#thought i finished writing this very long post

[puppyeared]

i think the reason why im so drawn to spirit tracks and pkmn scarvi is that having the legendary/princess as a companion rather than a goal that marks the games completion makes me feel satisfied the way i would after helping a friend

my brother always teases me about how I still havent finished botw after almost 7 years bc "id rather be out picking flowers" which i wont say is untrue. and yes i know Zeldas been holding off ganon for 100 years, yes i can get some sort of idea what her relationship with link was like by recalling memories and going through her diary. ive always loved botw for its unique storytelling and setting which makes it stand out, because it lets you get to know who you're saving.

but because theyre memories, it only works if theres something for the player to investigate that already happened. its retroactive (but effective nonetheless)

on the other hand, spirit tracks does something similar but instead of having the player try to piece together memories and interpret them as a spectator, you actually have an opportunity to get to know zelda yourself by talking to her and working together. besides making it a gameplay mechanic, giving the player control over how they interact with zelda makes it so much more personable.

and I find that making the goal feel personal instead of an obligation gives me more of a reason to work towards it. I know what kind of person botw zelda was but as the player, shes still very much a stranger to me. but spirit tracks zelda? thats my friend!!!! she invited me to go to the beach after we get her body back!!! i dont want to whip her to make her move faster thats mean :(

you know how hostage negotiators are trained to introduce themselves and get to know the person theyre negotiating with because its harder to hurt someone when you know what their favorite food is? its kinda like that, because it feels like im helping a friend than being told or led to do smth

and although i havent played scarvi myself, i feel an attachment to koraidon and miraidon even just watching playthrough clips because its like!! thats my weird scaly dog!! it loves sandwiches and we're friends!!! you know!!!!!!

#i dont normally write long posts like this but i think ive been trying to put this into words for a long time and it finally happened #my cloth mother spirit tracks zelda and my wire mother lttp zelda #ACTUALLY ANOTHER THING when i was a kid i always felt guilty when i had to catch the legendary at the end of the game #because to me it was like 'i know none of this is real but if i capture you and have you under my thumb am i robbing the world of something #normal thoughts for a 10 year old to have #when i talked to my brother abt this he was like 'i mean yeah the point is to dunk on the NPCs what were you expecting' and i mean i think #i get that its supposed to feel rewarding because the legendary is THE reward. but it doesnt feel right and i dislike he feeling of pushing #others down to get ahead. i guess u can argue sun/moon does smth similar where you have nebby with lillie #but lillie still ends up handing nebby over to the player and i STILL feel bad because im like shit man you raised that little guy #and koraidon/miraidon feels less like a reward but more like overpowered motorcycle lizard that is just so oupydog. and i love him #and in spirit tracks i went out of my way doing some of the side quests bc zelda asked nicely and honestly that was enough for me #i think all of this boils down to.. i feel very protective abt things i care abt so stories that give me a reason to care hits harder #this can also go the other way bc i CRIED when i finished links awakening because i KNEW every person and im responsible for #literally the end of their world. like. there was a family with 5 kids. marin loved singing and cared about me. she was my FRIEND #i just. ugh. i have too many feelings rn. i kinda wanna draw more spirit tracks link and zelda i think that wld make me feel better #yapping #diary #loz #pokemon

[princeoftheeternalbog]

Helloooo, I’m not sure if you still do requests on One Piece characters or anything- but if you do I have a scenario in mind. I was wondering if you could do one specifically with Traflagar Law who has a S/O which gets injured and refuses his help. The S/O has a problem with accepting help and has trouble being vulnerable in front of others- only seeing it as weakness. This could also work for the other more colder One Piece characters…cause idk they just have a special place in my heart. (Though if you can’t that’s okay, but I thought I’d ask)

ALSO I read lots of your posts and absolutely love your scenarios and head-cannons, you literally portray all the characters so well and it’s amazing.

This is the cutest ask and thank you omg😭

I hope this is good🫶

And little trigger warning for descriptions of injury and blood at the beginning, I'll put a line so you know where to skip to if you don't want to read that bit.

I totally accidentally posted this so now I'm writing as it's up, forgive me😞 OKAY IT'S IN A FINISHED STATE I MAY ADD MORE AFTER I FORCE MY FRIEND TO READ OVER IT🕺🏻🕺🏻

I don't know if I'm happy with the length either i kinda feel it should be longer.

