anyone who could see her could notice how nervous she was, the way her fists were slightly clenched as well her almost shaking form. However, she managed a nod in response, remembering the rule of any royal: Do not speak to the king during an address to the public.

“Zelda, I trust you with the task only a daughter of the Royal Family can fulfill. Lead our Champions, Princess. And together, protect our kingdom from the threat of Calamity Ganon!” The King proclaimed, spreading his arms wide as he finished his decree.

Almost everyone in the room cheered, Daruk included, while the rest of the Champions clapped politely and Zelda breathed a large sigh of relief.

She had done it. She had made it through the ceremony without a hitch, she could almost jump in excitement, though she knew a stern look would be directed at her if she had done so.

The Champions surrounded her as King Rhoam left the Sanctum, as well as all of the representatives for each Champion, until the only people who were left were the six of them.

“Well, I’d say that went well, don’t you think, Urbosa?” Daruk asked, and the Gerudo nodded as she patted Zelda on the back, a proud smile upon her face.

“Yes, you did splendid, Little Bird. I’m so proud of you.” Urbosa said to the Princess, and Zelda smiled, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at the five of them surrounding her.

“No, thank you! It is because of the five of you that Hyrule stands a chance against the greatest threat our kingdom has ever seen, I truly will never be able to thank you enough. Come, I have somewhere to show you.” She said, gesturing for everyone to follow, though Revali lingered for a moment.

“Princess, I may have to return home soon, training and preparations must be done to ensure we will succeed in our battle against Ganon, as you have mentioned before. Perhaps I should go-“

“No, you are not going anywhere.”

Revali looked to see Urbosa glaring at him with a stern expression before it turned to a smile shortly after, though he could sense the malice behind her gaze.

“You wouldn’t want to disrespect our princess after she has graciously invited us here to honor us, would you? There could be dire consequences if you were to do so.” She said sweetly, her hand crackling with the slightest bit of lightning, a thinly veiled threat.

Revali gulped. He had been on the receiving end of Urbosa’s lightning once before, and the experience had been so painful that Mipha immediately had to heal him, her face contorted with worry as she desperately held him close to soothe the white-hot pain coursing through his veins, though he had appreciated being held by her, if even just for a moment.

He groaned before following to join the group, Urbosa giving him a satisfied smile before walking side by side with Zelda, leaving him alone in the back.

Mipha glanced back worriedly at him, trying her best to be discreet, though it didn’t take Revali long to see Mipha’s amber eyes gazing directly at his, causing him to be caught off guard, enough to almost jump.

Why was she staring at him like that? It was so intense, he wondered if she was truly worried about him. He felt slightly guilty for seemingly making her worry, though why she would even be worried in the first place was beyond him.

Mipha noticed him staring at her, causing her to squeak and quickly turn back around, her cheeks warming a little at being caught.

“Why am I so embarrassed? I was simply checking on him from afar, that’s not against the law, is it? Perhaps it’s rude to stare at someone from afar in Rito culture. So much I do not know about him, but how I desire to learn more.” She thought, clasping her hands together in an effort to calm down.

“Alright, here we are.”

The Champions had arrived a little ways from the Sanctum at a gazebo of some sort, just below the tower that housed Zelda’s study.

“Welcome to the Gazebo! I discovered this place not too long ago, the view of Hyrule and the Castle is simply beautiful, it will give you all a chance to rest for a moment before you depart.” She said, and Revali could have flown off if he didn’t know Urbosa would strike him out of the sky.

“Hellooooo, everyone! We’re here!”

Revali groaned. This day was just getting better and better.

Purah and Robbie had arrived from the Royal Ancient Tech Lab a little ways from Hyrule Castle across the Breach of Demise, a now usually monster-infested area, though it appeared the two scientists had made it through unscathed.

“Purah? Robbie? What are you two doing here for?” Zelda asked, and Purah waved her off just as quickly as she pointed towards the Sanctum.

“The King summoned us here to see our progress on the Guardians, though it seems he failed to tell us that the inauguration was today! I mean, that’s why you’re all dressed so nicely, right?” Purah asked, moving her hand around towards the five of them, each time landing on the respective blue garment they were wearing.

Revali had a slight hunch that the King didn’t tell them the inauguration ceremony was earlier that day on purpose. Robbie and Purah were Hyrule’s most respected scientists, that was certain, but their antics tended to get a bit out of hand at times.

However, he did not say anything. He quite liked Robbie and Purah, they didn’t constantly antagonize him as Urbosa did, and his feelings towards them weren’t as...complicated as they were towards Mipha.

Complicated? Was that he was referring to them as? Oh, how he desperately wished he could see inside her head, to see what she truly thought of him. Though, now that he thought about it, it most likely wasn’t any good. He had been quite rude to her friends, his allies, and for what? To impress her? To impress himself?

He could have snorted if he hadn’t noticed Mipha was staring at him once again, but not with worry. It almost seemed like...curiosity?

“Revali?” She asked, Revali not even noticing that Mipha had stepped closer towards him until she was directly in front of him, close enough to touch, but far enough away to not encroach on his space.

“Ah, Mipha. What brings you over here?” He asked, and Mipha giggled as she pointed at Zelda, who now held the Sheikah Slate conveniently received from Purah before she and Robbie rushed off to meet with the King.

“The Princess has the Sheikah Slate in her possession, I’ve noticed that you’ve seemed rather fascinated by it, so I thought you may want to take a closer look.” She said, taking ahold of his wing and gently pulling him after her.

If it had been anyone else, Revali would have batted them away and slunk off to a corner. If it had been anyone else, he would have screamed at them to let him go.

But it was Mipha, and while he did not particularly like being pulled closer to the others, the feeling of her small hand gripping onto his wing felt almost comforting, so he allowed it to slide, just this once.

Zelda was marveling at the Sheikah Slate in awe, though she looked up when she heard the click of talons and the soft pad of someone’s feet to see Mipha and Revali standing in front of her.

“Oh Revali, Mipha, is there something I can help you with?” Zelda asked, and Mipha pointed towards the stone tablet in the princess’s hands.

“Actually, we were wondering if we could examine the Sheikah Slate a little more closely. We don’t have much technology from the ancient civilization except for our Divine Beasts, after all.” Mipha asked, Zelda nodding as she handed the Sheikah Slate to Revali.

The relic was quite small in Revali’s hands, allowing him to hold it between two of his fingers as he examined it.

“Hmph. This is the Sheikah Slate, eh? Doesn’t seem to do much to me.” He remarked, and Zelda sighed.

“It is, though apparently there are more uses for it than we originally thought. Sadly, we’ve yet to decipher all of its secrets.” She said with what sounded like disappointment as Revali handed the Sheikah Slate to Mipha, her barely just catching the artifact in her own hands.

Urbosa leaned down towards Mipha, placing a hand on her hips as an idea popped into her head.

“The princess showed me something strange recently. Somehow it can create true to life images!” She said with a smile, causing Mipha to stare down in wonder at the stone tablet in her hands.

“Oh wow, I would love to see it.”

Mipha turned to see Link and Daruk chatting quite animatedly about something, or rather, Daruk talking about something while Link silently listens.

Mipha had always appreciated that about him, or at least that’s what she could appreciate about him now. When he was younger, he would always talk to her so eagerly about whatever was on his mind without a second thought, whether it be someone he had just bested in a duel or a fascinating bug he had found.

How she missed his childlike wonder, now replaced with a stoic demeanor and no want to draw attention to himself. It was saddening to see her dear friend be so burdened by whatever was on his mind.

That desperation to bring him back to her drove her to almost propose to him, even going so far as to create Zora Armor to seal the engagement, but something in her had told her not to.

That something, she soon later realized, was her curiosity about a specific Rito, namely Revali. He had managed to capture her attention more so than even Link could, though for what reason, she did not know.

Now, she wasn’t quite sure what to think, so the Zora Armor lay abandoned in her room, tucked out of sight until she could sort out things in her mind.

However, an idea popped into her mind, something she had been wanting to suggest that the Champions do for quite a long time, but did not from fear it would take up too much and resources. This was the perfect opportunity.

“Um, Princess, may I ask a special favor of you?” Mipha said, and Zelda looked at her with confusion.

“Of course, what is it?” She asked, and Mipha held out the Sheikah Slate towards Zelda.

“Could we...perhaps take a picture together with the Sheikah Slate? It would be a good way to commemorate us all becoming Champions!” She said, and Zelda took ahold of the Sheikah Slate once again, her mouth widening into a smile as she nodded in agreement, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“That is a wonderful idea, Mipha! Here, you should all gather by the water to take the photo, and I shall take the photo.” She said, feeling a hand clap on her shoulder to see Purah and Robbie returning from their rendezvous with King Rhoam.

“Nonsense, Princess! I can handle the picture taking, you’re a part of this team as well! Go have fun!”

Purah then pushed her towards the other Champions, or more specifically Link, who caught her with ease in his arms and helped her stand upright once again.

Purah then tapped at the Sheikah Slate until the Camera Rune activated, Robbie standing behind her to make sure she activated it correctly.

“Uh, I think you were supposed to do this...”

“Shush, I know what I’m doing. Ah, there we go!”

Instead of the Sheikah symbol glowing on the screen, it was the five Champions and Zelda instead. Purah smiled in satisfaction as she moved back just a bit to get the framing better, bumping into Robbie in the process.

“Oops, you okay?” She asked, looking at him with the slightest bit of concern, and Robbie was glad that his oversized goggles covered most of the blush that crept onto his face as he nodded hurriedly.

“Yeah, just take the picture.” He mumbled, though Purah only shrugged as she turned back around towards them.

“Alright, this spot should work nicely. Keep your eyes on the Sheikah Slate, everyone!” She called out, as everyone settled into a sort of pose.

Daruk towered over the rest of the group, enough to where Purah couldn’t get him into the frame even if she leaned back far enough, almost falling directly into Robbie once again.

“Um, Daruk, could you crouch down a bit? You’re as big as Death Mountain!” Purah asked, causing Daruk to look around in confusion before realizing how much he towered over the others, so he crouched down just a bit to fit into the frame.

“What’s with the glum face, Princess, gimme a big smile!”

Zelda felt a hand on her shoulder to see Urbosa smiling down at her with such affection. She sighed with sadness, how she missed seeing that expression from her father, or even her mother for that matter.

“I-I apologize. I was not aware I was pulling such a sour expression.” She mumbled, and Urbosa laughed in response.

“It is quite alright, Little Bird. I would be surprised if you weren’t at least a little tired from today’s excitement. I promise that you will be able to rest after we are done, and I will personally speak to the King if he is against it.” She said, and Zelda nodded, a soft smile now upon her face as she turned back towards the viewfinder of the Sheikah Slate.

Revali sighed. Surely it didn’t usually take this long to take one simple picture, did it? He had seen Zelda use the Camera feature a few times before, and it had only taken a few seconds. This was ridiculous.

“Revali, move your tail closer to the group!” Purah yelled, and while Revali was tempted to just ignore her, he didn’t want to look bad in front of Mipha, or worse, be shocked by Urbosa.

“Ugh, fine.” He groaned, ignoring the smug look on Daruk’s face as he shifted closer slightly to Urbosa, wishing he had to move closer to anyone besides her. Being within arm’s reach was never a good thing for her.

“Mipha, you look so tense! Deep breaths, okay?”

“R-right!”

Was something the matter with Mipha? Revali peered around everyone to see her taking in a few deep breaths at Purah’s suggestion, and Revali couldn’t help what happened next.

He smiled. Not a smirk, not a smug look, but a soft smile, a sincere one.

It had been quite a while since he had smiled sincerely about anything, but how could he not? Mipha was positively adorable, her little antics and mannerisms made her look nothing but charming in Revali’s eyes. He felt nothing could ruin it for him until he heard a voice.

“Stay just like that!”

