#and pretty much everything about the choose your own adventure game would be decided by you guys!

[just-some-guy-joust]

now that the tourney is over, a reminder that i WILL be doing more tourneys because running this shit is So So Much Fun, and if you want to help choose what i'll be doing next, you can vote here! i have it scheduled so that polls gonna be reblogged once a day until it ends so there will be more reminders, but still i am placing the poll gently in front of you if you are interested. i expect that's the most i'll be active here until i start up whatever comes next.

if you have 0 interest in future polls you can just leave <3 i have no clue how many followers i have here i'm not looking <3 its highly unlikely any of the next tournaments will be fish related AISDHALSIDUh i hope you had fun while you were here for this one!

#deep sea fish tourney #secret info for the people who read the tags. psst hey buddy do you wanna know what the most likely next tournaments are #*waves you in closer* #both character tournaments and oc tournaments are probably gonna be either failgirl or 'just some guy' #tho i also really wanna do an oc ship tournament (doesn't have to be romantic shipping) because that'd be adorable #and pretty much everything about the choose your own adventure game would be decided by you guys! #i'll let you choose the setting and the general story vibes and you'll get to customize the protagonist you'll play as #i will lean towards writing styles that i know i'm comfortable in so your options aren't limitless #but you'll still get to choose c:

[gabrielle-kl]

Not Your Average Legacy ~ Sims 3

Challenge Created by: gabrielle-kl

Proofreading was done by the lovely Simphora!

Hi, my name is Gabrielle and ever since early last year I wanted to see if I could create my own legacy challenge. Going into this challenge I want you to know that it’s not just about making a sim and completing the tasks to beat the challenge. This is a legacy challenge, however, I made it with endless storyline possibilities; think of it as a narrative adventure game where the player's choice is heavily impacted!

~ R U L E S ~ 

I do not specifically have rules other than following each generation in order and no money cheats (Only cheat your money for generation 1 for the starting funds). 

If you play my challenge I would love to see your sims in action! Please tag me with #notyouraveragelegacy so I can see it!

Generation 01 - Writer’s Block 

Ah….ok that’s pretty much that! You pack your bags, check your bank account to make sure you have enough simoleons, and finally your laptop. Perfect, you're out the door leaving your small family and hometown to focus on the only thing that makes you feel like everything around you is in your control. 

Growing up you liked making crazy narratives where there was always a twist at the end. You love making others wonder how you are going to finish the story. Like every book, it has chapters and your chapter begins in your new town. Now, this isn’t smart on your part but you got your new place for dirt cheap. I mean it’s empty, it only has your basic household necessities, and it’s not that bad but could be a fixer-upper.

Ignoring the fact you have barely anything in your home you take out your laptop….and head to town. You spot a cafe, decide to chill there for a bit and start doing what you love….writing. You honestly quite like this cafe and decided to write in here often, almost like your Jughead Jones.  

Like every writer….sometimes we get stuck and can’t think of anything to write, you are under a lot of stress; I mean I don’t blame you, your home doesn’t even have a comfy couch, not to mention you are low on funds, like really low. Frustrated with yourself, you head home and try to figure out how you are going to pay bills and afford necessities. Yeah, you're going to need a job. 

Get started: Start with a house or apartment  that is practically empty it only has the basic household needs (ex: stove, fridge, bed, toilet, etc)

* When you start making money here and there that’s when you can start personalizing your home* 

Starting simoleons: § 200

Traits - Artistic, Bookworm, Frugal, Perfectionist, Shy

Lifetime Wish - Professional Author 

Zodiac sign & Favourites: you choose

Goals ~

Visit the same community lot 3 times a week to write stories on your laptop 

Complete the writing skill 

Try to befriend your neighbours 

Get a part-time job of your choice 

Find your spouse at the same community lot you always visit 

Adopt a stray

Have as many kids as you want 

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

After a while you realize the job you have now isn't making you happy, yeah it pays the bills but it is not what you want to do.

The choices are: to quit your job or find a way to get fired then register as a self-employed writer. 

Generation 02 - You never really grew up

As a kid, you were always playing with the kids who lived in your neighbourhood along with your siblings. You would play at the park, build forts, have sleepovers, tell stories and watch movies super late. You did everything with them, but that didn’t last long. Unfortunately, things don’t stay the same; some of your childhood friends started to drift and do different things that interest them, which includes spending time with other kids. Even your siblings tell you they don’t have time to do these activities with you anymore. You lose all contact with your childhood buddies because all you want to do is what you always did with them but they find it childish but you don’t.

It hurt for a while and you found it quite difficult to build friends in school because none of them were interested. But that didn’t stop you from being a kid at heart, you would go to online chat rooms and talk to people online. You would talk to a bunch of people there and eventually end up texting and calling each other. It makes you so happy that you have people that you can connect with, that don’t find your way of spending time with each other childish. 

Traits - Childish, Excitable, Good Sense of Humor, Social Butterfly, Computer Whiz

Lifetime Wish - Super Popular (Don’t worry you don’t need to complete it)

Goals ~

Befriend the kids in your neighbourhood or even some school kids

Collect 5 butterflies or Beetles

Always accept to hang out with friends 

Call friends often 

Get the distance relationship status with all your childhood friends once a teen

Make four new friends and keep those friends 

Never move out of your childhood home

Have 2-3 Kids 

Have three failed part-time jobs (constantly getting fired) 

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

The choices are: you rekindle a friendship with one of your ex-friends or fall in love with someone in your friend group.  

Generation 03 - Wild 

You’re quite the charmer, it stands out amongst your siblings. Hey, it followed you right to high school, you were that semi-popular kid but mostly annoyed everyone with slick remarks. Well, I guess someone finds you funny because you end up finding yourself in a relationship, the two of you just clicked. You would go on dates with each other in the most random places sometimes. 

College applications are starting and you have already applied, however, your lover tells you he/she doesn’t have any plans to go to college. You both decide that instead of breaking up, you have a long-distance relationship. 

While at college you’re having a blast, and you tend to throw big dorm parties, like cops knocking on your door-type parties. Dorm mates secretly hate you but at least you clean up after yourself…in the morning….they can’t be mad at you forever, right?

Juggling studying, partying and a whole relationship back home, yep you didn’t think this through; the stress is getting to you but you don’t show it. But then you do something that you might regret.

Traits -  Irresistible, Born Salesperson, Charismatic, Party Animal, Eccentric 

Lifetime Wish - Descendant of Da Vinci (Optional to complete)

Goals ~

Have a high school sweetheart and remain with them throughout University

Get a secret matching tattoo with your lover as a teen 

Complete the Inventing skill and Handiness skill 

Use the invention crafting bench 

Apply for University and major in business 

Join a Sorority/Fraternity 

Throw big parties every week while at University 

Graduate from University and join the business career 

Work on inventions throughout your life and sell them for a profit

Call your girlfriend/boyfriend back home often 

Hook up with four different sims at one of your parties 

Have one kid

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline. So you did cheat on your high school sweetheart during a party at university. What do you do? 

Confess about cheating on your partner once you return home or never tell them what you did.

If you tell them that you cheated on them depending on how they respond, you can rekindle the love or let them go and move on. However, if you decide to never tell them you have to stay with them and have another secret hookup with one of your hook-ups from your University days. (That’s brutal….)

Generation 04 - Guilty Pleasure 

I swear you just let anything fly out of your mouth! Of course, you don’t see anything wrong with it but your parents do and they are very concerned about it. That however doesn’t bother you at all, as a kid you liked to obsess over the weirdest things and would not shut up about it. If it interested you, you made sure everyone around you knew about it too.

A lot of other people you know find the things you are into very strange and none of your friends are interested in them, they think it's weird and I don’t blame them. You pick up random hobbies but can never stick to one, you also like dressing up in random costumes doing these hobbies. You are in your own little world and to you, it’s your guilty pleasure. However, being a young adult and trying to please your parents at the same time is very tricky, so you get a job in the cooking business and try your best to be responsible and work hard in your career. But knowing you that doesn’t work out, does it? 

You check in with your parents every week and let them know how “amazing” you are in your career and how well life is going for you. It’s your way of showing them how much you've matured…..although what they don’t know can’t hurt them. You like to go to clubs and bars every weekend and sip a few drinks and go on stage and show the crowd how talented you are! Maybe a shot at stardom?…. Yeah in your dreams. 

On one of your weekly trips to the bar you get yourself into a pickle, how are you going to cover this up now?

Traits - Inappropriate, Heavy Sleeper, No Sense of Humour, Clumsy, and Insane 

Lifetime Wish - One Sim Band (Optional to complete)

Goals ~ 

Reach Level 5 in five different skills

Go out to eat with your parents / call them every week (while they're still alive)

Go to bars/clubs every weekend and have a few drinks before you get up on stage and do Karaoke

Have three good friends 

Get into two fights at the bar/club

Get Pregnant or get another pregnant sim from a random hookup

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

Oh no! Now you’ve got a kid, what are YOU going to do? Either, keep in touch with the other parent, have he/she visit your kid and maybe this little hook-up could be more, or not? Up to you. Or after your child is born you keep the baby with you and never speak to the other parent again.

Generation 05 - Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

You can’t stand your mom/dad (Gen 4 parent) everything they do is so questionable as if they have zero idea what's going on at all times; the majority of your free time is spent watching action channels on tv or playing with action figures. You spend most of your time in your room with the door locked and you don’t care to make friends with kids your age so it’s just you. No matter how much your mom/dad tries to please you, you do not pay them any attention. You like spy movies and you decided being a secret agent is your dream job no matter what the cost was. However, being in this line of work made you quite paranoid and all of a sudden you disappeared. Where did you go?

Traits - Perceptive, Genius, Ambitious, Good and Neurotic 

Lifetime Wish - International Super Spy

Goals ~ 

Have good grades in school (child to teen)

Move out of mom/dad's house once a young adult (Get a part-time job if you have to)

Max the Charismatic skill 

Have a high level of Logic skill

Have a high level of athletic skill (doesn’t need to be maxed)

Have a mediocre relationship with Gen 4 parent

Get a job in law enforcement (eventually, go into the special agent branch)

Surprisingly you fall in love with someone you work with

Have two kids 

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

You've grown quite paranoid ever since you started working as a spy. You think that in the middle of the night, someone is going to come for you, I mean I don’t know who but you do.

Pack your bags and all your belongings, leave your spouse and kids behind, move to an off-the-grid location and lose contact with everyone you know. Quit being a spy to start a new “safe life” (that’s not messed up in the slightest, but hey who am I to judge) 

Or 

In the middle of the night, you decide to wake up your spouse and tell them to get the kids and pack their packs and meet you in the car. Because all of you are moving to a new home that is far far away from your original home to start a “new life”. 

Generation 06 - Globetrotter 

All of a sudden your life changed overnight. Literally! Everything you once knew before is all different now, nothing feels like how it used to be and they won’t even tell you why. No one will tell you why. You started acting up as a teen; going out late at night, staying up super late, fighting, you even ran away. You only made it to a park but that was cut short because one of your parents found you, your life is a complete mess. Honestly, I don’t blame you; but apart from being angry all the time you found a hobby you quite enjoy. 

Remember when I said you attempted to run away? Well, this time you steal your parent's credit card and sneak out at night to a completely different country. Who cares where it was, you just wanted to feel some adrenaline for once. On your adventure, you decided to start taking a lot of pictures of everything you saw and started engaging in conversation with the people who lived there. Your childhood was pretty much sheltered and even though your parents are frantically searching for you, you're too busy living it up overseas; might as well send a postcard!

Traits - Hot-Headed, Commitment Issues, Photographer’s Eye, Adventurous, and Kleptomanic 

Lifetime Wish - Blog Artist

Goals ~ 

Have a terrible relationship with Gen 5 parent (if they are still in your life)

Master Photography, Social Networking

Have above Level 5 in writing 

Go for a jog once a week

Have three different romantic relationships with sims from three different worlds

Be disliked by two sims

Go on vacation five times throughout your life or even more (you are a traveller, of course)

Have a Level 5-star blog (you blog about your travels)

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

These are your choices: Life is moving fast for you and you are a busy individual. However, you do not want to have a job and instead of just working you find another alternative….your brilliant idea is to gamble to solve all your problems! 

Or 

You love your blog, you really do and you love your followers but you want more. You want to live life luxuriously and never have to worry about money. So you find yourself chatting it up with the celebs in your city, how? I don’t know but you find a way.

Hope you really enjoy this challenge as much as I had fun making it. Dag, Dag! :)

#Not Your Average Legacy ~ Sims 3 #notyouraveragelegacy #ts3 #The sims 3 #Sims 3 #sims 3 legacy challenge

[sapphicdib]

FIRST: Looks to the Moon! And if you want to Hunter as well?

HEHE YOU KNOW ME SO WELL <3

Fav thing about them:

Moon: Her. Just her. Her entire adorable being. Her structure, how calming it is to be inside it. The way she hangs upside down on her rig a lot, especially when examining you. Her cute nicknames for you. The way she thanks you for bringing her things. Her lil beepy voice she has before giving you the mark. Everything. Her personality, her puppet, her breathtaking structure. I can’t choose one and I will not.

Hunter: Her story! How selfless her mission is, and how she’s a little creature doing her best to save someone she’s never even met before. She uses her limited time to save someone who suffers the same fate as her—body breaking down, seizing and collapsing. I also like that she’s pink :)

Least fav thing about them?

Moon: Impossible. Nothing.

Hunter: I guess…how neglected she is? She’s never anyone’s favorite campaign (just get good at the game, scrubs), and she was the only scug that didn’t get an updated ending/attention in downpour. Obviously artihunter means she’s popular within the fandom, but game-wise a lot of ppl seem to forget about her, when it’s honestly a REALLY fun campaign!

Favorite Line:

Moon: “And so clearly, this forced broadcast is directed to you, Five Pebbles.”

Idk what it is about this line specifically, but I legit cannot read it without bursting into tears. I managed to hold it together but I read that line in her broadcast and just lost it. I cried for like 30 minutes and had to go hug my mom.

Hunter: Obviously she doesn’t speak in the game, but here’s one of my fav line(s) from a fic Im writing:

She’s very proud of her name :)

brOTP

Moon: Is it weird to say Moon and Ruffles? It’s so cute that Moon named her and Ruffles seems to stay around even after the campaign. I headcanon that Rivulet struck out on her own to find out who she was, and after many adventures, decided that Ruffles was who she was.

