#anyway i did most of the companion quests last night and this one was by FAR my favorite (second fave was bellara's) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

darkangelwrath · 1 year ago

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So I wrote down every game I played in 2023

Ya it started as a stupid idea to make a joke tier list of every game but instead I just decided to write down what I did alongside some feelings on the game. Ya formatting for this is screwed but what can you do with something started on a whim that turned into a 15,325 word long document.

Anyway may everyone play some good games next year.

Played A Previous Year.

★Warframe [Off stream]

Still a Good game Archon hunts are nice keep feeling like I’ve missed some shards tho.

⋆Citrine's Last Wish

Finally, a good defense mission. Also, nice to see the mercy timer mechanic is back and hope they keep it for the never lucky crowd.

⋆Duviri Paradox

Ya the quest is interesting as a starting point to the game. As for its gameplay loop like it has neat rewards and leveling the intrinsics aren’t that bad. Worst that I can say is that it’s an ‘open world’ so that means a grind. Admittedly that might be me at 3829.9 hours on steam talking and not being in a mood to just grind. Also, the Incarnon weapons tend to be fun and strong. Even if farming them is a bit of a pain.

⋆ Abyss of Dagath

A neat little mission and a neat little dojo room. Alongside with companions being reworked and becoming a useful thing in most situations. Also got rid of some of the voodoo math. Always a good clarity change. Really the Big W content pass.

⋆ Update 35 Whispers in the Walls

Once again, the Tenno save the day with the power of murder, theft, intimidation, blackmail, and love and friendship. Also, that secret its neat to have another John Prodman style content. As for the event nice and simple worst that I can say is the boss feels kind of bulky. But its an end game boss and is not as bad as Archons were at launch. New tile-set is neat, and the new syndicate carries a gut punching story. Bird 3 is best boy.

★Genshin Impact [Off stream]

So, the year they added the TCG roughly and we arrived too Fontain. I enjoy it still, but it is a gacha game so wouldn’t recommend the game despite it being pretty solid game..

⋆3.4 Released

New zone, and it was nice seeing Jet again. Also, poor jet. Neat that the prediction of the Sky nail being addressed was wrong. Also, funny to see a random NPC able to be challenged to a TCG duel in a quest even if it was optional. Otherwise, area was different then rest of the desert and the future expansion area has been noticed to the north. The question was if it was one area or two.

⋆The Exquisite Night Chimes event completed.

Well, that story for this year’s lantern rite. was nice will look forward to the lore videos for it. As for the gameplay.

+Radiant Sparks:

an interesting parkour version. Not sure if I like it or not.

+Paper Theater:

what a nice little side scroller.

+Vigilance at Sea:

All right I get its nice little mini game. Basically, Mario cart battle mode with the boats. At least there is a non-co-op version.

+Behind the Scenes:

Just a combat challenge nice and easy. Addedly I had Nahida out while it was raining so :V

⋆Second Blooming completed.

Nice to see Lisa again. Don’t really feel anything about the event meat itself but like I don’t care for spiral abyss and having to do it 3 waves feels whatever to me. I want to like the shared characters between teams but like I hate it messes up my team order.

⋆Warrior's Spirit

Okay nice little event. Glad it is just complete the encounter and not do it in a certain time limit. Shame they made you unlock the hardest difficulty. As for the story nice little fluff to show off the new skin.

⋆Almighty Arataki Extraordinary and Exhilarating Extreme Beetle Brawl

Another Himbo Oni event. Always a treat in how stupid things will get. After all, seeing the Himbo argue with some chunni kid is great. Has the annoying feature of having to beat the easier stage before the hardest stage. Also waited like normal till the whole event was unlocked. Then did the stages in opposite order. Over all felt like the controls/gameplay was just fine not sure what was the tell for the perfect timing.

⋆3.5 Released

New character, new story quest, new hangout. Just fine. Archon quest was interesting as normal just has the good problem of wanting to know what comes next. admittedly I didn’t pull Dehya cause of her gameplay and she is on the standard banner. Shame since I liked her character.

⋆Windblume's Breath

Story was sweet and good. Certainly, was a one that didn’t have me checking out. Thank God all the mini games started in one place. Still did the wait till it’s all unlocked before starting it all.

+Floral Pursuits:

Okay this was a fun mini game. Sure, just call it just packman and such but like it was fun and simple. It really didn’t need more like the worst stage was the rotate the stair case one cause every other one was just better.

+Ballads of Breeze:

At least this time the let you pick your poison of instrument. not like there is much of a difference. Like it’s a rhythm game it has been done before in game. OH GOD WHY IS IT SO FAST ON PRO. Also thank God you don’t need to unlock the higher levels.

+Breezy Snapshots:

This one is always nice and simple. Can’t hate it even if it feels like I’ve been here before. Probably going to be that way till we can pose NPCs for the photos.

⋆Vibro-Crystal Verification

Ya combat event. Like I can never find enthusiasm for these events I just throw them onto the middle difficulty and do them. Also, I did not pay attention to the dialog beyond seeing that its follow up to the previous events.

⋆ Fungus Mechanicus

I like this event was feeling meh towards a normal Mechanicus event but this was a good mix up. I am not sure I did the final quest but oh well only would have missed out on some mora and adventure exp.

⋆ 3.6 Released

Well new area, Nahida gets traumatized again, a new hangout and a shorter Aranara world quest with the Pari. It was good content. New weekly boss seems fine to me, at least for only doing it once so far outside the quest. Will probably hate it latter with the 3 phases but oh well. For the new area gimmicks flying with Sorush is annoying only cause of that load screen when going back to your character. New Hilichurls are fine if a bit bulky but as an alt to Mitachurls it is nice, Consecrated crocodile is fun it has the death roll like any good crocodile enemy has, and Consecrated cat can go screw itself with its aggro range and grass beams. Will look forward to the lore videos for the stuff I unga bunga past like the fact Jeht has a merc company of her own and hunting down Masseira. Ya fun update and thanks for genshin-impact-map letting me clear everything in three days after the update.

⋆ Brewing Developments

Ya this was a nice and easy combat event. Nice to see that NPC again. The Combat gimmick this time was just there. Of course, I just use the middle difficulty cause with how strong my teams are I can get double the score needed. With out stressing and getting frustrated by inflated NPC health.

⋆Fulminating Sandstorm

Well nice little story event. Felt kind of short to be honest but not exactly bad. Story was fine. Otherwise, was kind of just a is their event.

⋆A Parade of Providence

Hat Guy was MVP, Dori is the continued winner of Sumeru character who deserves to be suplex, but ya the story was nice and contained Kaveh is a good boy. Nothing seemed to be huge lore implications but who knows that nihilistic nonsense will come to roost in Natlan when we know more than “The rules of war are woven in the womb: the victors shall burn bright, while the losers must turn to ash. When the God of War shares this secret with the Traveler, it is because she has her reasons.” And it has hot springs. Also, I hope we get a new nickname for hat guy every event now like that is much better than if they made you pick his name from a list instead of a text box.

+Gathering of Stars:

Nice little puzzle. Is simple and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Took me till halfway done to wrap my head around it. Kind of hate the light up but it’s a mini-game if this was the main content for a game wouldn’t want it there but here its fine.

+Project Connectivity:

Nice little mini-game with a neat use of teapot mechanics. Not exactly deep, but it is fun. Also is a test of your jumping which isn’t that frequent of a thing in this game.

+Antiquity Hunt:

I don’t hate this one it’s just very barebones and I have done it before in earlier events. Nice context for it tho.

+In Truth Steps:

Ya this is neat and everything I just don’t really care for these types of puzzles. Like its fine and all but like I aint getting out of bed for it. As for the puzzles first was made sense to me, second took me a few tries, third was between the two.

+Concordat Reactions:

I am still at the point of all combat events I sleep. Except when they have a cryo slime then I must pay a bit more attention because I can’t Ganyu everything. Shame I must put it on Hard difficulty then just chill in medium. Also so glad there is only three rounds.

+Mimetic Replications:

I don’t know what I expected but this is so inoffensive that I don’t really care that it is a disguise rhythm game. Also, neat how all three are different, but like what the hell was the fish one. I missed 1 out of 25 after doing the “get up walk around then continue and all of a sudden get better” trick, but still what the hell was the fish one.

⋆The Recollector's Path

Well nice to see Sorush again. As for gameplay nice to see what they can do with Sorush for the ‘combat’ portions, the races are to be expected, and the match the location is what it is. As for the story it feels like an extension of the world quest. That is fine. Good on worm boy escaping after 10,000 years a statue.

⋆ 3.7 Released

The Genius Invokation TCG update. Also, Yoimiya story quest 2, Kaveh hangout, and new Dendro character Kiara. It really is kind of funny how some people I saw got so salty about it. Like to me the TCG is so in offensive I don’t mind doing the 4 weekly challengers. Like the worst that I can say is just look up a deck and use that. A negative I could say about it is “wow they really just doubled the cards available didn’t they.”. As for the second Yoimiya story quest ya that’s a bit sad like I am a sap but the whole time I was “writers please don’t kill the child.” I will cry.

⋆Duel! The Summoners' Summit!

The Genius Invokation TCG Event. Not sure why everyone was salty about it if we got an event with Sorush we would get an event for the TCG. Like you don’t even need to play it for the story. Which in itself might be a bit of an anti-climax but that might be just a developer overcorrection to the much earlier Unreconciled Stars being very important lore wise, so they want to avoid another situation like that. Instead, we get tragic backstory lore for the TCG. However, can we just go with the idea that if the patch launch dates are the cannon timeline for the in-game events. So, that Version 3.2(November 2, 2022) is when Nahida was let out of baby jail and cured Eleazar and Version 3.3(December 7, 2022) was when TCG was added to the game (And became popular worldwide), and 3.7(May 24, 2023) is when this event happened. So did Gulab really die from Eleazar right before it was cured. Like God damn no wonder Garvipidam is such a mood. Like damn. Also, on point for giving out the “Friendship Eternal” card at the end of the story. Not sure how that will work in the future but till then the wiki text “event-exclusive Event Card” is a fun trivia. Also is it wired how many events that are in Mondstadt have a free weapon?

+A Tour Of Wonders:

Okay parkour section. Then a combat section. This was very short all things considered. Like it wasn’t bad it just felt like it should have stuck with parkour or combat.

+Zero Hour Invokation:

Huh people were complaining about the TCG event when this is the only time it appears and be mandatory? Also, nice how it made you a deck for those who don’t play it or are new and don’t have a large card collection

+Evermotion Mechanical Painting: Invoker:

Always a fun little mini game. Glad its back and with a twist. Didn’t really have difficulty because I got its rules down with its last appearance. The duck duck goose it did however was fun.

+Heart of the Dice:

Once again going for the middle difficulty is nice and cozy with a max out team. Neat theming for one of these combat with a twist events. Otherwise, it just seems like nice and straight forward rules.

⋆Divine Ingenuity: Collector's Chapter

Okay definitely an amazing event. To think I only scratched the surface for it too. Like I did use the custom domains to finish off the elemental mastery achievements I haven’t done yet but otherwise I appreciate the depth of it, and it is a shame that it isn’t here to stay. Hope they make its’ return an anniversary thing.

⋆ Feast of the Departed Warriors

Okay this is a simple combat event. One of the add challenge modifiers to reach the score. Worst I can say about it is the last one is 8,000 score not 6,000 like each one before. Which is why I didn’t go for that score on the final one.

⋆ Fayz Trials: Hypothesis

Ya, I like this event a bit more than the previous one even if it felt kind of long but needs 7 so each element can have one assigned to it for rewards. Always neat to see a returning event NPC and it to come back with a nice little gimmick. It’s not hard but seeing all the team comps without concern of needing to build it without any pain in the ass gimmick is just nice to go through.

⋆ 3.8 Released

THE MEME IS DEAD EULA BANNER IS HERE. Also, the foreshadowing for Fontaine patch with that world quest. Not sure if it really was anything important that wasn’t said elsewhere. Like the fact the research institute blew up. Admittedly I watch Ashikai so I got the recap that I smooth brain forgot. Anyway, looking forward to brat archon.

⋆ Veluriyam Mirage

Okay the NPCs weren’t all dead. I was thinking that with how good the devs are with keeping up with elemental vision mechanic. Like the whole time I was “okay why are they all hydro resonating” Like I thought Eula’s cousin was dead till I got a chance to check with elemental vision then I thought he dodged a bullet. Otherwise, nice little cozy story that probably has some deep lore foreshadowing that I missed connecting the dots for. As for gameplay always love new areas to explore. Glad the made a treasure compass for this area and glad it’s not just golden apple archipelago again. Like it might be because of the terrain of the archipelago or the fact I’ve been there twice but I like this area a bit more.

+Spino Buster:

You know it’s weird to think how long it’s been since there has been a shoot the target mini-game, or at least feel like it. Oh well as the joke I saw about it “finally they balanced Ganyu for these target minigames.” Otherwise, ya I like it. Funny enough it’s still easy but I guess that’s the perks of being a PC player.

+Sojourns of the Barking Fox:

What a nice little minigame. I am honestly surprised they used the Sorush gameplay again so soon, but it was last seen in an event in 3.6 so :V.

+Dance of the Flashing Thought:

Nice little combat event. Can’t really say much about it with how easy it was. I mean it didn’t even have difficulty levels. Like that’s fine just the open world and domain combat is harder even excluding outliers.

+Bing-Bang Finchball:

Nice little minigame. Always a nice relaxing thing to deal with a game based off the famous Olympic sport curling.

⋆ Adventurer's Trials: Advanced

Nice little even no story no fuss. All that I can complain about is it really shows how the game evolved over time like Amber’s skill vs Yaoyao’s Skill and how the control are. Like at least Alhaitham vs Keqing has functional differences in how they are used. Like its some rough edges stuff but not enough to bother me for its stay.

⋆ Perilous Expedition

… I feel like I already wrote this section, but I am writing this now on the 8/30 when this ended on 8/7. Like it was just a combat event and not that big of a deal admittedly I just skipped the hardest difficulty because it was something silly like clear 15 level 90s in under a minute. However, the event wanting you to use different characters is a fun concept. Kind of wish they used that idea in some other event where you set all the sections first and then pick which team goes first as a relay race kind of deal, or maybe an endurance battle.

⋆ 4.0 Released

Fontaine is here.

Day one impressions

So, dragons are a social construct. Got all but 5 of the telepoters. Diving seems fine other than the boss fights I've ran into. New world bosses seem fine. Also wow 2 world quest lines. the hydro rings are the good version of the old elcetro gates in wata. new reaction seems ignoble from initial impression will come down to the units that can use them. Also, mechs unsurprisingly can’t swim.

The following days

So, I did everything I could find using the Interactive map before doing the archon quest. LOL. Also thank God for the map update to have layers.

+ Area

Beautiful as always. New underwater mechanics are good. I wouldn’t say they were great since I kind of wish the attacks were tied to the type of weapon a character had. Since getting it from a random fish feels kind of hit or miss sometimes. Nice that every foe drops the same items that was a miss for something that could have been extremely annoying. Admittedly didn’t feel like it really got to show off the new puzzles but that might be down to it being the first of the Fontaine areas since we get updates in that style since 2.0. Above the sea the aquabus is a lovely little thing and I will use it to get to a new area if I can for future updates. The skyships are fine but kind of make me wonder why they didn’t use them instead of the aquabus for travel around the region other then it’s the water region, so aqueducts are needed. Not sure I care about the new Arkhe system. Like as it exists now it is kind of just there. However, I don’t care about spiral abyss where it will probably matter so I probably won’t about it either. Otherwise, the new enemies are fine they are neat but nothing outside the expectation, or I killed them to fast to notice something. Kind of doubt that since I was using a hydro traveler, Nilou, Nahida and Kokomi for half of it with the other half being toss Ganyu at it.

+ Archon quest

Act 1 – wow we really did see someone melt. Like that seems like a save it for the 3rd act or something as a “remember this? Ya its real.” Sort of surprise. Childe is as he normally is, and Fatui continued to be actual decent people to puppy kicking bad guys in their range. The court drama was fine more interesting than the normal investigating gameplay. Was certainly a Mix up compared to normal Archon quest Acts with how much of it was taken up by the trial. As for the twist end neat call back to something that happened like an hour ago. Also, funny how Judge was like “Ya he sus but he aint it” at the end. Brat Archon is great, and I hope she gets bullied in the future. Also, ya went straight into we turn people into drugs with the traveler going not my problem mixed with you aint special.

Act 2 – Navia is best girl. She went straight to suggesting do a crime. Little does she know I’ve already pilfered everything in the region not nailed down. Well, that went from 0 to 10 real fast. Also, good way to cover why we keep fighting meks. Was really liking the Navia story quest then got hit right in the face with another trial section. There is going to be one for every act isn’t it like I get it that’s what Fontaine is but like I hope for mercy and the dev’s are restrained with it in the future. Also, wow does Childe continue with the L’s can’t just be the tough guy of questionable morels who might take our side at the end of everything without taking L’s all the time. Ya dude got what he deserved. Was expecting his lover to call him trash and that be the end of it but victims got their comeuppance. Also, ya, that judgment thing works off mob rules. Like I fully expect some needs of the many demands one dude to die for everyone else kind of situation to happen. Also, hilarious to think about how Furina about the same age as Nahida. Neuvillette is totally dragon dad to her too. We really lay into Paimon this patch I am kind of getting worried she is going to die soon in the story because of it.

+ World quest Line: Narzissenkreuz Adventure

Well, that is a quest. Sure, it can be summed up as it was just a dream but by God was there some feelings of something sketch as hell happened and you just walked into the aftermath. Also, ya I pulled out Endora since I am that old of a player. Really kind of checks out with the Veluriyam Mirage story too.

+ World quest Line: Ancient Colors

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE. TRIED TO TRICK ME. INSTEASD OF JUST ONE LONG WORLD QUEST YOU MADE TWO THAT BECOME ONE. Anyway, all the Melusine are good girls in need of head pats. All together this really is a lot subtler about you just walking into the aftermath of a messed-up situation. Like up until the end its “okay some idiot is trying to pilfer the dragon’s corpse for some reason” only to swerve right into the Narzissenkreuz storyline with the dead dragon being a good father by staying dead.

+Other World Quests

A sad/meta with the young girl kind of hate it with the chest thing. They really are going hard on what is art them this region along with puzzle designed?

Henri Poor guy just wanted to do honest work, but he was the salt of the earth and was only taken advantage of by the fatui. Fortunately, the men in black took him in this will in no way come up latter.

Wow we really just met a mob families don there with the White Glove and just let him murder a guy Like he was a jerk but damn. Also probably going to tie into the above two questlines purely because we find the secret meeting room in a book in the zone it unlocks so put me down for White Glove covering it up or being in a secret society looking for it.

… ya I’m going to call it now every Fontaine character is descended form Oceanid’s aren’t they as the explanation for all the weird shit going on.

⋆ Mega Meka Melee

Well, that was a short and sweet story. Also, funny that Childe story quest call back at the end. Really see the Childe ‘redemption’ arc theories being true. Let it happen I want to say “If Evil? Why Himbo?”.

+Dance Dance Resolution:

Okay a nice little combo game that really feels like a phone game. Not hard since I only missed one on the first one for the entire set but eh its’ was nice and simple.

+Torrent Turbulent Charge:

I was thinking this type of underwater gameplay was going to show up for an event and here it is. The fact that this is like triple the underwater courses that are in open world challenges is funny. Like they aren’t hard, and I am glad for it since perspective feels like a shadow over this type of gameplay.

+Efficiency Testing Simulation Arena:

The designated go to area and kill [x] number of enemies. At least it kept to being mostly the new enemies. Still not sold on the Arkhe. Mostly cause its only on three units and I didn’t go for Lyney and use traveler outside Archon quests that often. That and the hit reg for Lynette’s Arkhe reaction feels bad.

⋆ Verdict Blades

Combat event is ago. Never care for the unlockable hardest difficulty but this event was kind of easy for the normal stages but ya hardest mode is hardest. Still not sure about Arkhe system still even if I got Freminet but I have noticed that the foes with have multiple levels that need to be hit to enter the stun state. I thought up to this point it was just inconsistent but no its just as bad cause I will kill the foe by the time the ability comes off cooldown.

⋆ Study of light and Shadow: A Fontaine of Enchantment.

A nice little photography event.

⋆ 4.1 Released

⋆ New Archon Quest

New area, new archon quest, new character quests. Ya, I pulled for him. Checked out his ability description in the character archive tested in the trial and then pulled for Neuvillette. Single dad raising his theater daughter is better than the Knave not even a contest don’t “why evil if hot tho?” me. Hope she dies like Signoria I remember Lyudochka even if I need to look up her name which is better than 90% of unvoiced NPCs in this game. Since her stealing a ninja identity and the ninja having to put up with it is too funny. Like I’m willing to give a pass on the triplets and Childe for the ‘if you don’t follow orders you would wind up with you dead at best, you and your family at worst’ situation but the Knave is a 100% cause of that situation. Also, glad they fixed the quest conflict with a giant UI thank God.

As for the area didn’t pillage it before the archon quest this time, just grabbed every statue of the seven and waypoint I could find, but it seems like a nice area so far. I would what looks like 1 giant world quest in it but then while wondering about I triggered the spot light and got put into prison before getting sent there in the Archon quest which is how I found out about them fixing the quest conflicts. Which I am pretty sure is going to be another massive world quest if the prison food shop is any indication. As for the prison it’s a neat area that is not fire safe with all those elevator only access areas, but it seems like an area mostly for the Archon quest and that is.

Small notes about combat specifically the Arkhe system they have really like giving us the Pneuma version since every character that has been introduced so far has been it. Like the wiki has all the teased characters having Ousia but they decided to front load Pneuma. Otherwise Neuvillette feels like it works with hit registration on it and area it covers vs the abilities cooldown instead of previous characters. As for a (new?) mechanic Life bond. It exists. Like I’ve not noticed it so far and it all together feels like off brand Corrosion. Like it will kill low investment characters like my Neuvillette but it won’t matter till abyss floor 12.

Now then the archon quest. Neuvillette. You sly dog giving a cake to frame us for a crime. Like I thought it was just poisoned by the Knave or something, but no. The end of the quest revealed the knave was much worse than that. Getting the triplets here as side actors were nice with how Freminet got more than one line and something to do. Worcester sauce was a dick for reasonable reasons but that whole confrontation segment between him and Lyney had me want to bring up Lyney sad backstory. This became even more relative with his character quest. Since I immediately got the feeling, he was actively fucking with him and it getting turned around on him would of ended that real quick. Just to hurry up if Worcester and Sigewinne were going to be the masterminds behind the evil conspiracy or just being followers of Egeria still left over from her death as to why they were so independent since we still got that “Assassins from our homeland” hanging thread and we got like one or two more acts left in this arc, or that might just be relegated to the Narzissenkreuz story line. Honestly the weirdest thing about it is how cavalier most of the prisoners are compared to normal NPCs. Like the worst was Worcester, admittedly we got thrown into jail for eating a cake and everyone was “ya that checks out” and for Paimon flying when we got to Fontain so most of the prisoners being in for tax fraud, jay walking, and tomfoolery would not surprise me. As for the investigation mechanic glad the mixed it up again for this quest not sure the currency mattered, or it was just an illusion, but it was a nice little thing for context. Sigewinne I am digging being a lowkey sociopath big sister nurse. I am a bit annoyed that it’s going to probably another hydro healer because that alongside over worked office lady is the Devs two types. To be serious nice to bring all that world quest context about the Melusine into the main story. Was admittedly worried for a bit that she had a lolicon stalker but that didn’t happen still wish she was more like the regular Melusines in design. As for the ending poor Furina we probably gave her a PTSD attack with our actions when we met her with this context like I was wondering if it was just a player only flashback but nope the knave straight up admitted to it after bulling a child right in front of us because she was salty about her inability to find the Gnoses. Oh, and Neuvillette is the dragon Sovereign like everyone in the lore community expect no go play the character quest. Also, God damn it Childe you just had to F----- the wale didn’t you.

⋆ Radiant Harvest

Poor guy just tried to make a bit of cash on the side but got stuck with people being idiots releasing wild animals that don’t belong in the environment. Otherwise, it was a nice chill event to get all the objectives.

⋆ Dodoco's Bomb-Tastic Adventure

Wow two events about environmental disasters in one patch. Also, kind of funny that we got the important task of distract play with Klee, so she doesn’t blow something up. Lisa also once again dodges work.

