#Ramza writes

[ramzawrites]

I can see you staring - Rise!Donatello x Reader

GEN

Pairings: Donatello x Reader

Characters included: Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael

Warnings: swearing

Series: A request!

Summary: When Donnie cooped himself up in his lab for ages, his brothers use their last weapon to get him out. Y/N. Y/N is one of the only ones that is able to keep up with his witty remarks which means when they get Donnie out of the lab, Leo and Mikey become wittnesses to a very interesting argument between the two that reveals a bit too much.

Word count: 2918

Authors Note: I hope you guys enjoy this one!

Request: Ohhh I've got a great idea. Rise Donnie with a reader who is sarcastic and snarky just like him. They are not as mean but dang do those two seem like a match made in heavenIf you need more of a prompt, they get into friendly banter  and reader slips up and says something like "well maybe I wouldn't stare so much if you weren't that god damn handsome!" . Donnie teases the heck out of them and it ends up in a frustrated "I like you, okay?!? Now shut up >////<" and it's as sappy an ending as you can get with Don 

“Why do you guys need my help? You are his brothers. How can I do anything about this?” Y/N crossed their arms in front of their chest, one eyebrow raised at three desperate looking turtle mutants.

Leo slung his arm around Y/N’s shoulders, pulling them closer, almost as if he tried to silently exchange secrets “Listen. We tried, we really did but frankly Donnie has way too much blackmail material on all of us and this time he didn’t even hesitate to threaten us with it.”

Y/N let out an amused snort “Then don’t do things that let you get blackmailed, easy as that.”

Mikey stepped to their other side, his mouth turned down into a frown “Please? He hasn’t eaten properly in days, and I think he only has slept maybe like an hour here and there. Someone has to pull him out of his lab, and we tried!”

When Raph also asked them in his most sincere tone “Please?” Y/N caved in.

“Alright. I’ll try since you guys think he could be listening to me. But you owe me. He can be nasty when he is so deep in his projects.”

Leo immediately let go of Y/N and lightly pushed them into the direction of Donnie’s lab “Good luck!”

Somehow, they felt like a lamb sent to the slaughterhouse. Sucks to be Donnie then because this lamb knew how to fight back.

Y/N walked up to Donnie’s lab and loudly drummed against the door, already knowing that he must have locked it. When he didn’t react Y/N tried even louder and more obnoxiously, drumming some sort of melody on the door.

“Donatello Hamato open the damn door!”

The magic words had been spoken. The door opening to their demand.

“Ah, open sesame.” Y/N spoke happily after the fact.

Donnie was sitting on his chair that he rolled over next to the door. His finger still on the button that opened it. He looked absolutely exhausted and annoyed. Even beneath his tired half lidded eyes Y/N could spot a murderous glint but Y/N was more concentrating on the bags beneath his eyes that they swore held almost the same color as his purple stripes. Open to the world for everyone to see since he didn’t wear his bandana.

“Oh, yikes.”

His arm fell down next to his side “Lovely to see you too, Y/N.”

He immediately turned around and begun rolling over to his workbench, but Y/N reacted faster, grabbing on the back of his chair to stop him.

“Nope. You are either getting a bite to eat and then you are going to bed, or you are going to bed and then grabbing a bite to eat.”

Judging by the way he groaned in annoyance he must have finally clocked why Y/N was really there. This was not a social visit as it seemed.

“How about a secret third option: Work.”

He tried to move along again but Y/N made sure to hold on to his chair with an iron grip. Normally Donnie would have no problem fighting against Y/N’s grip since he, as a ninja mutant turtle, was pretty strong but in his exhausted state he was struggling.

“Donnie, I am this close to just straight up roll you down to your room. If you go yourself, you can save some of your dignity.”

He hated how this struck a chord within him.

“I bet I could find embarrassing school pictures of you in just a few clicks, I promise I won’t do it if you leave me alone. I’m so close to finishing this project!”

He was at this point looking over his shoulder for Y/N’s reaction. Expecting them to finally back off but Y/N just smirked.

“Oh, go ahead. I was cute as a kid. I don’t mind people seeing it.”

“I still have that video of you falling into trash.”

He referenced a day where both they and Donnie hung out on the fire escape of Y/N’s apartment building. Y/N was sitting on the railing even though Donnie warned them that this was dangerous and yet they didn’t care and after a huge laughing fit Y/N fell down right into a huge trash bin and of course the lid of the bin had to also crash down on their head.

Donnie being Donnie who recorded almost everything, of course made sure to have a cut version on his phone of this moment from that day forward.

“Oh please, you’ve shown this video to everybody like twenty times. It lost its effect. Now come on Bootyyyshaker9000, do your name proud and move your butt into the kitchen.”

He grumbled something but did indeed finally get off his chair.

“Language, Donnie!” Y/N tried to mimic Raph best they could with voice and posture.

“You… heard that?” He asked, genuinely surprised.

Y/N let out a chuckle “Oh, no. I just know you better than you think I do.”

Before Donnie could make any kind of response to this, Y/N moved to his back and began pushing against his Battleshell.

At this point the purple clad ninja had given up and just began walking towards the kitchen. The way Y/N continued to push against his shell and would sometimes pull on his shoulders, they were kind of puppeteering him towards the room. As if he would try to flee and get back into the lab. Which he would have done if he wasn’t so exhausted.

Okay so maybe he was tired but that was a small price to pay when it meant that he could finish a new prototype in a timely manner.

Mikey and Leo were both in the kitchen when the two arrived. The two turtles gave Y/N a quick appreciative nod before turning their attention on Donnie.

“He lives!” Leo exclaimed loudly and quite theatrically. Almost acting like he was the mad scientist of the family.

Y/N steered Donnie to a chair at the kitchen island and finally let him go. Annoyed with this whole situation Donnie just slumped over on the table. The cool surface was actually quite welcoming on his skin.

“Here you go!” Mikey said cheerily as a plate got placed in front of his face.

Groggily getting back up, Donnie stared at the plate of pancakes “Pancakes? It’s like-“ he looked at the screen on his wrist only to wince “Uh… early.”

“One: You can eat pancakes at all hours of the day. It’s not just breakfast, man.” Mikey chided his brother “Two: Yes, it is breakfast time. Three: I’m glad Y/N managed to get you out when you clearly, at this point, lost any sense of time.”

“But why are you over here if it’s so early?” Donnie ignored his brother’s scolding, grabbing the fork next to the plate.

Y/N sputtered out a laugh “Man, I slept over here the last like four nights.”

“What?! How did I not notice?!”

“I’m joking, Don. It’s been only one night.”

“Yeah. I knew that. I would have noticed it because of my security system.” Donnie tried to cover up, finally digging into the food. Mikey had a proud grin on his face as he saw how Donnie cracked a smile at the taste.

Y/N made a point to sit across to him at the table, their elbows on the surface while they rested their chin on their hands “Mhm, that is why you knew that I slept over here in the first place.”

Once again Donnie looked at the screen on his wrist, tapping around on it until he seemed to find what he was looking for. What he was looking for was proof that they did indeed get into the lair yesterday and not this morning.

“Well, I did catch it!” He didn’t catch it, his system did though. So, good enough.

Y/N rolled their eyes as if they were able to read his mind and knew exactly what was going on “Just eat your pancakes, Donnie. You can’t fumble around when your mouth is stuffed. Less fumbling means the less dignity you’ll lose.”

“Don’t talk to me about dignity. You wouldn’t know the first thing about it. Also, you don’t need to stay here and stare. I’m eating right now and I’m promising I’ll be sleeping a bit. So, move along.” He waved his hand in a dismissive manner, but Y/N shook their head.

“Nuh-uh. This might have worked the first time but now it’s been years. Your fault for not taking care of yourself, means you clearly need someone to babysit you.”

Donnie would have looked towards his brothers for help, but they wouldn’t do anything of the sorts. For starters he was sure that they set Y/N on this task in the first place and judging by the amused looks on their faces, they were happy to let this play out. That reminded him, where was Raph? He would have maybe intervened.

When Donnie just continued to scowl towards Y/N, said human began pouting “Come on, Don. Go eat your pancakes and I promise you I will read you a bedtime story.” They made sure to sound as patronizing as possible.

This made Leo finally snicker. Frankly the brothers loved watching Y/N and Donnie go at it. Just throwing one sarcastic comment after another against each other’s head. At first, they all were just excited to see that their new friend had no problem keeping up with the sarcastic turtle in the first place but over time it kind of turned into more of entertainment for them.

One time the two were just going at it while they were in a middle of a movie marathon, they didn’t even notice when Raph paused the movie. It was all mostly lighthearted though even if they liked to really get into it.

Donnie ate another piece of pancake, this time noticing how Y/N’s eyes followed his movements.

He raised his eyebrow “You are acting like you have never seen a mutant before.”

“No, just trying to count how many bags beneath your eyes you have and trying to figure out how old you are. You know like rings on a tree stump.”

This finally made Leo belt out a small laugh and Donnie couldn’t help but get annoyed with how proud Y/N seemed of that.

“That’s not-“ he sighed, biting back his urge to correct them when they clearly made a joke. “Man, you must be old then.”

“Oh, now I know you are lying because other than you I’m taking my beauty sleep. It’s obvious you skipped yours for a while. You are delusional, turtle.”

He grimaced “Wait, you’ve been taking beauty sleep already? Then what is this?” Donnie used his fork to gesture towards Y/N’s general direction.

“What would you know about beauty, Mister Turtle Mutant.”

Donnie laid his hand over his heart, putting his best shocked expression on “Gasp! I cannot believe! Not only are you just plain wrong but you are also a xenophobe!”

Y/N immediately shook their head “Only when it comes to you. I would lay waste to the earth for your brothers but you? No. Kinda stuck with you when I want to hang out with the cooler turtles.” They laid dramatically the back of their hand on their forehead “I can barely look at you.”

He smirked self-assuredly “And yet I keep seeing you stare at me when you think I’m not looking.” Perks of being a trained ninja.

“Psh. I am not. You are imagining things. Go finish your damn food so you can sleep your delusions off.”

“Ah-ah-ah. I know you are. I could probably even bring some footage up as proof. Besides do you really think you can steal glances at a trained ninja without him knowing?”

“I did not!”

“Yes, you are! I have literal proof!”

“You do not! And even if, is it weird to look at their friend now and again?”

At this point both Mikey and Leo just kept looking from Donnie over to Y/N and back to Donnie. Following the argument along. It wasn’t much of an argument really. It was clear both were just trying to tease each other but it was interesting, nonetheless.

Mikey leaned over to Leo “I can’t tell if the two are good for each other or if they are just bringing out the worst out of each other.”

