#Inazuma during that labyrinth event

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

okay but we all agree that Childe simply must appear in Natlan at some point, right? not even from a lore standpoint, just because he has a reputation of being Mr. Teyvat and you know that man never backs down from a challenge.

i imagine you leave home for a little bit to help with Natlan's rebuilding as many of the nations are doing, and Childe convinces Foul Legacy to also just HAPPEN to be in Natlan at the same time. his Abyssal half doesn't want to at first, since the house is cozy and Natlan is notorious for being very, very warm, but the moment Childe mentions your name Legacy perks up and agrees, and a few days later you're promptly tackled by a jubilant monster and sent stumbling right into a hot spring.

needless to say, the civilians around you are VERY concerned until you sheepishly reassure them that this is one of the, ah, nicer Abyssal beasts. not that they really doubted your words, seeing how eagerly Legacy snuggled into your lap and nibbled your fingers.

[bestgrrl]

Kujou Sara is Genshin’s most tragic character. With sources.

Sara spent her early life without even a name. (Character story: vision) She had no identity beyond being a tengu warrior, and according to her, tengu warriors have an explicit and specific responsibility of guarding forests and mountains (Chat: Duty). Even as a child her identity revolves around duty and violence.

She lived in a forest overrun by monsters, and being a young child, was injured and almost killed by them before she received her Vision.

Instead of adopting her or entrusting her to the shrine, Yae “used the pretext of "training" to bluff her into asceticism in the mountains” when she was a child. (Kagura’s verity lore) She also orchestrated Sara’s adoption into the Kujou can because of Sara’s “unruly nature.”

Upon entering human society, Sara was immediately groomed into military service and religiously indoctrinated by her adoptive father.

Her adoptive father does not care about her compared to his biological sons, and treats her like a tool. She is hurt by his treatment of her, but feels so indebted to him that she doesn’t allow herself to even speak of it. (More About Kujou Sara: IV)

She has known little else but subservience to the authority of Takayuki and the Shogun for her entire life among humans. When confronting Takayuki during the Archon Quest, she says: “Ever since I was adopted by the Kujou Clan, you taught me the importance of loyalty from servants to their superiors…”

She is not allowed to be a part of society. She is alienated from humans by being a yokai (literally, her tengu wings prevent her from standing too close to people (Kujou Sara's Troubles)). And the one time she had friends, they were punished and she was isolated further. (Character story V)

She does not have any personal aspirations besides serving the Shogun. (About Kujou Sara: Aspiration)

She trains obsessively and literally religiously, with her “personal regimen being over ten times tougher than that which the ordinary troops go through.” (character story II) She does not have hobbies—when asked about her hobbies, she first mentions her bow training, but then says she “wouldn't call it a hobby so much as a lifelong discipline.” (Kujou Sara's Hobbies)

The goddess she worships does not actually exist, and it is unclear if the real goddess knows of her existence, despite Sara being one of her leading generals and carrying the title of “devotee of the divine.” (From the genshin website)

About eternity, Sara says “To manifest Eternity per the Almighty Shogun's will — that is what I aspire to.” (Chat: Eternity) But she says herself that she does not understand the goals of the Shogun in ‘About the Raiden Shogun: Trust’:

“As I'm sure you've heard many times before, the Almighty Shogun seeks Eternity — an existence beyond the dominion of thought and longing. "Abandon mortal ties, strive for an unchanging Eternity"... The Almighty Shogun's manner is always resolute, and I do not always fully grasp the meaning of her words. But this is her decision, and I trust her.”

And instead of the Raiden Shogun determining and saving her life like she believes (About the Vision) Sara has always been manipulated by people who simply used her. She was literally made to be a complacent servant.

Think about all the times we the player lie to her and let others manipulate her—in the Archon Quest, the labyrinth warriors event, Kokomi’s story quest, the Irodori festival.

She’s easy to lie to because all the indoctrination and manipulation was successful—too successful. She is the perfect servant and perfect soldier, who’s only aspiration is to serve.

Unlike Takayuki, who wants to further the Clan, Sara does not have personal goals that involve herself in any meaningful or tangible capacity. Everything she does is to serve the Shogun and Inazuma and the Clan in the most direct and earnest way, because that is all that has been taught to her and all she can understand.

Every facet of her identity and self—a tengu, a soldier, a Kujou—are all the same to her because they mean duty and service to the Shogun and Inazuma and the Clan. And duty and service are all that she is because she has never known anything else.

[narwhalandchill]

Hello! I saw you mention Childe in labyrinth warriors (hope that’s the right name) when talking about the 4.6 appearance, can I ask you about your thoughts on him there? I didn’t get to play that event- so what I know about it is spotty at best. Just that it’s in Inazuma, had Xinyan I think? And that Childe was there. And the little paper dude. I’m genuinely curious about what insights you gained from the event into his character- and I’d love to hear you talk about Childe more.

(can you believe. when i say. now that im finishing this up. that it got out of hand anon??? uhhhhhhhhhhhh. i mean. at this point this should be expected)

hi!!!! sorry this took a bit, ive been somewhat sick all week and also just now absorbed by the nuzlocke im doing but Anyway. am here now thank you sm for the ask and enabling childe thoughts!!!!!