-

The soft, shlick of a blade through flesh rings in your ears. The adrenaline rushing through your body swallows any pain in an instant, but you can feel the pressure as it drags into your side and you wince anyway.

But you can't stop.

If you stop he's going to get past, he's going to hurt the people you call a family and so you can't stop.

His frame is hulking, freakishly tall and looming over you. The level of brute force he's exerting has your heart stuttering in fear, the staccato rhythm making you feel light headed. Though that could be the blood that's dripping from your side.

You hit his sternum, hard, and feel a crack. He stumbles, dazed, your fist comes up to head height and your aim is killer as it slams into the side of the man's head.

He's out cold.

The sigh of relief that exits your body almost overshadows the sudden pain resonating throughout your torso. Without an oncoming threat, you're able to take the time to lift your shirt and look at the damage. It's mostly mottled bruising but just under your lowest left rib is a long but shallow cut. Not life threatening in any way but still inconvenient.

It hurts to breathe and you're not sure if your rib bones are fully intact either, not with the way he was hitting.

The adrenaline is fading quickly, you needed to get him inside.

He'd crumpled into a very ungraceful pile when you knocked him out and it's difficult to tie him securely. But you do. And then you take a deep breath and haul him up over your shoulders in a botched fireman's lift.

Your captain would want to find out who decided it would be a good idea to send someone after the heart pirates.

Your captain would...

The last thing you think about before you hit the deck face first is him.

-

He's silent as he works.

It's almost unnerving actually, how quiet he can be when he wants to.

"Law-"

The look he shoots you is so intense that you physically shrink back, mouth closing as you drop your gaze to the floor.

He lets out a heavy sigh as he finishes disinfecting the last of his tools before he turns to you.

"What is wrong with you."

He's angry, you can feel it radiating off him, it digs into the soft underbelly of your emotions and you bristle at his words.

"I was just doing my job" Your tone is sharp but he doesn't flinch.

"Your job does not involved getting killed you idiot."

"Well I didn't get killed so it's not that big of a deal"

He looks like he's about to blow a gasket, the vein in his forehead pulsing with the renewed blood flow.

"Not a big deal? Not a big deal?"

You have the distinct feeling that you might've fucked up a little. That still doesn't stop you from digging a deeper hole to be buried in.

"I'm fine just let me deal with my own problems"

His eye actually twitches but you keep talking.

"It's barely a scratch, I don't need help- especially not yours."

The thunderous anger on his face is now accompanied by hurt, but his voice is soft when he says,

"Let me help you"

"I just said I don't need help"

"I don't think that you know what you need"

That stings. To know he doesn't trust your judgement after everything you've been through. There's a pressure at the back of your throat now and it's so uncomfortable, you need to leave.

But as you go to move, Law is much quicker as he grabs you by your upper arm, pulling you into his space.

"Where are you going"

You don't look at him.

He sighs before his other arm comes around your waist and he lifts, walking across the room to set you down onto a table.

"Why don't you understand that I care about you"

The emotion in his voice unsettles you, makes your chest feel tight and you really don't want to deal with this.

He's gentle as he gets to work on your injuries, easily cleaning and stitching up your side before moving to bind your ribs.

"I need you to remove your shirt"

Your hands are shaking, he hasn't really seen the full extent and you're sure he's not going to respond well. It's hard to get the buttons of your shirt undone so when a second pair of hands come up, you don't push them away. But him being closer means you hear the exact moment he realises how bad it is, his inhale is sharp and he says something in a language you don't know.

"Why didn't you call for backup?"

You take a while to respond, trying to squash down any emotion in your voice,

"I didn't need it"

"Did you want it?"

The question makes you squirm with discomfort, your eyes water.

"It doesn't matter because I didn't need it"

He sighs again. That's all you seem to be making him do today.

And then his arms are coming up around you, pulling you closer to the edge of the table and closer to him. One of his hands rests on your back and the other pushes your head into the crook of his shoulder, allowing you a semblance of privacy in such an intimate moment.

"You need to understand that not letting us help you is counterintuitive to being part of a crew"

The statement makes you flinch and you try to push away from him but that fight took a lot of your strength. His grip tightens anyways.

"Do you think I find it easy to be vulnerable?"

"...No"

"Do you think I would want you to die?"

You don't respond this time, chest heaving as you tremble.

"It's not easy to see you like this. You are not a human shield."

"I know" Your voice is quiet and thick with tears but he seems to relax slightly at your agreement.