Leo shrugged “Eh, they are still smiling. I don’t know what exactly it is, but I think the same exact thing is wrong with them, otherwise they wouldn’t enjoy this, and I guess that’s… good?”

“Why are you squirming so much then, Y/N? I can even count off a ton of times I remember you watching me. The last movie marathon! Last week when you did some work in my lab and I worked on my project! When we all went into the hidden city in that clothing store! Technically even right now! When we hung out in your apartment last, and we all helped you cook!” Donnie put the ankle of his foot on his knee, leaning back a bit as he stared Y/N smugly down.

Y/N jumped up, slamming their hands on the table “Alright! Alright! Maybe I wouldn’t be staring if you weren’t that god damn handsome!”

Their cheeks were ablaze.

The room was dead quiet.

Somehow as Donnie counted the times off something must have snapped in them for this outburst.

Y/N looked to the ground “… Is that what you wanted to hear? Happy now?” A weak attempt to save this situation on their part.

Mikey’s and Leo’s eyes were wide open as they just stared at the two. Waiting for any kind of reaction. Suddenly they felt like they understood the appeal of Splinter’s obsession with romcoms and soap operas.

But their expression couldn’t even get close to Donnie’s shocked expression. Eyes wide with shock. His open-mouthed expression slowly turning into a huge smile. He just looked like he won a Nobel prize.

“I didn’t quite hear that. Can you repeat that?” He sounded giddy.

“That little shit.” Y/N just thought as they clenched their eyes shut. Not willing to look at Donnie right now. Honestly at this point they totally forgot that Mikey and Leo were in the room to begin with.

Donnie leaned over the edge of the table, his hand next to where his ear would be if he were human “Please, Y/N, may you repeat yourself? I didn’t quite catch that. I just want to make sure I’m not delusional, like you said.”

“I said nothing. Nothing important.”

“Nothing, huh? You are blushing because of nothing?”

Y/N crossed their arms, gripping their arms “Donnie. Don’t do this.”

At this point Donnie was slicking back his non-existent hair “Ah but you forget! I record everything and I am pretty sure you said that I am handsome, and I have to agree. I am handsome. First correct thing I have heard out of your mouth in ages!”

Finally, Y/N opened their eyes, pouting playfully, trying to act as nonchalant as possible “Just please shut up and eat the rest of the pancakes so you can go to bed and leave me alone. I was just saying things to make you shut up, okay?”

“Ah but I can tell that this isn’t correct. You are blushing. You are embarrassed because we both know you meant it, but your ego is too big to admit that.”

It was then that it seemed like someone flipped a switch in his brain.

“Wait, you actually mean that?”

Y/N’s eyes met his as he seemed to properly realize what they just said. Getting through the euphoria of having won this argument only to understand the implications of this.

Sure, Donnie always relied on his bad boy persona and his ego when it came to all of this, but Y/N knew there was a part in him that was not as confident as he tried to act.

They sighed, gulping down the last of their ego along with a part of their embarrassment “Yeah, I meant it.” Their voice quiet and shaky as they forced these words out. “I like you, okay, Donnie?”

“Oh.” There was an actual blush on Donnie’s face as well.

“Now can we move on because this is awkward as hell.”

Donnie coughed as he tried to find his composure “Sure. Yeah. Well. I think I’m heading to bed.”

“Do that.”

“What!” This was Leo, reminding the two that they were in fact not alone. “You guys can’t just leave it at that!”

Donnie’s eyes traveled from Leo’s disappointed expression to Mikey’s happy one. His gaze returned back on Y/N whose eyes never left him. Old habits die hard after all.

“Wanna hang out in my room and play games until we pass out?”

“Thank god, yes.” Y/N sighed out, scrambling after Donnie towards his room.

Leo had his arms outstretched. Completely shocked with how this turned out. This was perfect and then they both just moved on like… that?

Mikey put his hand on Leo’s shoulder in a supportive manner “For Donnie this was probably the extent of how romantic he can get and lucky for him Y/N can work with that. Just concentrate on the fact we definitely saw the eighth world wonder.”

This didn’t calm Leo down in the slightest, gesturing wildly towards the space were Y/N and Donnie used to be “But… That?!”

“Come on. We have to tell Raph about this. He will want to hear this.”

#rottmnt x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #donatello x reader #rise donnie #rise donnie x reader #rise donatello x reader #rise!donatello #rise!donnie #rise!donatello x reader #rise!donnie x reader #rottmnt #rottmnt reader insert #reader insert #ramza writes #anonymous request

[eggdrawings]

Finalist piece from 2019(? I don't remember anymore) FFXIV fanfest art contest! Themed after the 'Return To Ivalice' alliance raid series

#ffxiv #final fantasy 14 #ff14 #final fantasy tactics #yasumi matsuno writing my beloved #ramza beoulve #alma beoulve #delita heiral #draws

[zodiacsea]

ANOTHER coworker i love is leaving AND i have a bunch of shit i need to get finished at work before i go to vegas next week and not enough time to do it AND the zipper on my favorite jeans broke AND i woke up half an hour late this morning i actually want to go home and curl up in a ball forever. thanks

#漫言 #i want to be at home and i want to be playing video games and/or writing transgender vampire smut. is that so much to ask. #i have so much to do this weekend too tho. i need to pack for vegas and i need to shop for my family bc this is my last weekend at home unti #new years lol #and i prob need to go thrifting so i have things to wear in vegas in the first placd #a friend was supposed to be visiting this week but wasn’t able to last minute and i’m upset abt that #and like. this fucking thing i have to do at work i’ve only done one other time and it made me want to tear my hair out #on top of the other thing making me want to tear my hair out #and ramza isn’t coming with me to az for christmas AGAIN and that’s not its fault it’s bc of work but #i’m still upset abt that too. idk. i want to go home and take a fucking nap.

[hydropyro]

OC Writing — Sovereign excerpt

CW: Violence against children

Genre: Medieval, Social Science Fiction

“Kill him, please!” His mother wailed.

Warm, thick fluid oozed down from the cut his mother had made in his neck, staining the collar of his woven shirt. He moved away from her and his people, numbly following behind a group of men on horseback with a small herd of boys about his age. Three, including himself, had come from his tribe, while the others had already been with the horsemen when they arrived.

His mother fought against the tribesmen that held her back. Tears streamed down her beautiful face, and her expression was contorted with more pain than he’d ever seen. The knife that she’d used to try and slit his throat lay discarded in the sand at her struggling feet.

“Ramza!” She screamed after him, and he turned to glance at her one last time. “I love you, my son!”

Those words echoed in his head as he continued to follow the horsemen out of the village gates – as did her next – begging the elders of their tribe to kill him.

He’d known that this day would come, and his mother had, too – everyone knew. It always came, so why had she wailed and thrown herself at the ground? Why had she tried to kill him?

Tears welled in Ramza’s hot eyes as he continued his trek with the other boys, every possession he had slung over his back. He tried not to think of his mother’s anguish. He tried not to think of his father, who would return from the sea any day and find him gone. Instead, Ramza focused on the unknown boy who would fill the void left in his stead. He would be well-raised – loved.

The young Shazili boy hoped that whoever would take him under their roof when they reached their destination would amount to half the man and woman his parents were. Based on his mother’s anguished wails, though –

The boy who filled his void would be well-raised and loved.

Ramza wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand, feigning shielding his vision from the falling, though still oppressive, sun when the horses were pulled to a halt in a narrow oasis.

The small stream roiled up from the rocky ground, crystal clear, and flowed ankle-deep away before slowly disappearing beneath the shifting sands again.

He didn’t know how long they’d walked, or how much farther they would have to go before reaching his new home. Ramza was near the rear of the group and stayed well back from the spring after witnessing other boys being beaten about the shoulders with clubs for trying to drink before the horses. He also dared not kneel to rest his tired legs when a boy was clubbed behind the knee for just such.

Despite his hunger, exhaustion, and thirst, Ramza stood still and mute. His mother’s final words continued to echo, almost as if the ever-blowing wind were carrying her cries across the desert to him.

A heavy thud fell across his back, both the weight and pain of it causing Ramza to drop his back and stumble forward.

“Are you deaf, boy?” A gruff-voiced man bellowed from behind. He held a well-worn club, it's wood smooth – hopefully, due to its craftsmanship rather than its frequency of use.

#oc #oc writing #reign series #sovereign #ramza parat

[autopotion]

I got the PS3 hooked up at my sister's place (now my place as well??) so she could replay FFT (PSX version) because she hasn't in YEARS (it's both my and both my siblings' favorite game of all time LMAO) and one thing I noticed, belatedly, is that in the first Miluda fight, after she asks why Ramza & co. are fighting her, she insists, "We're human, just like you!" And that's pretty much the same phrase Delita uses on Ovelia during the Zirekile Falls battle lmao. Really reinforces how antagonistically he sees her up until it's revealed she's secretly a commoner like him (from his perspective). Top 10 Things That Have Been Noticed Before but I just noticed it this playthrough

#also yeah i never wrote this essay but zoe and i have talked at length about #how delita absolutely DESPISES ovelia until that critical scene at lionel #like i don't even think unsympathetically. she just embodies literally everything he hates about the class system #the entire world is fighting over the life of one important girl meanwhile no one ever gave a damn about his sister etc #if you track his behavior even though he says (notably TO RAMZA not ovelia) that he'll save her #he never says a kind word to her until after lionel #anyway i won't write that essay in the tags but yeah. Continuing To Notice Things #tactics blogging #fft blogging

[themyscrian]

im seeing people on twitter that are sad the bozja storyline has been cancelled and im now realising there are people who unironically enjoyed return to ivalice and bozja.

are y'all okay??

#RLPersonalAdventure #FFXIV #the man fucked his own lore by making the zodiac stones wish-granting auracite instead of rocks possessed by demons #he wrote Ramza to be shitty mean and annoying then had to make him possessed by the good nice Ramza in the other 2 parts b/c he sucked #HE WROTE A STORYLINE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE EXPANSION WHERE YOU FREE TWO NATIONS FROM IMPERIAL RULE AND OPPRESSION…… #……ABOUT HELPING A FAMILY OF RICH IMPERIALS GET RICHER??? #Bozja's storyline is less fucking painful than Ivalice by a longshot but man the cutscene direction was Off. #'stay back or I'll kill her fake-Linda Lominsa says… her sword pointed at a girl she's standing 3 ft away from.' #like… ok queen. not much of a treat that is it? #all of Matsuno's FFXIV writing just feels smarmy and self-congratulatory. the fact that his self-insert is actually important to the plot? #the fact that you have to go get food for him and his sexy elf wife b/c you're an idiot who plays MMOs instead of REAL video games like FFT #it's sloppy and shit and im glad they've canned it #also i dislike Bozja. Eureka was better.

