#r1999 bessmert

[abyss-idiot]

Bessmert

This is something that was pointed out to me on the official discord server. So I'm going to talk about it here as well. Spoilers for Notes on Shuòrì and a tiny bit on Theft of the Rimet Cup under the read more.

As I said, someone on the discord server pointed out to me that Bessmert sounds exactly the same as the ??? lady that shows up in Theft of the Rimet Cup. I know cn people and those that follow it probably knew for a bit but let me have this for a moment. Which leads to a bit more interesting things about her character. In Theft of the Rimet Cup she signs off in the first chapter as "-The Friend from Afar" which directly lines up with a couple of messages in the mail that we have gotten in game.

The first one was from the start of the game, and the second one being from the ending of the Revival! The Uluru Games, the other events have a similar messages I'm pretty sure, I'm not going to try and sift through all of them. The interesting thing is this means that Vertin is in contact with Bessmert in some way as each one is with the sender being "A Friend from Afar."

The really interesting thing to come from them sounding the exact same comes from the end of Theft of the Rimet Cup, where Bessmert writes a bit more. This time directly addressing "readers of UTTU." Now this either means she works for UTTU or close to the group. Which could explain on why Tommy at the start of Rimet Cup seemingly recognized her

[starsilversword]

I think Bessmert is a bit of a parental figure to Yenisei.

Also I kinda ship Bessmert and Getian.

[tsatsked]

Guys, are Vertin and Bessmert connected to each other in some way besides their appearance and character parallels? Asking for a friend (literally)

[taniahylian]

Bessmert vs Vertin: Different ways of recording eras

So, after finishing the 1.9 event and pretty much confirming that the "Friend from afar" that writes articles for UTTU is Bessmert, I started reflecting on what she does, compared to Vertin, because at the end of the day they're quite similar characters, but with some key differences.

First of, they're both recording eras, but for their own reasons and in their own way. Vertin was given this task by the foundation, presumably so they'd have more information of how the storms work and how they affect historical events (plus, the way Manus interferes), while Bessmert seems to be driven by her own desire to share what she experiences in the form of articles and/or books, which leads me to the second difference; the medium.

Vertin takes pictures of everything she deems worthwhile, as we learn in the prologue, and also presumably makes some paintings, both of which are purely visual mediums. Meanwhile Bessmert, for obvious reasons, could never use those, and instead turns to writing.

But the major difference, imo, is what they choose to record. Bessmert writes about historical events (the theft of the world-famous rimmet cup, and how an unknown little town in the middle of nowhere saved itself and became prosperous) or major geological arcane discoveries (Pei city and it's Divination, and presumably Aperion and it's magical cave). Meanwhile Vertin records what she herself, personally, finds interesting; the single mother who wrote a play about the transantartica expedition, and a girl who had a collection of a futbol player photos are a few examples. Of course, some of the pictures she took happen to be of historical events, like the Apollo 11 launch, but they're not all she records.

What's even more interesting, however, is how Bessmert detaches herself from the narrative; she's never a protagonist in the stories she writes, and she doesn't try to influence their course or make connections with the people she meets; she's simply an observer. In Shuori she was forced to participate in the the story due to circumstances beyond her control, but even then what she wrote about the event seemed to be more like... collections of geological and cultural observations, rather than anecdotes of the people she met, or what she felt during the events.

Vertin, on the other hand, tends to be an active protagonist in any story she is in. See Green Lake and Uluru, for example; she interacted with the characters, helped them, used whatever resources she had to influence the story for the better, etc. Not only that; she formed personal connections and even invited them to the foundation and her suitcase, because this is the most valuable thing that Vertin deems worth preserving of each era; the people she meets and the bonds she made.

Vertin goes against the wishes of the foundation, to record what she sees without sparing any feelings for the people she met, while Bessmert... well, she really would be the ideal Timekeeper, wouldn't she?