The hand on your back is moving in gentle shapes, but his grip is still firm, as if he's trying to affirm that you're here and alive.

"I can't have a crew member that doesn't trust anyone"

You tense.

"I can't have a partner that won't be vulnerable with me"

Guilt and dread roll through your stomach. Surely he doesn't mean-

"I can't trust that you won't die because you feel can't rely on others so you're benched until we work through it"

Oh. You actually feel a bit relieved, you thought he was going in a much different direction. You lean back out of his hold so you can look at his face through wet eyes.

His expression is soft but he looks tired and the guilt rears it's head again.

"I'm sorry"

Somehow his expression gets even softer,

"I know"

He kisses you then. It's grounding, brings you back to a semblance of calm and you almost wonder why you were so apprehensive in the first place. He's gentle and warm and you feel slightly self conscious that your lips might be puffy from crying but you don't pull away.

It's reverent, like he worships you.

You think you could learn to let him take care of you.

You think you would let him do anything.

If it feels like this.

#one piece x reader #x reader #trafalgar law x reader #law x reader #Trafalgar law fic #one piece fic #op fic #op x gn reader #one piece x gn reader #Trafalgar law x gn reader #law x gn reader #law x you #trafalgar law x you #one piece x you

[vourequat]

愛しています、ミスター・ジャパン！

WARNING: Nothing really, just some fluff, not proof read as much, horrible English, fem!reader.

This is the very first fanfic I'm writing for my birthday special, basically I'll be posting short or long fanfics along the days leading up to my birthday (I surely didn't forget that my birthday month is tomorrow). So be thankful that I'm spoiling you all instead of myself (⁠ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ⁠)⁠━⁠☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ

The constant sweat leaving your body to cool off your body was a huge sign that it was indeed the summer season, when he saw you all fatigued after coming home late after a mission due to the heat and the exhaustion of your already tiring work he immediately thought of one thing and one thing only— the thing you two had always dreamed about.

"Hon, morning...." He smiled as he flipped the last pancake he'll be making this morning, he turned around to greet you in an embrace and a quick kiss to your head.

You only hummed, still half asleep.

As you were sitting down and sipping on the coffee that he had served you he decided to sit down before decorating the pancakes, it was quite unusual really, Kento wasn't exactly the type to sit down or lay down without finishing something first so you immediately knew that something was up.

Kento took a deep breath, "So... I've been thinking" he began.

You lifted your head up from your coffee to meet his hazel eyes that brightened the moment you made eye contact, it was as if his pupils formed a heart the longer he looked at you.

"Yes...?"

"Why don't we spend the summer in Kuantan like we always talked about?" He continued as he slid two airplane tickets to Malaysia over to you.

It took you a bit to get it but once you did, you stood up in joy and attacked him with a big hug and wet kisses all around his face.

"Well, someone's obsessed with me...!" Kento laughed as he pulled you onto his lap and looked deeply into your eyes, "You'll be the death of me... a death that I'll accept with open arms."

Once you feel the sand on your toes, you feel like you were in a dream.

You couldn't believe you and your long time boyfriend had finally set foot in your dream escape place, the place where you two had dreamt of retiring to after you leave the sorcery life behind and just live normally.

Behind you, you heard a sigh and a grunt.

You turned around and immediately gasped— The Kento Nanami was on one his knee in front of you!

"Hey..." You were already on the verge of tears as the people around you gasped and cooed at the sight that they were witnessing first hand.

"God this is embarrassing but..." Kento sighed and mustered up the courage from his entire soul and took out a small velvety box from his pocket.

"Honey... I... we've been together for a good eleven years now and I've wanted nothing but to continue to wake up every morning and go to sleep every night seeing you beside me."

He began to grow more flustered with the amount of people now looking at them, he bickered himself from picking this over a private setting but he was just panicking the entire airplane ride on how to execute his proposal, normally he'd go by every proposal with flying colours but this was different— he was offering you to be his wife, to be the mother of his children, to be the person he'll love until he can't remember anything else anymore as you two grow old.

"I wish for the heavens above to hear my wishes... my wish that I can be your husband, your partner, your boyfriend, and your everything for my entire life time..."

"Will you marry me—"

"Yes! Oh my gosh, yes!" You squealed as you pulled him up into a hug, every single person who watched all clapping and cheering for the two of you.

Kento couldn't believe it anymore; first, you two finally fulfilled your dreams to go to Malaysia and now you two will soon be wedded.