. readmore bc this Actually got just. unbearably long otherwise JIWDJDWJKDJKWWJDK 😭😭😭😭

so the outline is basically as u said, but like. to summarize it w some particular details mentioned since they Do matter (sorry it got giga fucking long bc i think the full context is helpful for discussing childes parts too lmao). but here goes:

so a mysterious domain has appeared out of thin air on narukami island with monsters spewing out from within into the countryside. now this is an Issue (TM) bc timeline-wise this is still v much the immediate aftermath of the inazuma AQ and the civil war - the nation & esp the tenryo commission rly isnt in ideal shape resource and manpower wise to deal w another crisis like this and it has sara rightfully tense after the initial waves of the monsters were finally forced back. she kinda cant afford to send her men to scout inside the domain (it also kinda. opens and closes and reopens at random which is another issue for potential scouts) but if nothing is done to stop the monsters she must commit to a full on assault to destroy the domain to remove the threat & shes more or less on a timer with that. making it quite the precarious situation for her politically too and not just security wise. (keep this in mind)

how we end up being asked to investigate the place has to do w the. im ngl p convoluted xinyan b plot basically she was invited to a music festival as a performer but it was cancelled so now she lacks the travel permits she needs and getting new ones is Not fast without some inside help. we agree to look for sara so she could argue xinyans case, run into her dilemma w the domain and she agrees to expedit the process if we investigate the place in her forces' stead. (xinyan the civilian tags along for some reason too)

first time u go in, u find the paper dude (kind of an enchanted paper familiar of sorts) aka shiki taishou outside who has lost his memory yet is undoubtedly connected to the domain which is obviously a bit suspicious given the whole. monster spewing into the neighborhood deal. but idk she passes xinyans music vibe check so she argues we should help him recover his memories and in turn discover the truth of the domain along the way.

once we get inside the domain we obviously run into mr. worldwide himself including but not limited to a closeup of his crotch during his introduction for some reason. yeah its been nearly 3 years these things you cant unsee. that and the sending us sausage in his bday mail. like bruh

now childes (as he eventually divulges) in inazuma to look for traces of scara who ran off w the gnosis and happened to stumble into this strange domain with weird vibes. he thought it might be something relevant and waltzed in, proceeded to get locked inside (as the domain shifted) and beat the shit out of all the monsters there all the while having the time of his life bc hes simply built different. bc turns out the place is basically just a full-on sparring simulator for warriors that seems to be running by itself w no one overseeing it ever since the domain resurfaced cue the "pratice targets" aka monsters running wild

dont wanna recap the entire thing in detail but basically. firstly childe kinda improvs another new identity as an adventurer noticing xinyans liyuen attire bc Osial Incident and picking up the awkward energy we have at the realization of. this might be messy if we tell her. and xinyan buys it and nicknames him "red" w/e. so thats why the harbinger thing doesnt become a bigger conflict

he then informs us that all the monsters within the domain turn into torn paper charms when destroyed and that there are "replicas" of shiki taishou strewn about the domain that should restore his power and hopefully memories over time.

so we end up going thru the place helping shiki taishou gather his power and uncover the nature of the place. he kind of has an identity crisis happening bc all the monsters the place is generating seem to imply he was created for some nefarious purpose as a weapon of some sorts (childe says some Very Interesting Things in response as an attempt at pep talk. will get to it).

but TLDR what we do discover is actually that the shikigami/paper magic and the domains functions were basically a system invented after the domains creator harunosuke studied similar adeptal techniques in liyue in order to create the shikigami as these battle partners for samurai fighting against monsters from the cataclysm. these paper dolls could then record and replicate the monsters it and its partner fought in order to train others inside the domain so that inazumas protectors would always be ready to face such a threat if it ever came to be. shiki taishou was created as the "overseer" of this domain and its functions as a training facicility. by regaining his memories and finding clarity in his purpose shiki taishou gains control over the place again and is able to shut down its rogue functions so that it no longer poses a threat. he then promises to improve upon its workings by taking it to dormancy again. sara is relieved that the crisis could be averted without costing her manpower or further resources she doesnt have. yippee

So. yeah that took way too long mb jdwhjwdjdwadwaj but. Childe.

so there are a particular standouts in here in my opinion.

for one that is less like. a characterization aspect but more of a "gotcha" confirmation thats very nice to have is that he explicitly confirms that wherever in the abyss he spent those 3 months at 14, it DID involve places tied to the irminsul and its roots.

fissures between great tree roots u say?????? Inch resting ajax. tell me more abt the trees king.

also this monologue is literally so fucking sexy in general i love his single-minded pursuit of something as like. quintessentially simple as just. Improvement. but bc he has literally 0 fucking chill in his boundless hunger for that one singular ambition it alone is enough to disrupt the gravity of the world around him....... (but we will get to that)

Anyway. another Very good fucking moment from him character-wise is during the 2nd act. where weve spoken w sara about the tense situation after the 1st day of investigation ended w all of us minus childe (who got "trapped" inside the same way a child gets "trapped" inside a free-for-all candy store with all amenities included. he had a blast) getting thrown out and the domain rearranging itself again. and like we go back in once the entrance opens and are even more eager and restless to start figuring things out bc again. sara is on a timer.

and then .

guys im pretty sure theres a twitch emote for this???? something starting with C and ending with AUGHT?

LMAOOOOOO

he reads the shit out of us trying to all "subtly" push for the investigation to proceed so the crisis we are actually tasked to investigate can be solved. like this is literally just Actual 5d chess situational awareness and picking up cues from people around him and honing onto exactly whats stirring up in the undercurrent from childe. basically. he just lays onto us like. ah right. this is probably a big problem for that tenryo commission right? such a problem that theyd even ask an outsider to cover their duties... when thatd never happen during regular times right? a conundrum that could get even more problematic if theres a harbinger publicly around... right? oh my bad my bad haha just thinking out loud bestie lets get back to investigating shall we? hahaha

he is such a smart fucking Bastard oh my godddddd bro is out there smelling the traces of societal unrest and any and all weaknesses in a given governing structure like hes a shark tasting like 0,00000001% blood in the water . professional & supernaturally efficient problem causer everyone. this is what he was hired for . i love him

like. hes SMART guys. and hoyo Knows how to work his intelligence into the writing too its soooo scrumptious man .

and like bro hes being such a fucking menace in here too bc. he couldve kept this observation to himself too. but nooooo he just had to shove it in ur face that we are Not being as slick w keeping him in the dark as we would like to think💀💀 smug ass.