He snapped his head back towards Purah and Robbie, immediately reverting to a frown, hiding any evidence of a smile at all, though the two scientists smirked at one another knowingly.

“Here we go! Smile! Click snap!”

As Purah’s signature phrase left her mouth, Revali felt a rough large hand push him closer towards the others, much too close, and way too forceful.

So forceful that he fell backward onto the ground with everyone else stumbling as he felt someone land on him.

The person who had landed was small, that was for sure, and Revali instinctively felt for who it was, feeling not hair like almost everyone else had but smooth...scales.

“Oh, goddess above!” He thought as he looked to see red, but not like blood. No, it was a head fin, and it shifted upwards until Mipha was staring straight into Revali’s eyes.

Her hands gripped onto his arms in an attempt to steady herself, though she looked just as shocked as he was as she quickly scrambled off of him, her face beginning to turn red.

“Oh my goodness, Revali, I’m so sorry! Are you hurt?” Mipha asked in a panic, hurriedly searching for any signs of a scrape or cut on his body, before she felt two hands grip her shoulders, Revali staring at her with a smirk.

“I’m fine, Princess. You needn’t worry so much, being pushed to the ground is the least of my worries, though I would like to know why someone thought it was a good idea.” He said pointedly as he glared directly at Daruk, who was helping Urbosa to her feet.

“Oh come on, you all looked so tense! I was trying to lighten the mood a little bit, this is a celebration, after all! Besides, how angry can you really get, I was doing you a favor!”

Revali could have exploded with fury at that moment if it was physically possible, and if it wasn’t for the fact he was holding Mipha in his arms, he would have attempted to punch Daruk.

“Don’t ever do that again, I don’t need your help, especially when it involved possibly injuring someone! Mipha could have been hurt if she hadn’t fallen on me!” He yelled, and Urbosa laughed, flipping her hair over her shoulder in an attempt to make it look presentable once again.

“Oh please, you would have caught Mipha even if it meant breaking your arm, she would’ve been fine. Now, why don’t you go get up before Purah and Robbie have any more material to use as blackmail?”

Revali looked over to see Purah happily snapping away, Robbie and her snickering as several clicks were heard in the sudden silence.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Delete those pictures!” Revali yelled, getting up from where he kneeling to chase after Robbie and Purah who had begun running in circles around the Gazebo.

“Not a chance, bird boy! I’ve been dying for something like this to happen!” She said excitedly, laughing as Revali tried and failed to catch her.

Mipha watched them in wonder, the feeling of Revali holding her in his arms still imprinted on her skin as Zelda knelt next to her.

“Mipha, are you alright? You haven’t said a word this entire time!” She asked, and Mipha began to laugh, a genuine laugh to the point where she forgot to hide her teeth, the serrated edges in full view.

Everyone was quite bewildered as Mipha stood, wiping a tear from her eye as she watched Revali continue to chase Purah around the gazebo.

“I am just wonderful, Princess.”

#miphvali #revali #mipha #revamiph #the champions’ ballad #loz

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sunmaylight · 3 years

Text

TGCF Book 3 Reaction pt.3 - Wind Master’s Self-Designated Quest & The Events that Happen After

I am back again with reactions & comments for when I read book 3.

This is honestly fun for me because I can look back at what I read and remember my first reaction to everything. I can also see how things connect to make up each arc by going back and reading them.

I really want to start book 4, but completing this first so I compose myself and not be a mess of emotions reading it. Cause, any book that is mainly about Xie Lian’s past is bound to be filled with angst and possible tears for the guy.

Ch 102: The Love for All Seasons Stew, the stew Xie Lian made and Shi Qingxuan is enthusiastically wanting to try some, shares with Ming Yi. Hua Cheng eats it like nothing and gives Xie Lian feedback

- Me: Ah, RIP Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi. It was nice knowing you two.

Start of the Venerable of Empty Words

Ch 103: The stew knocks out Ming Yi and sends Shi Qingxuan to tears. Then Shi Qingxuan hallucinates

- Me: You know, by this point Xie Lian should have his own warning label to prevent this from happening in the future. What if he made something for Jun Wu and kills him with his cooking? Actually, that sounds pretty funny. This just in: Heavenly Emperor Jun Wu defeated by a plate of questionable food made by his favorite Heavenly Official, Xie Lian.

103: Shi Qingxuan tells a horror story. Xie Lian feels a cold breeze and discovers it’s made by SQX.

- Ah, I think I’m understanding more that Heavenly Officials are really eccentric. Especially the upper court.

Xie Lian casually mentioning he has encountered a Venerable of Empty Words in the past and how that ghost left him after staying with the fallen god for almost a year.

- Me: *sobs* Xie Lian.

Wind Master talking about his past before ascension and then post ascension

- Me: Okay, but did you actually ascend?

Learns about Heavenly Calamities

- Me: Well, that will surely be relevant in the future.

105: Investigating for the Ghost. Learns that from a tampered list that Hua Cheng killed vengeful, malevolent tyrants

- Me: Hua Cheng, who else have you killed? How the fu-dge is it that you are more productive than Heavenly Officials in making sure nothing bad happens?

As the group was going to leave, Xie Lian remembers the kids (& Qi Rong).

Hua Cheng: I have already called a babysitter. Don’t worry about a thing Gege.

106: The group was teleported to the wrong place.

- Me: Well, aren’t things starting out just lovely.

Hua Cheng changed clothes and Xie Lian Noticed.

Hua Cheng & Xie Lian exchange verbal communication passwords. Hua Cheng’s password has Xie Lian blushing.

- Me: WHAT IS IT?

Xie Lian’s password: “Just recite the Ethics Sutra a thousand times.”

- Me: ...Is that a joke? Xie Lian, if they actually had to recite that, it’s like saying you don’t want people to talk to you.

Xie Lian’s password is revealed to be just that phrase. He set it up as a joke

- Me: goddamnit. I have been bamboozled.

Learning about the legend of the Potential Scholar He, who was mad smart but got a lot of people wanting to crush him out of jealousy. He died after getting his revenge against those who were gatekeeping him.

- Me: HI! WHERE IS THE SHRINE FOR THIS GUY. I NEED A SHRINE TO WORSHIP SCHOLAR HE AS WELL AS A CERTAIN DIANXIA AND HUA CHENGZU

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng now have to play Mafia in a four man group.

Ch 108: A game to sniff out the Word Ghost. The game reminds me of the Japanese Game, King’s Game.

- Me: Is there a Chinese equivalent to the King’s Game?

SQX -’king’- Xie Lian and Hua Cheng have to strip each other. Just one layer

- Me: If this was me to my crush, I would be weirded out to do this in front of my friends. Unless if I was drunk

SQX to Hua Cheng (from the book): “What’s the worse suffering in the world?”

Hua Cheng: “To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled and ridiculed, yet unable to do anything. That’s the worse suffering in the world.”

- Me: (ToT) Hua Cheng. I got to mark this down. Hua Cheng’s beloved and him need their happy ending.

Ming Yi to Xie Lian: “What’s the biggest regret of your life?”

Xie Lian: “My Second Ascension.”

- Me: !!! Xie Lian, what the F*CK happened during the shortest ascension recorded in Heaven?

Ch 109: Hua Cheng lends Xie Lian a ‘bit’ of spiritual power. Xie Lian does a palm thrust and blows off the roof of the temple.

- Xie Lian & Me: ...Hua Cheng, that’s a little bit?

Hua Cheng: Was that not enough? I can lend you more.

Ch 110: Hua Cheng puts on a mini fashion show to Xie Lian in the middle of something important.

Xie Lian: *focus is pulled away to stare at Hua Cheng*

- Me: Okay. Cute, but please focus. There is a time and place for everything. Now is not the time!

Water Master is suppose to prepare for the third Heavenly Calamity. SQX is kidnapped

- Me: What if this is the third calamity? Having to save SQX from the Venerable of Empty Words?

Xie Lian wants to do a soul-shifting spell, but Hua Cheng is stopping him.

- Me: Hm, does Hua Cheng know something? That is suspicious.

Ch 111: Venerable of Empty Words says: “Don’t worry, with your eyes wide open, you will watch the person coming to seek you die before you!”

- Me: *Thinks of Hua Cheng for Xie Lian* Shit, it got to Xie Lian. I really hope this doesn’t happen in the future. Cause, it’s not like Hua Cheng can die by conventional means since his ashes are ***** - Safe

Wind Master is revealed to be wearing a lot of treasures and gems on their person

- Me: Why is Wind Master wearing all of that?

Soul-Shifting spell ends, Xie Lian hears Hua Cheng’s voice

- Oh shit. I think Hua Cheng is mad.

SQX: “This is the Terrace of Cascading Wine. It’s where I ascended”

- Me: Wait, SQX is one of the Four Famous Tales? The odd one that is like Qi Rong that is about a guy who ascended for just pouring wine?

Learns that Xie Lian was actually sleeping when he ascended.

- Which ascension did that happen at?

SQX is in hysteria after Shi Wudu grabs him. SQX was acting suspicious before then SWD arrived.

- Me: Wow, what happened to SQX? D-did he actually fail his Heavenly Calamity and this is part of the punishment? Do Heavenly Officials get an advance notice that they have a Heavenly Calamity they have to face? Or is he behaving like this because of the removal of all of those artifacts and jewels?

-----

Ch 113: Hua Cheng sent a step-litter, a step-litter that is very extravagant, to Xie Lian. Hua Cheng is giving Xie Lian a fancy carriage ride towards somewhere.

- Me: Wow. What an obvious sign that Hua Cheng has deep feelings for Xie Lian

The whole Step-Litter Scene of Ghost calling Xie Lian Hua Cheng’s ‘lady’ while he was in the Step-Litter and everything after until they drop Xie Lian off at Puqi Shrine

- Me: THIS NEEDS TO BE ANIMATED

Xie Lian’s new banner: “Return Babes through Miraculous Hands”

- No words

Hua Cheng helping Xie Lian do a task of working in the field. There is an indescribable tension that has been created through Xie Lian’s dense brain

- Me: Man, you can slice the tension with a sword and they still wouldn’t realize anything.

Xie Lian has a mysterious donor who filled his donation box with gold bars. He decides to return them

- Me: Yes, good for you Xie Lian. You do you.

The Drama between the Wind and Water Masters

- Me: You know, there is someone on YouTube who animated this part. I can now only visualize that while reading through my notes.

Earth Master forged his shovel to be his spiritual device. Ming Yi, Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian travel through the tunnels dug by the Earth Master’s Shovel under Heaven

- Me: Wait, does this mean technically anything can be made into a spiritual device?

SQX can’t access his spiritual powers

- Me: shit. Did he actually fail a Heavenly Trial against Reverend of Empty Words?

The three are forced to dig and end up at Quan Yizhen’s palace with Pei Ming behind them

Pei Ming: QYZ, help me out and capture them

QYZ: *sees Xie Lian and remembers what he did for him during the Lantern Festival* - Grabs bed and throws it at Pei Ming- YEET!

Xie Lian tosses dice and the three end up at Puqi Shrine again. Xie Lian is greeted to the sight of a shirtless Hua Cheng finishing up some labour work with using E-Ming.

- Me: Is this going to be Xie Lian’s gay awakening? Will he finally acknowledge he has feelings for Hua Cheng?

Xie Lian immediately calms down and gets back into action

- Me: dang it!

The group, now with Hua Cheng, teleports to the Rain Master’s land. They exchange what they know and Xie Lian is drawing a very terrifying conclusion.

- Me: So, if there was a chart of the four famous tales compared to the four great calamities based on comparing their authenticity of tales

- Xie Lian Hua Cheng (They have to match somewhat)

- Princess who slit her throat White No-Face (Both have very little knowledge and seem very much bamf)

- General who broke his sword Black Water (Just vibes based on their names)

- Shi Qingxuan Qi Rong (Don’t really match the others, but are famous enough to get on the list)

Xie Lian connects the dots on Scholar He's name

- is that even possible?

