#also finally playing the archon quest now that i have time LMAO

[welcometoteyvat]

one of albedo’s elemental burst lines says “witness my great undertaking” but in the chinese version it’s 见证伟业, which is the same phrasing as how grand sage azar talks about the akademia’s creation of god-balladeer when the traveler and alhaitham confront him (in the english version he says “great work” but in CN it is the same phrase, 伟业)... albedo scaramouche parallels quite insane

[lumin3sc3]

Note: Late birthday fic for Scars, sorry if its bad lmao 💀. Also I wasn't sure what names to use for him so I've jus used his past names so yeah.

Warnings: Spoilers for the following content: wanderer teaser, archon quest 3.3. Scaramouche backstory (that's it for story spoilers I think? lmk if I need to add more). As for content warning: angst but dw there's fluff. Expect grammatical errors. Reader's gender isn't mentioned, so you can see this as whatever gender you'd like.

The Marionette's Heart

The Wanderer has gone by numerous titles and names. Though he wouldn’t call them names per se, since after his downfall he no longer wanted to be attached to or remembered by them, But you were the first to give him a name—not any ordinary name, but something meaningful. Something he could finally call his own, like his glowing vision, which he wished was his heart.

You and the Wanderer were traveling partners. And even friends, you’d say! (Though he denies that wholeheartedly, blatantly ignoring the minuscule fuzzy feeling in his chest.) Though you two acted like you despised each other’s existence, you and he seemed to work in harmony.

And before he knew it, the florets of love began blooming in his chest. "When did he realize he was in love?" you may wonder. But here's the tricky part: He had no idea. Maybe it was gradual? Maybe it was when you complimented his cooking while he was yelling at you to eat faster and then wash the dishes, or when you played a song hoping he'd like it and got that small nod and your ecstatic grin in return. Or maybe it's your happy laughs and lovely words laced with love and affection. You were always kind to everyone around you, including him. As a close friend of the traveler, you were well aware of the stories that came with this mysterious wanderer, even when you first agreed to journey with him. Once he realized this, he was astonished. Whenever he’d think of that, he’d scowl. Why would anyone, in their right mind, ever care for someone so arrogant and rude? And to give them all of your affection? Preposterous.

But Scaramouche is aware of his actions; he is aware that he does not deserve the love you lavish on him nor does he deserve the comfort you provide when he lashes out at you.

Everyone thinks of him as a person who’s just being nice because he’s doing it against his will or because of Nahida. which is true, he’ll admit. But it might be just you that he’s genuinely happy with; he’s never bothered to indulge in idle conversations or listen to anyone talk about their day unless it’s you. He oddly seems to remember every detail and point it out the next time—something you may not recall.

Now, he doesn’t really know how to go about this complicated situation, but he seeks advice from Nahida. She says that he doesn’t have to overthink it, and so long as he gets the point across, you’ll understand, it’s the thought that counts after all. Since your birthday was nearing, Nahida suggested taking you to a simple place and confessing.

And so it was your birthday, and your friends surrounded you, singing songs, giving you gifts, and showering you with affection and praise. You couldn’t wish for more. Amidst the chaos, your eyes scanned the room for a certain indigo-haired man; unfortunately, your efforts were in vain, and you looked back to the ground slightly dejected. Once the celebration had died down, you went outside to get some fresh air, where you saw a familiar face leaning against the wall, seemingly waiting for someone.

"Hey!!" You wave blithely, which attracts the attention of the man. It was none other than your friend, the Wanderer.

"Oh, there you are; I was waiting for you." He answered. You raise an eyebrow curiously.

He doesn’t wait for you to comment and drags you away, mumbling about how he wanted to show you a place.

Once you two reach the destination, your eyes widen to the size of saucers, in front of you was an absolutely breathtaking view.

"I’m aware your friends had a party of sorts prepared for you. So I know this isn’t much compared to that."

You were on top of a building, it seems. You walk towards the railing, as you lean on it, the cold metal makes you shiver slightly. Scaramouche joins you as he leans on the railing, the only distance separating the two of you being the hat atop his head.

The sky was spread out in front of the two of you. The orange gold that stretched far and wide, with tinges of purple hiding behind it, The sun blossomed in bright shades of orange or red. There were clouds as well, masking the mountains behind them; you could feel the warmth radiating from the sun as it gleamed. Your face aglow with rays of sunlight. The sunset looked gentle and prepossessing. as if it had been painted just for the two of you.

"It’s beautiful. Thank you." Your face adorns a lovely smile.

The wanderer swallowed hard before mustering the courage to approach you in slow strides, and you looked at him with suspicion.

"I... have something to say." He starts, his eyes darting back and forth, restless.

"Is something wrong?"

"I..." he pauses, as if an invisible force is choking him and preventing him from speaking.

"I might have caught feelings for you. It's absurd to have feelings for a mere human. But you’re not an ordinary one." He justifies himself.

You were taken aback—all this time he had been in love with you! You couldn’t wrap your head around the idea that he shared the same feelings as you. But that didn’t stop the immense euphoria you felt. It was as though your heart would’ve jumped out of your chest with the way it was beating so loudly and at such a quick pace.

You clasped his hands in yours; they were cold yet so soft and delicate. Intertwining your fingers within his, you stared into his blue eyes; they reminded you of an inky midnight sky.

"I love you too." You say gently, and he swears something in him changed; his mouth felt dry; he had no sarcastic remarks, snarky comments, nothing. His thoughts were running in circles.

Scaramouche does not believe in having someone to love or care for. He’s never held his trust in anyone, and he’s learned to build an iron wall around his emotions, making sure he’d never have to feel betrayed ever again.

until you came along. You made him question his morals; you spun his world upside down before he even acknowledged it.

... but he’s petrified; he endured three betrayals before to have realized the world was an elaborate tapestry of lies.

The first was given to him by a god, his creator, his own mother. The second was his friend, whom he considered family. And the third was a child like him, promising to be by his side as he betrayed Scaramouche, powerless in the face of mortality.

So what's to say you wouldn't be the fourth?

You were staring at him, eyes drinking in all of his features; his hair was dark and soft, falling over the frame of his face perfectly. His skin was delicate and smooth, similar to that of porcelain, and his eyes were glassy and overflowing with unknown emotions. His cheeks were sprinkled with rosy blush, and his lips were soft and plump, in the prettiest shade of pink. The moonlight reflected on his skin, enhancing every feature and making him look downright ethereal. It was as though he had been crafted by the gods themselves. But your admiration was cut short as you heard him speak up,

"You…love me?" His voice was slightly hoarse, and his eyes were sad.

"Yes, of course, why wouldn’t I?"

"But after all that I’ve done, you know who I am, yet you chose to see me as someone you can love?" His voice was starting to falter. And before you knew it, tears welled up and fell through his long eyelashes. They were streaming onto his face uncontrollably as his figure trembled. His fear of betrayal had given way to insecurity.

You cupped his cheek, asking him, "Hey, don’t cry. You know I love you, all of you. It doesn’t matter who you’ve been in the past or who you’ll be in the future. It matters who you are in the present, and you’ve changed. You aren’t defined by your past, so don’t let it change or overwhelm you. And I love you for who you are, not who you were."

He didn’t know what he did to deserve someone as amazing as you.

You brought him closer to you and connected his lips with yours. His lips were soft and loving, making you feel as though you were on cloud nine.

And that’s when he heard a small sound from his chest. His heart was beating for the very first time. He was a marionette with an empty , hollow space for a heart. Yet here he was, hearing his own heartbeat synchronized with yours. He felt ecstatic; it was all he wanted and all he wished for. and there it was!

When you parted your lips, he muttered,

"I..love you."

"Now that wasn’t so hard to say, was it?" You giggled.

"Shut up. Don’t make me regret everything I said, idiot."

"Love you too, Kuni," you say as you pull him into a warm embrace, laughing as he spat out more angry comments. What you failed to notice was the small smile that danced on his lips.

His heart would beat for you. Only you.

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

✧∘* ೃ ⋆｡˚

A/n: this was suppose to be short but I got carried away, I apologize 😭. I kinda got stuck in between, so sorry if it isn't rly that good. But yes, if you did enjoy it, rb's and interactions are appreciated!

Anyway, thanks for reading till the end, have a good day and take care <3!!

