#this game has consumed me entirely holy shit

[ouroborosorder]

Hi! As someone newer to ak, I would actually really love a “rawest Ak lines” list if u don’t mind sharing!

Okay so if I *did* run this, I would have to crowdsource some, because I haven't read everything, and I don't always remember to update my document when I do read shit. So my list is extremely biased, extremely incomplete, and very all over the fucking place. Do not take this as a comprehensive list, but rather just some of my favorites:

Patriot: "Rhodes Island. I will advance." A classic. A legend. A salsa that everyone at the table can enjoy.

Rosmontis: "You didn't want to die alone. You want to be remembered by me, and live on within me. But no. I came here just to watch you die. And now, I've forgotten you."

Eblana: "You'll remember me, shapeshifter. Your long and refractory memory will have chapters that belong to me." (not the official translation but I'm using this one because it goes SOOOO much harder)

Andoain: "I would rather be the torch that burns by the feet of those who are freezing to death. Even if its flame will soon be extinguished."

In game boss description text for Kristen Wright: Egotist. Betrayer. Seeker. Loner. Pioneer. Goodnight, Terra.

and of course, Woodrow: "May this bullet forgive what my heart cannot."

and then of course, Stultifera Navis, which has so many it was basically a contest to see who got the coolest line before the event ended. I have literally 8 lines in my notes document, my favorites being:

Irene: "You have not sinned in any way. The Holy Scriptures do not even mention your existence. Right now it is only I, as an Iberian, who is handing down this verdict. The scourge of the seas must be wiped out. You have no right to live. In the name of Iberia."

Carmen: “You, and your pathetic ideas, will be buried in Iberia. Before your last breath, be sure to pass on our thunderous roar to your kin. ‘The sea faces an ancient enemy called civilization, one you stand no chance of overcoming.'”

Captain Alfonso: “Remember this well, Irene! Return to land and sing the praises of Alfonso's feats! The last monster that Alfonso slew... was himself!”

Ulpianus: “If you care about the word of God, then so be it. The Seaborn are not gods, nor are their forefathers. I have seen how your gods die, their screams coursing through the currents, their flesh and blood smeared across abyssal ravines.”

I think for the sake of the hypothetical bracket, I'd probably want to limit it to one line per event before the entire thing is consumed entirely by just Stultifera Navis

#arknights

[aeviann]

Tranquil prints

#Have I mentioned that I like the colour green yet #this game has consumed me entirely holy shit #I have spent 6+ hours rendering leaves it was fun #it really was actually looking at all this green gave me so much serotonin #I cannot stop drawing this man #the legend of zelda #legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #totk #zelda totk #loz #tloz #link #link totk

[mikareo]

⌗ SNOWDROP ₊ ˖ ་. nagi seishiro x fem reader (5.4k)

⊹ ⠀⠀ it's the end of the world and he's possibly the most unprepared person alive…perhaps he can rely on the pretty girl with perfect aim who just so happened to save his life at the very last second. he’s never been in love but maybe this love could last…so long as the both of you stay alive.

contains; resident evil inspired, badass agent!reader, helpless civilian!nagi, zombie apocalypse, guns, knives, blood, gore, swearing, angst, fluffy flirting, love at first sight, major character death, reo cameo!!!!, cannibalism (zombies) author's note; this fic destroyed my sanity, but i hope u like it! there are parts that are so unserious asjkl just trust me that it's a good read and pt2 is gonna be fucking crazy

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ videogame au milestone collab masterlist !

This can’t be happening. There’s no way this is actually fucking happening right now. 

He’s sprinting at full speed, his laces are barely tied, and the smoke in the air is surely clogging his lungs into a blackened pulp of nothingness. To be quite frank, Nagi would rather have those poisoned lungs than discover whatever the hell happened to his neighbors down the hall…because damn they look like they’re in some rough shape. With their sunken eyes, flaking skin, and very obvious urge to suddenly turn to cannibalism, that’s not really his vibe…but that’s a falling telephone pole! Holy shit that’s a falling telephone pole coming straight his way in 3…2…1. JUMP!

Whew, that was a close one. Good thing he’s tall!

The shift in humanity didn’t exactly happen overnight. It was actually just twenty minutes ago when his peace was so rudely interrupted. There he was, snuggled up in his gaming chair with a fresh bag of Cool Ranch Doritos opened and ready to meet his belly, when he finally beat the last level of his new favorite game; only to discover that those screams of terror and fear…yea those weren’t coming from his PC and his living room window is now a pile of ash. Nagi doesn’t think he’s ever seen so much red and yellow in his life, all of it becoming one big blur of flames that he somehow jumped through and landed on the street below— thankfully he lives on the ground floor, otherwise his body would join his couch in a pile of broken limbs. Damn, this is all such a hassle.

No one would be able to guess what it was that caused this chaos…okay, actually it’s not too out of this world; just a commercial jet falling from the sky with a monstrous thing (??) crawling out of the window onto the streets of Tokyo, whilst an oddly green gas dilutes the air.

Yeah, not too crazy— but just crazy enough to make even Nagi Seishiro, laziest man on earth, leave the comfort of his homely apartment to find his neighborhood in complete and utter chaos. He even saw his delivery man devouring the convenience store owner that always gives him an extra bonus off his nightly midnight snack. Man, he loved that guy. That’s a sight that’ll make him shudder for years to come; assuming he can stay alive for the next however many hours and days this newfound apocalypse is going to take.

Nagi thinks it’s been nearly an hour since he started running and he didn’t even know he had this much stamina in him. Maybe he’s secretly a superhuman or another one of the monsters the city has been consumed by— or perhaps his adrenaline rush is nearly infinite since he’s never utilized it in his entire life. He’s not sure of the logistics. He failed high school biology…and chemistry…and physics. There’s a reason why he turned to gaming and shied away from college. This thrill and rush isn’t meant for him. He’s a couch potato that wants to do nothing but rot and enjoy the satisfying ding Twitch gives him whenever he receives a new sub. His generation needs instant gratification…and right now? Well, he’s in desperate need of some water. 

Hesitantly, Nagi rounds into the glass doors of the nearest and safest looking building he happens to see— which is luckily a convenience store similar to the one near his apartment. He’s more than surprised when the automatic doors open in a pinch and he’s able to enter with no difficulty. The store is somehow in little disarray, with its grocery items on the shelves in their rightful spots and few sparse bags of chips laying on the tile floor. However, what is in disarray is the pharmacy section. There are drugstore pills scattered everywhere. He can’t even tell what kind of medications were being scavenged in a clear panic for medical amenities, and highly doubts that whoever was searching for supplies was able to get any with the state the back of the store is in. The font on the labels is so small that Nagi, the man who stares at a screen all day, can’t decipher what they say; and he’s assuming that whoever was in here is long dead and gone. But then again…

…he’s never been the kind of guy who’s always right.

“I come in peace!” His voice is two octaves higher than it normally is. If this were a choir audition, he’d absolutely ace it. “I swear I just came for some water! Please don’t kill me, zombie, please!”

Both of his eyes are shut whilst he awaits his inevitable demise, assuming that the unknown presence in the room likely has an appetite for human organs. There were so many things he wanted to do with his life…like ride a hot air balloon? Actually, that would be really hot if he were that close to the sun. Surf in the Caribbean? Ew, he could get bit by a crab. Get a girlfriend? He can’t complain about that one, that would be very very nice. 

Oh no, he’s already getting eaten…he can practically hear her imaginary laughter already.

“Really? Those are your last words?”

Zombies can talk?

Nagi fearfully inches one eye open to see the most gorgeous person he thinks he’s seen in his entire life. Sure, you look a little disheveled— with your soaked hair and dirt-crusted skin— but to him, you look like something out of his imagination. The female protagonist that he could only dream about campaigning with in a first-person-shooter game, and would later search for a worthy poster to stick on his wall. If love at first sight is real, then this is definitely it. The only issue? Your barrel is pointing straight at his face.

“You’re going to shoot me?” He exclaims, scrambling to back up but ultimately tripping on his own laces and landing on his ass. “Ah shit, that hurts.”

Elegantly, you rush to his side. “You have injuries?” With eyes scanning over every inch of his body, there’s genuine concern dripping from your tongue like honey. Your voice is like a melody, oh man. Nagi thinks he’s a goner— not because he could be eaten by zombies, but because he feels like he’d jump in front of a moving bus to protect you. Pfft, and some protection he’s doing, embarrassing himself like this…

“Nope, nothing’s hurt…” he mumbles, sitting up with an attempted nonchalant look on his face. “...only my ego.”

A small smile reveals itself before him and your eyes crinkle as you let out a little laugh, and instantly he’s almost more obsessed with you. It’s as if you’re some higher being that he was blessed to see on his final day on earth, with golden rays radiating from your skin and big irises that he could drown in. Perhaps if it weren’t the end of the world, the two of you could’ve walked to this store together— holding hands and speaking softly about your shared interests and passions— and he could make you laugh a million times and more…now that he’s really thinking about it, you’re the first girl he’s made laugh probably ever and he really wishes there wasn’t a menacing zombie apocalypse getting in the way of his beautiful fantasy. 

“I’m assuming you’re alone?” You stand up, looking down at him. 

Alone as in single or…

“You don’t have any family that you escaped with?”

…okay not alone as in single. Got it.

“It’s just me,” Nagi stands to his feet and is loving your shocked reaction to his towering height. “My family’s overseas right now, so I think they’re alright. I mean, I hope they’re alright. I don’t have any service to reach them, right now. My phone is down.”

You nod, reaching in your bag for something he can’t quite see. What he can see, though, is the massive shotgun strapped to your back and three large cartridges hanging from your belt— somehow you’re able to carry all that and four grenades, two handguns, and six rolls of bandages in that pack of yours, which you lay out for him so lovingly on the floor. 

“Take what you need.” Oh hell, what has he gotten himself into?

As he backs up cautiously, realization dawns upon your face. “You’ve never done this before have you?” 

“Is living through a zombie apocalypse a common experience?” His mouth is agape. “Yeah, sorry…can’t say this isn’t the first time for me.”

A sigh slips from your lips and you gather your things, packing everything into your bag except for a standard handgun. Nagi can feel his heartbeat picking up as you take three steps closer to him. One. Two. Three. He wishes you’d chosen to take a fourth— that way you’d be nose to nose, he’d get to see your beauty up close, and then memorize the curves and features of your face— which he’d surely never forget as he’d think about them morning, night, and day. He’d love to fantasize about you for hours but you have other plans, dropping said standard handgun into his palms. 

“Just aim for the head, okay?” 

Um. No. Not okay. 

“I don’t really shoot real guns…” he rambles, attempting to get rid of the deadly weapon you’ve so casually given him. “I’m more of a lover, y’know? Talk things out instead of shooting things in between their eyes? I like digital zombies! Yeah, those guys are chill…love ‘em so much…please take this away from me.”

You shake your head, already on your way out of the door. “Nope, you’re coming with me.”

“Why?” If this were a video game, there’d be a massive exclamation point flashing above his head, along with a grave that he could crawl into instead of joining you on this suicide mission. Being six feet under sounds pretty nice right about now…but he’s sure that the look you’re giving him is more deadly than any threat outside. “I don’t think I’m going to be much help to you.”

“Nagi, is it?” You clarify, to which he nods. “There are only two choices right now, and I know we just met but I’d rather you live than die. You’re tall. Your height is going to give you a range advantage when we’re out there, and I can already tell that you have great spatial awareness…not many people would’ve noticed me in the shadows. You know this area far better than I do, and sure, you’ve never held a gun before, but you’ve got to fight to live.”

As your voice continues in a soft-spoken tone, he’s mesmerized. “I want you to live, and I’m going to make sure you do.”

He can feel himself nodding along to your words— his heart getting lighter by the second, perhaps out of adrenaline but he’s going to believe it’s love. He needs something to look forward to when this is all over, if this is ever over, and that something is the image of you and him on a date. With you looking stunning in your favorite outfit and him hopefully looking better than he does right now…clear skies with the cicadas shushing themselves so he doesn’t miss a single thing you say…enough money in his bank account to cover anything and everything you wish for…and the biggest bouquet of your favorite flowers that he can find. What are your favorite flowers?

“Can I ask you something before I say yes?” Nagi’s voice is sweet, seemingly comforting you as your shoulders drop from their automated offensive stance. You look a little curious, likely assuming that he’s going to ask you some tips on how to shoot a gun— which he probably should if he’s being honest with himself, but that’s an issue that isn’t as important as his current curiosity. “Do you have a favorite flower?” 

With teeth shining at him, he’s blinded by the overwhelming beauty you send his way and for the second time, he makes you laugh. 

“My favorite flower? You’re so strange.” Overcome with a fit of giggles, he thinks that this is your first time laughing at something a man said as well. “Why do you need to know that? Are you asking me out or something?”

“I am.” He states bluntly and your cheeks flush red. 

There’s a minute of silence between the two of you and each second is more excruciating than the last. With a heavy clock ticking in his ear, telling him that he’s made a fool of himself as the hand inches more and more to the left; he’s counting down his probable rejection as he’s just shot his shot in the middle of the end of the world. What a stupid decision. He knows his timing could be better— could be a lot better actually— and there’s a part of him that regrets even attempting…but none of that matters, because you’re smiling.

Maybe he makes you just as nervous as you make him…

“Okay Nagi,” you grin and adjust the shotgun strap across your chest. “If we both survive this, I promise I’ll go out with you…but I have some high expectations. I want the most expensive flower arrangement money can buy.” 

“And what kind of flowers are you wishing for, gorgeous?” His voice is a sexy whisper, and Nagi didn’t even know he could be so seductive.

You jokingly roll your eyes at the pet name and toss him one of your inactive grenades, which he catches with ease, urging him to follow you into the chaos— but not before you give him the answer he so desperately desires.

“Snowdrops.”

There are two things that Nagi has realized in the past thirty minutes. 

1.) He’s a lot more athletic than he thought he was. 

Running for a half an hour straight is something that he never imagined himself doing— especially considering that he’s never stepped one foot into a gym in his entire life. What he originally thought to be clumsiness, turns out to be raw strength untouched. You were right to assume that his lengthy limbs would do him some justice in the fight for his life, and he’s thankful for his towering height as he’s blocked falling debris from smacking you atop the head nearly five times now; though, he did miss a flying sneaker that happened to nail you straight in the nose. He’s trying his best, give him a break. 

2.) You might be a figment of his imagination. 

Sure, this idea is likely false as he definitely felt your weight when you were sent flying from a stray hand grenade and landed on top of him, but you just seem so perfect. Getting to know you has been a dream come to life— though making conversation while running for his life isn’t the easiest feat, he’s managing. Some of the things you’ve told him do seem to be made up, though. For instance, you were the culprit behind the plane crash and while he’d love to picture a sunsetting sky with the two of you floating in the breeze, you’re not going to be piloting that jet. However, he has to give you a break because he’s never flown anything other than pixelated aircrafts, especially aircrafts that contain a deadly monster oozing toxic gas that turns people into zombies. Yeah, he couldn’t quite believe that either.

“On your left!” The sound of your voice snaps him back into focus and he realizes there are four zombified citizens barreling your way. “I could use some help here!”

You definitely don’t need his help. For God’s sake you have a shotgun the size of your leg that’s already mowed down three of them and Nagi’s just barely getting used to the sound of the bang. So far he’s pretty much been useless if not for letting you know what’s coming up in the distance, and also being the absolute last resort solution— which is rare, but oh shit it’s happening right now! You’re out of shells! How exactly does he fire this thing again?

Shakily, he attempts to point his handgun in the direction of the lone zombie bounding towards you. “Deep breaths, Nagi! Focus and aim!” Your words of encouragement are appreciated, but ultimately useless as he desperately starts stray shooting. 

“Fucking aim!” You’re losing your patience for him so fast, to which he tries his best to calm down and breathe.

In and out.

His heart rate begins to slow.

Breathe and concentrate. 

His eyes become unclouded by his anxiety, and his vision clears. 

Lock on.

He has a mark on the target. 

With his pistol’s aim assist shining against the zombie’s forehead, he confidently fires a single bullet. It soars through the air, squealing in its flight, and he lets out a sigh of relief…a sigh that he exhaled far too early.

Aw shit, he missed. 

You grunt, bracing yourself against his bullet that ricochets off of the nearby telephone pole and grazes your right arm. He has a clear view of the scarlet blood dripping down your elbow and onto the pavement, and his heart feels heavy. He’s so fucking useless that he’s injuring you. Nagi doesn’t think it’s even possible to be worse at flirting than him; he can’t imagine that there are many guys who are accidentally shooting the girl they like, yet here he is. 

Thankfully, you being the badass agent you are, you’ve managed to reload your eleven shells of ammo in the time it took for him to fire one bullet— and you easily dissolve the zombie to bits and pieces. 

“Your aim can use a little work.” You snort, brushing your fingers against the small wound.

He rips the sleeve of his t-shirt off and attempts to wrap it around your arm. This is what you’re supposed to do, right? The only training he’s had in the medical field is from that one surgeon simulator game he played in middle school, and to be completely honest, it was a pretty good game! However, he’s definitely doing something wrong because you place your hand over his and show him how to properly treat an open wound. Normally, Nagi would be embarrassed that he’s failing so miserably right now— but honestly, the only thing on his mind is how this is the first time you’ve held his hand. He can’t tell if there are butterflies in his stomach or if the smell of blood is triggering vomit. Hopefully the former.

It’s no surprise that your perceptive self notices his focus on your intertwined hands, to which you take the lead and insist on pushing forward. “As romantic as this is, we should find some shelter before we get eaten in the midst of making out.” 

Oh?

“You want to make out with me?” 

Oof that slap hurt. His priorities clearly don’t align with yours.

“Okay, okay.” Nagi holds his hands up in surrender before you can smack his chest for a second time, and he’s finally able to notice your surroundings. Since when was the Mikage Buildingright behind you? Hm…the imminent fear of death must have distracted him. “My best friend’s family owns this tower here. I promise it’s safe.”

Your gaze narrows at the wall of glass windows that are seemingly spotless. There isn’t a single crack, faulty line, or zombie-sized hole that’s visible to the naked eye and he feels a little swell of pride for Reo’s family. Yeah, that’s right! My best friend’s parent’s architects are great at making buildings! It finally seems like he’s had his first good idea of the night, and Nagi couldn’t be more proud. Progress is progress (even if he shot you in the process)! 

“It looks good.” You nod in approval and begin cautiously making your way towards the doors.

While following closely behind, he watches your back and ensures that there’s no one on your trail; which isn’t difficult in the slightest. Most of the civilians have died by now and you’ve already cleared every undead in the area…without his help. He doesn’t know how he managed to be so lucky that he ended up with you, but he’s grateful for every second— and now that you’re finally in his familiar territory, he can finally show you what he’s worth. 

“There’s an elevator up these steps.” Nagi leads you up the grand staircase, remembering how he lazily trotted down it yesterday after Reo tried, once again, to convince him to join his football club. “I think it’ll work, I know they have emergency systems and everything.”

“I don’t know, Nagi…” your voice trails off, something amiss about it. “I just have a weird feeling about this place.”

“I promise Reo’s family’s going to take care of us, they’re the best.” He deflects your concerns, trusting that his friend will pull through and have some crazy solution to save the world. There’s never been a time where he couldn't count on Reo and as soon as you reach the top of these steps, you’ll agree. The text he sent out asking for help is almost delivered, just a few more seconds and that blue line will slide all the way to the right and Reo will be right down the elevator as soon as possible. 3…2…1…sent! There! You’ll both be saved!

But if Reo’s on the top floor in his room…why did his ringtone ding just meters away?

There’s a corpse laying in front of the elevator doors, mangled and bruised. How did Nagi not notice it before? Was he too distracted thinking of his closest and only friend he’s ever had? No way. The security team must have destroyed all of the zombies in the building already, he’s sure Reo and the others are fine— but why does that body look so familiar?

No.

It can’t be him. 

Three steps away. 

There’s got to be some kind of mistake here. A prank right?

Two steps away. 

He can’t be dead. His best friend can’t be dead!

One. 

“No…” With his voice trembling, he stands over his best friend’s body. Reo’s violet hair is drenched in blood, seemingly resembling the color of a plum rather than the typical lavender hue. If it were a normal day, Nagi would laugh at the awful color— telling his partner in crime that the shade didn’t suit him in the slightest and Reo would laugh in annoyance, aiming a ball straight for the taller boy’s head…but this isn’t a normal day. This is the end of the world; and that beautiful lavender flower that Nagi associated with his teammate is wilting. It’s dying. It’s dead along with the heartbeat within it. Reo is dead. 

“Nagi. I need you to step back slowly.” He spins to see you with your barrel aimed at Reo’s corpse, but he can’t seem to move. It’s almost as if he’s been stunned, frozen in place with frostbite cementing his legs to the granite floors, and mouth encased in ice. He’s so overwhelmed that he can’t even open his mouth to give you a warning that there’s something moving behind you. Why can’t he speak? He needs to tell you! However, right when his teeth quiet their jitter, you’re tackled to the ground with a loud pummel. 

Immediately, gunshots ring out in the grand hall. You’re firing in every direction in an attempt to blast off your opponent, but this zombie is particularly agile and you don’t have much room to move with your large shotgun…looking back in retrospect, giving Nagi your only handgun wasn’t the greatest idea.

“C’mon!” Repeatedly, you call out to him, but he remains paralyzed in fear. “Stop being useless!”

He watches as you struggle to wrestle off the infected woman, grunting and groaning with every punch you deal to its face. The skin on her cheeks is almost a greyish shade, discolored and decaying with a potent smell that burns his nostrils. It’s hard to tell who’s who under the blanket of shadows she’s trapped you under, but occasionally he catches a glimpse of golden eyes that tell him the zombie is still alive. 