[kane-turu]

'Notes on Shuori'? Nah, it's Yenisei's Bizarre Adventure

[multongsisig]

what are big wings for if not to hug

(x)

[hatsunemikuplushie]

tested out a bit of a different artstyle. i tried. for marcus. i want to develop a marcus-like artstyle judt for fun so bad. this was my first attempt

[thatisayouproblem]

some screenshots i took during the event :D

[definesanity]

Spoilers for the 1.6 event:

In image one, Getian states he is afraid of Bessmert. In the second, Vertin wakes up from a dream.

I don't think Bessmert is Vertin's mother.

I think Bessmert *is* Vertin.

They share many similarities; additionally, Getian might not be able to read Bessmert's bones because she has the ability to brave the Storm.

Speaking of the Storm...

Péi City and where the investigation team were happened to be in a Storm, crossing into the past.

When the story was concluded, the Storm was "stopped", and when the team went back, the stream had gained life again.

Furthermore, @hammerbonk said Bessmert hyping up Getian is VERY similar to Bertin hyping up Druvis III.

Now, then:

The reason why Vertin dreamt is because, since it happened in the "past", Vertin "remembered" it; OR, she had a memory of it, like how she saw her mother; perhaps who she saw was instead Bessmert...?

Marta, upon Aperion, is similar to Bessmert, so perhaps Bessmert is "stalking" Vertin?

Yenisei joining the Timekeeper is a paradox, but also makes sense why Bessmert didn't join her; then a time paradox would have occurred.

Why didn't she mention the Suitcase gang? Haven't a clue... maybe she didn't want to think about it?

Plus, Bessmert having an assistant in Yenisei, and liking to mention it, also makes it similar to how she had Sonetto, once.

Furthermore, it also makes sense how Bessmert, Yenisei and Getian fought off Jiu in Chapter 19; in Chapter 4 of the main story, Vertin fought off a giant beast by herself. It only makes sense she's gained strength from it.

It also makes sense, sorta, how Jiu managed to get under the watch of the Foundation; when the Storm was resolved, it sent her to a "stable" time.

This has been my crackhead theory, please and thank you.

[lotusrue]

we're all mostly on the same page about bessmert possibly being vertin's mother right. i haven't gone digging yet but it was definitely my first impression

[strawberry-tom]

what the

[jiuniangzitavern]

A little late to the party, but have some Jiu X Bessmert pride month art!

[ihaveforgortoomany]

The Mandela Effect

Theory on R1999 so spoilers for 2.2, spoilers for 1.9 and onwards. This is not Global Friendly especially for 1.9 and 2.2.

This will only make sense if you have gone through the first three patches of 2.0.

This will be major major spoilers for 2.2 for the implications this has so anyone following CN servers feel free to message me about this.

(May Vertin nui block the spoilers!)

Alright then.

The Mandela Effect is the type of memory that occurs when different people incorrectly remember the same thing, eg if the Monoploy man wore a monocle at all, logos having a different design in comparison to how some people remember it.

2.2 introduce us to Mr Duncan, a Zeno military veteran who lives in Sao Paulo. Both Sotheby AND Vertin both mistaken Mr Duncan for Mr Karson, and remember either of them had a chance to take a photo of Mr Karson or anyone else in 1929 before the Storm occurred. Duncan mentions having a war friend of his who had a child near Sotheby's age. This seems to concidental to be a throwaway line. Appearance wise their eyes look the same but I hear you ask, but Mr Karson looks older in 1929 and its confirmed 2.2 occurs in 1990s how can they be the same person?

See Paulina from 2.0: she is the one mentioned in Book 4 by the narrator, someone who was caught by the Storm and only her hand remained. We meet her brother Joe in 2.0 who goes to confirm her "death", sees her leftover hand (wow not expecting that) and then looks at her photo and immediately thinks the Foundation was lying. In some sense their are two Paulinas here, the one Joe remembers and the one the Foundation remembers but more or less are the same person.

Vertin with Mr Duncan has outright confirmed that:

One Mr Duncan is in fact Mr Karson, that there are multiple instances where people or events have been altered from recorded history.

Two.

THE PEOPLE WHO ARE REVERSED DO NOT DIE IN THE STORM!