[joltai-showa]

okay it's way too late to continue working on chapter 6 of FQTP and I can't really pull an all-nighter cuz I got medical check-up in the morning for my unexpected job (my ao3 writer notes are gonna be fucking insane), so i'm gonna be rambling about the random stuff that i've been doing today

i finally started doing the natlan archon quest and GOD THE PRIMAL FEAR THAT I FELT IN MY SOUL when Ajaw spoke for the first time

for context i play genshin with japanese voiceover and with the new region we got a number of new characters (welcome to gacha world) and two of them are Kinich and Ajaw who are always attached at the hip but also argue a lot. and whoever is responsible for casting decisions in the japanese department really loves doing silly funny little things, thus Kinich is voiced by Sugiyama Noriaki, while Ajaw is voiced by Takeuchi Junko.

Yes, we've got Sasunaru in Genshin Impact.

This is not even the funniest thing that japanese dub did here. Half of major characters in Fontaine arc were literally voiced by people from the Attack on Titan's cast. Ono Daisuke (and his most famous role is arguably Jotaro from JJBA) voices Wriothesley there. Only in japanese dub Wrio does the "ora-ora" thing. It's insane and surreal and I love every second of it.

anyway, back to the original point, Ajaw appears and he sounds excatly like Naruto. my soul started to leave me when i was confronted with the idea that Kinich is seconds away and can sound just like Sasuke. thank god Sugiyama did the less bitchy and more calm pitch, otherwise i would have been bouncing off the walls screeching like a vulture.

also there was an absolutely hilarious explanation on what a piligrimage in natlan is. close enough, welcome back chunin exam.

at least after the piligrimage your god will resurrect you if you actually die fighting in the war. after a chunin exam the leader of the village will give a pocket knife and, if you are really lucky, a pat on the back. oh, the enemy village is dropping an damn entire cave on your head? gotta pray that your moldy ancestor and his army of undead cacti is somewhere nearby, grandpa hiruzen is too busy smoking that pipe🚬😎🚬😎🚬😎🚬😎

after that i read the latest chapter of csm and HOOO BOYYYY WHAT THE HELL FUJIMOTO

that shit was absolutely insane.

first of all, i am crying from the fact that fuji is capable of writing incredibly complex and realistic female characters, but can not draw them for his life. like lmao what even is that.

anyway, this is the least interesting thing that happened during this chapter, BECAUSE HOLY MOTHER OF LORE BOMBSHELLS WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT

YORU HAS BEEN A MOTHER THIS ENTIRE TIME? MOREOVER A MOTHER OF TWO? THE FANDOM'S BEEN CALLING MAKIMA MOMMY FOR YEARS AND NOW WE LEARN THAT THE REAL MOMMY HAS BEEN YORU?

ALSO HER CHILDREN? GUN DEVIL??? THE SAME ONE FROM PART 1???? THE SAME ONE THAT TOOK OVER AKI BEFORE BEING KILLED BY DENJI????? HOLY FUCK DID MAKIMA REALLY SPEND AN ENTIRE PART MAKING UP BEEF WITH HER NEPHEW?????

(also on unrelated note it's always such a jumpscare/reason to lol whenever there's a sudden reminder that soviet union is still a thing at the end of the 90s in csm lore. thanks pochita)

anyway yoru ate and left no crumbs holy fuck. happy motherhood reveal day i guess, being a terrible mother figure likely runs in the family.

but also it's so funny how the devil family tree is getting to the point where we really should be doing the infographics like JoJo fandom has. for now we certainly know about the Horse(wo)men of Apocalypse aka Conquest (Makima then Nayuya then ehhhh good luck Denji), Famine (Kiga), Death and War (Yoru) and War's got babies in Gun and Tank devils. hopefully in a few years the entire plot devolves into a gigantic family drama i will die from crying of laughter.

(also fuji is so fucking real for making the four of the most powerful devils to be all women. my man.)

but the implications of this chapter are fucking insane, cause are Gun and Tank the only Yoru's kids? Did the Weapon Hybrids use to be her children? Is it possible for Chainsaw devil to be born of her as well? Nuclear Weapons devil is supposed to be inside Pochita and Yoru refers to them as her comrades??? Anway holy shit just what a chapter.

(but also Makima's monologue about getting rid of death, famine and war sounds very reasonable rn cause wtf those insane bitches that happen to be her sisters are birthing into this world)

i am also so insanely hyped for Death Devil, because she is bound to be absolutely fucking insane, like horror beyond human comprehension. also i feel like she has to not only be one of the Horse(wo)men, but a Primal Fear as well like Darkness and Aging (I believe that's what the most recent one was supposed to be)? the entire devil classification system is so confusing lmao

(also i remembered my shock at chapter 167. like. i wrote the finale for LTFG about a month before it was released and then i read it and was like. do i and fujimoto go to the same astral plane where the voices are whispering to us that we must do a handjob in a seedy alley scene? lmao)

[baeshijima]

To: Sophie

Subject: RAIDEN CAME HOME!!!

*Does a dorky little dance*

Well, it was my alt account BUT THAT'S TOTALLY ALRIGHT I FINALLY GOT HER!!!!!

I did try pulling for her on my main, but ran out of fates, and just kinda decided that I'd rather save and get nahida (since I practically need her on so many teams and she's like my favourite archon!!!)

(well, does furnia count as an archon? I mean she did play the role of an archon..... they both share first place if furina counts)

I literally had to complete the seirai island quests to unlock her boss lmao (also cause I ran out to primos just as I hit pity) I kept stalling so many quests because I didn't want to just skip dialogues like I did on my main

Anyways, she's home!!!! But....

but there's a problem...........

The Catch.................

.............

And the handguards...............

Well, guess I'll need to be spending a little bit more time in my alt now for fishing and farming those handguards haha....ha.........

But it's fine I have raiden now!!! (Who's holding onto a very underleveled favonius lance... it causes me great turmoil to see her use it haha.....)

Also, I see that hsr's free 5*, dr ratio, has caused a lot of well... excitement over here hehehe (I admit I am curious about that 'mask' he puts on from what I saw from the random hoyolab posts, he seems like an interesting character)

May the rest of January be even better and joyous!

🍀

YEAAHHH SO TRUE UR FINALLY A RAIDEN HAVER CLOVER NONNIE 😩😩 after so long shes finally come home to u ;w;; even if its on ur alt its still ur account ;w;;;;; and furina technically isnt an archon since she was just a human who had to act the part for 500 years, but i still call her one purely bc she had to endure 500 years of loneliness and solitude for the sake of focalors plan ;w;

STOP DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE CATCH AND THE HANDGUARDS 😭 to this day i still havent even made one copy of the catch... but i probably should.... but i havent bc i still havent built my xiangling 🧍‍♀️ the handguards i SWEAR have a decreased drop rate on just the green drops alone 😭 inazuma farming my beloathed...

and yes the dr ratio experience has been an... experience. for a lack of better words ;w; all im saying is when he comes out tmrw and i (hopefully) get his lightcone, there will be no peace on this blog (as if there ever was to begin with)

[126dvtn]

hi reida!

it's been a while - how are you? i hope you're being able to rest between your duties. this ask might be long because i'll try to answer everything in one go lol sorry in advance (?)

well, that childhood friend is one that didn't stick around, but we follow each other on social media so it's interesting to see what they've been up to~

i spent all my funds trying to get tighnari because he's so hngnhn but instead i got diluc. i think i summoned him with the skin i bought. i'm still upset, and he'll sit on shame corner for a really long time, but at least i have guaranteed scara now. in a way it's all going according to keikaku lmao i hope fox boy comes home at some point tho.

is it bad that i laughed about the atrocities comment? because honestly SAME but like. it's still funny to me. and no, it isn't weird JDKASJLDA but i don't think it'd work?? from the vibes i got from him during the archon quest,,,, he'd probably just walk away rip

about the leaks: bro i really, really hope we get to see that mf get the anemo vision. i'm betting we will, but who knows. he is a puppet without a heart, and anemo visions (based on the pattern i noticed) are usually given to those who lost something important or broke/will break free from something, so. fits him, i guess? i think it's a wip for his boss battle; there have been some new leaks about the color scheme of (what i assume will be) his playable outfit that i'll link later because i'm writing this on my computer rn lol as for the voiceline......... no problem, i'll just go cry in a corner now because reading that broke my heart in a million pieces dhskjahdsjka

i- listen. it worked. congratulations bc i feel bullied. the line that hurt the most was "you might have to prove yourself worthy" lmaoooo i was over here like bro i am doing my best have some mercy. but being honest if kaeya was mean to me i'd cry, no hesitation. maybe not in front of him but i absolutely would.

about your letter: ...great, first you give me tears by bullying me and then you give me tears for being kind and loving to me /jjjjjjj but honestly, thank you, i do feel loved <3 i enjoy our conversations too, and even though you don't know who i am, i consider you a dear friend. i'm glad i'm able to give you some reprieve from school workload. and thank you for the cookies, i have a sweet tooth so they were perfect lmao also, here.

i'm glad i was able to help you and also someone else with the little 'read more' message :3c i'm uh. not doing so good, mental health wise, but really, it's nothing you should worry about.