Somehow, with your almost supernatural raw strength, you’re able to hook your thighs around the zombie’s neck— pinning it down to the pearly floors and trapping it beneath your weight. It claws and cries out, desperately trying to escape your grasp, and Nagi almost feels bad for it. Just a few hours ago, this woman had a life. A real life that she likely looked forward to living every day; and now she’s nothing but a brainless carnivore with cannibalistic intentions. She could’ve been a mother. There could be a little boy out there missing her and waiting for her to come home, tell him that he’s safe, and that everything is going to be alright. When was the last time Nagi talked to his own mother? Why does he deserve to live and this woman doesn’t? Why is he so special that he was saved, while the rest of Tokyo was left to rot? 

It isn’t fair. 

None of it is fair.

He doesn’t deserve to live. He doesn’t deserve to be here. 

He’s taken his life for granted from the moment he learned to walk. Why should you be wasting your time trying to get him to safety when he’s nothing more than absolutely useless? He needs to help.

He needs to be brave…

…but he misses his chance once more. 

Letting out a wailing scream, you muster up enough energy to crush the woman’s head between your thighs, and Nagi is splattered with blood and guts. He doesn’t know how you’re so strong— it’s almost eerie in a way— but he’s more concerned with the state of your well-being. The look of exhaustion in your eyes acts as a glaring sun against his icy posture, and his feet are thawed from the floor, rushing towards you in mere seconds. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he kneels on the ground before you and cups your face closely, “Hey— hey, don’t close your eyes. I’m right here. Please stay awake.” Nagi doesn’t think his voice has ever been so gentle nor has he ever felt this kind of worry for a girl before. Sure, he hasn’t known you for long, but he knows he can’t go on without you. You’re a team and a team sticks together. You can’t die right here! He’s not going to allow that!— but before he can lift you up like the knight in shining armour he wishes he could be, there’s a faint rustling behind him…a familiar rustling. Nagi knows that sound. He knows those movements. He’s heard them a million times and he’d be able to recognize them even in the midst of Shibuya Crossing in the busy hours. 

Where did Reo’s body go?

Perhaps it dissolved or maybe it was kicked aside in the midst of your fight. 

That has to be it, right? Where else could he be?

Nagi’s confusion is understandable. He’s thinking rationally given the circumstances and his heartbeat is somewhat steady. The mass of his body hovers over yours in a protective stance, like a dragon guarding a princess, and for once he appears to be confident. However, that confidence has been set aflame. He can feel his blood racing, burning through his veins in fear and distress, and he wishes he could simply rip his vitals from his skin to destroy the wretched emotions. The sight before him is something out of a horror movie…a horror movie where Nagi is the main character. 

“Oh fuck.” 

Reo leaps out of the shadows before Nagi can even react. 

There’s a blur of hands and feet, hitting and kicking at each other, and the snow haired boy never knew he was this agile. Reo is clearly doing his best to hit Nagi’s vital arteries; to which he’s blocking each attack with his forearms. This is chaos. He doesn't even have a second to think for himself and consider the possibility of blasting Reo’s head off with his handgun. He can’t do that…this is his best friend! 

As Nagi’s leg lines up to knock him off his feet, Reo lunges down and grabs a hold of it. In a panic, he attempts to shake his friend off— wiggling his leg up and down whilst reaching for his combat knife in his back pocket— and slices the skin in between Reo’s forearm and bicep…which is ultimately ineffective. Oh, shit he just got angrier! Growling, zombie-fied Reo clasps his hands around Nagi’s waist, lifting him off the ground with ease and throwing him into the elevator doors. The sound of his body slamming against the metal slab rings out, echoing in the grand foyer and deafening Nagi’s left ear. His breathing is heavy and he feels like he can’t get a single ounce of air in his lungs. Everything seems to be blurry, foggy with mist covering his irises as he attempts to see what’s right in front of him. 

A carnivorous Reo…

…and an unconscious you.

It’s clear to him what’s going on. There are two outcomes to this horrific situation and whatever decision Nagi makes is going to impact the rest of his life. 

1.) Let you go and join the afterlife with his best friend. 

2.) Save you and never see his best friend again. 

His heart is at war within himself. One side fighting for Reo, the boy he’s known for so long. The boy he’s laughed and cried with. The boy who knows everything about him. The boy who believed in him when no one else did…until you came along. 

Just the thought of seeing your lifeless eyes, bloodied body, and severed limbs flips a switch inside him— and Nagi finally comes to realize what’s happening. This isn’t Reo. This shell of a man with a monstrous hunger isn’t his best friend. Reo is a ghost now. He doesn’t exist anymore and now his body is being possessed by the undead, or whatever zombies are. He can miss his friend all he wants, but that doesn’t change the fact that the thing creeping towards you is nothing but a stranger who knows all of Nagi’s secrets. 

It’s time for him to fight to live. 

As he swiftly stands and tackles Reo to the floor, a wave of memories flash before Nagi’s eyes. 

The moment he first heard Reo’s voice. It was light and friendly. He had used a tone that Nagi hadn’t ever heard before, and although he had no interest in playing soccer, he still wanted to impress the popular boy— not because he wanted a higher status or a girlfriend, but because he knew this stranger needed a friend…and he really needed a friend, too. 

His palms grip Reo’s throat, ripping him off of your body.

The first time Reo laughed at something he said. It wasn’t intended to be funny, but the plum-haired boy couldn’t help but burst into a fit of giggles and Nagi found himself laughing as well. Sitting in the school courtyard, side-by-side with crumbling onigiri falling from their mouths, there’s no doubt that they looked like two elementary schoolers finding humor in something obscurely immature— but despite that, it’s one of his fondest memories. 

Reo struggles against Nagi’s weight, pinned to the floor with nowhere to run.

When he’d first shown him his concerningly large collection of video games, Reo hadn’t batted an eye. In fact, the very next day, Nagi received a friend request from him. Which seemed like a small act at the time, until he found out that Reo had gone to the tech store and purchased an entire PC set up just so he could be the Player 2 to Nagi’s Player 1. They were partners in both the real and virtual world— an unstoppable pair that won more tournaments as time went on— and Nagi will never clean out his xbox inventory filled with their trophies. 

His finger grazes the trigger.

This is it. 

No more memories.

It’s time to say goodbye.

In movies, when the protagonist has to kill their loved one, a single tear rolls down their cheek. 

For Nagi, his face drowns in his cries. 

“I’m sorry.” 

He’s gone.

“I love you.”

Reo’s body dissolves into ash…

…then dust…

…then nothing. 

“I’m so sorry.”

PART TWO COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE (i’m a slow writer pls forgive me)

⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⊹₊｡ reblogs are greatly appreciated! ˚₊⊹

#give it a chance i beg #୧ ‧₊˚ 🎐 ⋅ my writing #i.e. snowdrop #nagi seishiro #seishiro nagi #bluelock #blue lock #bllk #bllk x reader #bllk x you #bllk fluff #nagi x reader #nagi x you #nagi x y/n #nagi seishiro x reader #nagi seishiro x you #nagi ff #nagi fanfiction #nagi angst #nagi fanfic #nagi hcs #nagi hc #nagi blurb #nagi seishiro angst #nagi seishiro fluff #nagi seishiro fanfiction #nagi seishiro ff #nagi saishiro fanfic #seishiro nagi x reader #seishiro nagi x you

[camryn-haitani]

Hello everything is fine? If requests are still open can I request headcanon (barou, rin and bachira: separate) falling in love with the female reader who also plays football? Thank you in advance.

AH YES OFCCC

all requests are appreciated and this is my first one ever so I thank you a million times<3

BlueLock Boys falling in love with another football player

Rin Itoshi, Barou Shoei, and Bachira Meguru (separate) x football player reader

the title is pretty self explanatory so yeah<3

TW: cursing, sae slander, biting in Rins(not sexually or violently, just in a playing way), alcohol mention in barou's(none is consumed),

all characters are aged up and adults

these are going to be very long bc of the backstory of how y'all meet. so please bear with me. they may be ooc and I apologize. these brackets [ ] are little notes from me, just so y'all know

lowercase intended

Rin Itoshi

Rin got forced to go to a women's football game because Isagi's best friend is on the team (you). Isagi physically dragged rin through security, in the concession stand line, and into their seats. Rin didn't even know who he was rooting for.

"hey dip shit." Rin asked. "what's up man?" he answered, not looking at rin, waiting for you to come out to the field. "who's team are we rooting for exactly?" he said with his monotone voice. "(whatever team you choose). they wear (whatever color) and (whatever color)." Isagi said. Rin only nodded and waited for the game to start.

he got startled when Isagi immediately stood up and started screaming your name when you came out on the field. Rin didn't even bother and only looked up at the jumbotron. you had your resting bitch face that weirdly attracted him to you. not romantically, but you definitely intrigued him. he put his phone down and started paying attention to the game, well he payed attention to you. you were the striker for your team so he was definitely paying attention to you.

Rins eyes were trained on your figure the entire game. he cheered (not as loud as Isagi did) when you scored a goal, he internally celebrated whenever you took back the ball, and he definitely payed attention when you came on the screen.

after the game was over, your team had won so Isagi excitedly dragged Rin to where you and your team was back at the locker room. you gave him access to the locker room since he's your bestie.

"y/n!! congratulations!!!" he let go of Rin and tackled you in a suffocating hug. "omg hi isa." you look over to his friend. "who's this?" you pointed to rin. your eyes widen when you realize something. you pulled Isagi off of you and ran over to rin.

you grab his shoulders and shake him. "oh my god oh my god oh my god. you're rin itoshi! you're literally sae's brother, I know y'all hate each other but holy shit! I'm besties with your brother but I know you're the better brother. and I'm rambling on and on because I'm nervous because I'm literally obsessed with you and your plays on the field. I've studied how you play and I just have to say youre absolutely amazing. this is actually a dream come true. I'm so ha-" you get cut off by Isagi. "oh my god y/n, shut up!" he pulls you away from rin.

"no it's ok, I surprisingly enjoyed that." Rin looks confused. "I'm sorry, when I meet people I look up to, I get super nervous and I can't stop saying what's on my mind. just like I'm doing right now. I'm so so sorry, I've looked up to you since the beginning of my career. and I ju-" "y/n! you're doing it again" Isagi interrupts.

"you... you look up to me?" Rin asks. you nod aggressively. "also sorry for shaking you." you apologize. Rin motions his hands for you to give him your phone. your eyes widen and your mouth drops. you start to mouth words but no sounds come out. you nod before running to get your phone from your bag.

"wow Rin you got yourself a fan." Isagi wraps his arm around rins shoulder. "did you know about this?" he asks. "maybe I did.... maybe I didn't" Isagi looks at rin. "it's also why I wanted to bring you to one of her games. she wasn't kidding about studying your plays. she's stayed up countless nights looking at your strategies and plays. she has pages and pages of her and your plays combined" he says.

Rin feels proud of himself for some reason. you, of all people, are a huge fan of him. he didn't think he was anything special. but when he hears you say those things to him, he felt more confident in himself. he internally smiled to himself.

he sees you run back to him and he pulls out his phone. "holy fuck, wait till I brag to sae about this. I'm sooooo gonna make fun of him for this." you were so nervous you absolutely could not contain your excitement. "uhm brb, imma go run around the field for a few minutes. haha...." you sprint off to the field while Isagi follows after you.

Rin soon follows Isagi after putting your phone in his pocket so it won't get lost. he can faintly hear you yell, "I did it! I win in life!" with your arms up in the air. Rin saw you run up back to him at full speed and he braced for impact. you jumped in his arms while he caught you and held his face in your hands. "you are my inspiration for this career and I'll never be able to thank you enough." you quietly tell him. Rin slightly softens when he hears your words.

you get down and he gives you back your phone. "y/n we have to go but I'll see you later tonight right?" Isagi yells. "yes! I'll make your room." you say back. you see Rin and Isagi leave the locker room and you open your phone to see rins contact

Rin(the obviously better brother✌️)

you smiled and hugged your phone.

time skip

you and Rin have talked a lot since y'all first met. like every day. good morning and good night texts, training texts, 3am texts, and all around everything texts. Isagi teases you both because of it, but neither of y'all care. Rin enjoys your company and you enjoy his, what's so wrong with that?

one thing

he has caught major feelings for you. he even changed your name in his phone to have a heart next to it. and it's the "<3" heart too. he's down bad. he's come to Isagi multiple times asking what you like, don't like, your favorite restaurant, snacks, movies and TV shows, e v e r y t h i n g.

he wanted to make sure he wouldn't upset you by saying the wrong thing or hanging out at a place that you don't like. he constantly pestered Isagi to make sure he wouldn't fuck it up.

Rin wanted to see you again (even though y'all hung out yesterday). surprisingly enough, he's never stayed the night at your house. so you took it into your own hands and texted him.

you: hey rinnie rin rinnnnn

rinnie rinnie :3: yes?

you: I have come to realize that you've never stayed the night at my place. sooooooooooo

rinnie rinnie :3: lemme guess.

rinnie rinnie :3: you want me to stay the night?

you: [LOUDLY CORRECT BUZZER NOISE]

rinnie rinnie :3: I'll be over in 20

you: YAY ILL BE WAITING

you put down your phone and cleaned up a bit, even though Rin said he didn't care if your house is clean or not, he's there for you and not your house.

you called Isagi and told him all the details.

you: "isagiiiiiii I'm so nervous... Rin staying the night tonight."

Isagi: "ok.... and?"

you: "HES NEVER STAYED THE NIGHT BEFORE."

Isagi: "woah there, calm down. I know you're like in love with him in more ways than one, but pookie calm down. just.... be yourself."

you: "wow thanks for that cringe shit. that helps nothing!"

you heard the door bell ring and you get all excited but nervous at the same time.

you: "he's here! I'll tell you what happens when he leaves. bye isaaaa-" you hang up the phone

you throw your phone on the couch and open the door. rin has his backpack on with his stuff. 'hes so cute.' you say to yourself. "am I just gonna stay outside while you stare at me or are you gonna let me in?" he laughs a bit. "oh shit, yeah come in." you move out of the way

he sets his stuff down and plops onto your couch, stomach first. you flop on top of his back. he can easily push you off but chooses not to.

"whatcha wanna watch? or are you hungry? i can door dash?" you spurt out all the options. "I'm ok for now, but thank you. we can watch attack on titan if you want." he suggests. "season 3?" you ask excitingly [this is my favorite season, I watch it all the time :D] "always" he answers. he pushes you off his back and you land in the floor.

before he got to your house, you moved your coffee table and set down a few blankets and pillows. so you sat between his legs on the floor while he's on the couch. you wrap your arms around his legs and pull them closer to you.

"ow! you bitch!" he laughs. you bit his leg. not hard enough to cause damage, but enough to hurt. he pulled his legs up to sit criss cross. you pick yourself up and flop in top of him, going limp. "get off of me, you're not a lap dog." he smiles. "nah it's comfy here." you respond.

he pushes you off yet again and you land on the floor. you place your chin on his legs and look up at him. his gaze at you softens as he stares into your eyes. this bolt of confidence runs through him and he kisses your forehead. he stands up and goes to your kitchen. your mouth wide open as you follow him.

"what was that?!" you ask

"what was what?" he innocently says

"you know damn well what that was."

"oh you mean this?" he turns around and kisses you again but on your lips. his hands on each side of your face and your arms around his neck. "I like this" you say in between kisses. "I'm glad you do." "hey rin?" you pull back. "hm?" "i love you." "i love you too."

Barou Shoei

barou and Raichi coincidentally won tickets to the women's football match this weekend and so they decided to go together cause why not. they get there and wait for the game to start. they introduced all the players and they start the match.

of course your team won cause your teammates are bad bitches. and wow, another coincidence, the tickets included a meet and greet with the team. barou and raichi ask staff members where the meet and greet was because they don't know where the hell to go. they follow the directions and find the others waiting for the team to come out. they stand in the back of the line and wait.

"hey man, uhm I'm actually a huge fan on y/n's so this is actually a big deal for me. so I apologize if I get nervous or freak out..." raichi admits. "nah man youre cool. I don't even know anyone on the team so you can help me. i honestly don't care, I just came to see their strategies." barou stuffs his hands in his pockets and looks around.

your team comes out and sits at the tables for the meeting. the line moves slowly and Raichi gets more jittery and shaky as he gets closer to you. "dude calm down, it's not like youre meeting the president of the United States." barou says. "dude shut up! she's amazing, she's set records, man!" raichi shoots back. barou just rolls his eyes and continues to wait.

they finally get to your table and you flash them a smile. "hi guys, it's nice to meet y'all." you hold out your hand for them to shake. raichi nervously takes your hand and shakes it. barou keeps his hands in his pockets. "aren't you... Barou Shoei?" you point your sharpie at him, "and your Jingo Raichi, correct?" you point your sharpie at Raichi. raichi's eyes widen in shock. "you.... know who we are?!" he yells. "yeah! i remember y'all from BlueLock! y'all were amazing." you compliment. "he's the fangirl here," Barou points to Raichi, "he's been freaking out ever since we got in line. going on and on about how your plays are so cool and your record setting skills." "Barou!!" he slaps his arm. "it's ok, I appreciate it." you look around in case anyone is looking as you lean in. "I'll give both of y'all my number in case y'all have any questions." you wink at them.

you write your number down on an autograph sheet and give each of them one. "dude....." raichi never taking his eyes off of the paper. "hey man, nice job. you got her numberrrrr" Barou teases him. "so did you!" he yells. "come on man, let's go home." barous doesn't want to admit it, but he had a fun time.

time skip

barou gets home and actually debates on whether to texts you. he's got nothing better to do so why not.

you: hey

y/n(that football player): oh hi :)

you: I'm bored

y/n(that football player): I'm actually surprised you texted

you: whys that

y/n(that football player): idk thought you wouldn't text me. I heard you didn't know who I was lol

you: yeah I had no idea until fanboy said something

y/n(that football player): I figured, you didn't seem that intrigued when we met. soooo, since you're bored, whatcha wanna do?

you: ion know that's why I texted you.

y/n(that football player): idea timeeeee. everyday, we have to ask each other one question and the other has to answer.

you: wtv sure

you: favorite food

y/n(that football player): (your favorite food), wby??

you: (whatever you think fits him)

y/n(that football player): oooh cool

y/n(that football player): I have training tomorrow so imma have to go to bed. text you tomorrow, goodnight:p

you: same, goodnight

time skip

the texting went on for months. he's asked you multiple times to help him train and of course you helped him, and Raichi too. sometimes all three of y'all have practice together. raichi has asked you hundreds of questions and you've answered all of them of course.

barou has taken a certain liking to you. he doesn't mind when you text him outta no where or when y'all hang out outside of practice.

y/n❤️: shoeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

you: yes y/n?

y/n❤️: whatcha doinnnnnn

you: absolutely nothing, you?

y/n❤️: good, I'm coming over

you: you have no idea where I live dumbass

y/n❤️: then gimme your address >:(

you: fine (address)

y/n❤️: be there in a fewwww

he started panicking. what if his house isn't clean enough? what if you don't like his house? what if his house smells weird? all the questions running through his head while he's picking up the tiniest of clutter around his home. he doesn't know why he's doing it but he's worried about what you think... of.. him...

he drops everything in his arms. "shit" he realizes. "I like.. no, fuck! I'm in love with her. what? no! yes? but how? I mean, I get excited when she texts, I get sad when she loses her games, I feel comfort when we hang out, but that doesn't mean I lover her." he stands still for a few seconds. "fuck" he sighs. "I do love her..." he picks his stuff back up and continues to clean.

after he's done, he hears a car pull up. his heart pounds in his ears and his hands gets shaky. he hears the car turn off and the door slams shut. with ever step he hears, his heart pounds in his head.

he shoots up and opens the door before you have a chance to knock. your hand was halfway up to knock but he opened the door. "hi Shoei!" he moves out of the way to let you in. you set your keys down on the counter and take off your hoodie. you sit nervously in one of the chairs and wait for him to say something.

"uhm are you hungry?... or thirsty?" he asks. "water please." you respond. his body softens when he hears her voice. he walks to the kitchen and gets her drink. he hears her phone ring and looks at her. "oh it's Raichi. I'm gonna take this." you point to your phone. "you can go upstairs or the other room if you want." he tells her. you (unknowingly) walk to his room and answer the call. he finishes getting your drink and sets it on the counter.

he sits on the couch and waits for you to be done. 'ah shit I forgot to get the charger Nagi let me borrow. I'll set it on the table so I can give it to him tomorrow.' he says to himself. he walks to his room and opens the door.

"yes Raichi I know. I'm just so nervous around him..." you speak while your back is turned to him. "i just... I don't know if he feels the same way. he's so.. handsome and caring and sweet. i love everything about him, jin. i love him. and I'll say it a million times. I'm in love with bar...ou" you turn around to face him, jaw slacked open. "uhh.. I'm sorry. I'll go if you want me to. i understand if you feel uncomfortable around me now and-" "shut the fuck up." he walks over to where you stand and kisses you. you don't know how to react, you're frozen. 'is this happening? am I drunk? no, I can't be, I've had zero alcohol." you think to yourself.

"no stupid this isn't a dream. i love you too, stupid" he says, pulling you in for another kiss.

Bachira Meguru

back in bachira's BlueLock days, you were their supervisor. you know, monitoring their health, how they're doing, how they're performing, all that. you don't know how but you became particularly close with bachira without even noticing. you would make up stuff just to see team z play, or slip out of a meeting to watch him practice. he never showed off in front of you because who cares what others think of him. bachira taught you how to play the game and dribble just like him too. but once BlueLock was over, y'all lost contact.

over the years, he continued football. he constantly watches games, specifically (the team you play for). he went to their home games, he collected their merch, he even bought collectable cards, but there's one card he takes every where in his wallet. and it's your card. he thought she was so cool with her tricks, plays and strats [he forgot who you were].

bachira, of course, bought tickets for your next home game. so when the time came, he packed what he needed and set off to the stadium.

bachira always buys the expensive tickets too. he got that money money. so when he hears that y'all were having a meet and greet after the game, he just had to buy them.

bachira sat in his seat and waited for the game.

lil time skip to the middle of the game

he was watching you ever so closely and he remembers this thought every time he watches your games.