⋆ Waterborne Poetry

Well, that was a nice event. Any new player would be confused from the references to the last lantern rite but what else is new. Was a nice gathering of older characters that haven’t been seen in a while so who cares. Other than its obvious foreshadowing to the future archon quests with oceanids tying in probably. Picture part was neat if only because it wasn’t a one and done thing. The shooting minigame was neat and continues the tradition of the devs realizing Ganyu was a mistake for this type of games. The combat section was kind of neat, but I don’t think I 100% under stood it beyond kill everything else to bomb the tough guy.

⋆ The Peaks and Troughs of Life

Nice and simple combat event for the end of the patch. Anyway, it dragged on a bit in my opinion with the three waves per round but that’s partly on me for waiting till they are all unlocked to be done. As for this gimmick nice little charge gadget to get the buffs. I admittedly didn’t use them the first 3 rounds but that was on me thinking the point limit for the buffs was going to be tied to the score. Not that I was going for the final tier of rewards because I don’t hate myself to min max to that level.

⋆ 4.2 Released

⋆ New Archon Quest

Wait was that actually 45 days real time? So Evil mommy daddy is slightly less evil like she ain’t going to back stab us latter. Navia almost died and was saved by the dead bros. Lamo mona lore out of God damn nowhere like straight up did I walk into mona character quest chapter 2. Like I was familiar enough with the deep lore/been around long enough to know where it was going but still out of nowhere, would have thought it would be foreshadowed by steambird comments but nope heard and saw nothing of the sort. Also feel bad about trapping Furina like that to only fulfill the prophecy in a way that it was too late. With Childe being a god damn lunatic buying everyone some time. Then we got inner Furina poor girl needs a therapy vacation. Ya so that line was the secret fountain line. So Focalor is a bit of a dick for everything but lamo Chad Focalor Fucks over the heavenly principles by herself while the Virgin Tasarista faffs about for 500 years having to steal all other archons shit to try the same. Also, that boss fight straight up felt like it glitched defeated the shadow man and insta ended it. Completely funny at how Neuvillette was like “Alright I need to kill something, and the whale has voluntold” Skirt is hilarious with how she showed up chucked Childe like a bag and then explained stuff without explaining anything. That ending cutscene really understates the death toll but like divine or dragon intervention, I guess? Like it checks out with gameplay of can’t drown in Fontaines water being extended to story for non-vision people temporarily. Also, Charlotte was a nice way to checking up on everything, and God damn I thought the gnoses was destroyed Neuvillette better have tricked them with it being useless now, and he did because its cursed, all of them are cursed. Well shit good thing we seen the brother already or else the gnoses being the missing twin theories would of ran rampant at least for the most part. Well at least we got Natlan lore finally that is more than “lol hot springs”.

⋆ New Area, new character quest, and world quests

+ Mechanics and Region :

Alright Erinnyes Forest is a nice little area if feeling like a bit small expansion since we had an entire side already for it since 4.0, while the Morte Region is a nice big ocean area with a tone of ruins. As for the new mechanics. Bacterial mats are an odd thing that get cheesed by Furina water walking. The Xenochromatic Ball Octopus is more interesting that it is on land but otherwise is just an interaction tool that doesn’t use the gadget slot which is more good than bad I think. The Harmonious Reed Pipe and Dew Bubbles can go to hell if only because the Dew Bubbles are push and not pull. Floating Crystal Flowers and Floating Crystal Platforms are a new coat of paint on an old mechanic. Potential Energy Orbs are fun golf/bowling time. Dangerous Autocannons are neat as always but mechanically weird to use like didn’t the Veluriyam Mirage have a better controlling cannon or am I just misremembering that? Operable Mechanisms are a bit odd in needing the Xenochromatic Ball Octopus but fine otherwise, and the Energy Flow is a twist on flow puzzles which is just fine with me. Oh, the paintings popped up again and are still kind of suspect. Especially with the gold fish being the key to unlocking a world quest.

+ The Wild Fair of Erinnyes:

Okay I was expecting this to tie into the Narzissenkreuz story line but instead we got a Melusine who is probably a Bathysmal Vishap. Like the fact like 4 Bathysmal Vishap are just chilling in the Erinnyes Forest right under the statue of seven for the forest region. That is especially funny with the game scaling like you could see the from the walk way to Opera Epiclese. None the less Pahsiv is still a good girl. Also, finally a use for Tidalga that I’ve been picking up like a kleptomaniac. Still expect this to come up again latter maybe with Neuvillette or Kokomi in the future.

+ Narzissenkreuz part Search in the Algae Sea:

You know its funny I met the guy on the island before sinking it. Otherwise, ya the final chapter for this story quest most likely. Having done most of the little dungeons beforehand is always going to be a bit funny to do with the discussion of “oh ya the sealed evil in a can have it right hear got it yester under a random rock” happening in cutscenes. All in all, the deep lore enjoyers were definitely on the money with the who’s who in their theories so nice to see that tied up together while we cause destruction to an old landmark site. Again. They gave out a neat sword too that caused an Arkhe explosion too even can be refined too rank 5 using see shells from places. Unlike the Kagotsurube Isshin. It’s just why is this effect only on a god damn sword and not a one-piece artifact set like come on. That is my main complaint with the Arkhe system.

+ Questioning Melusine and Answering Machine:

Well, that was a hoot. Certainly, foreshadowing with that harbinger reference at the end. Also, just some guy casually makes a sentient robot and it’s just another thing on the pile of random shit the Traveler has experienced. Also Neuvillette must never know or else we will be in danger for making a Melusine sad.

+ An Expected Plan:

Well, that was a nice little follow up to the Institute quest. Can’t wait till the next part cause let’s face it that ending was setting up a part 3. Also, traveler continues to meet and work with constantly escalating sketchy people. Got to warm us up for Snezhnaya right?

+ Impromptu Poem of the Crimson Dawn:

Ya that guy was just shady. Like call it protagonist centered morality and such but like feels dumping the Treasure hoarders into the local cops is a viable solution to the whole event. Then just rando robin hood wannabe is just here. Like Fontaine didn’t even go the way of corrupt cop/police yet why is this a thing. Its only a because we are in Fontaine issue too.

+ Free Verse:

Well, that was a thing. Kind of weird with the traveler talking but okay. Did not get suckered punched by growing up story but was wonder what I ate when everything started talking.

+ Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Hunt:

Well, that was a nice little quest. Hope there is some follow up on it latter. Otherwise wonder how many players saw him on the island before we sunk it and realized it was our fault.

+ Happy Birthday:

Well, if that isn’t a gut punch and a tone of “Hey recall this ya we are going to explain everything in context you should know even if you don’t good luck recalling everything” Like straight up wish I had a detection book mechanic to tell the who’s who. At least the lore videos are going to be fun about it.

+ Furina Character Quest:

Well, aint that a nice little quest. Wish the traveler wasn’t kind of a dick dragging Furina into the plot like come on let the girl relax after dealing with everything for 500 years. Also, that last minute take the stage was so contrived/trope. Couldn’t have let Furina be content as a director/consultant? nope straight back to the acting spot light. Like splitting the difference and making it so Dulphy illness took her voice, so Furina had to sing the part for her while Dulphy acted the role would have been better in my eyes. Would have been neat too with the vision showing up paralleling the fake one.

⋆ Misty Dungeon: Realm of Water

Combat Event lets go. Okay this is at least kind of neat with it using a limited character pool. Otherwise, simple event at least when doing the three weakening rounds so I don’t know or care how tough they are without. That and I am pretty sure that you can’t complete the secondary objective without the side fights.

⋆ Thelxie's Fantastic Adventures

What the hell is wrong with this region and sad stories like the previous regions did similar things, but God damn does this one keeps on with these gut punch stories. Like I did feel like the kids dead at the start, but yep straight up kid was actually dead. Not sure I like how the House of hearth doctors got mentioned considering pass lore like was kind of worried for a moment that Freminet was going to gaslight the women considering the what the House of hearth gets up to. As for the ending. Ya elemental energies are memoires aint got to explain shit.

+ Motherboard Trouble shooting.

I wonder about the name “Motherboard” being in universes, but like I just got to recall robots were a launch enemy. Alongside all the ones roaming the country side of Fontaine. As for the gameplay the nice take on the good old pipe minigame. I like it didn’t have any big problems with it only trouble was the last couple if only cause having to think in spaces and not time when it came to having two penguins on one track with the switches.

+ Record of the search for glory

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO, THEY MADE ME KILL THE ROUND FRIEND FOR THE CROWN! Otherwise, ya simple underwater find the thing. That is glowing and sees though walls. Like at least swimming combat aint bad. Might just be me understanding all the mechanics they used in it from open world traversal.

+ Purgation Counterstrike

Okay that was a neat little combat gimmick basically a second burst that is shared between all characters if I understood it right. The trial characters are always neat other than the one time I grabbed the trial instead of my own. Admittedly I mostly used it as a “use this comp” indicator for the encounter.

⋆ Lil' Fungi's Fun-Tastic Fiesta

FUNGI FRIENDS ARE BACK. Also, always neat when a returning NPCs comes back in a different costume. As for gameplay it was simple and not sure if they could do more with it. My main problem is that it’s such a shake up from normal gameplay that it tosses my muscle memory for the game out the window and it’s not like it sticks around long enough to be built up. Otherwise, a good event.

⋆ 4.3 Released

⋆Navia Story quest

Alexa play “angel with a shotgun”. Navia continues to be unable to catch a break. Like easily probably the worst year she has had in her life. Other wise a straight forward story quest with no deep lore reveals just some terrorism. However, Navia’s gameplay is much more interesting if this is where they are going with the Geo element.

⋆Roses and Muskets

That was nice for old players to see Xavier back. Also, really did the 3 layers of meta in this quest the movie based on the book based off real life. Like really? Adamantly, I feel like the older Inazuma character were just there with how little they got to do. Like I get it was showing of Furina enjoying her retirement and preview for Chevreuse and Chiori but oh well limited time limited scope is the way it goes. As for the story fairly enjoyable with the highlight being THAT GOD DAMN BULLET BLOCK CHEVREUSE MLG NO SCOPE PRO.

+Thousand-Pace Interdiction Arcminute Sharpshooting Zone

Well, that’s a way to do a shooting minigame. Feels a bit off in mouse sensitivity for what is normally done but what can you do.

+Trick Shots, Tricky Lights

Well, that is an easy combat section. Kind of forget the special gimmick but it does have the same pseudo burst as the previous event and it’s still a good system.

+Xtreme Drive

A co-op event been a long time since that happened. Also, nice that they knew to disable the alternative movement actions after they learned that lesion in the hide and seek event. Wish the points were paid out per game played and not a score system because I had to play another round despite only needing 25 points for the final reward.

+Into the Frame

Okay neat little minigame. Not hard and you will puzzle out the solution from just messing it up. Definitely dependent on reading the prompt and figuring out which picture is the correct one.

★Fate/Grand Order [Off stream]

I am at the point this is a solved game so am sticking around for the story. Which going to be honest I hop over to atlas academy to read the story there just cause of the format feels better then how it is in game. It is a gacha game so wouldn’t recommend.

⋆Lostbelt 5-5: Heian-kyo completed.

Solid story chapter read it on atlasacademy.io. cause format. Otherwise definitely a way to wrap up limbos story arc if he wasn’t going to be tied into the main story. Kintoki is still a good boy. Not sure why the mech was needed to show up but Babbage is probably there to foreshadow it. Also surprised Nursery Rhyme didn’t get a costume since we got 2 from it anyway. Main Story is still good.

⋆Revival: Saber Wars 2 Event completed.

Skipped the story because I played it the first time. Was neat that the quest selection would show what counted for the event missions that is a very nice quality of life.

⋆Farewell to Kamakura - Little Big Tengu Event completed.

Ya, this was a nice relaxing story was nice. Hate the extra spawns Craft Essence wish they could make more than 3 enemies on the field oh wait that’s added next Lost Belt. OH well.

⋆Holy Grail Front Caesar: Et tu Brute?

I like these grail front events. The main problem I feel that they have is balance. Like they really need to change the limit for deployment. It really feels like the only CE that is worth using is Herc’s Bond CE. Like hell even if they only permitted Bond CEs at 0 cost that would be kind of interesting.

⋆Valentine's 2023

Well, that was an event. Neat how back up units came in mid attack change. Caren was the living sus that she is. Also, kind of nice how exhausted the pro-tag is with everything. Admittedly that is coming from a day one player.

⋆Chaldea Boys Collection 2023 Event - Holy Grail Phantom Thief Amakusa Shirou and the Slapstick Museum

Ya, I skipped all the text and read it on atlasacademy.io after the event ended... No shame just no interest in reading the visual novel format to much text to little displayed. Otherwise, same old same event set up. Story was fun when I got around to reading it defiantly an odd ensemble but one that worked out. Not sure the better sweet ending with the museum curator was needed but eh its fine especially with Moriarty being salty. To be honest the real W was the costume we got along the way.

⋆Akihabara Explosion

Ya a nice little tower event. Also skipped all the text and read it on atlasacademy.io. Did my normal strategy of use my lowest rarity first and only use 3 servants per node it really is the only time I use most of the roster that can’t be used to 3 turn with caster atoria or skati. That or the big single target damage. Also, good luck getting rid of your AP with it lol. Only difficulty was me remembering to swap to the damage CEs. Story was fun but like every oversimplification of the story idiot genius makes a problem for everyone quote for that “Or do you also doubt it's possible for humans to give birth when someone tells you about their mother?”. Also, summonable Aphrodite when?

⋆Bedazzled! Grail Concert! Crane Returns an Idol's Favor

Once again, I skipped the quest text to read it latter on atlasacademy.io. As for the farm kind of neat to have the point ladder make the event CE scale off of, still not sure that it needed three-point ladders. 90+ quests continue to be interesting in how I solve them by just NP with three different servants. Otherwise, costume tickets are neat was in a position to use all but two of them, and the fact that most of the Idols got a skill upgrade alongside the event. Would have been nice to realize that during the event to help with farming but oh well. LAMO NEVER WENT BACK AND READ THE STORY.

⋆Holy Grail Front: My Super Camelot 2023

More Grail Front. Its fine like I don’t hate it like others seem to I just feel like the balance is off, and it really would be fine if it only had 3 or so missions instead of the 7 we got. Just feels a bit annoying. That and they should just make it all units get two actions per turn and be done with this variable move point nonsense. Still the only time I’ve failed a front I think and all I can say is wonder why it took so long with how the dev’s have to stack the deck so hard. That and the end was just piling on that agitation.

⋆Revival: FGO Summer 2022 Summer Camp

Event rerun okay. Was fun reading it the first time but otherwise, ya. It’s just your run of the mill mission-based event with three currencies. Story was fine I hate the villains is the worst I can recall of it. Probably the least interesting of the summer events in terms of story if it wasn’t for pasine.

⋆Lostbelt 6: Avalon le Fae

⋆Part 1

Oh, ya some main story always good. Yes, I did read it on atlasacademy.io it was faster and more comfortable for me. Still had it running on auto text using Samsung Flow to get better scenes, music, and animations. So as the story goes, ya Fae are dicks, and this is the only lostbelt that I don’t feel bad about offing. Like its unfortunate but this is just a functional trash heap of a location-timeline. As for spoilers I am mostly blind other than one off no context comments that I half recall. Glad Mash got some independent character development and Chad Nasu was willing to skirt NTR with how hard wifu ‘culture’ get. F for the gob bros dying like absolute lads. Nasu really wanted to make fun of all those Doujin stories when he wrote this arc didn’t, he. Also, kind of rude to separate us from Mash right at the end there. As for Fujimaru half or Castoria half to be more accurate. Oberon is in the Mephistopheles camp of sus even if helping with no ulterior motives. All around that half showed the shit heap that is the lost belt by being true and faithful to traditional Fae myth. Also did they really doge the implications of it being rape camps with that artificial insemination line in the Dracae section like I thought that it was going to be just implied and not addressed with Humans being like cattle, but they decided to not leave that hanging. Also, Beryl is a hate sink that deserve all the bad things that will happen to him. Nice to have a simple villain for once. All together things are progressing in ways we still don’t know exactly what the deal beyond the first answer, but it is part 1 so leave that for the complete section.

As for gameplay didn’t notice anything but like I got the quick and arts loops on speed dial I am leveling up all my servants’ skills to 6 for the hell of it since I got them to max level outside grails. As for my pulls got Morgana without using up my bangk alongside a np2 Baobhan Sith. Morgana is fine (read that she is best in immortal comps) while Baobhan Sith came in clutch in the only time I was going to fail a quest during the story and her kit is simply “their will be a use for you at some point.” Shame I ran out of nails to max her skills. Final boss for part 1 was just fine, it was a stall fest for me using the support rider DaVinci and mash with a castorio for back up. The most annoying thing was having to use a support mash when my own is bulked up to hell and back with being the only servant I have given the golden Fous, paw prints, and card appends. Like if she had appended skills, I would have made them 10/10/10 as soon as the animations finished cause I am eggplant club for life give her head pats and max her stats.

⋆Part 2

So that was an eventful end. Count Pepe continues to be best bad guy, Beryl is trash person, babbitt sit is oddly a good girl despite being evil, and Morgan really should have let this lostbelt/lostworld burn cause Fey are trash. Barghest is a good girl who will have bad things happen to her, and Mélusine is getting conned by everyone she knows. As for the story the pilgrimage seemed to be oddly fast and slow for how many bells we have rung in this part and how quickly it happened with their still being a third part but that’s where everything will come to roost. Cnoc na Riabh and Cu was interesting if a bit heavy on the reference to other same faces. Oberon continues to be suspect, while Muramasa continues to be helpful if annoying in how he is an alter-ego in gameplay and not a saber where every time it would be more useful especially since I am sitting on a maxed-out copy of him. The history of the lostbelt tab is interesting but that feels like more thoughts than I will dedicate to it, but it is nice for those who like it. The twist with Morgan being Altria predecessor feels like it could have been foreshadowed a bit more but the as the answer to the puzzle that was been shown does make sense it’s just feels like you figure it out the sentence before they tell you. Morgan also does put out the power at the end and only lost cause fairies are terrible. Gareth being a mirror clan lined up with the visions of the future power she showed with no explanation before that. All in all, despite everything I am waiting for this lostbelt burn in part 3. Sorry Fujimaru you are too much of a good person, so trauma conga-line(a traumga-line) is your fate. Still, it’s really nice how they give the protagonist some more dialogue instead of letting it fall to the wayside. Also, nice they didn’t try and separate mash and Fujimaru again. It’s also kind of funny how by now the default idea should be “beat the shit out of [x]” first resort to a lot of problem in this game because that’s what everything turns into. I really wonder if most of my passive enjoyment of this is because everything was known due to the prophecy it was only a question of how it will pan out.

As for gameplay the actual intended to be beaten final fight. ya, that was hard actually used some Layline stones for it. Woodwose was also that hard too. At least because I couldn’t just double castor Altria it, which is what I did to every other combat encounter. Like that unwinnable fight at the end was winnable with that team comp and I would have if I could. The only interesting thing I could say was the one where you only needed to kill 3 enemies and they piled on the curse and poison on their killer and I just one turned the entire wave. Overall, I am not sure how much I like these support servant frequency on one hand its certainly the consequences of putting all the cannon story servants into the support menu and only being able to take one but I really wish they went the extra mile to put them in your own summons so you can pick them if you want to take them or use your own. Like right now it feels like an annoying half way point between a forced comp and using your own servants. That mostly is just coming from having to fill in the team for so many encounters that just gets solved by making the same 3-turn loop setup with Altria + tammo + AOE arts NP servant, but like Day one NA problems, I guess.

⋆Part 3

What an end. Like didn’t even have much time to think about before everything went to hell. Like that wasn’t a surprise with ominous glowing eyes Cernunnos at the end of part 2 but like take the L so hard we must pull a time Houdini to not lose and have Koyanskaya bail us out too. Like damn. The only time we’ve lost as hard must be for both the incarnation of mankind in arc 1 and bleached earth in arc 2. Otherwise, Fey are terrible and deserved everything that happened to them. Like Barghest being the best of them despite being an unwilling cannibal really shows how low the bar is. Mélusine would count but lol dragon and mercy kill her abusive mom, Mike can be argued to be MVP for the duty of not fucking up, and random fairy girl(Hope?) came in clutch by being the selfish bitch she died as. Habetrot is a good girl and friend of brides and does not count. Despite not getting any ascension art not even to take off her hat. This was the end of Castoria story and what an end. From seeing from her point of view of past story events, Muramasa sacrifice, Percival’s end and Cernunnos defeat. All great. The fact Oberon betrayal is so simple is kind of underwhelming but at the same time fitting. Like even if this is like the fifth time a villain’s entire plot can be summarized as “Bothered by this massive complex issue? Use this one quick trick to fix it! Genocide.” Like if it wasn’t for this entire Lostbelt story being about vapid idiots messing everything up that being tacked onto the end it probably wouldn’t fit. Plus, it kind of feels like Oberon is also kind of aware of how dumb it is with all the talk of stories and actors. Adamantly this might be purely the always lies make all his dialog retroactively and proactively be pure subtext with no just plain text reading consequently. Like the only honest thing he said was calling Fujimaru a lunatic for trying to deck him. Also, Sion at the end just listing future events is funny. Oh ya, they brought Beryl back for a scene so we could see his back story. At least Pepe was a bro from the grave. Still Oberon’s defeat flashback/dream sequence was better if only cause of how salty he was about the whole thing. Also it is kind of funny how Oberon just disappears at a point and no one comments on it.

As for gameplay the boss fights went from reasonable (Mélusine), hard but reasonable ( Cernunnos), and what the fresh hell ( Barghest). Like everyone was saying Cernunnos is the hardest fight but like I only need 1 Laystone for it unlike the 3 for Barghest fight. Like they both do it in different ways but they both do the screw with the player in an unfair way. Like God damn were the devs liberal with buff removals for these bosses. This is very much an “oh shit we power crept to hard” response but like this feels so much an issue of not being able to buff and nerf servants cause gacha game. Oh well at least I got Koyanskaya L and Oberon so buster loops are now my future. Not that I used them much in part 3 because I’ve become poor in mats again. At least I can deal with the dickish 1-3-1 waves that exists to stop NP arts looping just like every new quick servant gets NP hit taxed for the same reason. In my opinion this state is purely because they decided every skill goes off a turn set up for buff durations with the rare skill going off uses and not a single skill going of waves as its duration. Like if they did that it would really mix it up the servant roster where some are good for 1 wave 99 reserves and others the current set up. That however is probably another consequence of the gacha system.

⋆Revival: The Return of Nero Fest - Summer 2023

I farmed so many boxes. As always fuck challenge quests. Only did the ones that paid out a lore. Like I’ve said it before but while one challenge quest in an event is fine this is just nonsense of who in the office can come up with some ridiculous restrictions on the gameplay.

⋆Chaldea Summer Adventure! A Boy Pursuing Dreams and a Girl Who Dreams

Columbus is a little shit that is all. All in all, what a nice little event. Didn’t really matter in the end but definitely some meta foreshadow in how the narrative will go in the future. At least more so for new players since that’s how these events go in only needing to beat the prologue to take part in them. I am a sap, so I teared up at the end. Also, this treasure chest mechanic for events is a neat shake up but not sure if it’s better than lotto events.

⋆Csejte Halloween Trilogy: Ultra Deluxe Highlights!

Ya no. I was there Gandalf I ant reading this again don’t care if they reframed it skipped every god damn quest gladly.

⋆Halloween 2023 - Halloween Rising! The Queen of Dust and the Disciple of Darkness

So once again Liz returned. So anyway, the gameplay changes of having 6 enemies out at one time continues to be amazing. Otherwise, nice they took the chance to give out the servant coins for the old welfare servants in this event. I still haven’t gotten around to reading through all the text but Liz getting shade is apricated.

⋆Revival: GUDAGUDA 2022 - Super Ancient Shinsengumi History GUDAGUDA Yamataikoku 2022 - Lite

So those raids died fast. Anyway, was here for the first one. So, it was a simple event for me. Kind of love and hate the daily reward mission they had if. Probably because my tolerance for that kind of stuff has been getting lower as I get older.

⋆GUDAGUDA 2023 - Showa Kishin Project: Ryouma's Narrow Escape! The Mystery of the Disappearing Nobbu Head

I am just guda guda out. I just don’t care about the guda guda story lines. It’s just apathy for me. As for gameplay it’s your run of the mill mission even except they have ~special missions~ its fine. Really glad they added that do this node to complete this mission feature wasn’t added a while back but still good to not need to look up a walkthrough.