—👁‍🗨(you really like hugs, don't you? it's nice, i like hugs too.)

ok, new design leaks i mentioned in my previous ask (that i hope went through since it was long): link 1, link 2.

HI!! i'll put my answer under the cut <3

OH GOODNESS IT'S REALLY BEEN SO LONG!! how are you :3

;0; may diluc be worth your money SOBS but i'm wishing you lots of luck with your pulls!! did you manage to get anyone special in the time i've been gone? BUT HELL YEA guaranteed scara!!! my guy is finally free after all the leaks you've been sharing :D

AND YESS you were right he did get anemo!! the new colour scheme is so pretty AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE BOSS FIGHT SOBS.. i watched a playthrough and i sobbed so hard <//3 i may not play genshin anymore but if there's anything you wanna update me (esp about scaramouche) i'm willing to listen :3

NOOO i give you bandaids to put on your heart kaeya would never be mean to you (real) </33 but the thought of him play teasing you though 0-o

AND AWH my friend i may not know your identity but i know you through the things we talk about and i love that <33 I GIVE YOU a ghost hug back :3 hope you're doing alright, if there's anything you need to open up about i'm here!!

[silentsthoughts]

My Thoughts On: Prologue Chapter

Hello everyone, welcome to this week's topic discussion on Genshin Impact!!! Originally, I was gonna wait till next week but I got too excited so that's why we're here. This week's thoughts I want to share will be about the Prologue Chapter! I know, we're going way WAAY back here but here me out, I wanted to share my thoughts about the recent chapter while it's still fresh in memory but where would be the fun in that, really? For my senior citizen/OG Genshin players out there, ya'll really know how it was back then. Times were great when we had to pick up each individual loot from every boss fights to trying to visit Diluc and/or Kaeya at their respective places (I see you Diluc and Kaeya simps out there, don't hide now). Anyways, without further ado, let's jump right into it, shall we? Before I really get into it, please don't come for me if I said something that wasn't aligned with the Prologue Chapter, it's been so long. Alright back to it.

If I have to be brutally honest, I do have a lot of regrets on not paying attention to the Prologue Chapter. I really tried, I really did guys but I don't know what happened, something did lmao. My attention span to the chapter was so bad that I had already forgotten how Aether (since I play as Lumine) looked like and I thought that Venti was my long lost sibling. And yes, I do give you guys permission to come for me about that cause that was some wack ass logic of mine, I honestly had no idea why and how I came up with that conclusion. Every now and then, I do think about starting up a new game but I've worked too hard to get to where I am now (AR 59 BABYY!!) so all I can really do now is to just listen to the audio of the Prologue Chapter. I honestly was SUCH a big noob during the entirety of that chapter ya'll, it's near cringey when I think back to it *cringes in AR 59*, but now that I've been properly paying attention on the main story line lore, everything is starting to make sense to me. It was very hard for me to hide my amusement and ooh's and ah's during that chapter cause think about it: a mobile game that is super high quality without needing to pay for continuing the storyline, fluid animations, BEAUTIFUL soundtracks!?!? Oh hell yea, SIGN. ME. UP! Cringey and weird as this sounds but it was at that moment that I knew Genshin was gonna be my forever game, my comfort game and it still is two years later.

Again, my memories on this chapter is kinda fuzzy so please spare me on that but all I ever remembered doing during those times was just going to domains left and right and following Venti around as if he was a mad sus man (to which he kinda is, if you think it). I also remembered when we had to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel, it was very much giving Thief/Assassin's Creed kind of and I hated doing that cause I am the WORST at stealth but I was able to complete it anyway. If I remembered correctly, I think you were able to play as Diluc in one of the domains unless I'm thinking of his story quest, but regardless I did not for the life of me, know how to play as him (and I still don't now that I have him). Regardless, I just remembered that there was a lot of fighting and going back and forth. Towards the end of the chapter when we start fighting Dvalin, I was lowkey freaking out cause I didn't know how to fight him along with not knowing how to utilize Venti lol.

Just right when the chapter was coming to an end, I remember when Signora came in and I was like,"Who the fu--oh.. *lowkey blushes*" Like, please tell me everyone had the same thought, it can't just be me right? Right? And of course, at the end of every Archon Quest, we get to ask questions about our life and it did take me awhile what Allogene and Gnosis meant until I had to do further research and do the whole coming-back-to-listen-to-the-audio to finally have a good grasp on what they are and their purposes. Also, does anyone remember when Diluc was talking about the Fatui and he was like,"If I have to choose between eating a slime and (something else, forgot what he said), I would rather be crushed by a meteorite." Something along those lines but I just found it so funny cause my guy rather choose death than do any of those things lmao.

Overall, I give the Prologue Chapter 7/10. The missing three points has nothing to do with Genshin or Hoyoverse, it's more towards my lack of attention during that chapter so I would give myself -10/10. But next week, I'll be discussing about the next chapter which will be the Liyue chapter! I'm so excited to give my input on that chapter because it's still pretty fresh in memory, but it's probably simply because I DID pay attention to the story line that time. See you all next week!!

A/N: Hi everyone, I just want to say thank you for taking your time reading this sucky review/thought of mine on the Prologue Chapter. It's been a long week at work for me, so some things probably sounded repetitive or just didn't make sense at all so I would like to apologize for that. Besides the fact that I've been kinda brain dead, I couldn't really say much because I really don't remember the Prologue Chapter at all lolol. But again, thank you all so much for reading this and hopefully I won't be too tired and dead next week cause I really want to let you guys know my enthusiasm through each chapters and whatnot. Have a beautiful day/night everyone and I'll see ya'll next week!!

P.S. My posting days might be a little inconsistent, I'm trying to get into groove of this so until I figure things out for myself, you guys will be seeing me post up on random days each week.

[anisette-blackwirth]

SAGAU: Meeting Kazuha

summary: You started playing after Kazuha's release and have been waiting almost a year for his rerun (based on a true story lmao)

spoiler warning: inazuma archon quest spoilers

content warning: not exactly a cult AU but close enough. Chosen Traveler is Aether.

notes: I intend to eventually do one of these introspectives for each of my main team (and other characters, as applicable), but... Kazuha's banner is coming out in a few hours, so I had to write this quickly before summoning.

May all Kazuha wanters become Kazuha havers!

“You two give off not only the essence of wind and earth, but also of… yes… the stars…” 

The first time Kazuha felt your presence was when he met the Traveler and Paimon. He assumed the little flying child was somehow projecting her emotions to others. He expected Captain Beidou would be the one to ask. Beidou was outspoken and blunt, but that served her well as the captain of her crew. While they hadn't known each other for very long, Kazuha could already tell when she was about to say something, and refrained from making his own comments as he waited for her to speak up.

The feeling that she was ‘about to say something’ persisted up until the Traveler and Paimon left to prepare for the Crux Clash, when she finally let it out in a rush. 

"Did you feel that? That weird sorta energy around those two."

"I did. It seemed to ebb and flow with the little flying one's emotions."

"You know, I tried to ask about it? But I couldn't say the words."

"Truly?" Kazuha hummed in thought. "And yet we are having no trouble discussing it now."

"Yeah. I don't like this. Why couldn't I say anything? Do you think there’s some weird magic around them? This could be bad," Beidou said. "I'm gonna ask the crew if they felt anything."

"It certainly could be," Kazuha agreed mildly as Beidou descended to the lower deck, choosing not to voice his own suspicions just yet. But when he pulled the Traveler aside to have a word with him before the final match, he found quite quickly that he disagreed with Beidou. 

The more he spoke with the Traveler and Paimon, the more Kazuha felt that the presence was neither of theirs. It reacted pleasantly and kindly to his words. 

"...And, not to mention your incredibly complex scent. Like that of some mysterious being," Kazuha said. He tried to elaborate - Like the mist that rises off hot pavement in the first flash of summer rains - but couldn't. He frowned, struggling with his own words internally, before he gave up and continued on. The words felt right, but he hadn’t been able to voice them. Just like Beidou. 

