I haven't read ChainsawMan in a long time, but I really love this moment. I wanted to redraw it with an envious CK, who cares more about his father loving him than some old man
something something Cruel King x journalist or antiquarian!reader orrrr magical girl reader orrrr reader not being used to the cold…cough cough…weezes…blah 😋😋😋
also HI MOOOTIEEE!! how does it feel to have such peak interests
- @fishermanshook
Cruel King x Antiquarian!reader
ik we're moots but OMG I was SHOCKEDD when I saw this in my inbox, anyways, thank yewwww this req is very lovely and fun to write
WARNINGS: very minor violence (Antiquarian's lore but you still have to squint), ooc, no beta, cringe🦄, some personal interpretation from Antiquarian's lore since it's still a little vague for me. Slightly unhealthy behavior (Cruel King being influenced by the voices)
CONTENT: headcanons with small fics in between, They/them and You/yours for reader, reader's ethnicy isn't specified, but I mean, it's somewhat an important part of Antiquarian's lore. {reader} isn't really Player, I made this thinking about the fic being set before Player going back in time.
Headcanons
• I kind of have an idea of how {reader} even ended up in Blackrock^^
Everything you had was taken away, your family, your home and your stability, you were the last remanent of everything that once was part of the {L/N} family. Was it luck on misfortune that followed you? Sometimes it was hard to tell, especially when your life was a constant of ups and downs.
No matter where you were, where you had to stay, be it the streets, from a house, to the streets again; you knew you had to let go of the past, your failed attempt at getting revenge from the emperor was enough of a lesson. Now, all you wished was to continue living a somewhat peaceful life as an antiquarian, you had a stable job, you didn't have to live as an assassin anymore, and you could finally build connections again, one of those being your dear friend, Tang Si.
But those calm days didn't seem to last long.
After Tang Si's disappearance, you had to see more and more of her family's antique shops closing one by one. You couldn't leave it just as that, and so, you started searching for any signs of your friend. And rumors about Tang Si's whereabouts led you to the Blackrock Kingdom.
It's people seemed welcoming, and besides comments about how your appearance was a sign of you being a foreigner, all of the citizens you had met seemed like good people. But you weren't in Blackrock to for that, you needed any clue about where your friend could be.
• I really like this pairing, two people who are very intimidating but are actually more kind than they seem and have a really strong sense of justice. Though, I do see some differences, Cruel King is a softhearted person behind his icy (ha) facade. While I see Qi Shiyi!Reader as someone who's reputation is similar to the king's and despite also having a softer side, they'd still be more reserved than Cruel King.
• And Cruel King doesn't mind any of that, as long as you're happy he doesn't see a need to worry, especially if under the ice dagger's influence (but I feel like in that case it would be for the wrong reasons that he wouldn't mind the way you don't interact with many).
• Normally, he's supportive of you continuing to look for your friend, but under the Ice Dagger's influence, the voices would make him worried about where you're going. He wouldn't ever force you to do something, but sometimes, when he finds himself accidentally giving in to those ideas the voices have been feeding him, Cruel King would sometimes ask you if you ever thought of giving up in your search and simply settling with him in Blackrock. When he realizes what he's been saying Cruel King really regrets that, considering how dear that friend is to you, so he makes sure to apologize even if you say it's okay.
• You two balance each other out very well, one takes care of the other even while both often neglect themselves (two hypocrites/hj). Cruel King doesn't want you to drown yourself in thoughts about your past, and {reader} would often be the one who's there to keep him from neglecting himself while taking care of the kingdom.
• His petnames for you are usually reserved for when you two are alone, things like "my dearest", "my love" or "beloved". In public, he'd either just refer to you as "my partner", and if it ever evolves to that point "my spouse".
• Sometimes he finds himself wishing to protect you from whatever harm his mind can come up with, but he knows better, he acknoledges your strenght and trusts your judgement despite the need to keep you safe.
• As I said, he trusts you, and makes sure to take your opinions into consideration, your resentment towards the corrupt upper class made him sometimes feel paranoid of becoming something you'd hate, that thought is something that is often in the back of his mind when making decisions related to Black Rock.
• Cruel King is often worried about if he's being a good partner, he knows he's not able to be as present as he wished to be and when he is, he's usually tired, so reassurance is very much appreciated from him.
• As a ghost, I feel like when he isn't somewhere else in a battle, Cruel King would be following you around as sad as it is to not be able to touch you anymore, he's happy to finally join you in outside of the kingdom.
Bonus ^o^
ACHOO!
Gosh, as much as you have learned to love Blackrock and it's people, there was one thing that you felt like it would take eons to get used to, the constant and merciless cold. And being in a relationship with Cruel King, the wielder of the Ice Dagger, didn't help a lot and it didn't take long for Cruel King himself to notice.
