#children of Ursus event

[fearxtoxfreedom]

remember that time a bunch of teenagers got trapped in a school and forced to fight for survival and one of those teenagers got so hungry that she killed someone & ate them? remember that same teenager now has ptsd & is terrified of herself? i do.

#children of ursus event is so good & gummy is to be protected at all costs ALWAYS. the events in arknights such good reads #tracy;talks #to be deleted

[dsknsk]

Arknights and stars

On that topic, Arknights has always had a connection to the stars and its own star map is a bit wonky if compared to earth now but makes sense if you see it in the great scheme of things.

From Astesia's file on, it's been implied that the dome that surrounds Terra is fake, and Kristen is the first one who has gone beyond it so far (traveling from Terra to beyond the dome). It's also said that the reason people cannot navigate the sea reliably is because the stars themselves aren't reliable.

But it's also a bit more concrete that the stars are a bit off, or, it would look like that.

Remember Children of Ursus? Everyone remembers its dark story but few remember the map layout.

This is the Big Dipper, part of the constellation Ursa Maior. Fitting for an event that features bear characters.

But wait! Doesn't the Big Dipper look like this?

It does. But the Big Dipper over 50,000 years looks like this...

Like I pointed out in the previous post, the stars are always on the move. It may seem slow to us but if you take a large enough timescale then the sky sure does shift from what it's now.

Remember this skin of Astesia's?

It sure is a pretty skin. But zoom in on the star chart and you'll find something...peculiar...

Several constellations look...off. Like Leo, Virgo, Hydra and Gemini. And...

The star that's marked as the North Star (i.e the star in the middle) is not Polaris, but Vega, the largest star in the constellation Lyra! Don't see it? Here, I'll make it a little more clear:

And Lyra how it is now, which is, again, slightly different from how Lyra is depicted in the above image:

Vega is not our current North Star, it's the star Polaris (duh). But Vega was in about 14,000 years ago, and will be again in about 12,000 to 13,000 years in the future. So not our current North Star.

The celestial globe is also tilted at 45 degrees instead of 23,5 for earth.

So! A huge misser on the part of the artist, right?

Wrong!

You see, the ecliptic and equator in the artwork do obviously not align with our current ecliptic and equator. But our equator and ecliptic looking like in the skin can only happen if the precession of the earth's axis is tilted towards the south...which will be the case in 12,000 to 13,000 years from now. At that time, the constellations will look 'off' compared to how they look now (I was talking about the stars shifting over time in my previous post) and Polaris will no longer the be North Star, like in the artwork.

The kicker?

Lone Trail reveals that Terra is at least 13,000 years old.

#arknights

[cerastes]

Now and then I think about how the nature of temporality in Arknights apropos of the main story relative to side stories (events) means that with a little effort, you can make a really good SRW-style SRPG with Arknights: There’s the myriad storylines, there’s the myriad characters, there’s a good combination of objective mechanical information and lore fluff for a lot of characters that would let you make really good, complete characters in terms of gameplay.

You could easily make something like:

1st Game: Main Story from Chernobog up until Faust and Mephisto; Break the Ice (can be a sizeable arc, allows for a lot of maps across the game’s length, likely early game until start of endgame); Maria Nearl (same as Break the Ice, midgame until the endgame); Under Tides (shorter than the previous two, end of midgame until the endgame, plus you get temporarily playable Irene in the vein of SRW giving you guest units for one or two maps in one game before they are fully recruitable in the next); Grani the Knights’ Treasure (you can cover this in one, maybe two maps);  Twilight of Wolumonde (medium length arc and due to its structure, perfect for sprinkling maps about it across the early to midgame); Heart of Surging Flame (one long map-two maps); Code of Brawl (easy two mapper); Children of Ursus (SRW-style revised to be mixed in with Chernobog part of Main Story); Who Is Real (you can squeeze 2-3 maps easily; start of endgame upgrade for units like Lava and Kroos).

2nd Game: Main Story from where game 1 left off up until Talulah and the Deathless Black Snake, effectively ending the game with the end of the first arc; Beyond Here (AKA Archetto; short arc); Both Gavial Events (you can make big maps with Great Chief, whereas Ideal City would be interspersed with other plots to give it meat in terms of combat, a common event in SRW); Pynus Sylvestris & Near Light (you can get either some real long maps out of this or several medium length maps), Stultifera Navis (around the early midgame, you can squeeze 2 to 3 maps easily, and Seaborn can make for versatile enemy types elsewhere), Mansfield Break (you could put this anywhere, and you can milk it for a number of maps); Invitation to Wine (same as Mansfield Break); Guiding Ahead (you can go crazy with Guide Ahead thanks to the setting of Laterano and the structure of the event plus Andoain fits the “fucking HARD endgame RR boss” archetype with strong attacks and high dodge to a tee); Lingering Echoes (same as Guiding Ahead, really); Dorothy’s Vision (you can squeeze out some 3 maps out of it easily and a lot of new enemy types)

In SRW fashion, the Main Story in general would find itself slowed down and modified with downtime much like the main arc in an SRW tends to be a slow, game-length affair that finds itself entwined with many of the other arcs in the game, and likewise the arcs with the main story and between themselves. Of course, this also diverges from actual canon in that a lot of people that Shouldn’t Be There canonically, in this game’s canon, Would Be There, and that goes for the good guys as much as it does for the bad guys, which is always part of the appeal of a good ol’ SRW. It’d also be cool to see secret recruitable characters that you can’t get in canon or that die in canon join you if you satisfy certain secret requirements, like getting playable Big Bob and Monch and Viviana/Candle Knight, or being able to save FrostNova and/or Faust. Hell, sometimes SRW likes to throw curveballs and give you unexpected characters, so catch me with my endgame maxed out Jesselton (unlock: Defeat Jesselton exclusively by using Mountain, Robin and Kafka in the final Mansfield Break mission) and my #KHAGANQUEST (unlock: Every time Tola appears, defeat him with Blemishine).

I think the main challenge of the game would be to have a cohesive roster; SRW games tend to have massive rosters but that’s due to the sheer amount of stories they tend to cover in one single game, it actually tends to be few characters from each individual story, except the “featured” stories, which get more screentime and roster slots. In regards to some of the arcs, this is pretty easy: Abyssal Hunter Arc characters aren’t many (Skadi, Specter, Gladiia in the first game, plus Irene and Lumen in the sequel) and some of them are universal (Kal’tsit and Elysium), but then you have to make a decision of what 3*s, for example, make the cut as fully playable and not just NPCs, so as to not have bloat: Lava and Kroos are easy picks, for example. Break the Ice can give you a lot of people (SilverAsh, Courier, Matterhorn, Pramanix, Cliffheart, Kjera, Gnosis, secret Monch, secret Degenbrecher), which would make sense if you make it a meaty arc in the game overall, plus there’s a good variety of units you can get outta that.

I think the cast also lends itself to the usual SRW archetype of units: Amiya fits the “RR” type of unit that has low health but high evasion (based on her moves in the trailers, she’s highly agile), Blaze on the other hand seems like a perfect fit for the “SR” type of unit that has very low evasion but instead has huge bulk and just tanks the attacks instead (based on her duty as a Centurion, catching a ton of enemies at once and dealing with them while holding them and tanking them). Other RRs that come to mind are Ch’en, Irene, Whislash, Kroos, among others, while other SRs that come to mind are Specter, Blemishine, Mudrock, Matterhorn, among others. Then you have the less common archetypes, like Getters, AKA glass cannons with average bulk and low evasion but BIG damage, which can be units like SilverAsh (with S3 specifically in mind, giving him huge offense but making him quite fragile) and Skadi (very high HP and damage but low Defense means that HP goes down fast). You’d also have plenty of characters that would make sense to have innate Leadership (buff aura for nearby units), such as Amiya, Kal’tsit, Gladiia, SilverAsh, Big Bob, among others.

It goes without saying that you can make full use of the SRW tradition of giving units specific, very powerful team attacks, some of which could be pure fanservice, like Amiya and FrostNova having a team attack, and others which simply make sense, like the Sui Sisters (Nian, Dusk and Ling), the Abyssal Hunters, Pramanix and Kjera, Big Bob and Mudrock, among many others. The possibilities are legitimately really cool to imagine.

The setting and cast just works for an SRW style game, man.

#ended up getting lost in the sauce oops #dreamknights #srwbrainrot

[glassautomaton]

At last. At long last, Absinthe has a skin. After all these years of waiting our patience has been rewarded.