Pei Ming arrives and then the group moves to Shi Wudu’s Heavenly Trial ground cause mortals are in danger. Their mission is to help the mortals and not get in the way of Water Master.

Hua Cheng changes into a fisherman outfit

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng share a tender moment with a steam bun. General Pei watches them

- Me: Oh? Pei Ming, what did you notice? Did you notice the potential ship between the two of them?

118: The ship somehow wandered into the Ship-Sinking Black Water’s territory.

- Me: Oh no. The drama.

--------

Alright, here seems good. The next part will be the Wind & Water Master Arc pt 2 (?). At least I think so since the Wind part was discovered and now it’s the Water part that’s next.

You know, I really wanted to comment on a bunch of other stuff. Especially the Hualian moments, but decided against it cause there are some things that should be read

#sunmay rambles #sunmay reads tgcf #sunmay reads tian guan cifu #sunmay reads heaven official's blessing #sunmay reads hob #tgcf #hob #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hob spoiler #tgcf spoiler #book 3 spoilers #halfway through the wind and water master arc

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mhdiaries · 4 years

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Wave 2 Diary of Draculaura

15♥September

I “broke up” with Jackson Jekyll today... not that we were ever really dating I mean officially, which would have been nice but every time he would ask me out he would totally pull the invisible boy act on me and not show up. Or call. The next day he was always very sweet and apologetic but he could never remember why he forgot our date. I guess the final nail in the coffin was when he didn’t meet me at this party and I totally felt like a one tombstone graveyard. I ended up dancing with this scary hot DJ named Holt Hyde who acted like he knew me although I’m pretty sure that we hadn’t met before. Jackson and I are still friends but sometimes that’s just how the tombstone crumbles.

25♥September

Went to the beach with Frankie, Clawdeen and Clawd to watch Lagoona surf. It was a beautiful day, which meant I had to break out the sunscreen although the stuff I have to use is more like sunwall. It’s so thick it’s like being coated in honey and it’s like a sand magnet so I pretty much have to stay on a blanket the whole time or I end up looking like a sand sculpture. Oh well, it’s worth the annoyance to get to spend the day at the beach.

30♥September

I stayed up late reading a new novel about a forbidden romance between a werewolf girl and a vampire boy... like that would ever happen... but it’s so sweet and tragic I couldn’t put it down. Of course I slept through my alarm and was almost late for school, which meant my makeup was a mess cause I couldn’t take my time putting it on. Luckily, Ghoulia saw me before anyone else did and she helped me straighten it out so I didn’t walk into my first class looking like an undead clown... not that there’s anything wrong with that.

1♥October

I took one of those quizzes to see what kind of creature I am - I think all the teen monster mags have them now - which seems kind of strange since like I already know. Anyway, the quiz had questions ike: What is your favorite haunt? What is your favorite food? Would you rather be dead or undead? Do you run, shamble, fly or ooze? So after I answered all the questions I turned to the back to read: Congratulations! You are a Woodland Nymph! You are kind, gentle and love sunshine and nature. You probably make your home in a tree where you enjoy the company of many woodland animals that you would never scare or eat. I wonder if I should share this with father? LOL... maybe not = )

7♥October

Clawd and Spectra had a monster argument today and it created such a fuss that both of them got called into Headmistress Bloodgood’s office. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Clawd so angry or Spectra so self-righteous but neither of them would talk about it when they came out of HHB’s office - not even to me! Clawdeen thinks it has something to do with Cleo and Clawd but I totally don’t understand how she made that connection. Now Clawdeen is mad at Cleo. Again. This is really sad and since it seemed like they were starting to actually tolerate each other.

12♥October

I know a lot of monsters are not excited about having to write an essay on our monster heritage but I think it’s creeperifically cool! First of all, I’m writing a screenplay about my un-life and I think this will really help the third act and secondly because it gives me the opportunity to set the record straight about a couple of things. Beginning with the fact that my father is much older than any monster realizes. I mean he was already a vampire back when togas were first considered fashionable... sooo glad father doesn’t wear one anymore. Then there was that whole identity theft calamity that happened when we rented our castle in Transylvania to a total con-monster who went around pretending to be father. Now I have to carry a copy of my death certificate to prove that I really am as old as I say I am cause some monsters think I must be related to that loser. Unfortunately for the imposter his bats came home to roost and not in a good way either. The rest of my story, like how father took in me and my mother when no one else would and why I’m a vegan vampire I’m going to save for the screenplay which I would like to film in pink and white. How scary cool would that be?

16♥October

In the span on 3 days Clawdeen missed a test in Mad Science, a school dance and a buy one get one shoe sale at the Maul. Frankie and I knew something had to be wrong but Clawdeen wouldn’t answer our texts or emails. Finally Clawd showed us a picture he took of Clawdeen with his iCoffin. Her hair... it was... it was... not of this world. Clawd said she couldn’t fix it and had to “ctrl+alt+delete her new ‘do” with a pair of electric clippers. He said she was so depressed that she turned all her mirrors toward the wall and wasn’t even growling at Howleen for borrowing her clothes. I suggested we shave our heads too but then Frankie reminded me how fast Clawdeen’s hair grows and that we’d be bald a lot longer than she would so we came up with the idea of going to the Maul and buying Clawdeen a fierce fashionista scare package to cheer her up instead and that’s just what we did. Of course we bought some things for ourselves too = )

25♥October

I was supposed to fang out with the ghouls last night but I didn’t. I tried to explain what happened to Clawdeen but I couldn’t. She was annoyed with me cause I always tell her everything. She thinks I’m keeping a secret from her which I guess I sort of am but I’m not sure I want to talk to anybody about it yet. So I wrote this poem to describe what happened. I don’t know why it’s easier for me to express emotions in verse but sometimes it just is. I read it to Count Fabulous who usually leaves the room when I get too sappy but this time he flew down and gave me a little bat hug when I was finished.

One fall autumn night I took a walk jaunt

to meet some friends at a familiar haunt

The sky above was very starry bright

and there seemed to me not a cloud in sight

So off I went without sans umbrella or coat

although what I probably needed was really a boat

Caust the clouds came rolled in with a dragon’s roar

and shortly thereafter it bagan to pour

Not a pleasant rain, good for plant and flower

but a driving, unfriendly, cold hard icy shower

Now I was halfway between home and there

my makeup was running ruined and so was my hair

With no shelter in sight or a way to get dry

I put my head face in my hands and started to cry

When out of the shower rain a voice broke through,

“Hey D it’s me Clawd, hey D is that you?”

As I blinked through the tears and rain I could see

Clawdeen’s brother Clawd, waving at me

Across four lanes of traffic bravely he dashed

with umbrella in hand to my side he flashed

He led helped me back to his car warm and dry

said not a word till I’d finished my cry

“Here’s a hot coffinccino whip cream no foam,

it’ll warm you right up while I drive you home.”

From the car he walked me up to my door

protecting me still from the storm’s downpour

As he turned to leave I placed a kiss on his cheek

then I ran inside before he could speak.

And while I watched his car disappear from sight

I felt something happen change for me that night

No longer did I see him as just my best friend’s brother

that night, to me, he became something other.

The great thing about poetry is that it doesn’t have to be epic to express how you feel. Now I have to wonder, “Does he feel the same?”

#monster high #monster high diary #draculaura #wave 2

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aprilfayelikes · 4 years

Text

So I’m reading TGCF... (part 2)

Welcome to the second part of my TGCF readthrough. This is my first time reading Heaven Official’s Blessing and since I find MXTX’s storytelling very fascinating, I figured, I might as well blog my way through it. I don’t know if it’s gonna be anything interesting, and I’m not used to composing coherent thoughts in English, so please don’t be mean. If it’s uninteresting, just scroll through. *WARNING: Really spoilery and will definitely be more incoherent than the last one, ‘cause I’m writing this while reading, so these are basically just random thoughts or me trying to guess the plot:)

Stick around if you’ve already read the book from chapter 32 to chapter 42.

Chapter 32

(Xie Lian is called back to the Heavenly Court. We meet the crown prince of Yong’An and the Heavenly Emperor, Jun Wu. They start to discuss what happened at the Banyue Pass, and turns out that they know about Hua Cheng.) - I really like how the word ‘awkward’ is missing from Xie Lian’s dictionary XD - But I still find the heavenly parts quite boring. I’m guessing the info dumps will pay off in the later chapters, but for now... I can’t remember a single name, na-ah.... - ‘The spotlight, it seemed, was on him’. MXTX knows how to end chapters to make you want more, that’s for sure.

Chapter 33

(General Pei tries to blame everything on Hua Cheng then on the Guoshi of Banyue. Literally on anyone. But fortunately, Pei Junior admits his wrongdoings. The crown prince of Yong’An sleeps through the meeting.) - And here comes even more info on General Pei, so I’m thinking he continues to be an important character. I don’t like him. - Xie Lian’s cultivation method demands purity of the body and the mind...? Hm... that’s unfortunate in a danmei. Or so to say, makes things interesting:D - Well, Pei Junior admitting everything was unexpected...

Chapter 34

(Jun Wu talks privately with Xie Lian and sends him on a mission to save a heavenly official the identity of whom they don’t know yet. The mission is to sneak into the Ghost Realm. Lord Wind Master partners up with Xie Lian) - ‘It may no longer be appropriate for you to investigate this case, so come, let me tell you everything about it... Also, it’s okay if you are friends with Hua Cheng, just be careful.’ Jun Wu acts all fatherly, but that’s just strange. Is he a good guy? Or am I just suspicious about anyone and everyone now?? (NHS and JGY ruined me) - Whaaat?! That’s cool~ I think I like the Wind Master! He disguised himself as a woman, because he looked cute:D Well done on representation:D I want to know more about them. - Also Xie Lian cannot get himself to enter his new palace is sad :(

Chapter 35

(The two follows a group of female ghosts to sneak into the Ghost Market, which is a strange and creepy place. They soon get separated, when the Wind Master gets pulled away by the female ghosts and Xie Lian gets assaulted by a very dead prostitute.) - This chapter comments on gender norms and biases and does it so effortlessly that I have to raise my hat to MXTX. So the Wind Master can appear as a woman, because he was often depicted standing next to his brother and somewhere, somehow people started to worship him as a woman, since a woman is looking better next to a man (’handsome and beautiful make a pair’). In the same style, people started to worship Ling Wen as a man, because a lady cannot be a civil god. It is a ridiculous concept, but tells tales about the prejudices in people’s mind. - It’s a shame, she couldn’t convince Xie Lian to cross-dress, tho :P - Ghost market! This is fun~ (That scene of a boar cutting up a wiggling human leg... chef’s kiss. This is exactly the weird and disturbing shit I’m here for. And of course I’m reading this at 10PM) - Pft... can’t get erect X”””DDD I can’t with this guy, really. Xie Lian has no shame at all:D

Chapter 36

(Xie Lian enters the Gambler’s Den, where he meets up with the Wind Master. The Ghost King, Hua Cheng also plays that night. When a father wants to pay with the life of his daughter another person pops up: the crown prince of Yong’An. The naive prince tries to stop the unjust betting, but gets defeated by Hua Cheng. The Ghost King offers him as a prize to anyone, who wins against him. So naturally Xie Lian tries his best...) - Hua Cheng is such a badass! Also that martial god he decorated the ceiling with is kinda cute, as well... but if anyone dies, that would be him. - That reveal made my heart race... We finally got to see him in his true form! - Xie Lian’s legendary bad luck enters the chatXD

Chapter 37

(Hua Cheng says Xia Lian’s dicing form is bad, and he starts tutoring him in front of the whole crowd. He also asks for a prize in case Xie Lian would lose. Our protag offers a half-eaten bun. He tutors him until Xie Lian wins.) - Okay, the flirting is INTENSE! in this one >///< I love them. Also... A half-eaten bun? Xie Lian, save the poor guy some face and at least offer your left hand (or your undying devotionXD) as a bet:D

Chapter 38

(Since Xie Lian lost a bunch before winning, Hua Cheng still asks for the bun, and eats it. Thus the crown prince of Yong’An, Qianqiu gets saved. But as they roam the city, Xie Lian sees a familiar figure) - AND HE ACTUALLY EATS THE BUN! I can’tX”””””DDDD - I like this Qianqiu guy, he’s cute. Not very useful, but adorable. - Oh! Could this be the kid, with the human face disease?! Another one of those cruel chapter endings.