it makes me think abt how many things he actually Notices among the harbingers and all their power plays and schemes among one another but that childe simply keeps to himself bc he has nothing to gain from disproving the assumption of himself as this. gullible and simple-minded loyal warrior harbinger and the person-shaped time bomb we toss at wherever the flames of discord need some help sparking alight. after all, we saw this in arles quest too - how not only did he use our pathetic distraction attempts as an opportunity to fish relevant information on both arlecchino and pulcinella for himself (which i already commented on) but also. the fact that he Very clearly noticed our attempt at distracting her and intentionally helped us out without even knowing anything abt the matter at hand. to the point where even arle makes that Highly pointed comment about it and all but spells out that childe was assisting us on purpose the entire time.

like he is just. incredibly perceptive and so fucking intelligent like especially back in 2.2 where even Bigger of a portion of the fandom (if thats even possible) than today just thought of him as this. stupid fucking baby infant meow meow idiot brainwashed by the tsaritsa and completely owned by zhongli and signora XDDDDDD . seeing this unfold made me so fucking happy abt the way like. yeah HOYO knows what his character is all abt. the fandom can ruin him all the want but the games story isnt going to bend to their will.

Speaking of Which.

The weapon thing.

so as ive already alluded to prior . the entirety of labyrinth warriors despite it highlighting childes intelligence, attitude, priorities and ambitions in a way thats like. genuinely so fucking good and comes off as natural with no forced sounding exposition or backstory dump . mostly got a fan reception more in the way of . waa waa my baby boy is depressed with sigma PTSD 3.0 with DLC because calling yourself a weapon is self dehumanization and it signals he is suicidal and has no self worth 🥺🥺🥺🥺 he got TRAPPED in the EVIL DOMAIN consisting EXCLUSIVELY of all his favorite activities nonstop he must be feeling so scared i need to hug him my babygirl!!!!!!!!!11!1!1

when its like. ah yes. i have never heard of a motif ever before.

bc like as much as i do genuinely consider it something that more or less can be taken at face value as an Aspect of who childe is (not necessarily the whole of it, just another mask true to a part of his self) . it should still be acknowledge that part of the reason why his dialogue (and the event in general) fixates on the notion of being a "weapon" has to do with shiki taishous character arc.

because thats what he is. and is trying to discover what kind of purpose a discarded (bc harunosuke left the domain abandoned at the end) weapon and tool like himself can even have anymore. and childes lines taking that repeated emphasis of. whats so bad about being a WeaponTM (& expanding on what that means for Him) specifically . are as much about himself as they are just an attempt to communicate his worldview to shiki taishou as a way of pushing him towards solving this identity crisis he has . that paper boy literally Needs to solve in order for the domain to stop malfunctioning.

and like. okay even if we just look at it w/o paper boy. so say childe considers himself a weapon . but what does that mean to him?

[incoming top 5 dialogue lines that genuinely fucking challenge my sexuality this is so fucking hot. no one talk to me]

"Only those that wish for an end will find one."????????

"My limits vanish behind the horizon with every step I take"??????

FUCK OFF OH MY GODDDD

like people think of childe as this fatalistic if not actively suicidal then at least like passively reckless and uncaring towards his own wellbeing blood knight w low self esteem barreling towards his death and here he is. using his own fucking words. saying that the mere CONCEPT of an END. is not in his fucking VOCABULARY. because it does not serve his ambition to let such confusions ever obstruct his sights.

people think his purpose and ambition is soooo tied to his family tied to the tsaritsa that if those are ever taken away he will just freefall into the depths of directionless confusion and depression and whatever. when.

Here he is. giving a fucking pep talk to a DISCARDED WEAPON THAT HAS LOST HIS PURPOSE. EXCEPT HE KINDA JUST SAYS ITS A SKILL ISSUE TO EVEN NEED TO CONSIDER AN END TO YOUR PATH (hes silly like that). AS AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE OF NATURE. A WEAPON THAT CUTS ANYTHING.

oh hey thats funny now where have i heard that before. bonjour my baguettes any fontainian cults or god kings out there interested in the world and fate altering power of unstoppable weapons that can cut into anything even ego and destiny itself and whatever that may mean?????? O____o

i swear to fucking god if the entire time this entire weapon allegory from labyrinth warriors was all about all cleverly n loosely associating him with themes relating to descenders and wills that rival the world all the way back in 2.2. and yet on release all people wanted was to weep for how sad it was he thought himself a weapon. man why is it always like this . i weep for THAT.

like. idk i dont have anything poetic to say abt it other than childes drive as an individual is just fucking breathtaking to me??? its literally Scary how utterly consumed he is by that ambition yet at the same theres this . crystalline clarity he has towards viewing it and himself ?? this weird ass self awareness that coexists with the all-consuming pursuit and ambition of it all??? this isnt sad this is both ridiculously attractive AND batshit insane like dudeeee . and like . the way he talks about it too like this is just a matter of fact everyday thing to him 💀💀 bc thats his abyss shrimp color vision this is how he rolls . its nothing grandiose its just how he is . this is normal to him its unbearable i hate him

like somewhat unrelated here (sorry) but sometimes i see ppl go against the possibility of childe having sth to do w the 3rd descender (which like yes is a crack theory for now and its not sth i can fully align myself with either as of rn Due To Those Thematic Clashes it just lives rent free Because of how conflictingly insane it is while also having some Strangely compelling evidence in its favor) or even just. Any higher predestined significance assigned to him in the grand scheme of things with the sole argument of like . but then everything about Him is worthless bc it wasnt His ambition and His drive to overthrow the world he wasnt Just A Guy (and. sigh. as the op. of that ancient thing. stop taking that old ass hastily typed post too far and too literally thx. its abt the vibe the attitude the subversion. having a destined purpose if the story handles it well does not conflict w being the quintessential just a guy thanks xx). he was just special all along so it all means Nothing and its like. dude. he told a recently-amnesiac paper boy having an identity crisis that its a fucking skill issue to ever falter in the face of some greater purpose haunting in your past or defining your origins. that a True weapon cuts himself free of even that without even a sliver of hesitation . ppl think that if indeed some soul of the 3rd descender is resurrected in story and idk tries taking over his body with past lives and memories or whatever. you think he isnt ripping the essence and existence of that poor fucking dude apart and devouring him alive into the crushing depths of the black hole of an unquechable ambition that beats a steady pulse at His core just to reclaim HIS place as the ultimate weapon to cut through everything???????