Hunter: Ruffles too!! I see them having a cute sibling dynamic thanks to lilypad :3

OTP

Moon: LILYPAD OF COURSE!! DOOMED YURI MY BELOVED !!! Sig n Moons personalities work together so well and I love them sm ;-;

Hunter: APPLE JUICE!!! Monk x Hunter!!! I would have said artihunter but apple juice has captured my heart so hard i can’t help it.

nOTP

Moon: I don’t rlly like Eclipse but that’s just cuz I hc Moon is a lesbian. Also Waning Crescent/Slivermoon just doesn’t do it for me.

Hunter: Cherrypie…sorry cherrypie enjoyers I just can’t see it :( I feel like gourmand would see Hunter as more of a daughter figure.

Random Headcanon:

Moon: BEEPS! She beep-snorts when she laughs and often tries to hide it but Sig has made it her life mission to make Moon beep-snort-laugh as much as possible hehe

Hunter: She acts a LOT like Sig. Despite her ferocity in battle, she’s pretty goofy and playful during less intense moments. She also considers herself as Sig and Moon’s daughter (as do they)

Unpopular Opinion:

Moon: SHE IS NOT JUST “BORING FEMALE CHARACTER.” She has personality! She’s insanely stubborn when it comes to using her seniority privileges and obviously takes her role as local group senior very seriously. She is “nice and kind” but that doesn’t make her flat/stereotypical. Of course she’s gonna be nice to the player, you’re a little helpless animal.

Hunter: PLAY HER CAMPAIGN. PLEASE. It is not as daunting as you think it is, ESPECIALLY if you’ve beaten downpour cats! It IS challenging, but for me it really brings back the spirit of the original game: youre a helpless little creature. You can’t generate spears out of your ass, you can’t make explosives, all you can do is run slightly faster and throw spears slightly harder. You have to use your wit and skill to get through it, but it is so worth it.

Song I associate with them

Moon: Afterlife by Shadow Cliq

Hunter: No Mercy by DeathByRomy (it’s an artihunter song but god it goes hard)

Favorite Picture of Them:

MEWNIE…

And not to suck my own dick here or anything but this is my fav drawing i’ve done of hunter, my new year’s resolution was to learn to draw scugs so here’s my fav drawing of her i’ve done so far :3

TY FOR THE ASK!!

#rw #letters #dibz rambles

[fang-and-feather]

Family Outing

Ikemen Vampire: Vincent/Reader - Family fic, modern setting

Prompt: Picnic

For the spring showers spring flowers event hosted by @aquagirl1978 and @violettduchess and for Vincent's birthday.

AO3 Link / IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist

It was very sweet of Vincent to choose to entertain your daughter on his own birthday.

The three of you were currently at the zoo, but you were more entertained by watching the two of them than the animals. The way they observed with wonder anything beautiful or curious, or the way they discussed aesthetics or the care of the animals.

Your daughter had really taken after her father. Your two angels.

Right now, Vincent had caught the little girl struggling with the pronunciation of a word and had tried to help, which ended up with him asking her the name of the animals and helping her with the words she didn’t remember.

She was primarily taught French, as it was the main language she needed to be able to communicate with, since you had been living in Paris, but you and Vincent had slowly been teaching her your languages. Little games like that were common in your family adventures, and your daughter loved that.

Vincent often said she had your determination, curiosity and love for learning.

But it didn’t matter who she took after, as long as she learned to do things because she liked them.

The little excursion ended when the little girl tugged at Vincent’s coat and said she was hungry.

“Then let’s find something to eat, liefje.” Vincent chuckled, scooping the girl up. “What do you want?”

She giggled.

“Mom and I brought food.”

“You did?” Vincent sent a surprised glance at you and you laughed too.

“It was a surprise. It is a nice spring day, and we thought a picnic outdoors would be nice for your birthday.” You kissed his cheek and took his free hand. “She helped make everything.”

Since she was only four, you kept her away from anything dangerous and didn’t give her much work, just let her help because she was excited about it, but for the little you saw, she didn’t seem to have inherited Vincent’s cooking abilities at least.

Vincent smiled, kissing both you and the girl in his arm.

“Thank you, my loves. I was really thinking the weather was perfect for a picnic.”

You loved the way he smiled and his eyes sparkled with delight. All of your work was worth it to see him so happy.

The spring weather was truly wonderful for picnics. Not too hot, with a nice breeze. The park you had chosen was a special sight these days, with its blooming flowers. You weren’t the only ones with the same idea.

“I can’t believe you put it in here without me noticing.” Vincent laughed, helping you take the food from the car.

“I was going to invite you to this picnic, but you suggested the family trip first, so I decided to turn it into a surprise.”

Eating together wasn’t anything new, but the different place certainly changed the mood. Your conversation was lighthearted as you shared the sandwiches and drinks you brought. It was something so simple and yet it made all of you so happy.

When most of the food was gone, you and Vincent had a moment alone, just watching your daughter, who had run up to observe the flowers.

“We should do this more often.” Vincent said, looking so satisfied. “Maybe bring Theo next time.”

Theo had been working, although you were pretty sure he was planning something else to celebrate his brother’s birthday later.

“Does that mean you had fun today?”

“I always have fun with you.” Vincent looked back at you with such a loving smile that was enough to make you melt. “I have the best family I could wish for.” He reached out, caressing your cheek.

“Good. Happy birthday, Vincy.” You took the initiative and gave him a chaste kiss.

“Thank you, schatje. You make my life brighter every year. Both of you do.”

He leaned in for another kiss, but stopped when your daughter ran up to you.

“Mom! Dad! I found a butterfly!”

“Really?” Vincent turned to her, and she started tugging at his hand.

“Come see it!”

You both laughed, following her. She was usually such a calm child until something really caught her interest.

Vincent looked at you and mouthed a silent “I love you”, to which you answered in the same tone. You couldn't wait to have some time for yourselves later but, for now, your family adventure was far from over.

IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist

#spring showers spring flowers ccc #ikevamp #ikevamp vincent #ikemen vampire #fanfiction #ikevamp fanfic #fang's writing

[mysticcabinboy]

The "interactive cinematic experience" buzzword should stay in the 2010s where it belongs.

At the very least visual novels are up front that what they are trying to achieve is a little less rather than a little more. That's not to say it isn't a daunting task to write a book either but at least then you know the only extra disks that they are trying to spin is learning RenPy and how to draw rather than try and go for the next "revolutionary" 0 in the polygon count for their choose your own adventure romance plots. You get what you are expecting by going into a genre called Visual Novels, and you accept that in the same way someone accepts being a furry, creator or consumer you have probably already heard the memes a hundred times before and you decide to go in anyways because you're curious or already know its something you want to get into.

But videogames have a stigma behind them that lends itself to weird complications when it gets compared to its older (two) brother(s). When you call something cinematic, you are invoking an idea that the story is in some way trying to be its own "insert GOAT movie meme here". Which then becomes its own trap for the genre as a whole, if the story is good and the game is shit, it gets compared to cinema and becomes the new "best" game, if its ALL bad "well what did you expect, its a videogame, nothing but a shiny toy".

that's just fucking unfair. especially when the times I've ever felt genuine powerful emotion is when the game takes things you have been, if not thinking about, then dealing with for hours, before twisting it in powerful ways. Project moon is great at this, often taking small quirks of the game and putting it in context of the actual world. Their most recent game(sadly a gacha side project to keep the lights on while they do other stuff) has an ultimate/id system where pretty much every little weapon that the characters wear or use has some amount of thematic significance with them, so ultimately its up to the player to start wondering how it connects. Even if they don't and braindead the game, theyre probably going to start going insane the moment they hear the word 'ideal', 'that bastard', 'gallop on', 'chains of others', etc from just how often they hear those phrases. the most recent "main" chapter does something fucking amazing with it, turning something almost innocuous and meme worthy from the few times you try it out, then twists it to create a moment of extreme catharsis.

As an older example. I played Deus Ex for the first time a couple weeks ago as well, and the first level on its own is a perfect set piece in how to lay out even a basic sense of how to have your player view your world and game. It immediately gives you the tools to learn about the world and tells you what you need to know when you ask for it. Just with that it makes a great piece of symbolism just from telling you "hey see that green thing you clicked on? yeah the french extremists bombed the statue of liberty. They thought we didn't deserve it." and it makes you think "what the fuck? when? why? what would we have done wrong?" or in my case i check the date of when the game was created and realized it was made a year before 9/11. Its a very specific moment of emotion that is designed to confuse, it helps that its also a very early part of the game rather than a twist kept towards the end as a 'subversion of expectation' because there wasn't much building up to it and its passed off as... just something that happened.

This sort of thing is exactly why i hate it when writers try to market their game as cinema because it shows that they have a fundamental misunderstanding of the medium they are working in. You aren't just making a movie anymore when you step into this space, EVERYTHING you allow the player to do can become a tool that can be used in service of a story, and just putting in a cover shooter for your "cinematic experience" shouldn't really cut it. Its an insult, you have every tool in your arsenal, including the concepts you made up out of thin air for gameplay purposes, and your first thought is to make cinema? Not a sandbox, not a game, not something that means something to the player when they fuck around with mechanics... but cinema? At that point you are better off just making a movie and getting laughed at by the people you're trying to impress because i sure as hell wont find it funny.

This isnt to say you cant write a story well on its own and let it be a part of a game. Just that when making and critiquing a game, consider EVERY facet of it. Ill praise Limbus' story to hell and back but the sheer fact its a gacha, and the consequences that come with it brings it down a little. The sheer fact that Limbus could have ended up like Honkai Star Rail in how braindead it is still fucking haunts me, even as the gameplay, while polished compared to the adjustment needed with ruina, was already sort of a step back.0.

#project moon #limbus company #shitpost

[squadrah]

What kind of siblings would La Squadra be?

As a sibling myself, I am rubbing my little hands together. Some of them I like to headcanon as an only child, so this will be new for us all!

Risotto: Being huge as well as taciturn, I feel like he is this silent passive presence to his siblings, and you would have to be really bold and persistent to get past that. He might participate in things you invite him to, but he's not bringing much fun into it and you just have to accept him as he is. Also the one stuck with all the big chores that require big boys to do, so when someone asks you where your brother is, he's out there chopping firewood or whatever.

Formaggio: Your typical rowdy boy with the magic touch and the smooth talking and the Cain Instinct all in a row. He'll pester the cats, he'll pester you, he'll coax you into the backyard and the streets for shenanigans, there will be wild adventures and fights and the occasional bad ending, but at least he's funny and your friends think he's pretty cool. You have to be grounded separately by the way because he's not taking anything seriously.

Prosciutto: No matter when he was born, he will always feel like the eldest sibling because he will be on your ass about your chores and your homework, and when he tells you to do something, it's harder to resist than to give in and do it the way he wants it. In return he's always ready to show you how to do things properly, defend you to anyone if you're being wronged, and he will insist on teaching you how to hunt bullies for sport.

Pesci: That sweet but promising baby bro that siblings absolutely love to influence and mold after their own tastes. His behavior is very much guided by whoever got hold of him last, so if there are multiple siblings with different agendas, catch him getting increasingly anxious trying to decide which one to imprint on. If he plays his cards right, though, he will be his parents' darling and woe betide those who tried to lead him astray!

Ghiaccio: The constantly angry, malcontent brother that always wants everyone to be out of his way, but he is so conveniently small and so easy to rile up that he is constantly under siege. The Cain Instinct is very strong and unlike Formaggio, he will always pick the heavy duty weapons, so unless you really do want to have an all-out sibling fight, you better know when to leave off. Also bangs doors and screams in his room and murders you in video games.

Melone: He is probably the mellowest sibling you can have, all he really wants to do is be relatively comfortable on his sickbed and infodump at whoever is listening. On his better days he will also show you cool stuff he found on walks or online, which quickly turns into his siblings congregating in his room to browse the internet for uh, curiosities. Very patient except for when his younger siblings won't do what he tells them to.

Illuso: Now this one is a "Sibling". You know how everyone tells you that it's natural for siblings to hate each other and fight constantly? He's the one they're talking about. Constantly in your business but gripes if you get into his, competes for everything nice you get, constantly gets you stuck with his chores, and has more dirt on you than you ever thought possible. Luckily for you, he is not the favorite at home despite his attempts to present as a good child.

Sorbet: A little more approachable than Risotto, but even less enthusiastic about the sibling business. He will easily choose his room over you, but if you find your niche, you will have a reliable companion to play cards or watch weird movies with. Known for his scathing quips at the dinner table, and if you wrong him, he will leave the ground scorched and salted for way longer than a reasonable sibling should. Also wants money for doing favors.

Gelato: At first glance he is fairly independent and likes to go his own way, but whenever he acts that way, you just know he is up to something dangerous if not borderline illegal, and he'll invite you just as shit is about to go down. All the stupid shit siblings can get up to? He's the brother that will try everything at least once and laugh even as he's getting his stitches, and it's weirdly hard to get mad at him even when things go south. A lovable safety hazard, truly.

#jjba #la squadra #risotto nero #formaggio #prosciutto #pesci #ghiaccio #melone #illuso #sorbet #gelato #squadrah headcanons #squadrah original #drop me some replies here: which would you want as siblings #alternatively which one of them are you lmaooo

[dichromaticdyke]

12 for fic writer asks :D

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

ohhh oh boy so i wrote 42 fics this year (and luckily all of them are finished at this point), and i have a few that were pretty difficult to write, and i'm gonna list a few that were different to write for different reasons.

Dethklok: The Iron Band - this one was for the "inspired by a horror movie" kloktober prompt, and i based it off Tetsuo: The Iron Man. this was difficult because it was my first time writing any sort of intense gore or body horror, and the original movie is so goddamn trippy, i didn't know how to write the fic in a way that would make sense but also work within the mtl universe. i like it, i think it came out pretty well.

The Other Side of a Duel - very difficult because i couldn't decide on an ending so said, fuck it, choose your own adventure. and having to navigate the different paths that would lead to each ending, making sure they all made sense but were all distinct, that was more difficult than i anticipated. but it was fun i would do it again, i just need a conspiracy board and red string.