With Marcus and Heinrich we confirm the Storms do not just make time go backwards but instead reverse a certain era to a different period, just not beyond 1999. Therefore we can for example, be in the 1950s and be reversed to 1980s but never going past 1999.

We confirm that the Grandfather Paradox does not apply to this world, so killing someone in one time will not necessarily led to the death of their family line.

The Storm can be accelerated by causing or accelerating critical points in history, leading to them happening earlier than expected = changing the original timeline.

So what if the Storm reversing places to completely different era backwards and forwards actually does the same to people?

Take Mr Karson: the 1929 Storm could have flung 'him' into the 1990s, his core history of being a war veteran would not change but now he isnt looking after Sotheby instead lives in Sao Paulo. Being flung into the 1990s has caused a butterfly effect in a sense to his own history: what if he remained in Sao Paulo at the end of his war service for example?

R1999 is playing with the Mandela Effect here: the Foundation will remember recorded history prior to the first Storm, and now history is being slightly altered by the Storm. The changes would eventually become so often and with so many to record the true original history may be forgotten entirely. It will become harder to tell what was the original until that new altered history becomes the memory incorrectly remembered by others.

So all victims of the Storm are not dead then are flung to different eras and places, slightly altered but in essence that original person. However it would be hard to investigate what would happen if a person were to be caught in multiple Storms, reverse in one and again in another (maybe thats what is happening to Martha Urd Bessmert)

Someone like Schneider then would still be alive somewhere, maybe in Italy, maybe a little bit different but in essence the same one we met in 1929 but doesn't know us. Same goes for Isabella, the Ring, people of Aperion and etc etc. Maybe we met 888 before she ever found the island, see the Ring potentially at the age he would be now in Scotland since he is implied to be Scottish.

This opens up the table for any of the people Vertin had met in the past to met them again.

Playable Schnieder or at the very least her return is no longer off the table and very possible now, this doesn't take away the impact of her 'death' as likely she will have no recollection of the time spent with Vertin and co, they did just meet within 24 hours. (BP would be so cruel if we met her in an Orange farm in Italy).

(I need a second opinion on us tbh, 2.2 at the end was really dropping huge things to set up the 2.0 story wow)

[taniahylian]

Who is Bessmert

So, I bet all of us have wondered, since the "Notes on Shouri" event trrailer was announced, who exactly is Bessmert. After all, being an important character, but not playable, and with a very mysterious past and abilities, Bessmert is quite intriguing indeed. And now I'm gonna tell you who I think she is.

Fair warning though, this is a bit long, but I promise it's worth the read, so please stick with me until the end!

Let's start with the most basic evidence: Her appearence. She's tall, has grey hair, dresses in a typical exlorer garment with a big black coat over it, and has her eyes covered with a white cloth. But, most importantly, she looks quite similar to Vertin, and that's just where the similarities start.

Their accents are pretty much the same, as well as the calm way in which they talk most of the time, and they are very smooth talkers; able to convince people of almost anything.

Bessmert's team seems to be aware of this as well, since Krolik even requests she doesn't speak before they vote about going back, no doubt fearing she'll convince them to keep going.

Later on we also see her use this ability to convince Getian to help them solve the Lushu situation instead of running away, similar to what Vertin has done with Druvis and Jessica, for example.

Now, aside from this almost supernatural manner of speach, Bessmert is also similar to Vertin when it comes to her arcane abilities; she also doesn't fight directly, but is able to sense arcanum in various ocassions, something we've only seen Vertin do in canon, and that other characters have remarked how rare of an ability it is.

However, unlike Vertin, she can sense even more than just arcane skills, like nature-related phenomena, the environment around her, and even the intent behind other people's actions. To the point that she's able to walk around freely without having her sight.

I believe this might be because Bessmert is an adult, more experienced arcanist, but also because her blindness might amplify her abilities, since she uses it to make up for her lack of sight.

Although of course here there's the issue if she's even an arcanist at all... or perhaps something else entirely.

Getian tells her, as they are waiting for the miracle of "Ask and acquire", that the pattern he saw in her bones is unlike anything he's ever seen and, therefore, he can't read them. He also said tit unnerved him to the point of wanting to run away. This makes me think that Bessmert might be especial in some way, perhaps in the same way Vertin is; being immune to the storm, and there is evidence for this, surprisingly.

