BARD.

"In my book, friendship is all that matters. Well, friendship and love. And art. Oh, and wine..."

[bardictales]

THIS BLOG IS NOW AN ARCHIVE.

[genshinmp3]

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Welcome Back, My Companion from The Shimmering Voyage Yu-Peng Chen, HOYO-MiX

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A Yearning Breeze from The Shimmering Voyage Yu-Peng Chen, HOYO-MiX

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Bard's Adventure from The Stellar Moments Yu-Peng Chen, HOYO-MiX

[leneemusing]

AFFECTIONATE  AND  AFFIRMING  PROMPTS 

❝  i’ll always want to listen to you.  ❞

❝  any time spent with you is time i treasure.  every second.  ❞

❝  my favorite color changes but it’s always the same,  whatever color you’re wearing.  ❞

❝  whatever matters to you matters to me,  you’re important to me.  ❞

❝  you’re so strong.  and brave—but i wish you knew you don’t always have to be.  i’m here,  if you’re ever willing to let me help shoulder those burdens.  ❞

❝  i’m not staring,  i’m admiring.  ❞

❝  i’ll always be yours,  in one way or another.  ❞

❝  you don’t ever have to worry with me.  i’m here for good.  ❞

❝  you are more beautiful than you know.  ❞

❝  you have a beautiful mind and a wonderful soul,  don’t ever let anyone make you think differently.  ❞

❝  i’m happier when you’re here.  ❞

❝  you’ve become my joy.  ❞

❝  whatever else happens,  if i have you,  i’m content.  ❞

❝  well,  i do feel a little better now that you’re here.  ❞

❝  you do make me happy,  it’s important you know that.  ❞

❝  you will always be my priority.  ❞

❝  i love you forever.  ❞

❝  you don’t know how glad i am to see you.  ❞

❝  you look wonderful.  ❞

❝  i want you to feel safe with me.  ❞

❝  i’m not letting you go until you say it out loud.  you’re beautiful and strong.  you deserve to believe it.  ❞

❝  sometimes you amaze me—i mean you always do.  but you have such intuition and real wisdom about things.  i like understanding the way you see the world.  ❞

❝  you carry yourself with such grace.  ❞

❝  you have a way of lighting up even the darkest moments.  ❞

❝  a tender heart is a courageous thing to preserve.  don’t ever be ashamed of having one.  ❞

❝   being around you makes me a better person.  ❞

❝  i hope you know just how full of worth you are.  ❞

❝  you always make me see things differently.  i appreciate your perspective. ❞

❝  i’m just enjoying you.  you look happy today and i like seeing that.  ❞

❝  you’re very valuable to me.  ❞

❝  you can come to me with anything.  anything at all.  ❞

❝  there is not a place in the world i would rather be than right here with you.  ❞

❝  come here,  come sit in my lap and tell me about your day.  ❞

❝  come put your head in my lap and tell me something new.  ❞

❝  i love it when you smile at me like that.  ❞

❝  i don’t think i can share you with anyone today.  ❞

❝  i’ll take you anywhere you want.  just tell me where.  ❞

❝  bored? of you?  impossible.  ❞

❝  if you like it i’ll get you one.  ❞

❝  your happiness matters greatly to me.  ❞

❝  you deserve to reach the goals you want in life.  you deserve to obtain anything you wish.  ❞

❝  you’re doing well.  you’re just discouraged and tired.  ❞

❝  you need to rest,  you don’t have to do it all today.  ❞

❝  the way i love you goes beyond description.  even those words don’t seem like enough.  ❞

❝  you come first.  you’re always my first choice.  ❞

❝  no,  if you’re upset that’s what matters right now.  talk to me.  ❞

❝  i want to share in your joy.  i want to be part of all things that make you happy.  ❞

❝  all of my best moments are the ones that have you in them.  ❞

❝  i would give you anything you ask of me. ❞

[ COMFORT ]  sender discovers receiver brooding and quietly approaches to carefully hug them from behind. 

[ SOOTHE ]  in the midst of a tense moment,  receiver turns away to conceal their emotions but sender wraps their arms around them and holds them from behind. 

[ CLOSE ]  sender reaches out and pulls receiver into their lap as they’re walking by. 