'her dribbling looks so familiar.'

time skip

the game was over and he was so excited since y'all won. he quickly ran out of his seat and head to where the meet was.

bachira groaned when he saw the big ass line, but it was all worth it to me you. he steps excitedly when he takes a few steps closer in the line, not being able to contain his excitement. you're his inspiration for continuing his football career.

finally, it was bachira's turn. you flash him your warmest smile, "hi, I'm y/n." you held out your hand. he immediately shook your hand.

your eyes widen as you immediately stood up and put your hands in the table, making your teammates stare at you and Bachira startled. you leaned in closer to his face, inches from his. bachira got flustered by this and his cheeks turning a bright pink. you're eyes widen even more in realization.

"oh my god!! bachira!!" you yell, hopping over the table and smother him in a hug. he immediately returns it but he's confused as to why and how you know his name. "it's me! y/n, from BlueLock! i was y'all's supervisor. megs, you inspired me to take in football and go into a professional career." you hold his face.

it takes him a lil bit to place you in the correct spot in his memory but he figures it out. "holy shit! y/n hi!" he hugs you. you wrap your arms around him, tightening every second.

you sit back down and sign whatever he wants you to sign. you secretly slide him your number, not wanting the other fans to see and you go back to signing autographs and taking pictures.

time skip

[I apologize for all the time skips :(]

he almost immediately texts you once he got home.

you: HI Y/N

the best football player💪: HELLO BACHIRA

you: DID YOU GET HOME SAFE?

the best football player💪: YES I DID THANK YOU

those kinds of texts went on for a good while. you both enjoyed them and always though about each other. you offered for him to come practice at your teams field when no one was there so he can practice with you and he can teach you more stuff he's learned since BlueLock.

these practices went on for a long while. sometimes until 2:00 am or later. but neither one of you cared, y'all were having fun and thats all that mattered to you.

bachira always loved these practices. it's a chance to get closer to you. his stomach would always erupt in butterflies when you invited him to practice and he never knew why. he always got that lovesick puppy look in his eyes when you show him a trick you learned. and again, he never knew why he would feel like that, but it was only with you

a few months have pasted since you've reunited with bachira and you've loved it. it was around 1:40 am and you invited bachira to yet another field practice, just y'all two. he was dribbling up the field while you were trying to steal the ball back. he ran upfield and you got closer. he tried to fake you out but you accidentally tripped him. he landed in his back and you fell but caught yourself with your arms. palms all grassy, knees hurting from the fall, bachira's ass hurt when he fell, but none of that mattered to y'all because you were staring into each other's eyes. not wanting to look away, you picked yourself up.

"I think we're good for today. I'll get our stuff..." you turned away. bachira just laid there staring. he didn't want you to get up, or leave. he heard your footsteps and that knocked him out of his trance.

you were about to walk off the field when you heard quick and fast footsteps. "y/n!" he yelled running up from behind you. "bachi-!" his lips crashed onto yours. you dropped all your stuff just to wrap your arms around his neck.

"I didn't know you felt the same way megs." you smiled against his lips. "I'm glad I showed you then."

"I love you, y/n"

"I love you too, megs"

#x reader #blue lock #bluelock x reader #bluelock x you #bachira meguru #bachira x reader #rin itoshi #rin itoshi x reader #shoei barou x reader #shoei barou #barou shouei #barou x reader

[beesmygod]

What's your take, if you have one, on the cut moon presence boss on the lake of mud?

as always, i dont know. i thought i didn't really have much to say but the more i typed the more i Realized. but i still don't really know lol. this is really image heavy, which made it long, so most of it is under a readmore.

e: hello bea from the future here. hey. this gave me so much to chew on for the next section in a shockingly positive direction. thank you so much for getting this ball rolling

it half-relevant but there's also some kind of. intermediary thing. i think it's the same shape as the used moon presence but its blue. for some reason.

no animations on this one, so it was cut early. different "faces" as well. or the low quality of the cut one doesn't maintain the "features" as accurately.

oh what the fuck. hold on. look at the head of the "lake of mud" (LOM from now on) moon presence compared to the others

ive made posts in the past about anti-clockwise and clockwise metamorphosis runes possibly referencing the in-game phenomenon of creature's heads being turned in odd directions. loran silverbeasts and the crawler enemies (ostensibly both loran/nightmare frontier residents) have their "heads" turned clockwise, like above. slime scholar and probably other things i cant remember turn anti-clockwise.

the crawlers are....i mean they're gross. but also uncanny. there's SOMETHING going on here, right? god only know what though. they are also known for the grim sight you can take in when they rear up to Get You: their...stomach?? is rife with messengers. being consumed? maybe? it evokes the image of the artbook moon presence, who is swarming with messengers in the same area of its body.

anyway back to the little creep.

in the center of its chest there's this bizarre unknown thing. if you peel away the majority of its body it looks like this. a grey blob with tentacles. as far as i can tell it doesn't have bones to animate, unlike the rest of the model. the entire model has unfinished textures so its hard to tell what it's supposed to be.

judging from the blisters on the creature, it is CURSED. the orphan of kos' placenta weapon (which is, i think, just a huge cursed blood gem?) has these same blisters, marking it as a fellow "cursed" great one infant (? probably? look at what a runt it is).

curses are a complex aspect of the bloodborne universe. sometimes they can be identified by the appearance of "sickly spots", but other times, curses are color-coded with purple (or red, but that seems strictly related to cainhurst nope i forgot foetid offering can give enemies red rally auras and change their drop tables to include cursed blood gems. much to think about) auras and magic.

a curse is exactly what you expect it to be: great power at a high price (like a huge weapon bonus but your health depletes per second), but the source is arcane. the cursed and defiled pthumerian chalice states, "curses are caused by inciting the anger of the Great Ones, and used to hex others." winter lanterns, the enemies with the heads made out of messengers fused into a brain shape, are the only enemy that consistently only drops cursed blood gems (and, evidently, blood gems only form in the dungeon or nears its entrances). given the pattern of these spots appearing on bosses, it can be reasonably assumed that winter lanterns are the result of a great one's wrath. what the fuck! i dont know what that means!

we're not going to bother going into the nuances of rites and data-mining because holy shit. this garbage is needlessly complex for how half-baked its implementation is. but cursed offerings create cursed dungeons to explore with cursed blood gems to collect. cursed and defiled pthumeru is differentiated by the purple (!) skull vapor overflowing from the chalice. cursed rites required cursed materials: bastards of loran are the mummified bodies of infants who died midway through their transformation into a silverbeast. with the clockwise heads.

okay. that wrapped us up back around to the beginning. i think the lake of mud arena was intended to be in loran, canonically. it has a bunch of different variations that probably would have been used for root dungeon generation rather than canon usage. a lake of dried up water fits perfectly with the terrifyingly arid climate of loran (which generates the blue bolts in the atmosphere). at one point, it seems that several chalice dungeons would have had secret 4th layers (they're still in the game and can be accessed with some light hex editing); i propose that this is where that fight would have taken place. the previous layer would have been the cut great one beast. and layer 2 would have been the loran darkbeast. layer 1 would have been the abhorrent beast instead of the baffling loran silverbeast boss fight that's completely inexplicable otherwise. isz has similar pacing issues. oh shit, i wonder if that's what that blue one is supposed to be. fuuuuccckkk.

the ailing loran chalice tells the player that "some have made the dreaded extrapolation that Yharnam may be next" but the game is telling YOU the player that YOU are supposed to look at loran and extrapolate the fate of yharnam from it. loran was also using old blood as medicine and became a place overrun with beasts and abandoned by god. the loran moon presence is bloated with curses and lives in a place devoid of water, a horrible thing for a great one given how much they love to yammer about lakes and the sea. the area outside of the LOM arena is, amazingly, the exact same facade as the entrance to mergo's loft. there's a stained glass window above the door that's shared between locations, yet again linking loran, the nightmare frontier, and the nightmare of mensis together. and, really, the hunter's nightmare, since the LOM arena was very, VERY similar to the orphan's ocean with identical architecture.

holy shit i guess this is what im working on tonight. and now i see how micolash fits into the entire timeline. neat

#bloodborne #bloodborne lore

[kocherry]

⟡ Truthful Adoration in False Illusions ⟡

Pierro x Isekai!Reader

(Part 1/3) (Part 2/3 is here now :>)

I am really nervous to post this fanfic since this is only for my self-indulgence but I decided to share it with everyone. It has been years since I've actually written a fanfic this long.

In all honesty Pierro really did a number on me ever since the Winter Night's Lazzo trailer. Genshin really needs to release more dilf characters huhu. Aaaand this fic is inspired by numerous works but especially two fanfics namely:

Petty Desire by @shumidehiro and Disjecta Membra by @jessamine-rose (Please check them out they're fantastic writers!)

This is only the first half of my Pierro x Isekai!Reader because it'll be a hassle to read 30k words if I combined it all in one post :> Also please keep in mind that this is pre-released characters.

TW: Vomitting, Mental Instability, Mentions of Suicide, Death, Dottore, A lot of Holding Hands

< 15k words under the cut for Prologue, Acts: I, II, III >

⟡ Prologue ⟡

‘I am so pathetic.’

That is what you thought as you were dying in the sea of flames that consumed your entire house.

Perhaps coming back to save those thesis papers isn’t worth it. In hindsight you were a troubled adult that struggled between having a job and getting your own degree. Truly your ambition may not be that big but all you ever wanted is to get a better paying job.

If you had maybe your family would've been prouder of you.

The tears you shed dried up from the fire, your vision slowly made its way to the walls of your room. Your lips weakly smiled at the sight of your favorite character from Genshin Impact smiling down at you. Their hand is directed to your direction as if wanting you to take them.

How you wish you could just do that… you didn’t want to die yet... if only your favorite could save your life. Perhaps being inside the game wouldn't be so bad if you were there.

•••••

Gasping for air, sitting upward, letting out a strangled cough, the sun shined directly into your eyes. Looking around and noticing that this wasn’t a burning bedroom anymore. But instead surrounded by a bright blue sea, legs dipped slightly into the soft waves of the water. Back laid on the grainy white sand, it was more comfortable than dying on your bedroom floor.

First things first... you look at your hands realizing that you weren’t dreaming.

‘How the fuck did I not get any burned scars?’

You place a hand on your cheek then placing them in front of you counting them one by one, “Holy shit I'm still alive...” Then by the spaces between your fingers you had realize that you are not alone.

Your entire body froze at the sight of a silver haired older man with his face covered in half by a black mask. He stood tall, his figure loomed over you and his broad figure blocked your view of the sea. His diamond shape eye stares at you with such intensity that it made the sand you lay in start to melt. 

Well, you got your wish to be in Genshin Impact, but at what cost? Well for starters this person in front of you is definitely not Paimon. Wait scratch that thought... he is by far the scariest man you have ever seen in your life.

There is no mistaken it, this person is the Jester, the Director of the Fatui Harbingers.

The outfit he wore isn’t quite different from the trailer. He just didn’t have the Fatui cloak draped around him.

“You're—wait wait don't kill me I'm not a threat!” You yelled at him with a hoarse voice, it’s as if your body is exhausted. Though you were surprised that your elbows could prop itself up. 

“Princess (Y/N) I advise that you remain calm as you had just woken up after falling from Starsnatch Cliff.”

The Jester's frightening deep voice startled you badly. Honestly at this point you thought that this was all just a dream. Yet reality starts to sink in when your mind started to comprehend what he just said.

Wait a minute…

What did he just call you?

And did he say you just fell from the god damned famous wishing spot?! 

“Princess (Y/N), do you not remember who you are?”

Ignoring the Jester, ran pass by him to see your own reflection in the water. 

The reflection of your image became clear, the first thing you saw is that your eyes had diamond shaped pupils. You didn't look like yourself anymore like back in the real world. If this is how you look and if Pierro called you a Princess then there is no mistake that you have been reincarnated into another body.

When you wished to be in the game... Being the Princess of Khaenri’ah isn't what you had wanted. You only wanted to live in the game after seeing the smile of a poster of your favorite Genshin Impact character. 

However… seeing that you were in the first spot where the traveler meets her traveler buddy…

You definitely in Mondstadt.

But the one who greeted you isn't of cute floating little girl.

Now you just have more questions than answers. Turning to the Director of the Fatui Harbingers with a pursed lip, you asked: "How many years has it been since Khanri’ah’s downfall?" Your question is difficult to say but the older man seems to be indifferent by it.

"...a century." 

‘Shit so I'm 400 years early?!’ You bit your lip to conceal your bewilderment. “I'm afraid... I could not recall anything Lord Jester.” You bat your lashes at him, you didn't pass in feigning innocence but your diamond shaped pupils were wide in fear.

Pierro’s eye narrowed down at you, he certainly didn't expect you to treat him like a stranger. Though he didn't voice out his worries just yet... after all he could forgive this minor inconvenience since you had been in a coma for a while.

“It is understandable that your memories are not intact.” For now, he had seemed to believe (more or less going with the flow) with your lies. “Since you had woken up from the fall, I advise we must go to the camp and examine if there are injuries that needs to be well taken care off.”

The Jester’s show of concern surprised you, his tone shifted into a much softer tone. Somehow you could not believe how utterly different he is from the Winter Night's Lazzo trailer. He is rather calm and gentle so far, although if looks could kill, you would be dead by now.

You gulp a bit, perhaps you ought to just listen to him. But what if the Princess has bad blood with the Fatui? The Jester certainly didn't tell the reason why she fell from the cliff.... what if the Fatui did it because you weren’t of use to them anymore? Would they dispose of you again? Would you be subjected as Dottore's lab rat? 

“Alright I guess I can come it's not like I have any other choice, right?” You feel utterly helpless by asking that, it’s as if you had any other option at all. 

Though you did remember that some of the Fatui do have compassion. However, that may not be true for most of the Harbingers. But there is no way you were going to die again.

Not on your favorite game.

You place a hand over your chest, eyes determined instead of feeling hopelessness. This was not the moment to show the Jester that you were a weak-minded fool. “I may forget who I was but if I couldn’t remember a century of my life. Since I'm still alive, perhaps I can repay your kindness Lord Jester.” ‘Yes, this is utterly a good idea, offering yourself for the Fatui how dumb can you be?!’ You let the second sentence be an afterthought.

The Jester paused for a while, he certainly didn’t expect that you would be so calm. Anyone would start to break down if they suddenly lost their memories and to find out shortly that your home country, Khaenri'ah, has fallen. Perhaps he had underestimated how you value your nation or that you already had come to peace that the nation would fall someday. After all, the Princess of Khaenri'ah is the one who witness how the sages and King Irmin refused to heed to his warnings. 

Either way it didn't matter anymore for what you thought. He could tell that there is no lies when you told him that you couldn't remember the past century you had lived in his care. 

“Lord Jester...?” You ask after realizing he went silent for a minute.

The Jester snapped out of deducing what was happening. He certainly thinks that this is too much of a troublesome situation he is in. “Princess, I would have to consult your condition to a medic. I will have the soldiers immediately prepare our voyage back to Snezhnaya. Meanwhile it is on your best interest to cooperate so that you can recuperate from your memory loss.” When he suggested this, all you could do is nod and follow after him when he held out his hand towards you.

Somehow a flash of red encased your vision and the burning wallpaper of your bedroom is in sight. Then a poster of your favorite Genshin Impact character didn't burn among the rest.

Was that really what happened?

Wait why is the Jester the one holding out his hands?

“Or do you need more time to rest in the city of Mondstadt?” He asks though his tone shifted into a softer one, yet gaze is still intense as ever. 

But much to your relief his hand is still open for you to take and it would seem your presence is accepted... for now at least.

This time you are able to place your hand to the one holding it out to you. Taking note how warm his hands were as he held yours.

Oh by the way...

This is a story after I died in the real world then getting isekai'd into Genshin Impact but why the fuck is the Director of the Harbingers is the one who greeted me instead of Paimon?!

⟡ Act I: Masquerade ⟡

Masquerade! Paper faces on parade... Masquerade!

Hide your face, So the world will never find you! Masquerade!

Every face a different shade... Masquerade!

Look around - There's another mask behind you!

•••••

The lush green of trees, bushes, and plants.

The river stream flowing from the rocks above.

The Barbatos Statue of the Seven stood tall in the middle of Starfell lake.

And the fake blue sky had the sun giving light to Mondstadt’s environment made the scenery quite beautiful. Truly is a wonderful sight for any daily Genshin Impact player seeing it with their own eyes in real time. Being able to walk into the nation of Mondstadt, the beginning of the game, is truly a good part of this isekai fanfic.

However, the only downside is that the Director of the Fatui Harbingers is the one who is accompanying you. Perhaps it wasn't what you had wished for but besides him... nothing could ever ruin your day.

Maybe except for the fact that you've actually reincarnated into the body of a Princess of Khaenri’ah.

At least together with Pierro you were at least able to travel safely since he avoids monster camps and he even lend you his coat since the clothes when you woke up is quite a mess. If you were alone, you would’ve fought a hilichurl with a rock or a stick then die pathetically.

“Wait a second Lord Jester.” You halt in following after him, there is something on your mind for what he said earlier. “Are we really going back Snezhnaya immediately? I don't even remember living there or even meeting you at all.”

The Jester once again narrows his eye towards you. It's as if he's analyzing the way you would act. Whether it be talking, walking, or even looking in awe with your surroundings. You felt bare in his gaze and yet you didn’t find his constant staring hostile.

He then lets out a deep sigh after realizing that you had honest reactions of having a memory loss. He reluctantly let’s go of your hand, “Princess (Y/N) you were under my care after Khaenri’ah has fallen. Three months ago, you left Snezhnaya for a diplomatic mission in Sumeru. You never had reported back and we traced that you’ve been in Liyue, Inazuma, and finally...” He pauses for a while not wanting to overwhelm you with information.

“Found me in Mondstadt where I fell from Starsnatch Cliff?” You finished his sentence but wanted to ask how did you fall but didn't since the Jester wouldn’t probably disclose that information.

The Jester pursed his lips he knew that lying would be terribly bad for his image towards you especially at this stage of your so-called memory loss.

At this point, you didn't trust him enough to lead you to camp without so much doubting his words. “The Fatui does not take traitors very lightly, you may leave if you wish so. However, beware that there is no place in Teyvat that you could hide.” The harsh glare from his deep blue eyes made you shiver.

‘What the fuck did the owner of this body do?!’

You whisper yell at yourself after hearing what he had said. Out of all the people you could isekai into, it's someone who did the Fatui wrong. And so, without any choice you continue to follow Pierro to the camp.

This time you didn't feel the warmth of his hand on yours.

Although it is kind of weird that he even held your hand in the first place.

‘Maybe he's trying to gain my trust since he thinks can't remember anything?’ You ask yourself that, no answer came into mind of course. In all honesty you wanted to tell Pierro that you were not the Princess. That seems like a bad idea now since the Fatui might misinterpret it as the Princess trying to escape from her crimes against them. Or worst-case scenario they might give you up to Dottore for further examination.

You shudder at the thought.

•••••

Okay maybe you were just being paranoid because you were definitely not treated as a prisoner when the Jester brought you to a Fatui camp. Instead of being put into handcuffs, the soldiers just served you a warm cream stew soup and chicken skewers as a side dish. Then you were also the only one inside the tent slightly shivering but with the coat that the Jester lend to you earlier… at least you feel warm and covered.

Not that you were ungrateful or anything but he literally just called you a traitor and now you were getting away with it?

‘Oh shit, what if he’s just making sure that we would lay low and not attract any surveying knights?’

You stare at the Jester talking to the Fatui agents who were preparing a small carriage and the horses which concludes your disappointment not being able to camp outside.

“Princess, you haven’t finished your food, do you feel ill?” He caught you peeking at the slight opening of the tent, although he immediately ignored you after asking that question. “Get the Cicin Mage, she needs a fresh change of clothes.”

“Wait Lord Jester-”

The tent opened itself but it wasn’t Pierro anymore, it was an Electro Cicin Mage that greeted you as she zips up the entrance of the tent. “Greetings Princess (Y/N), since we are both women, Lord Harbinger permits me to assist you.” She is holding a clean and brand-new clothing, it’s not like what you had seen on Sneznhayan NPCs.

The clothes look like what noblewoman in Snezhnaya would wear. Its shade matches the shade of your favorite color and it would help in making your skin tone shine as well. Although there is a fluffy coat made from a wolf’s fur that would cover your skin.

“Thank you it looks beautiful Miss uh… what’s your name?” You accepted the clothes of course delighted it matches your aesthetic but you also want to know the Electro Cicin Mage’s name since she would be with you on the journey back to Snezhnaya.

“…” She didn’t react and you don’t know what expression she makes behind her mask.

“Oh, are you not allowed to tell?” You ask tilting your head slightly.

“Forgive me Princess (Y/N), I just find it hard to believe that you had lost your memories but you may call me Natalia.” The Electro Cicin Mage replied her nonchalant tone retained.

“I like your name, Natalia.” You gave her a sympathetic smile thinking that she may have known the Khaenri’ahn Princess. “I can change by myself, since I don’t feel really weak but uh thank you for the sentiments.”

Natalia just nodded as she turns around while you change into a much cleaner and fresher clothing. After a few minutes, you tapped her shoulder then unzipped the tent.

“Alright I’m done changing, so when are we leaving?”

The Jester is the only one outside as the other soldiers along with Natalia who hurriedly went to help were still arranging the carriage ride (probably into Mondstadt’s city). “You seem to be more complacent Princess (Y/N), earlier today you did not desire to be return in Snezhnaya.” He raises an eyebrow curious about your sudden desire to leave.

“Well not that I have any choice, plus… my life would also be in danger if I won’t be with the Fatui.” You say that fact first of course but seeing how his face starts to contort into a frown you immediately backed up your poor choice of words. “Oh Lord Jester, you may call me just (Y/N), princess is just an empty title now.”

Your request is simply more personal and despite the fact that may wear the Princess’ mask, you were still (Y/N) by heart. Being called a princess from a nation that has been obliterated is merely an insult to the surviving people of Khaenri’ah, and the Jester is of course one of them.