[tritoch]

look i know a lot of people don't like the stormblood return to ivalice alliance raids and they're very long quests and they're intentionally annoying and matsuno's writing really isn't the best fit for ffxiv but you have to understand. you have to understand. some of us were once young gay idiots and seeing this

was like getting run over by a freight train. my god. the doomed yaoi of it all. still get chills thinking about it. twenty fucking years of thinking about delita and ramza and finally we get the AU reconciliation timeline to fix their estrangement??? im a mainline game???? unbelievable.

#ffxiv #fft #return to ivalice #delita heiral #ramza beoulve

[delitaheiral]

I adore fft with all my heart it’s one of my favorite games ever etc etc but unfortunately it is definitely not immune to the final fantasy brand of misogyny. like yeah maybe tietra had to die for delita to have his arc. maybe alma had to be kidnapped for ramza to spur the story into the right direction. and I do get that ovelia’s lack of agency is a reflection on the trope of the cloistered princess.

but then there’s agrias, who is not afforded any of the screentime that her popularity might suggest. she got an extra scene in WoTL about the sacrifices she has had to make to be part of the lionsguard; the scene mostly focuses on how sad it is that she doesn’t have time for ‘womanly things’. there’s reis, who gets a whole sidequest in WoTL centered around her abduction so that her lover beowulf and his friend/rival can get some development. there’s meliadoul, the one older sister mourning her little brother compared to all of fft’s older brothers mourning their little sisters; she hardly gets any scenes, let alone an arc, compared to her male counterparts. we have celia and lettie, whose sole purpose is to profile themselves as the sexy temptresses flanking the marquis. there’s valmafra, allegedly a witch, traitor against the church and confidant of delita, yet she has a grand total of three scenes and doesn’t get to speak in two of them.

there’s an obvious pattern of misogynistic writing here, and as great as the game is, said misogyny holds it back from being quite as good as it could’ve been

#fft making ultima the franchise’s first female final boss: that’s enough feminism for today <3 #sorry to wotl. girl I love you for the translation and cutscenes but some of these sidequests are a plague upon our society #final fantasy tactics #fft

[collegeoflore]

the consequence of my writing fic in email drafts at work is sometimes ramza will receive an email from me that contains only an unedited draft of something and no context and i don’t always remember to text them an explanation of what just arrived in their inbox at 4:23 pm on a wednesday

#漫言

[kagurajinbaffxiv]

So to break from the norm of not posting, I have a short story about Mikoto that I've been working on for a bit. I wanted to write something like the 'Tales from...' released during the Rising events.