Something to note about the skin that I saw someone on Twitter point out, Absinthe’s skin resembles a winter school uniform from the USSR, which Ursus is clearly, at least in part, based off of. Absinthe also has longer hair than she does in her base art, as she cut her hair following the events of Children of Ursus. If you’ll remember from her event story, her family promised to take her on vacation “at spring’s coming,” so assuming they died shortly before then, during the winter, this skin likely shows what Absinthe would have looked like before the events of Children of Ursus. This is supported by the fact that the theme/ of the skin are “life” and “past/story.”

#arknights #absinthe #absinthe arknights #It’s been what four years without an Absinthe skin? #pretty sure she’s the oldest free character without one

[valkyrievanessa]

Ok, all this talk about Jet and Hama from avatar made me think a lot about this trope, the "opressed that hates their opressors are evil", specially what Arknights does with this trope in the Reunion arc (but is really different, like a lot, i don't even know if i can say that is the same trope).

In Arknights, the Reunion are a group of infected that appeared in a country called Ursus, a really old empire that was made and defined by their wars. The Infected are not considered humans in Ursus (actually, this also happens everywere in Terra) and so, the country use them as slaves in a job with a suvival rate of 0%.

The Reunion was born to fight against this opression, Patriot, an old general of the empire started the movement with his loyal soldiers, but when talulah appeared the movement really actually had a real goal.

Talulah and the Reunion were noble, fighted the soldiers and government of Ursus in order to make a place where the infected could be free, she was very firm on her ideas and morals and everyone in reunion respected her for that and obeyed her, she was the leader they needed.

Everything went to hell after Alina died and an expecific event happened, that was when Talulah went into a village nearby, searching for missing infected, the village people were civilians, normal and common people of Ursus, that lured the missing infected into a granary, locked them there and let them starve to death, Talulah burned that village to the ground and killed everyone.

After that her adoptive father took over her body and made the decisions for her, so he also took over of the reunion movement. He did things like transforming Eno, a infected child into a war monster that made a concetration camp with students, set a plan that killed the Patriot and his daughter, and he would create a valid motive for the Ursus Empire could start a world war (you know, helping the opressors, Ursus needed that war).

I keep thinking about Arknights everytime i think about Hama and Jet episodes, because in Arknights, Reunion hatred against the non infected are totally justified in the story and the thing they really did wrong was helping their opressors without knowing, and the concetration camp that Eno created with the non infected children of the city of chernobog, but he is also shown as a victim in the story and the story wants you to feel bad for him, because he is a child that suffered racism when he was younger and after being infected was treated as something not human, the story really goes all over their way to tell you, Eno was created by the world he lived.

Like, i think why avatar jet and hama episodes bothered me so much is because is too simple, in avatar the soldiers of the fire nation are bad people, but the civians that are also part of the opressors government are innocent just like the opressed... yeah, if someone in that fire nation village knew Hama was a waterbending she would be totally dead, like, really dead, because that's how things works.

In the end of the Reunion arc, the Reunion still exist by the way, with the protagonists agreeing with the movement, but still wanting to try something different, the plan was stopped and the war, prevented, but the movement was still there, free to act for the future they want, Talulah was protected by rhodes island and hidden from Ursus and Yen, that wanted her dead, but reunion itself, their hatred towards non infected was justified, quite literally.

We have in Rhodes island Eno's victims by the way, we have an event about them, is one of the hardest to read event in the game and the story talks about how eno, a victim, created a lot of victims, a big spiral of people that suffers making other people to suffer. Eno was a monster created by tragedy and no one was there for him in his last moments, only to kill him and is really sad, even the infected hated him in the end and Eno was just a child that wanted to sing, but his future was taken away from him and then he went there and did the same thing with other people.

So what i understand of what arknights are trying to tell is that the civillians of the opressors are part of the problem and is understandable if a opressed hates them too, but making them the target of your revenge will not help anyone and just make more victims, because despite being part of the problem, they are not the source of it

#arknights #avatar the last airbender #just some thoughts #about reunion #and some other stuff #like the hama and jet episodes #i really hate those episodes #this trope is kinda problematic #but could be used to tell a story that is really complex #something beyond the capacity of avatar the last airbender #or any other kids show

[rabbiteclair]

Is the arknights one about the door shield girl in your top 10? I know nothing about arknights and found it super gripping

any time I've ranked 'em, it's been within a single fandom, because comparing stuff from different fandoms is very apples vs. oranges to me. but... if I did an overall ranking, it probably would be in my top 10, yeah. definitely one of the times I've gotten just about the exact vibe I was going for

and thanks!

(general PSA: literally anybody can read the whole Children of Ursus event here, in very nearly the same quality you'd get in game, including SFX and stuff if you want 'em. I recommend it to basically anyone who has any potential interest in Arknights, because it's still in the running for my favorite piece of writing in the whole game. and at 7 chapters/~25k words, it's decently substantial.)

#rabbit does fanfiction

[rex101111]

I keep thinking of an Arknights Side Story where RI hires a psychiatrist. Like on the one hand Amiya has shown some pretty good skill at managing mental health and dealing with trauma victims in Children Of Ursus, but on the other hand she already has to deal with So Much Shit so it would only be fair if they actually hire someone who’s actual job is to be support for any operator that feels like life is getting a bit too heavy lately.

So yeah I’m making an OC for AK because why not:

They get into work with the best intentions, they’re pro-infected and recognize how the recent events RI had gone through would be traumatic for just about everyone on board. They’ve suffered major casualties to their senior staff and new recruits alike, so they get into work ready to deal with some Real Heavy Shit.

They were not ready.

The psychiatrist, let’s call them Councilor, underestimated the sheer glut of disfunction even a landship this massive could contain. Between the Ursus’ Kids PTSD, Spector being functionally catatonic half the time, Nightingale’s nightmares, Nightmare’s DID, the many operators with anger issues, the whole medical wing’s odd habit of constantly depriving themselves of sleep to the functional biological limit, Warfarin being an entire thing onto herself, the entire Rhine Lab crew having a medical textbook’s worth of mental illness and disorders between them, Lappland...well being Lappland, and Rosmontis’...everything, they have their hands full to the brim on a daily basis.

Councilor is the highest paid non-combat employee on RI, but its still only barely enough to justify having to stick their head into the piranha tank that is the general state of mental health of Rhodes Island.

They’re here because everyone on this thrice damned ship needs their help, its a minor miracle, they think, that this crew of weirdos hasn’t torn itself apart before they showed up.

And that’s without getting into the senior and commanding staff of RI. All the Elite Operators are bad enough on their own. Each a heady cocktail of survivors’ guilt, PTSD,  and Gods know what else. But the three at the top are another kettle of fish altogether.

Amiya is the most well put together, but that’s speaking relatively. The girl spends half their sessions trying to council Councilor, suggesting that she take on some of their patients to lighten their load. Forgetting the fact that Amiya’s habit of absorbing other people’s trauma to help them was the whole reason Councilor was brought in to begin with, the fact that this child, and it doesn’t matter what crazy bullshit magic prophecy rumors going around say that’s what she is, is attempting to shovel more responsibility onto her already nearly spilling plate is very destressing.

Kal’tsit is....Councilor doesn’t think there exists a word suitable to describe Kal’tsit. Or, at least not any word that would make sense without an actual degree in psychology. Detached is the closest, and even that seems lacking. She scares them, honestly, but they’re here to help, help everyone, so as underqualified as they are to deal with the hot, immutable mess that is Chief Medical Director Kal’tsit, they’re gonna give it their all.

And Doctor? Oh hell. If Kal’tsit is a hot mess, Doctor is volcanic. The amnesia is the absolute least of it. The first few sessions went pretty much no where, since the Doctor just rambled on about random things that seemed to pop into their head without letting Councilor get a word in edgewise before the time ran out. But one day, they ask a question, “...ever felt like you weren’t...real?”

“...care to elaborate, Doctor?”

“...like, you’re just a big, empty cloak with a name someone came up with on the fly, that you’re only meant for the people around you to pour themselves into to see what shape they take?”

“...how long have you been feeling like that, Doctor?”

“....since I woke up, I think.”

“....you people don’t pay me enough, Doctor.”

“We really don’t, don’t worry though me and Amiya are gonna bring up a pay raise for you in the next budget meeting.”

“Joy.”  

#Arknights #A non-binary skink Operator who isn't being paid enough but is gonna help everyone anyway #skink specifically because that's the animal im still waiting for #say hello to #Councilor (Arknights) #everybody!

[sunder-the-gold]

[Guiding Ahead] The City of Angels: Ethnostate or Civic State?