You tried to keep your front, but there was no point in hiding. He almost let out a chuckle when he saw you trying to hide a shiver while you two stood together in the throne room —There are no guards around, my dear {reader}. Is the cold bothering you?— his tone was lighthearted, all in hopes of making you relax a little.
Your quiet nod was all that he needed, Cruel King carefully sat up from his throne and removed his mantle from his shoulders and putting the royal garment over your shoulders. The sight made him let out a small smile, the feeling was warm enough to feel like his cold self was melting, he made sure to make a mental note to request more winter costumes for you.
I did some research, and apparently Antiquarian, in her Bai ze skin, wears a type of clothers that is called Qizhuang, and it was a type of clothing for colder weather. So I like to imagine that, out of all your outfits, that one is Cruel King's favorite, he finds you beautiful no matter what you wear, but it's clear how much his mood lightens up when you wear it.
There's also the Wangzai crossover skin, it seems like it would be very comfy for the cold, but it's a crossover skin so I'm not sure, but yeah, he's also happy for you either way. ("Sure, my dearest. I support your partnership with the snack and beverages brand ^^" and now Blackrock has an official sponsor/j)
:disappears for a whole week: Hey, lovelies! I was actually enjoying the carnival instead of posting yesterday, sorry- Anyways, exams have been killing me.
Demo One Characters & You ((separate and together included))
Contains :: self-aware characters,, Shed being clingy and silly,, Noobador having romantic or platonic implications depending on how you view it,, mentions of death and immortality with Cruel King
I'm gonna make each of the demos separate for the sake of uploading them quicker rather than all in one and having you wait forever for a big post with each character,, sorry for the long wait (⊃_ ̫ _)⊃
Shedletsky
Already did a post about him here,, but there is still a bit I can go on about with him contained to just demo one
I can picture the demo starting as it normally would,, nothing out of the ordinary. If you actually want to progress,, then your objective would simply change to 'go back to Shedletsky'
Assume that since it's demo one Shedletsky's only motivation would be curiosity as he wouldn't have any other input from you other than you fighting Red and Blue for him and sending you off on your journey. Why you specifically if you're in a public server? Random chance,, maybe.
A fun idea could also be that maybe Shedletsky being part of the game means that he can see ahead and is aware of what's in each demo that has been released. And he doesn't like that he's barely there. You're the one he's latched onto and you get to free roam and he doesn't, he's just stuck in a basement in a wheelchair. It's not fair!
He wants to keep you with him so he can't lose the only difference he can experience. Would you really wanna keep him in the basement for hours or maybe weeks until you're done with the demo to come back to him, just so he can send you away again?
And now you're stuck with a sentient NPC who may or may not genuinely think it's the year 2010 and will be confused when you act like it's not,, because it's not. Talking is all he can do,, so it's all you two do.
That is until he catches on that maybe you'd like to just play the damn game and he doesn't want you to feel bored of him,, so he finds a way to make it so you both get what you want: freedom.
You get to play the game,, and he tags along by fiddling with the code to make it so he can follow you like Builderman or Calypso. What,, you wanna who Calypso is? …Wait a couple demos to find out.
Shedletsky might just accidentally spoil things for you if you're a new player,, though he will try to restrain himself.
—
Noobador
I find Noobador to be a more interesting idea as he isn't seen for long and really only gets more character in demo three,, so the same idea of demo-knowledge will be used
Being just a mini-boss is hard,, Noobador knows that he gets more time in demo three but it's still frustrating to him because he doesn't get a call card,, it's his nephew and niece who do. They get to help you while he fades into the background. He should be happy for them,, and he is,, but he just wished he got more time with you earlier.
Noobador's way of getting your attention would be to make you rely on him. He would force you to stay at a low level by going ahead to areas you haven't gotten to yet and defeating all enemies. Try as you may to get the enemies to respawn,, he won't let you gain a single shred of xp.
Being in a party with friends won't help either as Noobador would make their games crash. The only way you'll be able to play the game is if you are playing with him and him alone. He is the strongest. You need him.
Perhaps to cheer you up he would make Red and Blue more active,, not near the level of self-awareness Noobador is at but enough to be lively. Talking to them and getting actual responses would be possible,, and Noobador would leave your side temporarily to scout ahead or whatever flimsy excuse he think is believable. He just wants to spy on you and see if you act any different when he's not around,, maybe to see you enjoy the banter Red and Blue drag you into.
Aren't you all just a happy family? : )
—
Cruel King
Oh,, Cruel King. Yeah,, he might be the worst one here. The Ice Dagger is to be blamed for this as combined with self-awareness,, he is practically getting egged on to try and defy the inevitable,, to try and defy you.