Chapter 39

(Xie Lian notices the boy with the human face disease and starts to chase him, while Qianqiu gets into a fight, so they get separated again. Xie Lian loses the boy, and gets into trouble, but the Waning Moon Officer gets there just in time. This ghost officer works for Hua Cheng. He tells Xie Lian, that the Ghost King wants to see him, then escorts him to the Paradise Manor) - Yes, it’s him! The kid, with the human face disease. - Meet up in three days?? Not one or two hours but THREE DAYS? What are you planning to do for three days in the ghost realm? Also why exactly did we bring the other two along if we’re ditching them all the time, huh?! Well, goodbye cute heavenly officials. We’ll see each other in THREE DAYS. - Now I get it. We needed some space for Hua Cheng and Xie Lian to be able to meet.

Chapter 40

(And they speak and its cute. Hua Cheng offers to help searching for the boy. His officer finds him immediately. They interrogate him then take him in) - Let me note that Hua Cheng is really refreshing as ‘the love interest’ (or very good friend for now). Yes, he’s secretive and mysterious, but he’s willing to talk about himself, not restricting the protagonist, not being violent, helping out but not sheltering him, has a very distinct worldview, and is not scared to be emotional. Also he’s snarky and easily amused and makes fun of people, while being a badass all along. What’s there not to love.

Chapter 41

(Hua Cheng has to leave because his sword warns him of trouble. Meanwhile Xie Lian gets suspicious on the Waning Moon Officer, and on Hua Cheng, as well. He finds a room that only opens if you throw two sixes with dice, so he obviously can’t get into. Then Hua Cheng gets back to the Manor and shows Xie Lian his armory, and I’m in love.) - A bit of sneaking around is fun:) - That’s a very peculiar sword Hua Cheng has. Hm... I have my theories about the sword :) - Also about the Waning Moon Officer and his ‘tatoo’. - What’s with all of these masks, tho. (the officer, the white-clothed calamity, the people on the street....) - Nnnn... I don’t like Xie Lian being mistrustful. I get it, but still. - I’d be just as giddy in an armory as Xie Lian! I want to touch pretty swords, as well~~

Chapter 42

(Hua Cheng introduces his sword, E’Ming to the protag. The sword seems to be alive and is kind of cute. Hua Cheng holds a banquette for Xie Lian and during the banquette he gives him some of his luck. The Wind Master also sneaks into the Ghost Kings Manor, and as the night falls, the two starts to sneak around again.) - What the actual fuck, E’Ming is cute! >///< And we’re patting a sword and the sword likes it... Should that be symbolic, or...? - I want to borrow luck, too! I could really use some! Anyone? Do you have some extra luck which you could transfer? (Not necessary through hand holding) - Hua Cheng gets so irritated by the fact that Xie Lian’s cultuvation method forbids promiscuity. XDDDD Oh, poor you. This is gonna be though XD - And more sneaking around. I would feel bad, too. Xie Lian, that’s not nice.

#tgcf thoughts #tgcf #heaven official's blessing #reading tgcf #saját poszt #so i'm reading tgcf

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dainty-baneberry · 4 years

Text

Prompt #26: When Pigs Fly

(Lower La Noscea, Eorzea. Post 3.15 Heavensward and the Scholastic quests.) Candlekeep Quay was a sleepy little port on the edge of Lower La Noscea In years past only the candle-keeps of Oschon's Torch made use of the port. When the nearby and much more heavily settled Moraby Drydocks were damaged in the Calamity, the Quay was pressed into service and expanded. Once the flood of artisans and supplies had seen to the repairs of the Drydocks, Candlekeep Quay was once again forgotten. Dealing only with the most pedestrian of domestic cargo. It was “guarded” by a handful of greenhorn Yellow Jackets. The most pressing thing they had to concern themselves with was the occasional drunk argument over one of the local girls who was a renown flirt. It was of great surprise to those that were station there, then, that at half past the bell of 6pm Storm Sargent Orrick arrived on the ferry from Aleport. He claimed to have been hailed there by a Yellow Jacket named Sylskaetsyn who had penned an urgent missive regarding a crate of contraband that arrived with no name. Sylskaetsyn, confused and having penned no such letter, then became the sole witness to a most peculiar murder. A cloaked figure, dressed all in black stepped out from a pile of barrels, shot Storm Sargeant Orrick at close range in the chest, and disappeared into the wilds of the Salt Strand before anyone could react. Inspector Briardien adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he bent down to inspect the corpse of the late Storm Sargent Orrick. At barely 2 bells old it was still considered fresh. The blood splatter from the wound suggested that the weapon used to dispatch the man had been of high caliber. The slender Elezen man's brow puckered a little; “Tell me, Sylskaetsyn, do you note anything unusual about the Sargeant's shirt?”

“Other than its got a dirty great hole through it... can't say as I do.” Sylskaetsyn observed. “Scorch marks.” Inspector Briardem pointed at the tell-tale markings. “And not caused by black powder, as one would expect from a projectile revolver. This wound was created by a magitek weapon.” “Magitek!” Sylskaetsyn fully started back a step. “S'wot Imperials use, ain't it? Ain't none of that round here.” “To an extent, aye, indeed it is.” Inspect Briardem rose, adjusting his glasses again and his silvery gray hair besides. The Ishgardian Elezen man was impeccably neat at all times. “There are only two peoples on this Star whom are known to use weaponry that would create a wound with this pattern etched into the victims clothing. Those in the Imperial army, as we have already deduced and Ishgardian Machinists. And if you were to ask me if either are likely to answer whom might have done this, I should ask you when did pigs start to fly.” “Machi-what?” “Precisely.” the Inspector waved Sylskaetsyn's question away. He had already anticipated that the unpopular Ishgardian discipline would be a complete unknown in this backwater Eorzean port. “Tell me, do you happen to know if the good Sargeant had any enemies?” “D'ye have a week?” a female voice snorted, fairly dripping with disgust. “And there weren't nowt good 'bout him neither!” “Do forgive me, I do not believe I caught your name?” The elezen man peer down his nose at the pretty, if somewhat shabbily dressed miqo'te woman. Her blue black hair was tipped with white and her uniform marked her as a Mealvaan's Gate assessor. “A'zumyn.” The woman stated clearly, striding over. “If you check the dead man's pockets you'll find a book of names of people he were extorting.” That raised Inspector Briardien's eyebrows sharply but he almost instantly collected himself to rifle through the slain Storm Sargeant's pants. As promised within one of the pockets he found a slim, leather bound notebook. The Inspector had no qualms about flicking through the pages, noting 18 different names. All of which appeared to be miqo'te names by the tell tale letter prefix that denoted their tribe. Bar one.

A singular Roegadyn name, Delicate Willow, stuck out like a sudden scream in near silence for how jarringly out of place it appeared. “Would you be so kind as to explain to me the manner of extortion the late Orrick was engaged in?” Inspector Briardien requested politely, his eyes still lingering on the name Delicate Willow, even as he smoothed down the front of his cobalt blue bilaud from where it had wrinkled when he bent down. His instincts were tingling. He could not say why, or how but he just knew that this event was somehow related to her. She may not have been involved in the actual killing act. She may even be wholly unaware of it but she was the lead he needed to follow. He was certain of it. “T's a simple enough scam. Loan a little coin to someone down on their luck, nothing official, just between friends. Then make it so its real hard for them to pay it back. Add a interest, a couple late fees and the next thing the mark knows the have an unpayable debt on their hands.” A'zumyn explained. “He almost got me with it, only my mentor at the Arcanists Guild stepped in and returned the coin he loaned me before he had a chance.” “The Admiral banned piracy but the bloody worst of them never can quite give it up.” Sylskaetsyn spat. “So I see.” Inspector Briardien murmured. Delicate Willow. Delicate Willow. The name reminded him of something. Delicate... Diaphanous...Airy....Elegant...Dainty. A bolt shot through Inspector Briardien, stiffening his spine suddenly. In an instant his mind was awash with with visions of a finely built woman. He had been surprised to see her, an Au Ra, in Ishgard of all places. And with one of Stephanivian Haillenarte's Machinist weapons on her hip. A carbine style, Briardien recalled. Long barreled, but slender and easily able to fit under a flowing cloak. “Sylskaetsyn, would you describe the cloaked figure you saw as “tall” ?” Inspector Briardien questioned leadingly. “Just the opposite, in fact! It all happened so quick, its hard t'say with confident what I actually saw with my own two eyes but, I do recall thinking the person might have been a wee little thing t'be hidden behind those barrels for Twelve knows how long, and none of us be any the wiser.” “Yes. Such stillness and dedication to their tasks suggests that this was the work of a professional. This was very clearly an execution by who had been watching the Quay for a long time, and knew not only to send a letter signed in your name but the exact ferry that the Storm Sargeant would arrive upon. The single shot with a magitek rifle, the quick, clean escape, all these pieces can lead us to only one conclusion. The killer was Frumentari.” Inspector Briardien announced, adjusting his glasses. “Frumen...wha?” “Spies of the Garlean Empire.” “Oh!” “Storm Sargent Orrick no doubt plied his ill-begotten game on the wrong mark and, rather than risk being unmasked, the operative saw the threat to the mission eliminated.”

It made perfect sense to Sylskaetsyn. He may have been the most senior Yellow Jacket in Candlekeep Quay but he was still green, having barely made is 25th Rank before being assigned to watch duty in the forgotten port. He had been almost certain he was going to be set up for the Storm Sargeant's murder until Inspector Briardien had unexpectedly arrived and mostly competently taken over. “I shall see this book of names turned over to the proper authorities so that they may attempt to uncover which of the names may be the Fox in the Hen House. I shall leave you to your reports and...corpse disposal.”

Inspector Briardien informed Sylskaetsyn with a collected Ishgardian bow before he turned towards the Pier. There was a ferry to Aleport with his name on it departing in the next 5 minutes and the Inspector was well desirous to be on it. “Yes! Thank you, Inspector! Not sure what we would have done if you hadn't happened along. Never would have noticed all that, the stuff about it being a professional wot done it, if you had not pointed it out.” Sylskaetsyn insisted, suddenly remembering his manners to thank the slender Elezen man and reply with an Eorzean salute.

Inspector Briardien's reputation for brilliance of mind, especially when it came to deduction, was clearly well deserved in Sylskaetsyn opinion. Inspector Briardien gave a cursory nod, which unseated his glasses and required him to adjust them on the bridge of his aquiline nose once before. As he moved toward his transport a thin smile graced his lips. He was not a betting man. He did not believe in the sport of gambling, or wagering against luck but he would place coin on Delicate Willow being a relative of some sort to the woman known as Dainty Baneberry. Inspector Briardien was no Dragonslayer, nor a Knight. He was technically a noble born but House Manseauguel of Ishgard was not one of any particular note. Yet he knew what the Warrior of Light, the Survivor of the Dragonsong had done for Ishgard. It was impossible for a man of his intellect to be blind to the future she had granted them. An Endless war, ended by her hands. A multi-generational cycle of violence broken so that peace could be known between man and dragon. An ancient crime finally exposed to the world, and those who would continue it made to answer for it. By her doing. Somewhere between Candlekeep Quay and Aleport, over the deepest part of the ocean and while the crew of the ferry were busy navigating through the dark, a small, leather bound notebook did slip from Inspector Briardien's hands and plunge, unseen, into a watery grave. A thin smile fleetingly quirked up the corner of Inspector Briardien's lips; “Ishgard remembers, Warrior of Light.”