[  STOP  ]  sender reaches out and takes receiver’s face into their hands,  drawing them away from what they’re doing so they can just look at receiver for a moment.  

[ GIVE ]  sender greets with receiver with a gift. 

[ BRING ]  sender takes receiver out for the day to pamper them. 

[ ATTENTION ]  sender peppers a series of caresses over receiver’s face in an attempt to make them laugh or smile. 

[ COAX ]  sender knows receiver has had a lot on their mind,  so they hold them for a while to help them relax and hopefully open up. 

[ CARESS ]   sender sits by quietly while receiver works,  petting their hair and simply providing company. 

[ RELAX ]  sender gives receiver a massage. 

[ LOOK ]  for receiver to catch sender gazing adoringly at them.

[ MORNING ]  for sender to wake receiver with a kiss. 

[daybreakrising]

@bardictales: it’s been a while since we’ve had one of our depressing chats! - for zhongli

There's the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth. That familiar, teasing tone is something he cherishes, though he'd never admit that out loud. With so few of his old friends left in the world, he has come to appreciate the smallest of things - and this sly, sometimes frustrating, bard provides him with a strange sense of comfort.

But, of course, that is not something they speak of. Theirs is a... complicated friendship. And a treasured one.

A passing glance is given to the bottle of wine set proudly upon the table between them - though table is something of an exaggerated descriptor, given it's little more than a slab of rock balanced upon other rocks. But, at least here they can be free to talk, away from the prying eyes and ears of the mortals they usually surround themselves with.

"Depressing?" He gives a shake of the head, allowing his amusement to shine through in his tone of voice. "I like to think of them more as... insightful."

[bardictales]

"Depressing and insightful often go so hand in hand, I find... The wisest of poets the most morose, those of a perceptive nature, forged to be that way... there is always a cost for both..." Despite the weight to his words, that light tone does not defer, for he does not want to bring the mood down when there is so little time for meetings like this between them. And Zhongli did bring the good wine.

His own contribution has been a bag of apples set at the base of the table and a bottle of Dawn Winery's trademark beverage, donated kindly by the owner without knowing it. He'll deal with the consequences of pilfering from Diluc later, it should not cost him more than a few free performances at Angel's Share. The former knight had always been more lenient than his demeanour suggested, even if he'll give a hard time verbally.

He reaches for one of the apples then, drawing it from the bag and sinking his teeth into it with a delightful crunch. Savouring the taste that dances on his tongue, he waits until he has finished his mouthful before he nods towards the wine. "Are you planning to pour? I do hope you can still make those quaint little tumblers of yours..."

[bardictales]

❛  why did you leave without saying goodbye?  ❜

"Did you miss me in my absence?"

It is all too easy for Venti to turn the conversation into a tease, to let his words dance with the lilt of lightness and frivolity. Far more easy than to delve into the depths of the true answer, to bear his true feelings and speak not in riddles but with openness and honesty. With such a melancholic heart, he is not sure he would be able to stop in once it started spilling.

"I'll make sure next time I give you the full ceremony, goodbyes, leaving presents, a tea before I leave, perhaps even a song..." He can imagine the whole ceremony now, so over the top and ridiculous that it would only need to be done once before the Lord of Geo chased him from the lands of Liyue. It might bring him back to older, simpler times when greeting meant a quick course in dodging and avoiding. He can't say he'd be averse to it, better that than the aches and agonies that followed.

"You'll be chasing me from here with those awful spears of yours, throwing rocks at my head, like you once did, you old blockhead..."

[bardictales]

❝ he who hurries through life hurries to his grave. ❞ (from zhongli-)

"And the early bird catches the worm... are we making a trade of proverbs upon this fine day, Mr Zhongli..."

The bard's lips tip upwards as his voice teases with a melodical lilt as he sits upon a rock with legs folded, staring upon his solemn companion. Fingers idly pass over instrument strings, occasionally plucking a tune yet one that holds no direction, simple notes to skate on the gentle breeze that passes.

He still finds it strange how they meet like this now, both of them pretending they are but humans, letting the world move on past them. Two of the original acknowledging the changing world. It at least gives him the freedom to traverse as he desires, to seek music and stories and leave Mondstadt in the capable hands of the Knights and shadow-y defenders.