“Very well (Y/N) we shall sail ten days from now, you may extend your recuperation in my estate in Snezhnaya.” Yet somehow the Jester is indifferent from the request, he focuses more on your well-being. “You need not to call me formally by title, when it’s only just the two us, you may call me Pierro.”

Now that you are actually processing that you were inside the gacha game you had often played…

Did your ears betray you? You certainly are surprise by Pierro’s request as well.

Did your eyes betray you? You saw his lips turn into a soft and small smile but it disappeared quickly as it came.

Did your mind betray you? You just spent five hours in this world with him and even when he calls you a traitor, he does not treat you like one. You would think that he only keeps you because you’re probably a useful character and yet you did not feel used.

It feels the opposite, you were using him just to be comfortable in your isekai experience.

Perhaps you were not the only one parading in this masquerade of lies, the Jester still has not disclosed his relationship with the Princess. If he truly calls her a traitor then why do you receive warm food and getting assigned Natalia to be your personal body guard/helper?

“Shall we head to the City of Mondstadt?”

Maybe the answer would come by another time, you were too busy taking his gloved hand once again.

•••••

9 days later…

Teyvat is quite different in the perspective of being with the Fatui. Aside from the indifferent attitudes of the soldiers, you were at least compensated in being able to explore the City of Mondstadt for nine days now. Of course, Natalia is the one who is your bodyguard or personal assistant? Whatever she is, it’s still kind of annoying how she would always follow you everywhere even staring at you intensely while you go to the comfort room.

At this point you didn’t think much about your privacy, if you did it again… Pierro will beat your stubbornness with his logical expiation about how your health needs to be monitored… blah blah blah you stopped listening to him since you were distracted by the smell of Mondstadt’s local foods.

And speaking of the Jester, he hasn’t shown his face around for two days now and tomorrow is your last day in experiencing Mondstadt and you’ll probably never come back here again. Even though you were satisfied with the tour, you kind of wish you could glide everywhere and collect mushrooms on top of rooftops. Or maybe even blow dandelion on top of the Barbatos statue in front of the Favonius Cathedral.

“Lady (Y/N), you’re spacing out again do you need to rest?”

“Ah no worries, Natalia I was just wondering if I could do a summersault if I could glide from the hand of the Barbatos Statue.”

“That would be unfortunate Lady (Y/N), your neck may break if you fail.”

Natalia’s dark and dry humor is what keeps you sane sometimes, but despite the fact that she is growing into you then vice-versa she still won’t listen to your requests.

“Hey Natalia,” You call out her name softly

“Yes My Lady?” The maid immediately replied.

“Uhm it’s quite alright, you really can call me just (Y/N).” You have been tirelessly asking everyone to drop the lady title and especially to Natalia for the last six days.

“It is within the interest of the Jester that you would be addressed properly. After all you are still recuperating from your fall in Starsnatch Cliff and could not remember the past century that you had lived with him.” And of course, Natalia’s answer is the same as always.

Although you find it odd that the daughter of King Irmin would be with the Jester. From the lore you had read, he didn't gain the favor of the sages and royalty about his warnings.

Ah maybe you two were friends before in Khaenri’ah.

That’s literally the only explanation you could really come up with.

Disregarding those serious topics, at this point you have given up hope that Natalia would call you by your name instead. So, you grabbed her hand surprising her a bit since she has been given strict orders not to touch you. “Let’s go to a tavern, I want to talk to you like a friend I’m quite tired of not being able to communicate properly with anyone who see themselves beneath me.” You gave her a pout to emphasize that you did not enjoy having someone to treat you as their superior.

“I have nothing to share Lady (Y/N), all my life I only have been a Fatui soldier, so you might just be listening to a teacher instead of a friend.” She replied with a deep sigh knowing she would have to give in.

“If I am to learn, shouldn't I be hearing it from someone who lives in Snezhnaya? I do want to learn more about the country that I somehow forgot in remembering…. in your own perspective of course." You were looking at her with puppy eyes hoping she would be okay with your request.

“Very well ask away Lady (Y/N) but no alcoholic drinks.” Natalia replied which made you smile.

•••••

“...and that is why we would always follow the Tsaritsa. She does not need to be alone in the war against the Heavenly Principles.” The way Natalia spoke is as if she had lived through a rough life then having a place in the Fatui. Although she censored a lot of things related to the organization meaning that Pierro might have been the one to order her in withholding the information regarding the Fatui.

Again, you were not interested in them, you were always curious about the remaining three unreleased nations. Snezhnaya presented itself as available to learn so why bother hiding your curiosity about the nation that has a bigger role in the game.

It is most interesting that despite their differences and ailments towards one another they always have one thing that they agree. All soldiers in the game speak highly of their loyalty to the Tsaritsa and Natalia isn’t an exception.

“A most delightful insight Natalia!” ‘Although it got boring and I zoned out a bit but still…’ “I admire your passion to your archon.” Despite being satisfied with your curiosity about the Tsaritsa, you were distracted by more important details. Such as the relationship of the Khaenri’ahn Princess to the Director.

Every time you think about him, your stomach starts to sink in with heavy guilt, that’s what you had noticed for the last nine days. And earlier you did come up that maybe they were friends since he treats you kindly… now your curiosity got the better of you. With a gentle clap you brought Natalia’s attention to you.

“So now tell me more about the Jester.”

Natalia seemed surprised by the sudden shift of your mood and the soldiers that is nearby the tavern doors perked up with the mention of their boss.

Suddenly the air felt colt despite the tavern having a hearth that continuously producing heat.

You could tell you made a mistake by showing that you are aware of your situation as a prisoner. You held both of your hand up, “Ah I see he made sure that I would not run away by being friendly. Ha! I'm fully aware that the Jester is keeping me as a prisoner. Besides if I prove myself that I can cope in this foreign country I can be some use, right? In that way...” Your tone is soft and gentle, which made Natalia flinch, she isn't really good with dealing with such a venomous hiding in the softest expression.

“...I can slap Pierro in the face that he made a mistake in imprisoning me!”

Natalia takes everything she thought of you as a gentle soul with a motherly personality, you were like a wild hilichurl who always have an unpredictable behavior.

“U-Uhm L-Lady (Y/N). you should not talk about the Jester like that!” She stuttered not wanting to get into trouble as she stares at the space behind you that is now occupied by the said person.

“And why I shouldn't I? The Jester is not even here, besides he's busy with the meeting between him and other harbingers." You cross your arms but then saw the maid’s eyes that is staring at the space on your right. You suddenly became extremely nervous, "Oh shit... he's right behind me isn't he?”

“I was always behind you all this time Lady (Y/N).”

‘Oh.’

‘Ohh..’

‘Ohhh…’

‘I fucked up lol.’

Natalia excused herself while you turn around to face the Jester. He didn't seem amused nor does he look annoyed, he just stares at you blankly.

On the other hand, the Jester is actually surprised by your behavior (deep inside his blank stare), it honestly contradicts with how he viewed you as before. Although despite the fact that you are a Princess of Khaenri'ah, he already could tell that you already know your place. You were really going to play hard to get at his attempts of being patient towards you and in all honesty, he really didn’t have any ulterior motives… maybe he has but…

Now you just threatened to slap him, it amuses him.

“Such attitude is unbecoming of a royalty such as you Lady (Y/N).” Well despite his inner thoughts, his expression is somewhat annoyed by what he had heard.

“If you scold me, can you at least drop the formality? I’m definitely not a Lady or anything.” Honestly if they call you Lady (Y/N) again for the nth time, there is always the temptation to slap Pierro for real.

“For some reason the title isn’t really farfetched to the Princess title, I don't know who she is nor do I care to become her.” Although it is pretty convenient that you share the same name as the original Princess.

Indeed, you looked like the Princess of Khaenri'ah who wasn't even mentioned in game. However, there were features that you could see yourself as. If not for the diamond shape pupils you would look no different from the real world.

“Very well, (Y/N), I should have not dishonored the drop of the titles when we are together.”

Your ears perked up by the sound of the Jester's voice saying your name for the first time since the day you met him. “It would seem that I underestimated how much you had remembered. You are more perceptive than I thought. So, I am going to be honest with you…”

‘Wait is he going to really discuss this with a lot of Fatui soldiers and Natalia overhearing us?’

“There are traces that you recently used the Art of Khemia before you jumped from Starsnatch Cliff.”

⟡ Act II: Music of the Night ⟡

Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation

Darkness stirs and wakes imagination

Silently the senses abandon their defenses

Helpless to resist the notes I write

For I compose the music of the night

•••••

You were taken aback from what Pierro had said, the Art of Khemia is now the lead reason to why you were isekai'd to this world.

‘Alchemy that is said to be the biggest factor in the fall of Khaenri’ah. So that means the princess might've been afraid of dying but the question is... did we actually just switch places?’

‘Wait why would she even be afraid if she willingly jumped…?’

‘Fuck her and fuck this situation holy shit…’

You shook your head now is not the time to be distracted. You need to know if you are allowed to investigate if you can go back to the real world. “Wait are you afraid of what I can do? Are you not also waging war against Celestia itself so why be cautious of me performing alchemy?” The questions were already answered because by the look in the Jester’s eye.

It would seem that he disapproves of what you plan to ask next.

“I had not lied to you that you jumped intentionally, you wanted to die, and it is merely your own consciousness that responded to your will to live that made you use alchemy as a last resort.” The Jester seems to fixed on the idea that you know the alchemy. “Art of Khemia is forbidden to use, I do not wish to awaken the Heavenly Principles, at least not yet...”

‘Of course, not yet... the Gnoses would only be collected 400 years from now. Great just great, I might be fucking stuck with him for a while!’ You shifted your thoughts to that part and not the fact that the Princess tried to kill herself.

Despite the desire to actually just tell Pierro the truth about yourself. It would seem that it’s a dangerous thing to do. He hates the Heavenly Principles and from what you had read in the Enkanomiya story quest they were also descenders from another world.

So, if the Jester were to find out that you too are a descender, perhaps your fate would be in the hands of the Doctor. 'Normally I'd say why not since Dottore is hot, but perhaps it's not really a good mindset to simp for anyone in this game.' You cloud that thought not wanting to become a perverted isekai character like the ones you would read in light novels.

“Then can I at least act like a citizen of Snezhnaya? You can assign guards around me if you wish so. I do not want to remain a prisoner by your orders.” You suggested, not wanting to be useless and a piece of decorative prisoner under his care.

The Jester looks at you with a raise eyebrow as he sits on the empty seat beside you. He honestly is still baffled that you were quite sure that he is treating you like a prisoner. His gloved hand reached out to yours placing them on top. His thumb gently caressing your forehand.

Your cheeks suddenly became red from the contact.

“(Y/N). If you feel that you are a prisoner, cease those senseless thoughts. I am merely looking out for your well-being.”

It actually surprises you that he would actually care for your mental health. Not that you could blame him if he would still have such disdain towards the royal family. Then again you wouldn’t complain that much, maybe the Princess is now definitely a close friend to the Jester.

Wait you really haven't asked him about that part, "Err... are we friends Lord Jester? Because you seem to care about me which is odd since you're you... you know?" Not wanting to be rude about his stoic and indifferent attitude, you didn't say anything to make this even more awkward than it already is.

“What?”

“Ah nevermind it's a weird question!”

“If that is how you want to play it, then I shall indulge such foolishness.” The Jester lets out a deeply annoyed sigh, “Do as you please and maybe you can be useful to the Fatui and Her Majesty.”

Some use huh? So, the Jester thinks nothing of you but a tool? Of course, what did you expect from the Fatui Harbinger. After all, knowing their lore so far, Pierro and Dottore were by far the scariest amongst them.

The way they manipulated Scaramouche's life, it’s as if they would disregard all life for the goal of burning the Old World.

You did not think any of this too deeply, once you find out how to switch with the real Princess again. You would be back into the real world and leave this world for good. Genshin Impact is much more enjoyable if you would be thrown to Mondstadt without actually reincarnating in the body of a person who has deep ties with the Fatui Harbinger Director.

‘Wait...’

‘What's Genshin Impact again?’

You suddenly panicked flinching your head sidewards making the Jester raise an eyebrow. ‘Why did I suddenly question my own reality?’ You look at the older man and strained a smile.

“Now I can't wait to get out of this nation and actually see Snezhnaya for real.”

Now if there is anything that the Jester could conclude for today's interaction is that you hide your real emotions through a bravado façade. From the reports of your maid, it would seem that you love to engage in nonsense conversations. You perk up the moment they serve hot chocolate and cookies when you take a break from reading. You who often poke the soldiers randomly while Natalia scolds your behavior.

You are quite a headache to the soldiers...

But the Jester honestly did question himself if you're having an identity crisis or if you did actually lose memories of the past century you spent with him. It troubled the former royal mage because the Princess of Khaenri'ah started to revert to your attitude before the Cataclysm. You were always a curious girl and talkative as well.

So why did you suddenly revert to the Princess he knew before the Cataclysm? Does your memory loss have anything to do with it? ...Or is it something else?

“However, I still cannot allow you to be without any soldier accompanying you just yet. You would need time to recuperate and it is unwise to rush in adjusting to your situation and maybe I shall allow you to pick up your claymore once again.” Again, the Jester talks as if he really doesn’t believe that you have already  

‘Wait back the fuck up am I gonna be like a playable character once I can prove to him that I recovered?’

“If I can prove myself, will you finally disregard the soldiers but I’ll have Natalia if it would ease your mind!” You suddenly have a stupid plan but it’s worth a try.

“Pray tell how on Teyvat are you going to prove that you are recovered?” He raised an eyebrow already expected something ridiculous would come out of your mouth.

“I challenge you to a chess match!”

Consider him a prophet, he is right to assume that you are an idiot. You never beat him once before and most especially now that he assumes about your memory loss.

And of course, to prove your worth to Pierro, you challenged him for a match in chess. That is the only reason you could think of, he is an intelligent man after all. He wouldn't be the Director of the Fatui Harbingers if not for his tactical mind.

Although the look of surprise in his expression is something you would relish. Since he didn't expect that the Princess would actually be so bold in threatening him in front of his subordinates.

Perhaps he would believe that you are a descender from another world like how you would often whisper to yourself.

Yes, he can hear you by the way, you are not as discreet as you think.

“Well? Are you not going to accept? You know Lord Jester this is not a behavior I would expect from someone like you. Are you afraid that you might lose to me?” Your behavior can be quite irritating, you know how to pull your strings and by challenging him while the subordinates he borrowed from the Doctor and the Fair Lady that were stationed in Mondstadt are present… it meant he needed to accept.

Gossips are more bothersome than dealing with you.

Pierro didn't break eye contact as he steps forward utterly disregarding the close proximity between the two of you. He notices your cheeks reddening and that made his lips quirk upwards. "Is this how you would beg for my attention? Perhaps it is time that I teach you a lesson for being such a headache." He lifted your chin upwards with his glove fingers, he knew how to make you squirm.

And he succeeded.

You were far more endearing when you try to take control of the situation but in the end, you never were in control.

You were always at his mercy.

“Let us begin.”

Pierro breaks contact from holding your chin, he stands up leaving you alone in the couch. He went to the nearest soldier ordering them to prepare a room for the chess match. While you on the other hand stare at him dumbfoundedly wondering if he is mocking you or seducing you. Either way your face is incredibly red as you grumbled.

“Damn it, here I thought someone like Scaramouche is my type.”

You utter those words out loud and the Fatui solders who heard you started to question if themselves if you were insane. And Natalia’s response is wanting to have a mental breakdown.

•••••

Of course, in conclusion you had lost that chess match.

You did last at least two hours against him until he utterly cornered your white king piece on the corner of the chess board. The empty space had been your downfall, it was a blocked road to make sure the white king is being surrounded by the white pieces.

The match is lost due to the fact you moved your white pawns to save them which made way for his black queen and black knight piece to corner your king piece.

“There is no need to feel defeated Lady (Y/N), you lasted against Lord Harbinger for two hours to which he does recognize that you are recuperating faster than the medic had anticipated.” Natalia spoke up after she notices that you were not paying attention to the bard that is playing in the middle of the plaze, just underneath the statue of Barbatos.

“Aw Natalia that’s the first time I heard you being so nice to me.” You tease your companion, although she did have a point of not being upset. Despite losing the chess match Pierro still allowed you to roam Mondstadt for a few hours since he still has some final business to tend to.

“I am merely stating a fact Lady (Y/N).” She blankly replied, “And I have to ask if you had enjoyed enough of the view of the Favonius Church and the statue of the Anemo Archon.”

There were glares and stares directed at the two of you, yet their gaze would not linger because of the bard that was still performing.‘Oh, right I forgot the Fatui has a bad rep here I guess I underestimated their ability to piss off people in different nations at their century of existing.’ You let out an unbothered hum because technically you were not part of the Fatui, the Princess is. “We’ll go after the bard is finish performing his piece.” In all honesty you just wanted to listen to the ballad since you haven’t really heard it after gloating over your lost to the Jester.

The bard with twin braids dressed in all green and white is looking at you while he strums his lyre and sang a ballad that made your body turn cold.

“You take in anything the ego tells you

Whatever you believe, it will always be a lie to you

The truth is constantly hidden by deceptive mental concoctions

Clear your perceptions from your palette

Be free of egoic contamination to see clearly

Peace emerges from the calm of the mind~”

Your stomach churned at the lyrics of the song, it’s as if it insulted your very mind and soul. The bard’s words were meant to ease the people who were listening. And yet why didn’t it do the same to you? Why were you wallowing in guilt that for some unknown reasons is buried deep inside your consciousness?

Then familiar voices started playing inside your mind, there were two people that spoke, one is your own voice and the other…

Your vision suddenly shifted into a different scene.

“After all these years why have you begun to regret what we had done? Do not forget that you were the one who started this with me.”

“I wish I did forget all of this.”

“It’s time to end these foolish theatrics (Y/N), if you wallow in your delusional fantasies then you will truly succumb to madness.”

“Then so be it, █ █ █ █ █.”

A strangled gasp came out from your throat, bile rose up from your stomach and you fell on your knees with tears in the corners of your eyes. You clutch your chest and heaved, ‘What the fuck was that memory inside my head? And whose name was the one that the Princess had uttered?’ Your ears were ringing and the bile you held back from the back of your throat has finally relieved itself.

“Lady (Y/N)…? Lady (Y/N)…!”

Your vision started to blur but you could still make out the view; Natalia yelling, the Fatui soldiers hurrying to your side, and the bard who played that dreadful song started to walk towards your direction.

A warm comforting wind enveloped your entire body. The pain stops along with your consciousness as the world began to fade in black.

•••••

When you came to be the first thing you observed is the wooden ceiling, the smell of the ocean, and the slight sensation of rocking. Alarmed by the fact that you were most definitely in a ship, you sat up immediately which is a bad decision. Your head started to ache again and bile threatened to escape your mouth once more.

“Fuck…” You curse under your ragged breath. “Is this the consequences of switching bodies with the Princess?”

You murmured as you turn to your side and to see the window that gave you the view of the ocean, the fake sky turned dark projecting the illumination of the fake moon and stars to the water. Once again you stare at your reflection instead of the view, you were still (Y/N) with the same features as in the real world, the only difference is the diamond shape pupils in your eyes.

“(Y/N) you should lay down again.”

The Jester had been sitting at your side and it would seem he was there ever since you were brought into the ship. His hand hovered over your shoulders and yet he refuses to touch you afraid that you might break like glass.

‘Wait…’

‘Did he hear what I just said?’

“I already ordered the Cicin Mage to bring you warm water and soup.”

‘Maybe not since he didn’t question me, I probably just said that out loud inside my mind.’

Since you weren’t responding Pierro never talked again, you just lay back down and did what he told you since your head is still pounding. After a while Natalia came inside to place your warm soup and water just beside the table near your bed to where Pierro sat. Her gaze lingers at your form for a few seconds and excused herself right away to leave the two of you alone.

“Okay this is really awkward Pierro, I think I’m alright now but… I don’t know whether or not I want to immediately move to Snezhnaya.” You broke off the silence first because the atmosphere would become more intense if the two of you would continue to gloat in silence.

“You may scorn me for leaving Mondstadt but we need you to be checked by the finest doctor in Snezhnaya one that could help in your case.”

When the word ‘doctor’ is heard your vision began to change.

“I suppose you have my gratitude. This amount will suffice until my experiment is a success. You were the one who killed this minor god right?”

“A fine observation Doctor, is the blood on my claymore not enough proof?”

“Oh no no, I'm just curious since you do know the consequences of killing a god. The people are plagued with madness already so I thank you for saving me the trouble of finding new test subjects for the archon residue you had collected.”

“Do not test me Zandik. Get to the point.”

“Hahahahah! Hah. It's just amusing that you once called me a monster but are we really so different Princess (Y/N)?”

“No! Do not bring me to that crazy fucker!”

In all honesty you would have just normally tell him calmly but your chest began to constrict and your stomach churned at the thought of Dottore. The memories started to flood your head once again, your arms flail as you smelled the miasma dried blood that is poison to most humans. The memories of the Princess with the Doctor plagued your mind and clouded your logic to respond appropriately.

“I would never let Dottore check on your health, he isn’t the best person to ask that of him. What I meant is the group of doctors that is based in Snezhnaya’s capital.” Pierro replied calmly although his eye widens the second you had yelled at him. “We need to get you examined otherwise you might self-destruct again.”

Your heart skips a beat at the tone of his voice. It’s as if this body of yours is programmed to be flustered at everything he says or do.

“I’ve always wondered… isn’t it a great traitorous sin to betray the Fatui? So why bother yourself with me. Be honest Pierro… I just want to know.” You pleaded because the very fate of your existence in this game depends at the fate of the Princess of Khaenri’ah. You looked helpless in the Jester’s eyes, one that he is not used to seeing you in such state of distress. You were confused and afraid, yet despite the fact that he knew that you often mumble about this world being in a game, what you experienced so far is quite real.