You are the reason why he's going to die. His actions are pointless,, his kingdom will be gone no matter what he does and he'll still be a gross mimic of life after you get his call card in demo two.
The Ice Dagger says otherwise. He still has power,, even more so given his direct connection to the game does he not? Cruel King doesn't have to meet his end in his own throne room. He can beat you,, and his kingdom will be saved.
The second you leave the Meadows,, things are immediately different. There are no caves,, there is no Roadtown,, just the snowy thicket. The enemies are a lot tougher than they have any right to be regardless if you have hard mode on or not. The map is different,, almost like a maze. And there is a snowstorm that makes it very hard to move,, spamming your dash being the only way to move quicker yet not enough to outrun enemies. He wants you to quit.
If you continue to persist,, either by grinding like hell in meadows or getting in a party you can progress over time. The only issue would be you actually moving around as your map is entirely different from what others see. Cruel King is only after you as it's your particular save he's sentient in.
After a grueling amount of time,, Blackrock Castle is reached and you are alone. It is completely silent as you explore the castle,, void of any NPCs at all. Perhaps when you defeat Cruel King,, all will go back to normal and you can have a normal Block Tales experience.
You make it to the throne room and it is not any more normal than the snowy thicket you had to go through. The entire room is a mess and entirely frozen and at the end of it,, you see a large throne where Cruel King sits,, the Ice Dagger in his hand.
Turns out the plan for preventing you from ever defeating Cruel King was cancelled. If you were to never defeat him,, you would never progress and therefore would stop playing because you need the Ice Dagger. If you stopped playing,, then the game would be frozen in place and cease to function. He can't win like this.
Well,, if he can't win then why not join you?
If he aids in your playthrough by being the sword you need,, you keep playing and he lives forever. You need the Ice Dagger and he's its guardian,, you need him.
It's selfish what he's doing,, going along with you only to keep the game functioning but remaining in control of the Ice Dagger as it continues to taunt him with the worst possibilities and the ways he could still die and lose everything. The coldness he feels is still there and yet with you,, things feel just a bit warmer.
He just doesn't want to die,, surely you can understand,, right?
—
ALL
Well,, this is certainly a situation to think about.
If they all fight over you,, then the game is just unplayable as they all force your location to them. You can't even take a step without being instantly teleported to another spot. Hell,, they would even try to get rid of each other only to fail each time.
When things settle and they attempt to come to an agreement,, it's still reluctant as they all want you for different reasons.
To Shedletsky you are his only true company,, Noobador believes you are in need of his protection,, and Cruel King wants to live forever through you.
Now you just have an overpowered and overbearing party. I can see a bit of infighting going on if someone believes that they aren't getting enough time with you.
The one I think would be the most prone to jealousy would be Shedletsky as,, while he enjoys the new company,, he already knows everything about Noobador and Cruel King. You're his person of interest as you come from a whole new world,, literally. A lot of the time he would be passive aggressive with the others while trying to redirect your attention to him,, even talking a bit of trash to reinforce to you how much better he is. At least with Shedletsky,, you can actually have fun.
Noobador would use Red and Blue to cause some trouble with Shedletsky and Cruel King to further his desires of having to rely on him. The incompetent Shedletsky and paranoid Cruel King cannot provide you with the safety he can. Noobador would especially keep an eye on Cruel King,, as at least with Shedletsky he knows you won't be hurt by him. If Noobador has to deal with things himself,, then he will. Just go with Red and Blue… Shedletsky and Cruel King will catch up after Noobador has a private conversation with them.
If you thought Cruel King was bad on his own,, he gets worse with other sentient characters. Any confidence he had about being in control of his fate is shattered as the power he has is now on par with two others. The Ice Dagger tells him that Shedletsky and Noobador could plot against him and discover a way to rid him from Block Tales entirely. Now desperate,, Cruel King clings to you like a lifeline as it is what you are to him. You need him so you won't let him die,, you can't. He tries to not let his fears show,, acting like the king he is and the king he will forever be. He's stoic and doesn't try to be friendly with them at all,, any information they gain about him that they don't already know could be used against him,, he's sure of it. Every move he makes is calculated as he presents himself to be the responsible one who wants to help you proceed. If he works hard to put the others in line,, he's proving himself to you and that he deserves to live,, isn't he?
I just can't view this group working well together at all.
Second of all is there a specific character from Blockytales you wanna write for?
So real!!! Especially us brazilian Hellsing fans ^o^
Also, I don't really have any specific characters in mind, you guys are free to request whatever <3 But my personal favorites are Cruel King, Noobador and McCool!