Speaking of shadow-y defenders...

"I assumed there might be a little more hurrying in your life now, particularly across borders, to visit one of my own..." Those verdant hues glint with the tease, unable to resist prodding on this point, regardless of the risk. There have been greater storms to weather that the fraught temper of the retired Geo Archon, they both know it, and it does him some good to have one who sees his solemn visage and does not fall for its character. That blockhead is still there.

"Or do you like to keep Master Diluc waitiing for you? A little indecorous of you, don't you think?"

[apocryphis-a]

Tales, narrative, framing -- Alatus has never been much of a storyteller, but even he knows there is truth and wisdom in the bard's words (he wonders if it comes with the title, or if it is all born from Barbatos' too long life and too many trials endured over millenia). What good would a current of wind be, if it were to remain static? An aberration, a paradox, little more than a puff of air vanishing into nothing. And still, he must also wonder, if those winds of change must always come with the inevitability of giving up something, or erasing another. Change, in his experience, has more to do with loss, than it does with gain.

... then again, Xiao knows his experience to be limited, biased, and thus, unreliable. Not all change is to be feared or stared at defiantly. And sometimes, change may mean a return of things long lost. Xiao huffs what almost sounds like a chuckle. "Perhaps I will... and perhaps you'll take that other sleep... perhaps all the wind can do is circle around like the world and history themselves. Endless cycles bound to repeat themselves, good and bad alike." He sighs. "But with each cycle come minute alterations... I suppose those are what makes the difference." A short pause, the golden-winged peng mulling on a question he dares not ask at first, but -- when has the lord of freedom shown him any but understanding and open-mindedness? Perhaps, then, a question would be permissible. "You don't regret it then?" He asks, golden eyes shifting to the bard. "Waking up from your sleep...?"

[bardictales]

"Regret it?" There is jubilation in the laugh that follows and an easy shaking of the head. "Never. Does that surprise you?" He lets the question settle in the space between them, giving Xiao some time to consider the answer. It is perhaps strange for an archon to leave and sleep when his people are still learning to grow and yet to Venti, that has always been a part of the journey. They do not need his hand to guide and the gentle winds and fierce squalls will always be there to remind them of him even if his slumbers for a century.

"When I wake I get to witness. The changes that have been made, how quickly my people have grown. It's like one big puzzle to solve, finding all the differences." Sometimes that is accompanied with heartbreak, and yet others it is with great fascination, allowing him to see the advancements of Mondstadt and her people. He leans back on his hands and stares to the skies with a soft smile. "Would you regret leaving the land behind to take to the skies then? Is that what you worry for?" He smiles sympathetically at the question. "One day every child must let go of their guardian's hand. It is okay to wish for something greater for yourself."

[daybreakrising]

@bardictales: ❛ fine, keep acting like you hate me. ❜ [ for zhongli ]

There is a deliberate silence, and an equally deliberate sip of tea from the delicate cup in his hands. He cradles it carefully, eyes closed as he savours both the taste and the aroma, a sense of quiet calm about him. Then, very slowly, he replaces the cup down upon its saucer, and opens his eyes to finally settle an amber gaze upon his old friend.

His head tilts a fraction as he regards the other. Then, deadpan, he utters, "Who says it's an act?"

This is a familiar game of theirs, of course, and there is no small degree of comfort in that. Perhaps, he muses, that is why they return to this banter, this casual exchange of barbs, so frequently. In a world that is forever changing beneath their feet, when the years continue to stretch on beyond their grasp, holding onto that which is familiar and constant is a necessary vice.

"Or do you not recall the mountains I used to throw at you, hm?"

[bardictales]

"Well now, far be it from me to bring up your poor social etiquette from when we first crossed paths, I had thought to give you some grace..."

Oh how the impish smile upon his lips grows as he watches the other and his measured movements and wonders just how long he may last before he tugs too hard on the dragon's tail and ignites his ire. He has so missed testing the boundaries. There's something so delightful in seeing how far he can push.

Reaching for his own drink, wine of course, he takes a swig and savours the taste of the Dawn Winery's famed brew, a taste of home accompanying him on this little excursion. He is certain the other disproves of it, given the choice of tea he sips from, but he'll weight till the jibes are made before addressing it. There is no point in offering points of criticism after all.

