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sha-n-dowbannedlol · 1 month

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Wriothesley — the art of body language

cw: feat neuvillette, references to neuvi's story quest (sorry, i just finished it, loved it very much) other than that nothing rlly, just fluff

an: i cant believe i havent written anything for wrio yet??? thats unacceptable, considering i main him (and jing yuan too, all because ono daisuke voices them... jotaro brainrot goes crazy)

It had come to Iudex Neuvillette's attention that there is still much he needs to learn about the enigma that are humans. Following his recent revelations as to his role in Fontaine and relationship with its citizens, he thought it'd be nice if he gets to know them better.

It hadn't escaped his knowledge that sometimes, things would fly over his head. Things said in jest, he ends up taking seriously before realizing at a later time that it was in good humor.

Sometimes, he doesn't realize that his silence had ended up causing the other party feel awkward, and even then, he doesn't know what to do or talk about when they do.

And so, he started by studying the little things. Their expressions, their body language—It had first came up in a conversation with the head nurse of the Fortress of Meropide, Sigewinne.

During one of her rare vacations where she visits the overworld and checks on the Chief Justice in worry that he may be overworking himself again.

Sigewinne talks about the things she has learned from observing the expressions from the workers in the Fortress, and with her observant gaze, she notices just how interested the Chief Justice seems even if from an outsider's point of view, he just looks like he's sporting the same, neutral expression.

At that, Sigewinne brought it upon herself to share the things that she has learned, but he can see the slight furrow on Neuvillette's brow, his fingers on his chin, deep in thought as he tries to picture out the expressions that she's describing.

Thinking to herself, the head nurse thinks of someone that she can describe well enough but also someone that Neuvillette knows fairly well to help him picture out what she's saying—and one person easily comes to mind.

"Take His Grace, for example." Sigewinne mentions, and the Iudex looks up with his eyes widening the slightest bit.

"Wriothesley?" He echoes.

"Yeah!" The melusine chirps happily, smiling widely at Neuvillette.

"If you show him that one human you always send from the Gardes, you can notice a few things from his body language that you wouldn't notice if you're not looking closely."

Which leads to the mentioned Duke now sitting in Neuvillette's office in Palais Mermonia, a tea cup in hand. After all, if Neuvillette were to learn, it'd be better if he sees it for himself, no?

Wriothesley was in the middle of his sentence when a knock reverberates in the room, coming from the door to the entrance to the office. Still holding onto his teacup, the Duke glances at the door, before looking back at the man before him, not surprised by the knock at the very least, as if he had been expecting it.

"Monsieur," Wriothesley spoke in his usual polite tone towards the Chief Justice, "Are we expecting someone else?"

His icy gaze are calculating as they meet Neuvillette's gaze, the Iudex shaking his head, sighing as he looks back to meet the man's calculating gaze.

"Pardon me, it's just some business. It'll be quick." Neuvillette apologizes politely, to which Wriothesley nods and shrugs, taking a sip from his tea cup. Taking that as his 'go ahead' signal, the judge turns his head to his office door and spoke.

"Please, come in."

Neuvillette was quick to glance at Wriothesley from the corner of his eyes as the door opens. And as you came into view, he notices the way the Duke's eyes widened slightly in surprise, quietly choking on his tea but managing to gather himself again in a split second.

"Chief Justice." You spoke in a formal, polite tone, eyes glued to the man who nods in return, before you eventually noticed the other person in the room.

Again, Neuvillette observes Wriothesley.

"Your Grace," You also greet the Chief Justice's guest politely.

True to Sigewinne's words, The Lord Incognito sat with his back a little straighter, his chest puffing out as he oh so gently puts his tea cup down on its saucer, his voice laced with a tad bit of warmth as he spoke your name in greeting.

"Is it a bad time?" You asked, eyes glancing over the tea cups laid on the table between the two men, "I'm sorry for interrupting your meeting."

But before Neuvillette could reassure you that you weren't at fault, and that it was all his for having called for you, Wriothesley was quick to respond.

"Nonsense," Wriothesley didn't even hesitate to reassure you that he doesn't mind, a small genuine smile gracing his lips. "We're just sharing some words over tea, would you like a cup?"