aww thats so cute. you guys think even the hypothetical of theories akin to these being legit on some level is automatically going to ruin his arc and character bc hes gonna be taking it lying down!!!!! you think hes going to look at a Grand destiny Assigned to him by someone Outside and Above and not spit in its face!!!

just like his narwhal looked at the destined cosmic end of All life to fall to ruin and immediately devoted its entire existence to denying the universe that very outcome isnt that curious why are they the sam---------------SORRY SORRY where was i at

like. i see how it is for yall. well. myself on the other hand. i have some fucking faith in him lmao

partially . indeed Because. i read the goddamn text of labyrinth warriors. where they let him Talk about what these things mean to him. and how he Truly isnt about to stop. Ever. hes not looking for an end and if presented with one he sure isnt about to respect it. hes just. built different its absolutely amazing

and yeah my bad i got. sidetracked very badly there. you asked me abt labyrinth warriors but bc its childe this is just what tends to happen like my brain fucking spirals. but like . no im not saying that the weapon theme being such a prevalent aspect in the story is like 100% a descender and sword of narzissenkreuz thematic parallel and intentional reference i just think its Quite interesting in hindsight . that This is the angle they drilled in on .

anyway hopefully this at least had Something to illustrate abt why i love labyrinth warriors for how it serves to establish how much of a madman childe ajax tartaglia my beloved truly is . and how to hoyo his outlook towards the world has very much been one of endless limitless hunger and never-sated ambition . and not whatever fanon wants to cook up. childes greatest enemy has always been stagnation and he has always looked towards the Future. of surpassing each and every limit and boundary on his path . like thats what makes him who he is.

also. last lil thing aka. Most Ignored Canon Line Spoken By This Man

which is a shame bc. its so fucking interesting??? i mean. i get that ppl dont know what to make of it bc everyones so fixated on picturing childe as this loyal puppy tsaritsa fanboy who couldnt even deign to imagine discarding allegiances to anyone yet here he is. saying exactly that.

like ive seen ppl be like oh hes trying to Convince himself of this!!!! hes putting up an act!!!!! and its like? no? i dont think this contradicts anything about his character. people just find it uncomfortable because it implies that the things he listed there are not something of any Inherent value to him. which adds up perfectly fine to me but what do i know.

like the way i have always seen this is that it really isnt. oh childe says he isnt actually a loyal person When it matters to him personally and isnt actually invested in fulfilling his duty (as of Right Now, mind you) which would yes seemingly contradict a lot of other things. but really its just that those concepts alone are void to him. you cant stop him from pursuing his ambition by saying its evil. if the tsaritsa ever truly loses his respect and leaves him completely disillusioned in the archon that once was a fellow honorable warrior in his eyes, the concept of "allegiance" will not be able to dissuade him from turning that burning ambition of toppling the heavens towards her throne too. personal respect maybe. a sense of honor. maybe even disdain so extreme that even investing that time into her now is a waste? sure. but like. you get what im trying at? he is way more ambivalent about these things than most people really Want him to be. bc they dont fulfill the hunger that burns at his core.

and it adds up. bc like. his ambition his drive towards battle and bettering himself and becoming a weapon completely unstoppable and irreplaceable that can conquer the world . is his north star. its the singularity that all else about him orbits around. of course silly little concepts like right and wrong will be secondary to that. we just really havent seen a moment where his ambition is in true conflict with the bonds and oaths he has sworn in his current life. but i have a feeling that if and when we do. this line will make a lot more sense lmao

anyway uhhhhhhh

yeah i liked labyrinth warriors!!! very underacknowledged and misrepresented event that had a ton of fun stuff abt childe. i am super normal about these hip and enjoyable aspects of his character as they are explored within this event as the length and contents of this post imply!!!!

omg anon i. really fucking hope u got at least Something u were looking for out of all this KWJKJKDWWJKDWJKDJKWDK i swearrr i just cannot. stop myself from completely fucking losing it on the asks of every innocent anon (and like non anon too why not) approaching my ask box 😭😭

but thank you again for sending this in!!!!!! have a nice day!!!! im very normal thanks for asking!!!!!

[primowishes]

//Regarding Scaramouche, what do you guys think happened between end of Inazuma quest and the (brief) events of A Winter Night's Lazzo. At the end of the Inazuma AQ, he absconded with the Gnosis (and during the Labyrinth Warriors event following it, Childe was specifically looking for wtf Scaramouche went with it, so none of them knew for the time being where he was, also mentioned in Childe's voiceline about Scaramouche). But in A Winter Night's Lazzo they are once again aware of his whereabouts, at least through Dottore.

Do you think he got tracked down? Or was he unable to take on the Gnosis fully as he probably planned to and sought Dottore them out himself? Or whatever else, I suppose. Personally, I think it's the second one.

[angelicspaceprince]

Genshin HC

Spoilers for the quest Labyrinth Warriors under the cut, as well as mentions of leaked voice lines supposedly for this quest or a future world quest

I have a sneaky suspicion that Childe wasn’t actually in the domain. I have a feeling he went to the domain and, just like the others when the rooms started to change, he was kicked out and couldn’t get back in and during that time a paper/carbon copy version of him was made (by accident perhaps)? I think Childe is in Inazuma, and the leaked voice clips are legit and he is there hunting down Scaramouche, but I don’t think he was physically in the domain. This is mostly surrounding the whole ‘where is Childe’ when they were all kicked out of the domain, he could have gotten away but still. I think it would be epic if we got to the end of the event and we have to fight a much more feral, much more stronger Childe as the final boss and when we leave or even midway through the fight, that’s when we see the real Childe. I also feel like this would only work if the monsters within the domain don’t realise they are made of paper tokens. Either way, I’m excited to see how this will plan out.