"I suppose you have grown somewhat in the time since we last met. I've heard your quite the refined gentleman now. So well-respected in most aspects..." Another swig and cerulean hues twinkle as he lowers the glass to the table and lounges back in his chair. If he slightly hovers from the seat now and then, that's just a habit.

"Though whispers on the wind tell me that you, creator of the very coin, have a penchant for forgetting your mora... forgetting you can't make it on a whim if you want to be but a human now?" Oh how he teases, but the keen gaze observes, ensuring that this is perhaps but a ploy or habit and not the markings of an erosion beginning. He knows the cost of karmic debt and time on Liyue's divine.

[alatusatlas]

venti is too kind to someone like him.

all xiao can do is blink in the god's direction, surprised at the sudden poetry that the bard had spoken. "you....thank you, venti." simple words for such a monumental phrase, and xiao's golden eyes are so incredibly sincere that one cannot look away. "i will speak your name upon the winds when that time comes." the recognition in venti's eyes does not go unnoticed by xiao, and the yaksha soon bows his head, eyes gazing at the ground for a moment.

when xiao looks up, it is to track a single dandelion seed blowing in the wind, golden eyes following the downy speck with a focus reserved for battlefields.

the adeptus is quiet, now, sunken deep in thought. if he were to be killed after his karmic debt took him over, he would like it to be at the hands of either his beloved lord or venti. both would make it quick and as painless as that could possibly be, and that--that would be a mercy to xiao.

but, knowing his lord (and venti, especially venti), they would do their best to save xiao's life before killing him. xiao could not be angry at them for that--to them, he is one of the beings that are important to them, and for those that are important to them, they would do nigh anything to protect them.

[bardictales]

He watches as the yaksha digests the words he has spoken, mirth lingering about his features at the surprise his poetry initiates, he had thought the lines were quite good for something spur of the moment. Venti accepts the thanks with good grace, inclining his head and offering a smile in return, having little intention of making a big thing of it at present. That can be saved for when there is levity to be had around the matter, not before.

"I will keep an ear to the wind's loudest howls and softest whispers..." he vows in return, knowing the courage it must have taken to agree to even voice a need for aid. He's still hesitant to believe whether Xiao will concede to lean upon it, but he will have faith in him and hope that such faith is rewarded. There is only so much aid he can offer without Xiao reaching out in return, though he will support the old blockhead's conquest on ensuring the last yaksha lives in this time of peace.

The silence between them might be companiable, were it not for the heaviness that the mood has taken. He suspects that while he has moved the subject on, Xiao still lingers on the precipice of death in his mind.

There's only one thing for it then.

"Come, the winds are changing and there is a chorus rising...!" An elated outburst escapes him and he curls a hand around Xiao's arm, tugging the other to his feet. He will find something of interest for them to indulge in. Something that might chase those lurking monsters away for a time at least.

[daybreakrising]

@bardictales: ❛ hold still. this might sting a little. ❜ (for razor)

He's wincing even before the bard applies whatever salve or balm he has in his hand to the ragged scratch carved into his back. It's not from the pain - it's from shame, almost. Embarrassment. For not being quick enough, for letting his guard down too much. His lupical could have been hurt, could have-

Luckily, he was quick enough, at least, to take the hit for them.

"Pain is fine." He utters through gritted teeth, fists clenched tight in the fabric of his trousers. He'd have treated this himself he could reach - had, in fact, been trying to when the Pretty Bard found him. Once, he would have run, refused aid, but he has learned to let people in, to trust.

"Don't..." He hesitates, keeps his gaze firmly averted away. "Don't tell others. They will... worry. No need." As soon as the wound is clean, dressed, it will heal. He knows this. He will be fine. "Just us, yes? Secret?"

[bardictales]

He can feel the waves of embarrassment and frustration coming off his young lupine friend, and Venti does what he can to soothe the sting with an easy presence. Perhaps he indulges a fraction in his power, letting a soft hum fall from his lips to soothe agitation at least a little. The young wolf has nothing to hold blame for.

"Scout's honour! Not a word will be spoken young Razor, you have a bard's promise!" He will not need to tell, he likes to think. Should the wound take a turn for the worst he can think of a few within Mondstadt's borders who will notice the change from the unlucky adventurer to his least devoted sister to the shocking librarian. The boy is not without hands that will reach out should aid be needed and Venti knows they will all keep watch over him too.

