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essenceofsunflower · 1 month

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⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚ RETH x READER

wc: 2983 tags: fem!reader, she/her reader pronouns, reth from palia, canon events (i guess could be spoilery?), finding your shepp, self indulgent writing, not proofread or beta read :D

masterlist

“Find a shepp,” you muttered to yourself with a sigh. It was hard enough trying to navigate this newfound world, let alone trying to find a shepp per Eshe’s request. Since spawning into this place they called Kilima Village, you had been thrown into task after task. How would you ever find the time to build relationships with the villagers if you were always busy? You decided that today you would take a break from being the errand girl for everyone and instead would meet everyone you could find in hopes that you would find someone who would be willing to be your shepp. Up until now, you had only briefly spoken to most of the town, but no one knew you well enough to be your shepp just yet.

As you came into town, you assumed that Ashura would probably have wise words of advice on the fact of the matter. Hurrying along, you walked into the inn to find Ashura at his desk.

“Hey, Ashura!” you said cheerily as you approached him. The large, gentle giant softly smiled. “Welcome in, y/n! Good to see you today. How are things going for ya?” he asked.

“Honestly? Well, I need some advice. You know this place, and the people, better than anyone, so I was going to see if you have any tips for me on picking a shepp?”

“A shepp? So that’s what Eshe has you doing, I see. Well, many of the townsfolk would be more than happy to be a shepp- but,” he gave you a look, “asking them to be your own comes with a lot of responsibility on their part. You don’t want just anyone to be your shepp, and it should be someone you feel close to or have a connection with.”

“Responsibility? Eshe didn’t really explain much of all this to me. I thought they just told Eshe ‘Yep, she’s one of us!’ and that was it.”

Ashura chuckled. “In a way, yes, that is what they do. But their job as your shepp doesn’t stop there. They’re responsible for you, so anything you do- whether that’s good or bad- reflects upon them, too. Likewise, anything they do can also affect your own standing in Eshe’s eyes, if you get what I mean.”

“Oh… so we are kinda tied to each other’s social standing?” The wheels in your head began to turn. Who would you choose as your shepp then? It seemed the task wasn’t going to be as easy as you once thought it’d be.

“Yes, at least in the beginning it will be. But once you’re on your feet, most of us will forget who you picked as your shepp and there won’t be a little red string tying you guys together anymore. But don’t just rush into it, you’ve got all the time you need to pick someone who best fits you and your lifestyle. I know you aren’t Majiri like us, but maybe figuring out what path you like can help you narrow down your candidates.”

“Path. That’s right! A lot of you guys have your own path, so maybe I should find one I could call my own as well. Thanks, Ashura! I knew you’d be a big help for sure.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s what I’m here for, of course. Kilima Village has a pretty good variety of those in different paths, there is a path for everyone- from farming, furniture making, to cooking- you’ll figure it out.” Ashura placed a hand on your shoulder and gave a soft smile before walking past you to go about his day.

There is a path for everyone. Surely someone in this town had a path you could find yourself in, you just had to figure out who it was. As you stood there, racking your brain through the makeshift list of names in your head, you heard the rumbling coming from your stomach. You had been so immersed in your search for finding a shepp today that you forgot to make yourself something to eat. You looked around the inn, seeing the bar open for business.

“What’cha got on the menu today, Reth?” you asked as you put your hands on the counter. The elf playfully contemplated his response, acting as if he was thinking long and hard about it. “Well, I would say my famous lettuce soup, but I’d be willing to whip up something different if you wanted,” he said with a smirk.

“As much as I love your lettuce soup, I don’t think I can have that for breakfast. How about some bacon-stuffed mushrooms? What do I have to do to get some of those on your menu?” you laughed. Reth was someone who was fun to talk to, in your opinion. You knew that the rest of the town had their own opinions about him, but none of it mattered to you. You enjoyed how go with the flow he was and how he always seemed to take each day one at a time.

“You know what, for you, I can make those. Just don’t tell people I make stuff off the menu.” He winked and turned around to start prepping the food. As you watched him chop the ingredients and assemble your meal, you wondered what his thoughts were on paths and choosing a shepp. “Reth, what do you think I should do about finding a shepp? Ashura said I should find someone who’s on a path that I can find myself in, but I don’t even know where to start.”

Reth scoffed to himself. “You sure you want to ask me about paths and shepps? I don’t think I’m really the best one to give you any advice on that, y/n. But if you wanna know how I feel, I think that these paths people take just because their parents do is a little outdated of an idea. I think what Ashura means is finding a path that you like, that you enjoy doing. You lucked out being human, even if you changed your mind, no one is really gon’ say much about it.” His tone changed towards the end of his sentence.

“Yeah, so I’ve heard. The Majiri don’t seem too understanding if you change paths… but I’m sure you know it all too well, but I’m glad you’re doing something you like.”

“Me too, this stuff is way more fun than getting splinters all day and hammering away on furniture,” he said as he put the plate of bacon-stuffed mushrooms in front of you. The food looked immaculate, you could tell it was made by someone who truly loved what they were doing.

Hey, Reth,” you said quietly as you started to cut the food into pieces. Reth turned around and wiped his hands on his apron. “Yeah? What’s up? It’s not good? Don’t tell me that, just lie to me,” he snickered.

“No, no. It’s not the food, this is good, great even,” you said as you finished a bite. “Do you think, maybe, you would be my shepp?”

Reth looked astounded by the question. “What?! ME ?! Y/N, I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself as a shepp. Maybe if I knew you better, but even then, you sure you want me to be that person? I don’t really have the best reputation in the village.”

You pushed the food around on the plate, almost feeling stupid for even thinking he’d agree to something so serious. It wasn’t like Reth to be tied to anything, let alone a new person in the village who was asking a lot of him. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. You’re probably right,” you said quietly.

Reth leaned on the counter and met your eye level. “Look, if it comes down to it and you still don’t have someone, then I’ll do it. But there’s gotta be someone way better out there for your decision than this guy. But I will do it if no one else will-”

“Really?!” you exclaimed, cutting him off. Reth put up his index finger. “Yeah, but on one condition,” he chuckled. “You just have to promise to keep coming into the inn and having breakfast, lunch, and dinner here for a while before I really agree to it. I gotta know the person I’m shepping for before saying yes for real, don’t I?”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “You know what, Reth. I think I can do that, but only if you promise me you won’t make me lettuce soup every time I come in.” Reth laughed heartily at your response and nodded his head in approval. “Fine, you got a deal.” He made his way to the other side of the counter to take someone else’s order and began prepping their food for them.

It was hard not to watch in awe as he prepared the orders he had coming in. He was meticulous with his cuts and attentive to all timers in the kitchen, basically ready to take stuff out before the timers could even go off. It was like watching an artist paint a masterpiece as he plated the food and garnished it before passing it across the counter. As you continued to watch, you admired how much fun it looked like he had cooking. Finally, you finished your food.

“Reth,” you called to him as you placed your coins on the counter. “For the food.” You got off the seat and waved goodbye. “See ya later, Y/N! I’ll be here all day,” he laughed as he waved back. You left the inn in a better state than you came in, at least you knew that if all else failed with the rest of the town, Reth had promised to be your shepp.

ɞ────⋆˚₊⋆ ๑

The coming weeks didn’t bring any result in picking a shepp. Everyone was either too busy to commit to it or didn’t feel right with your relationship being so new with them. You walked into the inn and sat at the bar, laying your head in your arms and letting out a long sigh.