First of all; most of the places we know about that are a "safe zone" to the storm have one common feature; a fog or something that makes people hallucinate, get exited and/or pass out. These features are all present in Vertin's suitcase, the Uluru stadium and the Aperion cave. Not only that, but we can assume the agent responsible for this effect is Asymetric Nucleide R, a compound that is also found on the Manus masks and on the storm raindrops.

Why is this relevent to Bessmert? Well, it seems like Pei City is actually surrounded by the same kind of fog as that in Aperion and Vertin's suitcase, and the origin of it is the temple where people used to go for the Divination.

Now, Bessmert acts surprised when hearing this explanations from Jiu, and we can especulate that it's because she has been to one of such places before, but regardless, we know she and her team encountered such fog before arriving to Pei City.

After following the direction Yenisei's skill tells them has the strongest arcane energy in the area, they arrive to a place where everything suddenly changes; it's different, odd, surrounded by a weird fog and, most importantly, makes them very tired to the point of almost passing out.

However, Bessmert remains unaffected by it all. She especulates it might be because she's used to high altitudes, but they're going downhill, so I doubt that's the case. Plus, even when we see Yenisei's vision getting cloudy and that she almost can't go on anymore, Bessmert remains compleatly unaffected.

This is all reminiscent of Vertin being compleatly unaffected in the suitcase's spinning wheel area, the Aperion cave and the Uluru Stadium, while others pass out pretty quickly, and it leads me to think that Bessmert, very likely, is also immune to the storm.

And there's one last piece of evidence here: Bessmert's name, which in Russian means "Without Death" or "Immortal", and likely has something to do with her ability to survive even the ends of multiple eras. Although I also think this isn't her real name for two reasons: firstly it'd be far too convinient, and also she's very likely not Russian, but Britlish. Why? Because every other Russian character has a Russian accent, while Bessmert's accent is distinctively British.

So what does all this evidence point towards? I think we all know the answer, right? Bessmert is, very likely, Vertin's mother, or at the very least related to Vertin in some way. But considering Vertin is searching for her mother since the beginning of the prologue, and all we know about that woman is that she's "special" (Constantine's words) and the Foundation tried to cover up her existance, this mysterious woman with a lot of characteristics similar to Vertin's seems like the prime candidate.

But that's not all. I'm about to tell u some other theories about who Bessmert is that, although might not be as impressive as being Vertin's mom, are also interesting.

First: She's Urd. Yes, the explorer that went to Aperion and then wrote a travel note about it. First of all because it really seems something that Bessmert would do; travel to a remote island in search of a mysterious cave that grants answers (like Ask and Acquire). But also because Urd is very likely a pseudonym, since Urd is a type of *bean* from Asia.

And finally... Notes on Shouri isn't Bessmert's debut on the R1999 events. In fact, she appeared at the start of the very first event; The theft of the rimet cup.

In case you need a refresher, the event starts up with the newspaper boy trying to sell a newspaper to a "lady in black", who then turns around and the boy notices she's blind.

At this point, the lady asks him to read the news for her, promising to pay for it, which he obliges. Now, we never see her face, but we hear her voice, and it's eerily similar to Bessmert's.

Not only that, but that same voice finishes up the event, apparently dictating an article about the events we see unfold thoughout the story for the UTTU magazine.

Now, of course Pandora Wilson is the main editor of UTTU, but I wouldn't be surprised if Bessmert sometimes wrote articles for it as well, since she's so knowledgable about arcanists, and has traveled all over the world.

So yeah, I believe Bessmert is this mysterious voice in the rimet cup event as well.

But what do you think? Am I overthinking about this one npc way too much? XD. Let me know in the comments!

[kane-turu]

Comfort

[definesanity]

Off The Shore, And Knee-Deep In The River

Please Note: This can be read in either interpretation. I am not going to say which is the correct one, for there isn't one, it's simply your choice.

Yenisei did not mind Madam Bessmert, initially.