Aren't the Holidays All About Love and Peace? - one of the two fics i wrote this year that wasn't mtl but was actually trigun! trigun is my best friend's current hyperfixation, and she commissioned this fic from me. it was hard because i don't feel like i know the trigun characters as well as the mtl characters (and vash is such an interesting/complex character i feel like i can't do him justice tbh), and making sure it was the length she requested and included everything she wanted, and getting it done by christmas because it was a christmas-themed fic...that was a lot. i'm happy with it though, and i think the trigun girlies like it too (i'm not used to a fic getting so much attention so quickly lmfao)

from this ask game

#ask.mj #secret-tacos

[socialmediasocrates]

10(general), 4(story specific), 6 (romance) kisses

Tyty @cheshagirl

Answering companion!Tav questions.

TABBY NORTHGATE

Are there any unique NPCs associated with your Tav that can show up during the course of the game?

Yeah and it's miserable <3

You meet a strange young woman in Rivington. A tiefling whose startling similarities to Tabby can't possibly be coincidental, carrying a black hammer whose whispers reach your ears when you stand too close. She's pleasant and polite in your interaction with her, despite being an obvious Bhaalist, and you part ways without any bloodshed. Not long after, the Baldurians protesting the refugee presence down in the camp start going missing. It seems like every time you take a rest, another one vanishes and reappears dead on their own doorstep. You are reminded of something that strange tiefling said when you spoke with her: "They are a cancerous tumor. Someone should get a scalpel and start cutting them out."

You get the journal entry before the exclamation point appears above Tabby's head: Find Moxie.

That night, Tabby will approach you if you haven't already spoken to her. She offers to share a bottle of whiskey, and while the two of you drink beside the camp fire, she explains everything...or at least as much of everything that she can explain. Fifteen years ago, she got swept up in investigating a string of murders. Her old adventuring friends talked her into it. She'd left her young daughter, Moxie, in the care of an Ilmateri cleric who had been a friend of hers for a long time. They had no way of knowing that the killer whose trail they were on was a bhaalspawn, until they found out in gruesome fashion. The spawn slaughtered her friends, and nearly killed Tabby, too. Worse, as she learned when she managed to drag herself back to her cleric friend, the spawn found Moxie. It killed the cleric and took the child. There's other details that Tabby's not at liberty to discuss, but that's the important thing. Moxie, the Bhaalist paladin on a killing spree, is Tabby's long-lost daughter, raised by the Dark Urge in its own image, now loose and unmoored with the death of her master-parent-savior-maker.

Tabby has one request: help her save Moxie.

How do they react to the Player Character letting Abdirak whip them?

Different strokes for different folks, she supposes. She's not sure why you let people hang around to watch it happen, but it's pretty entertaining. If her and Shadowheart are both in the party, Tabby will comment on her critique of Abdirak's form at the end. ("You're...extremely knowledgeable on this whole torture thing. Noted.")

How do they react to the player character breaking up with them, or choosing another character over them?

Broken up with: She can't really blame you. She's not exactly a young woman, anymore, and she has a lot going on in the background. Would have been kind of you to not waste her time, but such is life. Overall, you part on pretty good terms with minimal loss of approval as long as you're not an asshole about it. If you are an asshole about it, she'll cut the entire interaction short early on. ("Right. Got it. Let's move on, then, why don't we? I'm over it already."

Choosing another character: Fairly similar honestly. She gets it (especially if you're choosing Karlach), and she doesn't have any hard feelings about the whole thing. She'd rather not belabor this, so if you could just hurry up and get it over with, she'd appreciate that. She'll make a comment about it being a bit awkward the next time you have her and the companion you picked instead of her in her same party, but she's learned to not waste time trying to convince people to love her once they've decided they don't.

#baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 tav #tiefling tav #mothspeak #if we were young again #tabby northgate #ask meme answers

[ralofofriverwoods]

For the ask game: Pinewatch and Cistern

Pinewatch: If you could rewrite the backstory of any character, who would it be? What would it be?

Hmmm this is a hard one! Usually I don't mess much with existing character backstories, but it would have been nice to be expanded upon would be Irileth+ balgruuf's, and how they became friends, as well as whatever the fuck ulfric was doing before he shouted the high king to bits. I have a feeling I wouldn't actually change much of those though

One that id actually change would be gelebor and his brother's story. It seems weird that his brother would become a vampire, assuming they never left the forgotten vale. The only thing that the entire region has to do with vampires is that auriel's bow is there, and that's practically an antithesis to a vampire's existence! And it also doesn't make sense that gelebor and his bro are the ONLY live snow elves left, and the rest became falmer.

So id change pretty much everything about the forgotten vale, inhabitant wise.

Firstly, id alter what areas have falmer. The caves and stuff could definitely still have em and be believable, since iirc they're connected to Skyrim(or at least close enough), but the open areas(like the place with the dragons) should still have 'uncorrupted' snow elves. Sure it may not be a metropolis, but it would be like a small town in Skyrim at least. Like rorikstead and karthwasten combined, perhaps.

Second, I'd have to connect how vampires happen. As we know there's really only one way in canon to get vampirism straight from the source, which is molag bal, but I think that's stupid and I don't like him so I added sanguine as another way. That being said I think it would actually come from some vampire travelers. Gelebor welcomes you to the forgotten vale pretty easily, even if you've collected daedric artifacts like pokemon cards, so it would be safe to assume they either don't check very far for daedric influence, or they kind of just don't give a shit. Either way, I think this is how vampirism was introduced.

Some adventurers made a journey to the forgotten vale, possibly hearing about some ancient treasure or boon from auriel, and met a knight paladin that welcomed them, and didn't notice a vampire in the group(or that they were all vampires, either works). From there everything was normal, but a vampire decided to have a snack one night, and accidentally(or on purpose) infected someone with vampirism.

This could lead to either a split between vampire Snow elves+non vamp snow elves, or a small circle that simply collect power under everyone's noses. This could go on for generations, until gelebor and his brother eventually became fully fledged knight paladins, at which point they would be split just like in the base game, but with more people backing them up on either side.

Of course you could then choose between these mini factions as the dragonborn, depending on what side of the quest you are playing. If playing on the vamp hunting side, you'd be able to turn a few vampires back, who would then become followers, and vice versa. If you wanted you could even have the brothers be convinced to join the other side with persuasion or intimidation, depending if you wanted to be more or less angsty. You'd need a high score in either to do that though, at least lvl 80 speech.

This would also fix the sad reality in the game, that the only snow elf that yet lives(and isn't falmer) was gelebor, who killed his own brother for somehow becoming a vampire. I think it would be much more narratively appealing to have both 'uncorrupted' snow elves and 'corrupted' falmer exist at the same time, in big enough numbers to each have their own societies. It would open up a good opportunity for the falmer+snow elves to make an allied debut back into the world at large in a future game as well!tes6

Cistern: Which Guild Hall is your favorite? Why?

Unmodded id have to say sky haven temple. It has very pretty architecture, and though I haven't seen it past where you're supposed to kill paarthurnax(because I'm not killing peepaw partysnax >:( ) it's still very pretty. This may change when I actually progress that story line, but ATM it's not half bad. The finished thieves guild and dark brotherhood aren't too shabby either, though the tortured people in the dark brotherhood take a solid 3 points away from the atmosphere.

Overall I like all of them so it's hard to pick favorites, but as I'm still not used to seeing sky haven much, they've deffo got my vote.

Modded would have to be the thieves guild with the opulent thieves guild mod. From just the screenshots alone that shit is killer in the best way. Much warmer and more welcoming(at least for a cistern)

#random #skyrim #farlian's ask box #thank you for the ask! #this is usually how i go about making my own character's backstories as well tbh #its fun to put in game mechanics into a backstory #it also adds a little bit more believability i think #long post

[beevean]

So it's finally time to talk about Megaman's first jump in 3D huh? :P

Talk about a mixed bag. Where do I begin?

Honestly, calling it “Mega Man” is very misleading: you could replace Rock with Link and nothing would change. There is absolutely nothing that connects this game with the main franchise except for the fact that the protagonist is a blue robot: you can’t choose which level you can beat first, there’s no rock-paper-scissors system, there's not even a villain until the very end. This is very much a Legend of Zelda tribute, with a little Metroid sprinkled in for good measure. Not a bad thing, but I can understand why this game took years until it became appreciated.

That being said, this game is utterly charming. I adore the graphics and the genius idea of leaving expressions and face movement to texture rather than create those ungodly abominations typical of the era. The anime style gives it an unique charm. I also enjoy the very dated voice acting :P it’s cheesy, but not unbearable like MM8′s or X4′s. Not much to say instead about the music, because there are very few tracks in this game and not all of them excel. I liked the theme of the Main Gate, the Sub City (that whole place was so cool), the final boss and especially the Bonne theme :P speaking of which, the story is fairly simple and nothing to write home about, but it’s the main characters that make it enjoyable: Rock Volnutt (no I’m not calling Megaman it sounds stupid) and Roll are both adorable, Telsei is delightfully hammy, and I perfectly understand why Tron got her own game :P or gets shipped with Rock

Well. The story is nothing to write home about until the end. Then an insane machine appears and rants about Carbons needing to be purged, and Data (who until now was just your checkpoint) is hinted to be much important than you'd ever think. Bold choice to dump your lore in the last 10 minutes of the game.

(random but I love Juno's design and serene personality, he's very... wrong and eerie)

The world is interesting to explore. I like the idea of the world covered by endless water, the setting is clearly dark and post apocalyptic already but the whole tone is fairly good hearted. The city has this Sonic Adventure-esque feel, with all the people you can talk to. I liked that at the end the game gives you the chance to say goodbye to everyone :) although I imagine it has more impact if you bothered with the sidequests lol. My favorite section was the Old City - going from this tone to this tone was jarring to say the least, the clear blue sky and bright houses replaced with factories and pollution and aggressive stray dogs, and while the area is supposed to be old, I got the feeling that it was poor and degraded.

The ruins in particular got a huge breakthrough once I got the Spring Jump. They open up, and that’s when you discover that they’re all interconnected, and it almost feels like going back to Metroid 1 or Metroid 2, the former because it’s so easy to get lost but also so easy to find rewards, and the latter because of the creepy ambience and I won’t lie, sometimes I saw a scary enemy and I noped the fuck out of there :P also you get the weapon that destroys walls in the endgame, meaning that this game introduced the Final Victory Lap™ 5 years before Metroid Fusion did

But holy fucking shit the controls ruined everything.

I genuinely can’t decide if this game has worse controls than X7. Obviously X7 as a PS2 game has zero excuses for feeling like a nightmare, and to be fair Megaman in Legends is pretty fast, even before getting the Spring Jump and Jet Skates. But the camera is unbearable - the ruins are fine since they’re mostly tight corridors and small rooms, but navigating in the main world is awkward due to having to constantly reorient yourself, the camera doesn't autoaim and if you do use the aim mission you can't move, when you get hit the camera flips for no reason, and most of all it makes stupid bosses a steeper challenge than they have any right to be.

Honestly, I dreaded every single boss. Who thought it was a good idea to make you chase aggressive machines, with a camera that you either have to slowly turn around or keep pressing Circle to reorient yourself? Who had the brilliant idea of that stupid boat battle, where you have to manually aim at both the torpedoes and the missiles and the ships in the air, spinning around like you’re drunk while Roll takes her sweet time to get to the destination? That stupid bitch boss of the second dungeon would be a piece of cake in any decent game, but here, oops it dived a little early and you can’t jump away in time because there’s the slightest teensy tiny delay and you have to jump to hit its only weap spot and the jump is as stiff as the rest of the controls, fuck you retry the entire sub gate again :) The only reason I beat Bruno was because the game was kind enough to give you a shield, i.e. the Gate entrance. Yeah okay this game is old, I get it, it was meant for controllers without an analog stick, this was the norm at the time and I understand, call me spoiled but it was an exercise in frustration I just wasn’t expecting!

The final boss was a whole experience and a half. I wrote this post 9 days ago, and it took me 3 days to beat the beast that is Juno. By the time I was finally done, my hands were shaking. The thing is, this boss would have been a great challenge in a good game, ngl dodging lasers was almost fun, but a fast hard hitting enemy combined with a camera that hurts just to be moved? Yeah. Pretty miserable.

Speaking of the bosses! This game really wants to have its cake and eat it too. I'm okay with a Metroidvania style of "once you die you're kicked back to the last save point". I also accept "if you get a game over you have to retry the whole level again". But both of them together? Why? Those sub gates can get quite long, if not in structure it's because plot happens and you can't skip it. You have to go through all the dialogue, collect all the necessary items, then you die in a couple of hits at the boss because you have no idea of its strategy, and welp time to do it all over again! I swear, adding Data before a boss or having a number of lives would have helped a lot. Well, Data appears right before Juno, at least - thanks. I was annoyed at ZX for the amount of backtracking you had to do if you game overed but this is way worse!

This game pissed me off. With X6 and X7, I kinda knew what I was getting into, they’re both pieces of trash with little redeeming qualities. But here, I can see a good game! It’s good, it's funny, there’s love and passion put into it! But for every fun cutscene and exploration, there’s am infuriating battle that is infuriating for all the wrong reasons, and I wanted to like this game but I couldn’t, I’m sorry, maybe it's because I’m too spoiled or too inept. I know that Legends 2 has better controls... but I really don't want to touch another Legends game for a while.

#megaman #megaman legends #sorry for the negativity in the tag

[streetlights-was-taken]

[postscript] the gardener who only collects seeds

← read on AO3 (available on 230415)

for venlumiweek2023.

day 6: time loop au / "say you'll remember me"

i. conceptualizing the fic

oh god. I'll be honest, I wasn't planning to do this fic at all. but I think time loop and memory are very cool concepts and I would be remiss not to write anything for the day 6 prompts when I have a series dedicated to exploring these very concepts (caesura).