Applying the last of the paste to the wound, he glances at the state and then wipes the excess on the tail end of Razor's jacket. Well he can hardly stain his own clothes when there is to be a performance tonight.

"Right, all done! Now no getting in the water and washing it away, I put hard work into making sure everything has been covered!"

[poohsources]

🐝  *  ―  𝑬𝑴𝑶𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑨𝑳𝑳𝒀 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑮𝑬𝑫 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺.

❛  why did you have to leave me?  ❜ ❛  how could you do this to me?  ❜ ❛  i trusted you!  ❜ ❛  i'm sorry, but i can't do this anymore.  ❜ ❛  do you even care how much you hurt me?  ❜ ❛  i'll never stop fighting for us, no matter what.  ❜ ❛  i don't know if i can forgive you.  ❜ ❛  i never thought i'd feel so alone, even when you're right here.  ❜ ❛  please don't go, i can't handle losing you too.  ❜ ❛  you were the one person i thought i could always count on. why did you have to let me down?  ❜ ❛  did you ever even care about us? about me?  ❜ ❛  i wish i could hate you for what you've done, but i can't.  ❜ ❛  why do you always have to play games with my feelings?  ❜ ❛  i never thought saying goodbye would hurt this much.  ❜ ❛  every time i close my eyes, all i see is the pain you've caused.  ❜ ❛  why do you insist on tearing us apart when we could be so happy together?  ❜ ❛  i'm tired of pretending everything's okay when it's clearly not.  ❜ ❛  i don't even know who you are anymore.  ❜ ❛  i need you to understand how much you mean to me.  ❜ ❛  i'm scared of losing you, but i'm even more scared of losing myself.  ❜ ❛  why won't you let me in? what are you so afraid of?  ❜ ❛  you were my world, and now everything is falling apart.  ❜ ❛  how am i supposed to trust anyone after what you've done?  ❜ ❛  i can't go through this heartache again.  ❜ ❛  why did you leave without saying goodbye?  ❜ ❛  how could you say something like that to me?  ❜ ❛  you've always had a way of making me feel worthless.  ❜ ❛  don't you dare walk away from me when i'm talking to you.  ❜ ❛  please, just tell me the truth, even if it hurts. i can handle it.  ❜ ❛  i don't know how to fix what's broken between us anymore.  ❜ ❛  you're not the person i fell in love with anymore.  ❜ ❛  just hold me and tell me everything will be okay, even if it's a lie.  ❜ ❛  i trusted you, and you betrayed me.  ❜ ❛  i never meant to hurt you, it was never my intention.  ❜ ❛  i've given you everything, and it's still not enough.  ❜ ❛  why do you always have to make everything about you?  ❜ ❛  why did you do it? why did you betray me like that?  ❜ ❛  i miss you ... more than words can say.  ❜ ❛  you're the best thing that ever happened to me, and i'm scared of losing you.  ❜ ❛  i'll always be here for you, no matter what. just please don't shut me out.  ❜

[edenmemes]