[scaramoon]

ok once again i’m back w the stream recap!!

they’re playing a trailer!! xinyan and childe are in it!! THOMA!!! THOOOMAAAA!! i think it was a event or side story??

now they showed a few ominous shots of a new island (assuming)!! oh and they threw out the va facecam and went back to the chibis! aether, lumine and thoma are the mcs!

FIRST CODE: LBNDKG8XDTND

now they’re showing thoma- OMG HE LOOKS SO GOOOOD AHHHHHHHHH! they’re talking about him, how he’s from mondstadt and how he’s very good at housekeeping!! true househusband arc i love to see it HE DOES A KICK IN THE AIR ITS SO ATTRACTIVE…his burst gives him a shield and he deals aoe pyro damage in intervals i love him and he gives a 20% chance to gain double the fishes if you fish in inazuma!!

THE UPCOMING BANNERS: CHILDE AND THEN HU TAO + THOMA?? BROOOO

WE GET SAYU AND THOMA HANGOUT!! THOMA DATE THOMA DATE THOMA DATE

now they’re showing the last inazuma island! it’s very dark and gloomy, but not like the other islands? there is no lightning or storm, it’s just very shrouded in darkness, a lot of fog…it looks very cool! it’s called tsurumi island-

new monsters in the new version!! skeleton wolves? they’re called rift hounds!! they look scary, and in the trailer theyre only showing t2o elements- geo and electro! they can go invisible during the fight, and once your character is hit, you and all your characters will be suffering from corrosion (like the last abyss!!) also, they ignore shields!

SECOND CODE: NB6VKHQWVANZ

onto the first event: Labyrinth Warriors! childe as well as xinyan will be part of the event story, so i’m excited! we can also get a free xinyan from the event. we will be entering the labyrinth, and we have to form two teams: attack and support. there are 5 levels and each level has multiple rooms.

second event: Shadow of the Ancients. it takes place on the new island, tsurumi island! it’s about a unique ruin grader which has regenerative powers and we will work together with a scholar from sumeru to figure out what’s happening! the event has different stages.

third event: Tuned to the World’s Sounds. the event involves kazuha!! he’ll be the one in the event story, but other characters will appear as well, such as ayaka, baal, xiao, zhongli, ningguang, kokomi and keqing! it’s the rhythm game from the windblume festival, and each of the above-mentioned characters has their own song we get to play! they also added a “hold” mechanic to the game, similar to other rhythm games!

fourth event: Dreams of Bloom! the event takes place in the teapot, and we’re planting special dreambloom flowers! players can help each other out during the event, and each seed can grow into a different colour. we get to choose between 3 different flower stands which we get to keep!

we also get another ley line overflow!

tea pot updates: we get a new layout, “silken courtyard” which is based on inazuma! it’s very pretty, the bridges are sakura blossoms- you can unlock it by levelling your sakura tree to level 40! we get new chests which involve blueprints, and so far they can be found on the new island. we will also get to place floating platforms! we can decide how high they will float and of course we can place things on there!

genshin impact has a collaboration with razer! a gaming chair, a mouse and a mouse pad!

THIRD CODE: BSNUJGQFUTPM

and that was it! the stream itself is over, but!! the online concert starts in a few minutes! i’m pretty sure they’re trying to be as curt and straight to the point as possible after everything that’s gone down-

ok firstly, just for scientific purposes and definitely not for anything else: who is your favorite genshin character?

ESODJDJ IM SO EXCITED PLS !!!?!?!?? the rift hounds sound really cool, i wanna adopt one WAIT MY OC HAS A HELLHOUND NAMED BONES :( call him my little woof woof SKDIFN

and THOMA DATE THOMA DATE THOMA DATE THOMA-

and sayu hangout :D i wanna babysit her LMAO. it’s good that they’re giving us xinyan content though, i think she’s the only character that doesn’t show up in any of the quests or stories :( im also v excited we get xiao content !! i miss my boy i say that like i don’t literally main him

OMG AND INAZUMA TEAPOT STUFF IM EXCITED😭 i’m only on level 18 of the sakura tree but that’s okay i’m ignoring that <3 i also really want blueprints, hopefully they’re gonna give us a furniture salesman eventually too cause i think this is the final island?

i love hu tao sm but if we’re also getting thoma i might not pull for her :( i enjoy using her on my friend’s accounts but i already use bennett and xinyan a lot, thoma and hu tao are too many pyro characters SBDJCB ah that probably means i’m gonna have to farm pyro hypo sobs </3

i wonder what thoma’s attack will be though :0 polearm users’ animations are usually a little different methinks

the events sound really cool though :D if i wanna speedrun thoma’s ascension i’ll need to use the leyline overflow WHDJFB

[thebigpapilio]

An Eminent Dethroning: A Persona 5/Persona Q2 Fic!

SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5 & PERSONA Q2: NEW CINEMA LABYRINTH!

My inspiration was a post from @write-it-motherfuckers. Give me a bit to find it!

AO3 Link

Featured Ships: Ann x Shiho, later Ann x Shiho x Ryuji, 

Minor Ships: Makoto x Haru, Yusuke x Futaba

"The greatest heroes are those who do their duty in the daily grind of domestic affairs whilst the world whirls as a maddening dreidel. " -Florence Nightingale

________________________________________________________________

The trouble had started when Ann’s best friend had been caught up in a battle between Kamoshidaman, his sidekick Inazuma, and the villain Akuyaku. She was an innocent bystander, and a blow from the “hero” sent the criminal flying right into Shiho from outside the building. Ann’s best friend was sent through the window with the criminal, and while both of them landed on a nearby building, the far less durable girl barely survived.