I shuffled through a bunch of ideas. I already had a "time loop"-ish idea back in february, but it was too ambitious to finish before this year’s venlumi week starts. it's like a choose your own adventure fic. if you're interested, I have a demo of how it works here (archive-locked, so you need an AO3 account to access).

unfortunately, writing that fic is the equivalent to writing 9+ fics and becoming an indie game designer. I know my limits. (I might still try writing it one day. but it will definitely take some time.)

the second idea I had for a time loop fic was to write about a storyteller (venti) rewriting their story over and over because it’s never perfect. and each rewrite of the story manifests as a time loop for the characters within it. he does this until he can create a beautiful story, but also because he deeply cares for the characters in it (lumine) and wants the best for them.

but I decided I couldn’t write it exactly that way because I don’t think venti is that much of a perfectionist. he observes and he records, but he's pretty chill about how events unfold. I think that would be more believable for lumine to be the perfectionist, given the hints of her having a martyr/hero complex. however, I do think venti is a great spectator-type of character, and I don’t want his affinity for memories/wind/time to go to waste.

I ended up with the semi-final idea for this fic after taking inspiration from this tumblr post about self-inflicted time loops:

a self-inflicted time loop where lumine keeps rewinding time until she can save everyone in teyvat. venti, who records everything through the winds, is aware of each time loop. lumine, who loses her own humanity as she becomes obsessed with doing a perfect run, rewinding at the slightest inconvenience and failing to connect with the people she wants to save with every loop. and finally venti, who takes pity on her and erases her memory, because he knows lumine will always save teyvat, just as she has 167 times. but she cannot save herself.

it's a little tragic and bittersweet… but I guess I really like writing this kind of fic. I developed the lore around this a bit more as I wrote (more in the next section).

other ideas I considered were:

looping just one event (but genshin doesn't have one that compels me)

doing something similar to link click and life is strange where the character visits the past through photographs (but genshin also didn't compel me here; I like the idea, but I'll probably just write a link click fic if that's the case).

finally, I actually planned for this to only be a 4000-word oneshot because I wanted to finish the fic in one weekend. for some reason, I ended up with 8000 words in three days. uh. yeah.

due to the deadline I set for myself, I did not have the time to polish this fic. I did give this a rough SPAG-edit, but the fic you're reading now is pretty much the first draft with hardly any revisions. there are some concepts that I probably could have executed more elegantly (such as when istaroth breaks the fourth wall). but I didn't really have the time develop this story more, unfortunately.

(there's something quite meta about this too, now that I think about it. we have a fic about a storyteller learning to be satisfied with their story, and what do I — the author of the fic — do? I post the first draft as it is, without revisions 😆)

ii. lore™ and other inspirations

this fic is actually a cool case of plantsing for me. I had a rough outline of the fic for lumine's chapter through the idea I explored above (plotting). but as I was writing venti's chapter, I ended up creating all this lore in the background purely through discovery writing (pantsing).

I was actually going to scrap the idea of venti being a storyteller and teyvat being his story. but then I was thinking of another fic idea (separate from venlumi week) and one of my inspirations for it was the parable of the tree in the in-game book before sun and moon. there is a line there that says:

for it is the god of moments who is able to take "seeds" from this "moment" into the past and the future.

this is where I got the idea of turning each time loop into a seed! this also ties neatly into the phrase, "seeds of stories, brought by the wind, cultivated by time."

the idea of storyteller venti soon evolved into him not just writing a story to be told, but composing a world/story to be "planted" into the fabric of reality. in a way, all the time loops are simulations of a reality that is yet to be created. (this is also an idea I played with in the cyoa demo too, though I wasn't really sure if I was going to use that idea in this fic until I started writing venti's chapter).

the title is also a play on this concept. the gardener is, of course, venti, who collected 256 seeds over the course of composing the world of teyvat.

composing is a neat word because it refers to the act of creating through artistic labor, and it is specifically tied to the idea of producing works of music and literature. which is exactly what a bard does! so I used composer as the title of... whatever it is venti and istaroth does.

with all of these elements in place, I can't help but take inspiration from other works as well. specifically:

svsss: my favorite thing about this novel is shen yuan and shang qinghua’s relationship with the narrative, so I was also inspired by that as well. particularly, how shen yuan’s kindness literally changed the narrative. and the overall readership/authorship commentary we have from shang qinghua. (cumplane also happens to be my favorite ship from this novel, which is fun to think about some meta subtext fuckery going on there where all the other characters falling for sqq just further legitimizes cumplane because those characters are all figments of sqh's imagination and— okay I'll stop here now because this is not the point of this post. but yeah basically the idea of the author falling for someone in the story and the world reflecting those intentions.)

twewy: I wrote a lot of twewy fics back in the day so you can't expect me to write about composers and not think about twewy. twewy doesn't really tie into the fic too much besides the whole composer thing, but when you're really into twewy it just makes the fic extra fun I think. like I said in the end notes, I was this 🤏 close to write seed:168 where venti knowingly calls lumine by name before asking for it, just like how joshua does it with neku in week two.

finally, I decided on 168 loops for lumine as a reference to the number of materials you need to ascend a character (this is also the same number of loops in the dream-battle samsara with scaramouche).

I decided on 88 loops for venti because 256 was the number of dots I can use for the hourglass art lol. it was just a happy coincidence that 256-168=88, and that 88 is a neat number to end a time loop with.

iii. a time loop is a puzzle

it really is! often, the character is already stuck in some way before the time loop starts, and the time loop breaks when they either achieve character development or break the puzzle that is trapping them.

I think lumine and venti approach the time loop puzzle from opposite ends. lumine regresses through her time loop. she becomes less connected to the world through it, and she aims for perfection that she can't achieve. she starts seeing her friends as more like characters in an unskippable cutscene than as people.

meanwhile, venti actually grows through his time loop. he began as a composer, but only through going through several lifetimes does he start to understand what it actually means to live and to love. he connects more with the world around him as he goes through the loops. he sees his characters more as people, as friends, and he is delighted that lumine can bring out the complexities that they offer instead of letting them stay as tropey stereotypes.

for both characters, the time loops are self-inflicted. they can stop at any time. venti lets go of his control over the time loops to lumine because that was his ultimate expression of love at that time. this was proof that he grew through the loops.

lumine was actually already in her best form in venti's 87th loop. she was in a world that was designed to love her, and she in turn was a loving person. however, venti advised her to focus on the destination instead of the journey. then he gave her the hourglass. this changes lumine's character and enables her regression in the time loops.

only by breaking the time loop and resetting her back to how she was in the beginning does she go back to her loving self. she was already happy before. venti didn't need to change her.

it is with both time loops that venti learns all his lessons in life and creates the most optimally designed world for lumine to love.

iv. narrative arrangement and the emotional journey

although the story started with lumine's chapter, this is very much a venti-centric story. lumine's chapter, for me, served more as a prologue to what was really going on in the background.

I quite like how I arranged the narrative. it is not chronological, but I think it most effectively delivers the emotional journey I want the reader to experience. lumine's chapter serves as an introduction to the time loop, the kind of world she lives in, and the kind of effects a self-inflicted loop can bring about. lumine knows less about the mechanics of this world, and she is the protagonist of venti's story, so she serves her role well as the one to introduce us this world. it also makes her into an unreliable narrator sometimes.

then she tips the hourglass at the end of her chapter. the reader is then transported to venti's chapter and his time loop. it's a bit of twist later on that his time loop actually happens before lumine's, so we actually get two time loops in one chapter. one is venti's loop, and the other is his pov during lumine's loop.

inserting venti's loop in between two povs of lumine's loop (first chapter, lumine pov; second half of second chapter, venti pov) also shows the contrast of the two loops more. where lumine regresses, venti grows. where venti becomes hopeful, lumine becomes hopeless. and so on, and so forth.

his pov in lumine's time loop is also important to show how much impact lumine leaves in his world. when she loves, the world loves her back. when she is detached, the story breaks apart in different ways. tighnari doesn't trust her, albedo becomes obsessive, festivals become gloomy (and come on. genshin is festival impact. when there are no archon quests, festivals are the bread and butter of this game).

the second chapter has two loops to follow, like an hourglass. the structure of the second chapter is very reminiscent of one imo. though I didn't really plan that out as I was writing; it's just something I noticed during my own read through of the draft. pretty neat how things can end up like that. I think this is what people call serendipity.

v. planting seeds and breaking walls

this part is, admittedly, probably something I could have executed better. I debated over just not doing it, but I wanted to try anyway and see if it works. I love meta bullshit in my stories.

yes, the seed istaroth plants is not really about teyvat: venti's world, but about venti and lumine themselves. about their story through the loops. in other words, the fic you read, the story you witnessed, is exactly the story istaroth planted into reality.

there's some funky implications about this. are we, the readers/author, also observers and composers? hm, yeah, we are. venti even mentions that his composition are just words on a screen.

without its protagonist and without its creator, it is nothing more than words on a screen. a story to be read, but not one that can come to life.

and when istaroth addresses the reader, she also looks beyond the screen.

she looks up, beyond the screen, and smiles. "and that will be a story worth observing."

there are other hints too. the higher dimension is also called the "fourth plane" (aka, the fourth wall). it's even a little cheeky that istaroth says, "we will bear witness to whatever story you choose." because that's exactly what is already happening. every time someone opens this fic and reads it, it is already being observed. we are already bearing witness to the story venti and lumine composed.

well, that was my intention with all of those lines anyway. I'm not sure if it was too subtle or too obvious, or if it fell flat and didn't quite land like I wanted to.

either way, I tried. I'll let the reader decide on that.

vi. ascii art?

honestly, I've thought about looking up if I can do ASCII art on AO3. but I only gave myself three days to finish this whole thing, so I decided against it.

I still ended up coding hourglasses in HTML while procrastinating on this fic lol.

fun fact: the lower half of the hourglass in the first chapter (the triangle, excluding the falling dots) add up to 256 dots. the hourglass in venti's chapter (including the neck) add up to 88 dots.

#fic: the gardener who only collects seeds #postscripts

[niccymo]

The ‘Spice of Life’✨ Legacy Challenge

Sometimes playing the sims can get a little stale, and somewhat repetitive, especially The Sims 4. I know I can get stuck playing the same stories over and over again, so I decided to create this challenge to add a little excitement and variety to my, and hopefully your, game-play!

After all, variety is the spice of life!

Gen 1: The Wild Child

You’re a sim who loves to get down, go on adventures and spend time with other sims! You can be a bit of a handful for some sims, but that’s okay! You’ve been wild since the day you were born and you wouldn’t want to be any other way. You have about a million things you want to do in your life time and you’re gonna do them all!

Aspiration: Friend of the Animals

Traits: Dance Machine, Adventurous, Outgoing

Generation rules / goals:

Join the secret agent career and get to the top of it before your sim becomes an elder

Once your sim is an elder have them start a new job, keep them on their toes!

Complete the Friend of the Animals aspiration

Master the Dance & Pet training skills throughout your sims lifetime

Have five animals in your sims house-hold at one time (these should be cats, dogs, raccoon, foxes, etc.) - you don’t always have to have five but you should at some point

Have you sim have at least 10 friends and having a falling out with one of them and become enemies

Have a best-friend that is NOT your partner / spouse

Have your sim go out at least once every weekend to either the club, the bar or somewhere else they can dance! They’re a dance machine remember!

Your sim can have as many children as you like, but keep in mind that they have a lot of animals in the house

You must have at least one child in order for them to become heir, they can be adopted or biological, it doesn’t matter!

Go on at least two family vacations, one of these must be to Mt. Komorebi

Have your sim be a very relaxed parent, no rules, no pressure to get good grades, etc. (Parenthood is needed for this but if you don’t have it that’s okay just do your best without it!) 

Gen 2: The Money Maker

Your parent was the coolest! but you always wished there was more structure in your life. You’re a perfectionist, and truth be told a little materialistic, but that doesn’t make you a bad person! You love to hangout with friends, playing video games and chatting about the latest Sci-Fi movies. From the time you were a child you knew you wanted the best things in life and were determined to work your butt off to get them! 

Aspiration: Mansion Baron

Traits: Perfectionist, Geek, Materialistic

Generation rules / goals:

Have your sim start working as a teenager to save up for their future house

Complete the Mansion Baron inspiration

Reach the max level of the Business Career in either the Investor or Management branch (although the Investor branch makes a bit more money!)

Master the video gaming skill throughout your sims lifetime

Have your sim start their own club once in their teens with ‘Play video games’ as the main activity. Keep this club going throughout your sims life and try to have a club meeting once a week 

Make your sim go to GeekCon whenever they can, once they have kids bring them along as well!

Have a hobby that can make you money - kind of like a side job. Whatever skill you choose (painting, flower arranging, etc.) master it

Once your sim completes their Mansion Baron aspiration have dinner parties once a week - Your sim is materialistic and they want to show off the nice house they’ve worked so hard for!

Once your sim becomes an elder have them retire and focus only on hobbies and relaxation (only once they’re reached the max level in their career though)

Gen 3: The Tree Hugger

You grew up in a wealthy household with pretty much everything you could have wanted. You had a great childhood and your admired your parents work ethic, although you knew that when you grew up you wanted to do something more meaningful for the world than investing. So you packed up your bags as soon as you hit young adulthood and moved to Evergreen Harbour

Aspiration: Eco Innovator

Traits: Green Fiend, Vegetarian, Good

Generation rules / goals:

Your sim should be a vegetarian as soon as they hit their teenage years

As a teen your sims should also start their own garden and begin working on their gardening skill

Your sim should complete the Eco Innovator aspiration within their lifetime

Master the Gardening skill throughout your sims lifetime

Master the Juice Fizzing skill throughout your sims lifetime

Join and reach the max level of the Civil Designer career

Your sim should live as sustainably as possible for this generation, this includes owning a bee box, having a dew collector and recycling with the home recycling machine

Have your sim marry someone as Eco-friendly as you bonus points if it’s Knox lol

Have an at home, eco friendly wedding in your sims backyard / yard. Having the wedding cake be a honey cake, get creative with it!

Adopt an animal that’s not a typical pet (raccoon, fox, etc.) your sim found this little buddy while dumpster diving and bonded instantly

Gen 4: The Undecided

You grew up with a parent and grandparent who accomplished great things; they were sims who worked hard and stuck to their guns. You have always been..well a bit different. You can’t even decide what you want for breakfast, let alone pick a career or spouse. This makes you jealous of others like your parent and grandparent who you believe have their life together.

Aspiration: You must change your sims aspiration 3 times during their life but never complete one, not even their childhood one.