"Thank you, Your Grace. But I couldn't possibly." You respond as you take steps closer, closing the door behind you as you fully enter the office.

"I insist." Wriothesley hums, already reaching out for a third tea cup that has been conveniently brought out by Neuvillette despite the fact that there were only two of them.

You raise your hand, about to protest but was cut off by the Chief Justice, your boss himself.

"You're no strangers to each other, please do share a cup," Neuvillette spoke as he looked at you with a nod before standing up from his seat. "Excuse me while I look for the file that our latest convict needs—I seem to have mixed it with other files."

An obvious lie. The Chief Justice is a neat person, everything has a place and everything is in their rightful place, but neither of them questioned it as Neuvillette offers his seat to you before moving over towards his desk where the paperworks to process the latest criminal lay.

He took this opportunity to study the scene before him, as he pretends to shuffle papers here and there.

Diluted pupils. Eye contact. Mirroring your actions. A smile never leaving his face. Leaning on the table. And.... uh huh. That's the third time Wriothesley tried to fix his hair in the past five minutes.

Neuvillette blinks as he observes the way the Duke handles himself around your presence, and he is sure that if Wriothesley had a tail, it'd be wagging happily right about now.

Eventually, the Iudex returned to rejoin your small party. A small smile was plastered on both your and the Duke's faces as you engaged in your own little world, both pairs of eyes landing on him as he penetrated your little bubble.

"I've found it," He spoke in his usual neutral tone, and you gave him a nod.

The ever gentleman that he is, Neuvillette thought nothing of it as his hands moved with sophisticated grace, pulling your chair out for you and offering you his hand to help you stand. He was just being polite. And being used to his actions, you didn't hesitate to take his hand as you stood. But...

Ah.

Neuvillete can't help but notice Wriothesley's gaze fixated on your hand in his grasp, the smile on his face gone, just his pale, icy gaze staring a hole into the Chief Justice's fingers around your hand.

Tense. On guard. Almost reminiscent of a guard dog meeting a stranger and gauging whether they are a threat or not.

Interesting.

The man let go of your hand to give you the paperwork you had come for, giving you another nod, your gazes now locked with each other's.

"Here you go,"

"Thank you, Monseiur."

You receive the files, opening your mouth to bid your farewell to both men in the room when the sound of the chair sliding against the floor sounded, and both your attention snapped towards Wriothesley who was letting out a loud sigh.

"Ah, would you look at the time?" Wriothesley suddenly announces loudly, as if making sure both of their attentions are on him. "It's getting late."

Neuvillette's head subtly tilts to the side in curiosity at Wriothesley's sudden actions. Trying to figure out what has the man so tense, quietly thinking to himself.

Is this what they call envy? No, envy isn't precisely the correct term...

Ah. Jealousy. That's the term.

"I should get going. Thank you for this afternoon, Monsieur Neuvillette." The Duke spoke, approaching the both of you, snapping the said man out of his thoughts, who turned to face him.

"The pleasure was all mine. I'm grateful for your time as well," The Chief Justice responds,

"I'll be on my way as well," You spoke your farewells to your boss, and Neuvillette watched as Wriothesley turned to face you this time, speaking your name in a soft tone.

"You'll be escorting an inmate to the Fortress, no?" Wriothesley spoke with a slight hint of amusement in his voice, his eyes on you as you nodded to confirm his questions.

"I am, but I'd have to pick them up first." You respond as you turn to walk towards the exit, Wriothesley hot on your heels like a puppy happily following its owner

"I'll go with you, then."

"That might not be a good idea, Your Grace. They might get intimidated."

"Well, they'll just have to deal with it, won't they? They'll be seeing more of me in Fortress of Meropide; they should get used to it."

Neuvillette watched your exchange, the Duke opening the door for you, closing it behind him, and your voices became muffled. The Hydro Sovereign stands in place, placing a hand on his chin as he thinks.

"And what kind of emotion does Wriothesley portray when around them?" Neuvillette had asked Sigewinne after she happily detailed every minuscule movement that Wriothesley does consciously and unconsciously in your presence.

"That is what humans refer to as romantic love." Sigewinne beams up happily at him, and he nods, making sure to make an internal note of that.