#ffxivwrite2020 #ffxivwrite #writeseptember

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fellkrieger123 · 4 years

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Prompt #18: Panglossian

To say Iiro wasn’t nervous would be a lie. She watched at the ivory spires of Limsa Lominsa came into view and her heart soared with excitement even as her stomach jumped with nervousness. This was the first time she had ever been away from home, after all! She wondered if her mother and father were worried about her, but she would be fine! She had done all her research, and she was ready! She’d become a great adventurer, know throughout the realm! Hells, maybe she’d even become more famous than the Warriors of Light! She found the nervousness being shoved down by the wave of giddy excitement that filled her.

She was quick to rush down the gangplank the minute she had a chance, looking around, her eyes sparkling. She lifted her arms, taking in the warm sun and the salty air, smiling ear to ear. Limsa Lominsa was rebuilding quickly, considering the Calamity was not that long ago. People were bustling about their days, laughter filled the air. There was a hopeful sort of energy in the air, and it was infectious.

“I’m here, M’aja,” she whispered, looking around. “I’m going to make you proud. Just you watch.” She took a moment of silence to remember her friend before shaking her head and rushing into the crowd. After a few minutes of walking, she realized she was quite lost. There were so many people! And so many decks and levels and... What was she going to do? She couldn’t even figure out where the Aetheryte was, and she remembered that was the first thing she had to do when she entered a new place.

She must have looked very lost because she was soon discovered by a slightly older Hyur man. He stepped in front of her, stopping her slow trek down the road. He smiled pleasantly at her, raising a hand in greeting.

“Ho! Hello there, miss. You look lost. Can I help you find something?” He asked her, and Iiro fidgeted shyly, looking away.

“Oh! Uh, yeah. I’m lost! I want to become an adventurer, but I’ve never been to Limsa so I don’t know where anything is!” she laughed nervously and the man nodded in understanding.

“Oh, yes! Limsa is a winding maze when you first get her. Have no worries, I’m more than happy to help you! I’m a bit of an adventurer myself, you see!” He winked at her. “Now, follow me, and be sure not to lose me, alright?” She nodded. Goodness, what a nice man! Her journey was off to a great start! She followed him carefully. He easily navigated the crowd and led her to the Aetheryte, even helpfully telling her how to attune to it.

He then led her to the Adventurer’s Guild where she met a gruff but nice man named Baderon. He was more than happy to help her register with the Adventurers Guild and show her all the points of interest on a map of Limsa Lominsa. He looked over at her new friend curiously, and looked back at Iiro, his cheerful tone dropping to a wary grumble.

“Well, that’s everything you need. You be careful out there, miss. We’ve been havin’ some kidnappings recently, and a pretty girl like you would be a prime target.” Iiro blushed but smiled confidently at him.

“Don’t worry! I’ll be just fine! I’m going to be a great adventurer!” she bragged, and though Baderon seemed hesitant, he nodded, shooting a look to her friend. She skipped away, giddy with excitement that she was now officially an adventurer when the man approached her.

“There we go! Welcome to the Guild, miss,” he said pleasantly. “What are you going to do now?” Iiro paused and thought, tapping her finger against her chin as she looked up to at the ceiling.

“Hm, I think I’ll go find some jobs and get my career into motion!” She said, and the man nodded.

“Well, if you’re going to do that...” he said, and she looked at him curiously, tilting her head. “Why don’t you join me and my crew? We could use an extra hand, and we’d be happy to help you out.” Iiro’s eyes practically sparkled. They wanted her in their party? That was great! She heard it could be hard to find people to party with as a new adventurer, and she had already found a party! She nodded excitedly.

“Yes! Yes, that’d be great! My name is Iiro Iro, by the way! A name to put on the papers, right?” She couldn’t hide her excitement, and the man smiled.

“My name is Murphy. Nice to meet you, Iiro!” he said. “Well, let me tell my party and get the paperwork in order. Why don’t you meet me in say, four bells...” He looked at her map in her hand and pointed to a small dock on the Lower Decks. It was a little out of the way, somewhere near the Fisher’s Guild, but she could probably find her way there with little trouble. “Right around here? We’ll figure out what to do then and you can get ready for the job we pick.”

“Alright!” Iiro folded the map and tucked it into her pocket. “I’ll see you in a little bit, Murphy!” He nodded and walked off. Iiro dug into her pack and pulled out her gil purse. She had saved up for this very moment! Quickly calculating what she needed, she rushed off to the Upper Decks. She took a moment to stop by the Arcanist Guild to get herself registered and then proceeded to the markets. She bought herself a shiny new book, some fancy new armor, and a handful of potions. She still had enough for a warm meal and was happily munching on a sandwich when the time came to meet her new party.

It was dark now, the sun having set about a bell ago. People had found themselves home, and the city was much quieter than it had been earlier. She found herself on a quiet, barely lit deck. It was a little eerie, just hearing the sound of the waves brushing against the pillars of the deck. She looked around. She couldn’t see Murphy or anyone else! Where was everyone? Was she too early?

Just as she thought this, something smashed against the back of her head and she staggered, her vision going white for a brief moment as she fell to her knees. She blinked, turning her head to see what had hit her, completely surprised to see Murphy standing behind her with a small group of men and woman, dangerous smiles on their faces as they began to crowd around her.

“Murphy?” She questioned, her voice shaking, her head spinning. “Why’d you hit me?”

“I can’t believe she actually came,” the Roegadyn woman to his right sneered. Murphy snickered, crossing his arms.

“Told ya she was stupid,” he said, leaning over Iiro. She looked up at him, confusion all over her face.

“W-what’s going on?” She asked. “Weren’t we going to party together...?” The group behind him laughed, a few insults being thrown in her direction that she couldn’t hear, her ears ringing from the blow to her head.

“Party together? Gods, you are stupid,” he said crouching down and reaching out. He gripped her long hair in his fist and she whimpered, tears coming to her eyes as fear filled her. He was going to hurt her! “We ain’t adventurers, luv. We’re pirates, and you? You were an easy target.” He reached out and forcibly pulled her pack from her. She let out a cry and reached for it, struggling in his grasp, but he shoved her away. When she fell on her back, he held her down with his foot, and she gasped for breath as she struggled under the pressure. He opened her pack and made a face.

“Psh. Not what I thought there’d be,” he grumbled, throwing the pack to another Hyur, who caught it. “Well, that’s fine. Those robes and that book look rather nice. We’ll be taking those.” Iiro’s face paled and she flailed.

“N-no! Please! That’s all I have,” she sobbed, fear filling her as he reached down and tore off the clasp of her robe. She struggled valiantly but was only rewarded only with a few blows to her face and body as his party joined it, forcibly taking everything she had, leaving her only in her small clothes.

“Careful, boys,” Murphy said. “Don’t hit the face too much. She won’t sell for as much if you bruise her up too much.” Iiro let out a sob, her chest aching. She had definitely broken something, and her limbs went limp as he stomped his boot into her midsection, knocking the air from her. Her vision blurred, but she was vaguely aware of the Roegadyn woman pulling out a coil of rope, preparing to tie her up. Was this how she died? Was she going to be killed on her first day of adventuring?

Her vision began to turn white around the edges as she felt the rope being tied around her wrists, cutting into bare skin, her ankles following. She tried to struggle one more time but was struck on the head once more. Her vision darkened, and though she tried to stay conscious, she found she couldn’t.

She mentally said goodbye to her mother and father, apologizing to M’aja as darkness finally overtook her.

She awoke later in a warm bed, her wounds treated and her body sore. She looked around, confused. The sun poured in through a small window to her left, and on a table near here was a small meal of stew and bread, still steaming and warm. She blinked, sitting up and whimpering as her chest protested. The door opened and she flinched, covering her head as a Miqo’te woman dressed in green walked in.

“Oh! You’re awake!” she said, walking up to Iiro. She was holding some more medical supplies and walked up to Iiro’s bed, placing them on the small nightstand. Iiro looked up at her, shaking, and the woman blinked. “Oh! Oh, no, don’t worry, you’re safe now. You took quite a beating. It’s a good thing Jacke heard you screaming or else you woulda been taken away by those wanna-be pirates.” She rinsed a cloth in a bowl of water and slowly reached out to dab at Iiro’s face. The Lalafell flinched and the woman recoiled.

“W-what happened...?” Iiro whimpered, and the woman tilted her head.

“You were mugged, and almost taken away to be sold. Those guys were pretty bad though. I can’t believe they tried to do that in front of the Guild. Here, let me clean your wounds.” Iiro was nervous but nodded as the Miqo’te continued talking, changing her bandages carefully. “Name’s V’kebbe, by the way. You’re safe in the Guild. Jacke was quick to make sure those idiots were punished for breaking the code.” Iiro stared up at her, confused, and V’kebbe sighed. “You’re probably still tired. I’ll tell the Guildmaster you’re awake. He wanted to talk to you. Then you can go back to sleep, okay?” She motioned to the table as she stood to leave. “You try to eat. I won’t be long.”

Iiro watched her go and walked carefully over to the table, sitting on the seat and looking at the stew. It was a simple meat stew, and she didn’t realize how hungry she was until the smell hit her nose. She quickly dug into the food, ripping a piece of bread with her teeth when the situation hit her. She had nothing. She was nearly taken away. Tears filled her eyes and she let out a choked sob, still shoveling food into her mouth as she cried. What was she going to do? She had no gil, nothing. They took everything. She only had the too-large clothes they had dressed her in, and no weapons. She couldn’t become an adventurer like this, and she couldn’t get home without gil...

“Yer awake,” a gruff voice said at the door, and Iiro looked up. A young man sauntered in, V’kebbe close behind him. “Good. Knew you’d wake up, but still, ye’ve been asleep fer two days. How ar’ ye feeling?” He looked over her and winced, noticing the snot and tears that dirtied her face. “Ah. Bad question. Sorry.”

“W-what do I do?” Iiro sobbed, dropping her half-finished bread and covering her face. “I don’t have anything. I don’t have any gil, or clothes or even a way to defend myself! W-what am I supposed to do now...?” The man watched her, arms crossed as he watched her cry for a moment.

“Ye could give up,” he suggested, and she looked up at him, shocked, eyes puffy and nose running. She shook her head fervently.

“No! No, I can’t! I have to become an adventurer, no matter what!” She sobbed. “I made promises. I have to! I have to!” The man watched her for a moment more and uncrossed his arms, walking up and kneeling next to her.

“Ye still want to fight?” he asked, and she nodded, rubbing her eyes as she tried desperately to dry her tears. “Ye want ta make a difference?” She nodded again and he huffed, smiling slightly and standing.

“Good. We can’t ‘elp ye with much, but we can help with that.” she looked up at him, confused. “Name’s Jacke. I’m the Guildmaster of the Rogue’s Guild- th’ very building yer in right now.” He made a sweeping motion to the room around them. “Ye wanna fight? We can ‘elp with that. Give you a pair of stabbers. Teach ye to protect yerself.”

“W-what?” she asked, eyes wide. Jacke sighed.

“I’m tellin’ ye to join our guild,” he told her. “We’ll help you, Give ye weapons, teach ye how to defend yerself. So long as ye want.” She sniffed, and he looked over her meal. “Ye don’t ‘ave to make a decision now, ye can rest-” Iiro blew her nose loudly before jumping up in her seat. Her body screamed at her, but she ignored it, staring at him, determination in her watery eyes.

“No. No! I’ll join. I have nothing else,” she said, her voice shaky. “Teach me how to fight! I want to defend myself! I won’t let anyone do this to me again!” Jacke grinned, crossing his arms.