"I can't wait to finally see you crying as I walk down the aisle..." You both chuckled at your joke as he finally sealed the deal and slid the ring into your ring finger before giving you a quick kiss.

"Mrs. Nanami does sound nice..."

A/N: I forgot that my birthday is near but that's okay at least I didn't forget on the literal day of my birthday like last year and wondered why was everyone cooking and why were there so many people, but anyways, yeah, I'll be posting tomfoolery for a few days until my birthday (I won't say when, baka manghingi ka pa lumpia)

I want a Jollibee themed birthday (I'm literally a grown woman)

#jjk fanfic #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jujustsu kaisen x reader #jjk nanami #jujustsu nanami #kento nanami #nanami x reader #nanami kento is my husband go fight a wall #jujustsu fluff

[phantom-of-the-501st]

Thoughts on the Batch's Ending

Ooookay. This is going to be a long one. (Little note from Steph who just finished writing this: it’s nearly 3000 words…)

Tagging @saturn-sends-hugs @inkstainedhandswithrings and @eriexplosion because I value their thoughts (but I'm also not demanding that you read 3000 words of waffle)

I’ve had a lot of thoughts about the finale of The Bad Batch and honestly, my mind is a bit of a mess right now. One of the things I just want to try and tackle is how I feel about the ending of each Batch member individually, because while I can look at it and say “The Batch got a happy ending!”, I feel like that doesn’t really give me much of an idea of whether or not each character got an ending that I feel is fitting for their story arc.

So, this post is basically just going to be me unpicking the ending for each of the Batchers and working out how I feel about it (aka me trying to unscramble the mass load of thoughts going on in my head right now). 

Omega

Overall, I’m very happy with where Omega ended up. When you look back on how she was when we first met her, you realise just how much she has grown over the last few seasons. She didn’t just learn to be a part of the squad, she also learned how to look after herself. It isn’t just a development of her skillset, it’s also a growth in maturity, which allows her to have a clearer head and more rational decisions in the field. While Omega trusted her brothers to come and rescue her, she didn’t just sit around and wait for them, she hatched her own plan to not only get her and the other children out, but also help the Batch when they arrive at Tantiss.

Like Echo, she strongly believes in helping people and I love that that has carried through into her ending. While it would have been nice for her to live a quiet life, free of any more troubles, it makes complete sense for her to want to join the Rebellion. And I think it was at a good time as well. Omega got to spend the rest of her childhood being raised in a more peaceful, safe environment, before making the decision a few years down the line to go her own way. This is her leaving the nest and I think it was tackled incredibly well. You can see how she has taken on attributes from all of her brothers, and judging by her style choice, Phee as well. We see Omega using the support of her brothers to carve her own path and I love that.

Personally, I can’t really see a more fitting development in her story than this. And I’m reluctant to actually call it an ending because for her, this feels more like the beginning of a new chapter. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if we saw her again later down the road.

Hunter

Now those who follow me may be aware that Hunter was never my favourite member of the Batch. I didn’t dislike him, but I never really connected with him in the same way that I connected with all of the other characters. Saying that, it doesn’t mean I haven’t given a lot of thought to him and his character.

Hunter always had a lot on his shoulders. He was the leader of the Batch and that meant keeping a rag-tag group of defective clones in line, but it also left him with the belief that if anything were to happen to his squad, it would be his responsibility. So, with Crosshair and Omega stuck with the Empire, and Tech dead, Hunter had a lot to carry. At the beginning of Season 3 we saw that he had become more reckless and irrational, not really thinking about plans and wanting to jump straight into things. It was Wrecker who had to step in and make sure Hunter didn’t do anything stupid. Hunter felt like he lost control and that took a lot out of him, especially since this is something I think he could feel creeping up on him throughout Season 2, even if he tried to fight it. The Batch had started to make decisions without him, and Omega was forming close attachments to other people, which was digging a knife into Hunter’s fear of losing his squad. So S3 saw him trying everything he could to reunite the Batch, because he couldn’t bear to lose anyone else.

And he achieved that. But what I also deeply appreciate is that we see Hunter accepting that Omega wants to go her own way. This was something he didn’t want happening for a long time, but once he accepted that she was capable of looking after herself, and once he accepted that he could never keep her tied in place forever, he supported Omega in her decision to join the Rebellion. Yes, he will always worry about her. He even tells her that she will always be their kid. But he knows that it’s time for her to carve her own path, and that means for him, finally letting go and accepting that Clone Force 99 will never be what it once was. 

