#vishaps

[quietplace26]

☔️~Anon:

Wanderer!MC causing yet another incident that draws some folk worship, this time in Fontaine.

Why?

Because the Bathysmal Vishaps adore them.

And people think there’s a “witch” in the woods beyond the Opera Epiclese.

There’s some initial hostility from the vishaps during MC’s first few visits to Erinnyes Forest, since the vishaps immediately knew MC was different despite kind of smelling like one of them, and was also kind of intruding on their territory.

But the vishaps gradually got used to MC’s presence, especially when the latter hasn’t actively done anything to harm them, and Neuvillette would occasionally join them during his patrols. And, hey, if the Hydro Dragon’s chill with them, they’re probably not all bad.

And one day, MC’s running from Nicole’s stern talking-to about their “increasingly self-injurious recklessness” — Wanderer!MC: 💀 (Aaaaaaaaaa not Nicole too…!) — and they flee into Erinnyes Forest where the vishaps roam.

They’re just camping out underwater underneath the Weeping Willow when they suddenly hear explosions.

Neuvillette’s overseeing court trials tonight, so it’s raining.

They poke their head out of the water.

They see Treasure Hoarders fucking around with elemental potions and clearing out the vishap herds.

…Ex-fucking-scuse???

MC jumps out of the water and gets ready for a brawl.

The Treasure Hoarders?

They hear an unnatural growl.

They see a horned silhouette with scales, claws, sharp fangs, a tail and a glowing pair of snake / draconic eyes.

That silhouette is charging them with an Electro-infused polearm.

They freak the fuck out and run away screaming into the night.

It happens again, and MC has to drag one of them away back to the main roads because he passed out from sheer fright. And he may or may not need a new change of pants.

It happens a third time with investigators from the Maison Gardiennage, and now there’s a safety notice warning against venturing into the forest.

The vishaps enjoyed having MC around ever since.

An adventurer spots MC chilling with some vishaps and runs back rambling that he spotted the “witch” and the vishaps being friendly with each other.

It spawns a bunch of spooky bedtime stories parents use to scare naughty children into behaving.

Parents: “Don’t go into the woods or the witch will snatch you away!”

Neuvillette does grow a bit concerned with the increasing reports and accounts of a “witch” in the woods.

So does MC, even if they’ve never seen this witch.

It’s not until they run into Pahsiv, who excitedly greets MC as “Witch! Witch!” that they finally understand what’s happening.

Wanderer!MC: 💡😦

Neuvillette: 🤔 “You seem to have realized something. Care to tell?” <- still hasn’t caught on

Wanderer!MC: 🙂‍↕️ “So, a while back there was this group of Treasure Hoarders…”

It’s the first time anyone has ever seen Neuvillette actually laugh. The papers are going wild. MC must be a part-time comedian.

It doesn’t stop there. Oh no.

Mamere (one of the Melusines) has a sudden stroke of mischief and crafts one of those noh masks like in Inazuman theatre, and has MC wear that while they’re hanging around the forest at night.

They’re caught and scolded by Xiao (who was requested by Sigewinne to check on MC).

But then a Fatui agent thinking it’s just a story goes in to survey the area and possibly set up a hidden camp.

Xiao’s still wearing his yaksha mask.

MC is also still wearing the noh mask.

That Fatui agent sprints away screaming about a whole coven of angry witches in the forest.

Xiao is absolutely dumbfounded. Him? A witch?

Nicole: 🤭 “Say, Conqueror of Demons, would you be interested in joining the Hexenzirkel~?”

Xiao: 😓 “I doubt I even have time for that.”

More of those statuettes have begun appearing in Fontaine, though they seem localized to the forest where the vishaps roam.

Furina has to intervene to calm down the growing fuss, but she’s definitely going to indulge somewhat in these shenanigans.

She makes a point to dress up a bit — wears a plain dress and a cloak, something a little bit “witchy” — and leaves in broad daylight when she’s most visible, setting off towards the forest with a picnic basket.

The next day, there’s an announcement posted on the boards from Furina, claiming that the “witches” seen in the forest are old colleagues from her days as a regular Oceanid prior to her ascension to Hydro Archon, and they’re simply not happy with the rise in criminals (e.g. the Treasure Hoarders) sneaking into the forest where the vishaps roam. An increase in patrols by the Marechaussee Phantom to ward off intruders should satisfy the disgruntled parties.

Is Furina going to keep up with the witchy atmosphere?