“Alright. V’kebbe? Get this girl a pair of stabbers. We start lessons the second ye heal.”

#ffxivwrite2020 #ff4 rp #ff14 #Iiro Iro #Jacke Swallow #V'kebbe #Rogue NPCs #Origin Story!

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postmodernmulticoloredcloak · 4 years

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Time for The Witcher episode 4!!

So the last episode was Intense(TM) and also I finally realized that the show isn’t happening all at the same time but it’s following multiple timelines, which, better late than never. Now things make more sense...

Alright, bando alle ciance and let’s do this.

“Ciri! Ciri” Cirilla: yes? “Not you, I was talking to Siri. What’s the weather going to be tomorrow”

That’s such a stupid joke. Unfollow me right now, it’s okay.

Glowy Forest Intensifies... oh, there’s people now. Forest Dora Milaje aren’t happy to see her, which is understandable, I guess. But the boss arrives.

Meanwhile, except not meanwhile, a man has had a very bad day. Apparently the nickname White Wolf has stuck. Remember when we thought the MCU was going to make Bucky into a Black Panther character as the White Wolf, official media outlet even used the White Wolf as a title for Bucky, and then it ended up in nothing? Sorry for the digression but I really hoped we’d get Bucky written by Ryan Coogler and I was really disappointed when that didn’t happen but *waves around* all of that happened instead. I mean, technically it’s not too late to make it happen but Bucky is a Disney+ creature now, so, bye.

Hello Jaskier! My boy! I missed you.

Ah, the new media image campaign is working.

“You never get involved, except you actually do, all of the time” I love this XD “I don’t do emotions or attachments” character who does emotions intensely all the time and gets attached to everyone they meet paired with “sure Jan” character who calls them out is a very good dynamic.

Ah, yes, this is perfect. I’m sorry but dark brooding protagonist and bubbly comic relief sidekick is my secret weakness.

No offense, Geralt, but those clothes did need a good washing after your latest job, so don’t make that face.

Blah blah royal affairs I should probably pay attention to.

“I am not going to protect you” [*Spongebob font* five minutes later...]

But yeah, the princess is Cirilla’s mother, I suppose, and I’m sure the marriage that produces Scream Princess is super important. She is very pretty and has lovely hair. Sometimes I wish I had long hair I could braid artistically.

The princess doesn’t want to get married to some strange dude, but the queen is A Very Strong Woman(TM) and has no time for silly things like her daughter’s feelings over the most life-changing decision in her life. She’s an interesting character for sure, and the narrative doesn’t try to frame her as either definitely good or bad, which is interesting.

Oh! Rat Boy isn’t dead! That’s great. That makes sense narratively, native forest women who suffered genocide from colonizers wouldn’t kill an elf boy who went through the same thing.

Promised husband is a shitty dude. Queen Calanthe likes Geralt, which, relatable. But she and her entourage are racist assholes, and the next scene with Cirilla and Dara tell us that their anti-elf talk isn’t just talk.

By the way, now we know for sure how much time there is between Geralt’s timeline and Cirilla’s.

The queen doesn’t like feminine dresses. Lady is trying to overcompensate a lot. But her banter with Geralt is entertaining.

The first suitor is from Nilfgaard, and in hindsight it would have been a wise choice to unify the two kingdoms... C’mon, poor guy is just awkward, he doesn’t deserve the humiliation. Or is he the guy who’ll make war later? The pilot threw too much new information at me the other day.

Yennefer is bored... and apparently 30 years has passed since the last we saw of her. (I refuse to try to understand when in relation to the other plots that puts this scene. Things will click together at some point or I’ll just accept whatever happens and nod along.) And coincidentally she is paired with a woman who laments being only considered important as a baby-producing womb. Oops. Awkward.

Not relevant to the show but my parents never get inside my room as often as while I am watching something on Netflix.

Yennefer thinks life as a court mage sucks, queen Kalis thinks life as a baby-maker sucks. They envy each other for what the other has, but they’re probably both right.

Well, boredom is no longer a problem.

Oh, poor queen, her husband paid to have her killed because she’s only given him daughters. Two episodes in a row about female heirs to kings, plus queen Calanthe being female and having a daughter who’ll have a daughter. Theeemes!

You can’t be rude to the only person who is your only hope not to die horribly, girl.

Queen Calanthe is frustrated she isn’t a man, which we could guess. She also likes the simplicity of killing, which we could also guess.

Oh! It’s almost pre-decided husband’s time to claim the girl’s hand in marriage, but New Guy appears! He’s been cursed and Mr I Don’t Pick Sides Ever No Matter What, guess what, picks a side. The audience is shocked. No one could foresee this unexpected turn of events.

Noooo the baby!!! Yennefer loses a rare chance to acquire a baby. This is sad. Damn this show doesn’t shy away from killing children, such a different feel from most stories we’re used to.

These people are weird with destiny. Calanthe says fuck destiny, Geralt says lol mood but just because you’re a queen doesn’t mean you’re above sacred rules.

OOOOH Calanthe says fuck sacred rules and it does not go well. Is this happening because she tried to mess up with the order of the world and chaos said hi? Was the princess always magical or did this happen because destiny will have its way no matter what?

Ah, her grandmother had it, she never manifested it before until now, when circumstances awoke it.

Queen Calanthe acknowledges destiny, and of course they’re all dressed in green like the mages of Feminist Hogwarts aka Chaos School. I should have paid more attention to colors but green seems to be the color of magic slash chaos slash destiny.

Then bam, red. Men. Violence.

Everyone in the forest is also dressed in green... Colors aren’t really my thing, you might have noticed that I rarely analyze colors in Supernatural and I’m not particularly into what which color means and I only notice things when they’re very obvious like the purple of transformation-slash-death, so, yeah, I am not the kind of person who notices colors until they slap me in the face. I guess this is my slap in the face by this show’s color palette XD

Also consider that I watch everything with f-lux on, so I don’t even see colors the way they actually look, I guess that’s why it’s harder for me to notice colors when everything looks orange.

Alriiiiight *disables f.lux for current app*

Oh. Oh. So this is how this show looks like.

Awkward. This is so embarrassing.

I should rewatch the whole thing with real colors now... well, another time.

Anyway, Dara has drunk antidepressant juice, but it doesn’t work on Ciri, because she is Relevant(TM) to destiny so she can’t forget her past otherwise the plot destiny can’t happen.

Sleep well baby.

Aaah husband’s curse is broken! Yay.

Geralt accidentally acquires a bond with a baby. One baby dead and Yennefer’s potential bond with her lost, one baby on her way and Geralt’s future bond with her created. So this is all about parallels based on babies and births. Cool.

In the future, destiny has arrived and indeed wrought calamity on the court and the city. Someone makes something gross with Calanthe’s dead body--a spell to learn the location of Cirilla. Trouble is coming.

Oh! It’s him, he’s not dead? And taking something from Calanthe (that will be relevant later)?

Ciri drinks stronger juice and goes to the ancestral plane, er, I mean has a vision of a Very Important Tree, sorry I had Black Panther stuck in my head from before.

Well this is very interesting and things are starting to click together and yeah it’s a weird ride but I’m enjoying it! I suppose only at the end of the season you get the full picture of why and when everything has happened so I’m just sitting here metaphorically eating popcorn waiting for things to make sense on their own rhythm. There’s a theme of motherhood and babies and it seems that Geralt’s destiny is to become a metaphorical mother for Cirilla? Or am I mixing him up with a similar kind of character with a tendency to become everyone’s mom? Anyway, I’m looking forward to see what happens.

#the witcher

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heavenofficialsbl · 5 years

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H.O.B. Chapter 12 part ii

Chapter 12 part ii: A Ghost in Red Sets Fire Upon The Military and Civil Temples part ii

I’m sorry this has taken me so long to write! I’m trying to get my sleep schedule back on track and that means I put myself to bed earlier (I usually write these before bed). Oh well, maybe I’ll get better with my time management as I do more of these. ALSO: if anyone is interested, I have an HOB discord for anyone that would like to join. Please shoot me a DM for the link <3

ALSO ALSO: Thank you guys so much for 500 followers! You make me so happy UwU <3 I didn’t think there would be this many people interested in HOB since it’s still so early into the translation, and it seems that the English speaking fandom is rather small right now, so it makes me really happy to see all of you guys enjoying the content!

Let’s get started!

OH BOY, I forgot that we had just gotten Hua Cheng’s name! I don’t know if XL is familiar with him or his name at all, but we’ll see...

Alright so Hua Cheng is translated to... Well it’s directly translated to ‘flower city’ which cracks me up. I have a feeling that this is going to somehow be connected to Xie Lian also being known as the “Flower crown Prince”. It’s funny how he had such a gentle and kind memory of HC leading him through the forest, while everyone else is on edge just at the mention of him

Daww, XL is part of the Four Famous Tales <3 That’s somehow very comforting/pleasing to hear. Even though he ended up being cast out from Heaven, he at least had some positive stories told about him

It does seem a bit odd that he hadn’t heard of these Four Great Calamities, though maybe it’s just for story-telling purposes so we can hear them explained

Oh please don’t tell me that XL is the White Clothed Calamity D: HC has to be the Bloody Rain Reaching Towards a Flower (that’s even the name of the first arc that we’re in ohoho). I’m also guessing that the Green Light Wandering Nights guy is the one who hangs corpses in the forest?

Mmmmm then maybe the White-Clothed Calamity isn’t XL, if they’re those that became ghosts

Ohhh interesting... I thought that the demon realm would be separate from the mortal realm like the Heavens are. I guess that just comes from being used to the idea of Hell though. That’s very discomforting though, as a human in this world, to know that all of the worlds demons and ghosts just live among you

Oh, I was right about something! So it is Green Ghost Qi Rong

The water demon doesn’t make hardly any trouble and still is listed first, while mister GG causes mayhem all the time and isn’t even Devastation level. People really do love having things that match lol they probably did just add him to make it 4

The White Clothed Calamity isn’t XL, but he seems painfully familiar with the name. It seems that this demon is the one who wiped out his own kingdom 800 years ago. I can imagine how painful it must be for him to hear that name. I wonder if he was extinguished right after/soon after he destroyed Xian Le kingdom, or if he died later on

Deathly Spirit Butterflies: cool as hell name

“Wan’t to provoke the least”: note, not the one the Heavens “hate the most” or the one that Heaven “considers the strongest”, but the one that they “don’t want to provoke”. I don’t know if this is a literal translation or if it was just written this way to keep the flow of the story, but to think that the Heavens are wary of HC and consider him such a great threat that they, instead of trying to destroy him, are instead actively avoiding him/trying not to give him a reason to turn on them... I think that says a lot

For XL to be as famous and Jun Wu but forced to be a scrap collector for 800 years while the other lives in luxury... oof

If one wanted to get to know a Heavens’ Official, they’d only need to take a walk, find a temple to visit, examine the god’s statue, study how they dressed, and what kind of enchanted weaponry they carried. With that, one could understand them to a certain extent

Except for the fact that we’ve explored how these thing change depending on the artist of the statue and the popularity of the Official... Artistic liberty and such

Do they think his name is fake because of how little it fits him? As for his appearance, people can lost of different personalities. I wouldn’t put it past him to change his appearance either, as he seems to be quite powerful.

Where can I get me a man who is always accompanied by blood rain and butterflies?

Of the stories that are given, I think he’s gonna beeeee probably a mixture of all four actually

OoooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO oh yeah okay I have thought’s and ideas after reading that he became an official and left on his own okay yes please lets just say #heavypining

“Even if it was true, it still had to be false” xD So thats what those in Heaven find embarrassing? Interesting

Alright, so we find out that even demons/ghosts can have worshipers. We also learn that HC is probably Loki in disguise

It was almost at the point where he had enough power to cover the skies with just a single hand.