Before Iberia fell to the Great Silence, there were already Liberi living in Gaul. Before Gaul fell, there were already Liberi living in Victoria. Before Victoria began its fall, there were already Liberi living in rising Columbia.

Liberi are citizens in countries all over Terra, and only in some of them are they a minority. In Iberia they are the overwhelming majority, and in Columbia they are a considerable majority. The only country we can suppose the Liberi face any significant discrimination simply for being Liberi is the Ursus Empire, where the Ursus are the racial majority and favorite.

To all appearances thus far, Liberi are more likely to face discrimination on the basis of civic identity. Just as Victorian felines and Taran felines see each other as Tarans and Victorians, Columbians and Iberians would see each other as Iberians and Columbians.

But the Laterano are Sankta, and the Sankta have only Laterano.

Because once upon a time, they were Sarkaz.

Covenant

(mild spoilers for the PV of the next Laterano event: [Hortus de Escapismo])

One day, a tribe of Sarkaz decided that they had enough of Kazdel's endless cycle of destruction and vengeance. They left behind their homeland and people, and all the dreams and grudges of the past, to build something new and peaceful.

The remaining Sarkaz regarded them as traitors, and harassed them, but the expatriates found something that gave them a chance to survive: The Law.

The new Sankta built a city around the Law, both figuratively and literally. The city of Laterano became a fortress to protect the Sankta from the rest of the world. That also meant protecting the Law which made them Sankta.

Should anyone or anything ever succeed in destroying Laterano, the Law itself might be destroyed. That might cause all Sankta to immediately Fall, and revert back to Sarkaz.

Perhaps if this even deprives them of their 'wings' and dimmed halos, they might be able to pass for normal Sarkaz, and seek refugee among them... but just as their ancestors once rejected Kazdel and the Sarkaz cycle of violence, the descendants would likely reject such a fate as well. Especially since the many generations in between proved that a different and better life is possible.

It must be noted:

Laterano has never been an empire. It did not conquer and annex other nations. It took no slaves, demanded no tributes. Everyone who lives in Laterano, does so by choice; few who have the choice to leave, ever do.

Furthermore, everything Laterano owns, its people built with their own hands. Though without the grace of the Law, they probably could not succeed so much a second time.

Diaspora

But even if the Law survived the destruction of Laterano, the Sankta would not.

First you have the mass depopulation from whatever destroyed their nation. Then you have most of the survivors dying from untreated injuries, illnesses without medicine, starvation, thirst, food poisoning, beast attacks, weather exposure, Catastrope, Oripathy, opportunistic and vengeful Sarkaz attacks...

Furthermore, Sankta can only have Sankta children with other Sankta. So if the survivors simply disperse, they will breed themselves out of existence. Otherwise, wherever they settle, they have to form Sankta-only "Little Lateranos" and Sankta ghettos and keep tightly to their own kind. This will make them seem insular and unfriendly to the natives of their new homes, and thus will invite persecution and exploitation.

If anything, learning the truth that Sankta could have Sankta children with Sarkaz might do more harm than good to the possibility of the Sankta recovering from the loss of their homeland. Especially if the weakness of Cecelia's halo would only be weaker for any of her potential children with a Sarkaz. That way, too, might only breed the Sankta out of existence.

Immigration

For that matter, allowing any non-Sankta into the citizenry of Laterano poses a risk to the perpetuation of the Sankta people. And yet they do allow it.

No Liberi, regardless of devotion, can become Sankta or even give birth to Sankta. But this is not because the Sankta wish it so.

The Sankta have no power to share their blessings with others. At worst, the Sankta choose to ignore the question rather than seek the answers as Andoain did.

(I don't think the Law has the power to make non-Sarkaz into Sankta, either. Given its agenda to ensure Sankta survival, it surely would.)

The Sankta do not forbid Liberi from applying to join the Apostolic Knights; they merely require that Liberi pass the same tests that Sankta do.

Fiammetta would have been the first Liberi in Lateran history to succeed, though she still wouldn't have been able to use the standard weaponry compatible only to Sankta. But even then, the Knighthood was willing to bend their standards for her, and it was her own choice to refuse to join them.

[Guiding Ahead] gives faces and voices to a number of Lateran attitudes. Fiammetta represents Liberi who love Laterans as much or more than Laterano itself, Andoain and Patia represent those Laterans who demand answers to the taboo questions...

But at no point in [Guiding Ahead] is Sankta bigotry against other races so pronounced that the narrative introduces a bigoted character who openly views non-Sankta as contemptible or pitiable. The three most authoritative figures in the story don't even clearly hate the Sarkaz, let alone Lateran Liberi.

Fiammetta's third Archive File does reveal that there are at least two "braindead colleagues" among the Apostolic Knights (or the Notarial Hall) who would not "shut up" about Fiammetta's fitness to join their order. ONLY two, among the whole institution.

Whereas the one writing in her defense says "Old friend, we agree with your opinion." If the 'we' refers to at least two, then the 'old friend' is a third ally in Fiammetta's favor.

A hard number of "two" in vocal opposition, versus a potential three or more advocates. Furthermore, the files don't even make explicit what the two vocal dissenters find concerning. Do they complain because they simply want to keep the Knights racially pure, or do they simply worry that Fiammetta's nonstandard weaponry would bring unnecessary complication to their order's combat capabilities?

Furthermore, we see NO racial tensions in the streets.

Ezell talks just as easily with other Sankta citizens as he does with Liberi citizens. Liberi citizens respond to him no differently than other Sankta.

Of course the differences are still there. Everyone knows the differences are there, especially the Sankta who cannot feel the presence or emotions of the Liberi. But no one wants to bring attention to those differences, or make a big deal out of them.

It's similar to how, in [Lingering Echoes], everyone in Vyseheim's Afterglow district KNEW that Hibiscus was a Sarkaz and not an Elafia or Caprinae. But the most sensible Leithanians, even when her race bothered them, made conscious efforts to overlook what set her apart from them, so they could focus on what made her one of them.

There's not even that level of racial tension in the streets of Laterano.

It doesn't even exist among the Pathfinders, who are not only led by a Sankta, but who include a number of Sankta in their lower ranks along with Liberi. There's no anti-Sankta sentiment driving the Pathfinders, and they're actually MORE racially accepting than the average Lateran citizen, since they embrace peaceful Sarkaz.

The Sarkaz Ban

This might well be a law passed by the very first Sankta, who deliberately erased the very reasons for the law's existence.

Cecelia, with her flickering halo and strange blood, rang the Bell of Revelation by singing a Sarkaz song in the Sarkaz tongue.

I think the first generation of Sankta wanted so badly to cut themselves away from Kazdel and its cycle of destruction that they did everything they could to deliberately forget they had ever been Sarkaz. They obscured their history, they changed their language...

And they tried to ensure that no Sarkaz would ever lay with a Sankta in the holy city to have a Sankta child, and that no Sarkaz would ascend the Tower of Revelation to say, "Hey, Siri!" in a language that the Law would understand.

With this hypothetical true reason for the law forgotten, it seems the modern Sankta continue to uphold it out of tradition, and because of the ancestral fear and hatred of all Sarkaz inspired by Kazdel's aggressions against the sankta, continuing from the present day since before the founding of Laterano.

#arknights #sankta #sarkaz #guiding ahead #laterano #civic state #ethnostate #racism #bigotry

[nomorefstogive]

A Day of Miracles

Miracle Worker AU

Good evening everyone, we are here today with a more fluffy idea that, while not quite a normal AU, this is still something I am considering an au or rather a take on an au like our ‘Mother Knows Best’ one with the exception that the Shaper is summoned back to Teyvat and an overly happy mother forgets to inform the acolytes because she is riding a high of bliss at having her child back with her again. 

That being said we are dedicating this fluffy little oneshot to @chocoenvy and @universal-rose. We hope you two enjoy this.

We also feel that we should say that you can consider this the soft and fluffy story to go back to for comfort once we post a much darker idea we have involving the Creator. or Shaper as we call them, waking up in the stygian abyss that is the Arknights Universe…to be exact they are caught up in the events taking place within a mobile city in Ursus during one of the most horrific events that we have ever witnessed in the game. 

Those of you who know what I am talking about know fully well how dark it is going to get, especially with our little twist on it.

But enough of those dark thoughts, for now let the curtains rise and the orchestra begin to perform as our play begins. Ah we also feel that we should state that in order to avoid making this a wall of words greater than our last idea, we will be dividing this idea up into four or five parts. 

Let’s see, what should we call it?

Hmmm…Ah!