Hell yeah~! Hexenzirkel tea party! Secrets of the Hydro Witch lesgoooooooo—

Vishap: 👀💧 “This is the successor of Hydro’s usurper…? Doesn’t exactly seem to have the strength and power to match…”

Vishap 2: 🗿 “The current Lord of Hydro (Neuvillette) doesn’t seem to mind much, so we may as well let her be…”

Oh, I LOVE the idea of the Vishaps adoring Wanderer!MC, and Wanderer!MC being protective of them! But gosh, what chaotic situation Wanderer!MC found themselves in ONCE AGAIN. I mean, first they're being mistaken a divine envoy, and now a Witch.

Maybe Nicole should get them their own witch hat made for them, hm?

And Furina! She's having a time during this Hydro Witch, let's goooo!

Tagging: @platinumrosetail, @arn9tails, @bloodytea, @lovelyjane-stuff, @fireriyu

[radaedan]

So I have a lovely discussion with Ozerix, one of my readers in NotHS (Notes on the Holy Sovereign. Imma shorten it bcs man is it mouthful😅) regarding dragon's morality and Waxaklahun's cold and insane attitude. I think I want to share it in here too !

Regarding the dragons' morality... I wonder, how much of it was ingrained in their biology, or the result of their culture instead ?

Neuvillette probably the one that popped first in the mind, he needed 500 years to adapt to human society, but even then he was still quite reserved until his SQ. But remember, Neuvillette is a Sovereign. They're the gods of the dragons, & gods have different psyche than mortals. So I think Neuvi couldn't be the representative of all dragons in regard of their morality.

And in Natlan, it seems the Saurians have a rather similar concept of family to humans. For example ;

• Chasca's Qucusaurus family, complete with human drama & all.

(Chasca's momma bird even nags her about grandchildren like typical mothers lol.)

• The family of Ayo (Kachina's tepetlisaurus) in 5.3 AQ. He had grandparents who behaved just like human grandparents ! I was actually quite shocked when I played that part of the quest.

(I HATE the AQ with burning passion, but this part ? I have to admit, it's genuinely heartbreaking.)

• One could argue that their similarity is the result of them evolving alongside humans, thus attaining some of our behaviours, but it seems this familial relationship has been there for a long time. Remember Lianca ? She was raised by a dragon matriarch, & she proudly call herself her daughter. That sounds very human-like to me.

(From Chain Breaker lore, page 1. Lianca's mother sounded so sweet🥹)

I also theorized that WUK is the same type of dragons as Scylla from Remuria, the Prince of the Vishaps, or at least a Sovereign's attendant. It wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that WUK used to serve under Xiuhcoatl. And since these kind of dragons directly served under the Sovereigns, perhaps they too have the Sovereigns' detachment from mortal feelings. Kinda like Zhongli & his adepti, a god & their immortal servants.

(But the difference in their attitude is kinda funny tbh. "Oh, I shall seek an audience with the new Hydro Sovereign. Though I'm afraid I do not count as a Dragonborn now😓" vs "THE PYRO SOVEREIGN MUST DIE. MY SON FAILED TO SLAY HIM." What did Xiuhcoatl do that merited that attitude bro😭)

So maybe WUK's cold attitude towards his son is caused more by his personality/belief. Plus, seeing your civilization declining probably makes anybody to become more jaded & pragmatic, anyway. But then again, this is just my personal interpretation !

Btw if WUK is truly masquerading as humans in Natlan’s WQ, there's Legba, who claimed that "I, too, had many such... brilliant children." I find it disturbing tbh. Och-Kan had siblings ??? I wonder if we'll meet them- the ones who are alive, if there's any- in the future.

(But ngl, Waxaklahun/Legba here sounded more... nostalgic ? Soft ? Towards his children ? Perhaps it was the human Legba's true personality seeping in, but I find it... very contradictory with how he treated Och-Kan. Maybe he does not find his previous children to be failures, hence the praise. Or maybe... he used to be kinder ? Tbh I think the second option will be intriguing from the narrative perspective. Imagine seeing the evolution from a caring father to a cold sage driven mad by the fall of his civilization.)

[sunnynwanda]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

The first time they visit the lake, Vanki is eighteen and terrified of what the visit entails. He grips the reins with trembling fingers, forcing himself forward despite fear scraping at his throat like rising bile. He had begged the King to choose a different place through the days leading up to the trip, his attempts proving futile in the face of determination settled behind the King's eyes. Vanki did not know where the dread came from, but it was there, and it was relentless in its nagging as each day passed, marking the day when the inevitable would happen.

As they ride uphill into the forest, he keeps glancing up at the sky, expecting a dark cloud to descend any moment. His logical side is aware that it is much too soon for her to awaken, but fear recognises no logic.