Traits: Non-committal, Jealous, Erratic

Generation rules / goals: 

Join and quit scouts as a kid; get about halfway through before you quit

Have your sim join at least two jobs as a teenager. They can join and quit more if you like

Get your sim to level 5 of at least three skill during their lifetime before they quit those as well

Change your sims career multiple times, making sure they never reach the top of any career

Get your sim married, and divorced...twice. It’s up to you whether you sim ends up finding someone to stay with. However, your sim must have only have one child from all of their relationships.

Have your sim have an affair during one of their relationships. It’s up to you whether the partner finds out about this or not

Your sim must lose their relationship with the Gen 3 sim (their parent) after a big fight over Gen 4′s jealousy issue. Your sim should never speak to that parent again

Your sim must never be best friends or true lovers with anyone; they are non-committal and that means no matter how much they care for another sim they feel somewhat unsure about every relationship

Gen 5: The Vampire Groupie

Your childhood was less than ideal, although your parent loved you they had a lot of their own problems and that left you pretty lonely at times. Your solace was a particular vampire movie about a sim who falls in love with a vampire. “That could be me,” you though, “That WILL be me.” So when you become a young adult you take everything you have and leave in search of your dream life in Forgotten Hollow, the only problem with your plan is that you’re just a bit squeamish... okay a lot

Aspiration: Master Vampire

Traits: Romantic, Family Oriented, Squeamish 

Generation rules / goals: 

Your sim should watch a lot of movies as a child and teen. Of course your sim loves that particular vampire movie that definitely doesn’t rhyme with Highlight, but really they love all movies

As soon as your sim becomes a young adult move them into Forgotten Hollow

Meet and start a relationship with a vampire of your choice; you can put a sim from the gallery in your game or date Caleb Vatore, Lilith Vatore, or even Vlad Straud if you want!

I think this goes without saying but your sim should be turned into a vampire for this generation lol

Complete the Master Vampire Aspiration

You can have any career for this generation, it doesn’t matter!

Master the Vampire Lore skill throughout your sims lifetime

Master the Pipe Organ skill throughout your sims lifetime

Start a ‘Vampire Club’ with only other vampires present, you can use this club to do any kind of vampire activity - however, since you left your old life behind, these sims are your only friends

Your sim is squeamish so they personally choose not to drink other sims blood unless absolutely necessary, this means your sim must grow and sustain a garden full of plasma plants

Once your sim obtains a plasma fruit (and two garlic) they can prepare a Sunlight Reversal Cocktail if they like, that way they can go into the sun during the day; this isn’t required though

Your sim must have at least three kids. One of these children should NOT be a vampire. This will be the heir. If all of your children are born vampires you can use a mods to make them human. I recommend MC Command Center, which you can find here: https://deaderpool-mccc.com/#/releases

I also recommend this mod: https://modthesims.info/d/589300/child-vampire-manifestation-v1-9.html which basically makes it so that child vampires can perform any vampire actions, just like teens, young adults, etc.

Gen 6: The Beach Bum

Your parents are absolutely wonderful, but are weird. In fact, you’re convinced that you’re the only sane one out of your whole family. You love them but who in the right mind would want to live the life of a vampire? You knew early on that the vampire life was not for you, and thank goodness you just so happened to be the only sibling born human! I guess you can thank those recessive genes. You want to live the Beach Life, spending your days out in the sun and working to conserve the beautiful island of Sulani!

Aspiration: Beach Life

Traits: Child of the Ocean, Loves the Outdoors, Free Trait / You can pick your sims third trait!

Generation rules / goals:

Your sim must move to Sulani as a young adult and spend their whole life there

Reach the max level of the Conservationist Career

Complete the Beach Life aspiration

Befriend as least one mermaid - your sim can become a mermaid to if they want but it’s not necessary

Marry someone who already lives on Sulani as well

Have your sim live in a house on the beach at least once during your their life

Complete the sea shell collection

Spend ALOT of time outside; fish, ski-do, tan on the beach - your sim loves the outdoors and the Sulani sun, anything they can do outside they will

Keep a close relationship between your sim and their parents & siblings - even though they don’t love the vampire life they love their family

Gen 7: The Tinkerer

You’ve always been a homebody, hanging out in your house on the computer and tinkering with things in the home. Your parent was always nagging you to go outside and play as a kid. As soon as you were old enough to hold a wrench you were fixing things. You knew when you became a young adult you wanted to go to Foxbury Institute and learn to program and create robots!

Aspiration: Computer Whiz

Traits: Genius, The other two traits can be anything you choose!

Generation rules / goals:

* For this generation I ABSOLUTELY recommend this mod which shortens university. It just makes it sooo much easier to complete a degree: https://modthesims.info/d/646803/shorter-university-degrees.html *

Your sim should spend a lot of time inside as a kid, using the computer, reading books, playing video games

Have your sim complete the Whiz Kid aspiration as a child

Master the Logic skill throughout your sims lifetime

Master the Robotics skill throughout your sims lifetime

Master the Handiness skill throughout your sims lifetime

Once your sim becomes a teenager they should be the one who fixes ANYTHING broken within the household

In order for your sim to attend Foxbury Institute for a Computer Science degree your sim must have certain skills (such as computer programming, robotics, etc.) since it is a distinguished degree. You’ll need to work on these skills as a teen to have a chance to be excepted there. If you don’t feel like having your sim work on those skills as a teen your sim can attend Britechester University but they should still work on the robotics skill!

Complete the Computer Whiz aspiration

Graduate university with a degree in Computer Science

Live in a modern style house in any world

Gen 8: The Believer

Your parent has always been a technological genius, creating artificial intelligence. But you’ve always known that science wasn’t needed for there to be fantastical things in this world. No one else in your family believes your crazy ideas about alien but hey, you once heard that your great grandparents were vampires, so it could be possible! Sure you’re a little erratic but you’re determined to prove the existence of aliens, and befriend them. How will you do this? Well by becoming an iron pumping, rocket building astronaut of course!

Aspiration: Bodybuilder

Traits: Athletic, Self-Assured, You can pick your sims third trait!

Generation rules / goals:

You sim must join and reach the top of the Astronaut career

Your sim must live in Oasis Springs

Have your sim complete the Body Builder aspiration - astronauts have to be strong after all!

Master the Rocket Science skill

Your sim will unlock a rocket when they reach level 10 of their career (the rocket can either be the Apollo Rocket - unlocked though the Space Ranger branch of the astronaut career, or the Retro Rocket - unlocked through the Interstellar Smuggler branch. You can choose which rocket you want)  but honestly who wants to wait for that, so as soon as your sim gets to level 5 of their career use cheats to unlock the rocket and start building!

Once your sim has completed their rocket you must level up their Rocket Science skill to level 10 and then install the Wormhole Generator upgrade. This will allow you to travel to Sixam and meet aliens!

Your sim must befriend and marry an alien they meet on Sixam. If you don’t like that particular alien you can either come back to Sixam or open CAS and edit them, either is fine.

Have your sim have a baby with their new alien spouse. Only have ONE baby.

If your sims baby is born NOT an alien you can use cheats to make them one. MC Command Center can be used for this and is linked above for Generation 5

Gen 9: The Star of Sixam

You’re an alien and you’ve proud of it! You loved listening to your alien parent tell stories of your home world and knew that when you grew up you wanted to make your relatives on Sixam proud. The best way to do this is of course to become the most famous alien musician the Sim world has ever seen!

Aspiration: Musical Genius

Traits: Self-Assured, Perfectionist, Music Lover

Generation rules / goals: 

Your sim must NEVER wear their disguise unless absolutely necessary - they are very proud to be an alien and they don’t see any reason to hide that

As a child your sim should complete the Artistic Prodigy aspiration

Master the Violin skill throughout your sims lifetime

Master the Piano skill throughout your sims lifetime

Your can have your sim master the Singing skill throughout their lifetime if you want, but it isn’t necessary

When your sim becomes a young adult move them to San Myshuno, where their musical dreams can really take off!

Have your sim busk for money in San Myshuno at least 5 times

Have your sim reach the max level in the Musician branch of the Entertainer career

Your sim should marry or be with someone who is also musically interested - you can enter CAS and cheat this or create your sims partner

It doesn't matter how many children your sim has for this generation, but the heir should NOT be an alien - you can use MC Command Center to make them human if you need to

Gen 10: The Apprehensive Actress / Actor  AKA the Final Generation!

You grew up in a VERY artistic household, with parents who were both interested in music and one parent who made a huge career of it. You love acting and knew your parent was ecstatic when you started showing interest in acting as a teen. Unfortunately you don’t really like the idea of being famous...

Aspiration: Master Actress / Actor

Traits: Loner, Good, Creative

Generation rules / goals:

Your sim is an artistic child, however we aren’t gonna worry about completing the Artistic Prodigy aspiration as a child because we did that last generation - you can do it if you want though!

When your sim becomes a teen they should begin working on their acting skills

Your sim should reach the max level of the Acting career

Have your sim master the Acting skill

Your sim should marry someone non-famous in a private ceremony with only those sims (or family and close friends if you like) present

Your sim should maintain as good a reputation as possible - they are still a good sim, they are just a bit anti-social

Once your sim finished the acting career and has achieved the Global Superstar rank they should retire

Your sim, now retired from acting moves to one of two lots in Brindleton Bay that have NO neighbours

They should spend the rest of their life making money off of artistic projects such as knitting, painting, etc.

Have your sim leave the house only when necessary to avoid the paparazzi, and if they do go out they must wear a disguise

Your sims spouse can have any career, but they should NOT be famous in anyway

It is up to you whether you decide to have your sim have children and continue the family :)

Well we’ve come to the end of the challenge!! I just wanted to say if you decide to play this challenge or even have taken the time to read it, THANK YOU SO MUCH! It means the world to me to be apart of this sims community ❤️

If you decide to play this challenge on your tumblr pleaseee use the tags #spicechallenge or #spice of life challenge. That way I can see what you do with this challenge, that would be amazing 😊❤️

#ts4 #simblr #the sims 4 #sims 4 challenge #sims 4 #sims 4 challenges #spicechallenge #spice of life challenge #simmer #simming #gaming #sims challenge

[apompkwrites]

reader impact || first meetings: unreconciled stars

series masterlist characters: scaramouche, fischl, mona genre: fluff summary: a game has been released entitled genshin impact, consisting of otherworldly abilities relying on the basic elements of nature. the game follows the story of an interdimensional traveling twin in search of their other half. along this journey, they meet different characters that live in this world. including you. notes: i'm sorry fischl and mona's aren't that good :(( this is actually my first time writing for them but i hope you enjoy <33

scaramouche's playthrough -

oof scara

scara scara scara

this boy hates his chat and at this point they don't care.

it's not like he'll badmouth them, right?

think ludwig.

that's him.

he's a very angy boy please--

as for what he does?

much like childe he'd do a lot of pvp games.

he's not too keen on showing off his personal life.

he prefers that boundary between his viewers and himself, y'know?

he honestly doesn't even understand why his viewers like him.

he knows he's a mean person and yet here they are :/

he doesn't take requests from his viewers he just kinda plays whatever he wants.

imagine his viewers' surprise when they see him streaming genshin--

they asked why a lot.

"it seemed cool."

this man just wants to play some good ol' anime games.

his chat calls him soft and he just glares.

anyway now he's actually playing.

he's not really into mondstadt's characters they're all... okay to him.

he feels a bit better in liyue.

not because it's pretty oh no no no.

because look at all the enemies outside >:))

he'll clear the whole field don't test him.

anyway, now onto the unreconciled stars event :00

this man really doesn't like katheryne--

anyway at this point he's tasked with find fritz, which he doesn't really want to do.

he sees the dude on the ground but that's only after he sees someone standing next to him.

and then he sees someone standing next to him :0

"is the guy on the floor sleeping?"

"i believe so. i've tried everything, but he won't wake up."

he will pause to look at your outfit.

it's so complex but it's so cool!!!

his chat suspects something's up but... he'll just snap at them like he normally does.

but he'll silently admire you <3

also yOU'RE T I N Y ! !

and then paimon points out your clothes and the cameras pans up your body--

"heh... and by "this person over here," you mean me, right?"

he will choose the "those unique clothes are quite beautiful" option in a heartbeat.

he doesn't care that his chat is teasing him, he just wants you to know :))

he's kinda sad when you leave, though...

"please come back soon..."

his CHAT HAS NEVER SEEN HIM SO SOFT BEFORE

skip to a few events later when the constellation is revealed to be leonard's.

the sudden cutscene catches him off guard because he's prepared to fight someone.

"hi! sounds interesting... mind if i join you?"

he won't say anything but he will physically relax at the sight of you.

you make this man soft please--

he's lowkey angry when his character is teleported away from you :(

(name): the sixth of the eleven fatui harbingers

HYPEHYPEHYPE

YOU'RE SO COOL!

of course he doesn't say that but his chat can tell that's what he's thinking.

this man's eyes go wide when you order the fatui around.

please help he really likes you. you're so assertive and cute and cool and just AGH--

fischl's playthrough -

fischl can and will do cosplay streams.

her fans like to watch her because of the "character" she puts up for the camera.

honestly she just does this because she genuinely enjoys cosplaying and bringing characters to life.

oz is the nickname for her pet bird :))

she definitely gets a lot of trolls in her chat that make fun of her for her cosplays and "dumb" way of speaking.

in which case she'll just yell at them using her "dumb" way of speaking.

she really does care about how people see her but her chat comforts her a lot after, so she feels better after a few minutes :))

the games she plays are very fantasy based and take place in worlds that don't exist.

once she gets into a game, she'd pick her favorite character and cosplay as them everytime she streams that game.

sometimes she does sewing streams where she actually makes her own cosplay with her fans.

they like to make it with her if they have the materials :D

genshin impact was a game her fans recommended because they actually want to see fischl cosplay the characters.

they will beg her to do the cosplay creation on stream.

(they defintitely know who she'll choose to cosplay but it's fine)

when she reaches the unreconciled stars event, she's really excited to learn about the fated meteorite granting sleep upon touch.

she's ready to go around teyvat in search of an answer when...