When she was introduced to the investigation team, she kept her thoughts to herself on them; but it was Bessmert who truly caught her eye.

Because, ironically, it was her eyes that caught her own.

"If you do not mind me asking, Madam," she had asked the tall lady, "Do you need me to... help you?"

Bessmert instantly caught on, and gave a smile. "That is, if you do not mind doing so, child... ah, Енисе́й, now, correct?"

"Correct, Madam; and, remember, do not hesitate. We are here to help."

And from there, their trek began.

And Yenisei learning many of Bessmert's talents and habits.

The first, of which is the most simple to explain, is her senses other than sight being heightened. It made for interesting conversations around a campfire, as Bessmert relayed what she heard to Yenisei, who was drawing the surrounding area.

Bessmert, one day, asked Yenisei about herself.

Yenisei... did not know how to reply. Then, naturally, she thought of one: "Perhaps... I can describe myself to you?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you." Bessmert smiled often around Yenisei; the former Russian noble allowed her to relax.

"My complexion is rather pale; my eye colour is that of blue, and my hair is the length down to my knees. Oh, and it is... plain red, I believe? A desaturated red."

Bessmert hummed, taking in the information. "What an interesting appearance... while I wished I could have seen it for myself, I am comfortable with merely imagining it."

"You... were not always blind?"

The words tumbled out of the girl's mouth faster than she could hope to stop them. Even then, Bessmert did not look offended.

"No; it happened roughly a decade ago. I have gotten used to it, now."

The answer was short. But Yenisei did not press.

It was not her place to question the Madam.

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

Bessmert carried many strange qualities; talking often was one of them.

Yenisei could not remember the amount of times she has watched and saved Bessmert from falling down a hill, into water, and many others.

Yenisei did not mind the talking, however. It felt nice, and Yenisei had always been a listener than a chatter.

"I smell..." Bessmert did not sniff; or rather, Yenisei did not see her do so. "...Hm, a mixture of fragrances; frosty water, oakmoss, Geranium and... ginger?"

Yenisei looked perplexed, trying to figure out where the Madam had smelled these... oh.

Yenisei then realised it was herself.

"A-Apologies, Madam, that... might be me." Yenisei was not bashful, but even then, she was glad Bessmert could not see the light red dusting her cheeks.

"Is that so?" Bessmert replied. Then, a smile appeared on her face. "Well, you certainly have a unique scent, Yeni."

Yenisei turned more red. "M-Madam?!"

It was there, Yenisei realised later, that this was when Bessmert started to refer to her as 'Yeni'.

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

Yenisei still was surprised at how quickly and easily Bessmert could create a story and lie.

But what surprised her more was Bessmert's strength.

During the events of Péi City, Yenisei took to fighting. Of course, when the Beasts of Yin and Yang appeared, it was her, Bessmert and Getian fighting.

And when a shield of pure Arcane energy protected her from a bolt of thunder, she looked at Bessmert in shock.

"I can't see it... but I can sense it." she stated calmly. Like a calm wave in a tsunami, an actor from a previous stage now in a new role.

Yenisei composed herself. She won't allow any harm to befall anyone; even to the one who caused this mess.

Yet, she will have ask later...

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

It felt strange, when she was a Lushu.

What made it weirder was how natural it felt, galloping on all fours. Granted, she was a Lushu, so...

She walked to the campsite, looking at the flame and the only one sitting by it.

"Madam?" Yenisei spoke gently. Bessmert's head turned to her, and she smiled.

"Ah, Yeni. Are you feeling more refreshed?"

Yenisei gave a nod, not that Bessmert could see it. "Yes. But... why are you still up?"

"I couldn't sleep." she replied simply. "That's all there is too it."

It wasn't, Yenisei could tell from a glance. Bessmert is good at hiding things. From everyone but Yenisei.

"Bessmert," Yenisei said, as the Madam looked at her quickly. "Please. You need to rest."

"..." Bessmert looked away. And then, sighed. "I... might. I might."

Yenisei looked at her. "Madam..."

"...I will, trust me."

She can only hope.