"So that was love." Neuvillette nods to himself, eyes still glued to the door where you and Wriothesley exited. Funnily enough, Wriothesley wasn't the only one he ended up observing.

From his observations, he can quickly tell that you had the same body language as the Duke throughout your entire conversation, a stark contrast to your more rigid and mechanical body language when speaking to him.

That day, oh so casually, the Chief Justice confirmed and gave his judgment on both of you based on the observed facts.

"They're in love with each other." Neuvillette concluded.

"And neither of them know."

#wriothesley x reader #wrio x reader #wriothesley #wriothesely x reader #genshin wriothesley #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin imagines

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xcerizex · 2 months

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Lovebrush Chronicles: Godheim Review

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My very long, informal, and definitely biased review. This will contain minor spoilers for the Godheim arc only so take caution. This review is also only limited to the Godheim series so there will be no overall thoughts on the game itself. I followed Otome Kitten's format and I really hope it helps out any beginners to LBC.

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ART:

I found the art very pretty and was extremely glad to see that they did not skip out on giving us CGs either! The sprites all looked good, but I personally have some issues with Lars' outfit (the orange did not look good on you sweetie 💀).

Not all CGs are drawn by the same artist however, which may be off putting for some. The total count number of proper CG's for each route (not including common route) boils down to around 4-5, so that also may be a pet peeve for some.

On another note, there are also mini CG's which appear as small boxes, whether you consider it as an actual CG is up to you. Personally, I enjoyed the roles they played towards aiding the narrative.

Unrelated note, I'm banging on the floor crying and wondering who the hell did Ayn's CGs (the one where he was cleaning his sword was my absolute favorite 😍) and why didn't they come back.

MUSIC:

If there's one aspect of the game that I shall praise to the ends of the earth, it's the music.

Colour me shocked when I listened to the intricate and deep soundtracks for the first time, they just took my breath away! There were many gorgeous orchestral scores that depicted the fantasy setting perfectly. Not to mention the battle ost's which had more effort put into them than necessary.

My personal favorite OST's would be the "River's End", and "Starry Sky", which plays the same tune as the OP song you hear when you log onto the game. It's honestly so iconic. 😭👌

Opening theme:

youtube

VOICE ACTING:

I was absolutely flummoxed by the stacked japanese voice cast, which all included extremely famous seiyuus from the otome industry:

1. Ayn Alwyn

[JP VA: KENN]: Shelby Snail (Cupid Parasite), Yukimaro (9R.I.P), Limbo (Bustfellows)

2. Alkaid McGrath

[JP VA: Tachibana Shinnosuke]: Seiya (9R.I.P), Henri (Piofiore), Rafayel (Love and Deepspace)

3. Lars Rorschach

[JP VA: Junichi Suwabe]: Artem (Tears of Themis), Van Helsing (Code: Realize), Sukuna (Jujutsu Kaisen)

4. Clarence Clayden

[JP VA: Kosuke Toriumi]: Rei Mukuni (CollarXMalice), Ichiya (Variable Barricade), Chojiro (Nightshade)

5. Cael Anselm

[JP VA: Daisuke Hirakawa]: Saint Germain (Code: Realize), Tower Overlord (Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk), Lucas Proust (Virche Evermore)

COMMON ROUTE:

To my delight, the pacing was done very well. Nothing was dragged out and the introduction to the overall plot of the game was well established minus a certain plot point which definitely could have benefited better by being introduced in the common route itself.

I didn't really expect it to turn out as dark as it did however. The common route + modern prologue took me around a total estimation of more than 4 hours but in reality the prologue itself shouldn't take that long at all.

ROUTE ORDER:

Once you've completed the common route, you are given the option to start either Ayn's or Alkaid's route. After you've completed both, Lars' route is unlocked. And once you've finished all three routes, Clarence's route unlocks as the grand finale.