Let’s go with-

Day of Miracles( Part 1, Mondstadt)

Link to part 2:  A Day of Miracles Part 2: Liyue

Trigger warnings: Aside from Cult Behavior and mentions of past traumatic events, Hili bros deserved better, and a mention of character death, don't worry they get better, we can't really think of anything.

Word count, only the story text and not the note and tw: 5K+...This is actually one of our shortest works.

What does one think of when they consider the day that the one who shaped the world they call home would return?

Do their minds call to mind an image of the skies yielding afore the void and of the heavens themselves bowing such that the clouds touch the ground as the cosmos form the stair they shall descend upon as the world roars in joy to mark their descent unto the world anew?

Does one's mind call to mind the seas parting way for them so that all of the beasts and creatures within may bear witness to their majesty as the oceans offer up the treasures that they have kept as tribute for them for oh so long?

Mayhaps one’s mind conjures forth the image of the world seeming to become more real, the colors more vivid and radiant as the tastes and smells of the world grow more intense and all senses of touch and of joy and pleasure become so heightened that near euphoria grips one at the slightest touch?

Or perhaps one’s mind imagines that it would be as though a part of them that had been missing for oh so long returned and clicks back into place as they at last feel fully complete as the divine returns to walk beside them upon the base earth?

Or maybe they imagine the day that the 3 True Divines, The Mother, The Guide and The Shaper, would dane to walk upon the base world anew would be heralded with the rising of all, be they dead or alive to kneel before them as Celestia itself did descend upon the world so that they may walk alongside them anew.?

Perhaps it is all of these and more that surge through one's mind as they try and consider what would happen the day the divine returned? 

Or perhaps one accepts that they simply can not know what will happen when the divine returns? That all they can do is wait and listen for the signs of their return and make themselves ready for their imminent arrival, for certainly there must be signs that they have come and that the world is soon to change anew as they draw nearer to the day they return to walk upon the base earth alongside of their children. 

And yet, how can mere mortals and lesser divines dare aspire to know the truth of the inner workings of true and absolute divinity? 

How can it be that they aspire to think that they know what will occur when the divine returns? How could they think that they knew how the divine would choose to announce their return to them after oh so long away.  

For on the day that the divine did return to the world of Teyvat did they come not with thunder and lightning, nor of rending sky to void and of stars kneeling before rhm or of the seas parting ways for them. 

No, rather it was that on the day the divine returned to Teyvat they did so not with a show of power, but a show of their boundless love for the world they had shaped oh so long ago. 

The first sign that something had changed in the world was a small one, so small and insignificant that many would have dismissed it had they seen it were they to turn their gaze to that exact portion of the night sky at that exact moment in time.

For it came with but the slightest of shifting in the order of the world as from Celestia a radiant light, as that of a once faint star shining anew, did glow for but a single moment before it faded away leaving but the gleaming of stars and the light of the moons to illuminate the world. 

And it was that none did behold that instant of wondrous glory, save for a young woman who had been pondering the mysteries wrote within the stars above her by the Mother oh so long ago, and even she had only caught it out of the corner of her eye as it dimmed once more. And so her mind dismissed it as not but a trick of the light or a passing of a shooting star, although some part of her deep within said that it was something far more.

And it was so that none heard the cries of joy and rapture that came from within the floating island as Mother and Child were reunited, and none heard an ancient silence be broken as siblings embraced anew in the arms of a joyfully weeping mother. 

None saw the ancient and mighty Goddess of Destiny sweep the newly returned one into their arms with tears flowing from her eyes as rivers as she held them fast to her such that they may never be taken away again as she was likewise swept into a familial embrace. 

And it was that none would even know of such a wondrous reunion until they awoke and beheld a world much changed, for the Shaper was kind and they knew well the pains their children had endured while away they had been, and so as their power returned to them did they seek to alleviate those pains as best they could.

It came to pass that the night yielded unto the dawn, and those who dwelled upon the world did open their eyes only to wonder if they had not awoken at all, for what they beheld must surely be a dream world of some kind.

For it was that in Mondstadt, where the winds of Freedom blow and the songs of minstrels and bards are carried far to the thrones of the divine by such ever free winds, that the people of the world would first learn of the change that had occurred. 

For there came from the plains and hills and mountains, not just there but indeed all across the world as the people would later learn, great cheers and chanting and revelry as the Hilichurls beat upon their drums and danced with glee as they seemed fit to burst with rapturous glee. 

And it came as shock and wonder to a young scholar who had gone to speak with a tribe of these mighty beasts in regards to why they were sounding their drums with such fervor and fury that it seemed as though the Raiden Shogun herself was letting her rage seep into the heavens as thunder, that when she did arrive she beheld a scene that would forever be etched into her mind  as she saw something beyond even her most wondrous dreams. 

For there afore her lay not just a camp of Hilichurl’s, clad in their furs and masks, but also people, people who did change and shift from human to hilichurl with the ease of a breath as tears of joy flowed from their eyes as they bellowed out prayers and cries of joy unto the sky and wept with relief from the terrible pain that had been upon them for oh so long at last vanishing into the ether from whence it came. 

And when their eyes alighted on her did they bid her welcome to walk among them and revel with them as they celebrated their liberation from an age old curse. 

And with shock and awe did she take their hands and let herself be led into the celebratory throng as her mind raced with the potential of just how much she could learn as she saw man and woman shifting between their new and old forms as they danced and drank and feasted. 

Indeed she did lose herself to the stories that she was told by Shamans and warriors of old who at last could give proper voice to their tales and who did so with joy in their hearts as the young scholars hands became not but a blur as she commemorated every detail they spoke unto the notebook she held in her hand. 

And yet it was not just the young scholar of the Hilichurl’s who was affected, for there did come from under the branches of a great and mighty tree, a cry of such euphoric joy and heartfelt relief that all who would have heard it would have been moved to tears as they beheld a most curious of sights. 

For there, under the shade of those great branches, did 2 who appeared oh so similar race towards one another and fall onto the ground in a tearful embrace as they held one another, the winds around them swirling and racing as they cried out their own joy at the sight of their lord’s dearest of friends returned to his side as they embraced the joyfully weeping pair. 

There would come a time when their lyres would both sing a new, and all of the Lands of Freedom and indeed all that the winds did touch would hear a song of heartfelt joy and of great and terrible grief burned away as pain that lingered amidst a scarred heart did fade as well amidst the ever rising flames of their joyful reunion.

But for now they were content to hold one another and to speak of all that had occurred during their long parting as they basked in one another’s shared presence under the branches of the tree and under the happy gaze of a falcon who cawed out her own joy as she took flight towards the City of the Wind from whence a commotion had begun to rise. 

For there did come from a woman who had her sight taken from her at so young an age that she had never been able to truly marvel at all of the colors that lay upon the Shaper’s masterpiece a cry of rapture as the bandages that had hid her eyes fell to the ground and her now vivid blue orbs took in all that lay before her as tears of joy spilled from her now seeing eyes. 

And likewise was there commotion from the square, where a young woman who had long battled fiercely with an illness that had upon her body wreaked pain and misery threw back her arms and joyously cried out that the aches and pains were gone and faded, and that never before had her breathing been so painless and easy as her brother held her as both cried in joy.

And from a tavern there came the sound of shattering glass as two bottles struck the floor and shattered as two men, once brothers till they did part ways, were reunited as siblings again as one leapt across his bar and another flung himself from the second floor as, with tears in their eyes, they embraced a man with hair of flame red whoi smiled and laughed as he held his sons with a proud smile on his face as he saw how much they had grown. 

And there did likewise come from the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius a great ruckus as a woman who had long ascended unto the heavens did she her guise of a falcon and cast open her arms as she embraced the woman who was her successor in all but name and, with a smile of such pride it did bring tears to the Dandelion Knights eyes, did she guide her out of her office to see a great revelry that had gripped the city swell yet further still. 

As there did come forth from portals and tears to realms hitherto unknown a great host of knights whose armors and weapons, though worn and battered, bore proudly the symbol of Mondstadt, and at whose head rose two men who could only gaze upon the scene before them with awe and shock in their eyes. 

For not only did a goddess of Celestia now stand before them with her arms wrapped around the shoulder of both a violet mage and a knight of the wind, but there amidst the streets were people and beasts who they knew to have passed long ago emerging from similar portals to the ones that a feeling had bade them pass on through. 

And it was amidst this beginning to great revelry that there did come the hurried footsteps of two women who did bear the robes of nuns of the cathedral that rested above the city, and from their lips did spill the words that did ignite the revelry into a bonfire that surged and swelled as it enveloped the city in the flames of ecstasy.