“Hey, hey, hey. This is a ‘no-sad-human-zone’, you can’t do that here,” Reth said as he leaned on the counter in front of you, resting his head in his palm. “Ughhh,” you groaned dramatically. “Wow, that bad, huh? I bet I know what will fix it.” He snapped his finger and walked into the back of the bar where the pantry and other cooking supplies were at. A few moments later, you could feel him put down a plate of food on the counter beside you. “This one’s on the house,” he said as you raised your head up to look at what he brought out. It was a fresh bowl of ramen, complete with boiled eggs and green onions on top. Reth leaned over and whispered to you. “Just don’t tell anyone I let you have it for free, okay?” He winked and grabbed a cleaning rag to start wiping off the counter.

You appreciated the sentiment, especially coming from Reth since you two were starting to grow a little closer after all the visits you had promised to make to the inn. “Reth, what do you do outside of this place?” Reth paused for a moment, a little confused by the question. “You mean like once I leave work? Uh… I do…. stuff, I guess.” His tone implied he wasn’t really trying to answer the question, but you couldn’t pinpoint why.

“Well, are you going somewhere when you’re done today?” you asked, not really sure where you were going with the series of questions.

“I have a few things I have to do later tonight, but nothing right after we close up here. Why? You tryin' to ask me to hangout?” He chuckled and kept wiping the counter.

“Actually, yeah. Do you want to?” You were still unsure yourself what was even going on, but the conversation just seemed to flow naturally. You did want to know more about Reth after all this time, and he did say he needed to know you more before officially agreeing to be your shepp. Short conversations over a meal while he worked weren’t really the best way for you two to get to know each other.

“Oh, uh,” Reth said, scratching the back of his head and smiling. “I didn’t expect you to actually say that was the plan. But ya know what, I think we can do that. Why don’t you come back later at say, 6pm? I’ll be finishing up here and we can go somewhere then. How’s that sound?”

“Sure, that sounds good. Thanks, Reth.” You started to eat your food as you noticed Reth checking the clock on the wall. “I’ll be right back, I have to.. Get a few things from the storeroom.” Reth scurried off out of the bar and rushed down the stairs to the basement area. After a few minutes, you felt a large hand on your shoulder. You turned to see Ashura standing beside you, he looked like he needed something.

“Have you seen Reth? I got a few things I need to talk to that boy about, but he’s always in and out doing things,” he said.

“He just had to go to the storeroom for something, but when he gets back I can let him know that you need him?” You gave a shrug as you suggested.

“Yeah, that’ll work. Thanks, Y/N. I have to head out to the garden, but he should know where to find me.” He gave a sincere smile and left the inn. You looked up at the clock. Reth had been gone for at least 10 minutes. What on earth does he have to even get down there? And what about his job? Luckily, the bar wasn’t full of people waiting on him, but what if it was? He would be in high water with Ashura come the end of the day, and you definitely didn’t want to see if that sweet man was capable of bringing down the hammer.

You glanced around the bar; it didn’t look like anyone was coming to get food anytime soon so you decided to go downstairs to see if Reth needed help with whatever it was he was getting. You got up from the bar and made your way down the steps of the inn. It was your first time down there, but the store room was just across the room past the little boat docks under the inn. As you grabbed the door handle, you felt it turn and pull open as Reth left the storeroom. “Oh! Uh.. Y/N, what are you doing down here?” he asked nervously.

“Well, you were gone for so long, I thought maybe you needed some help or something. And plus, Ashura said he was looking for you.” Reth let out a groan. “Yeah, I forgot I have some errands I have to run tonight for him. He’s probably just reminding me.” He let out a soft sigh under his breath. “We may have to reschedule our little hangout tonight, if that’s alright.”

“Yeah, that’s fine…,” you said. The two of you sat awkwardly in silence for a moment before you broke it. “Maybe I can help you with some of the errands so you get done early?” Reth’s face lit up at the offer. “Hey! That just might work.” He snapped his fingers. “How about you do a few of the deliveries and pick up some things, and I’ll take care of the rest? I promise the deliveries aren’t that bad, just a handful of things to take and pick up.”

His bright smile made you smile as well. “Sure, you just tell me where to go.” Reth pulled out his order pad and wrote down the people to deliver to and who to pick up ingredients from. “There, that should be it. Eshe’s stuff’s all done, just upstairs in the back fridge. You’d be a real lifesaver doing this for me.”

You took the list and walked back upstairs with Reth. He led you into the back kitchen area and got the delivery package out of the fridge and handed it to you. “Careful with it, it’s a luxury to deliver this special dinner of mine to Eshe. Gotta deliver it safely or it’s both our hides that’ll be skinned,” he chuckled. “And just let the others know you’re picking up for me, they should have the stuff ready for you. Thanks again.” He bashfully smiled, something you hadn’t really seen before, but it was endearing. “No problem, I’ll be back before long,” you said before you left the inn.

Eshe’s delivery was your first priority, so you made your way across the bridge down from the stables and found her waiting, impatiently to no surprise. “Hey, Eshe! Have something for you,” you said as you pulled the package out and offered it to her. You watched Eshe look at the package and then back up at you before taking it. “So Reth has you doing his job for him? Hmph, seems fitting. This better be what I’ve been waiting for, not like that awful lettuce soup he pushes every time you order at the inn.”

“He doesn’t have me doing them, I offered to just help him out. I’m sure the food he made is well up to par; he really puts in a lot of work into his food, ya know,” you said assuredly. Eshe scoffed at your reply and tucked the package under her arm. “For his sake, I hope it is. If not, he will surely hear about it.” She walked off towards her house and left you standing there alone.

“These people really feel some type of way about him, don’t they?” you mumbled to yourself.

2024 ©️ essenceofsunflower. please do not copy, translate, and/or distribute my work. divider.

#.sunnywrites #palia mmo reth #palia fanfic #palia x reader #palia fluff #reth fluff #reth fanfic #reth x reader #reth imagines #don't tell me if you hate this cause i might cry

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you-know-honey · 6 months

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Idk if you write for copia it if ur requests are open but could u write copia x fém!reader where they go ta a bar and they get into an argument or something and reader ses copia kissing some girl or some and reader gets really mad? I hope u get what I mean idk how to explain it

Oh, I think I understand what you're saying, I usually don't write dramas because they get out of hand, but I love tea, so let's spill some on the carpet ;) (I hope you like it even with the slight change, sorry for the delay)

Tower of Cups

Copia x Fém!reader

Resumen: Even nice guys turn into jerks with the right amount of ego.

Word Acount: 5589

Warning: This might hurt your heart, reader.

The lights in your study were the only ones on in that part of the abbey, your index fingers and thumb were red from so many wounds with the needle and you had bled more than once. The moonlight crossed the huge window behind you and distorted your shadow, you sighed tiredly and passed the needle over the beautiful light blue fabric again, you raised your gaze to the photo on the desk and smiled, gaining strength again.

The candle next to the painting showed Copia smiling goofily with a small rat on his shoulder and you giving him a kiss on the cheek, something that made Copia blush, absolutely happy. That motivated you to continue embroidering each of the details by hand, you wanted it to be perfect for your beloved now Papa.

For weeks you had been finishing Copia's second papal suit, every detail counted and you wanted it to be perfect, as he deserved.

You hadn't been able to be present the night he was promoted to Pope, something you clearly regretted. Since that night they had barely seen each other, he spent all his time busy and away from the Minister. That made you sad, you knew that with the new position would come new responsibilities but were there so many that he couldn't stop for even a second?