This was my personal playthrough and I wouldn't have changed it if given the chance. I believe it had the best flow of story progression. Though that was mainly because I wouldn't have enjoyed Alkaid's route as much if I'd played Ayn's first:

Alkaid = Ayn = Lars = Clarence

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AYN ALWYN:

- Crown Prince of Godheim

- Tsundere

- Sweet tooth ❤️

Ayn is Lars's cousin, but you soon find out that there is not a hint of familial love between them. He shows up as a mysterious figure during the common route and portrays a conflicting character, making the heroine unsure of his standing. While he appears blunt and crude, he is a determined young man who's sworn vengeance, and with an unexpected love for sweets.

Ayn's route in my opinion had the best consistent pacing as well as romance. I did find the romance somewhat abrupt early in the story, but the strong chemistry between him and the heroine more than made up for it! 🥰 It was just so enjoyable to watch them banter with one another and watching them just click.

I enjoyed the storyline for this route a lot and I think it had something to do with the fact that Ayn's route provided a different perspective in comparison to the others. In this route, we learn more about the the political situation surrounding Godheim and the royal family.

I also loved Ayn as a character, and not unexpectedly became my oshi ❤️.I do think a lot of people will enjoy him as a love interest. His route also has a wee bit of spice 👀, so for y'all thirsty gamers be sure to savor it slowly, as it's the only bit of spice we're getting here lmao. I did find some of his actions, mostly in the bad ends, to be OOC, but I easily brushed it off seeing as how much I liked him.

ALKAID MCGRATH:

- Member of the Noventrate

- Good, sweet boi

- Tea

Devoted and caring, Alkaid is the mage assigned to guard the heroine during her stay in Godheim. He's always expressing his concern for the heroine and will do anything to help her, even if it means betraying his mission.

Alkaid is the character who the heroine interacts the most during the common route. His romance with the heroine was sweet, even if it did feel way over the top in it's initial stages when I first played it. But once I got to learn more about him, I realized that he truly just wanted the best for the heroine, romantic feelings aside. 🥺

The route was fine. But I personally wasn't the biggest fan of the direction (?) it took on halfway. Some parts of it felt irrational to me and didn't really feel like it had any real relevance to its own story.

On another note, Alkaid is such a dreamy man. 😩 I adore just how respectful of a man he is in general (women respect juice, bottoms up!), and it was so sweet how attentive he was in making sure the heroine was always out of harm's way. I guess you could say he was someone akin to a hero in fairytales.

LARS RORSCHACH:

- Emperor of Godheim

- Good at combing hair 🥰

- That chest doe 👀

Known as the "Tyrant Emperor" from the heroine's manga, he immediately sweeps her off her feet, claiming her as his bride the moment she first arrived at Godheim. While his initial impression was flirty and playful, he lives up to his name as a cold-blooded tyrant. For some aspects at least.

His route focused more on the Silver Knight, which was the main (and wrong) reason why I enjoyed his route so much! 😆 On that note, I think that the writers had a bone to pick with Lars. They just had to force him to share the spotlight with an intriguing side character lmfao. The route itself was paced and executed well for the majority, but the quality of the writing towards the end was slightly skewered.

But to be honest, I quite enjoyed Lars a lot as a character, rather than a love interest. It was interesting to see the conditions surrounding his birth as a tyrant and his motivations for his questionable actions.

That's not to say that the romance wasn't enjoyable. I actually quite liked the relationship between him and the heroine. I found some moments they shared together really sweet. I also adored the development of Lars' feelings, and you can see just how important the heroine's existence was to him at the end of the route.

Though I guess I would have found the romance more believable if the heroine articulated her feelings for Lars more. I found it difficult to see the romance from her side. In short, the romance wasn't it's strongest point.

Clarence Clayden:

- Godheim's Archmage

- Get the tissues

- I've never been the same since...

Clarence has somewhat poised himself as an antagonist, only giving leeway in Lars' route. Distant and cold, he is stubborn in wanting to use the heroine for his goal and is willing to sacrifice anything to achieve it.

This route was an emotional rollercoaster. It broke me down, dumped my heart 6ft underground, trampled on its grave, and then some. It left me broken for a whole week for real goodness gracious...😭

This route can probably considered the "True Route", seeing as how it tackles the problem straight on unlike in other routes. The pacing slows down a little bit for a few chapters, but once it picked itself back up, it picked up HARD.