Later that evening, something about the aura encouraged him to share his story - or maybe it was just the delayed result of Beidou pushing him to talk about his pain with others. As he spoke of Tomo's fate, keeping his voice deliberately light… he became certain that the presence was a third, separate entity. Paimon was saddened and the Traveler's expression displayed grief - but he seemed unsurprised, as if loss were an old, familiar friend and he had known what was coming the moment Kazuha began speaking.  

The presence he felt hovering around them was both sad and angry. Angry on his behalf, much like Beidou had been when she took him onboard. He could feel its desire to wrap around and protect him… but it didn't. And as he felt it leave sadly with the Traveler that evening… he wondered if maybe it couldn't. 

-------------

The Traveler, as it turned out, was not unaware of the presence hovering around him and his friend, because he re-introduced himself as Aether during the voyage to Inazuma. 

"I saw you both struggling to say something earlier. I'm sorry I couldn't explain things then. I have someone guiding me who we can't talk about. But they've been helping me for months now - well, all of us," Aether said, gesturing at the companions he'd brought on-board.

"Uh… huh." Beidou was unimpressed. And rightly so, since she had been intending to smuggle one person across and ended up with four. "You know Thoma isn't expecting these extra people, right?" she asked. 

"It'll be fine. I think? Whoever's helping us out seems to be able to hide extra people when they need to,” Aether said.

"So those emotions we felt when you were around were theirs? How does that work?" Beidou asks. Paimon made a very unimpressed looking shrug to mirror Aether’s.

"We're not sure," Aether said. "They only seem to be able to directly interact with certain vision users, but apparently everyone can feel them around. It's just, people with visions can feel them the clearest." 

"You introduced yourself as [username], and yet you now say your name is Aether. Is that their name?" Kazuha asks. 

"As far as we can tell," Aether says. 

As they continued explaining the situation, with Paimon remaining suspiciously silent, Kazuha was glad to get the chance to talk to Aether on his own. But he also found that he missed that summer-scented mist, just a little.

------------

Kazuha felt the presence watching over him a few more times in Inazuma after that, always in association with Aether. He felt its - their - utter joy at seeing him again when the Crux crew joined the battle at Nazuchi Beach, their enthusiasm almost matching Gorou's. Aether lingered to speak with him and Beidou after the skirmish, grinning sheepishly as the conversation stretched on. 

He felt them most strongly during the assault on Tenshukaku, their fear turning to such a fierce, victorious pride as he saves Aether that it left him shaking just as much as the Shogun's return strike did. Then the presence disappeared into the void with Aether, and did not come back out. 

He felt them briefly as he visited Tomo's grave after all was said and done, and found he was grateful to know they were still alive. Having someone to witness his prayers at his friend's resting place - even an unknown, mysterious, otherworldly aura - helped ease his heart. 

-----------

Kazuha did not feel them again until he decided on a whim to answer a commission in Liyue,  three months later. They were subtly in the background as he accepted Aether's invitation to team up, and he was disappointed when he thought that would be all he'd feel of them this time. But Aether gave him a thumbs up and a wink and warned him to brace himself. 

As soon as the party entered the domain, Kazuha felt their presence sweep over him. It was so much stronger than ever before that he had to stop and take a moment to breathe, though both the presence and his three companions seemed content to wait for him.

He felt the presence - felt you examining him joyfully. He got the sense that you were peering at him from every angle, and then your attention turned inward to the artifacts he'd chosen to take with him for this fight. You express vague interest and approval - had he chosen well? They were the best he had for that set - and then you were guiding the four of them forward to experience combat at your hands. 

It was different from normal combat. Alien. Kazuha found that your presence came and went in flashes, directing him to use certain skills and then flitting away to one of the others. He dodged strikes he couldn't see or hear properly through the echoing fog of the domain, kept safe from blows that might have felled him by a third eye from above. But he was also hit by other attacks he could clearly see approaching in slow motion, also found himself unwilling to use Chihayaburu when he normally would.

He sensed your frustration and shame whenever this happened, and he wondered whether you were learning this as you went, too. 

------------

Now, seven months later, he’s met you personally, face-fo-face. Your guidance of him as a “trial character” through two more events improved greatly since your first fumbling attempts to understand his “playstyle”, and he feels - perhaps arrogantly - that the two of you work well together. You had stuttered out something similar when you first asked for his consent to be “summoned” and used as your vessel all those months ago, and Kazuha smiles now as he recalls it.

Beidou joins him at the railing as he watches the approaching islands of the Golden Apple Archipelago and slings an arm around his shoulders companionably. 

“Ya ready, kid?” she asks. “Last chance to back out. I’m sure [Y/N] wouldn’t mind.” 

Beidou has been one of your vessels for a long time as well, and though she’s not the most often chosen, Kazuha has heard nothing but good from her about the experience. So he takes her words as teasing. 

“I find I must disagree. [Y/N] has been quite enthusiastic about my ‘return’ these past weeks,” Kazuha says with a smile. He knows from Beidou that you’ve had the necessary materials to empower him saved for quite some time, and while you apparently aren’t yet happy with the Viridescent Venerer’s artifact set you plan to gift to him, Kazuha is certain it will be worlds better than what he was able to collect on his own. 

“I haven’t the heart to disappoint. Besides, I have no other obligations. I merely wish to wander and experience the world. I can think of no better way to spend my time than to explore this world alongside someone who so clearly cares for me.” 

Beidou ruffles his hair and he ducks out of her hold. “Sap. Alright, well, we’re almost there! Fix your hair before you meet [Y/N]. Can’t have you looking like you just rolled outta bed!”

Kazuha grumbles and redoes his ponytail, which Beidou was the one to ruin in the first place - but finds that he can’t maintain even a fake frown for long. He’s excited to feel your presence in his life permanently. And as he prepares to step ashore and surprise you before you “wish” for him, he hopes you are too. 

[jade-parcels]

My thoughts on the 1.7 update

(Spoilers! And my own opinion, you are free to disagree!!)

Overall I am absolutely thrilled!! I can’t wait for this update, Inazuma looks SO gorgeous!! Getting to meet the new characters and see all of the new landscapes/enemies/puzzles will be so fun!!

I’m glad that the Inazuma release is in 2 parts. Not only that, but the Sacred Sakura prevents us from exploring everything at one time. This way we can take our time and not really have to worry about speed runners spoiling everything the second the islands are released!!

The areas I’m most excited about are the shrine at the Sacred Sakura cause oh my gosh it’s gorgeous!! I also can’t wait to meet the Shiba inu running the tea house, I can’t remember the name of the tea house but it looks so pretty!! Lastly, the big building in Inazuma City, the shogun’s palace? Is that what it is? Idk, it’s where Baal lives(maybe??) and it looks like it’ll be so cool to explore!

I cant complain about any part of the map yet since I haven’t seen it. Right now, I only have positive opinions on Inazuma as a region

Moving onto the characters so far:

I yoinked these images off of Google so idk the source, sorry!

Gouru: I think his design is interesting, I enjoy his color palette! He’s nice to look at. I like the fact that he’s a Geo bow user but…Im disappointment that there are so many bow characters being released at once :( They’re just so hard to use on mobile and though I’ve forced myself to suck it up for Venti and Childe, I wish we’d get more catalysts and claymores instead of archers UGH lmao

Tohma: I am SO looking forward to Tohma’s release!! He seems like a fun guy! I don’t know much about him other than the fact that he’s Ayaka’s fiancé but hey!! Apparently we’re gonna meet him sooner than I thought we would!!

