15 May 2024

This poem is loosely based on a prompt I found on Tumblr through Catelyn Winona; a fantastic short story author, by the way. She wrote her own story based on it, and it got me thinking. I always like it when there’s at least one person who can see both sides.

Notes: For the sake of the meter, I considered “Family” to be 3 syllables and “general” to be 2.

“For what didst thou believe I journeyed here?

Whose fault, pray tell, that I am wrenched from home?

The beast is slain; here lies the demon felled.

And yet thou darest ask yet more of me?

My family to never see again,

Instead to aid the ones that plucked me hence?

If asked of thee, thou wouldst then hail me mad!”

The prince enraged, at first did think to duel

But blessed grace, the general intervened.

He bowed his head; “We thank you for your aid.

Please go in peace. I’ll handle matters here.”

The hero gone, the prince at once exclaimed,

“What treach’ry this? Our country could have saved,

Rebuilt, renewed, but now, the relic lost.”

The general raised a brow and waved behind.

“What’s there to see that’s left of palace yon?

How did it fall? What pow’r did that require?

In face of such, could thou a moment stand?

What fool, pray tell, would trade one foe for worse?

What’s more, he spoke the truth; canst thou deny?

Whate’er our wish, in truth we’ve done him ill.

What reason should he yield his hopes to us?”

Like fish on land, the prince gaped at the mouth.

The general clapped his back and turned. “Well, come.

There’s still much work to build our country new.”

26 January 2024

What would Malenia do in the world of Genshin Impact? Other than wreck everything, I mean.

Malenia said nothing for several minutes. “This world is too cheerful.”

“Eh. Sure, Teyvat certainly has a different feel to it than the Lands Between, but… its got its own shadows. Come, follow me.”

I led the goddess incumbent up Starsnatch cliff toward Dragonspine. I’m pretty sure I kept our arrival secret from the bastards on Celestia; from what I’ve seen, they wouldn’t take too kindly to our arrival.

The monsters die swiftly. The only surprise comes when the ruin guard near the Temple of a Thousand Winds caught sight of Malenia during a waterfowl, and even that wasn’t too much trouble. I don’t think anyone knows what to make of her; she is colored like a pyro character, but if there’s one element she’s not connected to, it’s fire. …Isn’t she basically a dendro character?

“Why is the lightning on this gods-forsaken world purple, of all things?” Malenia grumbled.

I blink. “I…actually don’t know. Let me check.” A quick, out-of-universe google study later, and… “Huh. In real life, natural lightning tends to look more purple. Maybe in the Lands Between, it looked yellow because of its association with grace and the Golden Order?”

Malenia nodded, musing on that as she impaled the hilichurl archer who’d prompted the question. SHe looked across the river, at the snowy foothills of Dragonspine. She took a deep breath in and commented, “Smells like home.”

“What, snow and the ever-present sense of danger?”

Malenia gave me a noncommittal grunt and jumped across the river. I sighed, then whistled for Torrent so I could follow behind. No sense in freezing to death before I even make it to the Nail.