Several nights you waited for him in his room but he did not arrive, you even baked a cake to celebrate but when it began to dawn you knew that he would not arrive and the rats simply took advantage of it more, they were thin and dirty as if Copia had not fed them for some time . Something strange about him, you wanted to ask him for explanations but the opportunity was never given due to his absence.

That whole situation was breaking your heart, you missed walking through the abbey holding his hand, seeing him try on his suits and looking at him excitedly, playing video games together or simply listening to him practice songs. You missed that sweet man, now you only looked at him through photos and he looked intimidating, like Cardinal he was sweet and tender but like Papa it was as if his sweetness had evaporated. You didn't want to think about everything that had changed but every day it became more obvious the abyss that was beginning to form between the two of you.

You glanced at your phone, 2:15 AM and no message from Copia.

You gave in to fatigue and left the palia on the table with the needle still embedded in the fabric, you grimaced when you saw the damage on your hands, they stung like an open wound. You didn't like this strange silent treatment on Copia's part, the loneliness in the abbey was eating you alive. You were tired of having to wait for him to approach you again, his silly silent treatment had you fed up, if he wanted to avoid you he wasn't going to succeed.

"Because..?" You murmured to the darkness as if it were going to give you the answer. And maybe he did.

The white light and the roar of a car engine cut the raw silence. You knocked over the small wooden bench as you stood up and rushed against the window, a 1933 Bentley parked in the driveway, a ghoul got out of the driver's seat to open the door. You held your breath in your lungs as you grabbed your coat and ran out of your study, jumping the steps three at a time until you reached the first floor and rushed to the door. You exhaled the air, and waited anxiously like a puppy for the door to open.

"Y/N? What are you doing here?" Asked Sister Imperator, who appeared at the door, she looking really tired.

"Oh I…I thought…it was someone else.." You responded disappointed, you really wanted to see Copia walk through that door but once again he wasn't there. You gave Sister a small bow and stepped aside so she could pass.

The woman walked and she stopped in front of you, letting the cold sneak in a little and chill the inside of your lungs. Looking outside you could see Mountain taking Sister's belongings down and passing them by to take them to the main office and Sodo waiting leaning against the car.

"Were you expecting someone else?" I ask you, with that insightful look.

"Yes…" You sighed, taking some courage from your gut to look the woman in the eyes. "I thought Papa Emeritus IV had arrived. He must be very busy, right?"

"Oh" he laughed a little "Of course, the Clergy has him very busy" you felt like he was laughing at you for your innocence of something you didn't know about. "Well, good night."

Sister placed her hand on your shoulder and gave a light squeeze, then retreated, until all that was left was the echo of her footsteps on the stairs.

You looked back at the car, Sodo was getting into it again, maybe to leave it in the garage. You bit your lower lip indecisively, normally it was necessary to notify each time someone left, you will receive a reprimand for leaving like that but…

"Fuck everything" you clutched your coat to your chest and closed the Minister's doors behind you, hurrying down the small steps to get to the car that was restarting its engine "Sodo!" You knock lightly on the window.

The engine turned off again and the window rolled down, the ghoul had a clear grimace of displeasure. "What?" I ask annoyed.

"Do you know where Copia is?" He sighed and nodded "Would you take me with him?" I asked him in the best tone you could muster in the face of his sour attitude.

"Ha!" He mocked, baring his fangs in a grim smile. "What makes you think I'll take 'overtime' for you?"

"It could be your good deed of the year" his face said it all, it didn't seem like a big deal to him, you cleared your throat you didn't like using blackmail but you really needed to know where he was "If you don't take me to Copia I'll tell him to Sister Imperator about your loving relationship with a certain ghoul" You threatened firmly.

Sodo's back straightened and her mouth fell silent with little "You wouldn't be able to," she spat the words in your face. Baring his fangs just like a predator.

"Try me," you murmured, moving closer to his mask. You kept your gaze steady and as strong as you could.

"Ahg" he complained angrily and hit the steering wheel "Get in at once"

Smiling, you crossed in front of the car and opened the passenger door. "No, no," Sodo said mockingly, your brow furrowed "Your game, my rules," he pointed to the back seats.

"Whatever" you rolled your eyes and pulled the passenger door to open the back one, you sat down and closed the door.

Sodo started the engine again and abruptly turned around and left the Ministry roundabout driving like a maniac, on purpose. He would take you to the place, if you arrived unharmed it was not his problem, plus he was not at all happy to follow orders from someone as low-ranking as you, a simple dressmaker. You hit your head a couple of times against the glass and your face slammed into the seat in front of you. In your mind you couldn't stop cursing Sodo.

Thinking that the place where Copia met with the Clergy must be quite serious, something simple but denoting some importance. But that wasn't what greeted you when Sodo slammed on the brakes.

"You've got to be kidding me…" you mumbled as you looked out the window.

In front of you stood a huge building, the loud music made the windows of the first floor resonate, from the windows of the other floors that you could see, you could see flickering lights and dancing silhouettes, there was a huge line of people waiting to enter, girls with short satin dresses and heels of at least 13 cm. You got out of the car with your mouth open, this was not at all what you expected, a part of you felt anger ¿meetings? yes of course…

Sodo closed the door on his way out and stopped next to you.

"You weren't expecting this, were you?" He asked, the situation made him laugh.

"Not at all," you pressed your jacket closer to your body, feeling the judgmental gaze of some of the girls.

"Do you still want to come in?" Sodo ask you.

"Yes" you had many questions that had to be answered that same night or you would go crazy.

"Good"

Sodo took your wrist and made his way with surprising agility through the people, some were clearly complaining but no one stopped them, they reached the door and the security guard quickly recognized the demon.

"And her?" I ask as I see you become symbolically small after Sodo.

"She is a guest of Pope Emeritus IV." Sodo clarified, the guard hesitated for a few seconds but finally opened the door for them.

You wouldn't be lying if you said that you almost vomited upon entering, the air was intoxicated with cigarette smoke and marijuana, the music didn't let you hear your own thoughts, many bodies out of nowhere were rubbing against you and the flashes of light hurt your eyes too much. Sodo held her grip on your wrist as he walked through the horny crowd.

You didn't understand why Copia, your dear Copia would be in a place like that, he hated parties, he was a man of movies and blankets, who preferred to play with his tricycle before having a fairly formal dinner. This was not a place where the Copia you knew would want to spend his nights. What about his rats? From walks through the abbey? What about you, did he leave you because of all this?

Sodo takes you to the elevator, where there is a suspicious puddle of 'water' and some red panties, both of you avoid the puddle and personally avoid touching any part of the elevator.

"What is he doing here…" a bad feeling begins to bite your heart.

"I don't know, since he became Pope he's been here" Sodo responds, you hadn't asked expecting an answer but that only fueled your uncertainty.

Sodo marked the last floor, the doors closed and the music finally stopped being so loud, that was like a respite for you, as you passed through each floor you could hear different types of music and quite private sounds. You were absolutely uncomfortable with the whole situation but you still couldn't stop thinking about Copia, would he be as uncomfortable as you here?

On the top floor there was nothing but soft music and the murmur of many people, when the doors opened and all eyes fell on you and your outfit, so inelegant and in keeping with the situation, you stood out and not in a good way. The men in suits looked you up and down with disgust and the girls in tiny scraps of clothing that left nothing to the imagination whispered about you shamelessly.

No one asked questions, since I was accompanied by a ghoul, everyone thought that even though you were dressed terribly, you knew what was happening. Clear mistake.

"Okay, I'll leave you here" Sodo responded pushing you out of the elevator. "I'll wait for you in the car."