Yae: I absolutely adore her design. She breaks the “Hydro = blue clothes” “Electro = purple clothes” color palette trend. While there are exceptions like Beidou and Kazuha right now, most characters share color schemes with their vision. So seeing Yae with her pretty pink hair and red clothes while wielding an electro vision just makes me happy!! I’ll definitely be pulling for her

Sara: As much as I want to like her, I just can’t. At least not yet, maybe I’ll change my mind once we get to meet her and learn about her personality! There’s just too much about her that I don’t like. First off, I think she is bland. Mihoyo low key does a not so good job of designing women. Amber, Eula and Jean all suffer from bland outfit syndrome. Sara suffers from bland hair and face syndrome. Even her outfit could have been more detailed. And in addition to that, she’s another archer. So yeah…If she’s a 4 star, I know I’ll get her at some point but if she’s a 5 star, she’ll be a banner I skip

Shogun/Baal: Oh miss electro archon….Mihoyo did you so dirty. I’m sorry, she’s the goddess of electro and she looks like any other civilian. I was expecting something more grand for our first female archon release. I was hoping she would have more detail in her clothes, maybe extra hair accessories or thigh highs that aren’t one solid color? I don’t know, I just had high expectations! Am I being too judgmental? Possibly. But looking at characters we already have or have met, she doesn’t give the ‘wow’ factor I thought she would. Will I pull for her though anyway? Of course

Kokomi: She WAS going to be Mimi I think! This is Mimi’s model in a different outfit! Names aside, she’s very pretty! I was iffy on her design when I saw the leaks but when I saw her on screen in the livestream today? I was sold on her!! However…She will be our third, you heard me THIRD hydro catalyst which is a HUUUGE bummer. Of course, we never saw her fight so her weapon could maybe change (please Mihoyo please please give her a polearm) but I doubt that will happen. So for that reason, I won’t be pulling for her. But I will admire her from afar *sigh*

Kazuha: He wasn’t included in the update since he’s…out right now but i thought I’d talk about him too. I think his character is super interesting!! But sadly I will be skipping his banner. I did one ten pull and got Keqing so I’m going to save my guaranteed for miss Yoimiya!!! I am looking forward to a Kazuha story quest for sure! I think his design is cool, I don’t have much to comment on other than….why did he get the same face as Aether…dude…

Yoimiya: My Queen. My love. I have 20 wishes saved for her already and now a guaranteed on the event banner. I am not a fan of archers but she is an exception for sure! Her design, her ult animation, her idle animation…She’s so cute and I NEED her!!! I can see it now, my built team with Yoimiya, Eula, Bennett and Keqing all together fighting samurai in Inazuma! Wowwww :’) I am biased because she’s my favorite of the confirmed characters but…We’re all allowed to be a little biased sometimes :)

Ayaka: Everyone is hyping her up!! I am not really on that train! I’m excited for her cause she’s an interesting character! Her animations look cool and her design is beautiful, I’ve thought that since the eaaaaaarly leaks!! I just personally don’t enjoy her play style enough to go wild and pull for her. Sorry!! But I am loyal to Kaeya. He’s the only cryo sword user for me 💕 that’s a joke

Sayu: Eh, I’m pretty neutral on her. I’m glad to have an Anemo claymore combo but I just don’t enjoy playing as kid characters, they’re too small!! I bet she’ll be great and I hope everyone who wants her will get her!! I just won’t be jumping for joy when I inevitable pull her from Yoimiya’s banner

One more gripe, notice how we still don’t have Dendro characters?? I am desperate for Baizhu. Where is he? :( I need him >:)

In addition to my thoughts on the characters I might have an unpopular opinion reguarding the standard banner. It’s time for an update. Here’s who I think should be on the standard banner reboot if we get one:

- Albedo (takes Keqing’s place)

- Qiqi (stays since she’s a healer)

- Kokomi (takes Mona’s place)

- Eula (takes Diluc’s place) or Ayaka(?)

- Jean (stays unless Sara is a 5 star)

And I have my reasons too. Albedo is popular and would make people pull from the standard banner. Qiqi’s gotta stay since she’s a healer and we need character model diversity in the standard lineup. Kokomi is another hydro catalyst so she can easily replace Mona I guess. Eula wasn’t that popular and could be redeemed by being on the standard banner so people can get her cons, Ayaka could also go on this banner due to her popularity? So after her banner, she can just be plopped on the standard to draw people in. And I can’t think of a replacement for Jean UNLESS Sara is a 5 star, which I doubt she will be. Sara screams ‘standard banner character’.

Finally, I’m stoked about the PlayStation thingy!! We can login on PlayStation now!! Yay!! Exclusive wings, here I come >:)

[reilliane]

okay okay, brainrot moment. In the lines “我看见天的颜色” (i can see the colour of the sky), i keep on imagining reader looking up into the unfamiliar, blue sky that’s filled with splotches of fluffy white, and a giddy, child like, smile reaches their lips at the sight. The birds begining to chirp in cheer and all take off into the skies above. Finally free from the roaring, dusty grey winds that encased the city.

And all in the moment, they happen to miss the grunt of the — now fallen — king’s royal archer getting up from the rubble of the destroyed palace. And the way he(lets say the archer is a he for now) raises the bow and arrow with shaky hands, and the way the archer shoots one final time before collapsing and passing on. The sounds of an arrow piercing through the wind catching their attention as they snap their head to the sound. Only for their face to fall into horror at the sight. Rushing towards a fallen boy with an arrow shot at his chest, the reader starts to cry, begging for anyone, anyone to come and help the young male whom had given them freedom.

Though many rushed to the scene, it was too late for the boy was losing blood fast. Soon passing on to celestia. Leaving his dear sibling, friends and family behind in the mortal realm to start anew without him.

In the background, a small wind spirit blended in with the new breeze that had taken the place of the storm that once trapped the people. When no one was around, the spirit took on the appearance of the deceased boy. (Wait hold on, random but, what if Venti’s dead friend was actually named “Venti”? And he not only took on the boy’s body/looks but also his name? Just like Stanley from the story quest D: )

And i dont know how to end this, nor continue one, and im not a writer either but..

In the bustling crowd of the new city of freedom, can be seen a young bard in green singing in the city centre, just underneath the large statue of the nation’s god. Barbatos.

With a lyre in hand, he happily tells the townsfolk a story through song. Though his expression is one of cheeriness, the tone in his voice and the smile that didn’t reach his eyes was enough to tell the people the bard had gotten sad. If the abrupt pause he had whilst singing wasnt strange enough. The look of horror and guilt on his face was strange.

“If you wish to hear another, gift me an apple~!” The bard said with a cheeky smile as the song came to an end. When a small round object fell onto his lap, He merely hummed. “Oho~?” He laughed, hands ready to play another tune on the lyre it held. “Well than what would..” (i give up, im using his name now) Venti trails off, upon raising his head to look whom had given him the fruit he so wished desired, a wave of guilt and disbelief came crashing down on him.

“..it be..?” The person moves to sit down beside him with a hum, in thought for a song. They soon turn to smile at him, “Anything would be fine” he nods, awfully silent for once.

As people start to huddle around the two, Venti lets out a quiet “im sorry,”. He knows the reader knows who he is, having seen many drawings of them from his friend. Venti knows they feel sad at the sight of him, the winds had told the god in hushed whispers.

Man this is probably bad.. 🦧 bringing the angst. This concept of Sibling!MC has just been eating away at my brain,,

I was immersed in reading, it's a good piece, dear :weary:

Just Venti feeling sad that he's done something over the line yet he can't give it up because it's his way of honoring his friend anD-GHAUEHIAUEH.

I also think about the name sometimes. I believe they only got their Archon names when they, obviously, became Archons, so would that leave him as a nameless wind spirit back then-?

Nameless bard is nameless, however, so it's in a way, debunked that he's 'Venti'.

Honestly the thought of Venti doing the Stanley thing is gooood angst but then that'd totally get rid of his identity (as if he wasn't using someone else's form lmao-).

[kae-karo]

for the genshin ask: 2, 4, 12, 19, 29!! sorry there's so many I kept seeing really good questions skdjsk

ASFLDKJKSLDFJKLFDS pls do not be sorry u are totally fine !!!!!! thank u so much lena 💜💜

send me genshin asks from this list!

2. how did you get into genshin and how long have you been in the fandom?

the first time i ever saw anything abt genshin my gf was playing it and i was like o lmao that looks like botw and she walked around with xiangling and then my friend wanted to play it and he started playing it while i was visiting and i saw the kaeluc scene. and then i got indoctrinated into it via chats between my friend and gf and i was finally like u know what i am going to try it. and that was on jan 16 2021 :) i posted my first kaeluc fic on feb 5 2021 so we all know how that went lmao

4. what was the most interesting quest in your opinion?

ohhhhhh god uh we've had so many. um. i promise this isn't just recency effect but we all know i'm a lore whore so i really enjoyed the recent archon quest? i also enjoyed the second time we met dain, where we saw our abyss sibling again. a close second to those would be the enkanomiya quest, i do love my man enjou lmao

12. which region do you like the most?

asdfljksdf okay this is conveniently related but i am a big fan from a lore perspective of enkanomiya and everything we got there. however, mond is definitely like. my home. lmao.

19. worst genshin enemy go.

asljflkjsdfl overworld mob enemy? probably the little vishaps they're such a pain if they get off their spin attack. or specters i think we all detest specters lmao. worst boss? thunder manifestation i think. of all the bosses i've Had to fight, that's by far the one that i've struggled most with

29. are you saving for any characters or weapons right now?