For within the cathedral the statue of the Shape had come alight, stars and galaxies woven across it as a heavenly radiance enveloped it just as it had enveloped the statues of The Mother and The Guide, and there did likewise come from the statue an aura of soothing warmth that did heal and mend all wounds and ailments of those who drew near to it. 

And as great joy and revelry did sweep through the city did a child clad in red cry out in joy as she leapt into the arms of her mother as she happily guided her to see the wonderful books that she had wrapped as presents when she had awoken. And oh how wonderful these books were, for they taught her how to make new and better versions of her beloved toys, and oh how she smiled at the thought of playing with her new toys with her friend who had given her such wondrous gifts.

The fish of Teyvat, though joyful at the return of their beloved Shaper did indeed curse them as they swam, vowing to avoid the red clad demon's domain for as long as they could even if it meant avoiding their beloved Shaper. 

And amidst this joyous throng there did come forth another cry of joy from a ruin where a young adventurer had set up his camp as he pursued a story of treasures that lay hidden within said ruins. 

And it did come to be that as he walked those desolate halls, not one trap was triggered and not once did the ceiling or floor come down upon or out from under him as he searched through the halls, and indeed did no statue reveal themselves as golems nor did any plant reveal themselves as Whopperflowers or Dendro Slimes or Regisvines as he walked through the halls.

And when the time did come that he reached the central chamber did he witness a sight which did leave his lungs breathless, for it was as he stepped into the large chamber that he leaned against a wall to catch his breath only to feel the portion of the wall he leaned upon slide in and give way, but it was not to a pit or a trpa which conjured forth ruin Guards, but something that instead left him gaping in shock.

For spread before him were heaps of ancient coins of gold and small jewels that laid beside a chest that was open enough to reveal a gleaming sword which bore a note attached to its pommel. 

After he stood up did he move into the room with uneasy footsteps as he strode towards the chest and gingerly lifted up the note, his mouth falling open as he fell to his knees with a tearful smile forming on his face as he read and re-read what lay inscribed on the paper. 

And oh did he weep as he read the writing of the divine, for there was, inscribed upon that piece of paper, a letter of apology for the misfortune he had been burdened with and a promise that it would trouble him no more. 

The letter did also state that all that lay before him and within these ruins was his as recompense for what he endured as a result of his luck, and that he should do with it what he will. 

And yet it was not the wealth and weapon that were offered to him that made him smile with tears of joy streaming from his eyes, for there was also something else included in that letter that left him feeling as though he were atop the spires of Celestia.

A simple and earnest question for the young adventurer that asked if he and his team would be willing to accompany the divine on their travels when they were let descend upon Teyvat anew by the grace of their Mother and sibling.

And it was with tears of joy leaving his lips that he wept out a joy filled ‘Yes’ as he slumped down against the chest with tearful laughter leaving his lips as he decided to rest there until his heart had calmed enough for him to make the journey to seek out some help carrying his new treasures back home. 

And as with the young man who was burdened by misfortune, did there come another tearful cry of joy as a woman who had long aspired to rise unto knighthood had fallen upon her knees with tears of joy leaving her eyes as she had awoken to find a beautiful mantle with a small slip of paper laid beside it. 

And upon that paper was written but a few short sentences that did make the young made wep with joy, for they were praises of her unyielding dutiful nature and her courage and of her determination and yet it was not these praises wrti by hand of the divine that did so move her to tears. 

For there was inscribed upon that paper an honor that made the young maid-knight fall to her knees as there was an appointment that though she may not be a Knight of Favonius, she was now one of two from the City of Freedom who would bear the title of Knight of The Divine, and that the mantle would serve as her proof of her new office. 

And with tears yet flowing from her eyes did the young Knightess don the mantle, and then did she cry out in ecstasy for she did feel as though the arms of the divine themselves were wrapped around her shoulders and holding her fast in an embrace. 

So great was her joy that she cared not if she missed the revelry outside, for she wished merely to bask in this wondrous feeling. 

Yet as the letter had said, was she not the only one to be bestowed with such an honor, for there was a mirror to the scene that had played out in her bedroom in the bedroom of a noble woman who had been blessed with the grace of cryo.

And the young noble of a disgraced house knelt upon her floor with tears of joy leaving her eyes as she laughed in euphoric gless as she felt the embrace of the divine wrap around her as she felt that this was perhaps the sweetest of vengeances that she could ever hope to achieve upon those who had shunned and mocked her for her blood.

And like the ever dutiful maid-knight did she care not for the revelry, for she wished to lay upon her bed and revel in the embrace of the divine that did hold her fast.

And there did come from the woods of Wolvendom a great howl that did echo unto the heavens as the Lupus Boreas did breath anew as his body was restored unto him, and greater still was another howl that echoed from atop a mountain that did shake the trees and hills as a great wolf of size equal to that of the Wolfen Dominator leapt into the air and in a crackle of lightning vanished as a young boy with eyes of crimson and hair of silver landed where the wolf would have with tears of joy leaking from his eyes at the gift bestowed upon him. 

And there was likewise a howling yip from the home of an alchemist who sought to craft her own wonderland, for there before her were tomes and books on studies long forgotten and that she had never before heard of. And they were not the only thing that did move the young woman to her howls of joy, for there lay in her room a new door which did lead unto a room that was full of skeletons of beasts and creatures the likes of which she had never seen nor could she have imagined in not but her wildest of dreams and fantasies. 

Oh how she longed to throw herself into the new books she had been given, but a much simpler part of her wished to see if the letter she had read upon the door to the room was true as she walked over to one of the smaller skeletons and pulled free a bone, and then felt her jaw drop as her mouth began to water as a new bone took its place in an instant. 

She let that simpler part of her mind take over as she leapt forward to explore the room with delight in her eyes as she held the bone close to her, her mind alight with all of the possibilities that now lay before her.

And it was that she was not the only one whose mind had come alight with wondrous new possibilities, for within the frozen reaches of Dragonspire did the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius wake to find a new door in his small home, a door which bore a letter upon it. 

And upon reading the letter did he drop it in shock as he opened the door before him with a trembling hand, his eyes snapping open as wide as the moons that surrounded the planet as he took in the expanse of an immense library that did lay spread out before him. 

And as he took a tentative step into the room did he pause to reach down and seize the note as he re-read it again and again as his mind began to swim and race as tears began to stream from orbs of molten gold as he truly took in the words written upon it. 

A drunken laugh leaving his lips as he saw the new title he had been bestowed with as he entered into the room to begin immersing himself in the knowledge that now lay before him, heedless to the revelry sweeping through the city near his mountain home.

He did quite like the title of Alchemist of the Divine.

And in speaking of the City of Freedom, there was amidst the city that had been engulfed in near euphoric throng another cry of joy as a young woman with a bow styled to look as the ears of a rabbit tore through the crowd before her as she all but leapt into the arms of an aged man who smiled as he spun his granddaughter around in a tearful embrace. Several small stuffed dolls that resembled the young woman walking alongside of her as they likewise latched onto the older man's feet with their own tiny arms in an embrace.

There would yet come a time for conversations and explanations between him and his granddaughter over what had driven him to leave her all of those years ago, but that could wait for later. For now, it was time to make merry and revel. 

And it was amidst that revelry that there was another young woman with tears of joy streaming from her eyes as she looked at the letter that she had found on her nightstand atop a book of recipes for drinks whose likeness she had never seen before, and yet it was not the new recipes that made her cry tears of joy. 

For there lay in the note a promise that any drink she made would not make those who did imbibe it intoxicated, and would instead cleanse them of such an effect were they to have already become intoxicated through other means. 

A promise she witnessed to be true as she saw her father drink a liquor which should have for all intents and purposes left him a drunken and giggling loon, and yet drunken was he not and likewise nor was he laughing as a loon as he savored the drink his daughter had given him.

And yet stronger still did the young woman’s tears flow as she recalled well what her father had said to her that morning as he held her fast in an embrace, a promise he had told her as he stroked the feline ears that lay atop her head, a vow born of the dreams he had been shown as he slept. 

For it was as he slept that he saw well how much his daughter loved him, and yet how much she grieved and loathed how he became when he overindulged in the liquor he was so fond of. 

He saw her tears and heard her curses and snarled growls as she tried and tried and failed and failed to find a way to scare him away from the drink he had taken to so long ago to cope with the world around him. 

And so he had begged for the Divine to make it so that he would not be as the ‘boar rolling in mud’ that his daughter claimed he was like when he had drunk far too much, and so had the divine granted his wish as he had heard a voice tell him that while he would be able to enjoy a faint haze brought about by the liquor, he would no longer be able to become intoxicated. 