Hope you like it.

~~~~

Mikoto’s steps echoed around her, the silence around her making everything sound louder then it should have been. Mikoto thought back to why she was here, she always knew how this journey will end.

The bustling around Gangos never slowed down since they retook the Dalriada and today was nothing different. Bajsaljen was talking to her but she wasn’t really listening.

“Mikoto, stop”, Bajsaljen grabbed her before she stepped in front of a cart moving the supplies from the stockpile to the boats headed back to Bozja. “Mikoto, you’ve been not here for the past few days, has the echo given you another vision?” he said with the slightest hint of concern behind the admonishment

Mikoto looked at him, her mind finally back in the camp and knowing she had to leave “There’s something I need to go take care of, and I don’t expect to be back for a while”

“You are not one of my soldiers, you don’t need to seek permission from me, nor do you need to return, we can build back our home without your help” Bajsaljen said to her, she would be missed but he knew there was so much a young scholar needed to do that could not be achieved in his camp.

“No, but an old friend would have wanted me to help and see this through till the end, but I think this journey has to happen now”

Mikoto’s foot slipped on a loose stone that slipped and she tripped forward bringing her back to the present. The pain of the rocks on the path cutting into her as she used her hands to stop herself slamming her face into the ground. She let out a sigh, “I made it through a battlefield with less difficulty than this, what am I doing?”, asking no one but herself.

She got back up, and noticed a small graze on her knee, the blood welling up and staining her stockings.

She brushed off the dust and rocks then the glow of aether enveloped her knee as she used her magic to take care of herself, this wasn’t quite how she saw this trips finale happening, so maybe what she knew was going to happen would not occur.

The sound of the stones crunching underneath her feet started again as she started moving forward towards her destination again and thought of how she even got here.

The wind was blowing through her hair, the sea spray was still on the air this far away from the shore. She had made it from Gangos to Sharlayan with less fuss than she thought, and with the gleaners running around bringing in stock to deliver it it felt like she had not gone anywhere.

Mikoto knew where she was going, but where on a map it actually was she had no idea. In Sharlayan she would be able to find people who know where her destination actually was. The Scions were her best chance of finding her destination, and she knew Krile would know where they are to point her in the right direction and she was sitting outside the Students of Baldesion’s quarters, looking out at her second home.

She had not been back to Sharlayan in years, but it was still the same as when she was at the Studium, the bench where she had lunch with Moen almost daily was still there like nothing had changed in the years since then.

She could still remember the push Moen had given her to seek more than what was on that island once she get her Archon mark, and now she had seen so much more than either of them expected, she had been in the Dalriada when Diablo Armament had broken free and Misja had sacrificed herself to save the people she had betrayed and Mikoto had been saved from herself, she had seen what Auracite could do to people and been there when the Warrior of Light had defeated Ultima and learnt of the secret history that Ramza was involved in.

Mikoto was nothing like she was when she left, but her home had not changed. Mikoto knew she would be even more different when she returned again, would she feel at home in Sharlayan or would she feel like a stranger in where she had called home for so long.

A soft voice called out from the building behind her “Miss Jinba”, Krile was waving trying to get Mikoto’s attention. “I don’t know exactly where it is, but if you visit Mor Dhona you’ll find the Scions who will know where it is”, and with that Mikoto’s journey continued.

Mikoto was almost to the crest of the hill, the final steps until what she knew was going to happen will happen. She knew the echo could be misleading, but what she knew was going to happen could not be avoided, and she had to be here eventually and that could not be avoided.

She stopped for a second thinking back on the Warrior of Lights face when they took a map out and circled her destination.

“Are you sure you don’t want someone there with you?” their strained voice gave away that their echo had given away what Mikoto was about to do to herself.

“No, you know I have to do this, and I want to be alone for it” Mikoto softly replied.

“Fine” the Warrior replied clearly frustrated with her “but you will be back here after this is done right?”

“Yes, I will be back, can I ask to borrow a room from the Scions once I get back?”

The Warrior of light looked relieved, “Yes I will organise that now, take care until you get back, ok, it might be safer here than Bozja but don’t let your guard down”

*crunch crunch crunch*

The sound of her shoes stopped echoing all around her once her destination opened up before her, the crystalline tree standing over Thaliak’s mark, the place the scions had used to remember her lost friend.

Mikoto’s voice cracked as soon as she opened her mouth, she stopped to find the words she had to say.

“Hey Moen, there is so much I have seen that I want to tell you about”

Her tears started falling as Mikoto knew deep in her heart would happen as she said her goodbyes to her best friend.

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #mikoto jinba #ffxiv fanfiction #FFXIV Bozja Spoilers #FFXIV 5.5 Spoilers #Not that there is much actually spoiled

[officecyborg]

Dycedarg: Our little mockingbird is taken wing, Gaffgarion, and it leaves me wroth. We cannot have her free. Catch her, crush her, and make silent her song. Lady Agrias's and the others' as well.

Gaffgarion: And Ramza?

[Dycedarg rises and walks to the dresser, where he pours himself a drink.]

Dycedarg: The fool. He soils our name, dogs my every move. I thought this a chance to let him learn the harsh truths of the world. But the boy is too stubborn.

Gaffgarion: Too much of his father's penchant for justice, that one.

Dycedarg: Father coddled the boy too much. If he stands aside, more the better. Should he interfere, there's naught can be done.

[He drinks.]

Gaffgarion: And you his brother. The blood curdles. If the cardinal moves to defend the mockingbird, what then? Duke Larg himself could not reach them in umbrage of the Church's wing.

Dycedarg: Worry not. That potentiality has been addressed.

Gaffgarion: Ever three steps ahead. You are a frightening man, Dycedarg Beoulve.

Dycedarg: Truly? Would it not be prudent, then, to better guard your tongue? There are so many frightening ways to silence a bothersome one.

Gaffgarion: Come now, my lord, I am your ever-faithful man! And not near so stubborn as a particular Knight Devout - if I might be so bold.

Dycedarg: Be bold. But let there be no more missteps.

I was gonna just post this cos it’s hilarious villain banter but actually just caught that at the end there Gaffgarion straight-up accuses Dycedarg of murdering his dad (Knight Devout is Barbaneth’s unique class). as a funny bit of villain bants.

I had a look at the other scripts to make sure that it was Barbaneth he was talking about here, and yeah,Barbaneth is a 聖騎士 / ‘knight devout’ (which is not transcribed on the wiki, but that’s how you write it), which is different from ‘holy knight’ or ‘sword saint’ or any of those, and that’s what Gaffgarion says. weirdly PSX thinks it’s Ramza that Gaffgarion is talking about, even though the wording is unambiguous? usual PSX reference problems. I’m guessing there were either different translators or they hadn’t gotten as far as the murder reveal, didn’t understand what he was talking about, and just made it Ramza since he was also described as ‘stubborn’ earlier in the scene.

#be bold be bold but not too bold gaffgarion #tactics blogging

[ramzawrites]

Mission: First Date - Reader X Rise!Leonardo

FEM

Pairings: Leonardo x Reader

Characters included: Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Splinter, April

Warnings: n/a

Series: A request!

Summary: Leo and Y/N are out on their first date so the rest of the family decides that they better observe them and make sure that this First Date of theirs will be a success

Word count: 5610

Authors Note: Wrote it in one go so I apologize if there are still many mistakes, I tried my best to find most

Mikey tapped with a stick against a whiteboard that was at this point covered in a myriad of writing and drawings in all kinds of colors. The turtle mutant wore a serious expression behind his big round glasses. He was trying his best to gather the attention from the group that was sitting on the ground in front of him.

Raph had his typical smile on his face, his attention fully on his youngest brother while Donnie just eyed Mikey with narrowed eyes. He was sure that his younger brother got the whiteboard out of his lab and if he finds out that Mikey erased anything important for this weird little stunt of his, there will be hell to pay. April had her eyes narrowed as well but for a different reason. She just got off shift from her latest job and immediately came over to the lair since Mikey said there was an emergency only to see that whatever this was, was the emergency.

To everyone’s surprise even Splinter was in the room. He had his eyes closed as he stroked his chin deep in thought but if he really was busy thinking or in the middle of falling asleep could be anyone’s guess.

“Come on guys! We gotta make sure that all will go well as his family!” Mikey exclaimed loudly, trying to elicit a reaction from the group this time.

Knowing that Mikey will just keep them all stuck like this if they didn’t go somewhat along Donnie replied “Why, though? I have better things to do than sneak after Leo on his date.” He couldn’t help the sneer when he said the word “date”.

It was almost as if Donnie just insulted Mikey with the way he puffed up his cheek and threw his arms into the air, gesticulating wildly “Well! You know Leo! And you know Y/N!”

Donnie just stared him further down. This did not in fact answer his question in any way.

Raph, sensing that both Donnie and Mikey were slowly becoming more tense and annoyed, tried to mediate somewhat “Uh, how about you just go through all of this again? Maybe in an abridged version, lil’ man?”

Mikey’s hand slapped against his forehead and slowly slid down his face in annoyance “Ugh, fine!” he grabbed the whiteboard and flipped it around. He drew a quick picture of Leo’s smiling face on the board and another one of Y/N’s face.

He coughed to clear his throat as he tapped his stick against the whiteboard once again “Alright, guys! As we all know Leo has recently asked Y/N out on a date in the Hidden City. Not only is it his first date, it’s also Y/N’s first date.” His stick moved towards the Leo picture “Leo here is confident but also when it comes to emotions, he can be stupid at times!”

Now the stick moved over to the picture of Y/N “Now Y/N here is as we all know very nice and funny, but she is also very shy, so should Leo do anything stupid she wouldn’t say anything about it.”

Mikey slapped the stick loudly against his hand, he must have not expected this as well seeing how he had to shake his hand in pain “Now there is not a lot we could do to make sure that the date goes well in that regard, but we can make sure everything else will be fine! They are in the Hidden City and I swear every time we go down there something happens.”

“I mean not always though, Mikey, and I’m sure Leo will be able to handle anything that’ll come their way.” Raph mumbled out, scratching the back of his head.

This just made Mikey roll his eyes “Yeah, sure! But I feel like as his family it is our duty to make sure it’ll go well!” There was a short beat of intense silence before he continued “Also it’s been a while since Leo took time off like this. Ever since the whole Krang thing he’s been mostly concentrating on training and everything, so, I wanna make sure this will go well.”

This answer visibly satisfied Raph as he nodded along “Okay, yeah, you’re right. Let’s make sure it’ll go well.”

“Thank you, Raph!” Mikey sighed out, happy he managed to bring at least one of his family members on his side.

“I mean, I agree with you there Mikey, but also this kind of feels like an invasion of privacy…” April winced.

Mikey took a second to reply “You know Leo and Donnie didn’t really hesitate when you went out on a date with Sunita. “

A frown immediately appeared on April’s face “One! It wasn’t a date! We’re friends! Two! Okay, yeah fair and I am curious not gonna lie.”

Donnie suddenly gasped out in utter outrage “Really? You are just going to go along with whatever this is? Really, April? I thought better of you.” He huffed.

April snickered “Well you thought wrong, Donnie. I’m a journalist, snooping is what I do! Besides, for Y/N’s sake and our sisterhood that we both share, I gotta make sure she’ll be alright! Come on, I know you wanna come along as well!”

“Scoff. I have better things to do, thank you very much.”

“Donnie, even Splinter is coming along.”

“Dad? Really?!”

All eyes were now on the rat that was sitting quietly between his children.

He continued stroking his chin, opened his eyes to speak with a sagely voice “It’s simple. I’m a father. I am worried for my son’s well being and he is the first of my kids that is going out on a proper date. Of course, I want to make sure that he will be alright.”

Donnie did not trust a word his father just said to him. No, he knew there was something else. That’s when it hit him “Oh, Pizza Supreme, your favorite soap opera is on break isn’t it?”

Splinter nodded, somehow still trying his best to keep his wise aura going “And my soap opera is on break.”