Weeks passed, and Ann did not learn of any sign of Kamoshidaman apologizing. It seemed like life went on as usual, as if Shiho’s hospitalization didn’t matter anymore.

Sure, Shiho had eventually returned to consciousness about half a month ago, but the scars of the event would stay for the rest of her life.

Ann felt powerless every time she stared at Shiho or the so-called hero of Kamo City. She wanted to confront Kamoshidaman, but what was anyone supposed to do against the superhuman superstar?

She knew that if she worked upfront against Kamoshidaman he would shut her down easily; all he had to do was frame her as a villain and in less than a week, she would be driven out of the city at best.

That was when Carmen came to her. Her fury had been sensed by the powerful spirit, and she had been henceforth blessed with the ability to turn into a superpowered form of her own - not in the same way that Kamoshida did.

With the dancer spirit on her side, she now had the power to do something.

________________________________________________________________

Kamoshida had heard about a bank robbery ongoing a while away from where he was. Transforming into his alter ego, he flew off into the night in preparation for a brawl.

When he got there, though, he found the police taking the already defeated criminals into custody.

Flying down, he asked the officers how they had stopped the criminal scum before he even got there. Nobody could give him a good answer, but they all agreed that it had started with a lean red figure bursting into the bank in the middle of a stand-down between the officers and the offenders. Like a firecracker whizzing through the air, all the would-be robbers suddenly had their guns knocked out of their hands, followed by attacks that knocked them unconscious. Other than that, no one could give him good enough details, and the security feeds had been taken out by the robbers earlier, making them obsolete.

After ensuring everything was settled, a disgruntled Kamoshidaman left back for his house. A few days later, he and his sidekick Inazuma were battling a villainess called Lilen, a woman with the power to grow plants anywhere. It had culminated when after Inazuma had been swatted away from the battle and knocked unconscious, Kamoshida had been snatched and held by all four limbs by her monstrous “Plutonian Death Trap,” most likely with intentions of ripping him apart limb by limb. Lilen’s command to do so, however, was interrupted by the giant plant releasing an ear-shattering squeal in pain as some of its other leafy appendages had suddenly been caught ablaze. Confused as he was, Kamoshidaman took the opportunity and knocked out Lilen while she tried to put out the flames. This time, though, Kamoshidaman noticed something left at the remains of the fallen plant.

Upon further inspection, it appeared to be a card. It stated:

“To Kamoshidaman, the so-called protector of Kamo City,

I know the evils you have committed. You hold this place under your thumb, and if anyone so much as slightly displeases you , they are branded evil by you, and the rest of Kamo City follows suit like lemmings off a cliff.

I will not fight you, you monster. Instead, I will steal all that you truly desire from your heroic actions – your glory and your power.

Yours truly,

Panther & Carmen”

Kamoshidaman took it to the police, in the hopes they might track the writer down. Oddly enough, the police saw no problem with it, for when it was returned to Kamoshidaman, not only was the signature missing but also the text had changed entirely into words of adoration and gratitude from a fan called Tomo P.

Infuriated, Kamoshidaman took his frustration out on “Inazuma” that night. That punk was the only one who knew his identity, and after being beaten down despite the electrokinetic powers he’d mysteriously acquired, the little hooligan had been given an option; join him against evil at his beck and call, or have him and his family driven out of the city… if not worse .

Storming off, Kamoshida did not think that the abuse would be the last straw for Ryuji. He had heard about the card from the perverted powerhouse, so he decided that the mysterious saviors and this Tomo P. from the last two moments of crime needed to be looked into.

________________________________________________________________

Time passed, as it always does, but now, results were slowly starting to show up. As soon as the story of Panther and Carmen had reached the public, Kamoshidaman began to fade into obscurity.

The older and more experienced superhero always seemed to be too slow to get to minor battles, and for major villains and villainesses it was presumed that if Panther showed up, it was only to save Kamoshidaman at the last moment. The protector of Kamo City would have been spending more time looking for the mysterious person, but Inazuma had offered to do all the research in exchange for less actual fighting.

Other than that, he was considering something to himself. Once I’ve found and beaten Panther and her ally senseless, he would ponder, should I give them a second chance like I’ve graciously done for that brat or just brand them villains and kick them out of my place ? After all, this was his city - he and only he was supposed to have true power and authority, and no one was going to challenge that!

Ryuji Sakamoto, despite his intense hatred of the leverage-holding loser, really was doing some looking for the elusive figure. However, he had been keeping info from his barbaric boss; the giant-jawed jerk thought he was a lot further away from the truth then he actually was.

In fact, he was pretty sure he at least had a theory to the answer. Soon, he was going to go and find out for himself.

By now, Ann had long graduated high school, and would soon be a freshman in college. Shiho had fully healed from the incident, and knew about her acts as Panther. Her best friend kept it secret, but the civilian had asked her to ensure that she would kill none of the bad guys during her “extracurricular activities.”

Shiho had not needed to ask Ann the question - such was the plan, anyway - but she assured Shiho that would happen. Sadly, there were those public executions that Kamoshidaman held, but those were only for the people he managed to catch, and considering that crime rates dropped like a blimp filled with iron since Panther showed up, the executions almost never happened. Things were slowly looking up.

But because the world takes a pleasure sicker and more twisted than Kamoshidaman himself in hurting others, it was about then when Inazuma showed up at her apartment.

She had been sitting on the rooftops as Panther when he arrived. It was clear he had been looking for something, but she didn’t know if the villain’s sidekick was looking for her . Honestly, he always looked uncomfortable when no one else was looking, he would always leave the scene as quickly as he could, and she was quite sure that not all the marks she saw him with were from superpowered evildoers. With all the famous superheroes in Kamo City, attackers didn’t show up often enough for Inazuma to get as many scars and whatnot as he had.

If someone were to fashion the energy from such a staredown into a blade, chances are it could cleave Kamoshidaman in two.

“... I’m guessing you’re Panther?” Kamoshidaman’s electrokinetic colleague asked her.