Now let's get to the romance. Out of all routes, some may say it had the least sugary romance, and a part of me agrees. But do igaf? No! ❤️Clarence turned out to be such a longingly sweet character and despite all the harm and pain he's done, I have no qualms in forgiving him and wanting to love him with all my heart🥺, as does the heroine.

I honestly don't want to say too much as it may ruin the experience. I went into this route completely blind and boy was I glad. All I can say that this route was the most popular out of all the routes for good reason. Got me playing up to 2 am with no regrets.😆😭

CAEL ANSELM:

- The Silver Knight

- The bias wrecker

- The sus

- He ruined me...

He is known in Godheim as the Silver Knight as well as the leader of the Rebellion. Decisive and apathetic, the heroine is unable to affect him emotionally in any form.��

Cael does not have an actual route, but a personal story, labeled as Expedition from his POV which may serve as an epilogue to the Godheim series. In his story, any unanswered questions are explained here, as well as the many actions he took that did not make it on screen.

If this wasn't a review I'd spend one whole section brainrotting about him so be grateful I'm trying to keep this short. 😅 Cael is a surprisingly interesting character by nature and it was very liberating to finally get a glimpse of his true feelings and thoughts throughout the heroine's journey in Godheim.

I'm scared to say more in case it may ruin any surprises. In my opinion, I enjoyed his story a LOT! It definitely made me feel depressed and empty in its own way and it hurts my heart to see that he never got a route of his own for reasons I won't get into right now. Absolutely amazing and one of my favorite parts of the Godheim series!

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TRUE EPILOGUE:

Once you've finished all routes, the game will give you the option to choose one "True Ending", wherein you choose one of the boys to have a happily ever after with and by your own accord.

"One can only paint a world in which they believe in." 🥰

Please note that you can only choose one boy at a time. Your choice will then give you a Pictura based on which boy you choose.

To change your "True Ending", buy the Diadem from the shop to change your choice. You will not receive a different Pictura however.

I think the best thing about these endings were the music.😆 Each soundtrack was unique to each character and drop dead gorgeous to listen to. 😩

HEROINE (LITTLE PAINTER):

- Cheeky

- Anonymous manga author

- Needs a therapist (rly tho)

Despite China's strange attempts at creating self-insert heroines by leaving them nameless, the Little Painter was far from a blank slate! She's extremely relatable when it comes to her reactions and actions. Often times I would react a certain way to something an LI said or did, only for her to do the same thing! 🤣 I guess that could also count as a self-insert personality.

But if there's one thing I admire her greatly for, it would be her drive and determination to save Godheim. Her journey was far from easy and I doubt I could ever stay sane the way she did. Tbh, I didn't like the fact that her sufferings were never truly addressed properly, or rather, professionally ig?

I also found her quick adaptation and flexibility to her new environment extremely impressive. That goes the same to the way she wielded her powers for the first time. And how she grew stronger to go head to toe with even Clarence in his own route! You👏 Go👏Get👏 Em👏 Girl!

That said, she's not perfect. Some people found her to pushy and annoying though I personally found it okay. I was really glad how she didn't force herself to tolerate any crap and got that anger out rightfully.😆 (Asmoran deserved it...)

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Final Thoughts:

I have enjoyed my journey immensely! The whole premise and setting drew me in, and I was surprised with the impressive narration which absolutely pummeled me to the ground (mostly on Clarence's route and no I'm not shutting up abt that).

The localization was also really superb? Yes it had a few typos + mistakes here and there, but they really pulled out all the stops when it came to making the dialogue natural and relatable. Not to mention a few large words that even I don't understand. 😂

It's not without it's imperfections of course. There are definitely some issues with the writing. And if you're looking for heavy romance or even fluff, Godheim is not the place to go to. 😅

Playing the Godheim arc took me about a week-ish, considering I had to level up and such. It may be a tedious process for some, but for me, it was an iron gate which I violently shook every day, screaming for the next chapter.

All in all, it's definitely worth playing! You don't lose much anyway considering it's free, so just give it a try. You can always drop it if you don't like it. My rating for this game is also very much biased and should not be taken seriously:

8/10

#lovebrush chronicles #for all time #THIS TOOK ME SO LONG #also asmoran face censorship just because

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