“Come on, big bro, you know you wanna come along with us!” Mikey chimed in before Donnie could admonish his father even further. His eyes wide open and glistening. The puppy dog eyes combined with him calling Donnie his big bro was a powerful weapon for the most dire moments.

The purple ninja groaned angrily “Alright, I’ll come along but only because if Leo inevitably embarrasses himself, I want to be there. After all I do record everything.” His angry expression now exchanged for a devious one.

It was quiet for a very awkward moment before Mikey picked up the pace once again “Alright! Glad we’ve got this figured out! That said we should really be going because judging by the time they should have been gone for like half an hour now. I would say this is good enough space to ensure that they won’t suspect a thing. Let’s get going to Hueso’s!”

This is how the group ended up being spread in Hueso’s restaurant. Mikey somehow managed to infiltrate the kitchen, saying something that while he definitely trusts Hueso’s food, he’d make sure it’s extra perfect.

Raph was sitting in a booth, wearing a trenchoat and a hat while holding a huge newspaper to hide behind. April sat in front of him in a similar get up with another newspaper.

Donnie sat at a table with his father in a corner of the restaurant. Both wore their sweater vests combined with a fake mustache and glasses that Mikey insisted the two had to wear just to be sure. Honestly Donnie was just waiting for all of this to backfire horribly.

While all of them were spread around they all head a good view of Leo and Y/N who sat at their own table, munching on some Pizza while they chatted. Both leaning back in their own chair with soft smiles. The blush on Y/N’s face was obvious while the one on Leo’s face was more faint but still very much there.

Suddenly Raph’s voice rang in Donnie’s ear. Right, Mikey begged him that they get to use the little earpieces so they could communicate.

“How’s it looking gang?”

“How’s it supposed to look? They are just talking. It’s fine.” Donnie replied lazily as he grabbed a piece of his own pizza.

Splinter shook his head disappointedly “It is not fine, Purple! Can’t you see in their body language how this is not fine? I knew I should have taught Blue more about how to talk to a lady. They are barely looking at each other!”

“Uh, yeah, sure, that.” The others did not need to see April to know that she must be grimacing, since they were as well. None of them wanting to think about Splinter flirting with anyone. It was already hard enough to know that Big Mama was his ex.

Mikey’s voice appeared again “But yeah, the two look really more like two friends hanging out. I think the two might be too shy to try anything.”

April snorted “Can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I think you are right. Didn’t think I would see Leo being too shy for anything.”

“It’s infuriating to watch. The more I sit here the more I can’t understand how you keep watching shows all about romance.” Donnie muttered towards his father. The disdain clear in his voice.

“Just concentrate on helping Leo out and not the romance bits then.” Raph tried to reason with Donnie “Oh! There is way more sport here in the Hidden City. Boulder pushing? That sounds interesting.” There was a rustling as Raph moved the newspaper closer to properly take a look at the article “They have to balance at some point on a log and carry the boulder across! Guys! Doesn’t that kind of sound like when we do Pizza box balancing?”

More rustling as April flicked Raph on his arm “Sports can wait, Raph!”

He sighed, the edges of his mouth turned downwards “You’re right. Raph is sorry. This is about Leo and Y/N.”

“Well, what do we do?” Mikey piped up.

Splinter chuckled “Now, kids. All they need to be is in the proper mood. This place isn’t romantic enough in the least! I really need to talk to Blue about his choice of restaurant.”

“Actually, I think this might have been Y/N’s idea, Splints.” April brought up.

But this didn’t deter Splinter “And? Blue should know better! Can’t believe he is related to me.” He grumbled something more out, but it was unintelligible at this point.

“I think dad is right. The right mood could help both of them to finally open up more.” Mikey spoke, trying to move the situation along.

“It is good that you brought me along then, kids. I think it is time for some music. Music shall give both of them the courage to finally show what they each think of each other!”

“Wait, what?” Donnie exclaimed, shocked with what he just had to hear from his father “Oh, please, do not!”

But it was too late, Splinter took a deep sip from his water and began to silently warm up his voice. Raph also seemed to notice that there was no way to stop him now “Okay, I think this just means we have to help him somehow! We gotta move and help! Go!”

“Wait, what can we even do?” April asked.

“No idea but we gotta do something!”

“Please, someone, just kill me here and now.” Donnie muttered as he jumped off his chair to sneak off to meet up with the rest of his family.

At the other side of the room Y/N and Leo were still chatting.

Leo wouldn’t admit it, but he felt like he was sweating bullets. When he asked Y/N out on a date he did not think he would be this nervous but here he was sweating bullets while he bunched up the napkin between his hands.

“Can I admit something?” he made sure to put his typical smug smile on as he tried to look as nonchalant as possible.

“Sure, I’m listening.” Y/N smiled.

Leo couldn’t help but stare at her for a few seconds. One thing he appreciated about humans was how obvious their blush can be. It looked really pretty on Y/N and he secretly loved to make her blush whenever he got the chance.

Sure, he was blushing as well, he could tell with how warm his face felt but it was harder to see because of his green skin. Though he was glad about that fact, it helped as he tried his best to act confident.

He chuckled “Normally when I go out, I’m a bit… accident prone. I was sure that at this point something would happen. Not that I couldn’t handle it and get us through it.” He made sure to puff his chest up a little bit to look as strong and cool as possible.

Y/N’s smile widened, her blush darkening as she said the next words “Then let’s just, uh, take this as a good sign for this date.”

“Yeah. Heh, we are on a date!” He hummed happily as a response which made Y/N chuckle.

That’s when suddenly the lights dimmed. Leo tensed up as he looked around, not expecting this at all. Never has anything like this happened when he has been over at Hueso’s. Though when he saw that the other guests didn’t react much to it, he just assumed that he must be missing something. That said he did notice Y/N slighty raise her eyebrows. Obviously also not expecting this.

Leo shrugged and returned to properly look at Y/N. He had to admit it was a bit easier to look into her beautiful eyes knowing that it must be harder now to see his blush.

“Oh, nice, mood lighting.” He mused, wiggling his eyebrows, hoping that it made Y/N laugh.

It did. She laughed quietly at his antics, hiding her smile behind her hand “Mhm, seems like it. Didn’t know it was a thing here.”

“Me neither but, hey, it’s nice. I think. Right?” Somehow, he got nervous. Was Y/N okay with this? Would she want to leave, was this somehow too intense? Maybe she wants to have proper light to see his handsome face?

Y/N nodded “Yeah. It’s nice. Ro-Romantic even.”

Man, the two were a lost cause, Leo realized. Both were comfortable enough with each other where they didn’t want to flee this situation but somehow this was going nowhere, and Leo couldn’t help but think it was his fault.

And then his ears picked something up. Music? Since when did Hueso play romantic music at his joint? Leo tried asking for some special treatment from Hueso for the date, but he was adamantly declining it, so this was definitely weird. Did he come around after all?

Leo bit into his pizza, trying to wrap his head around it. Maybe the two reminded him of Hueso when he was younger and maybe on his first date and wanted to help? Who knows.

Was this opera music? That definitely didn’t seem like Hueso’s style. The others in the room sighed happily as they listened to the music though, so, once again, maybe he was just missing something. Yet somehow there were some kind of warning bells ringing in the back of his mind.

“Y/N, you hear the music, too, right?” He couldn’t help but be very confused by all of this.

Y/N nodded “Yeah. It’s nice!”

Well, if she liked it might as well just go along with it.

Right, he was on a date. Time to be romantic. The mood was kind of set so he might as well try something cheesy.

Leo grabbed a piece of pizza but instead of biting into it himself he moved it towards Y/N “Do you want some pizza, Y/N?”

Her blush that was slowly getting better darkened once again which in return just egged Leo even more on.

“I could never say no to pizza.” She smiled.

Leo nodded, happy with her answer “If you could I wouldn’t be able to go on a date with you.” He joked. He then moved the piece closer to her, so she was able to bite a piece off.

Somewhere deep inside his own mind he checked off the box for “Feed your crush some food”.

“Thank you, Leon.”

“I’d feed you grapes like how they did in ancient Greece or something.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Y/N laughed. “But I appreciate the sentiment. I would do the same.” Her voice wavered a bit, but Leo couldn’t help but be a bit stunned at that. She is normally so shy, so this was very straightforward for her.

“Actually, here.” She said, grabbing a piece of pizza herself and holding it to Leo’s lips so he could bite off as well, which he did.

Once again deep in his own mind he checked off a box for “Get some food fed by your crush.”

As this was going on Leo had to admit that the dimmed lights and the very, weirdly familiar, romantic opera music did seem to help. He somehow felt more emboldened. Maybe he should have tried going for a more romantic place in the first place but the two loved this restaurant, so it just felt natural to go here.

Taking some of the new courage Leo moved his hand towards Y/N’s holding her soft ones in his battle-hardened ones. Y/N didn’t even flinch. She automatically threaded her fingers between his.

That’s when it suddenly hit him. A cold shower went down his back. There was a reason he knew this singing! But that couldn’t be! No, surely. Why the hell would his dad be here? Just to sing? But something deep in his gut was so sure that this was his father singing and over the years he has learned to listen to his gut.

“God damn it.”

Y/N’s eyebrows bunched together in worry “What’s wrong?”

“You know how I just said that normally things happen when I go out?”

She nodded.

“I think the one singing is dad.”

“… Splinter?” Y/N asked, clearly not being able to believe that his father could belt out something in such a nice and almost angelic voice.

Leo took his free hand to pinch the ridge between his eyes “Years ago me and my brothers made a whole band and dad begged us to join. He just kept singing in front of us to show off his prowess and I swear this is him.” He was now looking around since he was so utterly convinced that this was his father.

“I’m sorry, it was all so nice, and I head to break the moment. It’s just… I have this feeling that somehow my family is up to something.” he apologized but he couldn’t help but look around. If only this huge dude in the weird trench coat and big hat wasn’t in the way, he could get a better look at the back of the place!

Y/N must have noticed that he was at this point really paranoid which probably made her come up with the next idea “It’s fine. Don’t worry. At this point I know that your family can be… quite the bunch. A funny bunch but I can understand your worry. How about we go out on a walk?” A comforting smile every present on her face.

Leo let out a deep breath, happy to hear that she would trust his gut feeling like that “You know what? I know the perfect place for that, and I have an awesome idea how we can ensure that we are for sure alone.”

That purple vest on the yokai in the back looked familiar. Purple vest? Oh, hell no, they gotta go now!

He abruptly stood up and slapped some money on the table. Y/N followed suit, wanting to walk towards the exit of the place but instead Leo held firmly onto her hand that was still in his. He grabbed one of his swords and opened a blue portal. He’ll make sure that they will be left alone. Let’s see if his family can follow him when he just randomly teleports away, ha!

He did have to admit that they did an amazing job of hiding though since he at this point was sure that he only heard Splinter and saw Donnie.

Scratch that, that human over there behind the newspaper, clearly ogling him and Y/N, was April. The shine of the glasses gave her away.

Leo nodded to Y/N and together the two stepped into the portal to the chagrin of his family who immediately began scrambling up trying to figure out where he went.

Donnie tapped around on his wrist gadget before he exclaimed “Got him. He’s at one of the ports here.”

That was Leo’s amazing idea. He remembered the port where he had to fight off a bunch of pirates and honestly a romantic boat ride under a literal magical moon in the Hidden City sounded amazing. Plus, it would ensure that the two got some privacy.

“Are you sure it’s okay to take one of these row boats?” Y/N asked as Leo helped her inside a blue little boat.

Leo did a dismissive handwave “Oh, pshaa, I saved the world I think I’m due some sort of repayment! Besides we’ll bring it back. We will just borrow one for an hour or so! So, stop worrying and make yourself comfortable!”

Happy with this answer Y/N sat down and watched as Leo began rowing out onto the sea “You know, you were right. I saw Raph but I didn’t want to say anything.” She chuckled as she remembered spotting Raph as he wrestled with a newspaper.

“Raph is in this as well?!” It was already weird enough that apparently Splinter was involved in this but by the looks of it his whole family had been spying on them. Even if he hadn’t seen Mikey yet he was positive he must have been around somewhere. Not when everyone else was there.