"No! Wait-" You turned quickly but it was too late, the doors had already closed and the screen above them indicated that it had started to go down. You turned around again, facing the situation, everyone had continued with their thing.

You took a long breath and began the search, shyly you made your way through the people, you felt some hands touch your butt and even squeeze it, you held back a scream so as not to make a fuss, reminding yourself that you were there for one reason only. The mixture of perfumes was beginning to overwhelm you, some strong, others sweet, you looked at a dark area, few people were there, there were tables with small desserts and a tower of wine glasses, you mixed with the people again and you arrived. You sighed, the search was resulting in failure but you didn't want to stop.

"Oh…dolcezza…" You heard someone sigh, you knew that voice, it was unmistakable in your head and that nickname…Copia used to call you that, but now you heard it in a dirty and erotic way.

You turned instinctively, between the small space that there was between one glass on the other you saw him, the most unmistakable man, his arms, his hair, his legs, his voice… You simply drowned out the worst scream of your life, your lips showed a grimace of pain and disappointment, the bad feeling was true and tore off a piece of your heart, mocking your foolish innocence, the air was beginning to run out of your lungs, your hands began to sweat and tremble. You wanted to become as small as an atom and simply disappear, but a first glance was not enough, your mind denied that that man was Copia.

Behind the wine glasses were small 'privates', rooms with comfortable velvet seats, dim lights and translucent curtains. Sitting in those comfortable seats was Copia, with his legs extended and his white silk shirt open, his chest stained with kiss marks from red lipstick, taking a little from the wine glass in his hand…as if he were the damned boss of the place. Your gaze went up to her face and the image broke your heart, you had to put your hand to your chest to make sure you were alive.

Copia's hair was messy, the makeup on his face was stained with red lipstick, including his lips as well. Oh sure, let's not forget about them, the same lips that had whispered romantic poems to you at night were now literally devoured in a fierce and passionate kiss with a half-naked girl who grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, surely to take him to more intimate terrain, he didn't seem upset or surprised or disgusted, he wanted her too, you could see the same carnal desire in his eyes as in hers.

Your stomach turned, determined to get out everything it had in it, your mind was broken looking for excuses for what you saw and your heart just kept bleeding in front of everyone. You ran a hand through your hair, that whole situation was too much for you, it drowned you like a stormy sea, the tears came out of your eyes without stopping and cut your cheeks like razors, then something saved you, the only feeling that can help a person broken heart, the only feeling that is stronger than love. The wrath.

Your face changed completely, it hardened, you wanted to see how much of a 'boss' he was in front of you. You raised your leg and pushed the table on which the wine glasses rested, as was logical the table overturned and each of the glasses crashed on the floor, shattering and spilling their contents on your targets.

The noise caught the attention of everyone who turned to look at you, not understanding what the hell was happening. The girl on Copia's lips walked away exalted and screamed in surprise, both were covered in wine and this did not please Pope IV at all.

"Who the fuck did this?!" He exclaimed, standing up annoyed, you laughed, as if he could hurt anyone.

"I did it, cause any problems Papa Emeritus IV ?" you uttered with complete confidence, arms crossed.

“Y-Y/N” he stuttered, your name in his mouth sounded like an insult, it was no longer worth saying. He froze in her place, completely pale, the same color as the white of her makeup, you saw his Adam's apple rise. He looked like a child who had been caught in a mischief. With the difference that he was a man and his 'mischief' had a name and maybe 20 years younger than him. "Wha-what are you doing here?" He tried to get closer but the step back you took made it clear that you didn't want him close.

You held your tears in your chest, if anyone was going to be ridiculed it wouldn't be you "I just wanted to know where you were spending your 'busy' nights. I guess you were having a great time with the paperwork" you looked at the girl behind him, your anger not it was with her, but you couldn't help but feel some resentment.

"You shouldn't be here, this isn't a place for girls like you." Copia tried to get closer but the disgust and disappointment in your gaze froze him.

You had never looked at him that way, from below, with that distance in your gaze. He had opened a chasm between them now.

You were amazed by the coldness with which he said those words, as if you were his subordinate. "You're right, I shouldn't be here. I've already seen everything I had to see… Have fun." All the eyes on you were beginning to bother you and as you watched the scene your strength began to diminish.

You turned on your feet without saying anything hugging yourself, the crowd made way for you towards the elevator. You didn't feel yourself, as if this were just a cruel scene from a movie, as if nothing were real, but the image of Copia's lips on that girl's made fun of all the beautiful moments they had had together and buried the razor of deepest pain in your chest. The doors and the splash under your shoes brought you back to reality, it was then, in the semi-solitude of that elevator that you overflowed, the tears continued to come and moans of pain pushed your lips, you shook your head, you wished everything was false.

He could hear the blood circulating through his body, frozen in place, he felt unable to look up, his nails were digging into the palms of his hands.

The night had started well. He felt like he had the world at his feet, he had seen Primo, Secondo and Terzo come to this place and be praised like gods, respected like true eminences. He had seen a pretty girl and felt all the security in the world to approach and ask to spend the night with her, he wasn't going to go beyond kissing, it's not like he had experience in the most private sphere, he had been flirting with girls all these days and he felt like he was on top of everyone in that place.

But seeing you there… seeing your face of disappointment, of horror… he felt dirty, like a really disgusting object, just another ordinary man, one of the same men you complained about when watching movies together. The kind of man he promised not to become.

"I wish there were more men like your Copia" he remembered that you told him "sweet and really good. Totally my type" at that moment you kissed him, it was technically his first serious kiss, he remembered your look, full of love and sweetness, as if you were looking an angel or the most beautiful being on earth.

But tonight he had ruined everything, he had become an idiot that you used to complain about and that you used to hate… Did you hate him now? What a fool. Of course you hated him now!

He came back to reality, the girl he was with was gone and people were just looking at him like he was crazy. He closed his shirt as if he had some modesty, it was sticky and completely ruined from the wine.

He wanted to excuse himself, to tell you some lie, something that would make you not look at him like you did, not talk to him like you did, he wanted everything to go back to normal, when you both spent time together and he received nothing from you other than affectionate kisses, smiles and charming looks. If I hadn't been avoiding you for being so immersed in those silly and pathetic power fantasy this would never have happened and I knew it. I didn't want to lose you. He knew that no one in the world apart from you would be able to truly love him, the universe had made it known to him millions of times.

He ran to the elevator but it had been called on another floor.

"Merda!" He said frustrated and ran towards the emergency stairs.

You made your way through the crowd, concentrating on one thing: getting out of that place as quickly as you could. When you opened the door, a pouring rain greeted you, Sodo was inside the car, he smiled at you but that didn't last long when he saw your distressed appearance, he quickly got out and approached you, you were pale and cold the touch as if you had received a stab.

"Damn, what happened?" He covered you with her jacket as they ran to the car, opened the passenger door and watched you get in, when he closed the door the tears came harder.

“Let's go home,” your tone was clearly distressed and brittle.

"By Satan, what did you see, girl?" She asked, he had never seen you in such a sorry state, your aura was crazy and it disturbed him. Someone had caused you extreme harm, to the point of hurting your soul.

"Sodo, I saw everything had to see." your voice wavered and you gripped the head of the seat in front of you, your body writhing in spasms, similar to physical pain. "Damn it, just drive!"

Sodo remained silent, you had never yelled at him, not even when you were upset, nothing compared to your current state. He recognized and started the engine, if you had a seizure he didn't want it to happen in the car. Unlike when he took you to the place, now he was driving carefully, fast, but at least this time your head didn't hit the glass. When you arrived at the Ministry, he couldn't even open the door, you did it yourself and ran in, your tears mixing with the thick raindrops.

