Screenshots - Blog Posts
I’m not even sure how this happened, but everything about this screenshot I found on my switch is golden
I decided to repost my personal favorites
"We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams."
- Arthur O'Shaughnessy
In a place as quiet as this garden, the silence was swept away by soft clicks like the waving of the clouds around the Starlight Desert.
The vet that had been hanging around there long enough to be regarded as a florist, instead of tending to the flowers like she usually does to pass the time, was found holding a rectangular object as she aimed the diamond-rimmed lens towards flowers and the like, and sometimes even the pavilion whilst she moved backwards carefully.
"What are you doing-?"
Wis blinked as she turned around on the heels of her boots, which resulted in her catching her own face staring back at her.
No, wait. That's her twin brother.
Watcher sighed as he crossed his arms, a soft smile playing on his expression at Wis's slightly startled face.
"Is that the camera from this Season?" He eyes the device in her hands, his pose now shifting to a more laid-back position. "I've been hearing about it from the archivists– and well, I guess just about from everyone around me."
"I don't doubt it." A chuckle from his twin sister makes him look back at her. "We have cubes that record memories of our selves, but this is the first we get to have something that allows us to capture others' singular moments in time."
"We only have our memories, and if we choose to, our stories to pass on about those who were around us once. And…" Her grip tightens lightly around the camera. "…even though we have verbal passings, the notes we've written, the illustrations we've drawn, and even memory cubes to store their memories, being able to take pictures is…"
"…is like being able to see them again and again…" As Watcher continued Wis's thoughts, both twins looked to the stars above them. "…and with pictures, it's like getting to introduce them to the people who are with you in the present, even when they're no longer around to make that possible."
"…yeah." Wis breathed in the cold air of the desert, her arms now wrapped around the camera as she pressed it against her chest as if it would subdue the ache in her core. "It's quite greedy, isn't it? To want to keep more of someone who couldn't be here…"
It has been nine Seasons since then, and there have been many things she wished she was able to save during that time.
A good memory, an achievement, a silly and foolish moment…a friend.
"I wanted to have all of their memories, hahaa…" It was such a strained laugh that perfectly matched with the tight smile Wis wore. As much as she didn't want to tear up right there, it was ironic that her makeup features blue raindrops below her eyes.
"They were so cute." Her chest moves heavily as she made a long, deep sigh just before she continued on. "I wished I could show you beyond my stories; how their curiosity would lead them to feel most often in awe, or at times lost and even afraid."
"Their first spirit, their first accessory, their first cape, and even the first time they met their guardian."
"The things that caught their eye and often caused them to let go of my hand, their favorite places to be, and the friends they made."
All of it.
"I wanted all of my memories of them to be something I can hold and show to you all." Wis smiled down at the camera in her hands. "It's a shame that this kind of option wasn't quite available back then."
Her twin watches her for a moment, letting the silence of the garden hover over them as the two of them listen to it…
Until Watcher stretched his arms up as he let out a "well", before crossing it behind his head. "Even when you can't take their pictures from back then, you can always take the pictures of those who are going to be here."
"It's a new Season, and there's going to be a bunch of moths streaming in. I know you've retired, but I'm sure the guides won't mind having a helping hand around."
Wis giggled at the suggestion.
"I'll have to pass, Watcher, and- shouldn't it be you who has to lend a helping hand?" She tilted her head at her twin, and playfully winked at him. "Sir Wasteland Watcher who has only guided a single moth?"
"Hey."
Seeing Watcher take a small bit of offense at her tease got another giggle out of her, and she turns back to the flowers she was aiming at.
"Hm, and besides…" The wistful florist raised up the camera to her eye level. "While I can't take the pictures of the moths I've had the short time to guide, there's also the ones who have been with me since a very long time ago, isn't there?"
"There's you, Ox Wiz, Blue…" Click. "…and, even though it hasn't been that long since I met them, there's also Kiri, Raisin, H.K., Maddie, and that little cutie who likes crabs and you–"
"Can't you just leave that part out-"
Giggle.
"–so, even when I'm sad that the others would remain as just stars in the night sky for the rest to see whenever they look up, I'm happy you're all here so we could take all the pictures we want together."