"katheryne! vassal of the immernachtreich, do mine ears deceive me, or didst thou cry out mine holy name in earnest supplication not one moment ago?"

some of her chat is obviously confused by your speech but her long time viewers can understand some of it.

oz, who fischl had brought with her to play, seems excited to see your familiar flying to you :)

fischl is just as excited as he is!!

please you speak just like her and you're voice is so nice and it actually sounds like the developers put thought into what the speech would mean in "proper speech."

"a pleasure to meet you again, katheryne."

YOU'RE FAMILIAR IS JUST AS COOL AS YOU ARE!!

some of her viewers will beg for her to skip through your dialogue.

when she sees those comments, she will purposefully let your dialogue play out, proceed to read out that same dialogue, and respond to you as if she was actually talking to you.

not just to spite them but because it's also a lot of fun for her <3

"it would seem the gods have blessed us with meeting such a well-respected being!"

translation: she's really excited to have met you.

as soon as you spoke she decided she would cosplay as you.

she's already planning out all of the materials she'll need and how much time it would take.

if your familiar is a bird, you best bet oz will be in her photo shoots for your cosplay.

most of the time you're on screen, she'll talk to her viewers about you in her classic chuunibyou style <333

she's really sad when it's time for you to leave :(((

"... goodbye, fischl. you are a good listener. i enjoy chatting with you. to be honest, most of the other adventurers in the guild only ever talk to me when they wanna hear (familiar)'s reconnaissance reports... this little journey we had... it was a great adventure. i'm just sorry that is has to end so abruptly..."

she might cry wait--

she relates to you even more now :(

"ah! what am i doing? i totally broke form..."

you're too cute pleas--

mona's playthrough -

mona does a lot of nightly streams.

it's very rare for you to catch her streaming with daylight.

she likes to share things about astrology while sitting outside drinking something warm.

she'll do a lot of nightly gaming streams as well.

mainly calmer games that people can vibe to in the background.

she prefers to keep her streams lowkey and chill, much like the life she wants to lead.

if only she had the money to do so...

yes, mona is still struggling with money even as a streamer.

she greatly appreciates any donations her fans give to her because she practically relies on them to pay her rent and daily necessities.

of course, it's not like she's completely struggling, just enough to barely get her by.

anyway, her fans ask her about playing genshin impact, inticing her with their talk about the stars and night sky in the game.

she's the type of player to take her time in the environment and take a lot of pictures of her character at night.

she's actually really excited when she hears about this new event centering around the stars and sky :D

soon enough, she gets around to the part where she is need of an astrologist.

she's HYPED to hear there's an astrologist in the game.

"someone looking for me? who is it?"

she will squeal, please.

look at you!!!

your whole design has stars and is space-themed and you're so cute and you're voice is so soothing ! ! !

she really likes listening to you talk about astrology because your voice gets even softer than before.

that scene where you go to the cliff??

please she has that scene as her lockscreen <3

you just look so cool when you start to do your process.

you're so focused and the way they animate your process in the game is beautiful.

and then the fatui harbinger interrupts one of your meetings :00

you grab onto mona's character and teleport away in a cloud of stars and specks of your elemental vision.

she's kinda embarrassed when you scold her about getting involved with the harbinger--

but not only are you really cool and awesome, you're super strong, too!

please be sassy more she really likes how proud you sound :))

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact fluff #genshin impact fischl #genshin impact fischl x reader #genshin fischl #genshin fischl x reader #fischl x reader #genshin impact mona #genshin impact mona x reader #genshin mona #genshin mona x reader #mona x reader #genshin impact scaramouche #genshin impact scaramouche x reader #genshin scaramouche #genshin scaramouche x reader #scaramouche x reader #reader impact

[aminiatureworld]

Affection II

Characters: Childe, Ganyu, Kaeya, gn!reader

Word Count: 5,577

Warnings: None

Premise: Sometime we know something is impossible from the start. But still we walk towards it, even if we know it will hurt us. It’s only flirting, only a smile or a hug or some food. Even if nothing comes of it, there is nothing to regret. Even if it hurts.

In which the reader gives affection, expecting nothing in return.

Author’s Note: Evidently I’ve really missed writing these properly. I had such a great time writing, and I hope you guys enjoy these just as much as I did.

Also I’ve decided the version on Ao3 will now always be without bullet points, so if you prefer that format the link will be in the reblog.

Childe

You’d been floored by Childe pretty much since the day you two had met.

What had turned into the two of you meeting had started out a most unfavorable encounter. You’d gone to Lingju Pass, trying to survey some of the carvings of the old structure, and attempting to see the sort of methods used to construct such vast rocky complexes at the time. Unfortunately this goal had quickly turned into a goal of “don’t get caught”, as you’d found the Pass crawling with Fatui members. Though you weren’t nearly helpless, you’d also not come prepared for battle; and had spent most of the “fight” dodging around various blows while trying not to drop the expensive equipment that you’d borrowed from other Guild members.

Just as you’d come to the conclusion that the options were either drop everything and run or get thoroughly injured by a bunch of arrogant Snezhnayan soldiers there was a change in the air. The Fatui soldiers’ expression turned from one of glee to one of confusion, and then one of panic, as one by one a streak of blue began to throw them this way and that. As you regained focus of the terrain your realized that it wasn’t a streak at all but a person, a person who was wildly adept at sword play. Eventually the number of unconscious people had risen to five, and there was no one left but him and you.

“Need any help?”

The words might’ve been kind, had it not been for the smirk on the man’s face. Though you felt that the right answers would’ve probably been to scowl, you found you couldn’t, too wrapped up in the memory of this mysterious person darting this way and that, handling his water-made daggers with the grace of a ballet dancer.

“I’m Childe.” These words finally brought you back to the present.

“You’re a member of the Fatui.”

“I am.”

“Then why did you knock those guys out just now?”

“Boredom.”

You stared at Childe incredulously. Of course you’d heard his name, the man who, it was whispered, almost pulled Liyue into the sea. You’d formed a sort of mental picture of him completely divorced from the redhead now standing in front of you, bouncing slightly on his feet as he smiled cockily. He looked more like a rogue adventurer than one of the heads of a crime syndicate. Maybe that was why you found yourself infatuated, rather than afraid.

This infatuation only grew, fed by the encounters that you had with Childe. It seemed now you couldn’t avoid him, not that you wanted to. What had begun as a chance encounter multiplied into two, into four; soon enough you two had struck up a sort of friendship, one that baffled everyone else around you.

Of course you hadn’t lost all your sense, knowing quite well that the puppy love you were feeling could never be anything more. The way Childe talked about his work, about his duty to the Tsaritsa, made it very clear that he wouldn’t let a partner in his life or in his loyalties. And even if he changed his mind, why would he choose you? You were an adventurer sure, but you hadn’t even been able to properly defend yourself the first time the two of you met, and your oversight of that would’ve surely turned Childe away. Besides, Childe could probably make a partner out of anyone he wanted, if they were foolish enough. Why should that person be you?

Perhaps it was that knowledge that allowed you to be so free in your affection, spurred on by Childe’s own open nature. Hand holding, hugging, leaning one’s head on the other’s shoulder, it was the language of friendship that you two had adopted, and something that you greatly appreciated. There was something nice about a friendship in which one could be so open about caring about someone, without expecting things to go farther. Because you didn’t, you really didn’t. And though that might’ve been a bit painful, it was a small price to pay for Childe’s company.

“I’m going off to Mondstadt for a bit.”

“What?”

You drew away from Childe a bit to look into his face. The two of you were walking along the path towards Yaoguang Shoal, as Childe had taken a particular liking to the Starconches that lined its shores. Now he smiled awkwardly, squeezing your hand and shrugging his shoulders.

“I know, I know. There’s apparently this branch of the Fatui holed up there right now, and I’ve been asked to consult about something, though archons know what it is.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“I’m not sure, I think about two weeks? I’m not sure what exactly is going on, but the troops really must be in disarray if they need me skulking around for the next two weeks.” He let out a awkward laugh.

“I’ll miss you.” You replied, bumping your head into his shoulder and frowning. “It’s very boring without you.”

“I’m sure you’ll be perfectly capable without me.” Childe smiled, one eyebrow raised slightly. “After all, what would you do if I left someday, permanently. You’d have to find a way without me.”

“Let’s not talk about that.” You replied hurriedly, switching the conversation towards something more pleasant. Unfortunately however the words had already been said, and the damage had already been done.

It had been two weeks since Childe had left for Mondstadt, and though normally you might’ve been waiting at the city gates for his return, you found yourself on the familiar road towards Lingju. Childe’s words had been ringing in your ears for the past two weeks, and you’d found the more time passed the more you kept thinking about them.

What would you do if I left someday, permanently. Is that what Childe truly wanted? To leave? The idea made your stomach hurt, as you began once more to run all your interactions through your head, as if trying to find a flaw in the strips of memory you had of Childe. Was that what Childe truly wanted, or was it simply that he was sick of you? When he’d said “you’d have to find a way without me” did that mean he wanted to find a way without you? Perhaps you’d been too forward, too demanding. Perhaps he’d managed to realize your feelings and felt repelled by them. Had it been too much, meeting him almost everyday for some periods of time, eating lunch together and sometimes dinner. What about that time you’d invited him over to your house to play a game? Had that been too much?

You sighed, dragging yourself over the final ridge. Sitting down to take a rest you closed you eyes. You hated that your mind wandered this way, that no matter what you couldn’t help but ask yourself again and again, what had you done. What would Childe think about this sad person laying on the ground, the sad part was you couldn’t answer that question.

The sound of footsteps brought you back to the present, and you let out a suppressed groan at the figures in your line of sight.

“Don’t you guys ever get posted anywhere else?” You rolled your eyes, reaching behind your back to summon your polearm.

“You’re trespassing.” The voice that came out of the Electro Vanguard was so deep and distorted as to be hilarious.

“Lastly I checked you were neither a citizen of Liyue, nor Rex Lapis, so if anyone’s “trespassing” on public territory it’s you.” You sighed. “Oh well. Unfortunately you caught me on a day where I’m somewhat prepared.” With that you lunged towards the Hydro Legionnaire and the fight began.

Fighting when one is already frustrated is both a blessing and a curse. The fight itself was almost invigorating, the first Fatui hit the ground and with it you felt part of your worries fade away, if only for the small window of time which this fight offered. Was this why Childe fought so much? The though crossed your mind as you whirled behind the Pyro Bracer and pressed as much Electro as you dared into the back of his head, tripping him with the staff of your polearm on his way down.

Soon enough there was only you and the Electro Vanguard left. Unfortunately you were beginning to feel the other side affect of anger, that being misfocus. Being more versed in using your polearm as a sort of lightning rod your found the Vanguard much harder to deal with, more than once barely diving out of the way of the hammer he was swinging around, surprisingly light on his feet considering what the weight must be. Your anger was quickly draining, turning into something more akin to panic, and as you found yourself stumbling more and more you realized that today was really, really not your day.

The Vanguard was becoming aware of how fast you were tiring, a gravelly sort of laugh emerging from behind his mask. As you found your with you back to the slope you wondered if it was just worth it to make an escape. The Fatui swung his hammer once more, barreling towards you. Having nothing left to do you put your polearm out in front of you, hoping that your arms were strong enough not to recoil against the inevitable blow. Closing your eyes you thought of nothing, drowning in a sea of panic. If there was any coherent part of your brain it wished that you weren’t here, that you just stayed home, or swallowed you pride and gone to the gate. But it was too late now, and you were about to get hit.

However the blow never landed, instead a loud sound pierced the air. Whipping your arms open you saw the Electro Vanguard stumble, his hammer having been dropped on the ground. He was grasping towards his ankle, in which was stuck an arrow, glowing a faint aquamarine. Swearing the Fatui member glanced around, before stumbling away, dragging his weapon and his left leg behind him like dead weight.

“Some things never change, huh?”

“Childe!” You whirled towards your once again savior, face burning from embarrassment. “I took out the rest of them this time.”

“I can see that,” said Childe, surveying the area, a telltale smirk on his face, “very impressive. Although, if I may suggest, next time try to take out the Electro Vanguard first, especially since you don’t wield a weapon made for pure damage.”

“Is this turning into a teaching moment?”

“Absolutely not.” Childe laughed.

You found the sound catching, and soon a smile spread across your face as you let your polearm disappear once more. You ran up to Childe, and were about to throw you arms around his neck in a characteristic hug, when the thoughts of before came ramming back into your brain. Taking a step back you planted your arms firmly in front of you, hoping that maybe Childe hadn’t noticed what you’d been about to do.

However Childe approached you instead.

“You weren’t at the gate today.” He said coyly, lips drifting somewhere between a smirk and a frown.

“I’m sorry.” You lowered your head. “I just thought, well maybe that would be better. Since you said you might be leaving permanently and all, and since you were right when you said I’d have to figure things out without you, I don’t know, I thought maybe it’d be for the best.”

Looking up the expression on Childe’s face could only be described as one of complete disbelief. For a moment he stayed frozen in place.

“What in Teyvat do you mean I’m leaving permanently?”

“You said that! Remember… when we were going to pick sea shells you said that you were leaving.” You stepped back, cheeks flushed. “Or maybe you were just sort of sick of me or something.”

“Why would you ever think that?” Childe walked up to you, enveloping one of the hands at your side in his own and bringing it up towards him.

“I… I don’t know,” you replied, feeling very confused and very foolish, “I thought maybe that I was being too affectionate, or too clingy. I mean I know you don’t like me or anything like that. And I thought maybe that I was crossing the boundaries of our friendship.”

“I don’t like you? I’ve liked you since almost the first day we’ve met!”

“Not like that! I mean, like like, you know? As in… well, as in I… I love you.” You let your voice peter out.

“I love you too!” Childe let out. Shaking his head he smiled widely. “That’s what I’m trying to say. I’ve liked you since almost the first time we’ve met. I wasn’t trying to shoo you away.”

“What?” Your brain was short circuiting. Something had gone terribly wrong. You’d definitely been knocked out at some point, and was now hallucinating. There was no way Childe liked you, loved you. He could love anyone, why would he love you.

Childe stepped closer, moving so that your foreheads were almost pressed together.

“May I?” He whispered, voice almost shy. You nodded, a just as small “yes” escaping your lips before Childe cut off your ability to say anything more. It was a short kiss, sweet and chaste, and yet you felt everything around you suddenly come into sharp, almost lucid clarity. You weren’t dreaming. This was happening. This was Childe and he liked you. Childe like you. He liked you, he really liked you.