With a sigh Pierro cups your cheek, his thumb gently brush your soft skin. “If you would stop lying to yourself, you would find it easy to believe why I would do this for you and pleaded for your mercy. Had it been up to Her Majesty, you won’t find forgiveness in the land of ice and snow.” His tone shifted from a soothing voice to a cold one. You learned that whatever the Princess had done must’ve pissed of the Tsaritsa and that Pierro would have to obey her had she not accepted his plea.

“Had you accepted our fate had been damned from the beginning we would not have been in this situation. Nevertheless, who am I to scrutinize you when I am partly to blame of what happened between us.” He added as he lets go of your cheek after realizing his touch had lingered to your warmth longer than you had realize.

Although you did not expect that honesty from him.

“Will you play another round with me?” You ask wanting to change the topic.

“Does this game have anything in return?” He asks and… was the Jester teasing you?

“Nothing at all, I merely wish for a companion. Just to get my mind off of things… if you are not too busy of course.” You didn’t want to further analyze the situation besides why would you face the consequences of the Princess if she’s not even you in the first place.

“Very well, I shall indulge your wishes.” He gives in to your request, “However, I am not foolish enough to know that you are diverting this topic (Y/N) when the time comes, I need you to accept what will happen.”

“If that is the case when that time comes when I am to be honest with you, will you listen to me first?” You wanted to clear up this whole misunderstanding about you being the Princess because Pierro had misplaced his sentiments to you instead of her.

“Like I said when you find it in your soul to accept, I will consider it.” He replied, well that was to be expected but you accepted his answer with a nod.

And just like that another game of chess had begun as Pierro brings the board to your bed with a much more relaxed expression. As he arranges the pieces you quietly observed the older man, his expression did not much how his eyes look so desolate as if he is longing for something. Perhaps his homeland? Or is it the real Princess he had miss? It was certainly an emotion you had not expect when the fans and some speculation deemed him as someone who is determined for a war that will end the Heavenly Principles.

“Let us begin.”

Despite your unfortunate experience in getting isekai’d in Genshin Impact, getting to know Pierro is the one you somehow enjoy. So, for now you let your mind wander to this the soft and deft music of the soft splash of the sea waves and the tap of the chess pieces as you both move them around. Although it is Pierro’s presence that you can feel and hear it closing around you.

For tonight you would open up your mind and let your fantasies unwind because in the dark night at the sea, you cannot fight your fate in this world. At least not yet. So, for now you let yourself get immerse in a game of chess and accept Pierro’s presence.

“Like I said before (Y/N), do not let your pawns be your downfall, they are called pawns for a reason so you should at least keep that in mind.”

Your thoughts stop as Pierro takes your white bishop.

“Fine fine… I just can’t help it you know?” You shrugged but despite being nonchalant about it you notive that Pierro means to break the towering strategy before letting his black knight and black rook to corner your white king. “I’m often known as a soft person back in my world and ugh I really need to admit to myself that its okay to use others to win.” Okay maybe you really ought to be careful of your choice in words but this game is making you lose concentrate on what you were saying since your mind is focused on how to turn the tables on him.

“A precise reminder to make sure you will improve. I do take pleasure in playing a game that would mentally challenge me.”

Pierro smirks as he notices that you had taken his black knight with your white queen, at the very least this game should be more interesting than the first.

Thus, the following nights would end with the two of you being entangled in each other and let the darkness of the night be the witness of your chess games until your arrival in Snezhnaya.

•••••

“Is she here Jester?”

Wait was that La Signora’s voice that you just hear outside your quarter in this ship?

The slight fierceness of the sea covered your movement as you slow crept up to the door as you try to overhear them. You gently place your ear near by the door and made sure your feet couldn't be seen underneath the small cracks. 

“Yes.” Pierro answered shortly and with annoyed tone if you may add.

A chuckle could be heard from the woman, “I heard that she had gone mad, part of the rumors is because you had her locked up in your estate. Another said that she had defected the Fatui and got caught since Scaramouche had spotted her over in Inazuma. Then... the last speculation is that she is on a mission and that someone had altered her memories.” Every speculation is quite bizarre to be honest, you hadn’t expected that word of your incident would actually be a hot topic in the Fatui ranks.

“Baseless rumors are nothing more than to be their entertainment.” Thankfully it would seem that Pierro is definitely on your side in covering this incident, he did imply that this matter is between you, him, and the Tsaritsa.

“So what has become of your wife then?”

Wait what?

“Such information is not of your concern, now what of the Tsaritsa’s letter?” The topic quickly changed from the tone of his voice, he is not amused anymore.

“Ah we should discuss that without your Electro Cicin Mage here.” Finally, La Signora dropped the topic and two footsteps slowly made its way to the other side of the ship.

Your head started to pound at this new information and your heart started to beat faster out of nervousness. At least the questions you kept pestering Pierro had finally been cleared up via eavesdropping.

‘The dots finally connected…’

‘I’m his fucking wife what the hell?!’

“Lady (Y/N), you heard that didn’t you?” The door opened without you noticing it, Natalia had caught you eavesdropping on Pierro and La Signora’s conversation earlier.

With a defeated sigh you nod at Natalia’s question.

⟡ Act III - Phantom of the Opera ⟡

Sing once again with me

Our strange duet

My power over you

Grows stronger yet

And though you turn from me

To glance behind

The phantom of the, opera is there

Inside your mind

•••••

Zapolyarny Palace is colder than anticipated, the atmosphere is far from the feeling of comforting winters. The atmosphere is tense and the tension is thick. No one could cut it with a knife, a claymore maybe... a really hot claymore.

The cold gaze of the Tsaritsa is something you could feel. Your entire body felt like as if it incases in layer by layer of ice. Nothing could have saved you from her gaze, not even from Pierro.

The Harbingers were summoned, Pierro and Signora are there of course is there since they were the one who delivered you to the Tsaritsa. Pulcinella, Columbina, Scaramouche, and Dottore were all present. The other Harbingers... well that isn't really something you can think about.

“(Y/N),”

When the Tsaritsa mentioned your name, you feel so small and terrified from the calm anger of her tone. “You have deserted your position in the Fatui. The price for your sins would be equal with death. A founding member capable of defection... does death seem like a proper punishment for you?” She spoke with such gentleness yet her void of emotion is what made this encounter unnerving. This is what the Cryo Archon is like face to face she is not like the other archons you had encountered in the game.

“Your Majesty, the Tsaritsa, can I really be guilty of defecting the Fatui when there is no evidence of my sins?”

Natalia had advised not to look guilty or weak in front of the Tsaritsa and the rest of the Fatui Harbingers. You actually don't know why the Electro Cicin Mage would side with the likes of you but thankfully your question did break the tension that was directed towards you. All the Harbingers’ eyes were on you, some is expecting you to fail while the others are indifferent towards you.

Columbina is the only one who is smiling and humming to herself. Although despite her eyes being closed you could still feel her gaze is directed towards you. She's so relaxed as if she didn't care about what's happening right now.

“Hoh hoh. Despite having your memory lost, you seem to have a sharp tongue as ever, Lady (Y/N).” Pulcinella amusingly let out a chortle but his amused tone betrayed the hostility in his gaze.

“Lady (Y/N), your claims do not have enough proof. Still your mission is to have diplomacy to the Akademiya which you had not failed.” Dottore looked at a stack of report papers, “Not only that you've established connections with some officials in Liyue, Inazuma, and Mondstadt. However, you disappeared for five months somewhere in building those connections. Coincidentally, the Jester found you in Mondstadt with no memories.” His tone is amused yet you could feel it mocking what the Princess had done although he does seem impressed by how there zero evidence of her defection. Dottore would at least acknowledge the effort to cover up a big scandal within the Fatui.

“A convenient scenario yet despite the coincidence evidence of your defection has not been seen in the investigation. Quite the cover if I do say so myself.” Scaramouche didn’t hide his distaste towards you and you do wonder what the heck did the Princess do to receive hostility from these three Harbingers.

Well at least they did acknowledge that you were not a traitor but you do recall Pierro accusing you of one when the two of you first met. “So... uh there you go. I technically have not defected the Fatui if there is no evidence.” You shrug your shoulders instinctively feigning innocence… which is technically true in your case.

Although despite the fact that you were about to calm down, the entire throne room suddenly became extremely cold even for your immortal body, you could not endure this cold. Icicles formed around your shivering clothing and your skin started to turn blue. You however did not break eye contact to the throne that stood so far from where you had stood.

The Harbingers all looked at the Tsaritsa, and one by one they left the throne room leaving you all alone. Pierro is the only one who stayed, his gaze never left you. His expression looks hardened and he did not show any ounce of pity, which you are thankful or else you would have looked really guilty in front of Her Majesty.

“Well played Princess of Khaenri'ah.” The Tsaritsa rose and descended from her icy throne. She slowly stepped towards you in a menacing way if you may so add. Your eyes widen in panic as you look at Pierro for help but he remained standing still at the bottom of the throne letting the Tsaritsa pass.

“You have not betrayed me nor the Fatui.”

You gulp as she stood in front of you not even noticing that her arms were slowly moving up to your body. “But the one you had truly betrayed is yourself.” Her tone is more disappointed than angry with only the three of you left in the throne room.

‘I’m genuinely confused…’

‘Does that mean the Princess really did not defect?’

‘Base on what Pierro had said she tried to kill herself... Maybe...’

“Welcome back.” The Tsaritsa's tone became soft as she wrapped her arms around your body. The hug you had receive is cold but it felt so pure of love. It cut you off from the numerous questions that ran through your mind and without any reservation you returned her gesture.

“Forgive me Your Majesty, I really am not the Princess of the Khaenri'ah...” Your eyes widen a second, maybe that's not really the answer you should tell her. “...E-Er uhm only because I feel like I am not her due to my memory loss.”

The Tsaritsa's gaze remains to be soft as she pulls away from the hug. "(Y/N), stop this foolishness you had been gone long enough I do not want you to succumb to madness. "She cups your cheek while holding your hand rubbing your forearm softly with her thumb. "Do not betray yourself again, that is all I would ask." She lets go of her hold on you, her gaze became cold now as she slowly ascended the throne.

Pierro then stood at your side he nods at you as if he was telling you did well.

“You two are dismissed.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” You and Pierro then place a hand over your chest bowing slightly to the Tsaritsa.

On the way out of the throne room and back into the halls of Zapolyarny palace. Pierro poked your index finger slightly, you turn to him and he looks relieved that you hadn't really made the Tsaritsa angry. Pursing your lips slightly, the look he gave you is something your parents never gave to you.

The look of someone being proud.

Hugging him is out of the question instead you held out your pinky poking his hand back. In return his own pinky intertwined with yours as the two of you discreetly held each other.

At the first few seconds it felt nice but panic started to slowly sink in... ‘Is this really okay to go on even if I'm not really his wife?’

Then you look at his face, he had a really cute expression right now. His cheeks were slightly painted with a small blush. So, for now you don't think about the consequences and just let Pierro escort you to a carriage ride back to his estate with your pinkies intertwined.

•••••

“Did you ever regret it █ █ █ █ █?”

“Regret what?”

“What we became.”

It’s that voice and name again, the one that plagued you on Mondstadt up until the journey back to Snezhnaya. You purse your lips wondering who that mysterious person was.

“Lady (Y/N)? You're shaking from the cold.”

Thankfully Natalia’s voice cut you off from drowning in your own thoughts, ever since the bard playing a song about self-deception and the Tsaritsa claiming you to betraying yourself hit the nail and buried it deep inside your mind. You wonder why those words affected you so much when it was all for that Princess.

“Dear me it would seem that you had a hard time in your journey Lady (Y/N).” A small elder man with an elf like ears and moustache came in with servants who prepared a tea set that seems to be locally made and it looks really fresh. “Have some tea just to calm you down.”

The encounter with the Tsaritsa had passed by a month and Pierro suggested to have you work again, it was only simple work. Organizing the files in the mayor’s office while he would temporarily take over the heavy burden for you. Pulcinella wasn’t amused by the fact that you would be so casually taking over his work for 5 months during your disappearance.

To him it’s not about the power hierarchy but how serious were you in helping Her Majesty improve this nation that keep enduring hard these past few years.

“Pulcinella, you don’t have to be so friendly towards me just because I lost my memories, I can tell that you spite me because of what I have done.” Honestly the fandom doesn’t really justify the grandpa vibes from this specific harbinger, he is the total opposite of a kind and gentle grandfather that community had concluded.

“Hoh. Perceptive I see, I will give it to you Lady (Y/N). I really could not forgive that you are utterly weak minded. You once said that being a leader required a mind of steel and a stone heart to overlook the carnage, after all an empire could not be built without blood.” The elderly man stated his tone is rather venomous but you maintain your composure, despite the fact you absolutely intimidated. He may be short but between the two of you, you’re the one who felt small.

‘Why the fuck would the Princess say that? Now this little shi-old man isn’t giving me a break.’

With shaky gulp you inhale the tension and exhaled deeply to let out your nervousness, “Then if I maybe so bold Pulcinella, how about you would take over the position from me?” That was the very thing that Pierro had suggested from the start, give Pulcinella what he wants and he will open his mind to reconsider his thoughts about your competency.

In all honesty you absolutely do not want to involve yourself with the Fatui but for Pierro you really have to endure it since he’s your provider and caretaker. This is the least you can do to take a lot of workloads from his shoulders, and since the Princess isn’t here to decide for herself is she still wants to be the mayor then it’s up to you.

You smile at Pulcinella, sarcastically. “Oh, make no mistake I am not affected by what you had said, from the five months that the Princess had gone you have done well in managing Snezhnaya. Perhaps it is time that I would retire from such position and focus on more important matters… behind the scenes.” Although you are genuinely impressed that he shouldered the burden of being a mayor. And from the Winter Night’s Lazzo, a harbinger did call him mayor and it definitely wasn’t the Princess.

“And what are these matters?” Now the Rooster took the bait from your words.

“Rooster.” The deep baritone voice surprised you, only you the rest were already aware that he had entered the office. “Have you ever read the accounting-”

“Damn it Pierro!” You smack his arm.

The servants under Pulcinella were utterly horrified that you just slapped their superior’s boss meanwhile Natalia had already seen that coming. You were truly unaware that he had already came inside the mayor’s office when you asked the Rooster to take over as mayor. He is actually impressed that you had already spot the problem, although he did already spot it a few weeks ago but he does admit that he is far engrossed in searching for you.

And this problem is just perfect for you to prove yourself to the one who is most passionate about Snezhnaya’s improvement and who worships the Tsaritsa devotedly.

“-as I have said, the accounting is poorly managed, what can you do to recuperate from the billions of mora that we had lost these past decade?” He ignored your slap since it didn’t really hurt him, besides he does admit it amuses him that he can sneak up on you like this. Garnering such adorable expressions truly makes his day better.

Pierro does make up with him surprising you with presence by handing out the official documents that would prove that Snezhnaya is on the verge of bankruptcy.

“Please don’t surprise me like that…” You grumble as you grabbed the accounting records from Pierro, “Look this right here the numbers don’t add up, why should we fund Dottore’s laboratory anyway? As far as I am concerned his experiments have done nothing but take mora and results don’t even compensate for what we have lost.” You pointed at the numbers of mora, which would probably can pay your student loans and fund your family for at least a century.

Pulcinella does pay attention at least and now you have finally hooked him, least to say that being the mayor won’t be your problem anymore.

“The noble families in this country should be contacted, the taxes of the people have not seen the light of day in the north and eastern side of this country.” You continued while he takes the papers that would be under his care to solve.

“And with your built connections in Liyue Harbor and Ritou we could recuperate millions of sums.” Pulcinella finally connected the dots of your disappearance, although, you really don’t know what happened to the Princess predicting this situation. It was as if she truly is ready to pass on the mantle of the mayor to Pulcinella. Perhaps she was really ready to… you shook your head and gave Pulcinella the second main problem of the bankruptcy, “Then we cut off Dottore’s funding for a while, if he wants his research to be funded then we should expect more results rather than more hypotheses.”

“While I do this, Pulcinella can we both trust you in handling things here in Capital? And if those noble families hold back the taxes and refuse to give us the real documents…”

“Ah it would seem that I had made a mistake in being bitter towards you Lady (Y/N), you truly do know how to manage this country.”

“An honorable job such as being the mayor is something I would give up just so we couldn’t overlook Snezhnaya’s built up of corruption. The Fatui is indeed establishing its influence but can we really stay in power when Snezhnaya is going against itself?” Okay your mouth suddenly went on autopilot because what you have been saying so far… it’s as if you already know how to handle Snezhnaya’s economic problems.

“And what of the blood that will be spilled?”

Now the tension is back again after the Rooster asked an ominous question, Pierro gave him a warning look but of course he chose to ignore it.

“Why would there be a need for bloodshed?” You asked the elder man back unaware of the tension.

Your response made Pulcinella close his eyes, though he does seem disappointed but nonetheless he finally got what he wanted. “Hmm. I can overlook this naivety for once since your memories are lost, you may not have them yet but that doesn’t mean your compassion to those who doesn’t deserve it should stay.” He leaves the room to start working with the position you passed onto him, the servants and soldiers inside the room followed after him.

“Leave us.” Pierro ordered his subordinates and so they all left including Natalia.

Now that it’s only you and Pierro who were left, you turn to him a bit worried. “Did I say something wrong Pierro?” You look absolutely helpless compared earlier that held a really suave and dignified aura.

“What you had said, can it be really resolved without any people being killed?” His tone is soft as if crossing through a fragile bridge, he notices you starting to panic. When your hands start to shake and your knees buckle that is the cue that you would start to shut down. “Breathe… and think carefully (Y/N), is bloodshed truly the answer?”

The palm of his gloved hands were on your shoulders, he rubs them gently knowing how affected you can get when it comes to death. The way he rubs your shoulder blades with such tenderness and slowly unknotting the tension made you calm down.

“No… but it can be avoided…” You finally answered him.

“And how are you going to do that?” He urges you to go on.

“Talking… chatting…” You purse your lip as you had been enlightened. “Negotiation! Scare their fucking asses!”

Well your answer finally came through the acceptable answer that he also have thought of, “Remember not to use profanities when you do it, intimidation often comes from how well you would handle yourself. Though you are aware that words won’t work if you do truly want to save Snezhnaya from bankruptcy.” Talking to him feels so natural at this point, whether it be casual or work conversations you find comfort in hearing his voice. Although you were still quite reserve with him trying to get close to you, especially now that you found out that the Princess is his wife.

It is wrong to lead him on believing you were her.

“Of course, but I don’t know if I can do this alone… sheesh! We truly need a banker.” You replied jokingly, you were walking to the door not really wanting to be alone with him. “Well, I guess we should go now, right? You are still needed in-”

You mentally cursed for being too slow.

Pierro’s strong grip is wrapped around your wrist, he was so close to you that you could feel his chest on your head. The size difference between the two of you is quite evident when he stands so close, his hand trapping yours made it hard to leave the room. You didn’t dare look at his direction and close your eyes letting out a shaky sigh then faced him tilting your head, “Do you need something?”

He chose to ignore your question, “Since you cannot recall, we used to work together when the Harbingers haven’t formed yet. Shall we do this together once again?”

You nervously let out a chuckle, this wasn’t supposed to be your role to this world, you only helped Pierro as a thank you not as a permanent job. Even if you were starting to look at him in a different way, you were not the Princess of Khaenri’ah. You were not his wife.

This time instead of holding his hand, you let go of it but his grip became even tighter and looks of remorse is evident on your facial expression. “But uhm what if I am not really your wife? What if I’m not the Princess you once knew? What if… her soul is no longer in this body?” There you finally said it but it was more of a hypothetical question rather than being firm with the real thing.

“That she believes she’s in a different world reincarnated into her favorite game? Do you truly still believe in that false illusion?” The more you had tried to avoid his voice the more it starts to invade your mind.

“Isekai? Reincarnation? That is ridiculous and it definitely doesn’t seem to be well written base on its title.”

“It isn’t so bad and besides I think it’s funny that the title of this novel is ‘This is a story after I died in the real world then getting isekai'd into my favorite board game but why the fuck is the Demon Lord who greeted me instead of a cute fairy guide?!’ It’s creatively eye catching.”

“I would close my eyes.”

“Ugh come on don’t you find it funny?”

Now it was clear who the mysterious person was during your relapses, it belonged to Pierro.

Now you were utterly helpless from this confrontation, Pierro started to believe that you were faking your memory lost. It was all the same from everyone, including the Fatui subordinates, Signora’s gossip, and the Tsaritsa’s words that you truly had betrayed your own mind.

“What?! I’m not crazy Pierro! I am not the Princess! I’m just (Y/N)!” You cried loudly not wanting to loosen your grip on your own reality, “I’m a corporate worker who is underpaid while balancing my life in getting my master’s then-”

“Died by saving your thesis paper and then reincarnated into your favorite game. I know I have read the novel you had bought in Inazuma.” Pierro’s calm angry tone scared you now… and what’s even scarier is that your vision started to change and this time the visual is clear as day on who you were talking to.

“Don’t you have a diplomatic mission in Sumeru?”

“Ah… well I just want to see you one last time my dear husband…”

“Is that why you came to annoy me so late in the evening? You know you could have just asked, we’ve been married for decades now and you’re still shy as ever (Y/N).”

“Yeah… I know… I just really wanted to see you, █ █ █ █ █.”

“█ █ █ █ █! you’re hurting me…!”

When you yelled his real name, Pierro froze like deer in headlights, he realizes that fragments of your memories were slowly slipping through the alchemy marks that you had planted within your mind. His grip is still tight and you began thrashing around and yelling at him to let go. You sounded so confused and hurt that he is tempted to let you go but he already had enough of your lies and his patience is grounded to zero.

“We will return to my estate and continue this conversation there.” He declares since you were starting to get hysteric.

How could you not go hysteric? This man confused your mind and the reality you had believed in, you weren’t so sure about what’s real and not. It didn’t help when he started to have a vice grip on your wrist on which you are sure that it will bruises.

“I said let go!” You slapped his cheek unaware of the blue wisp on your palm hitting the right side of his face as his mask is thrown on the ground.

