I love Barbara so much genuinely she's just so cute, I need more fics with her and venti (platonically) together
the duke
Lizzie McAlpine just dropped a new album nobody touch me.
This is why canon Alhaitham is infinitely better than fanon.
I think Alhaitham's views on gods and his dynamic with Nahida in particular is probably one of the most underrated comedic elements to come out of Sumeru.
This guy put together an entire crack squad and master plan to rescue a god while being the Genshin equivalent of an atheist. "Yes, obviously archons exist. But so do sharks. Both of those beings have their place in the ecosystem, and if I had to pick one to piss off--"
Like, does he believe in the dendro archon? Yes. But is he going to listen if she denies his paid vacation request? Absolutely not.
Bro is selected by name to come discuss important matters with his nation's deity in her sanctuary, and he's just like, "Oh, I ran into Nilou there once. That was cool."
Raised to the highest possible position available in his nation's government by the deliberate selection of his god? Resigns.
We know that Nahida still calls on Alhaitham when Sumeru is in need of defending from nefarious parties, and sends him out with Wanderer to kick ass and take names. Now that they've forgotten Rukkhadevata and the Akademiya's ploy to imprison Nahida has been foiled, most of the people of Sumeru would be floored by the honor of being called upon personally to aid the great dendro archon. Staggered by the fact that the lord of wisdom herself finds them worthy! But Alhaitham? He just goes home. Kaveh asks him what he was up to all day. "Hm. Nothing of note."
Everyone else, upon receiving the recognition of a god: My life has been changed forever. I will be telling my great grandchildren of the day I received such a blessing!
But for Alhaitham? It was Tuesday.
Criminally underrated comedic potential. CRIMINAL.
"the tallest" "the brit" "the ravenette" "the oldest" "the pinkette" "the colorblind" "the smallest"
Please I beg you just use names and pronouns
Sometimes a creative outlet is a fun little hobby and sometimes it's a lifelong affliction. Like I crochet because making little woven animals sparks joy and I'm a writer whether I like it or not because I'm tormented by visions
Not to be mean, but with the exception of like 3 whole people, Genshin stans and lore theorists have gotten so lazy. And then get mad cuz others don't agree with them.
Samsaras are revealed.
Anything that happened since then must be a samsara:
We're stuck in a samsara!
This whole thing must be a samsara!
Are those people trapped in a samsara?
Maybe the whole country is in a samsara of their destruction!
That sounds like a samsara!
Forbidden Knowledge is revealed.
Anything that causes discoloration or a change to your ability to view/hear the events MUST BE Forbidden Knowledge. It can't possibly be anything else:
The screen glitched! Forbidden Knowledge!
The screen darkened! Forbidden Knowledge!
The screen turned black and white! Forbidden Knowledge!
Character's voice becomes static and glitches out. Forbidden Knowledge!
There are so many themes in this damn game and I'm sick of seeing people just constantly falling back on samsara and forbidden knowledge.
Sigewinne taking care of child Wriothesley at Neuvillette's request and sending him regular updates on his growth via letter, including complaining that he doesn't eat his veggies drink his milkshakes is so funny but also is likely going to be pointedly ignored by large parts of the fandom.
Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, harmony, wisdom, morality, balance, and divine order
The goddess Ma’at is truth and justice herself, perfectly embodying these noble virtues. She was said to regulate various cycles and actions such as the cosmic bodies (planets, stars, moons), seasons, human behaviour, relationships, and the afterlife. It was this goddess who protected creation from isfet (chaos and injustice). Each god and human was believed to be duty-bound in preserving and defending Ma’at, with the Pharaoh perceived as her guardian. Without Ma’at, Nun (the primordial waters) would reclaim the Universe and purge all into chaos.