asoiaf: clash of kings starters

❝ people often claim to hunger for truth,   but seldom like the taste when it’s served up. ❞ ❝ the brightest flame casts the darkest shadow. ❞ ❝ lawless men are everywhere in this dark time. men with cold steel and colder hearts. ❞ ❝ there’s no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it. ❞ ❝ he who hurries through life hurries to his grave. ❞ ❝ if half an onion is black with rot, it is a rotten onion. a man is good or he is evil. ❞ ❝ some men are like swords, made for fighting. hang them up and they go to rust. ❞ ❝ sometimes i feel as though you are the best friend i have and sometimes i feel you are my worst enemy. ❞ ❝ i want to weep. i want to be comforted. i’m so tired of being strong. ❞ ❝ crowns do strange things to the heads beneath them. ❞ ❝ i see a deep sadness written upon your face. could it be the sadness of a lost dream? ❞ ❝ this is not you, not your way. you were always just, always hard yet never cruel. ❞ ❝ if you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look him in the face and hear his last words. ❞ ❝ how i have yearned for the sound of your sweet voice. ❞ ❝ i do not like being lied to. leave me out of your next deception. ❞ ❝ i will hurt you for this. i don’t know how yet, but give me time. a day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you’ll know the debt is paid. ❞ ❝ there are no men like me. there’s only me. ❞ ❝ i will not claim to bear you any great love, no, but i cannot hate you either. ❞ ❝ the only way to keep your people loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy. ❞ ❝ there is a sweet innocence about you. ❞ ❝ mercy. that’s a bloody trap. too much and they call you weak, too little and you’re monstrous. ❞ ❝ it is better to be seen as cruel than foolish. ❞ ❝ i’ve waited for you, oh, so many times. now you must wait for me. ❞ ❝ no one has ever died of restlessness, but rashness is another matter. ❞ ❝ i’m not a child, to be soothed with empty promises. ❞ ❝ only blood can wash out blood. ❞ ❝ don’t ever touch me, or i’ll kill you. ❞ ❝ we have leagues to go, and dangers to face. you will need your strength. ❞ ❝ i cannot sleep at night for thinking of your beauty. ❞ ❝ so many vows…they make you swear and swear. defend the king. obey the king. keep his secrets. do his bidding. your life for his. but obey your father. love your sister. protect the innocent. defend the weak. obey the laws. it’s too much. no matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or the other. ❞ ❝ somehow i have a feeling i am not going to like what you’re about to say. ❞ ❝ kings have no friends. only subjects and enemies. ❞ ❝ you must be still, you are grievously hurt. you will do yourself great injury. ❞ ❝ your heart is noble, but learn a lesson here. we cannot set the world to rights. ❞ ❝ i mean to be a king, and not of a broken kingdom. ❞ ❝ when i make threats, you’ll know it. ❞ ❝ do you want me dead? is that it? the truth now. ❞ ❝ this time i have to find my own way, and it is hard. so hard. ❞ ❝ i am afraid, but i must be brave. ❞ ❝ it grieves me that it must come to this. ❞ ❝ the kingdom bleeds, and no one lifts a sword to defend it. ❞ ❝ we shall see who is laughing when all of this is done. ❞ ❝ the unseen enemy is always the most fearsome. ❞ ❝ would you like one? you’ve never tasted anything so sweet, i promise you.❞ ❝ i knew a man once who told me i smiled at the wrong things. ❞ ❝ i would be glad to leave this city, if truth be told. ❞ ❝ there is an empty place within me where my heart was once. ❞ ❝ men like that…too honest to live, too noble to shit. ❞ ❝ if truth be told, i’ve never liked you. ❞ ❝ song and laughter have become suspicious strangers to me. ❞ ❝ only a fool humbles himself when the world is so full of men eager to do that job for him. ❞ ❝ the storms come and go, the waves crash overhead, the big fish eat the little fish, and i keep on paddling. ❞ ❝ mountains rise and fall, rivers change their courses, stars fall from the sky, and great cities sink beneath the sea. even gods die, we think. everything changes. ❞ ❝ i will not be mocked to my face, do you hear me? i will not! ❞ ❝ most sellswords would betray anyone for enough gold. ❞ ❝ tell me that none of this troubles you…and i’ll name you a liar. ❞ ❝ was there ever a war where only one side bled? ❞ ❝ great wrongs have been done you, but the past is dust. the future may yet be won. ❞ ❝ i am growing strangely fond of you.   i may kill you yet, but i think i’d feel sad about it. ❞ ❝ ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow. ❞ ❝ courage and folly are cousins, or so i’ve heard. ❞ ❝ a curious way of fighting. it looks suspiciously like hiding. ❞ ❝ whatever enemy waits out here will not find us so easy to deal with. ❞ ❝ love is poison. a sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same. ❞ ❝ schemes are like fruit, they require a certain ripening. ❞ ❝ i can smell the fear on you. ❞ ❝ when the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. ❞ ❝ no royal is ever late. those who arrive before them have come early, that’s all. ❞ ❝ power resides where men believe it resides. no more and no less. ❞ ❝ you would not force me to reveal all my little secrets, would you? ❞ ❝ sorcery is the sauce fools spoon over failure to hide the flavor of their own incompetence. ❞ ❝ there are ghosts everywhere. we carry them with us wherever we go. ❞ ❝ you stop feeling, you stop thinking, you stop being you, there is only the fight, the foe, this man and then the next and the next and the next. ❞ ❝ terrible times breed terrible things. ❞ ❝ i do not beg. of anyone. mind you remember that. ❞ ❝ betray me, and you’ll wish you hadn’t. ❞ ❝ i do not require your understanding. only your service. ❞ ❝ would that bones could talk. this fellow could tell us much. how he died. ❞ ❝ the wide world is full of people wanting help. would that some could find the courage to help themselves. ❞ ❝ a frightened man is a beaten man. ❞ ❝ the ones who look the most suspicious are likely innocent. it’s the ones who look innocent i need to beware. ❞ ❝ it is peaceful here, but for how long? ❞ ❝ the man who kills his own blood is cursed forever in the sights of gods and men. ❞ ❝ a sweet dream. now put it aside, i beg you. it can never be. ❞ ❝ you’re as bad an omen as any raven. ❞ ❝ this is no game, so don’t play the child with me. ❞ ❝ my life is a poor thing, but it is yours. ❞ ❝ they will not love me, you say? when have they ever loved me? how can i lose something i have never owned? ❞ ❝ they’re all afraid of me. no one will hurt you again, or i’d kill them. ❞ ❝ i had begun to fear for you. did you meet with trouble? ❞ ❝ i grow ever more admiring of you. ❞ ❝ i’d sooner hold a wine goblet than a battle-axe. ❞ ❝ a lord never lets sentiment get in the way of ambition. ❞ ❝ if you have something to say, say it. ❞ ❝ how can i do my duty if i do not know where it lies?❞ ❝ don’t look at me, not…not like this…not you. ❞ ❝ i’ve broken laws, but i’ve never felt evil until tonight. ❞ ❝ are you here to serve me? or to vex me with arguments? ❞ ❝ men do not love me. they follow me because they fear me. ❞ ❝ why would people run off and leave their homes and everything? what could scare them so much? ❞ ❝ fear cuts deeper than swords. ❞ ❝ let us not get into the habit of names. names are dangerous. ❞ ❝ i do not relish being played for a fool. ❞ ❝ you have said nothing that requires forgiveness. ❞ ❝ perhaps you are wiser than i knew. ❞ ❝ a good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. each should have its own reward. ❞ ❝ you set us a battle we cannot hope to win. ❞ ❝ learn to use your ears more and your mouth less. ❞ ❝ sleep a bit. when you wake, all this will seem a bad dream. ❞ ❝ why should men fight and die for you? ❞ ❝ fuck your questions. you’ll choke on them before you get any answers from me. ❞ ❝ i am certain of nothing in this fickle and treacherous world. ❞ ❝ a good lord comforts and protects the weak and helpless. ❞ ❝ is a secret still a secret if everyone knows it? ❞ ❝ look around you. they’re all liars here…and every one better than you. ❞ ❝ i have a role to play, and you must do the same. ❞ ❝ sadly, no victory is without cost. ❞ ❝ this is evil, unthinkable…please, listen to me. ❞ ❝ is that what troubles you, that some fool call you cowardly? ❞ ❝ you must forgive me if i have spoken to you harshly in the past. ❞ ❝ a sweet offer…yet sweets can be poisoned. ❞ ❝ how beautiful you look tonight. ❞ ❝ the day is won, and yet you do not smile. the living should smile, for the dead cannot. ❞ ❝ the time for talk is done. now we see who is stronger. ❞ ❝ i am no stranger to nightmares. ❞ ❝ so much villainy; it sings a sad song for our age. did honour die with our fathers? ❞ ❝ some men are born to be killed. ❞ ❝ come if you like, but if you can’t keep up, don’t think that i’ll nurse you along. ❞ ❝ i will kill him. i swear it. i swear it. ❞ ❝ this is madness, but sooner madness than defeat. defeat is death and shame. ❞ ❝ does it give you joy to scare people? ❞ ❝ when i require your counsel i shall ask for it. ❞ ❝ will you put away your blade? ❞ ❝ need an escort? the talk is, the streets are dangerous. ❞ ❝ it is ill to keep a lady waiting. ❞ ❝ kneeling won’t save you now. stand up. ❞ ❝ you’re very pleased with yourself, aren’t you? why? ❞ ❝ do you think i wish to be here? ❞ ❝ don’t you know how i have cared for you, lived for you, loved you despite all? ❞ ❝ see, there is nothing to fear. ❞ ❝ you have a cheerful way of grieving. ❞ ❝ a dream, that’s all it was. it meant nothing. ❞ ❝ a dog doesn’t need courage to chase off rats. ❞ ❝ the gods give with one hand and take with the other. ❞ ❝ only a man like you would be proud of such an act. ❞ ❝ i cannot answer for the gods. ❞ ❝ it’s swords i need, not blessings. ❞ ❝ you look very lovely today. ❞ ❝ they said you were dead. ❞ ❝ all sorts of people are calling themselves kings these days. ❞ ❝ you need me, whether you care to admit it or no. ❞ ❝ be quiet and kiss me. ❞