Red started to drip on the marbled white floor of the office, your eyes widen as you saw the cut on Pierro’s cheek. The blue wisp of your abilities is the one that created the wound, you look at your hand and saw wisp still lingering. Then you look at Pierro again his reaction made your heart dropped from what you had seen

An expression filled with so much grief, anger, and pain. Before the older man could say anything you ran out of the office afraid of the consequences of your actions.

And though you turned your back on him.

You knew he would always plague your mind from this day on.

•••••

You absolutely underestimated Zapolyarny Palace, when you ran away from the mayor’s office you were surrounded by dark hallways that had soldiers stationed in each door of every room. They seem to ignore you which is good because you clearly could not deal with anyone else especially Pierro. They all think that you had gone mad, you weren’t… but are you really sure about believing in your own reality?

When you ran away from the mayor’s office, your feet dragged you to a secluded garden nearby, the bushes were all painted in white snow and the flowers never grew in this area. You realize that your stamina still hasn’t been depleted and physically you were still okay but mentally? You were absolutely exhausted by the events that transpired as you squat down letting your knees sink down the soft and cold bite of snow.

“Fuck…” You curse under your breath, “Fuck fuck… they all think I’ve gone mad.”

“Hah. I suppose that makes two of us then.”

Dottore’s voice didn’t even startle your exhausted form. When you raise your head up this one is the same clone back in the Tsaritsa’s throne room and in your vision, the Omega Build, you could tell from the beak mask and clothing. Although beside him is Scaramouche who remained silent as he is disinterested in whatever was happening.

You look up to the two of them, “Why are you still not leaving?” Honestly you didn’t want to talk to anyone who doesn’t think you’re insane.

“As much as it is not my business to meddle, I am just curious to why you would continue to deny that you are living in a fake reality of your own making?” Dottore genuinely is curious but his lack of empathy somehow made it easy to talk to him.

“That’s the very thing I don’t understand Dottore, why do you all assume that I am the Princess and not some poor soul that had switched places with her?!” You were starting to get riled up again because even Pierro hadn’t believed in you even though back in the ship he said that he would listen and trust you… and yet he didn’t, you do understand his reaction but when he made you start to question your own memories that was when you begun to get upset.

“Switch souls…?”

Dottore began to laugh.

And you were on the verge of tears.

“Amazing! This is truly a product of your own research except you have not reached for the conclusion of your hypotheses because you had failed. To put you out of your misery Lady (Y/N), the answer has already been given by Her Majesty, the one you had truly betrayed is yourself.” Dottore had been lost to his own ramblings now and had bark insults at your pathetic crying form, “Well, I could not blame you for completely living in ignorant bliss, you always have a fragile soul despite being the fiercest Harbinger that we have. Unlike the Jester he accepted that he no longer had any ounce of humanity left in him and you on the other hand, continues to deny that you had long fallen from grace. And, proof of your denial is your own belief that you had truly switched places with a poor soul from another world.” Dottore dropped something on the snowy ground, it made a small crater but the white color of snow turned red.

“Here I wanted to give this back.”

For your dignity, you swallowed the scream that you want to let out and the object became clearer in your vision. “This is…” The item is the container of the archon residue that you had seen in your elapse with Dottore being there. “The minor god that I had killed and those people that I purposely turned my back to so that you may be able to use them.”

Tears finally streamed down to your face as the memory of the carnage the Princess of Khaenri’ah, who’s real identity is none other than you, the one who put fake memories in your mind to forget the sins of what you had done for the Fatui, for Her Majesty, for Pierro, and for your vengeance.

Dottore crosses his arms looking down at you with a smirk “And there you go, the first step towards the answer, acceptance.” In all honesty he is proud to have made you realize to the answer you had been looking for. Although he does not look forward if Pierro ever finds out about this incident.

“Enough already Dottore, you have taken too much time of your schedule to bother the Jester’s wife, shall we proceed to your laboratory?” Scaramouche asked a bit irritated that his precious time is being eaten by a woman he doesn’t even know and she started to cry because of Dottore.

“Ah yes of course but this is basically a service to Her Majesty and the Fatui,” Dottore is surprisingly honest with his answer but it did give him satisfaction he finally had snapped the hanging thread of your fake memories. “Scaramouche you may have just joined the faction but Lady (Y/N) is not just the Jester’s wife, she currently holds the title of the Second of the Fatui Harbingers.”

“I see, then if that is the case Lady (Y/N), the solution to your problem is something you already have passed through. Start from the beginning and it may just help you.” When Scaramouche had said that, you stopped crying and looked at him.

Although he and Dottore were already walking away from you.

“Is your advice a reference in your contribution in ending the Raiden Gokaden?” Dottore asked with a grin.

“And yet I did not get the results I wanted, the Electro Archon simply didn’t care, this isn’t about me Dottore… I am just giving Lady (Y/N) a better advice than yours because if she recovers from losing her mind then I don’t have to take orders from you.” Scaramouche scoffs at him clearly annoyed by his entire existence.

“Indeed, what an insight Scaramouche, would you like a lollipop for that?” Dottore teased.

“Eat shit.” Scaramouche then pointed his middle finger at the Doctor.

As soon as they were out from your view, you stood up from the snow, you let your tears dry on your cheeks as you held the bloodied container in your hand. Pursing your lip, you wonder what really had transpired for you to even think about erasing your own memories and replacing them with ones that you had once read in a novel from Inazuma.

Pursing your lips your grip of the bloodied container started to grow stronger and the glass started to crack as you angrily contemplated on what to do from now on. A hand is place over your own, smaller hands, one that belonged to the first friend you had made in your entire fake isekai journey. You turn to Natalia and smile, at the very least someone is at your comfort for today’s events.

“(Y/N)?” She didn’t use the lady title and her tone is softer than you had remembered. “Forgive me for not intervening, I thought by having Dottore speak to you it would benefit your mind, if you linger in living through this fake memory. Your entire brain would collapse and you would be nothing more than a hallow shell.” She rubs her thumbs over your forehand as she lets out a soft hum that somehow soothes your disturbed thoughts and feelings slightly.

“Natalia… Do you truly think that I have gone mad? I… I can’t even remember being the Princess of Khaenri’ah nor do I even can’t stop believing that I am an isekai character.” You grit your teeth in frustration.

She softly pats your hair, “I do not think you have gone mad, you were overwhelmed with emotions of vengeance and guilt, with a delicate heart as yours… only you have the answer to why you had replaced your memories.”

“Scaramouche said that I should go back to the beginning…” Of course, it is obvious that the Jester is the one you had first encountered. Every question and answer all lies anything related him. “Pierro… I need to go to him…” The beginning of your journey is Pierro and you were not an isekai’d character but truly the Princess of Khaenri’ah who finally remembered that you deliberately tried to kill yourself and since that won’t work you somehow re-wrote your memory.

No wonder Pierro was so upset earlier, now you feel like the asshole because you were the one who got scared then slapped him then ran away. You feel deserving of Dottore’s cathartic way of letting you accept the reality.

“Right answer but wrong action, now are you really sure you would sing a duet with him once again?” Natalia asked in a sing sang tone which is now completely different from his monotonous voice.

“If he would have me…” You do wonder if he can truly forgive you, the man had gone through enough and he has a mentally ill wife as his partner unfortunately. Although it is odd that Natalia knows a lot about the situation, you narrow your eyes at her. “Wait Natalia, how do you know so much about this situation I thought you were just an Electro Cicin Mage?”

Natalia then smiled for the first time, it was an unsettling smile but somehow it didn’t look intimidating. As the matter of fact her smile is somehow comforting as she pulls the hood of her uniform and removed her mask. The true identity of Natalia the Personal Assistant is another Fatui Harbinger…

“Columbina.”

“I truly had missed you dearest (Y/N).” The shorter female tackled you into a hug, she rubs her cheek onto your chest as she lets out a hearty giggle. “Forgive me for lying but your husband didn’t want me to reveal myself to you yet so I became your body guard~” Now it makes sense why Pierro is so confident in letting you roam Mondstadt with minimum soldiers.

Columbina then lets you go and she closes her eyes still smiling, “So now that you’re finally aware of your situation would you like me to return your memories?”

Your breath suddenly hitches in anticipation, “You could do that?” Natalia… Columbina… either way she is truly a dear friend of yours.

“With the help of Dottore’s child segment Zeta, you were able to withhold your memories in the archon residue container. I am able to slowly put your memories back so you won’t get hurt.”

Your eyes widen in surprise because you never thought that the Doctor actually gave you the memories back by making you cry of course. Now that you think about it, you didn’t feel the intent to murder him anymore but instead thank him. Oh, how ironic it is that he just showed the actual traits of a doctor towards you.

Turning to Columbina you gave her a determined look, you wipe your tears once more and let out a really heavy exhale. “Please return everything to me my dearest songbird.” When you had said the nickname that you would often call her, she then slowly turn the container around as small purple colored wisp started to seep through.

As the wisp surrounded your head, you close your eyes and readily accept its content. Under the false illusions of your lies, Pierro had never given up his adoration for you and your response to it would also be the same. You would finally stop giving up on yourself.

•••••

Now you were back from the start, to your real life as the Princess of Khaenri’ah, the memories of your childhood to your coming of age had all start to come through like a fast wind. It’s as if these memories were but a fraction of your long life, after all you had spent 100 years in the Fatui and 23 years as a royalty.

Now face to face with a younger Pierro who wore the suit of a royal mage. He brought your hand to his lips, “Truly you have a compassionate heart Princess (Y/N) thank you for always checking up on me on my lowest days.”

“Hush now Grumbles.” He grunted at your poor choice of nicknames but accepted your hug happily he buried his face on your hair inhaling the scent of pine and mint with a tad mix of strawberries and custard since you had made him some pastries, “We’ve been friends since my coming of age so I would always come by and check on you, okay?”

The grumpy mage couldn’t help but smile at that, what is love without friendship first. Had it not been to you, he surely would be wallowing in self-pity and anger by himself after being ridiculed endlessly by the sages ever since he had failed to stop them from doing something that tore away the veil of sin.

You always had hated those assholes from your father’s council anyway, even Rhinedottir is insufferable as she would not stop creating those monsters. Your friend had been your saving grace from this insufferable castle, at the very least the citizens of Khaenri’ah were not all obsessed with technology but more inclined in everyday lives such as baking, sewing, reading fictional literature, or even gardening.

Those kind of things is what you want to preserve in Khaenri’ah and the grumpy mage is the one you wish to do this with. “Hey there’s something I’ve always wanted to tell you...” You place both your hands on his chest while your cheeks start to heat up from the close proximity between the two of you.

“What is it Princess (Y/N)?” His eyes slowly soften up when you called him by his real name.

You purse your lips finding it hard to say those three words to him, yet you would not end this day without confessing your love for him “I-”

The door of his quarters slammed opened, a tall blonde man with blue eyes holding a longsword came, his expression is panicked and extremely troubled.

“I have been looking everywhere for you Princess-Mage an impeccable timing we need every warrior we can get to protect the people!” He barked out orders his voice is shaking from fear.

“Dainsleif! What is going on?” You ask as your claymore materializes on your hands.

“Twilight Sword who is attacking the people?” The mage asked as well as his catalyst also materializes as it hovers above his hand.

Dainsleif grit his teeth, his eyes were wide open as if he had seen the most horrifying sight of his life. The Twilight Sword is one of the strongest warriors in this kingdom and to him looking so afraid… you were beginning to know the reason for his fears.

“The gods… they have come to destroy Khaenri’ah.”

~ End of the First Part of Truthful Adoration in False Illusions

A/N:

I would like to apologize for scamming everyone who thought this was going to be an isekai reader but it's actually a mentally illed princess reader who could not deal with the fact she had done horrible stuffs for vengeance against Celestia.

In all honesty isekai was really the plot for this fanfic but I changed it due to the fact that isekai reader wouldn't really connect with Pierro emotionally unlike Princess of Khaenri'ah reader whom he already had known for five years before the Cataclysm.

If you guys want to read Act IV: All I Ask of You it's available on AO3 now but I'm holding it back since I haven't polished Act V, Interlude, and Epilogue yet.

I truly admire if you guys actually read this whole thing and enjoyed it, I feel like I'm such a messy writer since its been years since I posted a fanfic ;u;)

Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed the first part of this fanfic! <333

#pierro #pierro x reader #pierro x isekai!reader #pierro x you #pierro x y/n #genshin impact pierro #fatui pierro #fatui harbingers #fatui x reader #fatui harbinger x reader #genshin impact #genshin x isekai!reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin fanfic #x reader #la signora #pulcinella #columbina #dottore #il dottore #scaramouche #tsaritsa #dainsleif #mondstadt #snezhnaya #khaenri'ah #written before snezhnaya release and pierro's personality is base on my own headcannons that is majorly influence by the fans #characters on the tags have a small role to play btw and venti is also here if you could tell which one he is lmaooo #fem reader

[travelingneuritis]

so i just binged all of KinnPorsche at a rate that is frankly unsuited to the human body (we’re talking wombs on trains here) and I have. I have thoughts. 

please talk to me about this show i am so unwell about it

1. Let’s get this out of the way Apo Nattawin is so beautiful he makes my stomach hurt. His beauty offends me. He is so hot that I’m sincerely upset and frightened. When he makes a facial expression (which he always! is doing! for some reason! on this television programme he was paid to act in??) it just makes everything worse. this man is a menace. He is now my faceclaim (spiritual or literal) for like 5 different blorbos. Watching him go on his KinnPorsche Face Journeys made me want to write original fiction again. I am appalled.

1.5. he has an absolutely impeccable balance of Brazen/Sincere/Game/Clueless. Like I am genuinely really impressed with the way he bounces between modes in this show, or (more often) overlaps them. he’s for sure going on the shelf next to XZ as WWX in terms of The Sunshine One Has Layers.

2. wow this show is horny!!!!!!!! just as worldbuilding!! everyone is beautiful and everyone fucks!! eat shit MCU!!!!

2.5. the main pairing: this is weird for me because I am actually so floored by Apo himself that it is very, very difficult to even look at anyone else while he is on the screen. The shapes his face makes are mesmerizing. His absolute commitment to expression. The way he feels twenty-three. So then this other (certainly very handsome) guy is like: Hi I’m obsessed with you, and I GET that, but I don’t as immediately get why Porsche would be reciprocally obsessed? because Kinn is like. hot and rich. which is almost an active turn-off for me at this point. Like if i accidentally consume another sexy-CEO property i am going to scromit.

For the most part I am content with: Kinn offered Porsche the powerful gateway drug of the First Gay Experience (and that comes across crystal clear, btw: Porsche’s youth and inexperience with gay shit contrasts beautifully with his grew-up-too-fast briskness and his sexual wordliness in matters not involving other men). However the show seems to be trying to sell me on this great romance, too, and at least on first viewing, I’ve mostly had to just take that one on faith. Maybe Porsche likes Kinn because Kinn takes care of shit so he can just be a slightly sloppy twenty-three-year-old for a little while longer, idk. Spoiler: don’t get used to it buddy :(

3. Vegas was, as expected, a Huge Problem For Me Personally. i honestly want him to push me into traffic. what an awful, loathsome, broken little man. So many issues. Cheekbones like the wrong side of an iceberg. it’s unfair for a man to look like that while behaving like that, and all with his shirt unbuttoned down to his cum gutters! call this hotline if you too have been personally victimized by Vegas Theerapanyakul.

3.5. i was prepared for VegasPete because i have gone on tumblr in the last year, but I still feel like there were some surprises there, and they were not the surprises I was expecting (lol?). I am a pretty hard sell when it comes to like, formalized BDSM, so the narrative’s reliance on physical chains and like, leather gear during the Actual Sex Scene was a bit of an impediment to me enjoying it the way I enjoyed KP’s completely messed up drug/poison-fueled bi/sexual awakening scenes against various reflective surfaces. However I am an easy, slutty sell on toxic messy bitches who share real sympathetic concern hidden by serious boundary/consent issues (see also: my entire stash of SVSSS bookmarks), so that offset the chains nicely! Holy shit did they squeeze some insane toxic psychological fuckery in there. Which is hot. I don’t want anyone on this show to be healthy.

3.6. it should be said, i can’t believe: a. anyone other than his dad could break Vegas; b. anything other than The Moral Concept Of Friendship could break Pete; c. Vegas could be broken by Pete; d. Pete could capably break Vegas. yet here we are :)

3.7. and yes, I regard Vegas as the one who gets Broken here; idrk what the general fandom take is, but it seems like pete doesn’t break so much as just eventually (traumatically? yeah!) Accepts a Thing About Himself. It’s Vegas that gets actually shattered by the experience.

4. the guy who plays Baby Brother Kim looks like a (much hotter, cooler, classier, SE Asian) justin bieber and appears to also be playing, essentially: a much hotter, cooler, classier justin bieber. this isn’t a problem or anything i actually think this actor and character is cute as a button and deliciously unnerving. but i wanted to put that out there. i think it’s the eyebrows and the little mouf, combined with the general air of douchebaggery.

4.5. I don’t really have strong opinions about KimChay. I think this is primarily because Chay seems really, really barely legal, to me. The show leans into the youthful first crush thing, and Chay’s actor also just looks really young. i will say that kim’s scumbag street fashion schtick is a nice foil for chay’s fresh-pressed khaki preciousness. I like them? they’re cute? in general i don’t go out of my way to root for this many overlapping ships (everyone’s brother is fucking each other’s brothers.......okay sure) or First Love type ships, so I don’t actually care if they like, Stay Together in the fictional future. but sure, they’re cute!

5. I didn’t love the resolution for the main pairing? I was happy with most of the ways the show did or did not tie up its loose ends but I don’t see why Porsche ended up “rewarded” with the leadership of the Minor Family. to him, isn’t this kind of a millstone? My mans just wants to open a sick beach bar and get rawed by his tittylicious cousin for the rest of his life, i fail to see how becoming branch manager for an evil empire he’s not even a part of is going to make him happy, although i can see why his uncle would regard that move as a consolidation of power. so while it’s presented as a happy ending, i find it bittersweet at best.

however, i am sure they will be fine :/

in summary: Wow What A Show! 10/10 Tits & Ass

#kinnporsche

[blackbird-brewster]

Friday Fic Rec (Special Edition)

Fic rec ask game

(Taken from @illegalcerebral)

I saw a thing earlier lamenting the fact that people don't make lists of fic recs any more so for Motivation Monday I've decided to start a game so we can spread some love! So make a new post and compile a list of the following fics:

An ongoing multi chapter fic you are excited to get updates for right now

turn the world to gold by sunshineandguns

(Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily)

I am so in love with this one! Cannot wait to see how it ends. IT's just such good and agnsty Jemily

(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to be Right by ambiguousem

(Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily)

If I could unhinge my jaw and eat a fic like it was a meal to be consumed, this fic would UNDOUBTEDLY taste like all of my fave comfort foods individually and simultaneously. I literally don't know how to explain my love for this angstt fest.

A completed multichapter fic that you can binge read

Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) by w00t4ewan (me)

(Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily, JJ/Tara, Tara/Emily)

Yeah, I'm hyping my own work bc this is what I'm currently reading to my partner (I read out loud to them every night) and it's been such a joy for me to read it for the first time (since writing it). We constantly lament that there's not a TV series of this AU bc GOD THERE SHOULD BE ITS SUCH A ROM-COM

A oneshot you think everyone should read

Steps by Phoenix_Falls

(Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily)

DID YOU KNOW: This is the highest read Non-Smut Jemily fic!? IT IS!!! AND YOU SHOULD READ IT BC THE FLUFF IS UPSETTING

A fic you have re-read more than once

Dreams, Schemes and In-Between by Phoenix_Falls

(Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily, Derek/Penelope)

One of my FAVVVEEEESSSSS. I have read it so many times over the years bc it's so light-hearted and the entire fic is four idiots trying to get each other to fall in love. It's an entire fic about best friends being Meddlers

A fic you first read over a year ago that you want to spotlight

I Want to Believe by Trancer

(Criminal Minds/X-Files, Emily/JJ)

It's an X-Files Jemily AU. AND YOU WILL LOVE IT

A fic that introduced you to a new ship/character/fandom

With a Little Help From My Friends by phoenix_falls

(Criminal Minds, Emily & Luke )

THIS FRIENDSHIP!! Luke needs to be protecc at all costs and this really turned me on to the idea of Luke and Emily being bffs and gay idiots together. I love it!!!

A fic you'd recommend to someone new to your fandom

Depends on why they're here! I exclusively write/consume Criminal Minds femslash so here's my recs based on the assumption you just watched CM for the first time and said "THESE WOMEN ARE VERY QUEER!!!"

"Oh my GOD JJ and Emily are SO GAY TOGETHER?!?"

Start Here: [Take My Hand and Show Me the Way] by mjduncan

"UHHHHHH Tara Lewis just met Emily and THEY REALLY EYE FUCKED EACH OTHER RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY SALAD!!!"

Start Here: [Caution to the the Wind] by thelarkascending

"Do you ever think about the way JJ and Tara look at each other? Like that one overly specific moment when [JJ looks at Tara] (when Tara has her hand on JJ's shoulder) and JJ's eyes basically say OH FuCk I HAvE It SOOO BaDDD FOR TARA LEWIS!!!"

Start Here: [Here is Home] or [Between You & Me] by w00t4ewan

A fic you would recommend to the person who tagged you in this game.

I wasn't tagged and I don't even know if you (@illegalcerebral ) really read a lot of femslash BUT based on your likes in my notes and your icon, here's a lil something as a treat

Pray by w00t4ewan

Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily (Past JJ/Elle)

This is basically a JJ origin story coming off the back of Elle leaving the BAU and JJ trying to get over being in love and feeling betrayed that Elle left so abruptly

Optional: Wildcard choice of a fic

Unwinding by PepperSpicedLatte

This is just a REALLY well-written Je T'Emily threesome that always gets me FLUSTERED bc holy shit it's so so so good

Tag You're It (If you want to play!):

@gaelic-symphony || @cargopantsprentiss || @carasynthiart || @pagetvaleriebrewster || @doctor-whothefuckknows || @puddlejumper9

#tara lewis #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #jemily #criminal minds #temily #Jara #cm fanfiction #cm fic recs #friday fic rec

[jacksonstarkiller]

Heya, for Squiddo's ask game, #1, pick your version

Well, here is the essay answer no one was waiting for!