I can see why the Heavens are cautious of him. I hadn’t realized that he also had such a large following that was comparable to the Heavenly Officials’ following

He had just come out of a volcano, but that’s not important~

Okay, time to do a bit of research on poison and why it made him so formidable

*insert jeopardy theme here*

Alright so what I’m seeing about Gu is that it’s a traditional CHinese poison made by sealing several venomous creatures in a container, like snakes, spiders, and scorpions, etc., and letting them eat each other, and thus condensing the venom inside one body. It was used for things like causing disease and death, but also could possibly be used as a love charm...? this os from wikipedia:

"For centuries, the Miao, particularly Miao women", writes Schein (2000:50-51), "have been feared for their mastery of the so-called gu poison, which is said to inflict death from a distance with excruciating slowness."

Let’s go back a bit, shall we?

“...sometimes a temperamental and disagreeable teenager, sometimes a gentle, kind and elegant beautiful man, or sometimes a gorgeous female ghost with a poisonous heart.”

These things have really got me thinking now. I can’t stop reading about the poison GAH it’s so interesting!

I was confused with the wording of the sentence, “It was not a city where everyone raises Gu...” because why would someone RAISE poison? But now it makes sense, as the Gu, or Ku, is the survivor of that venomous buffet. When raised for a long time, it would continue to grown more venomous/poisonous

Oh. OH. Hua Cheng wasn’t studying Gu or making Gu, he IS Gu. Shit.

Okay he has to be Loki in disguise. To be a strong warrior and a competent scholar? Jeeze, he sounds like he really does have a lot of facets to his personality. To win in debates, you need to know when to yield and when to push. It makes me think of how when fishing, you need to sometimes let the fish swim away, but by doing that, you’re more likely to catch the fish in the end

Oh my god Hua Cheng offered his own ashes if he lost the bet, but he knew he would win xD When it says that he “openly invited” the 35 Officials, I wonder if he invited them by name, or if he just asked for 35 random Officials. I bet they were ones that were, at some point, cruel to XL huehuehue

And which 2 Officials thought he might actually defeat them? It says only 33 thought there wasn’t any chance, but that leaves two who thought he did have a chance. It seems like they didn’t participate, since it says that 33 lost the bet. I have a feeeeeeeeeling thats its XL’s two generals, because why wouldn’t it be? We need more circles withing circles, right?

In any case, people were very forgetful, in another fifty years, perhaps no one would remember it.

HAHAHA good luck with that

I can see why they don’t want to deal with him: he’s strong, cunning, and unpredictable. I doubt the Officials every get their temples burned (at least, it probably happens very, very rarely) so why would they think that HC would target the temples? They were left totally open and unguarded. What a smart cookie

I also like that he didn’t go after the two who decided not to fight him. I think that shows that he is, in a way, reasonable. He could have easily burned theirs as well, but they didn’t accept his challenge or his bet, so he left them alone.

Oh and it’s not just 33 temples, it’s all of the temples of all 33 Officials. Hoo boy, Hua Cheng, hoo boy

Jun Wu is right: don’t agree to something with such high stakes and then cry when it turns against you

Hua Cheng had also been very crafty, he only destroyed the temples and did not harm anyone.

A. GOOD. COOKIE.

Wait wait wait wait they can GO INTO PEOPLES DREAMS?! DUDE. They went into the dreams of such influential people and then lost so horribly RIP HEAVEN OFFICIALS WHO’S ARROGANT NOW BISH

So from everything that I’m reading about HC here, it seems that, and excuse me for bringing up Thor again, he doesn’t seek war, but is always prepared for it. He doesn’t openly attack people, but he’s certainly ready to fight if he needs to or feels threatened

Aaaaaaaaaaaand now a lot of them respect him. It must be such a weird dynamic between HC and the Officials: they’re Heavenly Officials for... heavens sake, and he is someone who, at least according to rumor at this point, had denounced his title as an Official and then became even stronger than many of the still current Officials. The more I read this, the more I understand why they can’t stand him. I think it’s not so much that they despise him like the 4 Clans despise WWX and want him dead, but more that they just want nothing to do with him, and are content with just staying away from him

Oh I totally saw that coming, that Mu Qing and Feng Xin were the two smart ones (or maybe they were just super uninterested) that didn’t bother with fighting HC

Op yep, it seems it was a bit of both haha they were busy and just didn’t want to bother. I wonder what their encounters were outside of the bet, since it says that they fought HC multiple times

Tadaaaahhhh- Our Highness the Crown Prince Xie Lian is totally smitten with those damn butterflies. I want to know what they do, or how HC uses them for the others to fear them that much. It says they cause “frantic devastation” so I want to see how they work

WEll I’m so glad that we’re finally getting some actual information on HC (I wasn’t expecting this much information this soon!). WE definitely still don’t know everything about him, so I can’t make a really good guess on what his personality is or anything about his character/morality, but he seems to be smart and reasonable to an extent.

Well, thanks for reading guys! See you hopefully in a few days when I get to chapter 13!

-Bee

#hob #heaven officials blessing #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #mo xian tong xiu #mxtx #hob liveblog #chinese webnovel #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #scum villain #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #xie lian #hua cheng

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arzuera · 6 years

Text

Rain Rain Go Away (Prince Sidon x Reader)

Living in the Domain was something to get used too. Most of the time it was wonderful. Beautiful luminous stones gleamed off of the water from the upper Domain with nature all around. It was glorious. It was magical. Something you would never tire of looking at...

However, then there were days like today. Dark clouds snuffed out the sun as torrents of rain poured down from the sky. Soaking the small amount of the upper Domain that wasn't already wet from the ever flowing aqueducts. Not to mention that no matter what you did today, you ended up wet.

It was annoying you to no end. There was just to much water.

You hunched behind the cook pot in an attempt to leech the little amount of warmth left in the smoldering coals as well as to escape the downpour. Now hating the open air set up that the Seabed Inn currently had. Normally, it was wonderful to fall asleep to the fresh air and sound of water. Today you were debating whether or not to sleep in front of the shrine, as long as you were on the stairs behind you wouldn't get wet.

"My, my... it's really coming down, isn't it?" Kodah stated, as she stepped in from the entrance to the inn. All you did in response was hunch down even further behind the pot. "I'm sorry but I don't think I will be able to relight this for a while. All of the wood is wet and the storm would just put it out again." The red female Zora sighed. Rain never bothered any of the fish people. They slept in pools of water. "We need to think of a way to keep the rain out for guests. It's been so long that it's easy to forget that not everyone takes to water like we do."

To be honest, it wasn't surprising. Most of the Zora had been children a hundred years ago and when Calamity Ganon struck, trade and visitors were all but lost. That didn't make the lack of any enclosed buildings for people to find solace in any better.

You sneezed, bundling up in your drenched clothes as best you could but to little avail. There wasn't much you could do. Everything you owned was soaked through or would be the moment you changed. So you just nodded your head to Kodah and went back to looking at the fire. At this rate, you were guaranteed to get sick. Lovely.

"What was that?" A second red Zora head popped in but it was much larger than any of the others. Then again, he was the only hammerhead amongst his kind and his father was huge! Kodah chuckled slightly as Prince Sidon made his way into the inn. "It sounded like someone squeezed a mouse to hard."

"My sneezes are not that squeaky, fishboy-" you were cut off as you sneezed a couple more times. The energy to deal with Sidon ebbing every second.

"I think your body just proved my point on the matter. Are you alright?" Your Zora friend knelt down so that he was eye level with you but you couldn't meet his gaze.

"The weather is getting to her. We can't keep the fire lit in the storm and she is soaked through." Kodah smiled solemnly and you sneezed again. "We're trying to keep her dry but there isn't much we can really do. At least, not right now."

"Hmmm, I see." Sidon pensively rubbed his chin before snapping his fingers. "Oh! I have an idea!" The next thing you knew, you were flailing as the large Zora picked you up with ease before feeling so done with the entire situation that you went limp like a ragdoll. When it came to the prince you had noticed, that compared to others, he was rather handsy with you. He wasn't in any way inappropriate but you have gotten a little better when it came to the Zora Prince manhandling you as much as he did. It was easier to give in than to fight.

Kodah was giggling at your reaction behind her hand so you stuck your tongue at the innkeeper childishly. The female Zora had always been good to you while you stayed in the Domain. Even going so far as to wipe away any payments for nights as long as you helped out sometimes. If she hadn't, you would have been close to running out of rupees by now.

Prince Sidon stood to his full height and the next thing you knew, you were being carried out of the inn to a new destination. The only places that were rain free was the King's throne room and the shrine so you weren't sure where exactly he was taking you. There was no way that Muzu would let you sleep in the throne room and to be fair the shrine didn't look that comfortable. Still, the Zora prince surprised you by heading towards the shrine and walking to the backside that you normally would have ignored. He pushed a stone in the fancy trim artwork next to the wall. A click was heard and the sound of stone grating against stone filled the area as the wall in front of you moved to the side to reveal a hidden staircase. Your mouth agape.

How had you not noticed this before?

"Ha ha! If you think that only the Hylians benefited from ancient sheikah technology then you are drastically mistaken. This staircase leads to an enclosed set of rooms built under the water so that visiting royalty could stay without having to camp outside." Sidon said with a show-stopping grin as he began to descend the stairs. "Back in the day, we used to have a proper enclosed inn of sorts but with the lack of travelers it was forced to close down like the armor shop. So these are the only rooms that should shield you from the rain."

Soon the staircase opened up to a long hallway with doors set into both sides. He stops in front of one and pulls it open to reveal a bedroom. A luxurious water bed rested to the side. Elaborate designs filled the tiled floor and walls. There was a dresser, table and chairs, a window that allowed you to see the bottom of the lake that the Domain rested on. Heavy curtains hanging on either side for privacy, if wanted. There was another room that branched off and when you craned your neck to look you saw what looked like a pool of water. A bathroom? This truly was a suite meant for visiting royalty.

Prince Sidon set you down and moved towards a fireplace that was built into the wall with elaborate carvings leading all the way to the ceiling, throwing a fire crystal into the hearth to start a cozy blaze.

You refused to move from your spot. Water dripped onto the nice tile from your soaked through clothes. This was way to nice of a room. There was no way that you could even afford a room like this. It was the pinnacle of luxury and here you were... standing by the door looking like a drowned street urchin. Why had Sidon brought you down here?

Said prince hummed to himself as he moved from the fireplace over to the dresser. "Hey (y/n), take off your shirt."

"...what?" You blanched at his words. Your arms moving to hug yourself unconsciously. "WHAT?!" A vibrant blush took over your face. The natural glow of your body growing to the point it put the fire to shame.

Sidon blinked. He turned to you confused for a second while holding a garment that he had pulled out of the top drawer before his words sunk in. Soon the white part of his face matched the red of his scales with his fingers fumbling with the cloth in his hands. "O-oh my, I-i didn't mean um I mean," he cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his embarrassment while shoving the garment back into the dresser. "There are dry clothes in the top and towels in the bottom." Then as quickly as he could, he exited the room and closed the door behind. Leaving you alone.

"...wow. Um..." It took you a moment to realize what had just happened and to go investigate the top drawer as the Zora prince had said. Sure enough, there were several nice dry clothes inside. "Thank you...?" You called out loud enough hoping that he could hear you through the heavy door.

"No problem, my friend. These rooms are indeed for royalty but there are way to many compaired to the amount of officials who actually visit. So if you wish, that room can be yours. I'll let Muzu know not to give it away if you decide to keep it." the Prince coughed as if to retain some diginity after what he had just said a few moments ago. "I am being called by my father. Contact me later when you reach a decision!"

Hasty footsteps followed the prince's voice as he ascended the staircase. His attempt at escape from the situation leaving a small smile on your lips, leaving you alone in the luxurious room and your face hot. You shook your head at it all.