[apocryphis-a]

Sometimes, it feels as though he and Barba... Venti, speak different languages. The Yaksha have always been rumoured to protect humanity without ever expecting reward in return -- as one of them, Xiao knows this devotion and servitude are engrained in his soul, in his very veins. It is what he was born to do; waging war, forged into the fire of conflict. Venti, surely, was not born of such design, nor with such purpose. To make the active decision to look out for an old, withering soul like his... Xiao would call it time wasted.

Yet, he looks into Venti's gentle teal gaze, and is quite certain that wording out these thoughts would be nothing short of offensive. There simply is no fighting back the lord of freedom and his whims.

" ... not many anymore." He muses, golden gaze returning to the skies where he vaguely knows he once could soar. A very, very long time ago. "I heard the dragon Dvalin has returned to Mondstadt, but apart from him, all the stories I hear are of our kind..." The gods, the spirits, the creatures that preceded men and coexist with them. " ... are of us disappearing, either succumbing to time or melding into the human world. Is that really what awaits us all? Become them or fade out?"

[bardictales]

No... not many at all. There is sombre understanding written on the bard's features as he mulls over the yaksha's words. There is much truth in what he has said, in the old ways disappearing and the new ways, the world of humans, taking the forefront. It has not bothered him so much, excited as he's been to see how those he leads use the freedom they have been given. But there is something foreboding with the winds of change, the idea of not knowing what fate awaits.

"Dvalin did return yes, unhappy circumstances I'll admit thanks to an Abyss mage and machinations, but he's back to himself now..." He leans back on his hands and turns cerulean hues skyward as he tips his head in contemplation. "But you know, it is how you frame those tales that counts? Are they just melding in, or giving into a rich curiosity to explore what is new. Those of us who have seen ages pass do get bored, y'know..." He turns that gaze upon Xiao again. "Some day, I suppose I'll take another sleep again, but then I'll wake up and the world will be changed. We might fear it, but we should embrace it. No wind can stay in one place forever. One day perhaps even you will take to the skies once more..."

[bardictales]

when i have got five minutes spare i'm adding a nameless bard verse for all my v.enti mutuals.

[rpmemes-galore]

classic literature … sentence starters

“Terror made me cruel.“

“My dear, I don’t give a damn.“

“Not all those who wander are lost.“

“We are asleep until we fall in love!”

“We need never be ashamed of our tears.“

“I felt purged, and holy, and ready for a new life.“

“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.”

“What’s the good of a home if you are never in it?“

“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.“

“The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.”

“I will wear him; In my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart.“

“Every man desires to live long, but no man wishes to be old.”

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.“

“One day I will find the right words, and they all will be simple.“

“You have been my friend. That, in itself, is a tremendous thing.”

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.“

“I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul.“

“I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go it laughing.”

“I assure you that the world is not so amusing as something we imagined.”

“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

“Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion.“

“That is the one unforgivable sin in any society. Be different and be damned!“

“Sometimes, I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.“

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.“

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.”

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our one little life is rounded with a sleep.“

“Every atom of your flesh is dear to me as my own: In pain and sickness, it would still be dear.”

“I have laughed, in bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I am!“

“It sounds plausible enough tonight, but wait until tomorrow. Wait for the common sense of the morning.“

“Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.“

“You are a wonderful creation. You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know.“

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through, no matter what.”

“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone… just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

“I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.”