Ma’at is the wife of Thoth (god of knowledge and wisdom) with whom she bore eight children known as the Ogdoad and a daughter named Seshat (goddess of knowledge, wisdom, writing, calculation, and sciences). Ma’at is most often depicted as a winged woman seated or standing, with her wings stretched out wide. Adorned upon her crown is an ostrich feather (a sacred symbol of hers) and she may rarely be shown to have an ostrich feather as a head. In one hand, Ma’at holds a sceptre while in the other, she holds an ankh, the symbol of life. Other times, Ma’at may be seen with a plinth atop her head, which may suggest that Ma'at was considered to be the foundation of Egyptian society.
Myths: At the beginning of all things, Ma’at is said to have been born by Amun-Ra (king of the gods) when he rose from the primordial waters of Nun. In the moment that Amun-Ra spoke the world into creation, Ma'at was born. Her essence filled creation with harmony and the ability to operate with good-will and wisdom. Thus, she brought order and peace from the nothingness of chaos, and created safety for all living beings. Her importance can further be seen in how Amun-Ra had stood upon her own pedestal in order to bring all of creation into being. As a daughter or “Eye” of Ra, Ma’at was thought to chart the course of the Sun god Ra during his voyage across the sky each day. During this voyage, Ma’at remains ever-present at the side of Ra, assisting him against the snake-god of evil, Apep, along with the help of the warrior god, Set.
Judgement in Duat: Another role this goddess held was being a judge of the Underworld (Duat), within the Halls of Ma’at. When a soul was to be judged, one of her white feathers would be placed on the Scales of Truth, in order to see whether or not the person’s heart was full of evil or not.
Upon reaching Duat, the deceased spirit would come before a council of fourty-two Judges (led by Osiris), and would have to recite the Negative Confessions where they must honestly claim to be free of guilt against certain crimes. After this, a feather of Ma’at and the heart of the spirit would be placed upon the golden scales of truth and weighed by Anubis- if the heart was heavier than Ma’at’s feather, it showed that the spirit had been evil during their life, and was then thrown to Ammit, the goddess of doom and retribution, who would devour them into unending torment. If the deceased was simply neutral, they would be sent into reincarnation until their karmic debt was paid off and they had learnt their lessons. If the spirit was found to be pure, they would be sent to the Field of Reeds, which is the realm of Paradise.
Personal experiences: Ma’at is an extremely noble and virtuous goddess who values things such as compassion, courage, honour, wisdom, honesty, charity, knowledge, self-improvement, and the ability to accept responsibility for one’s actions. She is usually reserved and serious, though enjoys gentle music such as harp melodies. She also enjoys logic games such as senet and chess, as she values all sorts of mental actives and strategy. In her divine role, Ma’at presides over all the Judges of the Underworld and ensures that each spirit receives correct acts of justice. She does not punish the corrupt, as this is a task for vengeful deities such as Sekhmet, Nemesis, and Ammit, but she assists in swaying chaos into order and working against crimes. Ma’at is the patroness of judges and all those who seek to uphold justice and nobility. She may not be a judge herself, but is the Universal power that keeps all in balance and under moral guidance.
Some of her Epithets:
Directress of the Underworld Justice
Lady of the Hall of Judgment
Lady of the Heavens
Queen of Earth
Ma’at the Beautiful
Perfect Measure
Right Order
Sustainer of the Sun
The Changeless
The Good Gift
The Undeviating
That which is True
Tracer of the Course of the Sun
Twofold Truth
The Measure of the Heart
Offerings: cold water, tea with milk, herbal infusions, vanilla cream soda, fish, chicken, pheasant, fruit (especially dates and plums), lettuce, chickpeas, olives, olive oil, vinegar, eggplant, hummus, barley biscuits, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, sistrum, scales, ibis feathers, reeds, small ritual drums, white marble, gold jewelry, sun pendants, white linen, clear quartz, selenite, white howlite, amethyst, angelite, banded agate, geodes, olivine, smooth river stones, and statuettes of herself *no alcohol or drugs (she hates these and always wants clarity of mind)