"…"
"Me too."
"I'm happy we're all here, with all our friends to fly with us in this kingdom and those twinkling in the sky that watch over us."
It was quiet, and calm. At long last, the twins have reunited under the last shard.
With campfires crackling and castles built atop the sand near the pier, it appears that summer has rolled around for the second time since the twins first fell a year ago.
It has been getting a little warm lately. A bit windy, too, but as it was still in the middle of the current Season, Watcher didn't think too much of the changes in the air. It was just the mountain beyond acting up as usual.
Oh, how wrong was he.
It was warm when he woke up very early in the night just before dawn broke through the mist of Hidden Forest, the air carrying a noticeable coziness to it that he couldn't help remembering the first time they stepped out of the night of the desert and into the sunlight.
Again, the wasteland's watcher didn't think much of it. It's not his first rodeo to be subject by the occasional longing for a time that he cannot return to, and so he alighted from his hammock and went about his lightless morning like any other day.
Then a knock on the door sounds from the ground floor, causing his gaze to tilt towards below.
"Come in!" He yells out, going back to grabbing his mask from his bedside atop his perch.
H.K. peeks through the crack of the door after nudging it open, the lights of their eyes pouring out of the 'smile' mask and moving upwards to their master.
"Good morning, Watcher!"
"Morning." The older skid clad in yellow drops down in his birdly glory, before staring at the mask his student currently wears.
"Feelin' confident today, huh?"
"You could say that!" H.K. chirped, now fully opening the door.
"The weather is quite nice today, after all!"
"It's still dark out, though." Watcher deadpans with a smile in his voice. "Dawn has yet to arrive."
"True!" Then it was H.K.'s turn to stare, having just realized what kind of fit Watcher is wearing.
"Shouldn't you take a vacation? You've been working your arms off since this season started."
"A vacation does sound nice," he mumbled, "but I can't. Kids have been losing a lot of winglight since the change, and as much as possible, I'd like to be of help as much as I can until everything gets settled down."
"I still think you should take a break."
The bird-masked skid stared back. "H.K."
"What?" H.K. puts their hands on their hips. "I don't think I've ever seen you completely chill back and relax, aside from when you saw that pretty cape and the occasional stop at the graveyard's bonfire. But even then you just shoot up the moment you hear someone getting krilled-"
"H.K."
"And!" The Performance moth crossed their arms with a stubborn huff. "You lost about ten winglights a couple weeks ago! During a shard cleanup! That's the first time I've seen you get hit, and you always been fast on your feet!"
"You need a vacation, Watcher. You can't keep this up." Their hands loosen from their hold around each other and fall limply at their sides. "You do know that, right?"
"You always seem to know a lot."
"..." He stares at the skid younger than him for a moment, lips pressed thinly in contemplation before he dragged out a long sigh. "Alright. I'll take a vacation."
"Yes!" H.K. pumped a fist up in cheer. "For while this Days event is on-going, yeah?"
Before he could even fly up and change into his new cape (now that he's not going to his post in the wasteland), Watcher froze.
"I heard from the others that this was called..." H.K. tapped the tips of their hand against their chin as they recalled. "..Summer? Isn't that around when you were born-?"
"Watcher?" H.K. tilts their head at the still figure of their master. "Are you-?"
"Yeah, I'm listening." He says with a flippant wave of his hand as he continued to his closet.
"Dear Megabird, it's been a year already??"
"Mhm!" H.K. chirps in affirmation, failing to notice the way Watcher covered up his shock under a disbelieving 'mask'. "Which is why I set up a little something for you near Grandma's Treehouse!"
"That explains the mask." Watcher remarks. "It wasn't about the weather; you were excited for what you prepared for my birthday-"
The wasteland's watcher placed the ornate bird mask on top of the closet, before turning to the Performance moth in his glowing, green cape.
"-is that it?"
"Ding ding ding!" H.K. flashed finger guns at Watcher as he dropped down for the second time since his student came by. "I also got cake! And tea! And buns! And-"
They were promptly shut up by Watcher pressing his whole hand on their face.
"Are you planning to stuff me like a crab before Feast or something?" The one year-old skid rose a brow, his facial expressions now bare for the world to see. "You sound like you prepared a lot."