He wanted to go after you, make sure you were okay, but at the end of the day he was a demon and helping you shouldn't be any of his business. Somewhat annoyed, Sodo took the car to the garage.

You closed the door tightly behind you, you thought about going to your room and crying and suffering covered with your blanket, but if Copia arrived it would be the first place he would look for you, if he did, you wanted him to do it. Then you hid in your study, it was the same as when you left it. The moon illuminated the mannequin with the suit that you had made with so much love and care for Copia, you walked towards the mannequin and simply collapsed on the floor, dragging with you the canopy that you had embroidered, you pressed it against your chest without worrying if the needle would break embedded in you, you simply cried as if your limbs were torn off part by part, you screamed as if your soul was tortured in heaven, you begged to wake up from that bad dream.

Because that man, the man you saw kissing another woman, the man who had cheated on you, that couldn't be Copia. You couldn't have fallen so deeply in love with someone like that, no, you refused to believe it.

But at the same time the evidence was there, you had seen it yourself, your dignity mocked you, on the ground and totally destroyed by a man. The one you thought would be the love of your life.

You stood up, dizzy and catching your breath. Your tears had stained the palia, you threw it as if it burned your hands, you looked at the mannequin, as if Copia was in front of you, you couldn't handle that, your studio was full of photos together, the mirror, your laptop, shit in damn wallpaper on your phone, you pulled the papal suit off the mannequin and crumpled it in your hand, instinctively grabbing a pair of scissors and bringing them closer to the suit.

"Shit!" You stopped. Even with what he had done you couldn't help but worry about him, your heart was still touched by the memory of how excited you knew he would have been when he saw the suit…now that beautiful feeling made you sick and you denied it. this at all costs. You threw the scissors on the ground, you hated yourself because deep down you loved him, the wound was recent but you still couldn't, you didn't feel capable of harming the things he loved, just as he hurt you, who he always said he loved.

"I can't stand this…" more tears flowed down your face, you walked over to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper, you traced word after word "I can't stay here" You continued writing as you cradled the suit he would once wear against your chest. The now worst love of your life.

He came running to the Ministry, completely soaked, his makeup disgustingly smeared all over his face, scared and agitated.

He climbed the stairs as fast as he could, one after the other and opened the door to your room, empty. The room was as always.

"Fuck!" He slammed the door shut “Y/N!” scream with despair "Y/N! Where are you? I promise, please listen to me!" I beg loudly through the hallway. His eyes looked everywhere nervously in search of the slightest sign of your presence. Then he remembered your study, the place where you both hid when your responsibilities overwhelmed you and you wanted to relax.

You heard the desperate running of shoes in the hallway behind your door, a chill ran through you completely. It was him, you were sure. You felt like easy prey for a slasher. You signed on the paper and folded it clumsily, turning in time to watch your door open violently and him, breathing hard, still holding the door with his hand, water dripping onto the floor and the black from his eyes sliding down his face.

"Y/N" he mentioned, catching his breath.

In other circumstances, seeing him like this, you would rush to help him, look for a dry towel, clean clothes, tea and makeup remover, you still wanted to do that. But the pain of betrayal numbed that affection.

You took the letter and stood up and walked slowly, he seemed amazed to now be you the one to approach him, Copia expected anything, screams, hits, something that she knew she deserved but that never came. He hated herself for having hurt you that way, your eyes were swollen and redder than ever, were glassy and your lips trembled in a sad grimace.

You shoved the papal suit and the letter against his chest, some resentment in the action. Your face hardened and you passed him by, you really felt faint but you didn't want him to know that he had hurt you so much.

"What..?" Copia uttered to himself.

"It was for you, both things are for you" you said turning your back to him, taking short, weak steps far away from him.

He quickly looked at the bundle of fabric and found a beautiful papal suit, his favorite colors were there, the embroidery was half finished but it promised a lot.

"You made it for me?" He asked, he felt even more of an idiot now than before, you working late on a suit for him and him, being rubbish around others.

"It was going to be your gift for becoming Papa. Congratulations by the way." You said bitterly and quickened your pace.

Copia quickly walked behind you as he opened the letter, then he saw the huge title that said 'Resignation' his legs gave out in surprise and he fell to his knees to the ground. The noise scared you so you turned to see the scene.

"No no no!" He shouted as he crawled towards you, stumbling sometimes over the papal cloth out of desperation, his voice was a plea "Don't leave me, don't do it. For Satan's sake, don't leave me alone, no, no, no" you were surprised, you had never done that before.He took advantage of the fact that you were stunned and took your hands in his that were trembling and were cold, he let his forehead fall on your hands "Hit me. Do it, hit me! Scream at me, do whatever you want with me but don't leave me, don't go. …I love you! I love you…" he told you between scandalous cries, opening his arms ready to receive a blow.

For a second you thought, he would have deserved it, but you wouldn't, you couldn't, you could never hurt him, not even when he did it first.

"Copia-" he didn't let you continue.

"Punish me, humiliate me if that's what you want. Please do something! Hate me, torture me with your resentment for the rest of my life! But don't leave her, I beg you, I beg you… don't leave me" he bowed in a full bow, placing his lips on the toes of your dirty shoes.

You didn't expect to see him like that, for he to act like that, under that desperation.

"I ruined everything, I know! Let me fix it. I'm not like the men you hate, I'll change, I'll do what you tell me to go back to being like before…happy"

You stopped him there, you couldn't see him humiliating himself before you like that, no matter how much he deserved it. You knew your heart, you would never be happy like before, because it doesn't matter if you fix a broken mirror, every time you look at your reflection you will see that the wounds are still there.

"Enough…" He can't hear you "Copia stop!" You shouted, grabbing and lifting his face with your hands. "Nothing will ever be the same again." You made it clear "You broke my heart! You cheated on me with every girl you ever crossed paths with, why?" you reproached him.

"I don't know…" huge tears fell from his cheeks, you hated seeing him cry but he deserved it.

"You don't know? I do know," you pushed him with your index finger. "Because you wanted to feel powerful, right? Like Secondo or Terzo. You ascend and then one woman wasn't enough for you."

"I… I'm sorry…" he murmured in a low voice before breaking down into more tears and clung to your torso "I change, I swear…"

"I don't believe you. That's the problem… I DON'T BELIEVE YOU ANYMORE" you took a step back, hugging yourself, you couldn't give in, although her touch and attitude made you doubt, the decision was made. "You're a fucking liar! Just like everyone else! An idiot, I'm not going to forgive you, I never would, you took my heart and my love for you and used it to enhance your stupid ego. Just like Terzo, Secondo and Primo. Just like Your father, you are just like him… A DAMN TRAITOR" Your words pierced him like daggers, wounding him to death, he remembered how his mother (Sister Imperator) cried every night next to his bed for his father. He had sworn never to be like that and now… he had hurt the woman he loved, the only person who had looked at him with pure love, knew that you were not like his mother, you would not stay.

"No…please…Y/N…please…" his voice was broken and you couldn't do anything but cry, he begged you, crawling close to you but you walked away as if it were a dog. "Forgive me."

"No, Copia I can't anymore…" you told him and you started crying again, you wanted to hug him, stay and just forget. But your heart would never do it. Someone would love him more than you, make him smile more than you and he would be the perfect man, but that was not your place. Not when he had ripped out your heart and trampled on your trust. "I'll leave tomorrow…Goodbye Copia"

"No no! I beg you…"you just couldn't stand it and you started running, away from him you heard his screams, his pleas for you to come back, his heartbreaking cries and what he called for you, broken.