Wrecker

Wrecker is an interesting one for me because he’s one of the few characters where I can’t really see a big step for his character in the final episode. For many of the others there is some form of acceptance, or big step in their lives, but for Wrecker I don’t really see that. And unfortunately, I think that comes from Wrecker never really being the focus of any strong character development throughout the history of the show. That’s not to say there wasn’t any growth at all, but when we look at how far everyone else has come in their stories, Wrecker always feels like he never got the same treatment in this show. The biggest growth I saw was when he stepped in to help Hunter when he could see the sergeant was spiralling.

So, while I’m happy he lived and has gone on to enjoy a longer, more peaceful life than we ever expected for the Batch, it makes me sad that we never really saw anything big for Wrecker in this ending. No big acceptance, no huge sacrifice. We don’t even get to see him say goodbye to Omega when she leaves. I love that Wrecker got a happy ending, but I always wish that we had gotten the opportunity to see more of a character arc with him over the course of the entire show.

Crosshair

I accepted a while ago that if any of the Batch members were to survive, Crosshair would be one of them because I didn’t expect the writers to kill him off after everything that he had been through. And thankfully they didn’t! I love that after everything, Crosshair has managed to find peace. Maybe not completely, but enough that he has the chance to live a life that doesn’t involve him being a soldier. 

Throughout S2 and S3 we saw Crosshair come to terms with the fact that he was disposable to the Empire and that they didn’t care about him as much as he had made himself believe. And one of the things Crosshair fought with the most was his own identity as a soldier. For so long, he believed that that was all he was, all he could be, so that’s why it has been so amazing finally seeing Crosshair acknowledge that he doesn’t need to be a soldier to still live a life he deserves; his purpose is and always has been more than that.

Saying that, I want to address the hand thing because I am still unsure of where I sit with it. Following his escape from Tantiss, we see Crosshair has developed hand tremors as a result of his PTSD, and a decent chunk of the season has been dedicated to him learning how to live with them. The biggest reason for this affecting Crosshair so much was that it impacted his ability to be a sniper, which is what Crosshair believed to be his main purpose: he didn’t know what to do without the ability to use his hand. And we were given some incredibly sweet scenes between him and Omega as she helped him work out the best way to manage the tremors, for example, them meditating together.

But then that brings me onto my main issue, which is, why remove the hand? One of the reasons I keep seeing is that it removes Crosshair’s ability to be a sniper, but we had already seen that. That’s the issue that the tremors were causing. Crosshair had already been struggling with that ability as a result of what happened to him on Tantiss, so cutting his hand off as a way of preventing his sniping ability seems a bit unnecessary. Now admittedly, the soldier who cut his hand off didn’t know that he had hand tremors, so logistically it makes sense, but as a story tool it seems a bit bizarre to me. Personally, I think it would’ve been more interesting to pursue the idea of Crosshair learning to manage his tremors through meditation etc. and adapting to a life that has less of a focus on sniping. 

Another reason I have seen for the hand is that it symbolises Crosshair finally becoming free from the Empire and what they did to him on Tantiss. Him no longer having the tremors indicates that he is no longer burdened by the Empire and his time there. But that doesn’t really work for me either. For one, Crosshair will never truly be separated from what happened to him there; even if he lost the shaking, he would still have a number of psychological issues as a result of what he went though, so I can’t see it as a way of symbolising a true separation. Which is once again why I think that following the story beat of him managing the tremors would have been a more interesting path for them to go down with his character.

Saying that, I’m still happy with where Crosshair’s story went. He is arguably the most complex character in the Batch and I’m so glad we have been able to see him develop the way he has. Him living a long, quiet life is something that I’m happy he has gotten, and I truly don’t think that him dying would have brought nearly as satisfying a conclusion as Crosshair finally finding a new place in the world.

Tech

Oh boy… this is going to be an interesting chunk of this essay. So errm… it turns out Tech is actually dead, which is… kinda shit. 

Back when we saw him fall at the end of S2, I said that one of the reasons that I didn’t believe that Tech was really dead was because if he was, I would’ve found the writing kinda cheap. I said repeatedly throughout that season that I didn’t want all of his character development to simply be an emotional manipulation tactic to make us even more sad when he died… which is what it turned out to be. It doesn’t surprise me that Tech sacrificed himself, but it makes me mad that ultimately his death never really had any real impact on anything. I mean, they hardly even addressed it in the final season!