She didn’t respond, but that was all Inazuma needed to know.

“Listen,” he asked, “I’ll keep this secret-”

“But what?” Panther spoke, breaking her silence and releasing the pent-up fury she had held for… what now, five years? “I have to stop taking that jerk’s spotlight? I have to idolize him no matter what he does?”

Raising his arms in mock surrender, the sidekick nervously replied, “Cool it, Catgirl! I don’t have any blackmail-based intentions!”

At Panther’s shocked silence, Inazuma continued. “If anything, I want your help in something instead.”

________________________________________________________________

After Inazuma explained the abuse and blackmail Kamoshidaman held over him, and Ann explained the story of Shiho’s hospitalization and forward, the two had jokingly reintroduced themselves. As it turned out, Ann and Inazuma - whom she now knew as Ryuji Sakamoto - went to the same university. Sure, Ryuji was on the path to being a physical therapist - where was this guy about five years ago, Ann would lament - and she was looking towards the path of acting, but they were still close enough to see each other often.

One of the first things Ann did was introduce Ryuji to Shiho and explain everything. It was better now than for the more “normal” one of the three to discover this suddenly close relationship and grow suspicious on her own. Thankfully, Shiho agreed to keep his secret too - but for whatever reason, there was teasing about her liking him.

The whole world seemed to think the same thing about their heroic forms.  One of the first things Ryuji did upon settling into his work with Ann was to get the one who gave him his power - a pirate spirit called Captain Kidd - to give him a new look when he fought with Panther so Kamoshidaman couldn't figure out he was betraying him.

He had renamed himself Skull in this form, and anyone who asked him why would hear that he and his feline-themed counterpart planned to “get this city to stop running around like headless idiots.”

Skull was the one who made public appearances, but Panther still kept herself hidden. There was still plenty of clamor about the two, and what was even more awkward for them was that many people for whatever reason shipped them.

Some people had written fanfics about the duo. Most of them featured something called a “Love Square,” featuring made-up versions of their civilian identities. Ryuji was usually portrayed as either a try-hard kid trying to be a thug or a wealthy and debonair yet unhappily restrained young man, while Ann was either portrayed as the type who was completely “normal” outwardly but incredibly odd as Panther or the class clown who turned into an incredibly aloof superheroine in secret. No fanfic was even close to the truth. Shiho had written a fic once that was quite inaccurate but still closer than anything she had read. She didn’t post it on any websites, of course, but she did safely send it to Ryuji and Ann in the hopes of teasing them.

Kamoshidaman, through all of the popularity given to the supposed trio of upstarts, was practically old news, and he was livid about it. As the amount of attention the public paid to Panther slowly grew, his fury did the same, and while it took a boost with the appearance of Skull, it was only on the day that in a passing discussion he overheard someone forget who Kamoshidaman was - even though they remembered a second later - that he lost the last of his patience for the hidden heroine.

________________________________________________________________

The tension between the heroes and the “hero” peaked almost 6.5 years after Panther beat Kamoshidaman to that bank, and at some point, she had obtained a nasty crush on her filter-less friend and partner Skull. She and Shiho had been dating for about 3-4 months after Shiho’s release from the hospital, and many a time they had talked about adding the “boneheaded” boy to their relationship. The agreement that they would both be okay with it was unanimous, but they both had yet to ask him as of then.

It seemed as if the universe itself was waiting on them to start dating, and to push them along, it sent them other spirit-powered heroes that would also aid them in battle on occasion.

They had made a group from all the heroes in their team, although the others were seldom brought in unless needed for backup and/or against specific villains. Consisting of the artistic yet socially awkward Fox, the antihero-turned-villain-turned-fully-hero Crow, the slowly less antisocial tech expert Oracle (who was most commonly asked for due to her ability with both technology and battle), and the deadly duo of the brutal yet kind Queen & the cordial yet intimidating Noir (the two of which had started dating after meeting up one battle), the heroes nicknamed the Spirit Guardians were feared and loved by Kamo City depending on who you would be to them.

One fateful day, it was both Kamoshidaman and not Kamoshidaman who took action. He knew that he no longer had the power to brand the Spirit Guardians as villains and let the city do the work for him, so he decided to take more dramatic measures.

Dākumasuku K immediately threw Kamo City into panic, the reportedly-possessed superhero demanding a battle between both him and the duo of Panther and Carmen, claiming only those two could save him by breaking the dark mask he wore. A date was set, and if they would not show up and fight him in person, he would destroy something or someone every day they didn’t appear.

Inazuma had overheard this plan from him, and Skull sent it to the woman in charge. Sadly, it was only Panther and Skull in town, as the other Spirit Guardians either lived in other areas and had been nearby during their appearances or would not be able to make it without arousing suspicion as to their identities. They had been planning this final attack on not only Kamoshidaman but also his reputation almost since their partnership began, and now they could use it!

Kamoshidaman had hurt many people, and there were many who had plenty of negative things to say about him but did not on fear of ostracism, banishment, execution, or some combination of the three. Silently, they went around and collected those people’s stories, stating that when the information was broadcasted it would be unclear who each story was from.

________________________________________________________________

Panther really hated Kamoshidaman, but she hated the idea of people getting hurt even more, so for the first time known to Kamo City, she showed up in broad daylight on her lonesome. Dākumasuku K had been waiting for her, and when asked where the person known as Carmen was, she claimed that Carmen was nonexistent, having merely been a red herring of sorts. Dākumasuku K growled, and the battle began.

When the smoke cleared, things darkened as a well-weakened Dākumasuku K stood over the beaten superheroine, with his mask broken but still on.

“You’re supposed to be freed!” Panther barely cried out, gasping and gaping at the supervillain.

Leaning in, Kamoshidaman whispered to her, “I was free to do as I pleased, you *****. You, however, are about to lose your freedom for attempting to shackle my justice.”