⋆Anti-Primate Biosphere, Tunguska Sanctuary

NA #1! NA #1! NA #1! NA #1! Ya lamo that bug is the perfect capstone for a raid event and their arbitrary nonsense. Straight up hate raids in a low simmer kind of deal with how they are time gated by the dev’s and get blender-ed by players. Like the raids come out 12 at night for my time zone they are dead before I wake up even if I had a good sleep schedule. Then the final raid popped up and I deal too much damage and too little cause it’s that god damn backup dancers set up for drops. Like raids are the most interesting concept for content but turn out so bad to me. Also, that last story battle can go to hell even if it is appropriate level of in universe power. It just fights against the gameplay mechanics to be good.

As for story I would say fun as a concept even if it leans too much into nature good human’s bad misanthrope angle. As for the “please fuck” being the answer to the event it feels fine. As for wasted presence I get where people are coming from and sort of agree with Ibuki just being scenery dressing and Nikitich just feeling like there need to be more foreshadowing for that ending bit, but the whole storyline seems to have the theme of anti-climaxes as its core tenet. I would say it was worse, but Koyanskaya has always been in the affable evil category in terms of antagonist. Like she is basically Pepe who decided to stay an antagonist the entire time instead of just vibing.

★Girls Frontline [Off stream]

I still skip all the text in the game. Might look up a story archive eventually but whatever. Still sticking with it cause it’s interesting to see what the Developers come up with. Still a gacha game so wouldn’t recommend even if tis a solid game.

⋆Fixed Point Event

SKIPED THE STORY. But from audience apathy I am seeing is not a bad thing. HATE how they added another difficulty level would have liked it if I didn’t already farm every doll by the time I finished, but oh well. Maps continue to be a level of nonsense that I appreciate but still hate if only because it is on a phone game and even if the game is optimized well enough it still needs more. The minigame is neat certainly feels like they were experimenting with Neuralcloud and Girls Frontline 2 in development not sure how well that lines up with the development timeline thou. As for ranking god do I love the nonsense they come up for ranking maps. Still wish they functioned more like the Theater system so time is the only investment you need other than raising your dolls. Also, not sure the ranking system need the sum total of 3 maps with branching choices for what map is available.

⋆Love Bakery

Well, this is a nice and quick event. Neat to see coalition leaders in the shenanigans. Even if I still skip all the text. Also, weird that there wasn’t an achievement to give Persicaria her special coffee. Otherwise, nice and simple to get too the farm map no complaints here. Other than when do I get to capture chocolate doggos.

⋆The Glistening Bloom

Ya, I just want to foreword that I am still skipping the story even if this is a collab. I also haven’t gotten around to watching Zombie Land Saga it’s on the to watch list alongside the other 339 because I am a “Ya I watch anima. That’s putting it on your plan to watch list and never get around to it right?”. So, in terms of gameplay, I hate the event while I am glad it’s not the damn revolver selection this point thing and too many minigames for me to like it. The ending conditionals seem kind of verbose as a consequence of it. As for the dolls neat gimmick but probably a meme team. As for that little bit of the story I saw mentioned sad it’s just a dream and not Koutarou Tatsumi just clowning on William for his motivation being a massive siscon who wants to resurrect his dead sister. Like what I got from the story by osmosis is the community feels a bit of darkness induced apathy by not being able to get a win against William since we know he survives to be in Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery and this event could have been a way to have given us a W by having William out “But I Don't Want To Cure Cancer. I Want To Turn People Into Dinosaurs.” By Koutarou Tatsumi.

⋆Eclipses & Saros

Well, this was an event. Nice and short and I skipped the story. It was neat in the Hard mode gave you custom echelons while the normal mode gave you a set one. Like it kind of feels inverse of what was the harder difficulty. Yes I am still skipping the story.

⋆ The Waves Wrangler

Rerun time. Whatever it’s a nice event and we get closer to Girls Frontline 2 coming out with NA getting caught up with the main server. I am basically in raise for the sake of raising like I have all but 2 dolls and have like half the roster at level 100 and the other at level 90 and most Neural Upgrade at 2 or higher so like I am set. Which is why I did not even mention the theater that happened before this like I missed day 2 and still wound up at top 12% for that.

⋆ Longitudinal Strain

This event has a better UI then the that damn rotary menu. As for story I still skipped it. Like sure this was a side story but by God was there a lot of story nodes. As for enemies seemed kind of neat as for strategy a certain point has come where “random bullshit go” can sum up what I need to do. Mostly because I really feel like the game is straining with its limitations for being on a phone. Like if this was built for the PC with the ability to save scum try and roll back events instead of having to restart the entire stage it would improve the game. That and just probably a better UI I would hope.

⋆ Lycan Sanctuary

Okay neat little summer event. Like the gimmick stage of playing pachinko even if the others were forgettable. I skipped the story but them doing some social deduction game voting is neat. Didn’t pay attention to the translator controversy I saw about how they were weighting a win that they already translated.

⋆Gray Zone

At first, I thought I wasn’t making a tone of progress with how many points it wanted. Then I saw how long it last for. Otherwise, it’s simply a neat mode. Even if it feels like it’s kind of long and tedious. Also, finally a good nonevent node for farming armored foes.

⋆Slow Shock

Okay this level of puzzle maps can go to hell. As before I skip the story but just the number of puzzles is just annoying. Like please let me use my own dolls I have every doll that existed before this chapter event I want to use them. Otherwise seemed a reasonable balance in terms of challenge. Also, neat how the NA server is caught up with the Main CA server. As for the new gimmicks the BPM meter feels like it’s just there, the trees are reasonable in there annoyance, and most importantly we have crab enemies.

★Monster Hunter: Rise Sunbreak [On stream]

⋆Title Update 3

Chaotic Gore, Risen Kushala Dora, and Risen Teostra. What a neat little combination of monsters. Still not sure what is up with Teostra.

⋆Title Update 4

velkhana and Risen valstrax are nice. Like the worst part I could say is Anomaly farming is kind of annoying to me just from the shear bulk of it.

★League of Legends [Off stream]

The mistake after I decided to reinstall it after watching a bunch of Exil videos. Warmed up with a few vs AI matches before trying ARAM. Got called racist despite not saying a damn thing in a match I lost. Then called my revisit there.

… still I miss Twisted Treeline ☹

★Destiny 2 [Off stream]

Ya played the free stuff for Light fall and the seasons. Gameplay is still good just I don’t care to get into it or toss money towards it.

Okay I picked back up during the crafting despite not being able to take advantage of it and did a Garden of Salvation and Crota’s End raid. Still haven’t done Vault of Glass or Kings Fall but like its 100% you need friends to do it since while LFG is there, I just hate it. Especially since at the moment my internet is on the fritz where its fine and wont hitch for videos but games it will, and I will get kicked form the activity sometimes I will reconnect but will be dead. Along side it wasn’t in the game at the time, and still haven’t gone back and tried it yet.

Overall, like to hate to be that guy, Destiny 2 is a good game but not enough worth my money or time investment with how much of both it wants you to spend on it.

And then they killed all the interest I had in it with that round of layoffs. Still grabbed the collection when Epic game store gave it out for free.

★Factorio [Off stream]

So, ya got that itch to play it again. Still have never beaten a vanilla game and I still don’t have the drive too. This year tried the mods Space Exploration, Nullius, and SeaBlock. Also, been watching DoshDoshington and appreciating the madness of those videos. Even his non Factorio videos.

Also, it’s hilarious how the expansion everyone was worried what horror the devs were going to let upon the land and it turns out they grabbed the Space Exploration dev to help them make their version of it. From the teases they have shown so far the only thing I’m not sure about is the ‘quality system’. Otherwise, Space Exploration for the common man and not its 300 hour madness induce enlightenment sounds pretty good.

★Girls Frontline Project Neuralcloud [Off stream]

Not sure if I like this more than the first Girls Frontline but it’s still interesting. Still, it is a gacha game so wouldn’t recommend even if it’s a solid game. Also, yes, I am skipping all the dialogue after chapter 1 part.2 when I found out it was optional for progress.

⋆Thundering Livestream Event

Actually, I read this story was short and sweet. Nothing outstanding but the first event is what it is. Also pulled Kuro.

⋆Divine Heresy story Event

Boy was this the first annoying road block but that’s story events. At least it had an easy mode to do. Managed to reach the point during it to do the hard mode to completion. Not that it really did anything haven’t upgraded a doll to 70 yet.

⋆Magrasea’s Lang Syne Event

Ya skipped the story. Otherwise only the challenges for the final mission were the stumbling block. Otherwise, same as Thundering Livestream Event except without reading the story.

⋆Exception Protocol

I think I hate it. Like I kind of hate how its either min max the rarity for the only benefit or get every doll to 50 and skill level 5. Like I want to out level the content especially since its bi-weekly.

Got fixed up and it lets you use your own dolls now, and made the points a daily thing.

⋆Quenching Operation

TLDR LAMO. So, ya skipped all the text kind of hat the cant auto my way through the story, oh well the hard farming quest is interesting. It’s just the skill data one but still neat.

⋆Heartfelt House of Coca

Oh, I love this. This is an interesting event. Feel a bit egg on my face for getting all that minigame point faring done on the first day with how often the daily was get points in the minigame. Not sure how much I care about the use dolls only from one company. Like at least the event missions are free. Still kind of hate challenge modes.

⋆Inverted Mordent Resonance

Well, this is a neat event. Not sure if I care for it but it is neat, but the event has its own personal upgrade tree is a neat idea. Having come from Girls Frontline I was wondering how much they could do with their mission set up but things like this are neat. Admittedly I still expect at some point they move back into a grid style map even if it’s for a single event. Once again skipped the story.

⋆Fool’s Duality

Okay neat event wish what was in the shop was actually the big head mode as a free skin but whatever. Also, hard difficulty can go to hell whenever it was a tank character otherwise what an oscillating difficulty.

⋆Chromatic Spiral

Ya if I wasn’t skipping the story, I would care more about these types of events but oh well. It’s a simple low intensity farm time event.

⋆ Eager Fist, Dawning Fray

They Really like this type of event don’t they. Like it is Just works and is fine and it’s great to give every new character an event. It’s just Like I kind of wish there was some more variance. Might just be an appearance thing compared to F/GO having a new map every event even if they default to the same 3 currencies for most events compared to this one story page + farm mission for a single currency.

⋆ Aberrance’s Chain

Well, this was a nice chunky update. Always love a temp ‘tech tree’ for an event alongside its currency being farmed outside node specific missions. As for the missions was able to do all the challenge nodes too since I am finally at that point for how strong my teams are.

⋆ Divergent Shadows

Love it. Not only have I finally reached the strength pinnacle to not worry about difficulty too much, but that Matrix Challenge was fun. The point ladder is simple and straight forward. Yes, I am still skipping the story.

⋆ Snowy Encounters Opening Promotion, Free To Play!

Love it. Nice Simple Minigame compilation from all the previous events not too hard to do.

⋆ Gastronomic Journey

Another classic character story event where I skipped the story. Ain much to say. Especially since the story is hidden in the character’s profile/Bio.

⋆ Wishing Starbridge Workshop

Nice to see the coca event set up back. It is simple but it is a nice diversion from the normal event rigmarole.

⋆ Midnight Machinations

Another classic character story event. Except this time, I pulled the character and got to say I feel like I will actually use her. Will also take this point to note a bunch of inscriptions have come in and getting fragments really feels like the true progression bottleneck in this game.

⋆ Critical Cascade

Oh, an event all about these sorts of stages awesome. Is how I started off with it but it kind of dragged on with a completely new set of functions and the daily missions requiring additional completions and I did all the stages day 1. Otherwise, it was a good event with a nice new unit.

⋆Ruintop Song

Oh, another one of these character events. Tempted to start skip mentioning them cause it’s all the same cause I skip the story.

⋆ Inverted Mordent Resonance RERUN

Second verse same as the first. Also, they really decided to do a rerun. Weird.

⋆ Joyful Reunion

Story event has the neat little Matrix nodes and has a point ladder for its rewards.

⋆ Twilight Requiem

Story event has the neat little Matrix nodes and has a point ladder for its rewards. I like this formula more than the grind currency events, but like I am still skipping the text so like I am just vibing with the gameplay.

⋆ Strange Blue

A big Matrix node event. I kind of hate it even if it’s very simple stages being done one after the other. Maybe because I like this game for the auto in auto-battler and Matrix stages are the opposite of auto making me dislike it. Alongside all the large impact changes of function sets being entirely a different set when I don’t even understand the min max choice for the normal sets. Mostly because I haven’t bother to read them in the tier-list/min-max guides I’ve read.

⋆Divining The Heart

Once again, it’s the new format for a character event. As for the doll introduced looking at the guides, I feel no need to pull her it’s probably simpler to use then I am thinking but by god that just looks overcomplicated.

⋆Perilous Advancement

Well, if that isn’t interesting intro to the next story chapter. I would probably care more if I was reading it, but auto battler go burr. Over all this has an issue I’ve been feeling that there really is a thin line between can trivialize the content or get hit by a wall. Like I do love them experimenting with different deploy layouts but what the hell are the red enemy variants smoking. Like just activating the challenge mode instantly makes my teams be blown up and without I am the one that instantly blows up the enemies. As a side the defend the core is neat in both the objective and the arena being larger. Matrix stages are nice simple one room floors even if they keep doing the rule of three, but sticking to the chess mechanics is neat.

⋆Symphonic Reprise

Again, character event. The character is neat in being unable to attack. I did not succeed in pulling her tho. Also just realized that Turning summonses dinergates I want to pull her now.

⋆Starchasers’ Concerto

Eh it’s a nice little event. Like Matrix mode is kind of draining on me with the inability to just let auto battle go burr, and the functions feel kind of boring in most cases. Like a few of the new functions seem kind of neat its just the function economy is probably the iffiest part of the game and Matrix mode just kind of pushes it to the limit. Also, kind of wired how this is the summon and doge event.

Played For The First Time This Year.

★Duylst II [Off stream]

I feel a bit of shame with how little I played especially since I went and played legacy mode for most of it. Haven’t kept up with it after the first week of release.

★Yoku’s Island Adventure [On stream]

Pinball Metroidvania is nice but makes me think my hatred of Pinball is equal to my love of it. Neat hearing from the speed runner “JKxWinG“ during my playthrough. Is the kind of game I would only play once to completion and any other time as an any% run.

★SteamWorld Build Demo [Off stream]

Okay don’t play a lot of these types of game but old west robots are a fun contrast. Don’t think it’s too hard but just the demo vs then end of the game. Plus, it’s not trying to be something like frost punk. Still orb is suspect.

★WanderSong [On stream]

Ya game is good. Honestly, I hate rhythm games and feel like I would have gotten a little bit more out of it if I was musically inclined but otherwise was a good game. It’s mostly a story-based game so like what could I say beyond I liked it. Like the only annoying thing about it was the fact I had to farm some achievements for it but that’s a me problem of being an achievement whore whenever they don’t go past my tolerance for them.

★Satisfactory [Off stream]

I like Factorio more. Satisfactory is still in development, but I just hate the map traversal. like as much as it would get compared to “Minecraft”, “Infinifactory”, or “FortressCraft Evolved!” I really wish it was in a block world. Purely for terrain deformation. Like as it is now Factorio has more ability to modify the terrain with cliff explosives and land fill, or water fill with mods. That and while this might be just where I spawned and settled why is everything so god damn tall like everything could be halved in height and it would still would have felt tall to me, also am I supposed to make big giant sprawling factory or like just an make one offs of everything. Like the belts have no through put compared to Factorio just thinking about it the difference is per second vs per minute in the tool tip. Like it feels so needlessly large. I might just be dumb to be honest.

★Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons [On stream]

Ya this is a nice short game. I was adamantly spoiled by the ending but not on the details. That or I forgot the details. Ya that control scheme is certainly a stroke of genius in story telling but like, I so kind of hate it. Like it such a reasonable idea for a control two characters each to a control stick but it’s so mind binding task because of how odd it is. Compared to only keeping track of one character like most games. However, that ending definitely was so effective because of the controls. That doesn’t mean I would want a longer game with this type of controls. It just was short enough to ‘earn’ its ending but not long enough to over stay its welcome. Even if maybe one more chapter would have been better so it wouldn’t feel so short. As for longer games Mario & Luigi has the better controls for a two character with dedicated button per character controls. Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons also now getting a remake so that’s neat.

★Pikuniku [On stream]

A nice little game. Haven’t touched the co-op but ya I just went with the flow but is nice and short game. Going after all the achievements however seems to be a bit more difficult. I adamantly kind of hate not having functional hands but that is probably why the game was short as it was to not over stay it welcome.

★Aven Colony [Off stream]

Ya this is a colony management game. They are neat and everything but not sure if I can bring too much enthusiasm for them, but they are still enjoyable. Mostly cause I unga bunga in games no thoughts only forward. Yes, I am aware how much that will backfire on me. Ya no, on second play this game is dumb have 12 greenhouses producing food and then all of a sudden, I have no food, and everyone starts drooping dead. like screw me, I guess. I don’t get it.

★Rise of Industry [Off stream]

Okay Transport Tycoon style game. At least that’s my touch stone for it. Its fine I just don’t really care about these types of games I suppose. Not sure about the research but that’s probably cause it forefather before it are a multiplayer game so having a way to mix things up is probably why it’s there. Which for the type of game it is feels a bit weird for me, but I suppose the single player versions of this type of game would require more random events to be fun for me.

★Terraforming Mars [Off stream]

It’s one of those Deck building games. They are fun. With friends. I still skipped the tutorial and got 11 victory points my first game. That was dead last despite being 4 more than the next amount I don’t know what type of logic that has victory points not be the win goal but okay.

★ DAEMON X MACHINA [On stream]

Ya, I don’t care for this game between the grind for loot to just the damage output mix with the controls. The comparison to all the mech floating there like Dragon Ball Z characters was on point and with my main point of reference for mechs being Code Geass makes me feel off playing this since its bones are so close to being what I would want out of a Code Geass game, and yes, I am saying that in the context of season 1. The fact Code Geass also started to do that in season 2 is going to be ignored. Like all in all this game feels like it has good bones I just hate the Muscles and Tendons on it. So, ya this is just the game equivalent of a pet-peeve.

★ Subnautica [Off stream]

Ya this really is we are not a horror game you just got thalassophobia bro. Anyway, finally got around to playing for myself instead of just watching lets plays of it mostly cause I’ve was watching RageGamingVideos series for it. Like I had it on the Epic game store when the released it for free. Ya it’s a good game I knew the story beats but even just playing it is the real fun of the game. Definitely the gold mark for the survival games for me.

★ Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles DEMO[Off stream]

Okay this is a neat twist on the deck builder sub-genre. Like ya Slay the Spire popularized this type of rouge likes deck builders but it being with dice is neat. Like I do not have the mind to optimize this type of game or card games in general, but it is fun dice go click clack. As for the corruption purify thing instead of health kind of sounded pointless but they did something with it so kind of neat. As for the two in the demo the basic owl character seems more practical, but the shark bsoy seems like a high roller. Only did one run with each so can’t say too much on it. Will pick it up eventually.

★Tevi DEMO[Off stream]

Well, this is a nice little Metroidvania. Also, neat how the artist put the bunny suit into the main characters design without it being blatant fanservice. The only odd thing about it is why does the DEMO have achievements for it. Definitely planning to play it eventually.

#vtuber #gaming #new year

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showyoumyfavoriteobsession · 1 year ago

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endgame spoilers

finished playthrough #2! orpheus fucking rules and i'm so glad i went that route this time, it was very exciting to fight the emperor at the end. also led to the most narratively satisfying nat 20 i've ever gotten:

however, i was a little surprised lae'zel didn't seem to get a more finished scene after you decide what to do with orpheus. in my first playthrough i didn't do any of her story, and she got a little scene where she called down a dragon and flew away satisfied. knowing now what that actually meant, i would have liked to see a little parallel scene where she and orpheus (and/or voss) get to fly off into the sunset to confront vlaakith. i really really loved her storyline but i wish a little more had been put into the end.

the final moments are a LOT more satisfying if you're actually romancing someone lmao, i loved that i got scenes with both halsin and astarion, loved the implication that my tav and "daddy" halsin just spent their first night of freedom fucking the hell out of each other, and loved assuring astarion that i did want to stay with him and guide a whole horde of vampire spawn together. very fun stuff.

i let karlach die on the surface again, but reloaded the conversation after the credits to see what it's like if you convince her to go back to avernus. it was a cool scene, and i shouldn't have been surprised that it overruled all your other romance scenes (you ARE going to hell, after all), but if i had gone with that "canonically" in my run i probably would have felt a little cheated out of the other relationships i spent so much time on. i love karlach but she wasn't even in my party for most of the game.

i can't believe i'm considering even more playthroughs - i am starting to feel a little burnt out on this game, but there are still more things i want to see. the main ones i'm considering are a gale origin playthrough where i romance wyll (the last male character i haven't romanced, plus actually running karlach in my main party and i'm curious what the origin stories are like), and a full evil durge playthrough to recruit minthara and get a bad ending. i'm tempted to try and do the evil playthrough next since both of my first playthroughs have been basically good-aligned, and a gale origin with wyll romance is going to be like. peak goody-two-shoes energy lol. maybe i'll try to do the next playthroughs a little faster, although i was expecting my second playthrough to be faster and it took almost exactly the same amount of time as the first lol.

anyway, final thoughts! durge was a really interesting run, it’s such a cool idea to make the player character feel a lot more integrated with the world. i loved that whenever i ran into random npcs who knew my character, i still had a good canonical/roleplay reason to not know them. and while i'm a little iffy on the ~durge/astarion is canon~ discourse that's floating around, it was a really good complement to the plot and both of their character arcs.

i think my main complaint about the game is a common one, and it's that i wish there was more content for platonic companion relationships. i understand it makes sense (and adds replay value) to have some stuff locked exclusively behind romance - and i like the romances a lot! i've had more fun with them than i have in maybe any other game! but i felt this very acutely with lae'zel's story this time around. she and astarion have similar approval triggers, so she also had very high approval even by the end of act 1, but the only character moments we got were specifically related to her quest, and it doesn't feel like you get as much of a chance to just... become a friend. halsin definitely suffers from this too, to some extent; i know he's a much more secondary character, but even wandering around the world it felt like he didn't have nearly as much banter or random observations as the rest.

there are also still a good number of semi-distracting bugs. nothing game-breaking for me, and it's been nice to see a lot of stuff get fixed! (since patch 3 i don't think i've seen the dreaded "1. Continue" one time!) but i saw a lot of surprisingly janky animations for my player character, and even though i didn't interact with him much this time around, gale has seemed especially buggy since patch 3 - saying the wrong things, fully facing the wrong way in some conversations, weird camera in his scenes, etc. and i've heard that minthara is still pretty buggy, so maybe i'll wait for the next major patch before i start a new playthrough for real. i saved before major plot points a lot more consciously this time, so i have some places where i can go back and replay things in a different way without starting a whole new run. plus, there's always character creation...

anyway. it's past midnight on a work night. one last picture of my tav in his slutty little robe for you all:

#j rambles #one more long-ass liveblog post before i go the hell to sleep #in which j liveblogs #4 #5 #baldur's gate 3

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falryllghts · 4 years ago

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red string | genshin x reader

gender neutral pronouns, soulmate au, fluff, slight spoilers for venti’s story chapter, hcs and drabbles, reader is not traveler

characters included: venti, diluc, lumine

warning(s) : amber mention in venti’s so if you don’t like her then don’t read it ig??, drinking and alcohol are mentioned/implied, most likely ooc

Venti

never had a string until he took his current form

the string was barely visible, trailing off into nowhere

it doesn’t fully appear for centuries

once the string fully shows, he won’t chase after you. instead waiting for you to run into him or for fate to run it’s course

it had been years since the red string had first fully appeared and he was currently playing a song by his statue, a few citizens gathering around. a slight tug on his pinky had nearly made him mess up but still, he played on. he had gotten used to the random movements of his pinky and was still able to play through them. though today, they seemed different than normal. it wasn’t until he had finished playing that he had looked up from his lyre, noticing a new face in the crowd standing by amber. venti assumed that you were new to mondstadt hence being with the outrider and apparently he was correct, seeing amber continue to try and drag you around. it wasn’t until the red string pulled on him again that he realized it was oddly similar to the times when amber was dragging you. he looked down at the string, following it until he saw you on the other end. luckily for him, you two hadn’t gotten very far.

he chased after the outrider, catching up rather quickly. “leaving already without introducing your new friend?”

amber seemed a bit hesitant but introduced you anyways, explaining she had found you wandering out of mondstadt. she showed you to the gates and ended up showing you around the whole city. in fact, amber claimed that you were the one who found interest in his music, making your way over to him without a word. a smile formed on his lips as he let out a giggle, “well its only fair my soulmate would find an interest in my music.”

you and amber did a double take. your gaze immediately shooting down to your pinky, following the string to his own. amber seemed to be very happy for the two of you as the two of you properly met, venti even offering to take you out to angel’s share though amber didn’t seem too happy about that part.