“Why?” You let out, when the two of you separated. Thankfully Childe remained close to you, being without his presence now would’ve been quite lonely.

“Why what?”

“Why me? I’m not, I don’t know, I can’t even knock out an Electro Vanguard without help.”

Childe let out a laugh, lovely as music.

“I don’t know,” he replied, eyes sparkling, “because you’re you. And I like you.”

And all of a sudden you found that that was enough.

 Ganyu

The days that you accompanied Ganyu on her various errands were the ones in which you were most aware that you were on a level utterly below her.

Of course humans could never really measure up to adepti, after all they made the world and humans simply lived in it. Still in terms of humans, well you weren’t exactly pushing exceptional. If Ganyu represented all that was exceptional about the adepti, well then you represented the average human who didn’t like their job and overall went about their day as unnoticeable as an ant on the road.

Of course Ganyu never acted in a way that would betray the imbalance between the two of you. Indeed Ganyu was nothing if not kind, sweet, and utterly without a semblance of hierarchy. It was one of the things that you adored about her, the straightforward honesty she carried with her, and the way that she appeared not to judge living beings on a scale, even if that was the right of those who were higher and didn’t have to worry about said scale.

“Can you carry this for me?” Ganyu’s voice was soft and somewhat hesitant. You smiled widely, knowing that Ganyu simply had difficulty asking other people for help.

“Of course I can!” Scooping up the package that was stretched out towards you, you saw Ganyu let out a short sigh of relief.

“Thank you.”

“Of course! I’m always happy to help you. Where are we taking this?”

“Over to the funeral parlor. It seems that there are some tiles in here that are being used for a specific ritual. Hu Tao said that the family wanted it, I hope she doesn’t actually mean she pushed them towards it.” Ganyu let out a soft sigh. “She once suggested advertising for cremation. Somehow I feel that won’t exactly be welcomed by the people.”

“No one likes to be reminded of their own mortality. Ah, but Hu Tao is doing her best, and if these tiles end up being insulators, I suppose we can’t do much about it. I’ll make sure not to drop them anyways. Getting on Hu Tao’s bad side feels like asking for a prank.”

“You’re probably right.” Ganyu chuckled.

You blushed slightly, loving the way her laugh sounded, soft and open. You knew Ganyu struggled sometimes; she admitted to you herself that it was very difficult to live an existence defined by liminality. Was she an adeptus? Was she a human? She was neither, and yet both would claim her and call her other. In understanding this Ganyu had retreated into herself. Perhaps that’s why her laugh meant so much.

As you strolled down the docks an angry voice cut through the air.

“Qixing!”

Both of you turning around you saw Bolai, heaving slightly, teetering his way towards you. His face was stormy, and for a moment you wondered if someone had stolen something. His words when he caught up however revealed a very different motivation.

“I demand justice!”

“What for?” Ganyu asked, voice deadly serious once more.

“What for? For what Huixin said in regards to me! For the Liyue Qixing complying with disgusting rumors as to the ways in which I conduct my business and my finances. As to the way that you promised to help me then turned on me!”

“I see…” Ganyu sighed as you wracked your brain, trying to remember what she’d told you about the time that she and the traveler ran around trying to detangle various examples of tax fraud. “Have you considered putting up a formal complaint?” Ganyu meanwhile was still trying to keep professional, something that you admired her for.

“How am I supposed to trust the Qixing after what happened? No! I demand compensation now!”

“Sir, I’m sure you’re quite upset, but there’s no need to act in such a way. If you wish to clear your name, then we can meet in private and review the testimony and documents we received. If not, then I’m afraid there is nothing I can do for you. I’m very sorry.”

Ganyu turned back towards the direction in which you two had been previously walking. Evidently too agitated to think properly Bolai let out a strangled cry.

“We’re not finished yet!” Reaching out, he seemed to be attempting to turn Ganyu around by the shoulder. Having been standing there unthinking you now moved to block the action, knowing that Bolai didn’t really mean anything by it, but not trusting the man who looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. Bolai’s hand instead smacked into the box in your hands, which slipped from your grip and fell to the floor in a great crash.

Time seemed to slow down somewhat after this, as Bolai stepped backwards and Ganyu turned around, face one of evident horror at the scene. You felt your face begin to burn as you looked at the unassuming box, which now looked a little bit the worse for wear.

“What…” Ganyu trailed off. Bolai waved his hands about in a panicked sort of way.

“That wasn’t me! That wasn’t my fault! It was this person they… I don’t know what they were thinking, getting in the way like that. How idiotic! This is nothing but a mess, a disgrace!”

Normally you wouldn’t pay Bolai’s words any mind, but now they seemed to pierce right through, as you realized all the trouble you’d just caused Ganyu. Glancing over towards her you found you could neither look her in the eyes nor stay where you were.

“I-I’m sorry!” You stammered. Moving to pick up the box you found your hand hesitating. Fearing that you’d just make things worse you pulled yourself and dashed in the opposite direction, speeding up the docks and towards the outskirts of the city.

Normally the view from Mount Tianheng was one that stole your breath away. Today however the mountain seemed completely uninteresting, especially when compared to the thoughts racing in your head.

How had you gotten here, how had you messed up so much? Ganyu didn’t need your posturing, your attempt to help. She was an adeptus for Morax’s sake! And who were you? Someone who couldn’t even carry a box from Point A to Point B. And now you’d just caused more trouble for Ganyu, when she already had so much to do.

“I’m such a failure.” You groaned into your palms.

“You aren’t!” You lifted your head at the soft exclamation, already knowing who the voice belonged to. Ganyu sidled up to the ledge of the mountain silently, fidgeting with her hands. “May I sit next to you?”

“Of course.” You replied, grateful that Ganyu was even talking to you. Smiling softly the Qixing Emissary let out a soft sigh.

“I love the view of the city from here.” She spoke softly, eyes on the horizon.

“I do too.”

“There’s something so lovely about watching everyone go about their day, isn’t there? To see the people work in harmony to bring prosperity and peace to the city of Liyue. To see how everyone continues on the legacy of Rex Lapis.”

“That’s a lot to see.” You joked, still feeling a little uncomfortable, as if Ganyu might in a minute get up and leave.

“But can’t you see it?” Ganyu’s voice was earnest and her eyes shined. “It’s wonderful how people do it, how they continue to make this city thrive, to keep the contracts of Morax alive and within living memory.”

“Perhaps it’s just harder for humans to judge it themselves?”

“Perhaps.” Ganyu’s expression shifted into something, almost shy, not quite melancholic. “Just like how you’re finding it difficult to forgive yourself.”

“I’m so sorry Ganyu. I don’t know what I was thinking! I just… I just, wasn’t thinking.”

“You were trying to be kind.” Ganyu replied, something almost akin to blush coating her cheeks. “And I have to thank you for that.”

“But I just caused more trouble…”

“You were trying to be kind,” Ganyu repeated, “like I said, you’re finding it difficult to forgive yourself. But you have to. You didn’t truly do anything that needs forgiveness.”

“But I was doing it for completely selfish reasons!” You blurted out, embarrassment and doubt turning into the words you never wanted to utter. “It’s because I like you, and not just because I was trying to be nice. But because, because maybe I wanted to do something for you, and then maybe I’d be good enough maybe.” Realizing how odd that just sounded you turned your head away. For a moment your words hung in the air, and the longer the silence continued the longer you thought about how utterly selfish you were.

“Thank you.” There was a smile in Ganyu’s voice, and as you turned your head once more you could see it plastered across her face.

“For what?”

“For telling me you like me.”

“But… but isn’t it just burdening you? After all I’m not good enough for you.”

“You are!” Ganyu’s voice was firm. “You’re absolutely good enough for me. And what you did, you call it selfishness, but I don’t understand that. Being kind to people you like isn’t selfish, even if you like them. Because this time you were genuinely helping me. Besides, if that’s selfish then I’ve also been terribly selfish.”

“How?”

“By asking you to accompany me everywhere. Because maybe, maybe I like you too.”

For a moment you wondered if you hadn’t accidentally slipped off the cliff, so weightless did you feel. A bit lightheaded you leaned forward.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Ganyu smiled nervously. Reaching out she took your hand in hers.

The two of you watched the sun set over the city of contracts mostly in silence. Every once in a while there would be a spurt of conversation, but mostly there was nothing but the sounds of the birds and the cicadas, and the pounding of two hearts, hearts both a bit ragged from the events of the day.

For what a day it had been. And how wonderfully it had ended.

 Kaeya

If you could use anything as justification for your crush on Kaeya, he did flirt with you. Unfortunately he also flirted with everyone else in Mondstadt.

“How’s my favorite knight of Favonius?” Kaeya’s cocky voice was clear as a bell, and for a moment your heart flipped as the handsome knight came into view, smile as lovely as it had been the day before.

“Blessed by the presence of our beloved cavalry captain.” You replied in a singsong voice.

The first time Kaeya had used that line on you it felt like your soul had left your body and your heart had run a marathon. Unfortunately you’d heard him use practically the same line on Rosaria the next day, his favorite mysterious nun, robbing you of your fantasy in which Kaeya had any interest for you.

Your banter however was not without genuine feeling. You were utterly infatuated with Kaeya, having fallen for the handsome knight about two weeks into your own training. Originally having been an adventurer you’d joined the knights relatively recently after a series of Abyss attacks on the City of Freedom. As such Kaeya had by then already occupied an exalted position among the ranks, and the hours of being trained, teased, and flirted at by the mysterious cavalry captain had been enough to throw you head over heels.

Not that you’d ever expect things to develop more than they already had. Having a crush on the flirtiest man in Mondstadt did mean that you were praised every once in a while, but it also meant that the praise meant little more than empty words, and that there was always someone else who had heard them. Not that you begrudged those people, not knowing them or not caring. It was Kaeya’s right to be as he was, flirty and irreverent; and you’d never ask him to change that part of himself, or any other.

To do so would be to change the person you’d grown to love.

You trotted up the steps of the Favonius headquarters, opening the door with a slight “oof” before stepping into the cool building. Today was going to be a quiet sort of day for the knights, and you’d been assigned to pick up a few books from Jean’s office to be recorded by Lisa before being sent off to the Church. Going to open the door you paused at the voices inside.

“– saying it’s nothing.”

“And I’m saying that it’s becoming a distraction. I don’t want to control your actions Kaeya, but this pining has been slowing down your work, and we need you as one of our most crucial members to be on top of things.”

“I’m not pining.”

“What do you mean you aren’t pining,” Jean let out a snort, “as if it’s not obvious to everyone around you. Look, I’m not saying you have to break things off –”

“Good, because they haven’t even begun.”

“Then maybe that’s part of your problem. Maybe if you told them you liked them then you’d be able to get back on track.”

“I’m doing my best.”

“You aren’t doing anything. And that’s the problem.”

You didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, having made your way over to the library as to make sure that you were get caught, and to cool your head in regards to what you’d just heard.

So Kaeya liked someone. You shouldn’t’ve really been surprised. Kaeya was a wonderful person; intelligent, good with a weapon, polite, handsome. What person wouldn’t fall in love with him? And when everyone’s in love with you, well, it was unsurprising that eventually Kaeya would find someone who he loved back just as much. Then, why did it hurt?

You fought the urge to wrack your brain for the people Kaeya spoke most about, finding the act beneath you. Still, your mind wandered. Perhaps it was Rosaria after all, or maybe it was only because you remembered her. Perhaps it was the sword smith who came twice monthly to check up on the weaponry. Or perhaps it was the tailor, who could sew anything with the utmost care. Or perhaps it was a musician, or an archivist, or another knight. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Your head swam and you found your eyes stinging. Now wasn’t the time to cry, not when you needed to honor your appointment with Jean, not when you were somewhere where any one of your colleagues might discover you. Not where Kaeya might walk in any minute and realize what you’d done. This thought finally brought you out of the spiral of your mind. Making sure that any tears that might’ve escaped were wiped away you took a deep breath, steadying yourself before you walked out of the library and into Jean’s office.

Evidently you must’ve looked much worse than you thought, for Jean took one look at you and ordered you home, grumbling about how much trouble there had been recently. You thanked her half-heartedly before making your way out of the Headquarters, heart heavy as lead. At least work would’ve been a welcome distraction.

Arriving home you saw what Jean meant. Though you weren’t particularly teary, your face had taken on an ashen pallor that made it look like you’d either just gotten a shock, fainted, or had suddenly contracted consumption. Letting out a sigh you collapsed on the couch of your apartment. You knew you should probably do something, should eat or work on some extra work or something. But right now you didn’t want to do any of that. You just wanted to forget.

The knock that sounded at your door was extremely unwelcome, and you bit back bitter words as you made your way over to the door. Any protest however was silenced at the sight of Kaeya, hair slightly tussled, expression opaque, on your doorstep.

“Kaeya.” You meant to sound more peppy, but the action felt too tiring. “What’re you doing here?”

“Making sure that you’re alright. Jean told me that you looked unwell, and we can’t have our best knight getting sick, now can we?”

“I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

You went to turn around, when Kaeya reached over and place his hand on your forehead. Freezing you let out a sound somewhere between a strangled cry and a shriek. Kaeya didn’t react to this however, or the red quickly spreading across the bridge of your nose. Instead he let out a sigh, before smiling, something which also caused your heart to seize up.

“Not running a fever. I’m glad. Do you know what’s wrong by any chance?”

“Yes. No! I mean, I think, I, I just need rest.”

“You can tell me if something’s wrong. I might not be able to help, but I can try. Consider it the duty of the Cavalry Captain. Have to keep up appearances, even among the ranks.”

“Really Kaeya, I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine.” Kaeya’s eye seemed to pierce through your soul. “You seem… upset, exhausted. Please, let me help.”

“I can’t…” Your voice cracked and you turned your head away, mortified by your inability to control yourself.

“What do you mean you can’t?” Kaeya’s voice was filled with sudden worry. “Is someone doing something to you?”

“No! No one is. I just can’t because, because it’d be selfish.”

“What do you mean?” Kaeya’s tone had become utterly perplexed, and for a moment you felt the crazy urge to laugh. As if it wasn’t painfully obvious why you couldn’t. This was so tiring. You were so tired.