He was alone in the hallway, clinging to the last thing he had from you, a suit and a letter. A photo slipped out of it that he had not seen when he opened it and seeing it destroyed him even more. It was when he was a Cardinal, with a rat on his shoulder and you giving him a kiss on his cheek, you had written some words back then.

'First photo with the love of my life. I love you C' and the date two years before, when the beautiful story had begun.

He pressed her against her chest until she wrinkled and covered her with tears. "I love you…"

...The End...

I hope you liked it, especially you, girl who requested it. I think it's obvious that the drama got out of hand, mercy please. This is my first time fulfilling a request.

#sodomizer ghoul #the band ghost #sodo ghoul #copia #cardinal copia #papa emeritus iv #copia x reader #ghost copia #ghost band #dewdrop ghost #copia emeritus #papa copia #angst #sad things #cry #copia ANGST #just pain #no happy endings

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nikolaidelphiki · 3 months

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Ok, I know you can be polyamorous in Palia but like it's only Hassian for me, bro. the way he kept saying he'd see me in the stars and then literally explained why that was the case...with mythology...when can we get married bro? I'm ready to commit to my romantic hunter boy.

#tamala do not interact #palia #palia hassian

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athenagc94 · 3 months

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A Palia Headcanon no one asked for…

I believe that Jel and his sisters all have different fathers. Given the fluidity of romance in the game and the poly-positive world-building, it could totally be a thing that Barinka is a queen who is just like that. It would also explain why he never mentions his father.

#palia #palia jel #palia beta #jel omiata #palia game

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varioushues · 3 months

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I don't know how to explain to you that Palia Reth people and Palia Jel folks are semiotic to each other in every way despite our egregiously different tastes in men. But it warms my heart okay? It's sweet!

Also you folk that are pinned to both of them I see you! Let's play hotpot together.

#palia game #palia reth #palia jel #we're friends now

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liliana-meadowpink · 6 months

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Stinkbugs and Silk: a short palia fic!

It had been a long day. Lillie unlatched the gate to the mountain’s housing area and wandered through the trees to her campsite. She was greeted by Kenyatta as she stood up from the coffee table she had been sitting on.

“Oh, good, you’re finally home.”

“Yes, sorry to keep you waiting.” Lillie responded, walking to her stove and pouring two mugs of tea.

“Did you talk with Jel about my dress yet?” Kenyatta sat down on the coffee table again, accepting the tea. “You better have.”

(More fic under the cut!)

Lillie hesitated. “Yes, but…” How should she explain it? It was so uncomfortable having to go between her friends in this manner. She got the feeling this used to happen a lot with her human friends and it didn’t end well.

“But what?” Kenyatta prompted, setting the empty mug aside. “I don’t like how this is sounding.”

“Look, is there ANYTHING I can do to convince you to wear the dress? Anything at all? Jel worked hard on it and I don’t know if we even have time to make something different.”

“Not a thing. I’ll buy something off the rack.”

“Ken-ya-tta!” Lillie gasped, putting emphasis on each syllable for comedy. “You wouldn’t! You can’t anyway since your fashion tastes aren’t mass produced!”

“I MIGHT consider it… if you can guess what I want you to do.” Kenyatta smirked.

Lillie sighed. “You just said there’s nothing, so I’m gonna talk with your mom about the dress, and…”

“As if she would even listen?”

“Good point. Still, something has to be done. Sure, Jel caved into the pressure of other people’s expectations, but he still got your colors right and it’s supposedly comfortable to wear. Can you at least not be insulted by his efforts? Please?”

“Why are you defending Jel so much?” Kenyatta studied’s Lillie’s face as it shifted hues from its regular soft beige appearance to a color between that of the a scintillating centipede and a briar daisy.

“I… well, I, um… I… Don’t… exactly know.��

“Right. Well, look. Mom’s got a meeting with my aunt, the duchess, coming up. Go hide a stink bug in her desk.”

“Then you’ll wear Jel’s dress?”

“MAYBE.”

“Good. Thank you. I can definitely put a stink bug in there.”

“Great.”

“Are you already leaving?” Lillie followed Kenyatta through the trees, rummaging through her bag.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, well… At least take this antler? I have no idea what to even do with these things.”

“Thanks. See you later.”

“Yes, we will!” Lillie closed the gate and looked down at Aqua and Luna. “That went better than expected.”

The two palcats squeaked in agreement and scampered back to the house.

0~☆*:.｡.~☆~.｡.:*☆~ *:.｡.~☆~.｡.:*☆~0~☆*:.｡.~☆~.｡.:*☆~

“So… I, uh, I did it.”

“Now we just have to sit and wait.” Kenyatta smiled, watching the awkward way Lillie pretended she wasn’t rocking back and forth on her heels.

“Happy to help.”

“I'm glad. You know if this works out, I can think of some other tasks I might want to give you in the future.” She blinked when Lillie stopped fidgeting. “Usually Nai'o does this kind of stuff for me, but lately he's been busy with his family or whatever.”

“Oh, yeah, the fair’s coming up. They’re preparing for EVERYTHING. The jam, the animals, the music…”

“Are you going to help them out?”

“Not sure. I don’t wanna travel very far without my cats.” Lillie said, picking up Aqua and burying her face in his fur.

“Couldn’t you ask someone to take care of them for you?”

“Not really. It’s fine, though. I know one palcat is a handful, let alone four.” She put Aqua down and he rubbed his face against Kenyatta’s boots. “Gosh, I don’t even want to imagine the destruction they’d cause if they stayed with Jel for example! All the pretty fabric, ruined either by claw marks or endless piles of fur.”

“What about the cook?”

“Reth? Oh, he’d be good at it, but they would probably mess with the soup. Besides… Everyone else is too busy.”

Kenyatta thought for a moment. “How about the fishing galdur, uh… Einar, right?”

“What about him?”

“You seem pretty close. Always going to his cave. At midnight.”

“Whoa, whoa, hey. You spy on me?”

“Of course!” Kenyatta smirked.

“Well I don’t ALWAYS go to the cave. Usually I just catch him on the way there and we really only say a few phrases in passing. It’s small talk and nothing more.”

“You’re defensive again.”

“And you’ve been reading too many books.”

Lillie and Kenyatta stared at each other with increasing levels of frown before they both cracked up laughing.

“Okay, tell me honestly! Do you really think that Einar would be interested in ME?!” Lillie gasped. “He’s a three thousand year old galdur with TWO onenesses, and I’m a human who’s vaguely in my late twenties. I have nothing to do all day but run around helping people.”

“Do you like fishing?”

“Yes.”

“Then yeah, I think he would like you.”

“What, romantically?”

“You’re asking about this just to get me off the topic of you potentially having a crush on Jel.”

Lillie’s face went bright pink once more. “What? No way. He’s so obsessed with the night. I need sunshine to survive.”

“You’d make a great pair. Night and light.”

“We would be a very sleepy pair.”

“Good thing you’re learning how to make comfortable beds. If you keep going at it, you might be able to make a bed that’s good enough for…” Kenyatta trailed off when she realized how uncomfortable Lillie looked.

“I think we’re done with this conversation for now. See you later?”

“Yeah. Bye.” Kenyatta waved briefly as Lillie zoomed away.