“its nice to meet you, soulmate! care to share a drink with me?”

Diluc

hates the idea of soulmates in general

doesn’t like the idea of him being forced to be with someone he doesn't even know

slow burn central

“do you guys have anything non-alcoholic? i asked the last tavern i went to but that bartender was so relieved, she kicked me out. saying that i shouldn’t be there in case i end up like everyone else.”

diluc turned to you, trying to ignore his shock. it wasn’t very often that someone came into his tavern looking for something other than alcohol unless they were underage. you, however, were a very rare case. he nodded in response, showing you what they had to order. it wasn’t until you had gotten your drink and went to taste it that he noticed your pinky. seeing the connected string aggravated him and yet, he gave in regardless.

“what are your thoughts of the knights of favonius?”

you gave him a confused look but responded anyways, “i haven’t been in mondstadt very long but it seems like they don’t really do much. the only person who i ever see actively working is the traveler.”

“the fatui?” his attention seemed to be on the drink he was making yet somehow you had a feeling that these questions weren’t just random nonsense.

he didn’t fail to notice the look on your face and it almost was enough for him to laugh. “let’s just say i don't like them and leave it at that.”

he was rather relieved that his soulmate shared similar views with him though he still wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole soulmate thing. whether you noticed or not, he was glad you didn’t point out the string throughout the night. he planned to tell you eventually but as for now, he just wanted to know you better without the pressure of being soulmates.

“thank you for keeping me company. if you ever wish to come back, i’ll have a drink waiting for you.”

Lumine

she didn’t know about soulmates until she had entered this world

paimon ended up having to teach her about the red string

lumine ends up going on a quest to search for you

it surprisingly didn’t take lumine too long to find you. she had taken a day off from commissions in order to begin her search and shockingly enough, you were in liyue at the time. paimon was actually the one who pointed you out since you were in the direction lumine was heading. much to their surprise, you actually recognized the traveler and her companion.

“oh! you must be the traveler i keep hearing so much about, its nice to finally meet you!”

paimon was the first to point at your pinky finger, making you realize what all of this was all about. apparently your soulmate was, in fact, the traveler. “we found you! paimon can’t believe you’ve been right here in liyue this whole time!”

after the two of you had been properly introduced, with paimon’s help of course, lumine ended up asking if she could show you around some of the cool places she’s been to. she promised to protect you if anything went wrong, just in case. as the two of you traveled throughout liyue, you listened as she talked about her brother and her adventures while looking for him. she was really glad that you listened to her speak and also appreciated your enthusiasm for wanting to help find him. though she didn’t really understand how soulmates are chosen, she was glad that you were picked for her.

“I hope one day i’m able to show you other worlds. i think you’d really like them.”

#probably ooc #genshin impact x reader #venti x reader #diluc x reader #lumine x reader

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bougainvillea-and-saltwater · 2 years ago

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Hiii💖💖

For the oc ask game:

Class (or a general description of their skillset)

What are their interpersonal relationships like? Are they close with many people?

Were they trying to cross the border? Why?

Which daedric quests do they do? Which artifacts do they use? What's their favorite?

Oh, thank you so much for the ask!!! 💖💖💖 Here's the oc ask game, if anyone is interested to reblog it (and then have me in their inbox bugging them with questions!) 😁

So, these questions and their answers are about my Last Dragonborn, Jia!

*About Jia's class and general description of her skills:

Jia did not grow up by the Companions to actually utilize magic at all. In her early adolescence, she had been taught to use only one-handed swords and shields (two-handed weapons were too much for her low-weight body), and bows. So, she generally learned to fight and defend herself in the traditional Nordic way. However, being half-Imperial too, Jia had a strong linkage with magic, especially Conjuration, something she inherited from her father, along with his passion for Alchemy... In addition to her innate affinity for fire spells, Jia's class ended up being that of a spellsword's, meaning she conjures swords and bows (or, less often, uses enchanted ones), and at the same time, she fires her beloved flames 🔥. She wears only light armor, usually leather or mage-cloth, and being a thief, Jia has an aptitude for sneaking, pickpocketing, and lockpicking too (she lives in a contradiction: in the morning she is a noble Companion, and in the nights a mischievous thief!😛).

*About her interpersonal relationships:

Jia is quite vigilant and mistrustful of new people entering her life. She doesn't put her walls down easily, and even when she does, she remains attentive and doesn't maintain high expectations for anyone. That being said, she is not very close with many people as many may wrongly view her as snobbish, distant, cold, and arrogant. But, if someone gains her trust she can become the most faithful, loving, and generous person. She genuinely loves to offer to the ones she holds dear (from something simple like the food she cooks with her own ingredients to something bigger like her houses across the Holds of Skyrim), to the point she sometimes puts herself in a secondary position to satisfy them all. To Jia, words do not matter so much as acts, so she may not find herself comfortable expressing her loving feelings with her mouth but through her actions instead. She hasn't got many friends but to those few she has, she is entirely devoted, even willing to sacrifice herself for them.

*About her crossing the borders of Skyrim and why:

Ahh... I don't know if by divulging this information I will spoil my story or not! 🤣 Anyway, Jia did not actually cross the borders of Skyrim alone, 'falling right into that Imperial ambush' Ralof tells us in-game. She was indeed returning from Cyrodiil where her most hateful enemy had kept her imprisoned and tortured until he decided to ship her off to Helgen for her execution (I cannot tell you yet why she was not killed by his hand in the first place😅). Drugged and unconscious as she was, some Thalmor escorted her to Skyrim and delivered her to the Imperials (who were already orchestrating their ambush on Ulfric and his Stormcloaks), with strict (!) orders that the girl must die at any rate. So, at some point, Jia awoke finding herself in that cart to Helgen, getting closer and closer to her soon-to-be beheading which, thanks to Alduin, never occurred. (That's all I can say on this matter, and jeez, I think I said too much already!😅)

*About the daedric quests and artifacts:

So, the only daedric quests Jia has completed are Meridia's, Azura's, and Sheogorath's. In the first two, she knew a Daedric Prince was involved, and still, she went with the quests and carried on the Princes' will. Dawnbreaker is a sword Jia wields sometimes, but without spreading Meridia's religion and thus not being her Champion. Azura's star, on the other hand, is by far her most favorite artifact, as she is into enchanting, and the star helps her improve her skill (and her pockets since she doesn't need to buy soul gems again and again). But, Jia is not Azura's Champion either; she made a deal with the Goddess that she will return the star to her and not to Nelacar only if Azura promises that she will never consider Jia a Champion of hers (Azura is considered a good Daedra, after all😊). As for Sheogorath now, Jia did not know that the poor beggar in Solitude could bring her so much trouble, so when she found herself inside Pelagius' mind she almost lost her own🤣. Sheo gave her his Wabbajack, which she is smart enough to never use, and for *reasons* I won't reveal yet, not only she did not become his Champion, but the Mad God let her go unscathed...

#thank you so much for the ask🥰!!!#i know i've spoiled quite a lot in this one #i cannot help myself #skyrim #skyrim oc #elder scrolls #oc: jia

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dansantcaparet · 4 years ago

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Aerith, the Non-Optional Girl...

By FF_Goddess/Shiva of www.cloudandaerith.com

If you are interested in why I believe that Cloud's love for Aerith during the events of FFVII is not optional, then keep reading... Otherwise, thanks for stopping by! I hope this article gave you a clear view of why Cloud and Aerith fans believe they are the intended pairing of FFVII. :-)

Regardless of what choices you make during FFVII, it does not change these facts:

1. Cloud was attracted to Aerith from the beginning, admiring her radiant eyes and saying that her smile "was a good purchase".

* Cloud never admits any such thing about Tifa. In fact, he never makes any remarks on her appearance... ever.

2. Cloud and Aerith's meeting in the church was reproduced with Zack and Aerith in Crisis Core, giving Cloud and Aerith a direct parallel to Aerith's first romance as well as giving them a straightforward link to another canon couple in the same universe.

3. Cloud and Aerith meeting one another was described as "destiny" in multiple official sources.

4. Cloud agreed to become Aerith's bodyguard without asking for money. Instead, he accepts a date with her as payment.

* Cloud had just recently refused to fulfill his promise to Tifa, told her that her cause with Avalanche didn't mean anything to him, and also refused to help Avalanche further without being paid (and even more money than what he had received for his last mission with them).

5. Cloud smiles and laughs with Aerith. It is the **only** time during FFVII that he does either of these things.

* Tifa was not able to get Cloud to smile or laugh **at all** during the course of FFVII.

6. When Cloud is at Aerith's house, he remembers his mother telling him that the perfect girlfriend for him was someone older. As we all know, Aerith is one year older than Cloud.

* Tifa is one year younger than Cloud, which suggests that Cloud's mother would not have considered her an ideal match for her son.

7. Cloud and Aerith have a date in the park where they discuss Aerith's romantic past.

* Cloud never asks Tifa about her ex-boyfriends. In fact, he doesn't seem to care who she's been with.

8. Tifa is immediately jealous of Aerith and the bond she has formed so quickly with Cloud. The only reason for Tifa to be jealous is if she sees romantic interest between the two of them.

9. Cloud continually expresses concern for Aerith's safety whilst ignoring the fact that Tifa is in the same amount of danger. Cloud is also supportive when Aerith is frightened.

*By comparison, we have Cloud rudely demanding "Why'd you come along anyway?" when Tifa becomes scared before they jump from the train. The way he treats these two women is like night and day.

10. When Aerith is kidnapped, Cloud states he needs to rescue her "by all means!"

* Cloud ignores Tifa, who is drowning in her own guilt after the plate falls, and heads out to rescue Aerith with or without her.

11. Cloud braves Shinra HQ, a massive skyscraper crawling with his enemies, the most difficult quest he has faced so far, in order to rescue Aerith.

* Cloud is reluctant to rescue Tifa from Corneo because it means he will have to dress in drag.

12. Barret notices the change in Cloud when they are entering Shinra HQ, remarking that "there are times when even you fight for other people". This was said in response to Cloud's stony resolve to rescue Aerith, regardless of the risks involved.

* Barret knows that Cloud previously refused to fight for either he or Tifa without compensation.

13. Cloud mentions being Aerith's bodyguard right in front of Tifa. This is the deal he had made with Aerith, the deal where he is her protector in exchange for a date. If Cloud is bringing up his deal with Aerith, then that means he fully intends on collecting on that date with Aerith.

* Cloud never plans on any dates with just he and Tifa... ever.

14. When Tifa hears of Cloud's plans for a date with Aerith, she remarks rather harshly, "EXCUSE me." This was confirmed as a jealous outburst from Tifa when she saw them "developing their world together" and noticed the obvious "special bond" Aerith had with Cloud that was different than Tifa's bond with Cloud. Aerith's "special bond" with Cloud is clearly a romantic one or Tifa wouldn't be getting jealous.

* Aerith is **never** jealous of Tifa's bond with Cloud, which implies that she doesn't see anything romantic going on between the two of them. And, considering Aerith's ability to see inside the hearts and minds of others, this is a pretty profound statement.

15. Aerith's CG render is tied to her dream of riding the airship with Cloud. Cloud's CG render is of him just before he busts into Shinra HQ to rescue Aerith.

* Tifa's CG render is tied to her promise with Cloud.

16. When Aerith is feeling alone at Cosmo Canyon, Cloud tells her he is there for her and he wants to help.

17. Cloud and Aerith have a **second** date at the Gold Saucer. This is the default date for FFVII and is the only one being taken into consideration regarding the storyline. It is also the one date that makes sense as it is the **only** promised date within the game.

* Cloud doesn't date Tifa unless the player chooses to have him do so. In order to get the date with Tifa, the player has to play the game in a way that isn't considered "normal".

18. Cloud shows concern for Aerith when she cries over Tseng at the Temple of the Ancients.

* The night before the battle, when they are sitting under the Highwind, Tifa starts crying. And what does Cloud do? He looks away.

19. Cait Sith makes a prediction about "the affinity between Cloud and Aerith" which states that they are perfect for one another. He also predicts that they are destined to be married. Cloud makes no objections to this prediction, even if Tifa is present. Cait Sith remarks "Poor Tifa" regardless of whether Tifa is present or not.

20. It was confirmed that, despite the fact that Aerith dies, she and Cloud still have hope for a future together. Therefore, Cait Sith's prediction of Cloud and Aerith's "great future" stands firm.

21. Aerith is able to communicate with Cloud in his dreams due to her ability to speak directly to his heart. This implies a profound bond like that of soul mates.

22. Cloud tries to run after Aerith in his dream even before Sephiroth appeared and began to threaten her. This suggests that Cloud desperately did not want Aerith to leave.

23. Cloud and Aerith's lines together just before Aerith leaves are strikingly similar to those spoken in the play, Loveless, between a woman and her lover.

Cloud also first met Aerith under a sign for Loveless.

24. Cloud feels Aerith's presence in his **soul** and can hear her voice from distances so great that he could not possibly hear it with his physical senses.

This reinforces the idea that they are indeed soul mates.

* This kind of thing never occurs between Cloud and Tifa.

25. Sephiroth forces Cloud to beat Aerith and then attempts to make Cloud kill Aerith. This implies that Sephiroth knows Aerith is Cloud's weakness and being forced to harm her will cause Cloud the greatest amount of suffering.

26. When Sephiroth attempts to make Cloud kill Aerith, Cloud is able to resist Sephiroth's will. This is the **only** time in the game Cloud is able to overcome Sephiroth's mind control once he is under the evil maniac's influence.

27. When Aerith dies, Cloud holds her close and pours his heart and soul out in front of Sephiroth and everyone. He abandons his pursuit of Sephiroth and his quest to save the Planet, saying that none of it means anything to him anymore. And why? Because Aerith is gone.

* When Tifa lay dying in the Nibelheim Reactor, Cloud set her aside and went after Sephiroth. It was Tifa's teacher, Zangan, who considered her life more important than pursuing Sephiroth and it was Zangan who saved her life.

28. It was confirmed in Maiden of the Planet that Aerith's death broke Cloud's heart and he was consumed with grief over her death, blame toward himself, and hatred toward Sephiroth.

* When Cloud thought Tifa was dying, he said he was "really sad". o_0 Seriously?

29. Maiden of the Planet confirms that Aerith can hear the cries of Cloud's breaking heart. This ties her to his heart and soul once more.

30. In Maiden of the Planet, Aerith is surprised over Cloud's reaction to her death. She didn't realize how much she meant to him, which suggests that his feelings for her were not platonic in nature. After all, she knew they were friends before her death.

31. The game developers confirmed that, rather than the cliché of having a man die for the woman he loves, they decided to flip things and have a woman die for the man she loves. They also stated that they wanted to achieve an emotional impact on the player caused by seeing Cloud's pain ("feeling dazed at the gravity of the loss" caused by losing "someone you loved very much").

32. Cloud's companions come to offer him their condolences after Aerith's death. This suggests that they understand the depth of Cloud's feelings for Aerith.

33. Cloud alone is the one to put Aerith to rest at the spring. This indicates just how special Aerith was to Cloud.

34. After her death, Aerith can see that Cloud's heart is falling apart "from the sadness of losing her". Cloud is also being consumed by the "anger and hate he had for her being taken from him". And so we know Cloud considers Aerith's loss very personal: he "lost her" and she was "taken from him".

This suggest that Cloud considers Aerith an irreplaceable part of his life.

35. Even though Aerith was gone, Cloud continued to speak about her and remember her with fondness.

36. In the Lifestream, it is Aerith who guides Tifa into "Cloud's closed heart". What we can take away from this is that Aerith has access to Cloud's heart, even when it is closed to all others. Yet again Aerith is associated with Cloud's heart, just more proof that she is his soul mate.

37. Cloud promises Aerith that he will complete her mission and save the Planet she loved so well.

38. Cloud states that he is fighting to save the Planet and that one of the things he is fighting for is "a very personal memory". Since we know Cloud had promised Aerith that he would complete her mission to save the Planet, then naturally the personal element associated to his desire to save the Planet is Aerith.

39. Cloud also states that one of the reasons he is fighting is to free Aerith from Sephiroth's control: "Although she should've returned to the planet by now, something stopped her and now she's stuck...... We've got to set her free."

40. After Cloud defeats Sephiroth and is surrounded by Lifestream, he reaches toward the light with longing. Aerith reaches for him in return, both of them yearning to be reunited. In this scene, Cloud's actions clearly show that he wants to be with Aerith.

41. Earlier, Cloud told the Planet that he had come to show it everyone's wishes, including his and Aerith's. He then demanded an answer from the Planet.

While dangling from a ledge, he tells Tifa that the Planet had given him an answer to his wish: "The planet's answer... The Promised Land... I think I can find her there." If the Planet's answer to Cloud's question is that he can find Aerith in his Promised Land, then logically the question Cloud had asked of it previously was "How can I be with Aerith again? Where can I find her?" This shows two things: 1.) Cloud desperately wants to be with Aerith again, regardless of whether she is alive or dead. 2.) Cloud's Promised Land, the place where Cloud will find what makes him most happy, is associated with Aerith. And this is hardly a surprise since we already know she was the **only** person in the game who ever made him smile or laugh.

42. Cloud mentions his desire to be reunited with Aerith in his Promised Land right in front of Tifa, which makes it very clear that these two are not an item, regardless of what optional choices the player has made.

43. The lowest affection rating for Aerith in the game is 24. However, it is possible to completely eradicate all romantic interest in Tifa during the game, driving her affection rating all the way to zero.

So, there you go. These 43 facts remain regardless of what optional choices you make during the game, regardless of what optional scenes you get

(*COUGH*Highwind Scene*COUGH*), and regardless of which girl the **player** personally prefers. No matter what, Cloud is attracted to Aerith, protects her as his bodyguard, and goes on at least one date with her. No matter what, Tifa is jealous of the budding relationship between Cloud and Aerith. No matter what, Cloud and Aerith are confirmed to have a "special bond" and are predicted to be married. No matter what, Cloud is devastated over Aerith's death and one of the reasons he fights is for her. No matter what, Cloud is longing to be with Aerith at the end, reaching for her hand and asking the Planet how he can be with her again. No matter what, it is Aerith that Cloud wants to meet in his Promised Land. And, no matter what, it is impossible to use the affection rating system to eradicate all of the romantic affection between Cloud and Aerith.

Also, regardless of what optional choices you make, Cloud still makes his affection for Aerith clear right in front of Tifa. He calls himself her bodyguard in front of Tifa, bringing up a deal in which the result is Cloud dating Aerith. Cloud also doesn't object when Cait Sith offers to be the preacher at he and Aerith's wedding (even when Tifa is standing right there).

Cloud and Tifa fans like to assert that the High Affection version of the Highwind Scene is canon, even though they don't have any proof of this. They even go so far as to suggest Cloud and Tifa had sex under the Highwind, which is equally as absurd. And, yet, right after Cloud rescues Tifa from falling and they are clinging to the side of the Northern Crater, he says, right in front of her, that it is Aerith that he wants to see again in his Promised Land. And this is **after** he and Tifa supposedly confessed romantic feelings for one another (High Affection version of the Highwind Scene) and, according to rabid CloTis, had sex. If that is the case, then Cloud just used Tifa for sex, played her feelings, and dropped her like a rock.

Because it isn't Tifa that Cloud wants to be with in the place of supreme bliss (his Promised Land), it's a completely different woman (Aerith).

Also, Cloud demanded an answer from the Planet, remember? This is after he showed the Planet his wishes. His answer was that he could be with Aerith again if he could find the/his Promised Land. And so the wish he expressed to the Planet was quite obviously how he could be reunited with Aerith. This scene **also** took place after the supposed confession of love and alleged sex on pointy rocks under the Highwind. **IF** Cloud confessed romantic feelings for Tifa under the Highwind, then why would he be seeking a reunion with her confirmed "love rival"? **IF** Cloud confessed romantic feelings for Tifa under the Highwind, then why wasn't Tifa the one he states he wants to be with? Why wasn't his wish about her? And why doesn't he care about how she is feeling when he ignores her and says he wants to be with Aerith?

These scenes only make sense if you take the Low Affection version of the Highwind Scene into account. If Cloud and Tifa only shared feelings of a platonic nature, then they are only friends. And Cloud doesn't come off like a cold-hearted jerk who could care less about Tifa's breaking heart. If they are only friends, then it makes perfect sense why Cloud would be seeking a reunion with Aerith again instead of wanting to be with Tifa.

In my opinion, the Low Affection version of the Highwind Scene is the one being followed throughout the rest of the game as well as the Compilation (during which Cloud and Tifa are not portrayed as being in any romantic relationship and there has been **zero** progression toward a romantic relationship between them). Not only that, but the two Highwind Scenes are merely there for replay value and nothing more. While the **player** can choose for Cloud to show romantic interest in Tifa, it doesn't change the fact that he loves Aerith. In other words, Cloud's love for Tifa is **optional**.

Cloud's love for Aerith is **not optional**.

A good example is FFX, where Tidus can show romantic interest in Rikku or Lulu. Between Rikku and Lulu, it is Lulu that seems more inclined to show interest in Tidus, but it doesn't mean that either of them were intended to be Tidus's love interest. Regardless of any optional scenes or dialogues, regardless of affections levels, Tidus still loves Yuna and they are the intended pairing. The scenes with Rikku and Lulu were simply thrown in for replay value. They don't actually mean anything in the end. It is much the same between Cloud and Tifa.

Though Cloud can date Tifa, Yuffie, or Barret instead of Aerith, it doesn't change the fact that Cloud and Aerith love one another and are the intended pairing of FFVII. And, although Cloud has an optional scene with Tifa that may or may not show affection between them under the Highwind, it doesn't change the fact that Cloud and Aerith are the intended pairing of FFVII and Cloud loves Aerith regardless of any affection and/or optional scenes he might feel/share with Tifa (or anyone else).

An interesting note: Yuna is the default character for cut scenes when there is a tie, much like Aerith is the default character for the date scene at Gold Saucer, even if there is a tie between she and Tifa (or anyone else). Coincidence? I think not...

The bottom line? Cloud loves Aerith. The **player** can choose for Cloud to **also** love Tifa, but you cannot eradicate the love between Cloud and Aerith. He can love **both** Aerith and Tifa (optionally). Or he can love just Aerith. He cannot love just Tifa. This was the original intent when the game was created, regardless of the current fan-pandering stance that Square-ENIX has now taken.

One final thought in regard to Square-ENIX's fan-pandering... Throughout the Compilation and all spin-off games in which Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa appear, Cloud x Aerith gets actual solid proof while Cloud x Tifa gets fluff that seems to satisfy the fans, but doesn't actually have any true meaning to it. Want proof of that? Just read through my site... ;-)

#clerith #cloud strife #aerith gainsborough #final fantasy 7 remake #ff7r

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avatarvyakara · 3 years ago

Text

Drops of Gold and Silver

A Tangled Fanfic

Prompts 241-255

“Animals and Companions”

241. Expressionism

“How do I look, my faithful companion? Is the face of Brock Thunderstrike enough to woo the fair Stalyan?”

The crab clicks from side to side.

Face-that-goes-with-a-shrug. Brock’s-flirty-face-with-a-tiny-moustache. Stalyan’s-face-with-an-ambiguous-expression. Hopeful-face.

Brock sighs.

“Well, you’re right, we can but hope for the best. ...my moustache isn’t that tiny, is it? It still looks good?”

Face-of-a-man-determined-to-bring-his-favourite-crab-some-table-scraps-regardless-of-how-the-evening-turns-out, says Hulk Lightningclaw pointedly.

242. Identical

It’s awkward. The last time they were in any close proximity to the other, they were trying to kill each other on the basis of a threat to the Dark Kingdom. The fact that this was about half an hour ago doesn’t make conversation less uncomfortable.

(At least it helps that they’re thinking the same thing.)

“So. Binturongs?” asks Adira, trying to break the ice.