And as she held her father with a tearful smile on her face did the young bartender offer up not but thankful prayers to the Divine as she savored her father’s embrace, a vow that when the Divine did descend upon the world would she make them the greatest drinks that she could.

Still more cries of joy did abound as a young woman who laid immersed in fantasy found herself with a door similar to that of the Alchemist of the frozen mountain present within her room, a door that lead to a library of novels of fantasy and wonder and which bore within it a book that would let her enter into the fantasy worlds contained within those books should she wish for it. 

And it was that the Prinzessen did weep with joy as her raven friend flew around the room in circles with caws of joy leaving his lips as he saw the ever replenishing treats left for him near a most comfortable perch so that he may watch over his friend and rest as well. 

Likewise was there great tears of joy that flowed from the eyes of an idol as she knelt before the statue of the Divine ones within the cathedral, and from her lips did there spill forth and endless stream of gratitudes and praises as she held fast to her chest a songbook delivered unto her in the night by the divine. 

And it was within that songbook that she read the words that made her weep with true joy as she gazed upon them with tear filled eyes as she vowed to sing the praises and hymns of the divine and all of the songs that lay within the ever expanding songbook for them when they did descend for what kind of Divine Songstress would she be if she did not. 

And in a darker corner of the cathedral did another woman with a heart like that of ice hide herself away as she cried her own joy as she held tight a letter or praise and admiration written by divine hands. 

A letter which had rested upon a book that, like the ever growing songbook of the deaconess, would ever expand with infinite pages that she could peruse through with ease, pages which would tell her of all the ways of fighting and surveillance that were devised by those that had passed and those that yet lived and those that would yet live. 

And it was within the book that another gift had fallen to rest in her hand, a vision that was as a starless night, void of any and all light. A vision that did into shadows let her wander and emerge at will, and did likewise let her see through all of the dark places and corners that lay around her. And it was that the vision did seem to fuse with her vision of cryo so that it was a gleaming snowflake upon and endless night that rested upon her side. 

And it was within this letter that raised her for all of her work to protect the city she called home, that she did behold an honor that made a woman whose faith had always been faint feel their heart swell and ache in joy as her faith steeled as she beheld her new position as Shadow of the Divine. 

And oh how she did vow to honor that name for when they did descend would she be at their side as their loyal guardian, hidden within their shadow that she may be there to safeguard them forever more. 

And last but most certainly not least of all of those to behold a gift bestowed upon them on this most miraculous of days by the Divine, was a young woman whose gaze was upon the stars and the heavens and all of the great and mighty and terrible celestial bodies that did swirl and dance within the cosmic expanse around their world. 

And it was so that the young astrologer awoke to the noise outside of her home, and to 3 parcels that lay upon her desk, alongside of a note. 

The first she lifted up was a book that would tell her of all things related to the heavenly bodies that lay within the cosmos above her. Such knowledge of stars and planets and of nebulae and galaxies and of all of their wonders and horrors, that it made her knees grow weak as her heart pounded within her chest at the thought of it all.

The second appeared almost as a larger version of a vision, although not one of any form she had ever before beheld, for it bore no sign of an element of the 7, but rather a gleaming and radiant field of stars amidst ever changing colored nebulae. And when she touched it did she see emerge before her a great and terrible sight, as all around her did bloom stars and galaxies and nebulae such that her eyes went wide and she at last slumped down onto her weak knees as she raised her hand and allowed for the vision of the stars to fade. 

And it was that after several moment of catching her breath that she stood and took into her hand a pouch of deep sapphire silk that, much to her confusion, felt as though it were empty. Her mind raced as she tried to determine its purpose before her gaze traveled over and unto the words writ upon the latter she held fast in her hand. 

Her heart stopped for several moments, and for several moment longer did she fear that soon she would feel the hand of the Guide slide into her own as she was bid to follow them to either a due reward or punishment for she was certain that she must has ascended unto the heavens as she dreamt.

And yet she followed well the instructions wrote upon the letter and thought to herself of a need for a hundred coins of mora, and then upended the pouch into a small bowl that lay upon the table, her eyes widening as the exact amount of mora she had wished for came spilling out and into the bowl. 

And it was with the knowledge that never again would she need for money, and that never again would she go hungry and risk starvation as she slaved over her labor, that the appointed Divine Astrologer allowed for consciousness to leave her as she fell backwards and into the realm of blissful unconsciousness, a prayer of thanks the last thing to leave her lips before she resumed her journeys through the land of dreams she had woken from but moments prior. 

And so does the tale of the Miracles bestowed upon Mondstadt on the day of the Divines return end with the descent of Dvalin of The Storm into the city as he was welcomed into the joyous throng of revelry, a roar of gratitude leaving his lips as he looked to the sky and the floating island therein that kay above him. 

And the divine did smile upon the land of the winds and bid them revel as they turned their gaze to see what effect their blessings had upon the other lands of the world, that is to say they would turn their gaze and see said effects once stars shaped as twins allowed for them to get off of the floor as they held them tight in an embrace. A small fairy who had shed her tiny form to appear as the Goddess of Time once more was not assisting in the matter either as she joined in on the embrace with a joyful laugh. 

Yet the divine was given at least some respite when Asmoday of Destiny lifted up her sister with a smile on her face as she spoke of how a being ‘designated as food for emergencies’ should not tackle someone to the ground, as she held her tight. 

Laughter filled divine halls as all heard an indignant screech from the fairy turned Goddess. 

And more laughter and more joy there would come for the Divine would soon fix their gaze upon a land of earth and contracts, and see well how they reacted to what they had been blessed with on this-

Day of Miracles

And here we are, we hope you all enjoyed this story, we are not that satisfied with the quality of it, and how rushed it seems to be in some parts. 

Regardless, as we said we hope you enjoyed this part of our little fluff idea, we will be posting a part 2 of it once we get it written up, might wait until we finish the next chapter of our fic on ao3 or we might not, we will see where are muse takes us. 

Either way, we hope to see you all in the next one, stay safe and have a great night.

#nomorefstogive #genshin sagau #genshin impact fluff #genshin cult au #genshin impact cult au #genshin impact cult au fluff #genshin impact sagau fluff #genshin impact sagau #@universal-rose you are summoned by the power of fluff

[waheelawhisperer]

I'm trying to get over The Fatigue of reading so I can learn more Arknights lore, but as you seem to be the local Nearl enthusiast, I want to ask: Are Margaret and Maria Nearl the same person? Are they relatives? Who's harem am I getting into?

This is a good and important question and I'm glad you asked it, because now I get to talk about my wife. I'll try to answer in as close to a spoiler-free manner as I can since I don't know where you are in terms of the Arknights story and I don't want to ruin anything you haven't read yet.

Margaret and Maria Nearl are not the same people, not at all! Maria is Margaret's younger sister. Both of them are members of the Nearl family, a clan of noble knights from Kazimierz (and when I say noble, I mean it in multiple ways: the Nearls possess both the high social standing of literal hereditary nobility and considerable strength of character).

In Kazimierz, there are two types of knights: competition knights, who fight in tournaments like the Kazimierz Major for fame, glory, and cold hard corporate cash, and campaign knights, who serve in the military and protect the borders of Kazimierz from enemy nations like Ursus. Margaret and Maria's grandfather, Kirill Nearl, was a legendary campaign knight whose name commands considerable respect among the campaign knights to this day.

Margaret and Maria's parents were also campaign knights, but they disappeared while on a mission at least a decade before the start of the story, leaving their children in the care of Margaret and Maria's uncle, Mlynar. From what I understand/remember, Mlynar served as more of a knight-errant than an official campaign/competition knight, wandering the country righting wrongs, but ultimately gave that up when his brother (Margaret/Maria's father) disappeared. At some point after that, his idealism dried up and he took a corporate job, which is where all the "wageslave Mlynar" jokes come from.

I'm definitely fuzzy on the details, but from what I remember, Margaret was getting fast tracked into the Kazimierz military before she decided to speak out against the commercialization of knighthood and joined the Kazimierz Major in order to try and restore the country's old ideals of chivalry by swaying the hearts and minds of the populace. She... sort of succeeded, in that she won the Major and garnished a great deal of popular support, but she was ultimately exiled and forced to leave the country.

During Margaret's travels, she met up with Shining and Nightingale, forming a group of roaming healers called the Followers. The Followers eventually found their way to Rhodes Island, where Margaret serves as a combat operator at the start of the story. She uses her last name as her operator codename because she's secretly a giant freaking dork, but considering some of the other codenames we've seen, her choice honestly wasn't half bad.