At least, your face was dry now.

#prince sidon #fanfiction #reader insert #breath of the wild #legend of zelda #give me prompts people!#arzuera

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picaresqve · 6 years

Text

“Jonathan. Jonathan Wheatley? Your boss?” The figure in the doorway – previously in the doorway, now moving forward into the room – leaves the uncanny impression of a prayerbug: lank and tall and strangely deadly: slender hands stuffed into buckskin gloves, favouring the basket-hilted broadsword at his right hip the way some southpaws do. He speaks with the edging annoyance of an official whose schedule is being hampered by a clerk or a lower-level bureaucrat. His name is Benedict Cain.

“Ah, right. John. Well, he’s not in just now. What’s this about anyway?” Jarvis is staring through Benedict. His eyes are unfocused and glassy like the expression of a man who’s spent most of his life somewhere else.

“It’s regarding his financial assets. I really need to speak with him.”

“Hm. I see, but like I says, he ain’t here. Um. Could pass a message if you’d like?”

“No, that won’t do. Look, I’m sorry if I’m being impatient, but I was supposed to meet Jonathan here first thing in the morning. Now, I’ve come all the way from the capital to see him and it’s a bit too urgent to just leave a message.” Benedict’s eyes are brutal and bright and unflinching. The pause between the first statement and the following one is not long enough for an interjection, only for an effect. “I work for the treasury.”

“Oh. Ohhhh. Well— well, all I’m sayin’ is he ain’t here right now. Might have stepped out, not really sure, but, well, yeah. You—you best just come back later.”

Jarvis has spent the last nine years in a locked room inside his head. Years spent in the same routine, in a machine that he has no notion of its existence or control over the levers of its dominion. He is hollowed-out and numb by too much memory and not enough joy. He thinks about money and how there’s never enough. About food. About how, in secret, his stillborn child some months back is treated as a blessing. Mostly, though, he’s just waiting for lunch and that small spot he’d found for himself between two boulders. There’s whiskey there in his satchel by the desk for when the day gets hard, and it gets hard often. His tongue feels swollen and dry and he wonders how much he can get away with and still be functional; he’s got one more chance, John says. His life is coming apart, it seems. Between the cracks in his stare, a man can see it from a thousand miles distant and yet every day Jarvis the Derrickhand still has to wake up and do it all again. He can remove the drill string in his sleep, now. Can guide the pipe and line it up with the fingers by memory, done near on four thousand days, back-to-back, and thousands more to go. He feels nothing for the numbers because sometime before he’d emptied that feeling out with the hope. His hands are still sore from yesterday’s work and sometimes they’ll gnarl up at night and won’t go right again until the morning. He worries about his wife, sick at home, and about the fever she’d come down with in the night. He’d wanted to stay with her, but the medicine would be expensive, and he had to work. It’s not sadness that sits in his eyes anymore. He looks tranquilised, mostly. His knees haven’t stopped aching for nine years.

Benedict looks at the door he’d come in from while smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in his doublet and sighing. He looks back. Jarvis can’t help but think that Benedict is unusually beautiful and elegant or that his conciliatory smile unsettles him. He isn’t sure why, but it does.

“Forgive me. None of this hassle of mine is your fault. Mr. Wheatley can be a difficult, non-communicative man who expects everyone to read his mind. I know this. I expect he even failed to mention me or our business. That’s not your fault, sir, and you’ve been gracious enough with your time, time that I imagine you don’t need some quill-hand from the city robbing you of. John does enough of that himself for the both of us.” Jarvis tries to interject but is clipped off. “However, that doesn’t resolve my issue nor yours. I offer a concession – or a treaty, if you will: I’ll pretend I never saw you, that you were not here, but hard at work, while I sit here – right over there on the bench, to be specific – and wait for him to return and you can get back to whatever it is that needs getting back to.”

Jarvis squints. Benedict doesn’t appear untrustworthy on paper, he notes. His sleeveless, damask doublet is well-crafted with golden patterns woven against a black background. The white shirt beneath it is immaculate, outfitted with ivory cufflinks and a golden pin tacked into the mandarin collar whose symbol is unfamiliar to him. A pair of dark, well-tailored leggings feed down into his tall-shafted boots and the craftsmanship of his blade is immaculate but utilitarian, presenting him as a man who is all business but spares no expense in whatever business that is. Eventually satisfied, Jarvis accepts the offer to the tune of something like ‘knock yourself out.’ He turns and spits between his teeth into a nearby pot.

“Gotta get back to work, then, but John should be in soon.”

Benedict watches Jarvis leave past him, out the door he’d first come. Alone in the room, Benedict sits quiet and immaculate like a statue, his back perfectly congruent with the wall behind him. He tugs at one of his coarse, leathern gloves. He looks around. The office is in one of those old adobe buildings built during the last era by men greater than the ones who use it now. Squat and ugly but made to withstand an entire calamity. He smiles. The land is now owned by one of southwestern Thanalan’s more insignificant oil-drilling operations which is in turn a subsidiary of Godwyn & Smythe. He has come to understand that the acquisition is recent. He’s in the front office, he tells himself. There are two doors but he watches neither of them. One leads out into the desert while the other (a smaller door tucked into the back-right wall) leads into Jonathan’s adjoining office. The overall décor is quotidian and spartan and the fresh furniture and the new doors are already beginning to crack under the stress of poor craftsmanship. His smile disappears and he ruminates on the tragedy of a job badly done: a tool is only as good as the stuff that forges it, he knows. There is an angry, sweltering sound of morning flies from somewhere outside an open window. Benedict doesn’t blink.

Several moments pass before he stands and strides across the room, his hobnail’d boots snapping crisply off the boardfloor. He circles the desk at the centre. The absentee receptionist is immaculate in his care, he notes, as his fingers pass over neatly-categorised stacks of paper, toiled at by a mind that functions primarily on order; this is not Jarvis’ work. He rifles through a sheaf of papers with only a dull interest before moving on, leaving them as methodical as he had found them. He stops at one of the windows and peers sideways at the land stretching out beyond. Everything looks dull and over-exposed in the midday desert sun. An empty, white light that is blinding and hungry.

Nearly an hour passes before the door opens. Benedict is standing before a painting of an idyllic, rural countryside when Jonathan enters the office in a hurry. He makes it halfway across the room towards his own door before he notices that Benedict is not his receptionist nor one of his workers.

“Can I help you?” Jonathan says, out of breath and agitated. Benedict doesn’t turn around immediately.

“In heaven and earth and all the realms, seventy and seven, I know not of a more depraved will than that which sits in the core of man’s heart and begins, simply, with the words: ‘I want.’ “

“Excuse me?” The words are spit out. Benedict looks down and smiles before turning to Jonathan.

“Never mind me, Mister Wheatley, I was only thinking aloud. Let me first say it’s a pleasure to be here. My name is Benedict. You’ve never met me, but I work for the Firm. You’re familiar with us.” Benedict speaks to Jonathan in a crisp, polite voice that stops just shy of worship. Jonathan’s face is already beginning to crumple into horror and the preliminary stages of sobbing. Benedict gestures towards the door he’d been heading for. “Please forgive me, but do you care if we step into your office?”

Benedict exits out onto the hot, suffocating porch as the sun sits still in the roof of the sky like a great and scorching eye. The air has a vacuum-pressure quality to it. He is smiling as he uses an old cloth to wipe at his hands meticulously. Benedict bends and unlaces his boots and tugs them off. Pushing them to the side on a small corner of the veranda, he tucks his socks and the old rag into their shafts. His doublet comes next, unbuttoned with his shirt, both folded neat and flat against the side of his boots. His leggings follow, the restraints unfastened with ease and care that seems both rhythmic and methodical. He holds his blade out in front of him resting on his palms. There is ceremony here in the way he folds his legs beneath him and lowers the schiavona onto the pile of clothes. He sings a hymn in a foreign tongue. He runs his fingers along the flat of the blade. He stands.

Benedict looks out on the horizon. An entire country of quiet and violence whose remoteness feels so total as to swallow up man, creature, and meaning. His eyes never blink. To the north, oil pylons rise dark and spider-like, ironed out against the sky. He can see the rumour of motion as the drill line and the primitive pulley draws the Kelly drive towards the sky. A breath. He watches the vague shapes of men, small and vaporous in the heatwaves, guide her back down to the earth. A heartbeat. In some stories, a future. In others, a womb.

He smiles and steps out, barefoot and naked, onto the hard, sand-and-dust earth and disappears into the world beyond.

In an hour’s time, Jarvis finds a pile of familiar clothes on the porch and a strange smell. In Jonathan’s office, he finds Jonathan. The men find him screaming.

That evening, someone from the village with a steady eye and a careful voice visits Jarvis and tells him that there are brushfires up in the hills and to stay inside. As the evening redness sinks into night, a fever dream takes his wife in hand and leads her down into a delirium that fills their small cottage with yammering and cries. She is drenched in sweat, the bedding entire one acid-yellow wash of colour. There is the unmistakable droning of flies. Through the windows, a pale corona of light from the fires ascend the ridges around their homestead. To keep her from hurting herself, Jarvis eventually restrains her wrists and her ankles by winding up old cloths and sheets into cords and tying them off to the bedposts. She says she sees eyes in the windows, in the dark corners of the room. She says a man is sitting at the foot of her bed and that his stare hurts. There is ash in the air. Jarvis is sobbing as the nightmares deepen. The flies are screaming. A crescendo that draws across a handful of hours. Sometime, just passed midnight, she falls still at last and all is quiet save her, and she is murmuring. She says: the prophet comes with many crowns to this, His house. He comes with the sword and will wake this old country. He aims to make the land anew.

And then she dies and the fires rage all throughout the night.

In Ul’dah, Ja’rhem wakes in a cold sweat from a dream that he can’t remember. His bones ache. His skin screams in psychic agony. He draws himself up into himself while his body quakes. He lays on a pallet of linens and hay in a lightless cellar that he had crawled into earlier that night after a botched job. The darkness in the room is implacable and hostile. Clover is not here because he hadn’t invited her and he wishes he had and he’s grateful he hadn’t. Phosphene phantoms float among the black. A small flame still licks upwards in the crown of his opium lamp, bathing the pipe beside it in a warm and attractive glow. A flood of craving precedes self-loathing, both entering him in a sick and slick way. Or radiating from somewhere deep inside, from an illusory organ or gland that permeates a slavery so total that he doesn’t even know how to wish he wasn’t shackled to it. The sound of a rat dragging its feet over the stonework feels deafening when partnered with the crippling bloodbeat in his head. He can feel their black, beady eyes watching him from the dark. He throws a clay jug across the room in a fit of rage to dispel them, but it smashes ineffectually against one of the back walls. They are with him among the linens, now. He can feel them by the dozens, all skittering feet and coarse hides and squamous tails, always just out of his vision. Always slipping through clutching and thrashing hands. He shudders and something inside him cracks. It tells him that he doesn’t have to hold on so hard. There’s still a little left, it says. He reaches a trembling claw towards the pipe and weakly holds the bowl over the lamp. He waits. His ribs feel shallower than he remembers them. It’s been a bad month and it’s only going to get worse. Were a man privy to the hunger in his eyes, that man might never sleep a solid night in his life again. A sea of madness and raw nerves now shot, backfiring or firing off into a nothingness that swallows everything. He drags the pipe and the lamp back onto the pallet with him and curls around them like a cat finding warmth somewhere inside itself. As he smokes, in this small house of god that looks like bones and skin and a broken boy, Ja’rhem is crying. He disappears into a warm lap that he can’t see but he knows with all his desperate hope that it is Clover and that she is smiling her gentle and patient smile that tells him everything is going to be okay now. That she has him, now.

#ffxiv #ff14 #balmung #miqo'te #seeker of the sun #writing #upcoming plot #if i find people interested #its only a little long #but if you read it i will love you

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