“...yeah. They came up to visit the Tree,” Hector replies, still firmly tied up. “Some sort of quest, they said,” he adds, pointedly.

“Ah. And might I ask their names?” The binturongs are close by, a little weak, but not doing anything at the moment. (She likes to think it’s because they recognize her as a threat. It’s probably because Hector told them not to—yet. Maybe it’s both.)

“That one is Circe, and that one over there is Circe.”

“...you named them after each other?”

“Well whaddya know, you haven’t been completely corrupted by the Rocks after all,” Hector shoots back.

“You took the Spear of Demanitus out of the Great Tree and let yourself nearly be consumed by an ancient darkness. That was less than an hour ago. Realistically, you are not one to talk at the moment.”

“Hmph.”

“I’m not even going to ask how you can tell them apart.”

“If you can’t tell by now, Sister, you’ll never figure it out.”

But he called her Sister. That’s a more hopeful sign than she’s had all day.

243. Dissociate

Not-trusting Hubert, says Ruddiger, worriedly. False. Pretending-prey. Corrupt.

“Hey. Andrew actually talked to me when I was stuck in that cell. Told stories. Made sure the guards treated me okay. Made me feel like there was a reason to go on.”

Ruddiger’s quiet.

Hurt.

Varian takes a deep breath, in and out.

“You did too, bud. You did too. Just like you always do. I’m just saying, I know he committed treason and hurt people, but so did I. I mean, I hurt you, and you forgave me. I kidnapped the queen for stuff her daughter and husband did, and she forgave me. Maybe this is his redemption, like I’m trying to get mine. Maybe there’s some good in him.”

Good, maybe, the Raccoon persists, but not-all. Not-even-most, Hubert being-bad, using-good bad. Seeing mind, Varian, knowing issues. And why wanting meeting again? Alone? Not-trusting. Not-going-alone, Varian.

“Ruddiger, it’s okay. I’m not in the cell across from him anymore, and if the Captain brings me down from this room and locks the door I can go most places in this castle. I can leave Andrew whenever I want. Besides,” he adds sarcastically, “I’m a big kid now. I think I can handle one harmless man.”

Not-Eugene, Ruddiger replies, pointedly.

“You’re right,” snaps the alchemist. “He’s still here.”

244. Croak

“I’m calling him Hamuel,” says Edmund, proudly. “And he shall be my messenger and companion forevermore.”

Quirin looks down at the tiny chick. It turns a beady eye towards him, looking (like all baby ravens) mildly affronted by his existence and that of the universe in general, and makes a sound like a chipmunk coughing. (Blame Hector making him sit up with little Cressida at night for a month for that piece of information.)

“Um, Your Highness...please don’t take this the wrong way, but maybe let Her Highness name your children.”

Edmund looks mildly affronted. “Hamuel is a grand and noble name, I’ll have you know. Anyway, I did toy with ‘Inigo’ for a while, but he doesn’t look like an Inigo, does he?”

The baby raven cough-chirps again.

“See! He knows his name! He wishes to be known as Hamuel!” says the Prince, proudly.

Quirin could really use a drink about now.

245. Esteemed

A full workout, she and Owl working perfectly in sync, criminal (stand-in) properly dealt with—

“Woah!”

Yeah, that’s right.

“It’s Princess Rapunzel!”

...okay, maybe not.

I mean, she’s clearly happy to see the kids, and it’s good for someone physically denied human contact for most of their life, but...

Showing-up, cheering? asks Owl, nonplussed. Sneezing, medals?

Not helping, buddy.

246. Offering

“I just need you to stay right here, Vigor,” says Demanitus, quietly, from his deathbed. “It will all be over soon.”

Okay, says Vigor, gently patting his Boy’s withered, wrinkled hand. You not-worrying. You getting-better soon. I knowing it. Demanitus Demanitus.

He knows what his Boy is doing, and he doesn’t care one bit. Because Demanitus loves him, and “Demanitus” means Sacrifice, so “Vigor” can mean that too. And this way, they won’t ever be apart for the rest of Vigor’s life. He won’t have to watch his Boy die.

A single tear drips down the man’s cheek as he pushes the button.

247. Umsetztkaulderwelschlottenmitt

“Vun bite of zer tender fruit, unt you shall be able to understand the language of any unt every being on zer planet—but at a terrible, terrible cost! Vizin a period of five seconds, you must correctly say a vurd in zer new language zat someone addresses you in, or else you vill speak zer ozzer language instead of your own—fluently unt forever!”

Eugene pinches the bridge of his nose. “You know what? I’m not, I’m not even surprised at this point. How long does it take to wear off?”

Alfons looks thoughtful. “It’s a bit unclear...according to legend, zer tree’s grower, Borb, spent most of zer rest of her life screaming at seagulls. But zere may be a vay...”

Rapunzel neighs encouragingly. (Maximus has the decency to look embarrassed.)

248. Competition

“Snoozy! You came home!” cries Lance, overjoyed.

The sneezeweasel, happy to at last have found the nice food from back near the cliff-place, shoves him against a tree. Not to eat him, obviously, but to, you know, refrain from eating him, in a symbolic way.

And stops.

There’s a low growl in the air. Barely noticeable, but very much there.

Snoozy looks around at a tiny human with red hair and a dark jacket.

Mine, it says, with a Word that simultaneously awakens something close to genius-level intelligence in the sneezeweasel’s single-thread mind and causes enough utter terror overwhelming every synapse to make her wish it hadn’t.

Snoozy bolts.

249. Déjà-Vu

Cap knows Eugene and Owl don’t have to visit him, now that he’s no longer captain, and is grateful that someone still does.

What he doesn’t expect is for Eugene—and yes, it’s strange to think of the man that way, but he’s earned it—to plop down dramatically in the guest armchair and start massaging his temples.

Owl just looks smug.

“Cap, I’m going to ask you a very, very important question,” says his successor. “How did you put up with me?”

Flynn-Rider trouble? asks Owl, innocently.

“You are not helping.”

Cap, upon getting the full story, laughs harder than he has in months.

250. Inappropriate

It’s not often that Angry actually gets, well, really angry. Properly furious. Mostly it’s a kind of background anger at the world, chronic but low-level.

But where her family is involved...

Currently, through the combination of a well-placed kick and a punch and a clutched tunic, she’s managed to pull one of the village teens down to eye level.

“Make that joke about ‘walking the dog’ one more time. I dare you.”

251. News

Pascal squeals. Maximus faints.

“Is he...gonna be okay?”

He’ll be fine he’ll be fine can I listen? Pleeeease?

Rapunzel chuckles. “Up you come, pal.”

There’s a little Rapunzel in here! says the chameleon in awe, balanced on her stomach.

“Or a little Eugene. Or,” she smiles, “just a little bit of both.”

...regardless!

252. Stubborn

Not-going, says Fidella.

Needing a rider, little one, says Old Romulus. Being a guard? Many riders.

Not-Cassandra, not-rider, declares the young mare.

Old Romulus, in a fit of desperation, looks over to the girl in question. She can’t understand him very well, but she gets the message and goes to comfort her friend.

“Come on, girl, it won’t be that bad...”

Worrying too-weak. Back not-strong. Not-wanting hurt again.

“You won’t be. I promise,” soothes the girl. “And it won’t be for long. Just to get used to other riders. Romulus is right, guards need to all work together and be comfortable working together. And I trust this guy, he’s my friend. And hey, when you get in and I get in, we can keep riding together forever. Just us.”

...fine. Just one, though. And only because you trust him.

“You know, I can just come back later—”

“Get on the horse, Pete.”

253. Repetitive

WHAT ARE YOU DOING writes Olivia on a piece of paper, dragging her graphite nose across the page.

Hugo smiles. The new crystal array is working well, then—basic question-asking skills to complement the communication remix module. And all thanks to a network of glowing rocks about the same size as a fingertip, in a copper-and-invar body seven inches long. The only thing more amazing than his own genius is seeing it in action.

“It’s my alchemist’s code, Liv. Every alchemist knows to keep their notes a secret, so nobody can steal them.”

WHAT IS AN ALCHEMIST’S CODE writes the metal mouse.

“Sometimes it’s just switching up letters, sometimes people use a funny language or secret words. Me, I don’t even write in symbols. Just...well, these. And nobody's smart enough to crack the code but me.”

WHY ARE YOU DRAWING DOTS AND LINES

“That’s my alchemist’s code, Olivia, like I just said. I’m writing about you.”

WHAT ARE YOU WRITING ABOUT

Hugo sighs. “Mild issues with the curiosity array. I might need to reprogram you.”

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT ISN’T FUNCTIONING PERFECTLY

“...is it? You tell me.”

HOW SHOULD I KNOW IF YOU’RE THE ONE WHO ADDED IT

He chuckles. “You’re getting cheeky, you know.”

IS THAT A PROBLEM

It shouldn’t be possible for a jumble of gears and ratchets to look contrite and worried, but Olivia manages it all the same.

DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG

Hugo smiles again, and rubs the top of her head. “You're doing just fine, Liv. You're doing just fine.”

DO YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT A PROPER ANSWER

The alchemist rolls his eyes. "No, you didn't do anything wrong, Olivia."

THANK YOU

254. Thin

I had a peacock once, back in those earliest days. Oh, it was wonderful to have a companion who gave me the respect I deserved. But little Pygmalion died so soon afterwards, only forty years later. An accident, I am certain—and yet he seemed so…at peace, when he passed. As though it was a mercy.

I can't imagine how death could be peaceful, or life an agony. But then, I have the Sundrop. Pygmalion sustained himself somehow, and truly I'm not entirely certain how, but the clock wasn't turned back for him. If anything, from his last ramblings, the clock had simply slowed. Every second an hour, like a scrap of butter spread across a loaf of bread. My Pygmalion was strong and proud, but he just wasn't strong enough.

A pity, really. A true companion would have been nice, across these long, long years.

255. Instinct

I would just like to point out that I did not, in fact, have any particular choice in whom to or not to bite, given among other things the frantic nature of my escape and the unsteady hand which I was forced upon from the cramped and cruel shell within which your father imprisoned me—

Brock's staring.

Stalyan scoffs. "You have a crab."

"And you have…a spider?"

"She nearly killed my dad once, I squashed her flat, she survived, and, well, it's been kind of uphill from there."

Furthermore I would like to make quite clear that, regardless of previous affiliations with and natural tendencies employed by Stalyan's father, I have developed a sufficient understanding of the ethical considerations of my own nature and have no particular desire to inflict upon anyone for whom Stalyan bears considerable affection the disastrous consequences of my own unique abilities as a Kai spider, scientific classification viduata formidabilis, a member of the—

"Rapunzel, dear? Now is not the time."

"…why is your spider named Rapunzel?"

Aside from my considerable artistic talent, worthy adversaries deserve recognition, as I am certain you yourself are aware of, Brock, given what appears to be more than a passing similarity to Stalyan's previous romantic attachment, which appears to have been a personal choice from before meeting Stalyan and therefore a symbol of your own respect for the individual in question—

"Because she's about as capable of reading the room and keeping her mouth shut as the human Rapunzel. And is apparently as impossible to squish."

"Wait, wait…Rapunzel as in seventy-foot-long blond hair Rapunzel?"

"You've met her?"

Brock blushes. "She tied me up in it after her boyfriend knocked me out."

Stalyan smirks. "Yep. That sounds like her. And him, for that matter. So…" she leans closer. "You like being tied up?"

I should like to raise for your consideration at this time that as a method of flirting, Stalyan, this is a supremely uninspired tactic, and this is coming from a member of a species where we frequently consume the males alive during courtship—

"One more word and it's back under the swatter."

You cannot kill that which has mastered death, says Rapunzel, smugly.

"And here I thought Hulk was crazy…"

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jaskiersvalley · 5 years ago

Note

You are the one who got me hooked on Eskel/Lambert and now I can't stop writing them together how did you do this to me, shipping by osmosis

Yes! Welcome to this small ship (a whole 46 stories on AO3). But our numbers are slowly growing. And I will also point you in the direction of @ohnomybreadsticks for some quality content, especially when slipping Cahir into the mix too (canon? What’s that?). To celebrate your joining of this ship, I have a really still idea to bestow upon you.

Arriving in a town with the promise of a contract, only to find another witcher had already been by was always annoying. Even worse when the locals had chased said witcher from their midst without payment and rushed into hurriedly packing his things. At least the locals let Geralt and Jaskier pay for a room as long as they moved on from the village the next day. They even gave them the same room that had been sullied by the previous witcher. For some reason, Geralt had stiffened upon entering the room, as if met by a familiar scent but he refused to elaborate so Jaskier shrugged. If it was important, he would find out. The next moment, his attention was taken up by a leaf of parchment poking out from under the bed. Curiosity piqued, he grabbed it in a rush even though he knew Geralt wouldn’t have gone near it anyway.

“-makes things bearable. I do hope he’s okay. While I keep an ear out for whispers of him and know I cannot walk my Path and his at the same time, I worry. Winter cannot come soon enough. Even if I can’t hold him like I’d want to, I can at least make sure he can take it easy and actually enjoy being alive for a change. I’d do so much more-”

It was too intimate, probably an entry from a journal that was falling apart. Jaskier’s hear squeezed at the idea of a witcher who was so obviously in love with someone that sounded like another witcher. Maybe he needed a bit of help in romancing the love of his life. Jaskier knew what it was like, to love a witcher and not be loved in return. Maybe he could help spare someone this miserable fate.

Finding a charmed bird was quite difficult and cost a good chunk of coin but Jaskier deemed it a worthy sacrifice. The pigeon would track the intended recipient of a letter and could be used as a way to communicate over long distances.

Dear Witcher,

I am but a humble bard who happened upon a page of your journal. Your plight sings to my heart as we both seem to love someone who walks the Path and we can but quiver in our boots and hope they return to our side after each separation. While return they do, our beloveds don’t seem to realise that we would bestow upon them more than our care as friends. May I offer you solace and friendship through these letters, as one fool in love with a witcher to another.

Jaskier tied that, along with the page he had found, along with a feather from one of his hats to the pigeon. It went its way and Jaskier could only hope his offer was taken for what it was, a genuine, heartfelt companion for the broken hearted.

It took two weeks for the pigeon to return, a fresh piece of parchment tied to its leg.

Bard,

This is a most unexpected letter, I didn’t even realise I lost a page from my journal. It’s almost full now and seen more than its fair share of battles. Thank you for returning it. As for the matter of its content, I would love to say it’s none of your business and never speak of it again. Yet, despite my best caution, I am intrigued to find another who claims to love a witcher. If you’re struggling for his affections, may I suggest you feed him? While my wolf is fiercely independent, he does always look so touched and bashful when presented with little delicacies he wouldn’t have treated himself to otherwise.

Best of luck on your quest to win a fortified heart, Witcher

It was a most exciting development, not once did the mysterious witcher tell Jaskier to stop contacting him, or even dishearten him. Instead, Jaskier had been given a hint on how to woo Geralt. New tactic in mind, Jaskier set about buying sweet cakes and pastries whenever he could and presenting them to Geralt. At first, it was met with offended bafflement but, slowly, over time, Jaskier could see the hopeful glances. Even better was when, out of the blue, Jaskier was presented with a blueberry tart - his absolute favourite.

Dear Witcher,

Thank you for your help. My own wolf has mellowed and seems appreciative, if confused, by the sudden treats. He even returned the gesture. Something I’ve found he likes is his hair being played with. Mustn’t call it brushing or styling! But a quiet night by a fire, fingers carding through his hair definitely help him relax. It’s such a beautiful sight, so much power and raw strength tamed by nothing more than gentle touch. Maybe, when you next see your wolf, he might enjoy an evening with his head in your lap too.

Tell me more about your wolf though, what’s he like? I know I suffer when I cannot sing about the heroic deeds and virtues of my wolf. As a bard, thankfully i have an outlet so my heart doesn’t burst with love. But I wonder who you have that will listen to your adorations.

May your Path lead you to your wolf’s heart. Bard

Letters went back and forth between this witcher and Jaskier. Any questions about the witcher himself were ignored or not quite answered and Jaskier could appreciate that. He did learn a lot though, this witcher was kind, he was much like Geralt in that he wouldn’t take payment if there was true suffering without the means to fund the services of a witcher. There were also a few self-deprecating comments which led Jaskier to believe that the man he was exchanging letters with was shy, probably quite a gentle soul that was hardened by decades of life as a witcher.

There was one time Jaskier fretted over his pen pal. A letter had arrived, it had splatters of blood and was written with by a shaking hand. Short and to the point, so much so that Jaskier could have wept.

Bard - treasure your wolf and hold him close at night. They’re getting colder and longer. When he’s hurt, sing him a lullaby of old and even when it looks hopeless, you can be his guiding light. Remind him he’s never alone while he’s got you. Don’t let him waste your beset years together just because he’s a fool who cannot see all you have to offer.

That night, Jaskier pulled his bedroll closer and was surprised when Geralt easily allowed him to press close. Jaskier held his wolf not just for himself but for the mystery witcher who was likely injured and alone somewhere out there in the big wide world.

The exchange of letters continued. Jaskier learned about the witcher’s wolf, that he was dedicated to the Path even though he cursed it and the life he had before that too. It really sounded like whoever this sad wolf was, he had led a life of anger and disappointment. No wonder he couldn’t let in this other witcher and accept the love shown, he probably had no frame of reference for what love looked like or how to deal with it.

My dearest Witcher,

Winter draws closer and I have been invited to accompany my wolf to his home. There, I will get to meet his family which is rather nerve-wracking. I’ve heard a few stories of his brothers and while I hope they will find me to their liking, I still worry. Maybe I will use your suggestions in moderation and bring them treats as well as be a quiet but steady presence, should they need a confidant.

I do hope your winter goes well and you are able to hold your wolf in your strong arms at long last. Be honest with him. If he is as cautious with his heart as you say, and as kind under all his snark and bluster, I should hope that he will either accept all the love you have to offer with a bit of huffing. Or he will be gentle but clear in his boundaries of what his heart can and cannot offer.

Keep in touch over this winter, I have grown fond of you and your thoughtful words. Bard

Trekking up to Kaer Morhen, Jaskier didn’t think he’d get a pigeon until stashed away in the keep. Winter was cold and harsh, it made him worry for his pigeon. Or rather, their pigeon because Jaskier had noted at the bird always came back so cared for, once or twice it even had the remnants of a flower collar around its throat. Sometimes it had been given a nice bath, the soft perfume still gently wafting from its wings.

Jaskier had no idea what to expect of Kaer Morhen. It was large, ominous and cold. Drafts whipped through it and made fires flicker. Introductions were made, Jaskier nodded at Vesemir, Eskel and Lambert. He didn’t miss the way Geralt looked between the two younger witchers. Obviously there was something going on there that was unusual but Jaskier didn’t know them well enough to probe.

Bard,

I’m safely back at the my winter home, surrounded by family and more. I say more because one of my brothers has brought a bard back with him. They reek of each other and it’s almost disgusting how in love they seem. The bard himself is so young. A bright ray of sunshine in this dreary old place. I don’t think these halls had ever echoed with song before. It’s annoying on some level but at the same time, his cheer and seemingly open adoration of all things witcher is disarming. Somehow, I get the feeling you would like him. If I can find out more about him, I might try and send him your way. Makes me wonder what it is about bards and witchers but now there are two pairs at least on this continent. Maybe I should shuck my swords and take up a lute if I want to keep my own wolf happy.

Stay safe and warm, hold your wolf close on these cold nights. Witcher P.S. I took your advice and laid my heart bare. I no longer sleep in my room and have never been happier.

Upon reading the letter, Jaskier squealed in delight. His witcher friend had a wolf to hold and love. Even if their Paths took opposing directions, they now both had someone for return to, to fight for.

My dearest Witcher,

Your letter was the best news. I am so pleased you and your wolf have found solace in each other. Long may your love last and may you keep each other safe. And please, do let me know of this other bard. I would love to meet him. As long as it isn’t that talentless hack, Vadlo Marx, imitating me once more. If it is, please do the world and your witcher brother a favour and snap his neck. Everyone will thank you for it in the long term, trust me.

I’ve only managed to fall in love with my wolf’s family. They’re a quiet, reserved bunch but absolutely endearing. And let me tell you about the love between two of them. I don’t think I’ve seen a love more true or pure. There’s so much I want to ask them about how they found peace with each other, how they manage out in the world without each other when on the Path. If I glean anything useful, I will be sure to pass it onto you and it might help ease your burdens when a new season rolls around.

Have a happy winter, Bard

Carefully, Jaskier fixed the letter to the pigeon and opened the window. However, the cold must have frightened it because it took off towards the door, flying through the keep with Jaskier running after it, yelling. They ended up in the kitchen where Eskel was lounging against the counter while Lambert kneaded some bread.

“Oh hello,” Eskel cooed at the pigeon and held a hand out for it to land. Grinning, he plucked the letter off with practised ease. “You came back a lot quicker than expected. Less than a day.”

Which was when Jaskier burst into the kitchen, huffing and puffing, glaring at the pigeon. He scooped the bird up from Eskel’s palm with a stern glare. “You are a little brat. Now look what you’ve done, lost my letter too. What are we going to do with you?”

Only listening with half an ear as Eskel read his letter, he paused and looked up at Jaskier in surprise.

“Bard?”

Realisation made Jaskier drop the pigeon. “Witcher? Which can only mean-” he turned to look at Lambert, “-wolf?”

“Which makes Geralt...” Eskel trailed off and let out a gruff huff as Jaskier launched himself at him in a hug.

“I am so happy for you!” Jaskier laughed brightly and Eskel could only return the hug, a smile of his own slowly blossoming across his face.

#geraskier #eskel/lambert #geralt of rivia #jaskier #eskel #lambert #tldr: jaskier and eskel become accidental pen pals

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elliemarchetti · 3 years ago

Text

The Most Macabre of Scenes, The Most Terrible of Nightmares

As I hope the few souls reading this have already guessed, requests are open for anything on LOTR and The Hobbit. However, in this chapter the journey of the Fellowship continues, but various shadows loom over their safety and the hearts of its members.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Words: 2643

The attack was short and violent, but fortunately no one was injured. It was about midnight on their eighth day of travel when the Orcs stroke, a raid planned down to the last detail, one might say, as they had took advantage of the current, the crescent moon that lit up the sky and the abundance of strangely bright stars, reflecting like torches on the River’s surface. Their black-feathered arrows had fallen like lethal rain upon the Fellowship, but except for a few torn cloaks, there had been no damage. Hidden among the ferns of the western shore, as awake as they could be, everyone thought about what they saw in the sky after their enemies had unexpectedly retreated, trying to give a name to the great winged creature, blacker than the pits of the night, which had emerged from the south. Fierce voices rose up to greet it from across the water, and Elva could still feel the chills running through her and clutching at her heart, deadly cold like the memory of an old wound. She had killed it, with a single shot from the bow she had received as a gift in Lorien, but she was sure there were others, and she wanted nothing more than to get as far away as possible from that irreparably corrupted land. After that vision, Haldir had no longer spoken, but he was frowning and his mind was probably in Lothlorien, lost in calculating how long such a beast would take to reach the ends of the mallorn’s forest. Lying next to him, Elva wished she was able to say out loud that he could return, if he wished, that no one would’ve wanted him any harm for placing his homeland before a mission that didn’t even belonged to him, and that Galadriel herself would’ve probably been grateful for the warning, but selfishly, she couldn’t, so she hugged tighter her knees under the cloak, a reassurance and a way to fight the changing of the weather. When the day came, the mood of the world about them had become soft and sad. Slowly the dawn grew to a pale light, diffused and shadowless. There was mist on the River, and white fog swathed the shore, making the far bank impossible to see.

“I can’t abide fog,” said Sam, “but this seems to be a lucky one: now perhaps we can get away without those cursed goblins seeing us.”

“Perhaps so,” said Aragorn. “But it will be hard to find the path unless the fog lifts a little later on, and we must, if we are to pass Sarn Gebir and come to the Emyn Muil.”

“I don’t see why we should pass the Rapids or follow the River any further,” said Boromir. “If the Emyn Muil lie before us, then we can abandon these cockle-boats and strike westward and southward, until we come to the Entwash and cross into my own land.”

“We can, if we are making for Minas Tirith,” said Aragorn, “but that’s not yet agreed, and such a course may be more perilous than it sounds: the Entwash’s vale is flat and fenny, fog a deadly peril for those on foot and laden. I wouldn’t abandon our boats until we must, for the River is at least a path that cannot be missed.”