I’m going with 2004 because I don’t get enough changes to talk about Brady Corbet. 😌

There are A LOT of things I love about Brady’s portrayal in the 2004 movie. His attitude, his gayness, his audacity, his fashion. Seriously, lad is just strolling around in cheap basic jeans and a shirt, despite his father being a rich bastard. SLAAAAYYY!!!!

But right now I’ll focus on 2004 Alan being an ADHD icon because it means a great deal to me.

The media I consume usually lacks ADHD representation. I rarely come across it, and when I do, it’s frequently a poorly researched stereotype that pisses me off. Now I know that Alan having ADHD is not canon, but holy shit 2004 Alan is an accurate representation. Best I’ve seen so far tbh.

For starters, the movie literally starts with Alan sitting zoned out in a maths lesson. Iconic! Damn, I feel that scene every time I see it. Alan staring out of the window whilst thinking about his hyperfixiation and needing to be called repeatedly before he actually registers it, 10/10 accuracy.

Throughout the entire movie, there are a myriad of scenes where others are patiently waiting or working on something, and Alan is in the background running around like an overstimulated puppy, flapping his hands, frustrated that doesn’t have something to do. Amazing!

He also exhibits impulsiveness, no patience, mood swings, high irritability, and a short temper. He interrupts people and forgets to look before he leaps. Now THIS is an accurate and complete picture instead of kid who can’t sit still and is dumb and has no other symptoms.

Finally, I love that Alan isn’t stupid. I’ll admit, Fermat is the brains (no pun intended) of the duo but Alan is not an idiot. I’m sick of the stereotype that you cannot be smart if you have ADHD. Seriously, I was in for treatment and was explaining how I struggle with concentrating on reading and assignments and the medical professional (idk what his exact function is tbh) looked me dead in the eye and suggested that university was maybe beyond my capabilities. BITCH, I PASSED MY FIRST YEAR CUM LAUDE (got a bloody certificate and everything) I BELONG TO THE TOP 15 STUDENTS OF MY YEAR!!!!!! I’m gonna fight someone over this one day. But not Alan, because Alan is intelligent! He showed extensive knowledge on the Thunderbirds and rescues. He devised multiple clever plans and ideas that actually worked. It was his idea to use the vents; his idea to use the Thunderizer and the Firefly; he led the final rescue with the monorail; he got himself, Fermat, and TinTin away from the Hood when they were cornered in Thunderbird 1’s silo; HE FIGURED OUT HOW TO DEFEAT THE HOOD!!!! Yes, the hover sledge idea failed but only partially, and 1 mistake does not make you stupid. Also, that was kinda the whole point of the movie, that Alan learned to think more carefully about actions and consequences. And if you still remain unconvinced that Alan posses intelligence, may I refer you to his actual, official report card that was used in a scene, which was later cut from the movie, and that I have in my possession 😩💪🏻

It says “very bright”. 😤

May I also point out that the rest of the comment confirms my diagnosis? 😏

Is anyone still reading this at this point? If you are, you’re a legend!💪🏻

In short, I feel extremely validated and represented by ADHD-icon Alan, and since this is a rare occurrence, it means the world to me.

Alright, alright, I’ll stop. I think I got my point across 😅

#thunderbirds #Alan Tracy #thunderbirds 2004 #ask game #adhd #Brady Corbet #thunderfam #thunderbirds 1965 #thunderbirds are go

[stanley578]

Sharing my thoughts on/recapping the events of Watching and Dreaming

Holy shit!!! Where the hell do I even begin?! What a fucking epic series finale!! Dana Terrace and her team went out with a bang and knocked it out of the park. It was an intense rollercoaster of emotions that got me on the edge of my seat.

I was right when I said Luz is living in a nightmare set up by the Collector, but thank goodness it didn't last long because she managed to escape it by using the light glyph. And it's also thanks to her good memory about the correct Good Witch Azura quote that she said to Amity back at the Covention. She eventually reunited with Eda and King at a giant Rubik's cube after using the light glyphs to get them out of their nightmares.

It got me worried when the Collector confirmed to Belos that King is a Titan and that Titan's magic cancels out the Collector's and further told him about the heart that's still beating. It unfortunately gave him the idea to possess the Titan's heart, a theory that has been floating around for several months and is now confirmed.

Luz, Eda, and King managed to beat the Collector's games, Pac-Man, marbles, and Jenga, resulting in him to give up and cry on a corner. As Luz tried to comfort the Collector, he told his story that made me sympathize with him and despise his siblings with every fibre of my being.

The Archivists basically pulled a Pink Diamond on him with "a game of hide-and-seek". They made him go to the Boiling Isles to see the baby Titans who were welcoming towards him. However, the Archivists were scared of the Titans' powers so they killed them and the Collector was wrongfully locked up in the in-between realm by Papa Titan. That made me believe that the Archivists set him up by having him face the consequences for something he didn't do. The Collector's feelings of loneliness, insecurity, and being misunderstood resonated with the trio and they decided to tell him their story of how they became friends.

Raine was no longer a puppet and struggled but managed to get rid of Belos off their body and did their absolute best to stop him from reaching the Titan's heart using their bard magic. However, with just a small amount of goop, Belos ended up merging with the heart and started corrupting the entire Boiling Isles.

In the archives, Puppet Amity got to carve the light glyph on the floor, turning her, Willow, Gus, and Hunter back to normal. All of them witnessed every citizen, including Camila, as puppets.

The trio took the Collector to the Grudgby arena and the Knee as they talked about their past adventures that made them grow into who they are now and taught him about real friendship. The Collector began to learn how wrong it is to force people to do things he wants, as well as the concept of kindness and forgiveness. That right there was the starting point of the Collector's character growth and I love it so much. The 4 of them heard rumbling and breathing as the Titan's eye lights up and they realized that it's Belos.

Can I just say how fucking magnificent Matthew Rhys delivered the line as Titan Belos? He definitely captured the evil embodiment and the sadistic nature of that manipulative motherfucker. The Collector flew up to Belos and used the lesson that he learned from the trio, but it obviously backfired. I'm so sorry, kid, but this ain't Steven Universe.

Luz protected the Collector from Belos's attack, causing her to be consumed by the mold and disintegrated into various balls of light. Eda and King were in complete shock to see Luz getting killed. The Collector was so desperate to bring Luz back, but it didn't work, causing him to learn the hard way that his powers can't revive mortals once they're dead. It took that serious loss for Eda and King to go into berserk mode with tears in their eyes and unleash attacks towards Belos.

The Hexside students and the Hex squad witnessed the balls of light floating up and it broke my heart to see puppet Camila crying as she sensed them, too.

In the in-between realm, Luz's soul was saved from drowning by none other than Papa Titan himself, voiced by Arin Hanson. She finally got to meet King's dad who has a glowing yellow left eye, a small Hooty on his right eye socket, wears a bathrobe, a Bad Girl Coven shirt, and glyph pajama bottoms. He was watching King all this time and those who have been kind to him. He also admitted that he imprisoned the Collector in a fit of blind rage while protecting the egg of King.

Papa Titan clarified that while Luz saving her loved ones comes from a genuine place, Belos only cares about himself, his goal to be a hero in his own delusion, and his fear of what he can't control. It brought me so much relief that Luz finally understood the difference between her and Belos. As Belos was about to have full control of the corpse, Papa Titan has decided to use what's left of his life to help Luz defeat Belos once and for all in return for being kind and helpful to King. He even relayed to Luz his message for King which would be revealed later.

Camila was brought back to normal by the Hex squad's light glyph, but they couldn't do magic to save everyone because they haven't had any rest for days, so Camila aided them by drawing glyphs so they can use glyph magic.

Back at the Boiling Isles, the Collector noticed that his hands were infected by the mold. He started to feel empathy, remorse, and grief, experiencing tears coming out of his eyes for the first time. As Belos was about to deliver the final blow, the Collector, Eda, and King were protected by a giant shield. It turns out that Luz has been revived with a badass-looking Titan/witch form. Overjoyed that they're reunited once again, Luz then used magic like a witch for the first and only time with the help of Eda and King to fight off the corruption. This was where the animation style became fluid which I absolutely adore.

The Collector made his way to the archive house to save everyone and used his powers to prevent it from falling. The trio rescued Raine, which made me so relieved that they're okay. Then they went to the Titan's heart where Belos is located. Luz used magic once more to make her way up to the heart and rip Belos out with all her strength. Raine, Eda, and King worked together to fight off the mold and Luz delivers a monologue inspired by her hyperfixation.

"Do not underestimate me, Belos. For I am the Good Witch Luz, child of the human realm, student of the demon realm, and warrior of peace. NOW EAT THIS, SUCKA!!!"

This scene right here is the most powerful shot I've ever seen in this series. Luz successfully removed Belos from the heart, undoing all of his moldy corruption that turned into ashes and faded away. The entire area of the isles remained unscathed, though the Titan's placement was adjusted as a result of Belos's possession.

Belos made one final attempt of manipulation by shapeshifting into Philip Shittybitch and trying to convince Luz that he "freed" her from the "curse" that "made him do all the horrible things". Luz did not buy any of his bullshit and suddenly, the boiling rain made him melt into the ground while Luz is immune from that. At that point, he still believed that witches are evil instead of admitting that he's the evil one.

Seeing Belos getting curbstomped by Eda, King, and Raine was extremely satisfying as fuck. Now that his reign of terror has ended for good, the Boiling Isles has become peaceful once again and wild magic is no longer outlawed. King finally saw his dad after his spirit exited Luz's body. King got to hear from Luz the message from his dad: "I loaf you". The trio laid on the grass as all their efforts to thwart Belos's plans have finally paid off.

Watching and Dreaming did something that Change Your Mind from Steven Universe failed to do. It is the fact that not everyone deserves forgiveness and kindness and not everyone can be reasoned with. I read that the criticism of the latter is how unrealistic it is to change everyone's minds. For someone like Belos who is an irredeemable and deluded lost cause filled with unreasonable hatred due to following an outdated and hateful ideology, it is only fair to have his existence completely annihilated as retribution for manipulating the populace with his lies, killing thousands of witches and demons, consuming palismen, attempting a mass murder, mortally wounding Flapjack, and being a complete threat to the Boiling Isles.

The Collector finally got everyone's approval after Amity reached out her hand to help him get up. Everyone reunited with their families after the Collector turned them back to normal. We got to see Amity's reunion with Alador, Gus's reunion with Perry, Willow's reunion with Gilbert and Harvey, the onscreen kiss between the latter two, and Hunter's reunion with Darius and Eberwolf.

I'd like to think that Odalia, Kikimora, Hettie, Mason, Osran, Vitimir, Terra, and Adrian get publicly cancelled by everyone for being accomplices of Belos and his attempted mass murder. Even after being turned back to normal, the 3 coven heads didn't change their ways as they attempted to take over the throne, but Darius and Eberwolf stopped them from doing so. They were like, "Hell no! Fuck off, you 3! We won't let you repeat history".

Back at the owl house, we got to see a second onscreen kiss between Luz and Amity, Camila finally meeting Eda, the Collector turning Hooty back to normal, and Lilith's reunion with Hooty. The Collector gave Francois back to King, but King gave it back to him as something to remember him by, hugging him and whispering, "I hope I see you again". It was a touching moment between them as the Collector finally found a real friend. The Collector decided to go back to the stars to do some growing up and soul searching. While Luz was saddened that the glyphs no longer work due to the passing of Papa Titan, she remained hopeful as it marked the beginning of a new chapter.

4 years later, Luz enrolled in all majors at the University of Wild Magic. We see photos of more adventures in the human realm pinned on the board, including the high school graduation photo of Luz and Vee, as well as a writing scholarship signed by Dana Terrace.

The old house is now owned by the Nocedas and has been completely renovated with a brand new portal that allows travel between realms. As Owlbert flies freely, the credits started to roll and we got to see the awesome timeskip designs of every character and the revelations of other characters in a democratic Boiling Isles.

Willow has short hair, a new pair of glasses, and an Emerald Entrails top.

A teenage Braxas is a healing and beast-keeping student.

Hunter, who is a Palisman carver, no longer has bags under his eyes as he's finally happy, he gets good amounts of sleep, and he has a blue jay palisman named Waffles.

A gravestone to commemorate Flapjack.

Lilith oversees the renovation of the Bonesborough Library and finally acquires a harpy form.

Amity has a badass ponytail.

Skara and Barcus are now teachers at Hexside.

Principal Bump has retired from Hexside and is now a gardener.

Alador has invented a machine and worked with healing witches to remove coven sigils which turned out to be successful.

Darius and Alador might be in a relationship, as hinted by Darius's blushing.

Raine sports white hair and has a fox palisman.

The Keeper of the Looking Glass Graveyard and Edric are professors of the University of Wild Magic.

Gus has dreadlocks and is in charge of an exchange program between the Demon and Human Realms.

Eda sports a pirate hook and is the headmaster of the University of Wild Magic.

King appears taller and his horns appear slightly longer.

Vee, Camila, and Luz arrived at the Boiling Isles and everyone surprised her with a King-ceañera as a way to make up for Luz's 15th, 16th, and 17th birthdays after she contributed to rebuilding the Isles for 3 years.

King has acquired the ability to empower glyph magic, albeit with a new language for Luz to learn. King brought Luz to the edge of a cliff as the Collector created a light show of shooting stars. Luz thanked Eda and King for their neverending support. As the light show is about to be over, Luz and everyone gave a one big "BYEEE!!!" to the sky and audience, bringing the series to an end.

To wrap up this long-ass blog, I would just like to say a huge thank you to Dana Terrace and her team for creating a show with a compelling narrative, character development, lore, worldbuilding, representation of neurodiversity, and most importantly, LGBTQ+ representation.

This show has changed a lot of lives with its subject matter that not a lot of cartoons have the courage to depict and it makes viewers feel seen, heard, and validated.

The entire voice cast did a spectacular job in bringing life to the characters that we love and hate. I wish them all the best in their future endeavours. 

It’s also thanks to The Owl House that I got to discover the following wonderful reactors on YouTube:

alyciadweeb

BFLReacts

Darqui

Director Nat

EdDaWiz

IAmZamber

Krystalogy Reacts

MikeyVenture

Morgan Terry

Not-So-Average-Fangirl

TheFlamingShark

thethirdbill

Wee Lass Reacts

ZachReacts

It is such a tremendous shame that we won’t get to see the origins of the Bat Queen, what happened to the palistrom seed that Dell gave to Eda, the sibling relationship between Matt and Steve, and many more storylines due to Disney’s cancellation of the show and their shortening of season 3.

Looking at the bright side, the wait for the series finale was totally worth it and I’m glad it ended on a satisfying note.

Titan bless you all! 💖🏳️‍🌈✌️

#the owl house #toh #the owl house season 3 #toh season 3 #watching and dreaming #series finale #thoughts #recap #thank you dana terrace and the owl crew

[lighthouse-enjoyers-anonymous]

The CSH pipeline (aka my downfall)(aka my favorite band ever)

Last year around June, I listened to Car Seat Headrest for the first time, I think starting with Sober to Death. I had seen mention of the band before in memes about it being "incel" "male manipulator" music, but it was associated with a lot of bands I already had an interest in. My first instinct when seeing that something is being shit on is to go and consume the media so I can judge for myself whether it's actually that bad or if the fanbase is just being characterized by a couple shitty fans and if it's being meme-ified like Weezer. This has lead me down some questionable paths but I ultimately like this way of consuming media because I do end up finding new stuff I enjoy without being restricted to what's popular. I started listening to Mitski because I saw a tumblr post about how people don't like her work. Idk. Anyways I loved Sober to Death and started listening to their other top songs to get a feel for it. I think I mainly just listened to Twin Fantasy and Teens of Denial at first, then ToS and MBIKMB after a while. I wasn't hardcore into it and I knew barely anything about the band except I had picked up somewhere that Will was a furry (I have zero idea when I learned this but at the time I thought it was the most hilarious thing I've ever heard). I was just focused on my other interests much more (you know how it is). Fun fact, my ex included "It's Only Sex" on our relationship playlist when we dated in March, which

1- is an absolutely insane red flag 2- proves I knew about the band earlier than I remember Flash forward to February. I must have seen CSH mentioned a lot more on tiktok or pinterest or something, because I suddenly had a lot of interest in it. Sometimes I get waves of "oh god i'm a fake fan for not knowing everything about this subject" and that spurs some manic search to CONSUME ALL. I started listening to every album available on spotify, learned about Will's pre-CSH projects, and was instantly hooked.

This guy had written songs that spoke to me in a way only several other artists had in the past. On top of that, he had lived less than an hour away from me for the majority of my life (until he relocated to Seattle in 2014), AND most of his music was written at the age I am now. There was something so personal to me about it. Obviously, it was a popular-ish band so it wasn't really underground or anything, but it wasn't known by everyone so I still had the opportunity to introduce it to my friends for the first time. That being said, I still got teased a bit for listening to "sad gay furry music" :/ Touché.

Anyways, I then learned about 1 Trait Danger. Oh boy. I had heard the "Timmis" sound going around on tiktok without realizing it. God Andrew Katz is amazing too. It was silly, it was stupid, it had a new plotline to follow for each album, there was a discord server, there were costumes, there was Will Toledo, there was SO MUCH TO LEARN. So naturally I joined the Patreon so now I get some sick behind the scenes video game development content.

Deeper into the rabbithole comes Cate Wurtz's comics, which are mentioned in several CSH songs, and generally help to contextualize Will's work. Holy Shit I love Crow Cillers. I only started reading it yesterday. I have yet to fully understand what's going on because there is such a mash up of themes. It's entirely possible I made a mistake and managed to skip some crucial lore, but I'll figure it out eventually. Ynce Iche is badass. Other things that this hyperfixation has caused me to get into:

Radiohead and Weezer. more stereotypical incel music but I D K

Costume design? I'm in the process of building a trait mask, and I will make another post about this because I need help!!

animation, possibly. I'm hoping to animate parts, if not all, of 1 Trait Bangers. I have no prior experience with animating so this will be.... fun...

video production. I am ALSO in the process of creating a series of tiktok style videos to all of twin fantasy. if each one is about a minute, I should have... 71 videos. 1 down, 70 to go! This is cool because I got to visit the spot in Harper's Ferry mentioned in BL-I-D.

CSH livestreams. I looove the acoustic sound. Do miss the other band members though. Lots of his covers have lead me to find new music as well.

Will Toledo's tumblr. I scrolled all the way to the bottom of it and i'm attempting to compile a playlist of every song he mentions on there.

Will Toledo's spotify monthly playlists. That funky guy is listening to soooo much welsh folk. This raises questions about what the possible new album will sound like, but I'm down for anything!

Andrew Katz's instagram reels. I love these funky little videos it's like a vine revival with all of our favorite band members.

Will Toledo's high school bands/comics. The Mr. Yay Okay facebook page is so blessed I love seeing shitty home video recordings of them playing with a Ouija board.

New friends! Shout out to the cool people on the 1td discord server. game nights are always hilarious

Pop culture references. I have been convinced to buy several books simply bc they were mentioned in a song or his tumblr. also I started NGE and I will eventually get to Twin Peaks.

That's all for now! I should be able to update as I find more stuff to deep dive into, and as my creative projects unfold. It's going to be a busy couple of months in my house though, as I prepare for college. If I end up switching hyperfixations before I complete anything, I must apologize. But I don't owe "you" anything. I say to my singular follower, cheezbot. Hi cheezbot.

#car seat headrest #cshr #csh #will toledo #infodump #1 trait danger

[glassgob]

Literally all I had absorbed about Blaseballl before today was your crazy weird and incredible artwork. It has intrigued me cuz I love the designs, but I'm horrendous about getting into new media. ANYWAY Your stuff is impressive enough that it has successfully made me dream about it, good job. :') (The dream was basically all these monster people competing in a ball game and also depending on how good they played they got to pick... romantic partners like the bachelor or some shit.)

this is both the funniest and most delightful message i have received in a while, holy shit, im honored

also im gonna be entirely honest this isnt entirely inaccurate to how blaseball actually is? i could explain it to you but i feel like that would only make the situation worse. this is all to say you know more about blaseball than you think and also i cannot recommend this game to anyone because its consumed my life for the past two years.