BAIZHU WHENNNNNNNNN um yeah so baizhu but i am also gonna pull on the shinobu banner whatever that happens to be (since i'm fresh off getting ayato i have minimal pity). oh and whenever shenhe comes back around i want her. i would also definitely pull another childe con or zhongli con if they came back around at a convenient time. as for weapons, i have never pulled on the weapons banner and i don't foresee ever doing so at this point lmao

send me genshin asks from this list!

[idiotwhotalkstoomuch]

Part 2 of my Fatui au, Mondstandt from entering the city of freedom up stealing the Holy Lyre with Venti

Tagging: @multi-maker @yuu-says and @genshin-obsessed because they asked so hiiiiiiii they’re reactions to the au really gave me energy to write

Mild spoilers regarding the archons but it’s nothing serious as you are told this info before you enter their nation

Edit: Also spoilers to the weekly/final boss unlocked in Liyue, I make a mention of it to justify something I’m gonna say however considering you’re on tumblr 9/10 times y o u ‘ v e a l r e a d y b e e n s p o i l e d

I put the post under cut cause it’s pretty long

Also if I missed something on the recountin gc of events in the Fatui au....... sorry

That’s about it so now the story in bullet form since I can’t write

• Paimon still acts as the Traveler’s guide for the most part however the Traveler was given a map of the whole Teyvat by a Fatui agent so they know where they’re going for the most part

• The Traveler and Paimon were allowed to travel around Teyvat as long as they reported back to the Fatui anything new they learned regarding the archons weekly

• They were given a rundown on how every archon is, Barbatos not having been seen for years, Rex Lapis has a yearly rite of descent, Shogun Raiden’s vision hunt, etc. so that they won’t report back about a children’s story about the archons

• Since they aren’t an official member of the Fatui, the Traveler does not have a Fatui mask or uniform which works better for the Traveler and Paimon since they are partially aware of how others outside of Snezhnaya react to the Fatui thanks to stories from Fatui grunts

• The Traveler enters Mondstandt, able to wield Cryo and goes with Paimon to the Statue of the Seven and is shocked to find that they can wield Anemo as well

• This means that since canonically the Traveler can use multiple elements at a time shown in the cutscene after beating Childe’s second stage (Traveler blocks Childe’s attack with Anemo before using geo to get him off them and they wield geo differently to how they attack in game so the way the Traveler wields Cryo is left ambiguous until we learn how they use it), they can cause elemental reactions of swirl thanks to having Cryo and Anemo

• Paimon reminds them to inform the Fatui of this and while talking about it, they run into Amber and they’re meeting follows canon events since there’s no real reason it shouldn’t

• When entering Mondstandt, the Traveler was going to go to the goth grand hotel in order to inform the Fatui of their newfound ability but go to get the gift from Amber first since it would be rude to leave her hanging like that

• Then of course Dvalin attacks and after meeting with the Knights of Favonius, they are called by the Fatui about their situation now as they appear to be the “Hero of Mondstandt”

• Note that the reason why all the Fatui will know about the Traveler and Paimon is because they managed to get into a private meeting with the Tsaritsa thanks to their ability to wield Cryo without them being granted a vision so they are something of a celebrity, and they always tell a Fatui agent where they will go before leaving

• The Fatui diplomats will remark that they’re new position is something of great importance and could be extremely useful and that they should maintain their hero image as much as possible since they believe they can use this as leverage in the future

• They go to the Four Winds’ temples in order to weaken Dvalin’s power and Kaeya will “jokingly” remark that the Traveler seems to be a little quick in agreeing to help the Knights of Favonius so quickly after their arrival in Mondstandt

• When Diluc shows up later after the Traveler leaves, he will ask what the hell Kaeya is doing with a Fatui spy and Kaeya will play dumb in the scene

• The Traveler likely already knows of the adventurer’s guild through their time in Snezhnaya but only joined it in Mondstandt since they’ve finally managed to properly relax in Teyvat since falling into the freezing and cult like Snezhnaya

• Later on during Kaeya’s pirate quest, he makes several mentions and ponders on what it’s like to be work for someone despite being loyal to another which ended up being enough for Paimon to ask Traveler in private, rather afraid about whether or not Kaeya knows

(Lmao funny idea but the dialogue options could be like)

“No, it could be a coincidence”

“Yes I’m afraid he must know....”

“We’re dead”

(Most positive Paimon reaction could be the second one since Paimon likely does not believe the Traveler in the first one but has the funniest reaction on the last one.)

• When they catch Jean having a “diplomatic discussion” with a Fatui diplomat (different from the one who encouraged the idea of the Traveler being the hero) and they quickly hide because they don’t think they can act well enough to fool the Acting Grand Master

• When Jean dubs the Traveler, “Honorary Knight”, Paimon almost slips up about the Traveler being an Honorary Fatui but quickly stops herself and makes some excuse about a competition which appeases them as the Traveler will cover for her

• After meeting Venti, Paimon worries that the Traveler is getting themselves into way too many messes than what they need to be involved in since they’re affiliated with the Fatui, be Mondstandt’s hero, helping some random bard steal a very important artifact from Mondstandt, the very city they need to be the hero of and look for their sibling

• The Traveler will probably give a remark that this world is troublesome but it’ll be worth it in the end

• The stealth mission is much easier for them as they did have practice when training to be an Honorary Fatui but is surprised when a Fatui mage gets the lyre and wonders what’s going on

• While they hide in the second floor of the Tavern, Paimon freaks out about the Fatui and the guards wondering just how grievous of an offense they did and when Master Diluc covers for them, sighs a breath of r e l i e f

• After Venti explains the story to Master Diluc, Diluc asks Venti if he could leave for a moment and insists that he just wants to talk to Mondstandt’s new honorary knight

• “What is the latest new star of the Fatui doing here in Mondstandt? And working with the Knights of Favonius of all things.”

- To be continued

[morifinwes]

Lauraaa hi!! fjfj I watched the trailers you linked (sorry it took me a while, I wanted to watch them in peace and then let you know <3)

The first one was the eula one and it immediately made me think of yuri's performance in yoi (probably cause the music is a bit similar) but ahhh she's so cool!!!

The effects in the XD one were amazing! I'm actually curious to know his back story now. Poor guy looked like he suffering a lot :(

Kazuha is a romantic 😂 and beido!!! she!!!!

Zhongli was not what I was expecting. His voice that is, I actually thought he was a young teenager lol and finally the inazuma one. It's definitely my favourite. So cool oh my God. The effects all the characters, just everything in it!! It makes me wanna download the game so fast fjfjfj but ik if I do I'll just spend all my time on it instead of studying 😫 -yibobibo

aamna hi 🥺👉👈

i'm glad you liked them !! lmao, honestly i feel like zhongli has one of the best english voice actors? i quite like baal's, too.

xiao? yeah, he does suffer a lot. i'm going to look if i can find a video that explains his backstory well, i only know what we get from his story quest + what @jukstapose has told me (chai is a xiao lover first and a kazuha lover second). he's quite popular, too. a lot of people are waiting for his rerun, including me because i'd like to get him!

eula my beloved <3 i... haven't watched yoi, to be honest. though i agree, eula is amazing. i got her when she came out (on the first day) and she's been in my team ever since. she's quite strong, too! actually, she's the only one of my characters that is able to do over 100K dmg!! which is quite a lot. she's able to do way more than that but my eula isn't as strong as some others.

kazuha is a very interesting character, we don't know a whole lot about him right now? well, more than about some other characters but yeah.

beidou is a queen, she was the first character (besides noelle) that i got. even though she has taken the role as sub dps after eula came, instead of main dps which was her former role, she'll always have a special place in my heart.

aksksk inazuma is out and the banners for version 2.1 have already been announced 🤧

kokomi, the left one, is a new hydro catalyst character! she deals damage based on her max hp (burst) and atk (skill) from what we know. though this is subject to change because she, baal and sara are still in the beta for 2.1

baal, the one in the middle, is actually the electro archon aka the goddess of eternity (and electro). she's the one that rules over inazuma. i'm... so in love with her?? even though she's currently the villain? leakers say that her banner will be the first one of 2.1 and i want her really fucking badly? she's so interesting! she canceled exams after a kid gave her candies and hunts down vision bearers because "they're an enemy to eternity"? it's quite interesting.

sara is like.. idk a lot about her? she's an electro bow user, which only one other, fischl (whom i absolutely despise), is i think? i'm interested in finding out more about her because she's a vision bearer and also in charge of confiscating visions from other vision bearers? ( + leader of the shogun'a aka baal's army )

ohhh if you start playing, make sure you look at which server you're playing on!! you can choose which server your account will be on and then can, when you reach adventure rank 16, play with other players together if you want. though, they must be on the same server as you if you want to play with a friend.

i play on ps4, that's the only platform where you can't choose your server, (btw for every server you have a different account) which means i play on the european server. genshin is definitely worth playing !!