“But the Enemy holds the eastern bank,” objected Boromir, “and even if you pass the Gates of Argonath, coming unmolested to the Tindrock, what will you do then? Leap down the Falls and land in the marshes?”

The tones were heating up, and Elva thought it was time to intervene: “It’s not the way of the Men of Minas Tirith to desert their friends at need, and we’ll need your strength, if ever we are to reach the Tindrock.”

The mortal seemed satisfied with those words, and decided he would go as far as the tall isle, but no further.

“There I shall turn to my home,” he announced, “alone if my help hasn’t earned the reward of any companionship.”

Elva prayed that someone had decided to pursue that mission, but in order to keep an army as powerful as that of Boromir's father, if everyone chose to follow Aragorn, she would be the one to separate from the rest of the companions, this decided a long time ago, perhaps at the very moment Gandalf had chosen her for the Quest. That gloomy possibility, which was so far from her ideals, prompted her to wait for the mist to rise in silence, even as she and Haldir went exploring forward along the shore, while the others remained by the boats. She hoped to find some way by which they could carry everything to the smoother water beyond the Rapids, but even if the elven boats wouldn’t sink, that didn’t ensure they could come through Sarn Gebir alive, for none ever done so yet, and no road was made by the Men of Gondor in this region, for even in their great days their realm didn’t reach up Anduin beyond the Emyn Muil.

“There is a portage-way somewhere on the western shore, if I can find it,” revealed Haldir, so softly that for a moment Elva hardly noticed.

"I didn't tell the others," the elf went on, "because I was afraid they wouldn't believe me, after my miscalculations pushed us towards the Orcs attack; besides, I fought those creatures for a good part of my own adult life, and I could’ve imagined their simple but ingenious plan."

"No one was injured, that's the important thing," Elva replied, thinking that if anyone had risked being hit, it would’ve been him, as an arrow had ripped off both the cloak and the skin of the jacket from his shoulders.

"But if that had happened, the fault would’ve been mine alone, and whoever had accused me, even if only in grief, would’ve been right: you have already lost the Istar, and before I should’ve warned Aragorn it wasn’t wise to continue at night as he suggested, but I didn't, and now I don't want to deceive anyone until I’m sure that my memory doesn’t deceive me," he replied, resolute in the bitterness of someone who can't forgive himself.

"Why are you telling me, then?" Elva asked, unable to stop.

"Because I'm sure I can trust you, and I know you’ve faced the guilt, same or not, even if I still don’t know what you’re carrying it for,” he replied, with a naked and vulnerable honesty, which hit right to the point. She didn't like talking about her past, much less what she felt about it, yet he must’ve seen a difficult life in her eyes, a life that perhaps could’ve been more like his, if only she had been born in another realm. Like Lorien, Mirkwood was a wonderful but tricky place, where growing up as a half-breed wasn't easy at all, especially when you needed to do it by yourself. Getting to know Legolas, and later becoming his confidant and friend, had been a blessing, and she kept telling herself that her true life had begun the day a young prince was bewitched by the ability of a simple recruit with a bow and with words. She hadn't treated him well, weary as every orphan is, and perhaps that was precisely what had intrigued him, since at court no one spoke to him as an equal, much less had the courage to say what they really though, too busy trying to win the future king’s favours, since with the one in charge was so hard. Speaking of Thranduil, he had welcomed her as if she were his own daughter, instructing and having her instructed in the best possible way; but the king was a cold and distant father, rigid in his manner and limited in his displays of affection, not exactly what a girl without parents desires most. If loving Legolas as a brother had been simple, as natural as breathing and almost a matter of survival, the same couldn't be said of the oldest of the Greenleafs, but she had learned that too, and with it the art of concealing her heart, although with Haldir it was so difficult.

"And how can I know I should have the same trust in you?" she asked, her heart heavy. She needed to believe that he wouldn’t leave the Fellowship, even if she followed Boromir and everyone else went by water, and she needed to know if he would understand her decision, or if he would end up misinterpreting it.

"You can't, but to convince you otherwise, I'll tell you something that I'm sure should’ve remained a secret: Galadriel's Mirror showed me three visions, three possible futures, I find myself believing. I still don't want to talk about two, because it doesn't seem wise, but the most macabre of scenes, the most terrible of nightmares that I thought I could have, I feel like sharing: I don't know if the Fellowship had failed in its intent, or if it's the fate that awaits my homeland anyway, if events should take that turn, but darkness had fallen over the forest of golden trees when a flock of huge winged creatures, like the one you killed last night, swept over Calas Galadhon. The Lord and the Lady fought side by side with every common citizen, and a shower of arrows capable of obscuring the stars was sent from each talan towards the sky. I don't know how the battle could end, as my vision was limited to that, but I have seen you fight with us, and defend our young and old as if they were your own. I don't pretend to understand what those images meant, and why the Mirror decided to show them to me, but I believe it was the beginning of Lorien's Winter, the first day of a downhill road to inevitable ruin, yet you were there by our side, and I don't think you'd fight for the land of someone you don’t trust,” he concluded, just as enigmatic as his ruler. Did he meant he understood her malfidence towards the Galadhrim, or was it really just his way of assuming that she would always trust him, to the point of risking death for a place that did not belong to her? There was no way of knowing but asking, and it didn't seem appropriate, fearing that he too might ask her what the Mirror had shown her. Death, she might’ve replied, no matter it was the mallorn’s, his people’s or Haldir’s himself, but she didn't want to talk about it anymore, she just wanted to forget his pale skin in the moonlight, the dust, sweat and blood surrounding her like a sea that smelled of the Enemy's wickedness instead of salt, so she fell silent.

“It cannot yet have perished,” muttered Haldir under his breath, after a while. “Light boats used to journey out of Wilderland down to Osgiliath, and still did so until a few years ago, when the Orcs of Mordor began to multiply.”

“Even if we find the path, peril will grow with every mile we go forward, for it lies ahead on every southward road,” replied Elva

They found what they were looking for just before noon, with the head of the Rapids half a mile below them: a track leading to a good landing, a little more than a mile long, was still serviceable, not far beyond the stream clear and smooth again, though running swiftly. The hardest task was to get the boats and baggage to the old portage-way, lying well back from the water-side near which they were camped, and running under the lee of a rock-wall, a furlong or more from the shore. “I fear we must leave the River now, and make for the portage-way as best we can from here,” said Haldir, once back.

“That wouldn’t be easy, even if we were all Men,” said Boromir.

“Yet such as we are we will try it,” Aragorn replied peremptorily.

“We will!” confirmed Gimli, and although the task was difficult, it was nevertheless completed, the goods taken out of the boats and brought to the top of the bank, where there was a level space, and the boats themselves drawn out of the water and carried up, proving to be far less heavy than any had expected; at last, all was removed to be laid on the portage-way and with little further hindrance, save from sprawling briars and many fallen stones, they moved forward all together. Fog still hung in veils upon the crumbling rock-wall, and to their left mist shrouded the River: they could hear it rushing and foaming over the sharp shelves and stony teeth of Sarn Gebir, but they couldn't see it. There the portage-way, turning back to the water-side, ran gently down to the shallow edge of a little pool scooped in the river-side, not by hand, but by the water swirling down from Sarn Gebir against a low pier of rock that jutted out some way into the stream. Beyond it the shore rose sheer into a grey cliff, and there was no further passage for those on foot. Already the short afternoon was past, and a dim cloudy dusk was closing in. Sitting beside the water, they listened to the confused rush and roar of the Rapids hidden in the mist; they were tired and sleepy, and their hearts were as gloomy as the dying day at the thought of spending there another night, even if it seemed inevitable, given the general fatigue. Luckily, nothing worse than a brief drizzle of rain an hour before dawn happened, and as soon as it was fully light and the fog was thinning, they started. Keeping as close as they could to the western side, they saw the dim shapes of the low cliffs rising ever higher, shadowy walls with their feet in the hurrying river. In the mid-morning the clouds drew down lower, and it began to rain heavily, forcing them to drew the skin-covers over their boats to prevent them from being flooded and drifted on; little could be seen before or about them through the grey falling curtains but it didn’t last long, the sky above growing lighter and suddenly opening, dismissing fogs and mists too. Before the travellers lay a wide ravine, with great rocky sides to which clung, upon shelves and in narrow crevices, a few trees; as they sped along with little hope of stopping or turning, whatever might meet ahead, Elva peered forward, seeing in the distance two great rocks approaching. Like pinnacles or pillars of stone they stood, tall, sheer and ominous, creating a narrow gap among which the boats could only pass one by one. They were the Argonath, the Pillars of the Kings, vast grey figures silent but threatening, shaped and fashioned as two great kings of stone with blurred eyes and crannied brows frowning upon the North. The left hand of each was raised palm outwards in gesture of warning, while in each right hand there was an axe and upon each head there was a crumbling helm and crown. Great power and majesty they still wore, the silent wardens of a long-vanished Kingdom, instilling awe and fear in the Fellowship travelling in boats frail and fleeting as little leaves, under the enduring shadow of the sentinels of Numenor. Passing into the dark chasm of the Gates, sheer rose the dreadful cliffs on either side, while the black waters roared and echoed, and a wind screamed over them. What a horrible place it was, but it must’ve been even worse for Aragorn, a king in exile who was finally returning to his land only to see it filled with the noise of wind, rushing water and echoing stone.

#haldir x fem oc #haldir of lothlorien #aragorn #frodo baggins #sam gamgee #boromir #gandalf the grey #galadriel #legolas greenleaf #thranduil greenleaf #gimli son of gloin #lotr #the fellowship of the ring

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queenof-literature · 4 years ago

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Ok okokok I’m sorry if this is already asked but how would the Links react to finding out that Wild helped (and practically built) Tarrey Town?

Hi thank you so much for the request! I took some creative liberties for this one. For example I know that as Link you just get bundles of wood and find people mostly, but I expanded it to have him helping to build homes and help the elderly move in because he’s Wild of course he would. Also I 100% Wild and Hyrule both, if not more of the group, have Imposter Syndrome because 1) It fits with their characters 2) I like self projecting :D This turned out to be so much longer than I intended I’m so sorry.

“Wild!” Legend whined. No, he did not whine. Legend did not whine, he simply was tired of walking. “Tell us where we’re going!” Groaning as Wild simply walked on. Legend would almost call it skipping. The boy seemed much more lively than he was in Twilight’s Hyrule, although that made sense since they landed in Wild’s this morning. When Legend first met Wild, he mistook his silence for some kind hatred or malice. Towards the group, or his Hyrule, or himself, Legend didn’t know. But Legend had come to learn that Wild’s heart was full of love, all of the heroes' hearts were. It was something he was jealous of at first.

Watching the Hero of Time, the Hero of Twilight, all of them, he hated them in the beginning. Perhaps hate is a strong word. He knew they weren’t bad people, quite the opposite. Every time he saw Twilight do something right and be praised by Time, a hot knife went through him. He thought it was out of anger, that some farm boy seemed perfect. But he realized it was hurt later on.

But then he truly saw them. He saw Sky struggle to think about how to build an entire Hyrule with his Zelda. He saw Twilight struggle to simply be in Ordon again, where he felt he didn’t belong after all he had been through. He saw Four struggle with some unnamed figures of his past. He saw Hyrule struggle with the weight of his new role in a group setting. He saw Warriors act proud and mighty, when in reality his shoulders sagged deep in the night under all the weight placed upon them. He saw Wind run his mouth until he wrote letters to his little sister, silent as the dead. He saw the Hero of Time clutch his blanket some nights, perhaps dreaming it was his wife, the only one who brought him comfort on lonely nights. Finally he saw Wild, silent and calculating, but also a tornado of untamed hair and a contagious smiles.

He wasn’t perfect and he never would be, even with an insane amount of quests and items in his back pocket. But his companions were nowhere near perfect themselves. If Legend were being honest, he finally felt like he belonged to this team of heroes. He felt he had a purpose, no longer just a lone spirit floating from quest to quest, only to be thrown into more danger his entire life. Sometimes he was kept awake by the thoughts of what happened after. Legend desperately hoped he would still be able to see the others after this quest was over. If not for him, but for the ones like Twilight and Wild who didn’t feel like they quite belonged completely in their Hyrules after all they had been through. Wild still had Zelda and Twilight still had Ordon, Legend could tell by the way they talked that they loved their Hyrules, but they were sometimes painful to be in after their journeys. Some of the other boys struggled with that too. In some twisted way, this quest was a blessing for all of them in one way or another.

Legend had absolutely no idea how Time felt. He had to leave his beautiful and caring wife behind, even though he had obviously gone through hell in his adventures. And that was just the things he told them about. Everytime they were on Lon Lon Ranch they were fed, housed, and loved, all in exchange for some farm work. Did Time resent them? Twilight was Time’s descendant somehow, that meant Time would have children. And dear Hylia did that hurt. Time had to live, he had to raise his children.

“What’s got you so excited, Cub?” Twilight asked fondly, thankfully bringing Legend from his thoughts. The group had taken a brisk walking pace through a bright green meadow, Wild barley containing himself to not break out in a run to get to their mysterious destination. Four gazed into the distance, and half of his mind cried out in joy when their gaze landed on one of the ‘shrines’ Wild had completed.

‘Who cares about a shine?’

‘That could mean we’re near a village!’

‘Don’t get our hopes up, Wild said there's almost 140.’

‘But this one is super obvious!’

Four decided just to ask Wild himself to quiet the others in his head. He wasn’t answering Twilight and Legend. That didn’t say much though, Wild just enjoyed messing with them.

“Hey, Wild? Does that shrine mean a village is nearby?” Four asked the boy leading the group. Wild simply turned and smiled widely. The group all whooped. Wild wouldn’t get their hopes up at the thought of staying in a village for the night only to crush them.

Wild picked up the pace and gestured for the others to do so as well. He was excited to get back to the town and see Hudson and Rhodson again. Hudson was one man that was always genuinely kind to Wild, not forcing him into a job for him and always being hesitant to ask for help. It was honestly a nice change of pace. Wild certainly didn’t hate the people of his Hyrule, quite the opposite. But everyone was so desperate for help it sometimes came off as rude and it stacked up all at once. Hudson never snapped at him for taking too long, or being too quiet. He would simply ask if Link was okay and eating properly. Wild didn’t feel at home for a long time, but there were definitely places that came close to it. His house, the koroks and Deku tree who had memories of Zelda, and Tarry Town were at the top of that list.

He wanted to show his friends Tarry Town so bad! They had been traveling together for months and yet they had never seen it. Wild couldn’t travel with more than a couple of people at a time with his slate, and even then it wasn’t the best idea to do it often. They had never traveled close enough for Wild to show them. It had been a while since they had been able to sleep in a village. They didn’t stay in every civilization they came across, they had other jobs to complete. But Wild’s Hyrule was so vast compared to the others that everytime they landed near a village, they would usually stay there for a night or two.

Wild wanted his friends to see a place he loved, and he was excited to share it with them. He would most likely have jobs to do once there, but his friends could relax in the small town before they continued on. They were approaching the edge of the surrounding cliffs, sparkling waters calmly lapping the shores below. Wild led them to the edge of the cliffs, then tugged Twilight’s sleeve to get them to look in the direction he was pointing. Some of the others gasped at the sight, wondering how they missed it.

Looking below, they could see a rising island protruding from the lake below, rising high above the water with a natural bridge connecting the mainland to the island-like structure. There, the village rested. From a distance the others could see houses similar to those surrounding Wild’s house in Hateno. Geometric squares and rectangles combining to create compact but roomy homes for those that lived in them.

“It looks comfortable, Wild.” Time smiled. He wished more than anything he could let the others stop as often as possible. These boys deserved rest and slept on the ground far too often. Villages also had cooking pots in Wild’s Hyrule, which caused the others’ mouth to water just thinking about it. Wild could create cooking fires pretty much wherever, but he was apparently limited on what he could make. Cooking pots allowed for more complicated recipes and stronger potions than a makeshift one.

Wild beamed and led them along the cliff. Not close enough to be dangerous, but Twilight always feared Wild would see something useful to them and go jumping off a cliff to retrieve it. Like a goddamn toddler seeing something shiny, not using his paraglider until the last fucking minute and giving him a heart atta-

Wild tugged on his sleeve again to gain his attention. Wild’s scars had been acting up today, causing his throat to close up more than usual. He could still talk, it was just harder and hurt more some days. It had become rarer as time went on, but it still happened.

‘Not going to jump’ Wild signed while smirking. Twilight glared at him and swatted the hand away from his sleeve. Wild grinned that shit eating grin wider, and Twilight was pissed his cub knew exactly what he was thinking.

The group continued walking along the cliffside, admiring Wild’s Hyrule and its stunning colors along the way. Wild, although excited, seemed a little rigid, hand resting on his knife.

“Is everything alright, Wild?” Sky questioned.

‘Yes. Lots of rocks for Yiga to hide behind.’ Wild sighed widely for everyone to see. He was about to warn them anyway, he didn’t want them to be caught off guard.

“We’ll keep an eye out.” Warriors confirmed. There was no reason to tell the kid to not worry, that would be a lie.

Wild smiled freer this time and nodded. Warriors was glad the kid didn’t get as frustrated when he couldn’t talk anymore. Wild was finally learning that there were some things that were simply out of his control.

They eventually approached the large arch that acted as a bridge into the village.

"Can this support all of us?” Twilight asked, glancing towards Epona.

‘It's a lot stronger than it looks. I ride across it all the time.’ Wild responded while already beginning to cross, the others following without another moment of hesitation. Wild led the way into the small town.

Upon approaching, the first thing they noticed was a platform in the middle of the town with a statue of Hylia in the center. It always struck the group as interesting that even in Wild’s Hyrule in ruins, people still believe very strongly in the Gods, most likely taking comfort in them. Surrounding along the edge of the island were houses all facing towards the center. That wouldn't really provide any space to build more houses in the future but it opened the door to close knit neighbors. In front of the houses were tables selling arrows by a Rito, gems by a small Goron, and what appeared to be armor by a Gerudo. Overall it seemed very culturally diverse.

"Link!" A hearty voice called out. The group turned to see a man with a head that was… odd to say the least. Like an elongated egg to be frank, with chestnut hair cut in a long bowl cut all the way down to the man’s ears. On his arm was a beautiful Gerudo woman wearing bright white loose pants decorated with yellow swirls, along with a crimson top, the same swirls adorning it. Her bright red hair in a large high ponytail.

Wild waved at them and signed something they didn't understand, most likely their names.

“It’s so good to see you, little one.” The Gerudo woman gave a small smile which Wild eagerly returned.

‘Good to see you too!’ Wild signed to the two of them.

“Who are your companions my boy? And what have they done to travel with the elusive Link?” Hudson teased, laughing loudly at Wild’s red face as the other’s snickered quietly.

‘These are my friends I’ve been traveling with.’ Looking back to Time who usually took care of starting introductions.

“Hello, sir. Please call me Time.” Time stepped forward and shook Hudson’s hand.

“I’m Wind!”

“Hey, ‘m Twilight.”

“My name’s Four”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Warriors.”

“Legend.”

“Hi, I’m Hyrule.”

“Hello sir, I’m Sky.”

“Those are all… very interesting names.” Hudson stared at them.

‘Why, because they don’t end in son?’ Wild signed with a smirk, fingerspelling son at the end.

“It’s Bolson Construction Policy!”

“Okay darling, I believe we do not need to get into this argument again.” Rhodson quickly dispelled the rant she knew her proud husband would get into.

They’re nicknames.” Twilight offered simply. He would ask Wild what he was talking about with the whole ‘son’ thing later.

“Awe I see. Well any friend of Link’s is welcome here. Afraid we can’t give you much of a discount at the inn, we’re still a new village. But I’m sure Kapson will find a way to fit you all in there.” Hudson said in a gruff voice. “I have to go help Monari with her leaky roof. Are you staying long, Link?” Hudson finished.

‘A night or two. Does Monari need help?’ Wild signed. Monari had always been kind to him.

“Oh, Link you’re always so eager to help. Relax for once. You practically built the town, you don’t need to repair it all too.” Hudson chided with a grateful smile.

“Wait… what?” Warriors interrupted from the back. “Did Wild help build a house or something?” During his quest? Was an un added question on everyone’s mind.

“A house? Try the town. Boy got me over a hundred bundles of wood, traveled all over Hyrule to find the exact people I needed, helped me build and paint the houses, you name it.” Hudson finished proudly, looking like he wanted to clap Wild on the back but thought better of it.

“Wild… what?” Warriors looked over at his smaller companion in shock.

“When did this happen?” Twilight looked equally as puzzled. Wind looked as if his brain had stopped working all together, expressive face frozen with his jaw to the floor. Sky also looked shocked.

“You built an entire town and you didn’t tell me?” Hyrule had a look of utter betrayal.

“Damn, kid. And here I thought you couldn’t get more selfless.” Legend’s eyebrows were raised, but underneath he looked impressed and almost proud.

“Don’t challenge him.” Four scolded. They all knew what happened the last time Legend challenged Wild over something innocent and seemingly stupid. They don’t remember much of the challenge itself but they do remember the end result. Wild, with a shit eating grin and three broken bones, cackling as fire rained from above. That was the day Twilight almost went comatose.

As the others expressed their shock, Wild’s face grew as red as an apple.

“Did you not tell them, Link?” Hudson’s voice reflected pure amusement at the young boy’s bright red face.

‘It never came up. I did it mostly after I finished the Divine Beasts, some was before though’ Wild signed before pulling his hood up to hide his embarrassingly warm face.

“Wha- never came up? You helped build an entire town while on your Hyrule-wide quest, and still saved your Zelda in a timely manner along with every other town in your Hyrule?” Warriors yelled aghast, forgetting for the moment that Hudson and Rhodson were probably confused by what Warriors had just said. Wild shrugged.

‘Can I help with repairs?’ Wild asked again, ignoring Warriors’ spluttering and Time’s amused chuckles behind his hand at the rest of the group joining in Warriors’ shock.

“As I said, you should relax with your friends, but I’m sure Moggs and Monari would love to see you!” Rhodson exclaimed, moving her hand from around Hudson’s arm and gripping him by the hand instead, leading the group over to a house near the middle of the circle, just behind a table full of gems.

“Brother!” A rough voice called as they approached the table. A large Goron rolled over, followed by a smaller Goron trailing behind. Once reaching their destination right in front of the group, the two Goron emerged from their balls, revealing an adult Goron with dark orange skin, and the smaller Goron having light yellow. Both of them were wearing bright yellow hard hats.

‘Hi Greyson! Hi Pelison!’ Wild signed with a large smile. He had a hard time with the Gorons at first. For being rock hard people, they were certainly touchy feely with gratitude like Sidon was. Wild knew they meant no harm though, that was simply something he struggled with before he met the other Links. Greyson and Pelison never touched him though, which he was silently grateful for during his quest. Wild did like when the Gorons called him ‘brother’ though, it made him feel a part of something on the lonely days of conquering the Divine Beasts.

‘These are my friends!’ Wild beamed, gesturing to the people behind him. Time softened looking at the proud face as Wild presented them like prized cattle at a fair. It was sweet… in a way.

“Nice to see Wild has someone to travel with him now.” Greyson laughed at Wild’s betrayed expression.

“Yeah! Wild never brings anyone with him into town! I didn’t think he had any friends! Take your hood off, you look like a villain.” Pelison added bluntly, ignoring Wild making a frantic motion to cut it out, the group roaring with laughter. They could tell by Wild’s face he didn’t take any of it personally as he pulled off his hood with an entertained smile.

“Link!” The group looked up to see a light teal Rito approaching Wild.

‘Hello Fyson!’ Wild greeted. Okay, Wild would definitely have to explain what the hell was up with with all the ‘son’ names.

“Hello, my friend!” Fyson replied happily.

‘How’s your mom?’ Wild asked with a kind smile.

“She’s well thank you for asking! Our relationship has gotten much better since she realized I had my own shop you helped me set up! I must thank you again my friend!” Wild tried to wave it off, but Wind wouldn’t let him.

“Oh! Wild helped you and your mom?” Wind asked with wide eyes, while Wild had to resist rolling his own. Wind and his damn puppy eyes. Wild assumed he learned how to use that to his advantage from his pirate crew.

“Oh yes. My mom and I got in constant fights about me taking over the shop, but I wanted to start my own! When Wild was building tarry Town with Hudson, he told me I could set up a shop here!” Fyson nodded at Wild thankfully.