#gobasks #blaseball #legit thank you again and im so sorry all i draw is monsters and guys making out. sometimes both at the same time. #ive been wanting to draw them actually playing the game more but i just have brainworms in the shape of two (2) men #anyway if you have blb questions absolutely send them my way and i will poorly answer them

[kidfoundonstreets]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA last post

SON OF A BITCH I KNEW IT

thats beyond creepy. im so happy hes presented in such a horrifying way the way that dorothy fr just brought out a gun as well.. literal queen. shoot this bitch to the ground but it might frame her. agh these kinds of people will honestly never be satisfied. theyll always want more even if they do achieve a level of what they want the person theyre with will forever be haunted by what was done to get it its so messed up. if you really loved your wife you wouldve stopped. anyway THE WAY IT POV SWITCHES?? AFGH anyway holy shit. noel honey sugar gravy my world please are you alright i cant tell if its just stress or something more serious i love how more genuine ashe looks his eyes are less exaggerated and same with his mouth. its nice to see

IS THAT HIS LITTLE SISTER OH GOD HES SUBCONCIOUSLY RELATING HIS LITTLE SISTER TO NOEL’S SITUATION,, ashes caring for noel........... MY HEART. its just really sweet in general when serious stuff isnt happening i really like them

THEY!!!!!!!!! STAR SHAPED CARROTS?? HELPGFHDSFGHDSHFSH THATS SO CUTE,, the thank you ashe with noel....ahgghjhhkjhoihejoieu21o3iu21093u2132 hugs it and keeps it in a little cloud forever this made me way too happy but at the same time kinda sad

seeing ashe’s thoughts >>>>>> i wish we’d see more  he’s pointing this out but he’s not insulting it. more just a mess of feelings i guess I KNOW I SOUND COMPLETELY CALM IN TEXT BUT AGSJFHGDJSHEKJE TJHAT INTERACTION MADE ME SO GIDDY ITS JUST SO,,,,,  ma n THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE CONVERSATIONS TBH :D SEEING ASHE ACT SO,,,,,,, GENUINE?????? AND STUFF WHEN WE HAVENT THE ENTIRE GAME IS JUST NEW BUT THE GOOD KIND OF NEW IM BAD AT EXPLAINING AND REPEAT MYSELF A LOT BUT HRHHRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG rolling around on floor okay back to pointing guns i guess

THE AMPOUNT OF SADNESS I WAS RGHT AWAY PULLED BACK TO DONT DOP THIS TO ME THIS IS SO BAD IM HAPPY SHE GOT TO AT LEAST HUG HIM BEFORE SHE DIED BUT WHATLL HAPPENED TO SIRIUS NOW PLEASE DONT HURT THEM EVEN MORE HTIS IS SO  SIRIUS SEEING ALL OF HIS PARENT FIGURES IN HIS LIFE DIE HES SEEN SO MUCH AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE IM SURPRISED SEEING LADY DOROTHY DIE LIKE THIS DIDNT ABSOLUTELY DESTROY HIM OR LEAVE HIM WITH REALLY BAD ABANDOMNET ISSUES AND SAME WITH LADY DOROTHY TOO SHE WS JUST IN SO MUCH PAIN AT THAT MOMENT BUT DECIDED TO WRAP HER ARM AROUND SIRIUS EVEN STILL IM 

i just put the keysmash through a translator and nothing showed this is so messed up. but i feel bad for the monster in a way. it didnt seem to rip her apart more just consume her or something

SIRIUS. HURT. COMFORT. RIGHT NOW  HE DESERVES SO MUCH LOVE GODDAMNIT NONE OF THIS WAS DESERVED claires horrified blank reaction. yea claire crying. yea so the monster was actually patricia? did they send her down as that? hgjhkg

everybody here gravely needs a hug. like right now. the witchs heart really just drives everybody insane

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE NORMAL AFTER THAT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA actually had to step away this is fine wilardo story wilardo story wialrdo sotry

guy has had his antenna since he was born wilardo is so weird,, it reminds me of checkers thanks old man <3 found family real the way they all have these as dreams it must not be nice I REALLY WANNA TASTE ASHE’S COOKING ISTG IT DOESNT HELP IM HUNGRY RN TOO sweets r my favorite thing

#kid's heart

[bylightofdawn]

My entire life is still being consumered with FF7: Rebirth. This is why I don't play JRPG's anymore (well that and FF has kinda gone hill in quality since like 9 onwards) I have terrible balance when I play games and will bury myself in them for hundreds of hours until I complete the game.

I got to the Chocobo Races in the Golden Saucer and holy shit it has fucked up my hands so bad I cannot play anymore tonight. The RA and bone spurs in my hands are so bad that having to hold down and jerk the right joystick so much has actually aggravated my right middle finger to the point it is physically hurting me. This is maddening and terrifying that I might get to a point where I cannot play video games? I never really considered that possibility before.

I mean, this is a minor blessing in disguise in that I forgot yesterday was Seeds update date and completely didn't finish editing chapter 31 soooooo I guess I'm going to do that tonight instead?

I about laughed myself silly when Billy was all 'Come race again" fuck no. I'm so pressed about having to do a mandatory chocobo race, I don't want to look at another race in my life. I think they THANKFULLY got rid of the RIDICULOUS NEED to breed faster chocobos and win races to work your way up to the golden chocobo which...if you played the original game, you know what seventh layer of Hell that was. Yet still, 25 years ago I was willing to put in countless hours of frustation to do it.

Ooof even typing is kinda jacking up my hand. I definitely think I might look into getting some of those heated gloves off of amazon. Problem is my worst joints are the last digits and those tend to stick out of regular arthritis gloves. Maybe I'll buy some of those heated mittens and see how those work. I guess this is my life now?

#life of el #sorry about the whiny post #el attempts to edit

[greenjokwe-blog]

Monthly Greejily Media (January 2024) - The First of Who Knows

God I hate Twitter. I mean I still use it way more than any other social media, but I'm so tired of it man. From all the recent mistakes, to how posts get popular, to how it and TikTok's business decisions have infected the entire tech industry at large. All that and more is good enough reason to move my media threads away from that platform, but truth be told I'm only so moved by these things in that regard. Nah, more than anything, the format for media threads on that site just got tiring for me. Feeling the need to fit in everything into a single tweet, the want to put every single media I've consumed in one place even if I'm not particularly moved or interested in the updating process. So, I thought this'd be much nicer. Having a little section on my Tumblr dedicated to the stuff that's interested me the most, on a monthly basis. A lot more appealing! And that way I can talk about whatever I want for as long as I want. Fantastic. This probably won't stop my full reviews (there are still a few I want to write, but writer's block is getting to me right now), but this is definitely a more flexible format for me at least for now. Let's start shall we?

I might as well start with video games, as it's the thing I tend to talk about most on this blog, but truth be told I haven't actually beaten a single game this year yet. There's one game I'm currently working on beating, but because I'll be taking a more casual approach to that one (as well as gaming in general this year I imagine), I'm not comfortable talking about that one yet. Two games I'll talk about for now though, and will definitely probably come up again I will discuss though, one of those being Picross 3D.

I've never been invested in Picross but I've always found it a good time. I love all kinds of old puzzle solvers and Picross/nonograms in general have been a great, shockingly modern version of that that fit amazingly for video games. Picross 3D has felt like the perfect culmination of what Picross has achieved for years, and seeing the praise for it I knew this would be a great step for me getting into more of Picross in general, and I was right.

There's not much I can really add here, I feel no need to explain what Picross is and not much to add to it's actual gameflow other than its so addicting and there's so much of it here. I'm approaching halfway through right now and this game has nearly 400 puzzles. Each puzzle is like a trance, they all have logical and sensical solutions, and the satisfaction of finding a discrepancy, deleting/saving blocks as needed, and realizing you've just opened a whole new set of options for yourself feels amazing.

I only have two issues with it as of right now, one of them being because this game was made with a DS in mind, and because there are no zoom-in options for the game, trying to get the correct block to delete can often feel very finicky. The other issue being, well I can't play too much of it! I start seeing Picross when I close my eyes and it comes up with unsolvable puzzles! I'll talk about my future adventures with Picross no doubt in the future though, so get ready.

Another game I've been into, and you should expect to see again in these posts, is Burnout 3: Takedown. Again, probably not gonna say much on this for now, but I already have over one hundred gold medals for the courses in this game. This game has such good variety, despite having a fairly limited number of tracks it makes real good use of it, and it's technical ability for a PS2 game can only been the work of gods. Also it feels amazing to play holy shit. I get why there's never been a new one of these, but the worlds been worse without it.

One thing I will say though, don't be surprised if I write a full review on this game where I inevitably tear the latter Gran Prix to shreds, cuz holy shit the last one I did was so fucking hard. The game has great feel, design and good tells for a PS2 game, but it's still a PS2 game. You can be a god at this game and still get fucked over. But the fact that the game is so tantilizing and the amount of fuckups that can happen with you having a smile on your face... yeah I'll have to make a full review on this game when I 100% it, watch this space.

All right, next up films and television!!!

This is the section I was really excited for. I haven't talked about film at all on this blog, and I wanna make up for it. There's still a TON of films I watched last year that I want to talk about, so don't be surprised if I start making tangent posts about those at some point. More than anything, I want this year to be my film and book year, so expect it to take over all these upcoming posts from now on.

To start with, the show I finally finished, Gundam 00! This was the Gundam series I always wanted to watch even before I knew what the UC was, and now being a huge Gundam fan it's made watching the full series an... interesting reflection. I did post my opinions on the first season after finishing it last year, and I'll stick by those. Despite its problem with plotlines and characters, this show is a great response and reflection of what led to the Iraq war, as well as the war on terrorism in general. Season 1 also ended extremely strong, so Season 2 had a lot to live up to. A lot that I knew, based on a general sense and public opinion that it wouldn't. It ended up with me dropping the show for a few months until I eventually picked it back up after watching Wing rightfully thinking "it can't be any worse".

Thankfully it wasn't! The show picked up a fair bit after the second half, and included a lot of interesting arcs and stories (mainly, the stuff regarding the ALAWS) to consistently keep the show fairly solid. However, there was still a ton of problems. Plots were even messier here than they were during the first season, a huge portion of motivations just got cut in half, the characters are even less likeable here (aside from the worst ones, which are nicer now by comparison), and the main issue of the villains being a LOT less compelling here than they were in season 1, to the point of both detriment of the show and making it feel a lot more standard-Gundam faire, compared to S1's striking originality. However, there's still a lot to like! Again, a lot of the plotlines I liked such as the ALAWS and everything with Marina, the Gundam designs and effects are still solid, animation is nice (even if at points I'd prefer more clearer and concise boarding and battles), and it still carries over a lot of the themes that made Gundam 00 so solid to begin with. So despite it's weakness I'd still say that season 2 is worth the watch, if anything else for more of Setsuna and Graham.

Oh yeah and I uh, watched the movie as well.

OK, slight spoilers ahead, but I'm just gonna get through this very quickly here. This film is dumb. All of the political intrigue of the show is basically gone to make a James Cameron-inspired dumb anime blockbuster. The main villains are a cross between Xenomorphs and Terminators. It's got quip dialogue. There is a scene where they somehow make the comical approach to Allelujah's mental illnesses even more comical by giving him this Hulk-style action switch sequence. The film largely focuses on characters that get no payoff, with Setsuna being the only strong focus throughout. It's dumb. It's shallow. It's a mess. It's also kind of fun??? I can't say it looks visually much better than the show, but what it does have is a fairly simple but strong premise that fits the world fairly well. And whenever something cool happens it manages to make it REALLY cool. So that's always nice. Somehow, still a very satisfying conclusion to the series despite everything that it is, and probably up there somewhere in the middle of the Gundam films I've seen so far.

That was the first of the three films I saw this month, with the other two being not quite as schlocky. In fact, on the complete opposite of the "war is bad" scale, we have the 1957 Soviet film "The Cranes are Flying".

While a much-beloved classic by prestigious classic by many, I knew essentially nothing about this film an hour before I decided to start watching it. When I started watching the film, I was fairly disappointed in how, premise-wise, this film doesn't really have much different from what I wasn't already used to from a variety of war history, poetry, and sad mid-2000s webcomics. As stunning as this film could be with its technical prowess for the 50s, I was worried that this film wouldn't really do much for me. That was until I reached about the halfway point.

The small little trick this film plays with you (that's not really much of a trick, mind you), is extremely potent and gives this film relevancy to this day. Not being just a film about war-torn lovers, this film focuses well and truly on it's main character, Veronika, and all of her strifes and problems that arise either as caused by the war, or by her family. This film goes in to a lot of issues of women's suffrage and plight that you would not expect a film from this era to discuss, and does it with great decorum and respect (although, this came out the same year as Nights of Cabiria, which, wow, what a year for feminist film). There are some scenes in this film that are filled with harrowing emotion that I can definitely see why it's considered such an underground classic, at least as far as the west is concerned.

I think because of the general content of the film there's only so much I can enjoy though, if that makes sense? But that's just an issue for me and old movies in general, nothing against the film itself. I would still absolutely recommend this film to anyone who is interested, as relevant and ever-present now as it ever was. Man, I hate war. And warlord fascists.

Any way, final film that I watched this month, and this one's one for the BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Uh, spoilers for this one too, by the way.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a weird one for me to talk about, because if it wasn't for the (admittedly few) caveats that I have with this film I could easily see it being one of my all-time favourites. Had I watched it a few years back it probably would be! The acting is fantastic, portraying each character and their differences wonderfully. The characters themselves are all extremely likeable and each has their own interesting quirks and interests that keep them apart despite the amount that there are onscreen. The technical ability in this film's phenomenal, loads of wonderful shots here, and the way the more compact scenes here move in-and-out of focus is absolutely wonderful. Pace, soundtrack, general story and motivations, all solid stuff.

But... at the same time... I mean, it's not that big of a deal, but like... I was only half-kidding when I called this film a "boys movie" earlier. Not that it's an innate issue! But let's say, I wanted to make a really dumb and unfavourable view on the film, you could definitely theoretically make a Letterboxd review complaining how this film is a contrived story about an evil matriarch trying to destroy "the boys" fun at all opportunities, the evil bitch! This, in and of itself I don't think would be a real issue for me with this films plot alone, but the film constructs itself with this plausible deniability aspect to it, the possibility that these men are just here to chill or self-improve! It puts some of the films accolades and themes and misunderstandings (mostly from guys) into a different context.

This, along with some other issues I have including a couple of character arcs like the Chief, and general ambivalence to certain topics as a whole, apparently don't exist in the book (from what I've been told). It's definitely something I want to read at some point! HOWEVER, all that being said, I don't hold much of this too much against the film, mostly because one, the story is still pretty damn good, and two, god there aren't many other movies out there that treat those with problems and mental illnesses with the humanity and respect quite like this film does. The way the film manages to make sure that each character deserves their own urgency and respect, and makes sure to put blame and point at the terrible ablest structures that demonise and trap them...

I think the best example of this in the film is during the beginning of the film, where the first group therapy meeting is held. The scene manages to perfectly represent the circle the main cast surrounds themselves in, where the previous good mood and vibes of the previous 10 minutes starts dimming. When Mrs. Fletcher asks Mr. Harding about his wife, with the set implication that she was being unfaithful. Harding tries to avoid the question, particularly when the topic of abuse comes up, leading to deflection, however, as the conversation goes on, the emotion from great late actor William Redfield becomes more and more potent. It starts to become more clear that even if he is deflecting, he is truly looking for redemption and self-improvement, and, truth be told, the fact of him being abusive, or even her cheating both start becoming irrelevant (the film never states if they were or not). This is lost on the other patients though, who see this session as just another time of him yapping about his wife, strictly against Harding's wishes. This turns into a shouting match, all the while Mrs. Fletcher and the other doctors do nothing but watch. Despite how this has clearly happened before, despite the fact that it's strictly not working, they let it continue not necessarily because they personally believe it helps, but because they believe it's best to follow the systems and rules set in place by the hospital, even if it only hurts and victimizes the patients who are there just to get help.

So yeah I like this film a lot, I think it's fantastic. I know I kinda went on about it for a bit for a film that's been talked about to death, but whatever. Definitely would recommend, good film good film.

And laaaastt uppp uuhhhh albums I guess? Truth is, I'm gonna have a similar issue with this section that I did last time where I'm not gonna know what to write that much, so I came up with a solution. Most of the reason I did what I did last year on Twitter with my relistens was to make up for lastfm mostly being irrelevant for me now. So, I decided instead I'd make my own lastfm 5x5 charts based on what I listened to that month, either being new albums or relistens. So, here it is:

There'll be times where I probably go on tangents here. For example I FINALLY got around to hearing Quaranta and I of course ended up really liking it. Same with Genesis' Trespass, Far East Suite, and that Funkadelic album. And there's still issues with this format like I might have to differentiate what was new for me and what was a relisten. But I imagine the format will end up changing a lot as the months go on and it might not even be the same next month so, we'll what I do next I suppose, if I scrap this idea don't be surprised, it's probably cuz I didn't listen to that month or something I dunno.

Anyway, that's the update done! God knows if when I do this next month it'll be even remotely as close to as long as this one was. There might be months when I decide to dedicate an entire section to one single piece of art I enjoyed. Maybe there won't be one some months and I just try to put out a review or something instead, or I just choose to shitpost a whole month cuz I REALLY have nothing to say. We'll see. I imagine this'll be a fun format to experiment with, either way. Thanks for reading!

[rapifessor]

Pokéchronology, Volume I: Yellow

Day 13

This was a pretty grindy day, unsurprisingly. I want to make sure I'm reasonably prepared for what's coming up next, so I've been planning my endgame and powering up my Pokémon. I'll very likely wrap things up by tomorrow, and it won't be long before I start the next volume of Pokéchronology. I've laid the groundwork to make sure all of that happens.

Without further ado, let us begin. Unless you're allergic to Pokémon Yellow spoilers, of course.

Victory Road

Here we are. This is the final frontier, the last stretch before I reach the end of the game. From Giovanni's gym, I get organized and set out for Victory Road.

Ah, but of course, I must first deal with Gary, who has shown up yet again to demand a battle from me, claiming he's going to "whip" me to warm up for the Elite Four. Big if true.

In all seriousness, I wasn't sure how I was going to perform against Gary compared to last time. And as it turns out, he has a full team now, composed of Sandslash, Exeggcute, Ninetales, Cloyster, Kadabra, and Jolteon.

Luckily, I had Holy in front at the time, so I didn't have to switch to counter Gary's opener, Sandslash. I outspeed and OHKO it with Surf. Alright then, no problem. Sandslash isn't so spooky anymore. Then it's Exeggcute. Psychic/Grass, eh? Alright, Ice Beam that shit. OHKO again.

Ninetales. This 'mon actually has pretty good HP and/or Special, so they survive being hit with Surf. Ninetales' Ember does very little damage to Holy in return though, so even though Ninetales outspeeds them, Holy KOs another of Gary's Pokémon with a Thunderbolt.

In comes Cloyster. Boy, was I ready for that fucker this time. They try to Confuse Holy, but fail, and Holy deletes them instantly with Thunderbolt. Finally, Gary sends out something that Holy can't immediately destroy: Kadabra. I figure the best way to combat them is with Mycoboss, though I was worried that Kadabra might get the W anyway because of their raw Special. Surprisingly, Kadabra survives a Leech Life, so I move to finish them off with Cut. Kadabra Recovers though, so after the Cut hits I follow it up with another Leech Life. Kadabra down. Thanks to the big heals from these moves, Mycoboss was able to survive a Psychic and a Psybeam.

Finally, it's time for Jolteon. You all know how this is going to go.

Prinzessin. Earthquake. Jolteon faints in one attack. To make matters worse for Gary's ace Pokémon, they managed to get off a Pin Missile against Prinzessin, which is super effective against her, and it barely did anything. This confirms that even though Jolteon is guaranteed to outspeed my counter pick, there's nothing they can do that's even remotely threatening to Prinzessin.

So yeah. Given that I swept 2/3rds of his entire team with a single Pokémon and the rest proved to be no greater challenge, I would say Gary is no longer someone I need to worry about.

Victory Road, for real this time

Victory Road consists of a brief route where you can find a few different wild Pokémon and a cave dungeon where Moltres can be found, which you must solve a boulder puzzle to traverse. The Pokémon found outside the cave are almost all above level 40, which makes them decent to train on. I'll be coming back to them later. There are otherwise no trainers in this area.

The cave is a much more complex and difficult sequence as you must figure out how to get through while being bombarded with Geodude and facing trainers with fully evolved Pokémon. Well, I could have dealt with the belligerent wild Pokémon if I used some Repels, but why pass up the opportunity to gain some free EXP for Ominous and Holy?

There are also a shit ton of items in this dungeon. Several TMs, most of which you can already buy so I'm not sure why they bothered, and other assorted consumables. I had to get my storage sorted out yet again and ended up making multiple trips to the dungeon, restocking and getting my Pokémon healed. I taught Prinzessin Fire Blast just to free up space, which wasn't a bad idea anyway since Water Gun had outlived its usefulness on her and having a powerful Fire move gives me a little extra type coverage. Or the ability to KO Pokémon with raw power, as I've learned. Also used the TM for Softboiled on the Chansey I caught, since they're the only Pokémon who can even learn it.

The battle with Moltres was... annoying. Mycoboss is too slow and can't survive more than a turn against the legendary bird, so Spore was effectively useless as a means of disabling them. I went for the good ol' Body Slam Paralyze strat once again, which did work but man did it suck. Ominous did a great job of tanking Moltres' attacks while I spammed Ultra Balls. This motherfucker literally ate every single Ultra Ball I had. All 18 of them. In honor of them being such a brat, I named them Bratwurst.

For the rest of the cave, I had fun decimating the teams of every trainer who challenged me. I encountered a couple Machoke during my time in the dungeon, which I would have caught if Moltres hadn't been a little bitch and I had remembered to replenish my supply before returning after a trip to the Pokémon Center. Eventually I made my way out to Indigo Plateau, the site of the Pokémon League, where the final battle will take place.

But not yet. I want to do some grinding first. I got sorted at the Pokémon Center and then got straight to training. A few hours of grinding later, my entire team is level 50, which I figure should be enough to carry me all the way through the battle for the championship. I know that the Pokémon I'll be facing are stronger than that, but frankly, I doubt that it matters. Constantly being at a level deficit certainly didn't stop me from laughing off Gary's notion of using me as a warm-up. Even if his Jolteon is 10 levels higher than my Prinzessin, it won't stop me from one-shotting them once again.

I'm more concerned with the Elite Four, to some extent. I didn't look into what Pokémon they had too much, as I'd rather it be a surprise, but I know that they specialize in types much like Gym Leaders. One of them uses Ice types and another uses Dragon types. Too bad there are no pure Ice types in Generation I, otherwise the Ice user's Pokémon might stand a chance against Holy. And Dragon is weak to Ice, which Holy also has more than covered. I'm starting to think that Lapras may be a little OP. My Lapras has a favorable match-up against other Lapras for fuck's sake.

Well, we'll have to see if the Elite Four are really all that tomorrow. As I understand it, you're forced to fight them all back to back with no opportunity for a Pokémon Center trip in between. But that's just a matter of having enough items for the job. Status heals, Hyper Potions, Lemonades and Fresh Waters, Revives, and maybe Elixirs if I need them. I'll just make sure that I'm prepared for every situation and that I have the ability to heal my Pokémon to full as many times as necessary.

#rapifessor rambles #grind #long post #pkmn #pokémon #pokeblogging #pokemon #pokechronology #pokechron #classic games #retro gaming