It never happens. When they arrive, Vanki is separated from his best friends, though Amber's excited chatter is still audible from a little distance. The King leads him along a path around the lake, to a large stone stella - a shape familiar enough for Vanki to freeze. When he notices the engraving on it, he stops dead in his tracks, eyes widening, sufficient to earn a chuckle from the King.

"You have reached the age at which we should honour your origins, my dear boy," the King smiles, gesturing towards the boulder carrying his mother's symbol.

Vanki is too stunned to speak at first, his hand shaking when he reaches out to touch the sun-warmed surface. "It's..." He doesn't finish the sentence, his hand caressing the stone with the tenderness of a child still longing for his mother. He turns back, the question evident in the crease of his brow.

"The King had it retrieved from where she was taken," the Queen explains, then places her hand on her husband's forearm. "Perhaps we should give you a moment alone."

He nods, watching them go before turning back to the stella. He steps closer, pressing his forehead to the stone. He did not know if this decision was the right one, if it would come to haunt them later, but he was glad to have her back in some form. The spring she had guarded had long dried anyway, and here he had a chance to visit her without awakening his grandmother before due time.

Vanki takes a moment to sit down, resting his head against the stone as he speaks of his life. He tells her that he is safe now, taken care of and loved in a way only she had before. He also promises to come see her from time to time, even if she doesn't expect him.

By the time he returns to the right bank of the lake, Sar and his father are splashing in the water, while Amber is struggling, to put it lightly.

“Come on, get in here, cherry,” her dad calls. Amber is standing on the pier, enveloped in a large towel and looking at the water as if it were her greatest enemy. Vanki chuckles, amused at her apprehensive expression. She's drenched from head to toe, and if Vanki were to guess, her clumsy self had fallen into the water.

“Pa, I won’t go back there unless you promise never to do that again.” The statement is full of panic and protest. She can hear her mom and Vanki laughing from the side and narrows her eyes at him with a warning, "You are going to pay for it, traitor."

“I won’t, I swear,” the King is standing in the lake next to Sar, and if she’s honest, the water hardly reaches their chests, and she would have to put in a lot of effort to drown. But they're both having a bit too much fun, with their shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, and that is triggering Amber’s anger.

“Don’t laugh at me! I’m scared!” She exclaims in disbelief, while Vanki sits next to her mother, eyeing her with an expectant raise to his eyebrows.

“Just trust me, okay?” Her father draws her attention again, motioning for her to step in, and Amber nods, unable to reject him, even if her panic hasn't fully subsided yet. Her brother, who's by his side, waves his hand, inviting her in again with a slightly mischievous expression. “I would never let you drown, I swear. Vanki won't let me live it down.” He claims, as if Vanki's revenge was the only reason to keep her alive.

Amber hesitates, but takes a tentative step in, tossing the towel at Vanki's head in retaliation for making fun of her. He catches it, shaking his head at her childishness before turning his head to the Queen. She offers him a reassuring smile, far too perceptive not to notice the underlying tension in his shoulders. "How are you feeling?"

Vanki shrugs, not quite sure himself; it felt odd yet comforting to have his mother within reach, even if communication was out of question. "I don't know if she can hear me." He confesses, his gaze returning to the stella across the lake, unyielding in its power, yet isolated into a world of its own.

"She can," the Queen assures him, "Trust me. She cannot respond, but she feels your presence."

"I don't want to be like that," he mutters, his voice quiet as he voices his greatest fear. "I don't want to ever be like that, aware but unable to-"

The Queen places a gentle hand on his shoulder, drawing him out of his thoughts. "You don't have to do the sleep, Vanki, nor do you have to shift," she promises, and he nods despite the knot in his stomach foreboding the contrary. "We wanted you to have this as your own water source."

"So, I'm the guardian..?" he doesn't finish, but the Queen understands, confirming his assumption with a hum.

"If you choose and if, for whatever reason, you feel the need, this place is yours to guard and derive power from," she explains, but her soft tone does nothing to soothe his anxiousness.

He gets up, taking a few steps to the edge and submerging his fingers into the water. It vibrates around his fingers, the sense of recognition washing over him in the same ripples that his hand sends through the water. It feels strangely symbiotic to connect to something as if it were an extension of your very being, an integral part of you. His eyes fall shut as he takes in the sensation of the water swirling around his fingers and places his other hand on the ground, allowing the warmth of it to speak to him.