“Oh yeah, same with me. I hated the Southern Mines in Gerudo Town. I’m much happier here since Wild told me about this place and helped Pelison set up his shop.” Greyson clapped his little brother on the back. Even Pelison looked grateful for Wild.

“Yes, Wild told me of this place as well when I was pressured to leave Gerudo Town to find a husband, which worked out very well.” Rhodson smiled down at her husband.

“He also found a Zora Priest for our wedding. He works at the inn now.” Hudson added. The group was shocked. Wild had gone out of his way to help people not only by saving Hyrule, but also personally as well. Going out of his way to help build an entire town for people to feel included. Even though it wasn’t Wild’s idea, he had still helped to execute it.

Meanwhile, as more tales were strung about his good deeds, Wild looked incredibly flustered by all the attention and praise he was getting. Hyrule stepped forward and put a hand on his back. Wild jumped in surprise before relaxing into the traveler’s touch, smiling gratefully. It was hard to acknowledge what he had done for people sometimes. No matter how he was rewarded Wild still just felt wrong sometimes, and Hyrule felt the same way about his land.

“Well, we will let you and your friends settle Link.” Fyson finished the conversation, thankfully seeing Wild’s squirming posture. Wild smiled and waved as the Gorons and Rito went back to their businesses.

“Oh! Moggs and Monari! Let’s go see them and then you can take your friends to the inn and get beds for the night.” Sky continued to look around at the sights before him. Perhaps he could ask Wild for advice, he had to help Sky build a Hyrule afterall. Not now, he didn’t want to overwhelm him. Sky noticed a dog trotting around asking for food on various doorsteps, along with an odd looking horse with packs. Looking closer, Sky noticed it was what Wild called a donkey. On the roof of the house the donkey was at, was a man who seemed to be watching it all from above. Sky yearned to be higher up as well, he missed his Loftwing dearly afterall. He hadn’t had the time to teach all the boys how to fly on one yet. Hopefully that was in the near future.

“Link my boy! How are you this fine day?” This must be Moggs then, Sky thought as he saw a wrinkled old man standing next to a small old woman.

“Oh, Link! How are you?” The woman called. Wild smiled down at them, about to sign that he was fine, before Monari tugged him down and pinched his cheeks. Dear, Hylia. This old woman was doing the most grandmother thing in the book of grandmothers. Wild flushed a bright red as the woman went on about what a fine young man he was for helping her move in, and if he was injured at all. The two elderly Hylians seemed to be frail and a little odd in their old age, but sweet all the same.

Sky looked over at the others. Legend and Warriors were bent over clutching their stomachs and their mouths to prevent them from laughing. Four and Wind were openly giggling quietly and chattering with each other, probably thankful it wasn’t them for once. Twilight and Hyrule looked on with maniacal grins of pure glee, probably planning on using that against Wild later. Even Time seemed like he was having trouble controlling himself. Wild was finally able to gently wrestle out of the woman’s hold.

‘Monari taught me how to make the honey crepe.’ Wild signed, desperate for a change in subject. Luckily, it worked. Although Wild knew he would get teased for this later.

“Really?” Wind gasped. “It’s amazing.”

“I’m so glad you like it.” The old woman smiled at Wind, who stayed well out of pinching distance. The group continued to talk to the elderly couple before saying goodbye to reserve bed at the inn. It was still mid afternoon, but they had learned early on that with nine of them, it was better to ask for beds as soon as possible so there was room for them and a stable for Epona. As the group followed Wild a small distance to the inn, a voice that was somehow the embodiment of snotty noble called out.

“Boy!” The voice called harshly. Wild took a deep breath and turned to the side instead, going to the edge of the village as if it were a routine. The group approached a man with bleached blonde hair, and to the side was a little girl. She had similar features to the man. His daughter then.

‘Yes Hagie wha-’ Wild started to sign.

“You know I don’t care for your common hand motions. Those things are back again! What did you do?” The group bristled behind him at the man’s easy dismissal of their friend. Warriors stepped forward but Wild gave him a subtle look that stopped him. For now.

‘Blood moon.’ Wild finger spelled, knowing Haggis would at least understand that. He could maybe talk if he tried hard enough, but he didn’t want Hagie to hear his scarred voice while it was so rough.

“I don’t care, I’ll give you another down payment to get rid of them. I can always tell by your clothes you need it, commoner.” The man, apparently named Hagie (And wasn’t that accurate), shoved a silver rupee into Wild’s hand. Sky bit his tongue. How dare this man treat Wild this way! After everything Wild had done to help them! Sky stepped forward and put himself between the two.

“We’ll do whatever. Just stop talking.” Sky scowled, reminding Wild of when he broke the Master Sword in front of him. Sky grabbed Wild’s hand and dragged him away from the man, who simply huffed loudly and stalked to the cliff he was sitting on. Legend got the urge to push him into the waters below, but thought against it. Too many witnesses.

“Does he always treat you like that?” Twilight asked his protege, a sound similar to a growl deep in his throat.

‘No big deal.’ Wild signed, looking away from the fiery eyes of his mentor.

“It is Wild. I understand why you ignore him, but you still don’t deserve to be treated like that. Especially after you built the town he’s living in.” Time reminded Wild.

‘Helped build.’ Wild corrected, but it was nice to hear Time say that.

Wild led the group to the inn, only hearing half of the grumbled insults of the rich man on the cliff.

‘Hi Kapson!’ Wild signed once the group was in the small inn. Like the other buildings, it was small, but roomier and homey on the inside. ‘These are my friends!’ Wild introduced them all by fingerspelling their names before asking for them all to stay.

“There’s a lot of you and only two beds.” Kapson stated gruffly.

“We can share, sir.” Twilight stated for the group.

“You could set the mattresses upstairs if you want to do that.” Kapson agreed, asking Time for their payment.

‘I’ll be right back.’ Wild signed to the group after they moved the two mattresses.

“Where are you going?” Four asked.

‘Killing Guardians for Hagie. They never disappeared completely after the Calamity.’ Wild pulled a bow from his slate.

“Woah woah. We’re not letting you go alone. They’re Guardians!” Four scolded.

‘I have my paraglider and I can’t teleport with you all. There’s only two, I’ll be back in 20 minutes at most.’ Wild reassured.

“If you’re not back in 20 minutes, Wind is contacting you with his necklace.” Time ordered. Wild nodded and set out, leaving the group alone in Tarry Town. The group decided to explore the town a little bit more while it was still light out. Outside the inn in front of a nearby house, there was a woman sweeping on the porch.

“Are you all friends of Link?” She called out quietly, barely catching their attention.

“Yes, ma’am. We are.” Time and the rest of the group approached.

“Oh. I was just wondering if you can give him my thanks. He helped my daughter heal. She wasn’t eating healthy, or running around anymore. He gave her something and she was better by morning. I thanked him, but I’m scared that it seems insincere because of my husband.” The woman pointed at the man on the cliffside much to the group's surprise. “My daughter is my everything. Please let Link know he has my thanks.” The woman finished with a bittersweet smile.

“Of course we will.” Warriors responded, floored by Wild’s selflessness once again. The woman thanked them and went inside to cook for her family. The group continued to explore the town and look at the surrounding areas before Wild returned.

“You know. We could drug Hagie with one of Legend’s sleeping potions.” Wind whispered to the group when they were out of earshot from the other villagers.

“Where would we take him?” Hyrule smiled, a truly horrifying look of evil in his eyes.

“Down to the place Wild is getting rid of the Guardians. He'd really piss himself if he woke up down there. You see all the dead ones down there?” Fours blue eyes shined.

“I’d happily volunteer a potion to see that happen.” Legend’s smile was as sharp as a knife.

“Maybe we should blindfold him to make the experience more real and terrifying.” Sky suggested.

“You idiots!” Twilight chided. The other’s almost protested at Twilight ruining their fun before he interrupted them. “How the hell are we going to get him away from his daughter and wife?” Twilight finished as Warriors clapped his back.

“Eh, we’ll figure it out.” Warriors replied. At this point, no one could tell who was joking and who wasn’t. They all remembered Time, and looked to him nervously, half expecting a lecture from their leader.

“Don’t get caught.” Time stated, seemingly impassive. His eye, however, gave him away with a mischievous glint as the rest of the group cheered and laughed.

Wild made it back safe and sound, albeit confused at the mentions of drugging and kidnapping he did not even want to know about at the moment. That evening, Wild and Monari made dessert for their dinner, honey crepes. The group all cheered and thanked them profusely through full mouths, eating far more than their stomachs could probably handle. Even Time stuffed his face full. That night, they all shoved themselves onto the two mattresses pushed together on the floor of the inn. At some point in the night, they all became an entangled pile of elbows and knees.

Twilight slept buried in Time’s shoulder, one arm taken captive by Wild. The rest of Wild was taken captive by Hyrule. Hyrule’s head rested on Legend’s arm. Warriors had curled an arm around Legend and Wind, who shoved himself between them. Both Warriors and Legend would absolutely deny this in the morning. Four curled up facing Warriors, snuggled in with Sky in his sailcloth. Finally, the group had a chance to rest with stomachs full and a good night sleep.

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu #fluff #Wild #Wind #Warriors #Hyrule #Sky #Legend #Time #Twilight #Four #legend of zelda #loz #Epona #loz epona #swear warning #QoL Story

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legolaslovely · 5 years ago

Text

One Love

A/N: The long awaited Kili Ones story! (For me anyway, I have had this idea in my head for WEEKS and it’s finally here!) This story is an AU that revolves around all dwarves being paired One to One, which as @dreams-of-wander has taught me, is not canon. Thank you so much to @dreams-of-wander , @nerdbirdsworld and @patchworkideas for helping me immensely with this story. <3

Pairing: Kili x Human!Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3,770

Warnings: Post Battle of the Five Armies, Everybody Lives AU, One to One AU (see author’s note above), drinking/alcohol, comfort, love confessions, angst that ends in fluff DUH

Summary: (Y/N) and Kili met during the quest for Erebor. Long after the mountain is reclaimed, they are brought together again and Kili learns some things are not as easy as fate seems to make them.

This is by far my favorite picture of him look at his EARS <3

Blessed years had passed since Erebor was reclaimed by its rightful king. The realm was painstakingly restored to its former glory and the carnage and destruction forgotten by all who had seen it. Each loss was remembered and celebrated, but none were commemorated like those of Thorin Oakenshield’s company- saviors and warriors of the Lonely Mountain. They were believed to be the most courageous and wise champions in all Arda. However, some nights, they were simple and brash beings who indulged in far too much food, ale, and amusement.

The Grand Hall had often held scores of bodies, but never as much noise as that which came from thirteen dwarves and one rather quiet human. Deep and shrill voices like dragon fire, twisted and flew out the closed doors and down the corridors as one almost unbearable wave of sound. Guards at their post sometimes confused strange guffaws with shrieks of pain, popping their heads into the Hall to check on their King. But all inside were always safe, despite the tall tales that led to arguments with corrections, and imaginary details that led to more bellowing laughter and table slamming.

By the time the sun had set, five fresh casks had been dripped dry by the rosy cheeked companions. Dwalin respectfully drank the share of those missing: one small but hungry hobbit and one very large and thirsty wizard. It was his voice presently booming and slapping the ears of those around him.

“I was the first one. Me! First in the house, waiting hours fer another one of ye bastards to show up!”

“That’s not true, brother,” Balin said. “I was the first one. I remember dear ol’ Bilbo showed me ‘is shelves a cheese-”

“’Twas me!” Dwalin yelled. “It was hours before any a ye arrived.” His hand swung as he spoke, sending his empty mug falling and rolling across the table.

Kíli stood, reaching for the mug, but (Y/N) pushed him down. She had been sitting next to him, snickering by his side at the crude jokes and untrue details of the many stories that had been shared. She stood, slipping around Kíli’s chair and taking Dwalin’s empty mug.

“Thank ye, lass. Yer too good, too good. I was the first! I swear on me Ma’s beard.”

“Don’t ye swear on my Ma’s beard when yer lyin’!” Balin said, hurrying to swallow his sip of ale.

(Y/N)’s eyes could have rolled out of her head. The pair were two of the most intelligent dwarves she’d met. However, if either got a lick of ale, this is the argument they’d bring back to life, though all around wished they’d leave it dead in the ground. The worst of it was that only Bilbo had the answer, but the hobbit was hundreds of leagues away in the Shire, safe in his armchair or at his desk with his book.

That thought warmed (Y/N) more than the ale did, but she continued filling Dwalin’s mug at the cask. She filled another for Balin just in case, not wanting to be the center of yet another teasing quarrel between the brothers.

Their mother’s beard was still the topic of conversation when she set the mugs down on the table. She sidestepped quickly, missing Balin’s flailing arm, but she wasn’t quick enough to escape Dwalin.

“(Y/N), do ye know what a ‘One’ is, lass?” he asked, gripping her hand.

“Sort of,” she said.

“Well, me dear,” he said, stumbling to stand. His chair fell to the ground with a crack as he dropped to a knee. “Yer mine.”

A chorus of laughs and slaps sounded but Kíli’s “What?” practically echoed in the hall.

Dwalin continued. “Yer the one human I haven’t wanted to throttle as soon as ye opened yer mouth!” He patted her hand and gave her a soft shove back to her seat.

“I’m honored,” she said, taking a long draft from her own mug. She gave Kíli a look with wide eyes rolling, and shrunk into her seat at the new attention she was being paid by the table. “So, who was it that arrived first?” she asked, sending a wink to her side.

“Me!”

“I was!”

Kíli remembered the night in the Shire fairly well. He couldn’t tell anyone who had arrived first or last, or what kind of cheese Bilbo had stuffed in his shelves. However, he could very clearly recall the first time he’d seen the surprise human Gandalf had brought. She was tall and quiet, but not at all nervous of the dwarves who glared at her and spat questions. Peculiarly beautiful. Kíli could paint her exact appearance from memory.

Though her personality had bloomed in front of him since that night, (Y/N) was still obviously entertained by the dwarves. Kíli watched her hide chuckles behind her mug of ale, rarely taking a sip that would leave her lips shining. She sent him sideways smirks and smiles when the company stumbled across their inside jokes or fondest memories. Equally as often, she turned to Fíli, patting his arm or laughing at his quiet eye rolls and head shakes.

Then she left him. She flew across the room, quick and steady as an arrow shot from a bow, to save Ori from being flattened by racks of cheap ale.

“Wait, Ori,” she said, “let me do that.” She took the cumbersome, empty cask from him and set it back on the stillage with a grunt.

“I wannanother drink,” he said with a scowl.

A chuckle escaped her. “We need a new cask first. Sit down and I’ll bring you a mug, hm?”

“Jus’ one more,” he said. His puss was starting to lift, turning to a blush at a woman’s attention.

She set a hand on his shoulder. “All right.”

The thunk of wood on wood sounded behind them. Kíli had easily replaced the empty cask with a new one. “Go sit, Ori. We’ll bring it to ya.”

Ori turned to (Y/N), chin falling, swearing a silent oath. Then he turned and waddled back to his seat, accepting a hand from Bofur instead of falling and hurdling to the ground. (Y/N) slapped Kíli’s arm as he snickered and screwed the spigot into the cask.

“Should we really give him another?” she asked.

Kíli shrugged. “Dwalin’ll walk him to his chambers later. Let him have his fun.” While her head was turned and he was allowed to look, Kíli admired the curve of her cheek as she smiled, her slim fingers around the mug handle. She’d almost caught him staring. “What do you know about Ones?” he asked.

“A One is like a soulmate, if I’ve eavesdropped correctly,” she said with a wink. She moved Kíli’s distracted hand and slapped the spigot with the heel of her palm, catching the flow of ale with Ori’s mug. “You dwarves only love once and everybody has a ‘One.’ Is that right?”

Kíli hummed.

She leaned against the stillage, hip out with one foot crossed over the other. If she’d learned anything from the dwarves, it was the easy posture she was exhibiting. She was stiff and tall as a board when they’d first met.

“It must be a comfort to know someone is out there especially for you,” she said. “Us humans, we just wander around blind, lucky if we ever run into anyone good.”

“You don’t believe in Ones?” he asked.

Her face scrunched like she’d been caught rummaging through a farmer’s fields. “I believe you when you say you have a One. But I don’t think I have a soulmate. I guess humans just have to do it the hard way. Meet the right person and let something grow. Takes a long time.”

“You and I have known each other a long time.”

Ori gave out a slurred call for his ale that shattered any hold Kíli may have thought he had on her. He took her hand as she turned, trying to preserve the moment.

“Come take a walk with me,” he said.

She delivered Ori’s drink, waved at Fíli, ignoring his scowl of abandonment, and followed Kíli out of the Grand Hall. By the time she’d closed the heavy doors behind her, the guards were already disappearing around the corner to leave her and Kíli alone in the cool corridor.

“Sick of the old stories?” she asked.

“No,” he laughed. “They remind me of the night we met.”

She stuck up a hand. “Please, spare me! Tell me any story but that one. Dwalin loves to tell me what you all thought of ‘Gandalf’s human spy.’”

Kíli crossed the corridor to stand next to her- closer- and leaned back on the rough stone. “Not everyone thought that.”

“I know. I remember you were the first one to smile at me that night.”

“Because I knew you were special.”

She breathed out a laugh, a little hum, and Kíli enjoyed the grin that spread across her face. “Is that what you dragged me out here to say?”

“Yes and no.”

She turned to him and he wished he would have drank some ale tonight. Something for the courage to ignore her burning beauty, her quick laugh, the intelligence radiating from her and sharp wit telling her that he was stalling.

“This conversation is long overdue,” he said. “But it’s something rather difficult to just bring up, though apparently, Dwalin has no problem with the subject.”

“Which subject is that?”

“Ones.”

“Oh-”

“You’re mine,” he said. “You’re my One.” He could have broken the news better, he could see that clear in her astonished expression.

“Me? But that’s... not possible. How do you know?”

He took her hand, encasing it between both of his, treasuring her closeness. “Trust me. I know. I have never felt this kind of attachment, this pull to anyone.”

She smiled, but her head was shaking. No. “What you’re feeling is camaraderie. This closeness between humans and dwarves is not common, so it’s no wonder we all feel differently when we’re together.”

“That’s not it,” he said. “I have been waiting for this feeling my entire life and I’ve found it only in you. I know it’s hard for you to understand-”

“That our creators- Aulë and-and- that they made us for each other?” She slid her hand from his grasp. “How could that be? We come from such different worlds. If Gandalf and I had never met, I wouldn’t have come on the quest and you and I? Our paths would never have crossed! How cruel would the fates be then? Is this some big joke to-to whoever it is who makes these rules?”

His temper- agony and desperation both- rumbled and rolled and he watched her cower at the raging fire behind his eyes. “How could you say that? This is not a joke! You know how important this is. You know exactly what this means to a dwarf, what it means to me!”

“Of course. I didn’t mean it like that-”

“How could you ever think I would joke about something like this? Do you really think me that insensitive?”

“No!” She grabbed at him and he permitted her hold, but she shrank from his shadowed face. “Kíli, I’m sorry. Please, I just- there’s so much of this I don’t understand.”

“What is there to understand? I love you! More than I have ever loved anyone. Can you tell me that you feel the same way?”

She said nothing.

“I see.” He jerked from her grasp and vanished down the winding corridors.

***

Even as she stood completely alone, she could feel Kíli’s presence beside her- his frantic yet passionate persuasion trying to breach impenetrable fear. He’d left her there in the corridors to listen to his words repeating in her head- how she should have understood, how she made him feel alone. His words, however harsh, were honest, and his gaze so intense, they permeated her temperate thoughts and left them broken like ice shards. She hadn’t managed a sole word when he needed it most. And those she had spoken tore their relationship like precious silk.

She had single handedly sucked the joy from the brightest creature she’d ever known.

The doors of the Grand Hall creaked open, letting a breeze of hearty laughter and ale breath wisp through the corridor. A blond head peeked out and it didn’t take long for Fíli to slide through the doors and then down the wall to sit next to (Y/N). His hand squeezed her knee.

“You know his temper,” Fíli said. “He’ll return when he’s calm.”

She hummed. The company witnessed all of Kíli’s explosive arguments with his uncle during those long months on the quest of Erebor. He’d defend the group’s human or the kingdom’s heir and that low, smooth voice of his would grow sharp and tortured. But no matter what opinions were thrown and no matter how quickly he stormed off, Kíli would always return with a cool head. (Y/N) often wished the first part could be skipped.

“Every ounce of patience in the Durin line was designated to you, it seems.”

He chuckled. “When you meet our mother, you’ll see how true that statement really is.”

She smiled. The movement pushed a tear to slide down her cheek that was immediately wiped away. She’d heard countless stories about Dis. A strong dam to be surrounded by detonating, angry dwarrows all her life. One was born with that kind of strength, it wasn’t something learned.

“There’s so much I don’t understand,” she said. “The only reason I know barely anything about Ones is because Bofur likes to chat when he drinks. Now Kíli’s off who knows where because I didn’t know how to react. I really hurt him.”

Fíli’s stubby fingers wrapped around hers to stop their mindless wringing. “You did nothing wrong.”

“I did the worst thing I could have ever done. I hurt him, Fíli. You should have seen the way he looked at me before he left.” Words, air, tears- they all stuck in her throat for a moment. She squeezed Fíli’s hand and whispered. “I said something I shouldn’t have. I don’t know how we’ll move on from this.”

“He’ll forgive you.” Fíli ignored her as she shook her head again. “He will. And if anyone deserves Kíli’s forgiveness, it’s you. No one can blame you for feeling shocked.”

“Couldn’t he be wrong? How do you know someone is your One?”

She watched him think. Thick hair, round eyes, wide nose, neat braids. Dwarves weren’t very different from humans, she thought. Or maybe she’d spent so much time with the company that she didn’t notice most of the physical distinctions anymore. Their heart and passion, however, those things never escaped her attention. Especially Kíli’s.

“I haven’t met my One, so I don’t know what it feels like,” Fíli said. “They say it’s like trying to describe the sun’s warmth on a chill day. It’s just something a dwarf inherently knows.”

“Sounds wonderful,” she said. She listened for footsteps but she and Fíli were alone in the corridor. “Has Kíli said anything about it?”

Fíli could barely hear her ask the question. “He said it was overwhelming- that you were almost too much to bear. We were starting this journey, leaving home and sprinting straight into a dragon’s mouth. All he focused on until that night was controlling his fear and anxieties, on keeping himself and me safe for Ma. Then he saw you and everything around him and inside him went from raging, stabbing fire to soothing waves of peace. You were his ‘calm and comfort and safety,’ he said. Everything was right when you walked into the room.”

“He said that? When?”

Fíli shifted on the floor. “The night we met in the Shire.”

“He knew immediately? Is that common? Is that a dwarf thing?”

“No,” he grinned. “It’s a Kíli thing.”

They sat knee to knee on the cold floor and Fíli answered all of her questions, starting with her prominent “Couldn’t he have picked someone easier?”

“He doesn’t pick, (Y/N). Ones are created as halves of the other. You were made for each other.”

Fíli found fun in explaining the innermost concepts of Ones, enjoying her wide eyes, embittered sighs, and impatient questions. Kíli was the same way when their mother told them both about her and their father and Fíli silently reveled in that knowledge.

The two close friends bonded impossibly further over their shared interest: Kíli. They both laughed- tension, jitters and tears bouncing off the stone around them and echoing throughout the corridors. She listened eagerly to the particulars of dwarvish traditions and customs, often asking for more details. She eventually let her feelings slip.

“His One should be a dwarf. He shouldn’t have to explain rituals and customs and soulmates, he should just enjoy them.”

“He would appreciate sharing these things with you, teaching you about them,” Fíli said.

She hummed. “But he deserves something better. Something easier.”

“You speak like you don’t mind your part in this,” Fíli said.

Roaring and table slapping sounded from the Great Hall as if the very proposition was so preposterous. The company was continuing their celebration while its three youngest members debated the rest of their lives.

She sighed, the breath shaking and Fíli knew any hope of jest was gone. “Fíli, if I’m lucky, I might live another-”

“Don’t.”

She took his hands and squeezed. “I could live another forty years. He will live another hundred and forty. It would leave him alone for so long... It can’t be me.”

Fíli took her face in his hands, catching the streaming tears that poured down her cheeks like silent rain. Thumbs like boats swept them away, but they kept coming. He tried to look at her as if that exact thought hadn’t been plaguing his mind since Kíli told him the truth. “Don’t think of that.”

“It can’t be me.”

“Look at me.” He waited for her to open her eyes- devastated and dripping, but calm. “Kíli would not want two hundred years with someone else. He’d take a single day if he could call you his for those hours. He loves you.”