“Because it’s not fair of me to take away your happiness just because of my own feelings.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I heard you talking to Jean,” you explain, face burning, “she said that you liked someone. Or maybe you did, I don’t remember. Anyways you like someone and it’s not fair of that to hurt me, I have no right to your feelings. But, but it hurts, it really, really hurts.”

The silence when you finished was miserable. You weren’t even looking up at Kaeya, not wanting to see the destruction of a friendship you valued so much.

“Have you considered that the person I’m so infatuated with might be you?”

When you looked up you caught a wave of emotions, similar in strength to the ones currently going through you, plastered over Kaeya’s face. Happiness, sadness, regret, relief; all these things danced in his eyes. In that moment you loved him even more for it, for knowing that he understood, and that he too couldn’t hide the affects of having someone you loved so close and yet so far.

Saying nothing you walked over and slowly stretched your hand out. Kaeya took the hand in his, and you reveled in the small intimacy, in his calloused fingers enveloping yours.

“I’m not good enough.” You pointed out, voice soft.

“You aren’t the one who decides who I love.” Kaeya replied, voice firm. “To me there is no one else worthy in the world. Only you. And I hope that I can be the same for you, that I can be worthy.”

“Yes. Oh yes.”

For Kaeya was more than simply worthy. He was the one you loved the most, as well as the one who’d now made you the happiest person you could ever dream of.

#requested #genshin impact #genshin impact fanfiction #childe #ganyu #kaeya #childe x reader #ganyu x reader #kaeya x reader #scenarios #my writing

[jaskiersvalley]

(Season 2 spoilers)

So I've started watching S2 and I want your opinion. They really make Eskel show up for one episode, be a jerk and then die. After your writing I felt attached to him and thought this was very unfair. They didn't even really give him scars!

I will pop this under a cut because, as you say, spoilers for Season 2! It is also a bit of a ramble, oops.

Okay, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about this, the show, and Eskel as a whole. After watching the show my kneejerk reaction honestly was that Episode 2 just didn't happen. But I've done a fair bit of reflecting, reading and picking through things and have come to several conclusions.

1. The show hasn't taken Eskel away from the fandom. We're still here, still loving Goat Dad and his polite, succubus fucking, fisstech taking ways. If we're being realistic, the show was never going to give us fanon Eskel. But what can it do for us? Bring more people to fanon. There wasn't enough of Eskel in the show for there to be an exceptional amount of content for him but there was enough to maybe pique interest for some viewers. They'll come to fanon for more Eskel content, maybe hoping for a fix-it and they'll find us here, welcoming them with loving arms and showing them our interpretation.

2. He was a dick in the episode where he turns up, which is not at all the side we see of him (what little there is) in the books or the games. But let's try to put it into perspective. He's just come off the Path, got home. On his way up encounters a weird Leshy. When he tells his family, Vesemir chides him for fighting it for 6 hours without killing it. So is Eskel going to then admit he also got injured? Given that he's already in a bad mood, hurting and tired, he's not going to want to risk ridicule. But the flashback in Ep. 3 shows much more the Eskel that fanon wanted to see. Which leads me onto the next point.

3. The show is action adventure with a focus on the family bond between Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri. It has very limited space and can't include everything from the sprawling lore of the Witcher world. Because there's a huge amount that they could pick and choose from, not just the books and the games but the Gwent lore, the Table Top RPG. This is before we consider that the show creators want to make their own mark and have their own ideas and theories explored. As amazing as it would have been to see more of life at Kaer Morhen, the bond between witchers, there just wasn't time. There could have probably been a whole series dedicated to Geralt, Lambert, Eskel, Vesemir and Coen's relationships. But that's not the focus of the show, they're merely supporting characters there to further the story of the main characters.

4. As for the scars...well. Again, it's all interpretation. The books and the games didn't match in terms of scars. I can only imagine that such extensive prosthetics would have been uncomfortable to wear and work in (just think of Anya Chalotra's problems with her pre-transformation Yennefer look. It had some serious consequences for the little I know.). They also had a different actor than planned, Covid restrictions to contend with, and probably wanted to have their own interpretation of the character. They turned Lambert ginger with long, luscious hair yet I've not seen so much kickback against his casting.

5. Basil Eidenbenz did a fantastic job. Poor guy already had fandom rallying against him from the day he was announced as the replacement Eskel. Too young. Too skinny. Too pretty. Frankly, if that was me, I'd be devastated to walk into something with already so much hate against me. But he did the show, in Ep. 3 he gave Eskel some real warmth, gave a flash of what fanon decided Eskel's personality is more like. He worked with what he had, what the script and the directing allowed him. And kudos to the guy. His portrayal of Eskel might not be what the fandom wanted, but he gave an excellent performance in his own right.

So what now? Fandom feels let down by canon. That's nothing new. We're going to do what fandom does best and write/draw/create all the fix-its. We'll continue with our own characterisations, make something that makes us happy. Canon is nothing more than a suggestions, we can pick and choose our own. And in The Witcher fandom? We have a whole feast to choose from. So don't let the show's portrayal bring you down. Use it, celebrate the bits you liked from the show and politely ignore the rest. Am I going to continue writing Eskel? You bet. Will it be show canon Eskel? Probably not. But that does not mean I can't cherry pick aspects from the various canons and mash them into something of my own. I can only hope everyone else can do the same and focus on the bits that bring them joy rather than what they disagreed with.

#the sock speaks #eskel #the witcher #the witcher netflix #the witcher season 2 #the witcher s2

[ray-ray-writings]

Tightrope-Dream

This is a self indulgent Dream x gn!reader in the dreamsmp that I was going to post a while ago but got to insecure about it to post. But now that I haven’t posted in a few days and I don’t know when I’ll get to write again, I decided to say f*** it and post it. So I hope you enjoy hahaha. 

Based off of this song. Song lyrics are in bold. 

Masterlist here

Y/N and Dream have been together for what feels like forever. But when Dream says that he cares about nothing anymore, Y/N takes a moment to evaluate the tightrope walk they call their relationship. 

Y/N’s POV

“I don’t give a fuck, okay?” I heard Dream spit from behind an obsidian wall. “I do not give a fuck about Spirit. I don’t give a fuck about anything actually! All I care about is your discs. I care MORE about your discs than you do. That’s the only thing I care about on the server...” His words hit me like a brick. Dream didn’t care about anything. That means he doesn’t care about me… That can’t be true, right? We’ve been together since the beginning… Before the beginning! I was by his side when we made this server. I fought beside him in every single war, no matter how in the wrong I thought he was… When I would tell him what I thought he would simply brush me off. We used to make every decision together but lately it seems that I was just another obstacle in his way. Or maybe just another pawn in his game. 

I came out of my daze to hear the end of Dream’s speech, maybe this part he’ll fix his wording… “Don’t try and threaten me. I don’t care. I have lost all care for anything on the server…” Well there goes that hope. I couldn’t help the sobs that fell from my mouth at his words. He doesn’t care for anything on the server… I’m on the server. George, Sapnap, Punz, Bad, all his friends were on the server. He doesn’t care about us. 

Suddenly it was very quiet, I knew they had heard me. I took this opportunity to step out from behind the wall I was hiding behind. All eyes softened at the sight of me, Dream’s eyes softening the most. “Y/N” he tried, taking a few steps forward but I held out a hand to stop him, “Don’t. You don’t care about anything on this server… Remember?” I hissed, marching away from him, not even turning around when he called my name once more. 

I was at a lost as to where to go. I couldn’t go home. Dream would be there soon enough. I couldn’t go to the community house, too many memories. I knew he would find me at a friend’s house. Besides I needed to be alone. I needed to be somewhere where I could look down and think about everything. Then it hit me and I couldn’t stop the laugh that made it past the tears. “The reverse coaster.” 

When Tommy first built this contraption, everyone, myself included, called him crazy. Who would want to climb all the way up to the top of a track just to go down it again. Now I couldn’t help but be thankful that he had made this. The journey to the top took fifteen minutes, but it was worth it. I could see everything from here. It was beautiful. Walking the thin line while looking at the ground really made me think of a tightrope… A perfect analogy for my relationship with Dream right now. Dream…

Some people long for a life, simple and planned

Tied with a ribbon

Some people won't sail the sea 'cause they're safer on land, to follow what's written

But I'd follow you to the great unknown

Off to a world we call our own

I was with Dream when he began the server. He had gotten tired living under someone else’s rule and wanted a place we could call our own. He convinced me… although it didn’t take much convincing, I would follow him anywhere. So one night we packed up what little we could carry and we left. We left into the unknown, not knowing where we were going. But we knew everything would be alright as long as we had each other.

Hand in my hand and we promised to never let go

We're walking a tightrope 

High in the sky. We can see the whole world down below.

We're walking a tightrope 

Never sure, never know how far we could fall

But it's all an adventure that comes with a breathtaking view

Walking a tightrope, with you

Through everything. I had always been Dream and I. For the longest time, you would never find one without the other. Our hands always seemed to interlocked. I guess it wasn’t until the first L’Manberg war when things started pulling us apart. We would stand on the obsidian walls that Dream and Sapnap had built around L’Manberg, just observing. Dream would constantly be making battle plans in his head and I was just there for moral support, I guess. We spent countless hours just watching the ‘hot dog stand’ waiting for someone to come out and make a move. 

There were some nights where the scene was almost breathtaking. The walls were pretty high up, we could see a lot of the server. Everything was lit up beautifully. Building shined brightly and everything was warm and welcoming. It was perfect. I would try and get Dream to dance with me. The first few times he would agree and we would slow dance around the walls. But as battle drew nearer and nearer, we danced less and less until it stopped all together. 

Mountains and valleys, and all that will come in between. Desert and ocean.

You pulled me in and together we're lost in a dream. Always in motion.

So I risk it all just to be with you

And I risk it all for this life we choose

Dream and I had fights. What couple didn’t? Dream would do something stupid and I would grill him about it but we always made up. We never went to bed angry. I never would let him leave home on adventure without a hug and a kiss goodbye. No matter how far he would travel, I always knew he would come home to me and that we loved each other. Being with Dream was…  well a dream. We loved each other endlessly. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him and I knew the feeling was mutual. 

I would risk everything to be with him. Leaving the safety of one server to begin another? No problem. Fight in a war where he was on the ‘bad side’? Anything for my baby. I would give my life if it meant Dream lived. I used to know the feeling was mutual… 

Hand in my hand and you promised to never let go

We're walking a tightrope

High in the sky. We can see the whole world down below

We're walking a tightrope

Never sure, will you catch me if I should fall?

I never had to worry. I knew that Dream was right there beside me. Always one step ahead. Filling in cracks and gaps in Prime Path so I wouldn’t trip and fall. Checking in on my mental health so I wouldn’t fall into a panic attack or into a depression. I always knew he would catch me, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I could trust him to be there for me. Now I’m not so sure. 

Well, it's all an adventure

That comes with a breathtaking view

Walking a tightrope

With you

Loving Dream. Being with Dream. Giving everything to Dream was and always has been an adventure. Many times it took me to new heights. Let me see things I had never seen before, leaving me breathless. I was balancing on a tightrope and he was right behind me, making sure I was okay, that I was safe. He would make sure I knew how much he cared for me. How much he loved me. 

These thoughts just swirled in my head. I sat down, my legs dangling over the cobblestone as I stared at the ground. What do I do from here? Dream says he doesn’t care about me anymore. For as long as I could remember, my whole life had revolved around Dream. Doing whatever he needed, being who he needed me to be. Given, he did the same thing for me. Where do I go from here? 

“Y/N!” A voice shouted from below, breaking me from my concentration. My eyes scanned the ground to find that familiar green hoodie. “What are you doing up there?” I rolled my eyes in annoyance, “Why do you care?” I shouted back. There was a moment of silence before he responded, “Come down! I want to talk,” Dream called. I watched as he placed a water bucket and motioned for me to jump down. I hesitated for a moment… Did I trust him? There’s only one way to find out. 

I took a deep breath before allowing myself to fall from the top of the reverse coaster. I couldn’t help but let out a giggle as the water cradled me securing me a safe landing. I quickly realized why I had jumped down in the first place and stood up to face Dream, looking down at the ground. “I’m here… What do you want?” I questioned harshly. “I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to apologize and explain myself,” He answered, trying to get me to look at him. I refused and remained silent, motioning for him to go on. 

“I didn’t mean what I said. Of course I didn’t. I care about you so much Y/N. Tommy just gets me so worked up sometimes and I just speak without thinking. I love you and care for you. You know that!” Dream exclaimed, reaching out to try and grab my hands. I quickly pulled them away and snapped my eyes to his, “Do I?” I barked, causing Dream to flinch at my tone. “Do I know that you love me? That you care for me? Do I? Because lately it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it,” I snapped, all my feelings radiating off of me. “We used to do everything together. Make every decision together. We would walk the tightrope together, but lately it just feels like you’ve let me hung out to dry.” 

Dream gaped at me, “I didn’t know you felt this way,” He murmured, moving toward me once more. And once again, I moved and scoffed, “That’s because you’ve been too caught up in your big scheme Dream. You’ve been using me as another pawn.” Dream began to protest but I held up a finger to cut him off, “Don’t even try to deny it. You come to me and ask me for something and once I do it, you toss me aside, only coming back when you need something. And I’m sick of it, Dream.” 

Dream was silent as he thought about everything. “You’re right,” He spoke after a few moments of silence. “You are absolutely right. I’ve been horrible to you. I’ve been horrible to everyone… I’m so sorry.” Tears began to leak from Dream’s face as he spoke. “Please, give me another chance. I promise, I’ll do better. I’ll be better. I’ll be the man that you want, the one you need. Please.” He begged, reaching out to grab my hands. This time I let him grab a hold of them and hang on.

 “It’s going to take some time. The damage you’ve done it too great to fix with a simple apology. You’re going to have to work hard to prove to me that you’ve changed,” I explained, looking deep into Dream’s beautiful green eyes. He nodded quickly, “I will. As long as it takes.” Dream leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. “I love you so much Y/N” He murmured into my ear. “I love you too Dream. Always have, always will.”

Hope you enjoyed. If so be sure to leave a like, maybe even a reply or a reblog. Like I said I’m pretty insecure about this piece so I would love to know what you think. 

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