The five-star Defender version of Nearl available since launch represents this stage in her story. Nearl the Radiant Knight (her limited 6-star Guard version, only available on a specific banner), on the other hand, represents Nearl as a competition knight, the champion who took the Kazimierz Major by storm. In this incarnation, she fights with less emphasis on protecting others and more on just deleting whatever's in front of her.

Maria Nearl, as I mentioned earlier, is Margaret's (significantly younger) sister. When Nearl was exiled, her family's reputation suffered, which sparked the plot of the Maria Nearl event. Maria stepped up to try to restore the family's reputation because Mlynar was too busy working his office job and giving everyone else condescending lectures despite absolutely having the chops to restore the family's primacy. After a convoluted series of events, Maria ended up at Rhodes Island, where she took the codename "Blemishine". She's a six-star healing Defender whose skills play with the archetype a bit by emphasizing her damage output instead of pure healing and durability.

Zofia Whislash is a member of one of the distantly removed branches of the Nearl clan, rather than part of the main family/in the direct line of succession. While the actual familial relationship is somewhat complex, the game simplifies it by calling her Margaret and Maria's aunt in the legal, official sense, though their relationship is more sisterly (and almost motherly in Maria's case) in terms of actual emotional connection and dynamic. Don't call Whislash "auntie" or she'll get mad at you.

Whislash is a few years older than Margaret, and also participated in the Kazimierz Major at one point. She reached the top 16 and made enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life before suffering a debilitating injury that ended her career. Now she serves as Maria's mentor figure, and the same events that brought Maria to Rhodes Island also led to Whislash coming along with her.

You will become a member of Margaret's harem. Admittedly, the "Nearl is a harem protagonist" thing is a bit of a fandom joke based on the way Nearl's been teased with both Shining and Nightingale - the narrative has implied that the nature of her relationship with one or both of them is romantic, but hasn't explicitly confirmed it (frankly, I doubt it ever will, considering the Chinese government's censorship laws and attitudes toward LGBT people and content). There's also a major NPC who has the biggest gayest crush on Nearl, and their confrontation during Nearl's storyline is practically dripping with homoerotic tension. Add that to an extremely unfortunate abbreviation for her Guard form (Nearl The Radiant Knight is frequently shortened to NTR Knight, and NTR is also a common abbreviation for a genre of Japanese pornography wherein one partner in a committed relationship, usually the woman, is stolen away by someone else) and we get harem protagonist/steal-yo-girl-Nearl memes. The narrative doesn't present her as being as promiscuous as the playerbase does (or at all; if anything, she's implied to be devoted to Shining/Nightingale, or potentially outright celibate if those bonds are intended as platonic), but fandom exaggerating a character's canon traits for comedic or dramatic effect is a well-known phenomenon, examples of which are frequently found on this very blog.

tl;dr the "Nearl is a lesbian sex goddess" thing is an exaggeration of the narrative presenting Nearl with a few potential romantic partners (notable in a gacha game, a genre where recruitable characters are frequently written to have interest in the player character instead of having canon love interests among the rest of the roster) and her acknowledged in-universe popularity and charisma.

Hope this helped. I tried to keep things very general to avoid spoiling anything too badly and also because I don't remember every single detail. Don't feel bad if you find Arknights lore intimidating or fatiguing to absorb, this franchise really requires you to be willing to read between the lines because it writes an entire freaking novel there (which, as an aside, is a storytelling style that I absolutely hate because I feel like it puts the burden on the reader to do the writer's job for them and leaves large chunks of the audience frequently confused, as demonstrated by the common "please explain the lore of the latest event" posts on larger and more popular blogs than mine, but whatever).

#arknights #nearl #margaret nearl #maria nearl #blemishine #zofia whislash #whislash #mlynar nearl #shining #nightingale #viviana droste #wife #husband

[shuttershocky]

As someone who had to stop playing since the Chalter event because it coincided with my finals (also not getting Chalter), do you think it's still possible for me to catch up/do IS strategies despite missing a lot of events (especially if any of them have a good welfare operator) and operators? My biggest concern is that I missed out on Goldenglow and it seems like Mlynar is just around the corner so I don't think I'll be able to save enough to get this tired senior citizen with arthritis who only wants to read his newspaper into my base.

Mlynar is in like 4 months with two limited banners (and thus orundrum bonuses every single day) in between so you'll be able to save plenty to get Mlynar by then.

The event welfares you missed (not counting reruns or IS rewards or Story Rewards) are Tequila, Conviction, Wild Mane, Kjera, Nine-Colored Deer (she was part of a collab so I don't know if she'll rerun) Kroos the Keen Glint, and Enforcer. They'll all be getting their reruns next year (with Tequila coming before Gavial the Invincible) so you haven't really missed much, and again, once events have had their rerun they're eventually added to Record Restoration so you can claim the Free Operator you missed anyway. Absinthe from Children of Ursus just got unlocked a few days ago!

Goldenglow's not limited either, so she'll come back around either as a spook, from the rotating banner, or eventually show up in the Distinction shop. You'll get her eventually if you keep playing!

You can catch up, and there's no hurry to catch up when every non-collab Operator eventually gets unlocked for everyone anyway and IS rewards are permanent (IS#3 does not replace IS#2, you can simply select between them and unlock the rewards on your own time.) Feel free to go at your leisure and take your time enjoying the game. The upcoming Limited banner with Specter Alter also gives a free ten roll once and a free single roll every day of the banner as well, you might get lucky with a Goldenglow spook there too!

Don't burn yourself out trying to catch up to a game that's best played at your own pace. Old events get added permanently to the main menu after their rerun for everyone to play, new limited banners feature reruns of old limited operators, you're not missing much by taking hiatuses every now and then. Even if you feel like you need some gamebreaking operator that you missed, you can always just borrow one from support.

#Arknights

[dlartistanon]

19, 24 & 30 for the ask game!

19 - favorite artist

There are many artists who have drawn characters I like, but if we have to go for consistency, then naturally it'd be the Mom and Dad of AK: Skade and Ryuzakiichi.

24 - favorite event

Near Light, just because I greatly enjoyed seeing characters I've grown to love and their interactions. Same with Dossoles Holiday, to a lesser extent.

My favorite mini-event is Children of Ursus. I love a good trauma train. It was also one of the earliest instances where I thought that I should stick with AK a while, if this is the kind of style they're capable of. It let me know that AK isn't really your typical mobage if psychologically scarring children is what they like doing.

30 - favorite skin

It's impossible to choose only one... Andreana, Blue Poison, Hoshiguma, Platinum, Gravel, and Cliffheart all have amazing skins. Special mention to Nightingale because it would be perfect if her cages weren't so seasonal-looking with the pumpkin heads (I still bought it though).

#dltext #voidedjuice

[brave-symphonia]

I can’t believe there were no events between the 2nd through the 4th vignettes, I thought there would be at least an event or two in that time.

Anyway, Stories of Afternoon is done, Children of Ursus is next. And then there’s Twilight of Wolumunde, and finally I get to play Darknights Memoir.

I honestly can’t wait for that last one.

#zack plays video games #zack plays arknights

[yostresswritinggirl]

Hello, it's me, Rabbit the Arknights geek grandchild.

I come with more Arknights introductory stuff.

This time, I bring you, the nations (that are currently known) in Terra.

Basing on the map I sent the last ask, I'll go from North to South and East to West :DD Part 1 because it's very long. (Through this you'll know which countries are the devs' fave countries)

Higashi

The Terran counterpart of Japan, is the furthest northeast country. It's a country ruled by Diarchy, but Higashi itself is a tributary state to Yan. Not much is known about the whole Higashi, but what's known was that the country went through a civil war and ruled by the two Shoguns of the two Kougon clan of the North and Mitsumoto clan of the South. The war lasted until another country, Ursus, invaded them which forced the two clans to form an alliance to kick the bears out.

As of the modern age, Higashi culture is like Japan's. Popular for their manga, anime and video games.

As for population, the Oni race is native to Higashi. Alongside the Oni, there are also other races such as Feline, Lung (Eastern Dragon), Elafia inhabiting this country. There are also Aegir from here.

The Empire of Ursus

The Terran counterpart of, guess it, Russia. It's so far the largest country in Terra, further to the north with harsh environments, with its borders that were expanded through the good ol' warring ways. Previously, it was called the Hippogryph Empire and was ruled by the Hippogryph Liberi people. Ruled by an Imperial Monarchy system.