As Leo rowed further out the rest of his family finally managed to reach the port. At this point he was actually pretty far out. So far actually that it was difficult for the other to see what they were doing.

Donnie pulled down his goggles to zoom a bit in so he could take a look. Once again science saves the day.

Mikey jumped on Donnie’s back, clutching on to him “What are they doing? What do you see?”

“Once again. They seem to be just talking.”

Mikey slid down Donnie’s back with a groan “Ugh! The two are the worst!”

Splinter seemed dejected as well “After the performance of my lifetime Blue just flees with her? On to the sea?”

“Well, we know your singing so maybe he recognized it?” Raph tried to reason as a way to cheer his father up, but it didn’t seem to help much.

April crossed her arms “I’m still so positive that he saw you, Donnie.”

Even though April couldn’t see it since Donnie had his goggles down, he rolled his eyes “Yes. Truly. I am devastated as well.” He said clearly not devastated at all. Barely caring, even.

Mikey was at this point laying on the ground sprawled out like a starfish “Why are they only talking? How is this a date?”

April slapped her fist against her open palm “We have to set the mood.”

Raph raised his finger at that “Uh, Apes, we already did that and I’m pretty sure it was the reason the two fled literally on to the sea.”

“Yeah, but now they are on the calm sea, a full moon shining down on them. Perfect basis for a romantic day out.”

Splinter looked up at her with a new spark in his eyes “You have an idea?”

She nodded “Don, you will have to help with that. Your science and machines may save this date yet.”

He wanted to retort that he wouldn’t be doing anything like that but how can he dismiss it immediately when she brought up a valid point. If his inventions would save his dear brother’s date, then he would owe him a lot and who was Donnie to not take the chance to gain a favor from Leo.

“Alright. What do you need?”

“Yes!” April cheered as she got her phone out “I’ve got the perfect song for them to listen to. You think you could somehow make it possible for them to hear it without noticing us immediately?”

Donnie raised one of his drawn-on eyebrows “Nothing more? That’s easy.”

“Actually Purple, didn’t you show me something about like holomographicmajig? Uh the illusion stuff?” Splinter suddenly jumped in.

This surprised Donnie. Splinter remembered one of his inventions he showed off to him? How come that the day Leo had his first date was also slowly turning into his best day yet?

“You mean my Holographic imagery? What’s with it?” It was still in beta, but he was excited to hear what Splinter had to say now. This was a momentous occasion after all!

Splinter nodded “Yes you showed off a holographic version of yourself. You think you could do some mood lighting for Blue and Y/N? Like Fireflies for example?”

He even got the word correct! Donnie was now happy he wore his goggles, or the others would see how glassy his eyes have gotten.

“Oh, that’s a challenge I’ll accept gladly, my dearest father!” His voice trembled in excitement. He couldn’t help laughing as he began tapping on his wrist gadget. He needed his DJ Shell and if he just attached the new holographic gadget on it, it could hover it a bit over the sea so the two would hear music and the holographic imagery would reach them.

It was easy really, but it still made his family members throw praises towards him.

Suddenly he was very glad that he came along after all.

At this point Leo was resting his elbows on his knees and held his face in between his hands as he stared at Y/N who was looking at the sky in awe.

The moonlight lit her face up, showing off the soft blush on her cheeks which made Leo sigh happily. The light almost made her look ethereal, and he swore he could just stare at her like this for hours and he still wouldn’t have enough.

“I’m still wondering how they managed to put up a whole night sky while the city is underground. It’s amazing. They must have their own star signs.”

Leo hummed in agreement. He was listening, he really was! He just felt like he was currently stuck in a beautiful dream and couldn’t help but bask in the moment.

“I’ll find out who makes the stars here and I’ll ask them to make one just for you.” He spoke, a big smile on his face.

This pulled Y/N’s attention from the night sky, her mouth open as she processed the words. She let out a snort, which to Leo was the cutest thing “Alright, you flirt. Next thing you’ll ask me if it hurt when I fell out of heaven.”

As response Leo just grinned “Well, did it?”

Y/N lightly slapped his arm, rolling her eyes but Leo could tell that she got more flustered which just made his grin so much wider.

Then something bright flew in front of his eyes.

“A firefly?” Y/N asked. Her awestruck expression back on her face.

Then even more began surrounding them and Y/N took a big look around. Her smile wide as she noticed how they were at this point surrounded by the small lights.

“This is beautiful.” She whispered.

“Not as beautiful as you.” Leo immediately quipped.

She chuckled “You are the worst.”

“You make it so easy but also it’s the absolute truth.”

“Leo?”

He just nodded to encourage her, his hands searching for hers once again. The boat slowly rocking along on the water.

“You are-“ She bit down on her soft lip “You are quiet handsome as well.”

His breath hitched. Of course, he knew he was handsome but to hear it out of her mouth? Oh, that was magical. It made his heart flutter hard against his chest and the blush on his cheeks so much worse.

She managed to make him speechless. That was a rare feat for anyone to do. Hell, he couldn’t remember anyone doing it to him to begin with.

So, all he could do was lean forward as he stared down into her beautiful eyes. Normally she would have been too embarrassed to keep this up but her she was staring right back into his eyes.

And as they just stared at each other Leo couldn’t suddenly make out someone’s voice being carried over the waves.

Yes, you want her

Look at her, you know you do

Possible she wants you too

There is one way to ask her

It don't take a word

Not a single word

Go on and kiss the girl

It was music. There was the urge to look around where it came from, fearing that somehow his family caught up to him but as Y/N stared into his eyes he couldn’t dare to tear his eyes away from her. Scared that this could ruin the moment.

Sing with me now

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

My oh my

Look like the boy too shy

Ain't gonna kiss the girl

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

Ain't that sad?

Ain't it a shame?

Too bad, he gonna miss the girl

Normally he would groan that it had to be the Little Mermaid song but once again he didn’t care. He was too caught up in the moment.

Suddenly her eyes darted down to his lips only to jump back to his own eyes. Her blush darkened and Leo was sure so was his.

Now's your moment (ya, ya, ya)

Floating in a blue lagoon (ya, ya, ya)

Boy, you better do it soon

No time will be better (ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya)

She don't say a word

And she won't say a word

Until you kiss the girl

He really wanted to be angry at whoever decided to play this stupid song since this was the cheesiest thing for this moment, but he just couldn’t. Not when Y/N shimmied a bit closer to him. Her hands squeezing his hands. Was it encouragement? Was she wondering if he was too deep in his thoughts?

To hell with it.

He slowly untangled one of his hands to tentatively raise up to her face. Cupping her warm cheek in his green hand. Carefully leaning forward but leaving a tiny bit of space so she could move away if she didn’t want this. Yes, the two were very clearly on a romantic date but this wouldn’t mean that she would want to kiss him.

Before his worries could overtake him, she suddenly closed her eyes and pushed forward. Her soft lips softly pressing on his.

He knew this was a possibility, obviously, but as she made contact, he couldn’t help but freeze up. His mind going a mile a minute as he realized that she was kissing him! His eyes wide in happiness, shock, and utter disbelief.

But then she moved away. Softly biting on her lip, looking down into her lap.

He barely processed that she kissed him and there she was leaving his space again. Leo could tell that Y/N was embarrassed, knowing her probably thinking that she did something wrong. He couldn’t have that.

At this point he had completely forgotten the lights around them. The song in the air.

His other hand landed at the side of her face, forcing her to look up into his smiling face. Pizza Supreme he was so happy he could scream.

Before she could ask anything. Say anything. Pull away or anything else. Leo pushed his lips again against hers. This time closing his eyes to truly bask in the moment. The warmth of her on his lips.

His hand snuck at the back of her head, as he softly pulled her closer to himself. Her own hands traveled along his shoulders behind his own hand. One of them grabbing one of his mask tails.

Both of them slowly moving their lips as they tried their best to get even closer to each other. Goosebumps ran down Leo’s skin as he felt Y/N kissing him back. Their knees hitting each other clumsily but he didn’t care, nor did Y/N seem to care.

Leo had to pull away to breath some much needed oxygen in. He had to gulp as he watched Y/N slowly pull away as well, just as out of breath as he was.

“Wow.” He whispered out, barely loud enough for Y/N to catch it.

Her hands were still behind his head, fiddling with his mask tails “That was… nice.” She said breathlessly.

He nodded, he wanted to dive towards her lips again but that’s when he heard something. He heard cheering over the cheesy music.

Y/N must have caught on as well since both looked towards the port. There were five shadows either jumping around or just high fiving each other.

“I will kill them.” Leo deadpanned.

Realizing that Leo’s family must have watched them Y/N pressed her head embarrassed into Leo’s shoulder. He automatically laid his arm around her protectively.

“Oh, they are so dead. So, so dead.”

#Lenoardo tmnt #rise leonardo #rottmnt leonardo #leonardo x reader #reader insert #rottmnt leonardo x reader #rise leonardo x reader #rise leo x reader #rise!leo x reader #rise!leonardo x reader #rottmnt leo x reader #rottmnt x reader #ramza writes #b1u3butt3rf1yanim3cart00ngirl22 #🍓-anon #🍓anon

[cyberphuck]

12, 13, 14, and 20 👀

Alright, FANFICTION ASK MEME (sorry this took me so long I was getting Zonai Armor in totk) 12. Do you have a playlist for your current WIP(s)? Share it! I... I don't ;_; here is something weird about me: I can't listen to music with English lyrics (or sometimes any music at all) while I'm writing. If I really need white noise to drown out dad's TV or whatever, I listen to ASMR typing sounds. 13. How much planning do you do before writing? So, I get a kernel of an idea-- usually one scene-- and I roll it around in my mind like a jawbreaker for a few days (or weeks), and if I like it enough, it expands enough for me to have something to write down (in my notes app, something like "Ramza and Delita go to Hawaii to participate in a drag contest"). Then I roll around on the floor asking myself questions like "how are they going to get to Hawaii? what do their outfits look like?" and then I start writing out prose. If I'm really serious about the story I'll have extended notes about each scene and story beat, but that's kind of rare. 14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?

Seb and I have a running joke about "When Pet gets turned into an HBO series that Tumblr hates" 20. What’s a favorite title for a fic you’ve written?

It's not a fanfic, but "A Crown of Oleander" is a title that I've always liked. Thanks for your asks, anon!

[freyayuki]

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Burst Power Token Exchange Shop Pick

In the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO) mobile game, once you have 50 Burst Tokens, you can exchange them for 1 Burst or BT weapon in the Burst Power Token Exchange shop.

You get a Burst Token every time you complete a Challenge Quest. They can also be a possible reward for special missions and the like though this is very rare.

The Burst Power Token Exchange shop contains every single Burst weapon that is currently available in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia. Every time a new BT is released, it will be added to this shop.

Players can only carry a maximum of 50 BT Tokens on hand. If you get any more Tokens, they get sent to your gift box where they’ll stay for 90 days. 

After 90 days, the Tokens and anything else that have been there for that long will automatically be deleted.

I’ve already gotten to use these Tokens before. IIRC, got to use them twice so far. The first time I got to 50 Tokens, AFAIK, I chose to exchange them for Ramza Beoulve’s (from Final Fantasy Tactics) Burst.

The second time I got to 50 Tokens, pretty sure I exchanged them for Machina Kunagiri’s (from Final Fantasy Type-0) Burst.

Now I’m back to 50 BT Tokens again. I’ve been at 50 Tokens for a while now so I already have a lot of Tokens that have been sent to my gift box. 

Been letting the Tokens in my gift box pile up since I still haven’t decided which BT to pick from the shop.

Besides, still have a lot of time, so what’s the rush, right? And it was better to wait for new Bursts to be added to the shop so I have more choices.

But now the time has finally come to pick a BT from the shop. At the moment that I’m writing this post, I have 3 Tokens in my gift box that will expire in 6 days. One more Token will expire in 11 days then another in 16 days.

Gonna need to pick a BT from the shop now unless I want to let these Tokens in my gift box expire.

Initially, my plan was to use my Tokens to exchange for Sherlotta’s (from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time) Burst.

But, as luck would have it, managed to get Sherlotta’s BT via tickets when I was pulling on the Professional’s Pride (Intersecting Wills) banner.