H.K. held Watcher's hand on their face and brought it down. Their brightness glows even through their mask as they jokingly replied:
"Maybe."
Watcher chuckled while he picked up a familiar looking instrument near the door.
"Who taught you to be this cheeky?"
"Who else but you!"
Then the moth begins dragging him by his hand, and as he watched from behind while they took the lead, he is reminded of a time when he would be dragged around by his twin like this.
"Now let's go! It's rude to keep food waiting!"
The ground beneath them fades as they fly off, and for just a second, he looked back to the treehouse. He wistfully watched his- their- home grow distant the further away they went, and he couldn't help but wish that his twin was here to celebrate their first birthday together.
Been vibing very much with this fit recently (another possible Sky OC? Perhaps)
"The weather looks nice :D"
The weather:
Azure Days and their passing clouds, before the sun sets for Clear Afternoon Skies
a.k.a. me admiring shimmering shades that match with subdued tones like a poet in love<33
A comrade has joined
Wheeeeeee
"Leave from this cold, white veil and never come back."
And Shiny Boi™ is no longer shiny /j
The void looks different from what I remember
"This is too long a hair."
Something dark burns within you.
Did my weekly run in Eden and…
Eden-d up tearing my cape I've recently worn to match with the current season.
"Let's hop on the drip leaves one at a time to the tree, without pause nor haste, so that we won't sink or slip."
Not beta spoilers since this is live but…
Has this always been here?
from @mushrooms-never-quit
you're welcome
THANK YOU!!! ❤️💙 MY BOYFAILS
im rewatching the pilots for the 69th time and like…… wow jay rly starts bein a show-off to kai the moment they were introduced to each other
Shadows of the Empire II
"...the land of Suramar has been wild for ten thousand years." [Trail of Echoes]
Mount Hyjal
Delving into Blackfathom Deeps
An excerpt from Glory to the Queen Born of Stars:
"Of the wonders our queen brought to this world, perhaps none was so great as Lathar'Lazal. As masons constructed the temple, Azshara shaped the waters around it with the Scepter of Tides. She spoke the names of the rivers and the seas, and they moved at her command. Salt water from the roaring ocean and fresh water from the mountain streams trickled to Azshara's side. With the flick of her wrist, the queen partitioned them into great lakes that hugged Lathar'Lazal's sturdy foundation."
Architecture:
Blackfathom Deeps, as we know it today, was once called "Lathar'Lazal," or "Seat of the Sky" in Darnassian. Long ago, this was a temple to Elune built by Queen Azshara with the aid of Sharas'dal (her tide-scepter) in the ages before the Sundering. Pelagic imagery still endures in the architecture of these sunken ruins, described at one point to have contained "gem-encrusted bridges and effervescent lakes." Motifs of fish-head fountains, wave-inspired stonework, scale-like patterns, and ionic columns are repeated in the masonry and pottery of the forlorn halls. It is unclear what the seafoam-colored stone the temple is made of, though it is interesting to note that it almost bears a resemblance to a body of water's surface: like the way a pool shifts and shimmers with the light. Some kind of material borne of the sea, melded together with the queen's Sharas'dal, or a common mineral of the region? They could also simply bear cracks and signs of weathering considering the age of the temple, but watery stone would be fitting symbolically.
Azshara's Influence:
"Whenever she [Azshara] walked the bridges of Lathar'Lazal, nearby schools of exotic fish would array themselves in colorful patterns. She even kept a colossal sea giant bound to one of the lakes. She used her scepter to make him perform tricks and feats of strength, much to the delight of the watching Highborne. Curious night elves from the far corners of the empire journeyed to Lathar'Lazal to study the mythical creature and his habits."
Perhaps Lathar'Lazal was a bustling tourist attraction then in the days of the empire, both for education and entertainment. With such tourism drawn to the temple, I wonder if the nearby land/city of Zoram benefited from this economically.