***

By the time Kíli’s scraping boots sounded in the corridor, all three heads were calm. As Kíli’s slumped shoulders made their way to them, Fíli squeezed (Y/N)’s hand and slid back into the Grand Hall where the raucous never ceased.

Kíli fell to his knees before (Y/N) could stand. Dark brows hid even darker eyes, things that were usually bright, beautiful and warm. He took her hand and apologized. “I should have never treated you so harshly and it was cruel of me to storm off like that and leave you here alone.”

“No, please. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.”

“I know.”

Her gaze fell to her lap. Two large hands were wrapped around hers again as if in their rightful place. “Kíli,” she said. “I know that I hurt you and for that I am truly sorry.”

“(Y/N).” He lifted her chin. Every angled feature had gone soft before her. “There is nothing for you to apologize for.”

She nodded. “I just needed some time to understand what this all means.”

“And I should have given it to you. You can have all the time you need. And if you want to go back to Gondor, continue living there, I understand-”

“No.” She shifted, rising to her knees and inching closer. She held his face. “Kíli, I will not abandon you. I won’t leave you without... a piece of you.” She looped his waving hair behind his ear- big and pointed- and grinned.

“Now is not the time to be making fun of my ears again, (Y/N).”

“I didn’t say anything.”

He hummed, a warning. Then his features lifted as thick fingers wrapped around her wrist, bringing her hand into his again. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I wanted us to have a calm, positive, and I hoped even romantic moment and I completely failed.”

“Not completely.” The way he was looking at her, taking her in, couldn’t be classified as anything but romantic. “All that matters is that you told me. But are you sure I’m-”

“You’re it for me, (Y/N). There’s no question.”

She would have dragged her hand away, created space between them, but she could still see the pain her previous distance had caused. “Just tell me, am I taking you away from someone else? Isn’t there another woman- dam- out there who is waiting for you? You’re her One?”

“No,” he said, vigorous head shaking freeing his messy locks. The smallest smile. “No. It doesn’t work that way. Dwarves are paired. Since you’re my One, that means there is no other dwarf for me. Only you.”

Her soft, “Oh,” made him panic.

He inched backwards on his knees. “No, I didn’t mean to- I should have worded that better.” He sighed, ridding himself of his incessant, jittery thoughts. “(Y/N), I know you don’t feel for me as I do for you-”

“That’s not true. Kíli, I love you very much, it’s just-”

His strong fingers strangled her hand. “You do?”

Every bit of her restraint left her with her chuckle. “Of course I do. How could anyone not love you?”

He didn’t give her time to admire the bright smile her confession caused. He immediately brought her into a dwarf’s embrace, resting his forehead against hers, sharing the same air, the same content hums, the same moment in time.

“But Kíli,” she said. He heard the nerves there. “This isn’t going to be easy. You’ll have to teach me so much and-”

“We’ll learn together.” He kissed her- a kiss he could live on forever- and pulled her into his arms right there on the floor. He immensely enjoyed this human way of embracing as well, he thought.

He held her close, arms tightly wrapped, fingers twirling hair, comfortable in the silence until she laughed so loud it startled him.

“What is it?”

“You didn’t hear that?” She asked, turning to him. “They’re still going on about who arrived at Bag End first!”

“I guess I was too distracted,” he said.

She grinned, took his face in her hands and kissed him. Then they both agreed not to go back into the Grand Hall until one of the pestering brothers left for the night.

“Fíli’s smart enough to save himself.”

***

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p-artsypants · 4 years ago

Text

I Do...I Guess? (Chapter 3)

Djose Temple

Ao3 | FF.net

In my mind, Zanarkand is just like...Los Angeles, or New York. Just a big city with modern day technology...with slightly questionable fashion statements?

And OMG I’m so happy to get reviews! I knew writing for FFX was like shouting into a void, but I got responses! And they were good! So I guess I’ll keep going??

—

In the morning, the team braved the Djose Highroad to the temple. Along the way they came across a smattering of survivors. They had endeavored to reach the temple but had succumbed to exhaustion from fiends.

Thankfully, they had yet to find any casualties.

Djose Temple was a magical marvel. Theme parks in the ancient Zanarkand had similar awe inspiring attractions, but nothing as amazing as the suspended rocks with lighting bolts.

“That happens when a summoner reaches and convenes with the fayth,” Lulu explained.

“So there’s a summoner here already?” Tidus asked aloud. He wondered if it was Dona, or heaven forbid Seymour.

Dona hadn’t seen the devastation of the failed operation. Her callous, holier-than-thou attitude would be anything but a balm to the wounded and dying.

And Seymour? Well, he was just creepy enough that Tidus just didn’t like him.

“Let’s see if we can help while we wait for them to finish,” Yuna suggested.

The others agreed, and they volunteered to help where they could.

Tidus watched Yuna rush into a room where there was much groaning. Her hand rested on the doorframe, and the ring he had given her glinted on her finger.

No one seemed to notice.

Even when they returned to camp last night, no one noticed. Lulu and Wakka were already asleep, while Kamahri and Auron took their first watch. Pleasant greetings were exchanged before Kamahri offered some of the cooked fish they had left over from dinner. Then they fell asleep shortly after.

Now it was the next day, and their engagement was official. Who did he talk to about that? They did say he had until Djose Temple to figure it out. And he did.

But it didn’t seem like a good time to bring it up. Would Yuna do so? It was her idea after all.

Tidus was directed to a cot with a wounded crusader on it. The man had a piece of shrapnel in his stomach, and Auron, one of the only others in the room with a strong stomach, was tasked to pull it out.

Tidus was to hold the poor bastard down by the shoulders, while Wakka had his legs.

And it continued like that for a few hours. The patients were different, but the job was the same. Some were being amputated, while others were just getting stitches.

But no matter what, it seemed like Operation Mi’ihen’s casualties were far from over.

By mid-afternoon, the summoner in the cloisters finally emerged. A man named Isaaru, and his brother-guardians.

Finally, a polite summoner. He did rib Yuna a little, but it felt like friendly rivalry compared to Dona’s outright harassment.

“The cloisters are empty, you two should go.” Auron urged Tidus and Yuna.

“But there’s more people to heal...”

“We can spare some potions. Now, go.”

Hard pressed to argue, Yuna simply turned to Tidus. “Will you come to the trials with me?”

“I did the first two on my own. I think I can handle another.”

“Oh, I’ll help too.” She smiled.

“Oh then, I have nothing to worry about. After you?”

They still didn’t speak of the impending wedding, but Tidus still tried to be the best fiancé/guardian he could be. He didn’t allow her to lift a finger, though she figured most of the puzzles out on her own. He moved the pedestals, he inserted the spheres, and when it came to leaping across a live electric pit, he gladly made the jump for her. They then reset the puzzle and activated the floor panel, which allowed them to go up to the next level. This time, Yuna helped him push all the pedestals into place and revealed the stairs to the Fayth.

He followed behind her as she ascended the stairs.

The door to the chamber opened for her, and she turned to look at him in question.

“I’ll wait right here for you,” he promised, sitting on the floor.

She offered a smile, and went inside.

And so he waited. Patiently, ankles crossed.

This would be the first time he waited the entirety of her prayer. The last two times, he came in at the end.

This time, he was alone in his waiting. The other guardians were busy helping downstairs.

Besaid had taken her two days, but Kilika was only about an hour. Was she getting better at whatever happened in there? Or was it based on the Fayth itself?

His ignorance to this whole situation was like a punch to the gut.

Wakka was right. Yuna needed someone that was more educated on Yevon, who could help her.

And yet, he could only believe she needed someone to remind her to be human more. Sure, if he knew more, it might help. Maybe he’d try a little harder to learn the religion. If only to stop embarrassing her with his ignorance.

Yuna emerged two hours later, sweaty and panting. He caught her before she could faint, and brought her back down into the temple.

He sat her on the stairs to the cloisters and retrieved a flask of water for her. “Better?”

“Yes, thank you for taking care of me.”

“As a fiancé should,” he smirked.

There was a loud gasp at that, and they both turned to see—Shindig? Shanda? The pious lady they had met on the Mi’ihen Highroad, standing not too far away. “Truly?! Is what I hear correct? You are to be married to Lady Yuna?”

The other guardians, who had not been informed that he had made his decision, all came closer to listen.

“That’s right.” Yuna smiled softly. “I asked, and he accepted.”

Auron gave a thumbs up, while Wakka shook his head. Kimahri and Lulu were unreadable, but didn’t look angry at least.

“This is wonderful news! The wedding of a summoner is always a blessed occasion! Will you be waiting until you reach the temple in Bevelle?”

“Well,” said Tidus, “we were going to do it here, but...”

“An even better idea! The survivors could really do with the hope!”

Yuna sputtered. “I don’t know if it’s an appropriate time—“

“Nonsense! I’ll take care of everything! Leave it to me!” And she hurried off to find the head priest, leaving Tidus and Yuna to face the other guardians alone.

“So, were you going to tell us you said yes?” Wakka asked, arms crossed.

Tidus sighed. “We made it official last night, after all the sendings. I wanted to give Yuna something to be happy about, but we weren’t going to push it. Especially with everything that happened.”

“We did give him until Djose to reach a decision,” Lulu reminded patiently. “There’s no reason for you to be angry.”

“I just wish he had the common sense to say no.”

Tidus frowned at Wakka, crossing his arms.

“So what made you change your mind, ah? Wanna get in on that post-sin glory?”

Tidus’s heart raced a little faster as he confessed. “I just wanted to say yes. I don’t want her to be lonely.”

Lulu smirked. “Sounds as altruistic as can be. If Yuna wants a companion that doesn’t interfere with her quest, I’m for it.”

Yuna blushed. “Well you didn’t have to say it like that.”

Before more teasing could ensue, the head priest arrived. “I hear there is a couple wishing to be wed?”

Yuna bowed to him. “Yes sir, my guardian and I. But if you’re busy with the operation, we don’t want to intrude.”

“Nonsense. Everyone is stable, and you have done so much to help us. It’s the least we can do for repayment.”

So it was happening. It was really happening. Marriage. At seventeen. And he hadn’t even gotten her pregnant first.

Were they going to have sex tonight? Yuna didn’t seem the type. Would she try for the sake of legitimacy? He certainly wasn’t going to force her into anything. He’d let her take the lead. This was her idea anyway.

A stone pillar, much like the ones in the cloister, raised out of the ground. It had a little dome with two holes on either side.

“Now reach inside and clasp hands, so the soul scryer may tell if your souls are compatible for the soul bonding ceremony.”

Tidus blinked several times, hearing things he was not prepared for. “The what what?”

“Isn’t a soul binding ceremony...a little antiquated?” Asked Auron.

Shalinda, who had returned with the priest gasped. “Oh no! It’s a beautiful and sacred ceremony!”

“Huh...just for some of us who are a little...out of practice...” Tidus mentioned sheepishly.

Lulu explained. “The soul binding ceremony is an ancient wedding practice, in which the souls are joined in life, so the beloved can find each other in death.”

“It’s not to be taken lightly.” Wakka urged.

“It’s just for show,” Yuna whispered. “They can’t actually bind our souls. But if the idea bothers you—“

“No no, it’s okay. It’s not going to, like, hurt or anything, right? Or change me as a person?”

“The more compatible you are, the less of an effect you should feel on yourself.” The priest explained. “Come, present yourselves to the soul scryer.”

No point in putting it off any longer. He put his hand in on one side, and Yuna put hers in the other. They met in the middle and entwined fingers.

Immediately, the scryer turned blue, then a blinding white.

Tidus spoke while covering his eyes, “is that a good thing?”

“Blessed be this day! A summoner is a perfect match for her beloved! This union will be wonderful and prosperous in love!”

Okay. So a good thing it was. He and Yuna a perfect match? What were the odds?

It seemed pretty low, considering the bright blush on Yuna’s face.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Yes—just—“ she rested her free hand on her face. “Perfect matches are really rare. I didn’t know...”

He squeezed her hand. “Hey, it’s alright. I’m not upset. Actually, quite the opposite! No need to be embarrassed!”

She gave him a weak smile, obviously still embarrassed despite his reassurance.

“Let us begin the ceremony. Did you bring a change of vestments?” Asked the high priest.

“Ah, no. Please, we’d like to be as streamlined as possible. We don’t want to take up any more resources than necessary.” Yuna bowed again.

“Very well.”

Both of them removed their hands from the scryer, as it lowered back down into the floor. Then the head priest urged Yuna and Tidus to follow him to the door to the cloisters. They stood at the top of the stairs, while the other guardians and other witnesses gathered around to watch.

Yuna raised her hands for him to hold. And he did so daintily.

“O Fayth, O song of the Farplane. Hear as we call out to you in prayer. This couple has sought to be joined in the holiest of traditions. In soul, love, and flesh and bone. Knit them together in a tapestry of absolution. Bind their souls so that they may find each other in the end. May their love be pure and strong, and may they find peace and strength within each other.”

He looked at both. “Do you have the rings?”

Tidus took out his, and Yuna awkwardly took off the one she was wearing, then they traded.

“Tidus, please repeat after me: ‘I, Tidus,”

“I, Tidus,”

“Do take Lady Yuna, to have and hold, in sickness and in health, to the Farplane do we part.”

“Do take Lady Yuna, to have and hold, in sickness and health, to...not even the Farplane do we part.”

The wording change was not lost on those assembled. Especially Yuna, who smiled bashfully.

“You may place the ring on her finger.”

Tidus took off his gloves, and then very delicately slid the ring onto her finger.

“Lady Yuna, if you will repeat after me: I, Lady Yuna,”

“I, Lady Yuna,”

“Do take Tidus, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, to the Farplane do we part.”

She smiled. “Do take Tidus, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, to not even the Farplane do we part.”

“Non Traditional vows, but lovely nonetheless.” The priest praised. “You may place the ring on his finger.”

Just as he had done, Yuna slid the ring onto his finger. Then she squeezed his hands affectionately.

“I pronounce you, in the name of Yevon, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Yuna blushed again, then whispered, “I’ve never kissed before.”

“Well, do you want a normal first kiss? Or a traditional Zanarkand wedding kiss?”

“Hmm, I’ll try the Zanarkand wedding kiss.”

He winked at her, before holding her close. “Hang on to me.”

Yuna only had a minute to hold around his neck, before he lowered her into a dip, and pressed a deep and meaningful kiss to her lips.

Those gathered either gasped in shock or wolf-whistled. Either way, Tidus realized maybe these people weren’t used to such public displays of affection.

But still, her kiss felt incredible. She was warm and soft, she smelled of flowers and this unnamed spice that tingled his nose.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but when he righted her, she had a contented and gleeful smile on her face.

Then applause broke out, and they returned to reality.

Married. They were married. Officially. There was no going back now.

Not that he wanted to. Yuna was wonderful. She deserved as much support as she could get, and he was honored that she picked him.

“Presenting Lady Yuna, and her husband, Sir Tidus!”

The ‘Sir’ was a nice touch. Did he get to keep that name?

They descended down into the crowd, receiving heartfelt handshakes and pats on the back of congratulations. People were genuinely happy, and it was a relief to see people smiling. Maybe getting married now really wasn’t a bad idea.

“Many congratulations on your marriage, Lady Yuna.” Isaaru bowed. “I hope your husband aids you on your pilgrimage.”

“Of course I will!” Tidus exclaimed, like suggesting otherwise was ludicrous. “I’ll do anything to help Yuna.”

“Glad to hear it. Well, may the first to Zanarkand be the winner. We’ll be moving on to Macalania.”

“Oh, and a word of warning for you and your guardians,” his guardian added. “Rumor is that summoners have gone missing on the road to Zanarkand. Best keep sharp.”

“Well, thank you for the warning! We’ll be extra diligent!” Tidus saluted.

“Glad to hear it. Now, we’ll let you go. Heard you did a lot of sendings for these poor folks. You must be exhausted.”

“It’s always an honor to perform such a ceremony. Thank you for thinking of my well-being though.”

After marinating in the glad tidings of the crowd, the head priest approached the couple. “The ceremonial cleansing is ready for you both, if you desire it. I assume you’d like to get cleaned up after the ordeal you’ve been through.”

“Oh!” Yuna blushed. “Ah, yes, well, that would be nice...”

“What’s wrong?” Tidus asked softly.

“The ceremonial cleansing is basically a bath that the wedded couple share. The temples are almost all built on hot springs for this reason, and for summoners to take baths on their journeys. We really don’t have to...”

“I mean, I would like to get cleaned up. I wouldn’t want to offend my ladyship’s nostrils.”

Yuna giggled and then glanced at the priest, who was looking at them curiously, either concerned that Tidus didn’t know about the hot springs that everyone else knew about, or that this newly wedded couple wasn’t absolutely ecstatic to be bathing together.

“Alright. Let’s try it.” Said Yuna, with a little forced optimism. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing...a lot of each other, from now on. Might as well get used to it.”

Tidus held out his hand to her, and followed the priest outside the temple. He had remembered seeing a river when they had arrived here, and they weren’t too far from the ocean. The hot springs, however, were inside the rock on the back side of the temple. The priest led them into a little alcove in the mountains. There was a single, wide tub, where milky water was already steaming. There was a collection of soaps and perfumes near the edge, and a pair of towels and robes hanging nearby.

“If you leave your clothes in this basket, we will make sure they are cleaned and returned to you in the morning.”

Yuna bowed in gratitude. “Thank you for all of this. It is much appreciated.”

“You are most welcome, Lady Yuna, and Sir Tidus. If there’s anything else we can do, do not hesitate to ask.” He bowed at the waist, and exited the room.

“I could get used to being called ‘Sir’, that's very fun.” Tidus said with a laugh.

“I’m glad you enjoy it. I worried that the attention would make you uncomfortable.”

“There’s still time,” He chuckled. Then he glanced at the water. “How about I turn around so you can get undressed, and then once you’re in the water, I’ll join you?”

“Alright.” She agreed with a relaxed sigh.

Tidus turned around, and waited patiently for her to give the okay. Instead, she gave a series of frustrated grunts. “You good?”

“Lulu tied my Obi too tight, and I’m having a little trouble getting the knot out…”

“Can I help?”

She chuckled, “you can try.”

He turned around, seeing the problem immediately. She had pulled on the bow, but the knot remained.

“You’d think I’d know how to undo this stupid thing, but in my haste, and I pulled the wrong side.”

“No judgement from me.” He dug his fingers into the knot and slowly got it untangled, and then completely undone. With the obi gone, a lot more skin was visible, and he awkwardly tried to avert his gaze. “Is that good? Need help with anything else?” He cringed. “Not that I want to undress you, just if you were having any other wardrobe malfunctions…”

She giggled. “I understood. No, I got the rest of it.”

Glad that he hadn’t offended her, he turned back around and began to unbuckle his bracer.

Once he was down to his shorts, he heard Yuna get into the water.

“Okay, I’m decent.” She claimed.

She was just a head above the water. She was so cute that he let a giggle out.

“Why are you laughing?” She pouted.

“Nothing. I’m just surprised you’re letting me see your neck!”

“I’m modest!”

“And it’s very becoming.” He kicked off his boots and socks and went to remove his pants. But he glanced at her beforehand, and noticed she was completely turned away.

“Oh come on now, you don’t have to look away. We’re married after all.”

“I need to work my way up to that point.” She urged. “You may be my husband...but you’re still sort of a stranger.”

Now fully naked, Tidus splashed into the water, and scooted closer to her. “I think you’re the strange one. You proposed to me after all.”

“And you accepted.”

“Touché.”

“And maybe I did rush things. Maybe proposing was impulsive.”

“You’re not having cold feet now, are you?”

“What? No, my feet are very warm!”

“Is that not a phrase these days? Where I come from, ‘getting cold feet’ means that you’re regretting a wedding. Usually before the ceremony.”

“It’s a common thing?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Lots of people get married for all different reasons. And not all of them are good.”

“Do you think we got married for the right reasons?” She looked at him with big, sad eyes.

“Well, I hope so. You wanted a companion for your journey, right? A taste of romance?”

“If I hadn’t been a summoner, I would have just asked you to dinner, and see where things went. But...I’m on a bit of a tight schedule, you see. I don’t get to watch things unfold. If I want something, I have to take it.”

“So you wanted me?” He moved his leg, and his knee brushed against her bare thigh.

She blushed. “When you put it like that, it makes it sound like...like I was lusting after you.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you were. I know I’m irresistible.”

She smiled at him. “You are pretty cute.”

“Hey! I’ll take it!” He glanced over the shelf of soaps, and popped the caps to sample them. There was a really nice fruity one. “Would you mind if I washed your hair?”

At this point, Tidus was worried she was going to pass out from how red her face was. “I—if you want to? You don’t have to!”

“Think of it as a bonding activity.”

“...okay...”

She settled in front of him, arms wrapped around her chest (though he had no way of seeing). He took a pitcher and wetted her hair, then very carefully started to massage the shampoo in.

The sensation sent chills up her spine. “It’s...weird. But nice.”

“Just like me.”

She let out a very unladylike snort.

“Cute.”

“No it’s not! I used to get picked on for that all the time when I was younger. So embarrassing!”

“Well, I think it’s cute. And my opinion is the only one that matters.”

She just snorted again. “Quit making me laugh!”

“I can’t help it! It’s my natural charm!”

He scrubbed at her scalp, doing his best to get the sand out from the beach. Then he used the pitcher to rinse, before applying conditioner and rinsing again.

“There we go. Squeaky clean.”

“Then it’s only fair that I return the favor,” she announced.

Now it was his turn to blush. “Well...I guess that’s fair.”

“Are you afraid I’m going to find out you aren’t actually this tan? Just dirty?”

“I am tan! It’s from training in the sun. Even then, I have naturally darker skin.”

“Did I hit a sensitive topic?” She couldn’t help but laugh.

“No, I’m just usually very hygienic, so your world with no showers or deodorant is making me uncomfortable.”

“I truly am learning so much about you in just a little time.”

“I have nothing to hide from you,” except one major thing, “so feel free to ask whatever you want.”

It continued like that. Yuna washed his hair, and then he washed her back and shoulders while she returned the favor. They talked, they laughed, they teased and flirted, all until they turned pruney and Yuna yawned.

“I’m sorry, you’re probably exhausted, and I’m keeping you up. Let’s get ready for bed.” Again, he stayed turned away so that she could get out and get dressed in the silk robe provided by the temple. He followed along soon after, and they returned to the temple. They were then escorted to a private room reserved for summoners. It had one big bed, and a stone floor.

Tidus frowned, but got to work searching through the cabinets. They were mostly empty, as the supplies had gone to all the survivors in the other parts of the temple.

“What are you looking for?” Yuna asked.

“I was looking for another blanket and pillow. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Oh!” She sounded horrified at the idea. “You don’t need to do that! There’s plenty of room on this bed for both of us! We might not even touch!”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course! You were working just as hard as me today. You don’t need to sleep on the cold ground!” It was rather endearing how indignant she was. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “I can’t have my guardian having a poor night’s sleep.”

“Alright, alright.” He chuckled. “You get in first, and I’ll take the outside.”

She crawled in the bed, and tucked herself close to the wall to make sure he had plenty of space. Then he scooted under the blankets and turned his back to her, and then turned out the bedside lamp.

“Goodnight, Yuna.”

“Goodnight.”

After a moment, she spoke up. “Tidus?”

He decided to mess with her a little and didn’t answer.

“I know you can’t already be asleep.”

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat.

“What?”

“My full title, please.”

She snorted. “Sir Tidus?”

He rolled over. “Yes, My dear Lady Yuna? What can I do for you?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m only kidding. You can call me whatever you like. I’ll make everyone else call me ‘Sir’.”

“What if I want to call you something cutesy? Like Snookie Wookums?”

“I love it, because everyone else will hate it.”

She giggled.

“What were you going to say earlier? When we said goodnight?”

“Oh…um. I was just wondering…if you would give me a goodnight kiss?”

He sat up a little on his arms. “Yuna, I would love to give you a goodnight kiss.” Since it was dark, he reached out for her, and cupped her cheek with his hand. Then he slowly leaned in and kissed her lips, oh so gently, oh so sweetly. “How was that?”

She hummed, and then answered. “Perfect. I’ll be able to sleep now. Thank you.”

“Anytime…Snookie Wookums.”

She snorted.

#Final Fantasy X #Final Fantasy #ffx #final fantasy tidus #tidus #tidus x yuna #yuna #fanfiction #I Do I guess

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