So now I have to pick a different Burst from the shop. The next Burst that’s coming soon that I want to have is the one that belongs to Lunafreya Nox Fleuret from Final Fantasy XV.

Lunafreya’s banner is coming really soon. But, unfortunately, I don’t think it’ll get to the game before I start losing Tokens in my gift box.

I can choose to let these Tokens expire then use 50 of my Tokens to exchange for Lunafreya’s Burst once it finally gets added to the Burst Power Token Exchange shop.

Or I can use 50 of my Tokens and pick a BT now so I won’t have to lose any of the ones in my gift box. Not sure what to do but really need to make a decision now because time’s running out.

Burst Power Token Exchange Shop Weapons List

Here’s a list of all the Bursts that are currently available in the Burst Power Token Exchange shop and that I currently don’t have.

The Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy I

Firion from Final Fantasy II

The Emperor from Final Fantasy II

Onion Knight from Final Fantasy III

Golbez from Final Fantasy IV

Ceodore Harvey from Final Fantasy IV

Exdeath from Final Fantasy V

Kefka Palazzo from Final Fantasy VI

Laguna Loire from Final Fantasy VIII

Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX

Jecht from Final Fantasy X

Shantotto from Final Fantasy XI

Prishe from Final Fantasy XI

Kam’lanaut from Final Fantasy XI

Eald’narche from Final Fantasy XI

Vaan from Final Fantasy XII (#ad)

Vayne Carudas Solidor from Final Fantasy XII

Gabranth (Noah fon Ronsenburg) from Final Fantasy XII

Snow Villiers from Final Fantasy XIII

Ciaran from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

Jegran from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

Welp, that’s a lot to choose from. If Lunafreya’s BT was in this shop, I’d readily pick hers. Heck, I was all set to get Sherlotta’s Burst already. Ahh, if only I hadn’t gotten her BT from the Professional’s Pride banner.

Anyway, let’s take a closer look at these chars and see if I can narrow my choices down some more:

The Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy I

Have the Warrior of Light’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex is Purple or at Ex+ 3/3.

The Warrior of Light (WoL) is a tank, and a really good one at that. It’s pointless to rely on him for damage though.

If you had his and a DPS char’s Burst on the same team, it’s highly likely that you’d choose to use the DPS char’s Burst as opposed to WoL’s.

I don’t think WoL needs his BT, but I wouldn’t say no if I happen to get it via tickets or a free pull or something. But even if I get the Warrior of Light’s Burst, currently have no plans to Green it or get it to BT+ 3/3 or even BT+ 0/3.

The Warrior of Light has already gotten a Force weapon (currently the latest weapon tier in DFFOO) in the Japanese version of Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia. Don’t know too much about it though and not sure if I’ll pull for it.

There’s gonna be 2 banners featuring WoL’s FR. One will have his BT while the other will have Garnet Til Alexandros XVII’s (from FInal Fantasy IX) Burst. Already have Garnet’s BT. 

If I decide to pull for the Warrior of Light’s FR, I’d do so on the banner with the BT that I don’t have yet. So I’m better off not exchanging my Tokens for WoL’s BT.

Firion from Final Fantasy II

Have Firion’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex has been Purpled.

Firion is a mix between a support, healer, and DPS. IIRC, he can battery the party and his LD has a trap feature. It’s been a long time since I’ve last used him.

He’s good, or he was, but it’s also been a while since he last got updated and reworked so he’s been powercrept by now. 

Even in the Japanese version of DFFOO, Firion still hasn’t gotten a Force weapon yet. Even if I get his BT, currently have no plans of Greening it so he’s out of this list.

The Emperor from Final Fantasy II

Have the Emperor’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex has been Purpled.

The Emperor is a magical DPS with trap debuffs. He’s pretty good but he’s been powercrept by now. He still doesn’t have a Force weapon either. Not really interested in him and have no plans to Green him so he’s out.

Onion Knight from Final Fantasy III

Have Onion Knight’s 15cp, 35cp, and Ex fully MLB. Missing his LD and his Ex hasn’t even been Realized to 0/3.

The latest story chapter where he was featured really made me hate him so, at the moment, don’t really want anything to do with him, and that’s why he’s out.

Golbez from Final Fantasy IV

Have Golbez’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex has been Purpled.

Golbez is a magical DPS who deals dark elemental damage. He’s pretty good but he’s been powercrept by now. He still doesn’t have a Force weapon. Don’t have any plans to Green him even if I get his BT so he’s out.

Ceodore Harvey from Final Fantasy IV

Have Ceodore’s 15cp, 35cp, and Ex fully MLB. His Ex has been Realized to 0/3. Missing his LD.

Never really got to use Ceodore since I wasn’t able to get his LD so didn’t bother to Purple his Ex. IIRC, he deals holy damage and he’s a mix between a support and a DPS.

Even if I get his BT, can’t really do anything with him since I don’t have his LD. Plus he’s been powercrept by now and he still doesn’t have a Force weapon. 

I’m better off just pulling for him when he gets his FR so I can go for 3 of his weapons at once.

Exdeath from Final Fantasy V

Have Exdeath’s 15cp and 35cp. Missing his LD and Ex. His 15cp hasn’t been limit broken at all. His 35cp has been limit broken once.

Exdeath has some sort of poison and curse mechanic or something. Not really interested in him so he’s out.

Kefka Palazzo from Final Fantasy VI

Have Kefka’s 15cp, 35cp, and LD fully MLB. His Ex has been limit broken twice. Don’t like Kefka at all so he’s out.

Laguna Loire from Final Fantasy VIII

Have Laguna’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex has been Purpled.

Laguna’s a debuffer who also offers a bit of support. His debuffs are pretty good but it’s been a while since he last got updated so he’s been powercrept by now. 

He doesn’t have a FR yet either. Have no plans to Green him even if I get his BT so he’s out.

Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX

Have Zidane’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex has been Purpled.

Zidane is a speedy debuffer who can also delete the turns of enemies. He can deal pretty good damage too. But he’s been powercrept by now and he doesn’t have a FR yet. Currently have no plans to Green him so he’s out.

Jecht from Final Fantasy X

Have Jecht’s 15cp, 35cp, and Ex fully MLB. His Ex has been Purpled. Have a copy of his LD that hasn’t been limit broken at all.

Jecht is a physical DPS who is locked to the fire element. He’s pretty good but he’s also been powercrept by now and he doesn’t have a FR yet. Also have no plans to Green him so he’s out.

Shantotto from Final Fantasy XI

Have Shantotto’s 15cp, 35cp, and LD fully MLB. Have a copy of her Ex that hasn’t been limit broken at all.

Shantotto is a magical DPS who can also debuff enemies. She’s been powercrept by now and not really interested in her so she’s out.

Prishe from Final Fantasy XI

Have Prishe’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. Her Ex has been Purpled.

Prishe is a physical DPS who deals pretty good damage. It’s been a while since she was last updated though and she doesn’t have a FR yet. Have no plans of Greening her even if I get her BT so she’s out.

Ugh. So far, no one is really standing out as a must-have to me. I already have all the Bursts that I would be inclined to Green. The resources needed to BT+ 3/3 a char are still really scarce so have to be super selective in who to Green.

I guess I can just pick a Burst then just not bother to upgrade it. That feels like a waste, but not really all that attached to any of the chars on this list. And there are some that I just don’t like. 

Plus most, if not all, of these chars have been powercrept by now so it’s even more of a waste if I actually Green any of them.

Kam’lanaut from Final Fantasy XI

Well, here’s an example of a char who has not been powercrept yet. In fact, Kam’lanaut just recently got a rework and he just recently got his Burst and Force weapons.

His FR is also currently one of the best Force weapons in DFFOO. With the proper setup, it’s possible to get the HP damage bonus during Kam’lanaut’s force time really high.

Have Kam’lanaut’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, FR, and LD fully MLB. His Ex has been Purpled.

Kam’lanaut is a physical DPS slash debuffer. He deals ice elemental damage. One of the effects of his BT+ 3/3 is that, after every turn, the enemies will automatically be afflicted with 1 turn of a framed paralyze debuff.

This works very well with Kam’lanaut’s FR because to get the HP damage bonus really high, your DPS needs to deal ice damage while launching paralyzed enemies.

Kam’lanaut can inflict the paralyze debuff with one of his base skills but this requires a bit of setup. You have to use his skill 1 (IIRC) or his LD first. This will then transform his skill 2 into its plus version so you can use it to paralyze all enemies.

I have been able to get Kam’lanaut to work with just his 15cp, 35cp, Ex, LD, and FR but it is a hassle to set things up with him without his BT+ so I only bother to use my Kam’lanaut if I can’t borrow a friend support Kam’lanaut and if I really can’t clear a fight using any of my other chars.

I like how Kam’lanaut’s FR can really increase the damage output of my DPS. What I don’t like is Kam’lanaut himself. If he wasn’t so meta, wouldn’t have bothered to pull for him.

Even if I get his Burst, I don’t want to Green him. I’m actually starting to move on from using him. If I need a Kam’lanaut, I just borrow a friend support one. Otherwise, I just make do with my other Force weapons.

Kam’lanaut might be the best Burst to pick from this list but I don’t want to go for him. Besides, I’ve been able to make do without his BT for a while now so it stands to reason that I’ll keep being able to make do without it.

Plus, it looks like we’re about to get better Force weapons so I’ll just pull for those rather than try to stick with Kam’lanaut’s. In short, he’s also out.

Eald’narche from Final Fantasy XI

Have Eald’narche’s - meh. It doesn’t matter what I have for him. Not interested in him either. So he’s out.

Vaan from Final Fantasy XII

Have Vaan’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex is at Ex+ 3/3.

Vaan’s a magical DPS who dabbles in various elements. It’s been a while since he was last updated, but he’s set to get a rework and his Force weapon soon.

Been hearing some good things about Vaan’s FR. Am actually thinking of pulling for it. Not sure about Greening Vaan but so far, he’s the only char on this list that seemes remotely interesting to me.

I do like Vaan well enough but he’s not a fave or anything. Still, I’m more inclined to choose his BT over the likes of Kefka and Kam’lanaut.

There will be 2 banners featuring Vaan’s FR. One will also have Vaan’s BT while the other will have Minwu’s (from Final Fantasy II) Burst.

Minwu is gonna be one of the newest playable chars in DFFOO so don’t have anything for him yet. Don’t know if I actually want to pull for him. 

But I was thinking, if I pick Vaan from the Burst Power Token Exchange shop, then when his FR shows up, I can pull for it on the banner with Minwu’s Burst.

If I pick Vaan now though, not really gonna be doing anything with him. I mean, I’ll equip him with his BT then sell his Ex weapon but I’m definitely not gonna Green him yet. 

Not even sure if I really want to Green him. So I don’t know. But for now, Vaan is in since I’ve basically already said no to everyone else who came before him so I’m running out of options to choose from.

Vayne Carudas Solidor from Final Fantasy XII

Have Vayne’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex is at Ex+ 3/3.

Vayne’s a DPS with a rebreak mechanic. He’s been powercrept by now but he’s about to get a rework and his Force weapon.

Haven’t heard much about Vayne’s FR so don’t know how good it is. Not really interested in Vayne though. I think I’ll pick Vaan over him so he’s out.

Gabranth (Noah fon Ronsenburg) from Final Fantasy XII

Have Gabranth’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, LD, and FR fully MLB. His Ex is at Ex+ 3/3.

Gabranth is a debuffer who can also battery the party. He has moves that can rebreak enemies. His FR is pretty good. It just showed up recently, and I’ve already gotten to use it in some Shinryu (level 300) quests.

Not sure about picking Gabranth’s Burst though. I’ve been able to make him work without it so not sure I really need it. Don’t want to Green it either even if I do end up getting it. So he’s out.

Snow Villiers from Final Fantasy XIII

Have Snow’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex is at Ex+ 3/3.

Snow is a pretty good tank. IIRC, he also offers ice enchant and imperil or maybe that’s only with his BT+ 3/3. Not sure, but I guess it doesn’t really matter because also have no plans of Greening Snow. 

He’s been kinda powercrept by now and he isn’t set to get a Force weapon anytime soon so he’s out.

Ciaran from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

Have Ciaran’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. His Ex has been Purpled.

Ciaran’s a support with pretty good buffs and auras but, IIRC, he can’t heal.

Supports are always nice to have but I don’t know about going for Ciaran. For one thing, even if I get his BT, don’t want to Green it.

Plus, I already have a lot of supports and those supports can actually heal. Sherlotta’s an example of that. She’s awesome. And yeah, I did Green her. Fully built and maxed her out. 

And I’m planning to do the same for Lunafreya (she’s also a support, healer, and buffer like Sherlotta) so I don’t think I really need Ciaran right now. In short, he’s out.

Jegran from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

Not interested in Jegran at all so the only thing I have for him is his LD which hasn’t been limit broken at all. Never pulled for him when he first showed up in DFFOO. 