This country's past is... glorious? Idk, the previous Tsar waged a war (with an alliance with Leithania and Victoria) against the Gallic Empire (also called Gaul, it's the French of Arknights) and exterminated Gaul from the map. Then the bears went on and waged ten wars with another southern neighboring country, Kazimierz, which earned them many, many territories from the poor Kazimierz. Ursus also expanded their territories to the far north, which was sadly home to some eldritch demons. But their military might was very, very strong and was able to contain the demons and even keep some fragments of them as power enhancements for their strongest fighters, the "Emperor's Blades".

You know how it always goes with empires great for their military might, their economy and population is very strained. And as the empire grows in size, the Ursus Empire suffers more and more loss. The most devastating of all was a battle at which more than twenty or so "Emperor's Blades" lost their lives. The citizens grows more and more unhappy with the nation's state. They needed a scapegoat, and the ones picked to be the scapegoat were the Infected.

Ursus is the country with the subjectively worst discrimination against the Infected, going as far as having Patrol Units specialized to commit pogroms against the Infected. Those who survive get sent to mining job and are worked until their Infections kill them or until they're killed by the overseers and guards for the sake of their "entertainment".

The Ursus Empire also very recently in terms of chronology lost a war against Higashi... That they started themselves. After that, a Great Rebellion happened and ended in a brighter note, as more and more people fight for the rights of the Infected in Ursus. Too bad, as the nobles in this country are plotting to plunge this Empire into war, possibly affecting the whole world.

Most of the citizens here are of the Ursus race, meaning they're bears. Sure there are other races, but they're preeeetty discriminated against by the bears.

The city of Chernobog in Ursus is also the place where a very depressing and traumatising game event took place, look up "Ursus Children" if you're interested, grandma.

Sami

A nation that's even further north than Ursus. A small little country with a population that's mostly Elafia. It's rather famous for its pristine landscape and hot sauna baths! I don't think it's inspired by any irl country, not that I know of any that sounds similar to it.

This nation still embraces the primitive tribal life, while the rest of the world is busy with modernisation. It's said that even some godly beings, the Feranmuts, live along the Samians.

You know how many primitive civilizations have things for religions? Yeah, Sami is the same. Additionally, the people of Sami are noted to be good at Originium Arts (the magic equivalent in Terra, supposed to require an Originium catalyst to work, with some exceptions).

Sami's borders were closed for a long, long, long time of isolation. However they just recently opened their borders for trading and mining operations. Many engineers and scientists that came with the trading convoys tried to introduce the people of Sami to technology, but to little effect. Outsiders are still forbidden from stepping into the heartland to the north, where Sami's deepest secrets lie.

Sami's primary military force are the Snowpriests.

Yan

The nation inspired by China. A vast country ruled by an Imperial Monarchy system with the Emperor, the "True Lung", as its head.

Yan is one of the Terran nations that are noted to have existed since ancient times. A balance between ethereal natural beauty and bustling economic cities. Yan has a highly powerful military power but unlike Ursus, Yan rarely gets itself involved into conflicts and wars. Also rather famous for its good ol' martial art schools (because, y'know, Chinese martial arts). Doesn't treat the Infected any better though.

Long, long, very fucking long ago, Yan was borderless and was ruled by many, many Feranmuts (the godly) with their supernatural power. However the first ever "True Lung", who believed that the misfortunes that his people were subjected to were the gods' fault. led a rebellion and took out the gods with the help of one of the gods themselves (nevertheless one that's prideful and disdainful), Sui. Gods that opposed the first True Lung were either slain, or banished. Some time in history, Sui betrayed the True Lung. But he gave Sui final mercy, as somewhat of a reward for his service in the rebellion, and did not slay Sui. Sui, however, as the price of his betrayal, was split into 12 fragments, which would later become 12 siblings with distinct individualities. It was said that the reason why Sui betrayed his Kin, the Feranmuts, was for the purpose so that he can become the sole god of Yan, true to his prideful nature.

The current True Lung of Yan and some fragments of Sui, along with a Ministry of Rites are working together to combine the fragments of Sui back into Sui himself (which would bring chaos, a lot of chaos, onto the world, as if Ursus isn't enough). However, not all are following the idea, giving birth to the Sui Regulators to supervise the fragments.

Enough about history, let's talk about a major part of Yan in the game. Lungmen City.

Lungmen City is a metropolis nomadic city, ruled by Wei Yenwu, the current True Lung's older brother. Its an economic hub, a massive one. Lungmen might as well be one of the richest cities in Terra.

The Lungmen currency, LMD (LungMen Dollar) is an internationally recognized currency, also the currency that you always run out of in this game.

I'll continue later, it's getting so long.

*rubs eyes* I just woke up, my grandchild, so pardon me if I miss stuff

First of all, Higashi is so tiny! However it's still cool that despite how small it is in comparison to Ursus, they still managed to fight them off through teamwork. And that's a lot of hybrid names I don't remember now pfft - but still, even if you did say it was mostly landlocked, it would have been cool to make the Japan cities uh walk in water or something

And then there's the Amogus country, pretty expected to be Russia. Looks just like a bad game of Risk where you're spread thin, let's hope the resistance wins tho I'm not entirely sure how the world progresses there (is the bear thing related to the Russia meme pfft)

Sami actually sounds familiar for some reason, but I don't have the facts, evidence, or knowledge relevant to it. Tho a quick search of "Sami natives" shows exactly what I was talking about. But also love love non-technical civilizations that refuse technology in the first place

And yes, of course China is the best there, but I love the lung connotations. Even tho it sounds weird as a currency name *hums* The mythology and the 12 fragments shit is so cool tho! I wonder if that can be used to fight against Ursus if they do start the world war, but would that actually transpire, seeing as that might receive backlash in the community

So far I'm enjoying the read through of the worldbuilding, I especially love it when fantasy nations have differing origins and forms of government!

#rabbit #arknights #exile.goblet #show and tell #this will now be the tag for these kinds of asks

[bp-best-froggo]

10, 16, and 24 for the ask game!

10) Most leveled/raised class

If we just consider raised, as in most E2, Snipers win because apparently I have 14 E2 Snipers.

Idk why you would need 3 AoE snipers, but we're just vibing here man.

16) Favorite NPC

Hard to pick just one, but it's either gotta be Toland Cash, Degenbrecher or Cardinal Velliv. Toland is just too smug and I love him for it, Degenbrecher is Degenbrecher, and Cardinal Velliv is just the worst but I kinda like her (and also my preferences are awfully predictable).

Honestly, those are just the first three that came to mind for me. If you asked me the same question tomorrow again, idk if I'd give the same answer. Arknights has many cool NPCs, it's hard to pick a fav.

Edit: for example, just now I remembered that Emperor exists, and Emperor fucking rules, so there you go.

24) Favorite Event

If you ask me this in half a year, I would say Il Siracusano (because FUCK am I hyped for it).

Honestly, Code of Brawl is what made me stick around for Arknights in the first place. It's fun time of Penguin Logistics experiencing quality rush hour time, but the story isn't that good.

If we're talking about vignettes, Children of Ursus is definitely up there, because this event honestly destroyed me. Vigilo is there too, I just love the insights this event gave into the relationship between Doc and Kal'tsit.

I also liked Gavial: The Great Chief Returns, because it was just fun, wacky, silly jungle adventures and also there is Tomimi.

And Guide Ahead definitely is a big fave too. Laterano is an incredibly interesting (and fucked up) nation and there still so much unknown about it. Can't wait to return there one day (or rather, continue that story line).

Really hard to pick a favorite... so I'm just gonna say Il Siracusano wins by default lol.

#ask me for favs and I give 10 answers to choose from - #arknights #thx for the ask! <3

[coldgoldlazarus]

Main Story: Still stuck in Chapter 6, need to beat it and reread the older chapters before reading

Intermission Events: Twilight Of Wolumonde, Darknights Memoir, A Walk In The Dust, and Under Tides beaten, need to read

Side Story Events: Grani And The Knights' Treasure, Heart Of Surging Flame/Obsidian Festival, Code Of Brawl, and Invitation To Wine read

Gavial The Great Chief Returns, Maria Nearl, Who Is Real beaten, but need to read

Mansfield Break unfinished

Operation Originum Dust, Dossoles Holiday, Near Light, and Break The Ice missed and not available for retroactive playthrough yet

Anthology Events: Operational Intelligence, Ancient Forge read

Stories Of Afternoon, Children Of Ursus, Rewinding Breeze, Here Beyond, Preluding Lights, Vigilo, Pinus Sylvestris, and A Light Spark In Darkness unlocked but need to read

#not a reblog #arknights #im so behind lol