[sleepymarmot]

MEA liveblog #7

Spoilers!

Multiplayer

This interface is a mess. I move my mouse onto "exit lobby" and it turns into "kick player". Buttons just jump around and transform all the time.

And the APEX mission shit needs to be fixed. When you select a mission to play, don't direct me to lobbies who play the same enemy/map/difficulty but not as the mission! Join lobby, see "custom", exit lobby, select "custom game", re-select mission, join, end up in the same lobby, rinse, repeat...

At least I can end up second when I join on wave 5 as a human vanguard lol

F Human Vanguard card!

Tempest

Non-custom weapons of different rank shouldn't exist as separate items in the inventory! Unlocking a higher rank should upgrade the old item like in ME3! This stupid inventory system exists solely because of crafting! If you need inventory limits so much, let them apply only to the crafted items! I've already complained about rewards being lost with no warning if the inventory is full and it's still bullshit! 

I crafted the N7 chestpiece! 25% shield on kill (of course), 5% damage resistance, 2% shield restoration, 2% health&shield regen speed, 2% max shield. I called it "N7 Slayer X". And turns out, it was dad's armor...

Oh right, it needs a new color scheme!

Havarl

I like this ex-STG, he's talking properly.

I don't like the sound effect from Annihilation -- it's like water in my ears!

Hey Peebs, how do you immediately know where the next piece is as soon as we pick the current one?

Kadara

Here's the bar fight. Animation is not bad but has no energy.

Told the asari dancer that I'm done here and she needs to talk to the dude herself, but the quest still sends me back to him -_-

Tempest

So, Kesh was adopted?

Okay, Kalinda is 100% Marjolaine. Peebee's personal storyline is even more copy-pasted from Leliana than Drack's is copypasted from Wrex.

Aya

So many sidequests again!

The Moshae's words about the definition of victory! That's the smartest thing I've heard in this game in hours.

It's really weird to hear her talk so sweetly to me... When we first met she didn’t seem to like me.

When Vetra said people were staring at her, I couldn't resist suggesting they're just all in love...

I suggested taking people who sold their Aya slots onto the Nexus. That's not even charity -- the same ambassador gave me a task to convince angara to come there anyway! So this would kill two birds with one stone.

For the visitor who wanted contact with his family, I had to reload. The options didn't even seem too different... Got it right for the other two: gave an honest professional answer about health issues, and a confident casual answer about finding work.

Great, now I have to head back into the city to buy stuff... This is literally a fetch quest lol

Eos

Omg, the Architect is in orbit now!

The Roekaar fight in an old settlement was very chaotic and fun with Flamethrower/ED/Lance, though it'd probably be easier to just charge

Tempest

Aaaand Jaal gives me his loyalty mission. It's funny that I'm going to do my own love interest's mission last...

Jaal's LM

I continue to be unimpressed with the Roekaar being pure antagonists. :/

Didn't shoot the guy, told Jaal he was badass.

Why are loyalty missions so short?

BTW Ryder just looks wrong in N7 armor... She's not Shepard, that's not her allegiance or her story.

Tempest

Jaal, just as we're leaving Havarl you decided to invite me for a visit down there?

Turian ark

Avitus has very stylish armor

For fuck's sake, Bioware, why do you hate gay men so much?

I convinced Avitus to take the mantle. It was a very sentimental decision for Ryder -- because her situation is very similar. Her SAM and the connection he had with her father are unique, but she didn't think of that in that moment.

Nexus

"Better to find your wings as you fly" Easy for you to say, Sarissa, your predecessor wasn't a loved one

Tempest

I'd agree with Peebee about relationship and baggage, but of course I felt obligated to take the romantic option

(I don’t think there’s an option to agree with her, though, so it’s only for the best)

Voeld

Liam, Vetra, don't fight!

Whoops, sorry for leaving you to die in the purification field, Vetra

...I liked the old color scheme better. Green light looks more alien, but less pretty.

Nexus

Final memory -- here we go!

My theory was that the Archon was somehow Ellen, but that made so little sense I didn't even write it down :D This is simpler.

BTW there's finally Shepard's gender we had to select in the beginning -- in translated subtitles :D Didn't hear it even once in the audio -- could it be Bioware actually took their foreign audience into consideration? :O

Honestly, it's weird that the Reapers info is so secret... From the OT I got the impression that Shepard was yelling about it to everyone at every opportunity...

Fine, fine, you made me emotional with Liara's message.

Shit, I was expecting this decision...

I feel pretty sad now. That's all?

Peebee's LM

Oh, so that's why she lives in an escape pod :D I thought this was only a characterization thing, not a Chekhov's gun!

I said I wasn't mad, though I was a bit. But I mean Ryder *is* mad but also having the time of her life so...

Shit I just shot Kalinda instinctively lmao

Ok I replayed the entire sequence and Idk. This is really the hardest choice in the game...

I'm tempted to say "Yes, literally" :D

Since it's so hard to reaload, it's fair game to watch videos before deciding for myself. Okay, "Yes, literally" is way too harsh.

Alright, this Ryder is not going to make Peebee sad, but I've already planned a Renegade-ish playthrough with a Ryder who values knowledge over everything, so... :D

(Btw, I love that MEA's brand of a more ruthless protagonist is not "uncontrollable brute" but "intellectual snob". As tedious as this game is, I'm already super eager to play character who has those values & takes urgency of tasks seriously.)

This mission is enjoyable and the choice feels maybe the most meaningful... But it has all the classic Mass Effect problems. Kalinda sends a shitload of people to murder us, we murder them, but when she's helpless and we have a finger on the trigger all of that suddenly doesn't matter. Sidonis all over again. Sure, murdering people begging for help is bad in a lot of ways, but she did just try to kill us, a lot of times... Plus, why the fuck can't Ryder jump over and catch the Remnant thing?! That needed to be a second, Paragon interrupt after the Renegade "shoot her." And Ryder is a goddamn biotic, as is Peebee, as is Kalinda! Peebee, Pull is your first goddamn skill! It'd actually be completely plausible if the artifact had shields and/or armor and therefore immune to Pull or Singularity -- but not giving the characters even an idea to try is just stupid!

Tempest

Inviting Peebee to live with together made me revisit my room and inspired me to make some changes. You know what, I'm going to play music in my quarters and change into the short-sleeved pajamas. It's my own ship, why do I walk around it in street clothes? The jacket is stylish but too much to wear at home. I wish we had a "formal" outift for Nexus/Aya/other hubs in addition to the "casual" clothes we wear on the ship.

Shit I went to read someone's post about Peebee's LM and caught a spoilers about the romance post-LM

Addison is right, getting pregnant in that situation was irresponsible

Ah the continuity in this game. "Found more outposts"? I have every possible outpost and all planets at 100%!

"On hold: Place an outpost" bitch where

Voeld

What, there's still a cold hazard?! What was the point of the vault, then?!

Whoa, so the angara believe exaltation not just kills their people but destroys their immortal souls? Wow! That should have been said by a major character during the main story, not by an easily missed NPC!

Oh great, I died and the game refuses to load the last autosave

Dear game. Why did you create four autosaves for the same second. All glitched. Half hour of gameplay lost... God please let the last manual save work. I was sure I saved in between, but just now my PC decided that we still have daylight savings clock change when we do not, and the timestamps on all recent saves are messed up. This especially sucks because I'm trying to rush Peebee's romance because I don't know when the sex scene comes up but I want to make sure it's not when my mom is home while I play it on her PC lol

Tempest

Fuck, that was cute! And Peebee did tackle Ryder, as promised! :D I wonder what she says through Zap in the platonic version...

Addison please don't say the baby screams "like a banshee". I fucking jumped.

"Before you say anything: no PDAs" :D

Level 50! Time to craft myself a powerful new Dhan. I've been running with rank three all this time...

I love that whenever you ask about Kalinda and then return to the general dialogue tree you say "Let's talk about something else" and Peebee responds "YES. Please."

Voeld

Alright, so: the kett leaders are dissatisfied with the Archon because he hasn't reported to them recently, the communication with the kett homeworld(?) might be disrupted in general and the Scourge might be to blame.