IIRC, got his LD from a free draw or something and never did anything with it other than equip it to Jegran. It’s been a while since Jegran was introduced as a playable char in this game and still not interested in him so he’s out.

Vaan vs Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

That leaves me with Vaan as my only option. Still not entirely sure about this, but who else am I supposed to pick? 

Not really interested in most of the chars on this list. Ahh, if only I didn’t get Sherlotta’s BT yet. If only my Tokens won’t start expiring before Lunafreya’s banner gets here.

I wonder if it would be better to just let a few Tokens expire so I can get Lunafreya’s BT.

But then again, Lunafreya’s gonna be the latest playable char in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia which means I currently have none of her weapons. So even if I can Token her BT, I’ll still be pulling on her banner for the rest of her weapons.

Maybe while pulling for Lunafreya’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, LD, and FR, her Burst will show up. Even if it doesn’t, maybe I can just go all the way to the pity for it. I do have enough gems saved up to be able to do this.

Hmm. Gonna need to think about this some more. At least I still have a bit of time left although really need to hurry and make a decision already.

Burst Power Token Exchange Shop Pick

Now have only 3 days left before some of my Burst Tokens will start expiring so really need to make a decision already.

I guess I should just go with Vaan’s BT. So none of my Tokens will be wasted.

Besides, I do have enough gems to get Lunafreya’s Burst although I do hope I won’t end up having to pity it.

And now it’s done. Just went ahead and exchanged 50 of my Burst Power Tokens for Vaan’s BT, Durandal (XII).

Removed Vaan’s Ex from him then equipped him with his Burst. Haven’t bothered to level it up yet though.

Conclusion

So, what about you? Which BT did you pick from the Burst Power Token Exchange Shop? What do you think about this feature? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging or replying to this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia game account

#dissidia final fantasy opera omnia #featuring these chars: #vayne carudas solidor #warrior of light #ceodore harvey #vaan #gabranth #firion #golbez #and more #final fantasy 12 #dffoo #dffoo burst power token exchange shop #gacha games #games

[autopotion]

There are a number of things in Crimson Shroud I was kind of iffy about that put me off playing it, but now that I am I actually find I'm liking it quite a bit. The writing, art, and music are all very moody in a way that's familiar to me (Yasumi Matsuno + Basiscape, you know how it is lol, plus I think the guy who did the art took notes from Akihiko Yoshida) and while I originally found the tabletop aesthetic to be off-putting (your guys are always represented by little tabletop figurines, and dice that you physically roll with the stylus are a big part of the mechanics) over time it's really really growing on me. I think it's kinda cute ngl.

I feel like this is the type of game I would've been obsessed with if it had come out in the early 2000s and I'd played it then. Really weird, very stylistic, thick with lore for a relatively short game, not very well known, moody tone... Like it brings Summoner to mind, actually, which was a flop of an RPG that came out in the early 2000s that was also openly and heavily inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, but also I have a lot of fond memories of it lol. And that game was also very moody

Also you can totally tell this was intended to be a sequel to Vagrant Story originally, it wears its spiritual predecessor on its sleeve. It really feels like a journey through Lea Monde abstracted through figurines, dice, and dungeon maps. This might be heretical to say... but I'm kinda... enjoying it more than I was Vagrant Story, LMAO. I think for two reasons: 1. turn-based combat is more familiar to me, so I'm adapting to Crimson Shroud's mechanical depth much more quickly, and 2. the major female character in this game, Frea, is actually playable, and is your party's linchpin. Will always be lamenting Callo Merlose's demotion to NPC in vanilla Vagrant Story for game memory reasons u_u

The main dude is also growing on me unfortunately. "Giauque," the stupidest possible version of "Jack." I had my hackles up when he internally referred to Frea as a she-dog early on (shortly after she was revealed to be a member of an oppressed fantasy ethnic group, which like. I don't even want to get into all that shit right now, but it's the other reason I was put off by this game) but over time I think it's clear that was just a very poor way of demonstrating their usual dynamic, which is that he took Frea under his wing and likes her quite a bit, but portrays himself as a gruff, amoral lout, so he prefers to bicker instead of be effusive. The implication is that they're a bit like each other IMO, both too sharp-tongued for their own good

I also know a ton of spoilers so I'm paying lots of attention to Frea in the frame story... We'll have to see how it's handled, but I do like that the main antagonist of this game is a woman. So few games feature a woman as the primary villain, and even if they do, they find ways to blunt her impact (like Ultima in FFT, she's resurrected at the ass end of the story and then Ramza & co. kill her immediately), so I'm curious to see where Crimson Shroud will go with Abigail (an insane name for a villainess in a dark fantasy piece btw)

BASICALLY I think if CS was a fifty-hour game I might find it more exhausting, but since it barely hits twenty if you're taking your time, I'm a lot more invigorated by it. The short runtime works in its favor IMO.

#crimson shrouding #weirdly it also like..... reminds me of pyre??? #which is an insane thing to say the two have very little in common #but there's like.... a tone thing. a 'pack in a bunch of lore in a tiny space' thing. #a 'you can see our fantasy inspirations openly and obviously' thing #CS is doing a spin on TTRPGs #pyre is doing a spin on console RPGs especially those that were inspired by TTRPGs #something something #... a 'there's a lot of depth here but we're still focused in on the one concept' thing

[kyndaris]

Let Us Cling Together

Back in my high school years, I uncovered a great gem of a game that was playable on the PlayStation Portable (PSP). It followed the life of a noble called Ramza Beoulve and his good friend: Delita Heiral. The narrative, with its focus on corruption and oppression, blew my teenage brain away. That a game could tell such a compelling story and explore such depths of the human condition didn’t seem real. To this day, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is one of my favourite games because of the strength of its writing and tactical-minded gameplay. 

And so, when Square Enix announced a tactical role-playing game with a plot that would navigate the harsh realities of war and those that would claim dominance over the land, I was sold. Even if it had the stupidest name.

Triangle Strategy is developed by Tomoya Asano, producer for Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler (similarly terribly named video games) and implements a lot of the graphical quirks of these two titles. Particularly touted is the hybrid 2D-HD mix. While it’s not the prettiest game, I still enjoyed the cover art for the main characters and the adorable sprites that I was able to control on the battlefield.

From a gameplay standpoint, Triangle Strategy strips back quite a lot from the old games. There’s no class changes beyond simple promotions. While I didn’t mind these changes, it felt like a lot of the depth in previous titles was gone. Serenoa Wolffort would always be a swordsman. Roland would always be on his horse, wielding a spear. Still, it meant improvising with the units on hand and deciding which characters to bring along. Did I bring a healer? How many mages ought I bring to the field to nuke the enemy from afar?

Whereas in previous titles, one would simply switch to the job and keep the same character that they prefer on the field. Having it scaled back also meant that weapons and armour options were also removed with a much heavier focus on accessories. Why give us plenty of gold if I don’t have much to spend it on? Also the emphasis on upgrading weapons and unlocking certain stat bonuses also felt a lot more simplified than was necessary. More options or locking certain abilities behind mastering a specific weapon might have kept some novelty to the game itself.

While the battles were engaging (and could certainly be hard especially in the latter chapters), it was also forgiving in the sense that losing a character in battle did not mean losing them forever. That was a relief compared to Fire Emblem. What I would have preferred however were fewer mental mock battles and additional battles within the chapters themselves. Or even a couple ad-hoc battles as the Wolffort retinue traversed the land of Norzelia within a day or two (at least it seemed that way when everything was gated behind narration).

Despite these minor quibbles, the battles were the highlights of the game. Each encounter throughout the twenty chapters kept me on my toes. Of course, there were also other battles that I missed out on based on my choices but the situations I faced were certainly devious in some of their setups.

Speaking of choice, quite a lot of Triangle Strategy’s advertising focused on where the character’s convictions would take them. Certainly, as I played, there were options aplenty. Thankfully, not all choices were so clear-cut black and white. Even though I was loathe to give up Roland in one of the early chapters, doing so made sense from a utilitarian perspective. If I thought of my people and their safety, the choice to give up one life to save the lives of the many would not be a hard choice to make.

The fact that the characters were all so likable also served to pressure me in choosing one option over another. In saying that, Chapter 13 had three options for taking back the capital of Glenbrook. There was the utilitarian approach: destroying the dam and flooding the city. There was the ‘moral’ choice of blowing up the bridge and keeping the fighting within the palace itself. And last of all, there was the ‘liberty’ approach of sneaking into the castle, taking out all the high-ranking officers and blowing up the Aesfrosti warship.

Picking the ‘liberty’ option was viewed by many as the ‘do whatever needs to be done.’ It was considered the nasty and wicked plan. But was it really? The utilitarian one - in my eyes - at least, would have caused more damage and excess deaths. It certainly did not seem like the best option to retake the capital. Benedict, especially during this chapter, seemed willing to do anything to win at all costs. Even sacrifice the innocent townspeople. If a plan was going to be considered wicked, destroying the dam and flooding the town would have been it.

As with all stories focused on intrigue and political backstabbing, Triangle Strategy also proved a little too predictable. Proof, I hear you ask? Well, you shall have it in two words: Silvio Telliore. As the opportunist ‘Littlefinger’ of the game, it was clear from his offer in Chapter 8 that he was going to betray the Wolfforts.

Was I surprised? No.

But was I disappointed? Yes.

I felt it would have been an interesting twist if Silvio had actually decided to side with the Wolfforts. Or even if Serenoa had the grand idea of sending a messenger bird to House Falkes and have all three High Houses of Glenbrook ally together. It was a missed opportunity that saw a great man perish to General Avlora when the writing could have done so much more.

Just like the Polygon review, I also have to say that Triangle Strategy focused too much on telling the players rather than showing. Dialogue was aplenty in my playthrough. Oft times, it felt like I was clicking through a visual novel with the occasional battle scattered within. That is not to say that the world-building was bad but it did feel like the characters wanted to exposit a little too much on things that had already been mentioned previously or were clearly obvious.

That aside, why did Triangle Strategy have to pull an Aerith? Geela could have totally cast a healing spell on Dragan. Why would she have allowed him to just die in Serenoa’s arms? They certainly had Geela heal Minister Lyla (who also appeared to have been struck a lethal blow).

Still, the plot for Triangle Strategy was still enjoyable. It might not be on par with Final Fantasy Tactics but it didn’t need to be. This was its own game, set in its own world. What it was able to provide me was suitable enough to sustain my lust for a good story of politicking and resource grabbing. True, the Holy State of Hyzante, the Grand Duchy of Aesfrost and the Kingdom of Glenbrook played into a lot of stereotypes with how they ruled (order versus freedom, anyone?) but it helped to keep motivations simple.

Even if in the Golden Route, Serenoa and friends had to face off against a demi-god wannabe. Tick that off my JRPG checklist. 

Considering the number of lore that was not addressed, such as the Rozelle homeland and their history, I would have liked to see more. Mixed in with a few fantastical beasts and perhaps a sequel would be quite enthralling. Too long, games have been focused on war. Why not sprinkle in a bit of adventure in the next one? Something akin to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance? There’s a lot of potential in Norzelia. Triangle Strategy kept it simple with only huge hawks that can seat humans on their backs but here’s hoping that more games start leaning a little more into more interesting enemy types and creatures.

Now let’s see if The DioField Chronicle can sate my thirst for a meatier strategy role-playing game experience.

On a side note, I finally know how to pronounce ‘demesne.’ 

#video games #triangle strategy #dragan #cordelia x avlora? #serenoa wolffort x frederica aesfrost