At her angered scowl, Kamoshidaman laughed to himself. Turning away from the platinum blonde, he snarked, “Never meet your heroes, kid. Now stay there while I-”

“It’s funny how you talked about meeting heroes…”

Kamoshidaman whipped around to stare at the superheroine, who was slowly getting up from the ground.

“All the superpowered people in this city that I know of are either me, the Spirit Guardians, or supervillains. You aren’t me, and you sure as **** aren’t joining the team, so by process of elimination…”

“Bold words for someone not entirely off the ground, you stupid girl.” Kamoshidaman grated, his voice like a rubber band stretched to its limits, as if Panther pushing him any further would send him rocketing away.

Knowing she had him angry, the feline-themed superheroine smirked. “Bolder words for someone who’s about to be floored .”

Now that she was standing - albeit barely - she suddenly let out a shrill whistle, and almost right after, every big screen and TV in the city shut off for a few seconds. When they returned, a singular video played on all of them.

It was an elegant reading by a robotic voice, detailing each and every one of the offenses that all of the interviewees had given to the true heroes. As promised, not one of the victims were named or recorded - their words had been written down instead, so Kamoshidaman wouldn’t know who to track down, as all the victims picked out were all innocent bystanders that the anti-villain had ignored while trampling on his climb to fame and power. Kamoshidaman simultaneously turned white as an albino cat and red as a ladybug as he watched his cruel actions be exposed to the entirety of Kamo City.

Even if people were unsure of whom to trust then, the last reading and only named victim would still have set Kamo City into an outrage.

Inazuma , who had been unseen since the last fight against Crow during his villainous days as The Prince, was shown at the end, looking like a husk of what the world had seen the brash but quiet sidekick to be. He revealed all the pain Kamoshida had brought upon him, and at the end of his statements, he began with some information that closed the casket on not only any possible remains of Kamoshidaman’s respect but those of his civilian identity.

“You’re a special kind of ******, you know? Most evildoers have the decency to appear as good people outside of the mask. You were abusive to me as a ‘hero’ and as my former sports teacher. People of Kamo City, if you want to take your anger out on this guy, you’ll find him at…”

Inazuma proceeded to blab the information of the high school where the one named Kamoshida (who other than Inazuma had never been figured out despite both of his names being horrifyingly similar) worked and any other way to reach him, Inazuma ended the video with the nastiest scowl anyone had seen and a goodbye. You could tell he wanted to give Kamoshida the middle finger and say certain words following that goodbye, but Panther had decided that it would not be a good idea to show that stuff on live TV broadcasted to the whole city.

As it turned out, Kamoshidaman was literally empowered by the people. The more that trusted him, the more that bowed to his power and authority, the more powerful he would be. Even as Kamoshida, he’d been abusing some of his students and offering rewards for others in exchange for… favors . Ugh.

That was in the past, thankfully; as of the aftermath, the vexing villain was barely stronger than his normal self, and although he tried to escape after the video ended, it turned out Skull and the other heroes had been waiting for him, all of them but Oracle (who had no weapon) complete with painful surprises. Despite many of the public’s opinion that Kamoshida should be publicly executed like he had done to some decent people, Kamo City and its true heroes refused, pointing out that doing that was stooping to the worst of Kamoshida’s levels. Instead, they decided to give him a choice on his fate based on his “nicer punishments.”

Option 1 was simple – he could stay in the city, but he would be rotting in their prisons for the rest of his days, forced to move prisons every few years in order to keep him from plotting with others. Option 2 was more complicated – he would leave the city and never come back, and if he tried to begin superhero work once more somewhere else, no matter how well he meant, he would be tracked, struck down, dragged back to Kamo City (who despite the surprising lack of link to its former “protector” was in dire need of a new name) and would be forced into taking Option 1 from there.

He chose Option 2 – he still believed he had done no wrong, but he was smart enough to not go against those who were once his power source. Kamoshida was kicked out of the city, and other than his worst fans - who either left as well or became quickly evicted supervillains - that was the last anyone wanted to see of him. Every other city they could access was warned about him, and those cities forwarded the information until the rest of the world knew not to trust Kamoshidaman.

________________________________________________________________

A few nights after Kamoshida’s banishment, Ann and Shiho confessed to Ryuji, and the morning after the three woke up as a happy triad.

Soon after, they and the other Spirit Guardians - who revealed themselves to each other soon after the initial victory – pooled their money with the cash reward for their work and bought a big house for their leisure.

Queen and Noir, who were revealed as two girls named Makoto and Haru (and the only ones who knew another Spirit Guardian’s identity other than Ann & Ryuji, who had however intentionally initiated the awakening of the others’ powers and therefore knew everyone’s identities from the start) married about 1.75 years later, and not too long after that they were finalizing adoption papers. The twin brothers named Akira & Ren were so similar in both personality and looks you could easily get which was which wrong all day if they were clothed the same.

Fox and Oracle – who were revealed to be named Yusuke and Futaba - started dating after even more dancing than Ann and Shiho had done with Ryuji, and the only ones who did not know both of them planned to propose soon were each other.

Crow, who they learned had the name of Goro, was aro ace, but unless he trusted you with the truth, it was believed he had a fake relationship with two girls called Caroline & Justine. In the meantime, he spent his days rehabilitating ex-criminals with an old friend who apparently responded to the name Morgana.

After the Spirit Guardians’ hiatus grew long enough, Kamoshidaman eventually grew stupid enough to try pretending to be a hero again. By then, however, he was also much too old and far weaker than he was to have much success; coupled with the fact that everyone knew better than to trust him, the now-rabbit themed “superhero” King Hare was taken down as soon as folks figured out it was him. With the help of some of the Spirit Guardians, three new heroes calling themselves the Phantom Hearts – two near-lookalike young gents called Joker & Wildcard and their sneaky scout Mona – ensured that Kamoshidaman finally made #1.

Sadly for him, that #1 was the number of the path he now takes. At last, Kamoshida finally achieved absolute justice.