#palia #palia oc #palia kenyatta #palia jel #palia einar #palia mmo #palia fanfic #palia beta

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seyvia · 8 days

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📩 Simblr question of the day: A non-sims simblr question/s! Besides Sims, what other games do you play and what platforms do you like to play on? (PC, Console, Mobile...) What would genre/s do you tend to lean towards? (FPS, Sandbox, Multiplayer, Simulation, etc.)

Bonus! If a game has character customization, do you like to make a completely new character everytime or do you like to use the same OC/Sim?

Feel free to ramble, especially if you really enjoy a game (❁´◡`❁)

Thank you for thinking of me💕(>/////< " ). (Sorry it takes me so long to answer these) I'm only playing pc/mobile games currently, but I used to play lots of console/ds games. But I'll stick to talking about what's current. (I'm honestly a bit behind the times, lol 👉👈)

I play Syberia religiously every year! All three games, if I can. I didn't enjoy that recent one that came out. I wish I could explain why better then, 'the vibes were way off and the actual gameplay part of it was nonexistent,' I've played this game since I was 7, ok! It developed my brain! I have HIGH expectations and no tolerance for anything less at this point.

I also pick one of the old Her interactive 'Nancy Drew' pc games to play on the side because they make me happy and give me so much nostalgia. (The problem is I know who did it, so no surprises for me🥲) they just don't make these kind of games like they used to.

I've played farming sims since the GameCube, as some of y’all know, I only recently started playing Stardew Valley. I enjoy it far more then I imagined. If you're wondering why I hadn't played it before now, well, I simply didn't appreciate the pixel style until recently. I find it charming now♡ I've been playing Palia since last September and I'm really enjoying it. It's charming and the characters designs are something I've wanted from a farm sim for a long time, plus+ its freaking free♡ (I'm not big on multi-player, tho so I have to build up the courage to play it, I'd have loved it if it was a solo🫤). I played Ooblets on my hiatus. It was very cute and reignited my imagination♡

I bought Fallout 4 when it was on sale. I hope to play it soon, I love retro 50s/60s atomic age. My brothers are really big on it, and it actually brought us a little closer since they didn't understand my enjoyment of the era before they played the game.

I played all of Spyro reignited last summer♡ pretty proud of myself for getting almost perfect. And for mobile I play 'Good Pizza, Great Pizza' It's so cute highly recommend. I want to get home chef hustle and recreate my character in Sims, lol!

CHARACTERS: Honestly, I make a new character depending on the game and what suits my interests at the time, but they are usually the same? Like, they all kind of look like...me, sometimes...😅 when in doubt, brown hair! that's about it.

#fun asks #anon ask #seyvia replies #uh... you tell me what genre of games these are cuz idk lol

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lanonima · 2 months

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I can't really explain to you guys how feral the furniture system in Palia is making me, just know that I'm having a very good time

and I need so many more rocks

#Palia #just silly things

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sharky857 · 8 months

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"Why yall like Hassian so much?"

The title is a half-quote of a question dropped on Palia Discord, and of course my hands started itching.

Not because the question ticked me off.

It's because that simple question alone set my brain on "I will be brief" mode. And the "will be brief" mode is always, without fail, this one:

WIthout further ado, here's my widdle essay, copy-pasted from the notepad file as it was intended to be shared on that server at some point (so if there's any weird self-censoring like "strong dislike", you already know why).

This is gonna be very much spoiler-y in a lot of points, so if you haven't reached max friendship + romance and/or don't like spoilers in general, pls skip this ramble.

That being said…

Having reached max friendship and also romance with Hassian, I see his being overall "cold" (or "sour", as someone else in game would define it) as some kind of psychological defense/self-preservation mechanism.

When you reach enough friendship with him, he will openly confess/admit that it's not like he doesn't like humans, but he is wary of them. He admits to be like that towards anything new/unknown, and humans are, in fact new/unknown to him. He even has a random dialogue where he actually thank you for giving him a chance to know humans better through your (friendship) bonding.

According to other dialogues, Hassian is also seen playing cards with Auni at the inn, and quite often too, apparently. This is met with mixed reactions from a few of the other locals: Reth makes jokes about it, saying that he always thought that Hassian would come at the inn only to see how other people could disappoint him (or something on that line), Nai'o is straight up worried that Hassian could be a bad influence or something on his little brother, and Sifuu has a more indirect line about it, saying that Hassian has a liking/soft spot for animals and children (which gives her a glimmer of hope that her sone, one day, might settle down and start a family). This is a first clue that Hassian is actually a gentle soul.

In regard of Reth's aforementioned remark, I have this feeling that this might have something to do with the way Chapaa are generally viewed by the locals. Everyone sees them as cute & cuddly & fluffy animals (you even have Tish straight up cooing about them, in one of the Maji market-related dialogues), despite how Chapaa have come to be in the valley and the consequences. Hassian will tell you that the Chapaa are not a natice species, but have been introduced at some point by Kenli, with the intentions of breeding them as pets. But the Chapaa at some other point escaped into the wild, where their population started to grow uncontrollably; the fact that they lacked (and still lack, apparently) natural predators means that Chapaa are now an invasive species that need some sort of "pest control" system. But apparently Kenli has been refusing to take any action of sort in this sense because "but Chapaa cute :(" reasons, while every other villager seems to have a similar line of thought about those critters, leading Hassian to take matters into his hunter-hands. This would explain why Hassian seems to look at everyone in disappointment when he drops by the inn.

Another clue that Hassian is more than meets the eye lies in a random dialogue of Auni, when you reach enough friendship with either that child and/or Hassian; our mail boy will kind of break confidentiality with you and tell you that Hassian always gets romance novels delivered from the library all the times. He also says that they are "very mushy stuff", which confirms that Hassian may be actually quite a sensitive person. This trait of Hassian is also confirmed by other things/dialogues. For starters, he writes poetry (or at least he has tried to, at some point), and you can even see some of those writing by yourself in his grove, upon finding a book with torn pages (he didn't rip them btw, it was some Chapaa's fault). At the beginning of that side quest, Hassian will try to deny the book is his, despite... ye know... his name is right there. And at the end of the quest he will asks you not to mention that book to anyone, because he has "a reputation to uphold".

You can also get some more clues upon finding an abandoned letter in one of the camps in Bahari (somewhere in the northern half, more precisely). That letter will also reveal that Hassian and Tamala had a short-lived affair (that letter is also the ultimate reason why I "strongly dislike" Tamala's guts with a passion, for the records).

Tamala and Hassian's story could be also the reason why Hassian is now even more prone to not let his feelings on. According to what I could grasp about this ordeal, one day Tamala spotted Hassian "snooping around" her house (he was just minding his own business, hunting and also selling some stuff). It is unclear which one aprroached the other first, all we know is that Tamala bought a Sernuk rug from him, then asked him to enter her boudoir (aka: her bedroom), unofficially to ask for his opinion on where it could've been placed. Officially… completely unrelated things happened. Tamala never says what, exactly, but the way she tells that bit leaves very little to one's (naughty-naughty) imagination. And apparently, Hassian instantly fell head over heel for Tamala, but it looks like Tamala never made her intentions clear from the very beginning; the whole time, Hassian probably thought that her intentions were serious, while Tamala was in only for "some fun". It is also implied that Tamala herself may ahve pretty much treated him like her personal "toy boy", while Hassian kept on misinterpreting all that as her way of courting a suitor back, to the point that he presented her his own pin; if you romanced anyone in this game, you know what a big and important step this is considered. This is apparently when Tamala finally decided to dump Hassian; her random dialogues say that she broke with him when he tried to talk about a marriage, while Hassian's dialogue (at the end of his max romance quest) seems to add some more details to that, saying something like "I thought you would've come back to throw my pin in my face". Now: think about what a pin signifies, keep in mind what big deal these pins are, now imagine someone straight up throwing said pin back to the sender's face while telling them to pretty much F off and never come back. That ought to cause some damage on an emotional level. Even Sifuu herself, at some point, confesses with you that she was worried that you would "pull a Tamala" on Hassian (not to mention: Sifuu is still also all set on wanting to kick Tamala's rear, after all these years), but she is also glad that, with you, she had been wrong.