The passage above seems to imply that the Highborne rather enjoyed the spectacle of the imprisoned sea giant, and this poses an interesting dichotomy to the original purpose of the temple: a house of Elune, simultaneously hosting a creature trapped against its will. Such an exhibition created by Azshara here speaks to her penchant for show and amusement, and possible disregard for the faith. If only a historical record existed of a priestess's personal journal or the like; and whether she would be disappointed with such behavior, or complacent in the suffering of other races/creatures as night elves often were during this era.
Tideweaver:
Queen Azshara, even before her naga transformation, always had a fascinating dominion over water, both with her scepter Sharas'dal and the Well of Eternity. Supposedly Xavius was the one who actually gifted the queen with this ornate weapon that later shaped the temple:
"A night elf named Lord Xavius presented the queen with a jeweled scepter, etched with delicate magical sigils. He promised Azshara that so long as she kept it close, it would bring her prosperity and great power. Azshara held the scepter aloft, and the jewels shimmered in the light of the moons like brilliant stars. The sight of the queen and her gift was so beautiful that it brought many of the attendant Highborne to tears."
An enigmatic man of terrifying skill and power, I do wonder where Xavius procured this weapon in the first place; as its design does not appear to be of Kaldorei craftsmanship. Perhaps it hails from the ancient jinyu culture, the primordial titans, or some other past world power. Examining its details, what do you think of Sharas'dal's origins?
"Queen Azshara's enchanted scepter afforded her great power. Imbued with the Well of Eternity's potent waters, it held sway over the rivers and the seas, aquatic creatures of all kinds, and the life energies that stirred within Azshara herself."
In the Tablet of Balancing Tides, it is stated that:
"The whispers of Elune and Neptulon play on the tides, their words etched in stone are a tribute to the balance of their power."
I find it interesting that Azshara utilized a form of magic half-intrinsic to the moon goddess. Did she derive some of her aquatic power from Elune, or use a different magick entirely? The descriptions of Azshara wielding the scepter use language that speaks to a command over water, rather than a unity with the elementals, spirits, and goddess.
This item's flavor text also mentions Neptulon--Elemental Lord of Waters--interestingly now a sworn enemy of Queen Azshara and her naga forces in the present day.
The Moonshrine Ruins:
This place supposedly once hosted a moonwell, with an area known as the Moonshrine. The foundations here might suggest that before the Sundering, Lathar'Lazal could have been built just upon the shores, or expanded out into the sea itself with the tides embracing the temple all around. Swimming beneath the waters of the Moonshrine, there appear to be large pillars supporting the walkways here; much like a pier.
The Inner Sanctum:
Crescent imagery is prevalent inside of the sanctum, as well as sets of 3 seats, perhaps symbolism of the triple moon (waxing, full, and waning or the maiden, mother, and crone archetypes) holding some importance in the rituals carried out here. These could also represent a large meeting space, high-ranking priestesses for ritual, a council of leadership, divisions of the temple, seating for observers, or something else entirely. They face partitioned rooms with crescent moon symbols.
If we look at the central dais of the sanctum, (Azshari statue and cultist altar notwithstanding) there is a raised platform with a pyramid-like structure carved into the ceiling. Perhaps a skylight once existed here to let in moonlight for lunar rites, or this area hosted something of great importance to be kept safe inside the sanctum.
The Moondoors:
The moondoors are an especially interesting piece, and the last apparent threshold of the Seat of the Sky. Upon passing through, there are only a handful of pillars flanking the sides of the cavern. They seem to accompany each other in pairs on each side - marking a possible entrance, exit, or some other pathway to the temple. While I am unsure of their true purpose or the mechanism to unlock them, the various square pieces are almost akin to a puzzle. This model is used in other Kaldorei architecture and I've long been intrigued by their possible uses. These moondoors are typically used as entrances to the tall, thin ivory towers of Kaldorei ruins. Perhaps Elunarian priests or arcanists weave (or wove) intricate spellwork rooted in the arcane, or the moon cycle in order to lock these types of barriers. What was intended to lie beyond them is anyone's guess: powerful artifacts, sacred relics, enshrined lore, or even concealed secrets.
"The Great Sundering shattered the glorious temple, sinking it beneath the waves of the Veiled Sea."
I hope you enjoyed these musings! There's something equally fascinating and solemn looking back at the remnants of the Kaldorei Empire - in the shadows of glory that once eclipsed the continent.