Tempest

Damn, SAM has a pretty insightful speech about death! The only thing that can't be rationalized after experiencing it, which is why it fascinates. I actually haven't heard it explained this way before.

My movie night quest hasn't progressed since I brought Jaal his device...

Eos

Ryder watching and playing football with two giant guns floating near her hips... omg

Elaaden/Kadara

What? I'm completely confused by all these identical salarians.

I don't understand this choice. He promises to give us the intel if we let him go... what proof do we have besides his word? And how would arresting him stop us from getting intel from his computer etc?

Reloaded to see both options, chose to arrest him

Havarl

I'm not hugging Jaal's mother wtf

Ryder has surprisingly good facial animation when Jaal shows his mementos

In theory Ryder should like Jaal for being such a nerd but the only thing he makes me feel is mild irritation. His interest in "taking things apart" is an informed quality just like his supposed emotional openness. It's not reflected in his dialogue or storyline at all.

And now I'm finished with all quests in the ally category. I wanted to finish the game asap, but now that we know the patch is coming on Thursday, I'll wait for it.

Multiplayer

Extracted from Silver for the first time as Human Vanguard (level 8, rank IV)! It was against Remnant, so Observers and Destroyers were the only problem. Nullifiers are ridiculously easy for a melee character -- like Ravagers, but without acid.

Got Krogan Vanguard from a pack. Will I have to tolerate the Rage overlay?

The first game with Kroguard was going well, he's got a stong melee even though he's slow... and then wave 6/upload/Kett killed us all :(

Completely unrelated to anything, but I just realized that if you pick the romantic option in the escape pod with Peebee, they don't actually have sex. Call me stupid because that's what Peebee's initial condition is, but I thought Ryder's response changed her mind! When Ryder said "Let's not rush things" I interpreted and meant it in the emotional sense, as "It'd be dishonest to hide that I have a crush on you, but you don't owe me anything, and if you don't ready for a Serious Relationship and Grand Romance yet that's fine because I'm not either, so let's just hook up and leave reflection for later" -- which I thought was pretty sweet and interesting? Because this whole relationship to me was built on the fascinating contrast between Peebee's emotional reservations and casual/flirty attitude, and conversely, on Ryder very consciously respecting Peebee's emotional space. Maybe I just fundamentally don't understand sex and romance lmao. But if character A propositions character B, character B says they have feelings for character A, and the scene promptly fades to black, I assume they do the do because that's how these things are filmed? Only in comparison with the other option, which is actually pretty explicit, it became obvious to me that's not what the director meant. I'm pretty disappointed because I thought it was a good subversion of Jack's "either sex or romance" thing in ME2. And it messes with my headcanon/characterization... I guess I'll have to retcon it into one of the two options. I'll probably go with casual, not romantic in that case. But I just read that Peebee will tell you she's glad you said no, so... :/

Multiplayer

Failed a Silver APEX mission agains the Remnant as a human vanguard :(

Got an asari sentinel!

The patch is here, but I can't launch the game now :( This needs some work.

Ugh, I stop playing for two days and have no motivation to pick the game up again...

[victorian-creepshow]

Finished Andromeda today. 

Pros:

Like I already said, the combat’s fun. Still not sure that the profile system was necessary, but I can understand some people enjoying it.

The main story was pretty good. I like how the Ryder twins worked together at the end, that was pretty cool. I just kinda wish we would have gotten a little more interaction with our twin. 

The worlds/scenery are v pretty. Voeld and Kadara are my favorite. Elaaden made me think of Borderlands. Part of me was expecting to find a Handsome Jack billboard somewhere rofl

I really like how they included more of those special friendly bonding moments with squadmates, whether you’re romancing them or not. V nice touch pls give us more of this in the future

Peebee and Drack ended up being my favs and I’ve never been a Krogan or Asari lover lmao. I mean, there wasn’t anyone on the squad I outright hated, but them two... definitely my homies.

Loved the little pathfinder cool kids gang that happened. I want to see more of them all. I’d love for them to all go on a mission together, pathfinders only no squares allowed

Kesh. Kesh is a positive all on her own. Love her. Vorn too. I like that they showed more variety in personalities within all the species. Krogan scientist 4tw

Kudos for ethnic diversity this time. They actually look like what they’re supposed to be! And it doesn’t look weird!

I never felt that overwhelming feeling of Hinterlands 2.0 on any of the maps. I’m not really interested in exploration, and I didn’t find any of the worlds too ridiculously huge like I thought they might be. Though they were all huge compared to Inquisition’s. It makes sense though, since they were clearly made to be used with the Nomad. If not for that, I think I would have been gritting my teeth trying to get from one side of the map to the other

More than two nice looking hairstyles for men, even if they were all a little bland.

Liked the color wheel on clothes, although I would have given it up in a heartbeat in favor of better physical feature customizations

Cons:

 At certain times the writing felt a little rushed to me.

There were still too many pointless quests, Bioware. chiiiiiiiiiill

Should I even bother to say it? I can hear the boos already. No imma say it anyway. DEAL. Some of the facial animations were nightmare fuel aight. Even for Bioware. Be real. I’m still clutching my rosary. But then some expressions felt much more natural than in previous games, too. I feel like they could easily build on that and refine it without too much hassle if given more time. Some walking and running animations felt a little less stiff than before, at least to me.

I’m still irritated at the CC. It’s pathetic, and using Alec as the reason it ‘has to be that way’ is ridiculous and cheap. That feeling of playing a pre-established character never went away and I was never able to fully connect with Ryder because of it. It took away from my enjoyment of the story. That, combined with the fact that it seemed like there were less dialog options this time around. And sometimes those dialog options seemed... bizarrely inappropriate to the situation. That’s nothing new, and sometimes it is just a matter of opinion, but ehh.

I fucking hate that fucking Sudoku wannabe decryption bullshit minigame oh my godddd. They can DIE. FOREVER. Ok this isn’t a legitimate complaint since technically you could skip most if you had a key thing, and I’m sure plenty of people out there enjoyed that hell. I’ve never had the patience for complex puzzles. Why couldn’t we just stick to matching lines of code like in ME2? cries  

The Kett story was a little predictable imo. And the Archon, I expected more out of him. As in, I was kinda hoping he’d be the sort of antagonist that you could empathize with. That maybe his motivations were less black and white than a certain other I AM A GOOOODDDDDD MWAHAHA bioware villain. 

Bugs. Buuuuugs everywhere. I couldn’t settle Elaaden because of a bug that prevented me from completing the mission. I had to replay several parts including a portion of the final mission. One time I lost about five hours of play. It was bad. Though, recalling what Inquisition was like on it’s initial release... it wasn’t completely unexpected.

Still doing that thing with Asari I see. Lmao. Like, I love Peebee, but I pulled a muscle rolling my eyes at the fact that I can’t be friendly to her without her trying to grab my junk. A whole new galaxy and we still hypersexualizing all the blue not-lady ladies. Nice. Can you imagine the meltdown hets would have if Gil had a cutscene that involved him rubbing up on Scott unprovoked? And the only reject option is along the lines of “Eheh.... well... I’m sorry, but I just... c-can’t... please don’t be mad your undeniable sex appeal isn’t working today...”

There was a very minor trans character, a side lesbian character, one gay/bi alien who’s love is dead, one bisexual human male and one possibly??? gay?? human male. The bisexual male is better written than the ONE other m/m romance, and one can only assume it was only given decent treatment because it’s also a potential fem!Ryder romance. Gil’s endgame if not romanced is to have a child with a woman? Lol. Also never explicitly states he’s only interested in men even when rejecting fem!Ryder. I could just sum all this up by saying “do better” but from where I’m sitting, this specific group of writers and developers aren’t interested in hearing it. So I’ll just say, fail. Fucking fail. No gold star for effort. If you want credit for being so ~*~progressive~*~, do the work. And for god’s sake, don’t treat it like someone twisted your arm to include it.

All in all, it was a fun game. I may play the DLCs if/when they come out. The main game doesn’t have a whole lot of replay value imo though, at least not for me. 

The problematic writing everyone foresaw going in turned out to be well-founded, and no, there is nothing here that would even begin to make up for it. They could do better if they wanted to. They’re aware of the issues. This was their chance to fix that and all they proved was that they really don’t care. Simple as that. So yep, I’m still extremely disappointed in that respect.

On that note, let’s not dwell on it. At least we all know what to expect now. On to what really matters... DA4~ And if they fuck that up, there will be hell to pay.