As cherry on top, Hassian might have unprocessed childhood trauma, which might lead him to constantly keep his feelings in check (and being awkward when trying to disclose them) as well. At some point we get to know that he had two moms: Sifuu and Taylin. Hassian was clearly more attached to Taylin than Sifuu, and even after all this time the loss of "momma" still stings real bad to him. When Sifuu made him proof-read her own autobiography, Hassian simply flipped because of what he sees as complete lies on how "mother" and "momma" first met, considering that altered story as an insult to Taylin's memory (whereas Sifuu was only trying to spice things up for artistic reasons). Some time after that thing with the book, when Sifuu asks for his help to clear Taylin's belongings, Hassian do agree that they both needed to finally move on and and also tried to help his mother, but soon he found out he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The loss of Taylin could mean that Hassian is now subconsciously "afraid" to love someone as much as he loved "momma", probably fearing to suffer that same pain all over again. And the ordeal with Tamala might have left him extra wary of disclosing his feelings as well, which would all bring us to his aloof and seemingly cold demeanour in game.

#palia #palia game #palia open beta #sharky's random thoughts #everyone non-Hassian is like ''omg he is SO RUDE 😤''#and I've been here going from ''huh so you're the tsundere type. Gotchu. 👍'' to ''OMFG YOU POOR BROKEN THING😭😭''#SIDE NOTE: I keep desperately editing this post #but for some godforsaken reason the ''keep reading'' break doesn't work in Tumblr tags???#but the post HAS THE BREAK if I view it from my own blog?????#TUMBLR WHY DHAJKSDHJKASDHK

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dazzlerazz · 2 months

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Temple of Roots - A Critique? A Discussion?

I've finished the Temple of Roots and had time to gather my thoughts. This is in no way an objective overview, just my thoughts after playing the game for about 300 hours and comparing the Temple of Roots to the rest of Palia. My word isn't law, and it's possible that I may even change my mind in the future, nothing is set in stone after all. My experience may not be your experience, and that's perfectly okay. Obviously contains spoilers for the entire Palia temple questline, the mini questline up to the temple, the temple itself, its story, and so on

To start, we'll be talking about what leads up to the Temple of Roots

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I've always had a struggle with keeping my attention when reading large bits of text, especially when I'm in a hurry. This applies to the notes left behind by the humans as well, I didn't read them too thoroughly but just enough to locate the hints, which I thought were pretty neat. I specifically enjoyed the Galdur heads as sort of computers, it once again reaffirms to us as a player outside the game that humanity from long ago was very dependent on their technology and it was used for far more than just keep civilization running

I enjoyed the scavenger hunt that leads up to the Temple of Roots, it was quite unique compared to other temples which are just "talk to this character and put the flow in the door and go inside", I think it's perfect for a Final dungeon. I specifically enjoy it being Einar and Hekla considering their ties to Old Humanity. Before the update, I thought it would probably be Tamala with Hodari and Najuma, and I was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong. I was eager to see what their roles in this new temple was going to be

The temple? Stunning. Beautiful. So visually appealing I stopped quite a few times just to admire it. Unlike other temples, it genuinely felt like many, many millennia had passed, and Palia had begun to retake what was once hers to begin with. Nature taking back what was lost and growing between the cracks left behind, there's something beautiful in that. I kinda wish the temple was even bigger in its map because I kinda wanna see more of this in the game

The idea of using your pickaxe against a door was a new idea that I really enjoyed, the previous temples wanted you to make use of our tools and it does that near flawlessly. The water temple with the watering can, the fire temple with the bow, the air temple with your glider, it really helps you to understand that your tools are just that, TOOLS

Now here's where things get a bit weird, and where my critique begins. Hi, if you've read this far!

I think the temple of roots has a lot of wasted potential and opportunity. Not was it the shortest temple itself (this can technically be explained away by the small questline we did to get here, I know), but I felt it was also lacking in its story explanations

I came out of the temple of roots more confused than satisfied. In fact, this entire experience can be chalked up to that: Ultimately Unsatisfying. It feels like all the budget went into the scenery for the WOW factor instead of for the actual narrative. That the only good memories I will have of this place will be in its setting, not in its story

The story of the temple of roots also suffers from the way that Palia is structure. Hekla tells us we need to be quick, but there's barely any urgency factor that isn't self-inflicted. This is a relaxing game, you're supposed to take your time with it, but when you prioritize taking your time over something you SPECIFICALLY say *will be time sensitive*, you come to a point where it's unnatural and immersion breaking. Immersion is not the end-all be-all of gaming, everyone's experience is going to be different, but it seriously takes people out of it when they're told one thing, but then shown another

A very minor nitpick here is that there was no music at all to go with this. Music also isn't everything in a game, but music can shape how we experience the media around us. Instead of music that instilled in me a need to rush, all I got was occasional bird chirmping and the sounds of my character's own stomping

I didn't mind the parkour section all that much, but I do wish they were more clear about where the buttons were, but it wasn't bad for what it was. The way to get there? Amazing, it really felt like I was crawling in between the ruins of an ancient factory long since consumed by the world around it, it was immaculate

And I'm sure I'm not the only had something to say about the ending. I liked the idea of talking to a giant head, the effective beating heart of this destroyed Galdur factory. The Gardener's story is a sad one, and it tries to make itself feel better by doing what it was meant to do. Its sudden change of tune after registering what Einar is was a bit confusing at first, but after finishing the temple it makes sense

And the giant speech at the end? I enjoyed it very much. What I did not enjoy was Hekla having to come in and "make things better" after it feels like we, as the player, FAILED. That if Hekla hadn't been there, then Einar would have been lost forever. This is unsatisfying, but in a slightly different way, it could have been better

I believe that, instead of just making the player feel useless in that instance, show us more of the Gardener hearing us out, and being uncertain. Have the Gardener more openly contemplate the things we have said to it, to actually consider our opinion instead of saying "you bring up some good points, however no, lol" and then have Hekla clean up the mess. Maybe instead of making us feel like Hekla did all the heavy lifting, maybe make it feel like Hekla sharing her memories with the Gardener be the final nail that helps change the Gardener's mind. Make us feel like we did something in a game that does that everywhere else instead of making us feel like we actually, legitimately, failed Einar. These temples are about strengthening your bonds with these characters, not breaking them apart. It feels like that I didn't do anything at all here that Hekla and Einar couldn't have done all on their own, I'm in the back seat instead of at the wheel

All's well that end's well, but I believe that the core story of the temple could have been kept, just that it went about a few things I found unsatisfying, narratively incomplete, and honestly? Rushed as hell

I have high hopes for Palia's future and I'm eager to see what S6 continues to do. The Temple of Roots was quite different from the other temples, both in good ways and in ways I'd consider to be less than stellar. I wish it was done just slightly differently to make it just that much better, at least for me

Thank you for reading! I had a long discussion with a few of my Palia friends about this to try to nail down how exactly it made me feel, thank you to them as well!

#razz rambles #long post #god such a long long post #palia #palia game #palia mmo #razz plays palia

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