Perhaps he was meant to become the guardian of this lake. Perhaps there was more he'd have to protect. If the connection with nature was his heritage, Vanki could embrace it in a way that his grandmother had failed to do.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Masterlist

Taglist: @marvellousdaisy @alltimelowing @lateuplight @surplus-of-sarcasm @betwist @excusemeasibangmyheadonawall @enemies-to-idiots-to-lovers @miaowmelodie @thatonerandomauthor @hhabaddon @burningoutlikeicarus @daemonvatis @weepingcowboywolfbat @thelazywitchphotographer @kaiwewi @soul-of-a-local-bard @pigeonwhumps @aflyingsheepnamedrose @thatneptune @ohwellthatslifesstuff @thiefofthecrowns @crow-with-a-typewriter @qualityrabbitsoup @stargeode @villain-life @villainsblood @m4iloblu3 @whumpifi @glassthedumbass @silviathebard @misskowe @ayeshaturnedtoashes4444

[genshinresource]

Genshin Impact "Shadows in Motion" Web Event Official Album Photo Wallpapers: Miniaturized Nations (Mobile)

[the-curious-cat24]

Genshin 4.7 Livestream!

get your codes everyone! Excited for the new event and pulling for Clorinde!(who are you pulling for?)

Natlan crumbs at the end with the cute dragons!! ohhhh!

the twins! ohhh I got teary eyed watching the animation and the song, it hits right through the heart.

[cerucerus2]

AU (headcanon ?) where Morax is half-vishap, half-qilin, like the rumours of what his vessel is. Half of his ancestry belongs to the vishaps of light realm, but the other half belongs to the "new" world, as a celestial immortal. This makes him rather powerful. But the vishaps and celestia hate each other for reasons that we already know of in the lore, so... he's never quite accepted by either. The light realm resents him, celestia is suspicious of him. So he was never actually considered a real part of celestia or one of the vishaps. He resides in the mortal realm, then. But as an immortal, he can never truly understand what it's like to be mortal, either. He becomes an archon, and it's because it makes it easier for celestia to watch over him and act if he does anything out of line. So Zhongli has never really belonged anywhere, or was ever considered a part of anything- which is why he holds guizhong and the original seven so dearly, because when he's with them, he truly feels like he's a part of the group, that he's not hated for his history, that he's with people who understands his plight, that he's with those in the same boat as he is. It's why he's so insistent that he's just a "normal human" after his retirement, even if it's clear that he sticks out like a sore thumb- because he genuinely fears the ostracism and the loneliness he has felt all those years ago. It's why he chose to work with Hu Tao, too, because to an extent, he thinks he knows how she feels.

[mynameis-a]

[hollowwhisperings]

Dragonology Tierlist, by series (a work in progress).

S-Rank: individually and collectively cool dragons, lore & logistics-wise, featuring the subjectively Best Dragons Ever.

A-Rank: has cool individual dragon characters &/or interesting dragonology.

B-Rank: some cool ideas but overall kind of "basic".

C-Rank: alleged/decorative dragons.

F: "how did they make dragons boring" &/or "actually insulting".

NOTE: the quality of a franchise's dragons is not indicative of the work's overall quality. good dragons cannot fix a poor story & dull dragonology does not mean a work is ruined as a whole. that said, my S & F rankings are indeed skewed by personal bias. Series within a tier are not listed in any particular order. *marked works are ones I am out of date with or have not yet finished.

RANKINGS

S-Rank: Deltora Quest, How To Train Your Dragon, Seraphina duology, Dragon Age, Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles.

A-Rank: Akatsuki no Yona, The Elder Scrolls (Skyrim), Genshin Impact, Dark Souls, Temeraire*, Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic, Eon duology, Star Wars, Trash of the Count's Family, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic...

B-Rank: Discworld, A Song of Ice & Fire, Tolkien's Legendarium, Harry Potter, Nickelodeon's Avatar, Dragon Ball*, Yu Yu Hakusho, Pokémon*, Oxventure, Fairy Tail*, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea, Tamora Pierce's Tortall series, Warcraft*, BBC's Merlin, Superman, Netflix's The Dragon Prince, Spyro*, Runescape*, How To Become A Dragon manhwa...

C-Rank: Adventure Time, Kung-Fu Panda, Miraculous Ladybug, God of War, X-Men, Shrek, Fruit's Basket, Jane & The Dragon, Disney's Sleeping Beauty, Digimon, Yu-Gi Oh*, Bleach, Chronicles of Narnia, Barbie animated filmography...

F: Game of Thrones, the Inheritance Cycle, Iron Fist*, Disney's Mulan, CW's Supernatural, James Cameron's Avatar*, Pottermore, Super Mario*...