I get that animated Star Wars is known for rarely addressing characters after their deaths, but The Clone Wars focuses on so many characters that if we gave that much attention to every character that died, then we would never progress the plot. However, unlike TCW, The Bad Batch primarily focuses on a smaller group of clones and therefore not only has the space to explore the impacts that death would have on the squad, but really should find it a necessary part of the storytelling. The lack of attention given to Tech throughout this season has been beyond frustrating to me. He deserved better.

And I can’t write a section about Tech’s ending without addressing the CX-2 situation. Were we all delusional for believing that Tech was alive? No. Now before people come at me for saying that, I want to explain why that is the conclusion I have come to. You would have every right to label us delusional if there was absolutely no proof behind the claims that we made, but when the writers give us a character that both speaks and acts like Tech, what did they expect us to think? There were too many parallels between Tech and CX-2 for it to be coincidental and I still stand by the fact that we had reason to believe that they were the same person.

Now, looking at the other CX soldiers we see in the finale, they all seem to parallel the OG members of the Batch: there’s a larger one who primarily focuses on hand-to-hand combat, someone who favours blades, a sniper, and a more tech-savvy one. And I’m sure there is a reason for that, symbolically or practically, but if the fact that they all resemble the Batch is important, then why was so much focus put primarily on CX-2? There was no way we weren’t going to think that they would reveal him to be Tech.

Overall, I’m annoyed. Tech was such a brilliant character and I am so frustrated that not only did he get a death that I felt was kind of cheap, but he didn’t get nearly the respect he should have been given in the final season. Now, I’m not using this as a way to bash the writers, and I definitely don’t think that anyone should use it as an excuse to be bullies, but unfortunately, I can’t be satisfied with the way Tech’s story ended, and I’m not sure I ever will.

Echo

Last but certainly not least, Echo. To say that Echo means a lot to me is an understatement, and I was genuinely terrified that I might have to say goodbye to one of my comfort characters. But thankfully, our boy made it!

Following Season 1, we all wanted for Echo to get some more development. It never felt like he had truly been used to his full potential. And thankfully, Season 2 began to give us that. Yes, we ended up saying goodbye to Echo for half a season, but we saw some incredible growth in his character, and him choosing to join the rebellion made too much sense not to happen. Unfortunately, this also meant that we didn’t get to see Echo for the majority of the final season, but I am beyond grateful that what they gave us in these last few episodes has been some of the best Echo content that we have ever seen. Watching him grow and find where he belongs has been a pleasure to watch, He really is an ARC trooper through and through. Particularly in these last few episodes, seeing how much he has grown to be like Fives, and watching him carry on his brother’s legacy, has been so incredible, No matter what anyone says, I believe that he truly is one of the greatest, and most important characters that we’ve ever gotten out of animated Star Wars.

However, I do have one gripe with Echo’s ending, and it’s the fact that it doesn’t actually feel like a conclusion. If anything, I have more questions about Echo now than I did before the last episode. Echo going to the Rebellion is an absolute given; he still has stuff to help Rex with. But the fact that there is absolutely no mention of him in the epilogue has just made me wonder where he is. Omega mentions Crosshair and Wrecker, and we only see Hunter, so we know that Echo isn’t with them. But we also know that at that point in the story, Echo also isn’t with Rex (assuming we’re in Rebels era). So where is he? What is he doing? Is he actually dead at that point??? I really hope we see more of Echo in the future because if this really is the last time we see his character, it’s too open ended for me to really be satisfied with it.

But if I’m being honest, I really don’t think that this is the last time that we are going to see him. And especially with Omega joining the Rebellion, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw another clone-centric show following these characters in the future.

Concluding Thoughts

All in all, my thoughts are still a bit jumbled. I still don’t know how I truly feel about everything, but hopefully this post at least gives some insight into how I think each character’s endings were handled. Will I change my mind at some point? Probably. But for now, this is where I stand.

At its core, I think the ending we got makes sense for a lot of the characters, and I’m glad that they didn’t all just die at the end. Sure, there are choices that I’m not happy with, but seeing that some of the Batch go on to live long lives is something that I’m very happy to see. It doesn’t happen enough in animated SW, so I’m glad we got to experience it.

#Star Wars #the bad batch #the bad batch season 3 #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #tbb omega #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #tbb echo

[coolnonsenseworld]

Samurai and Ninja in crappy pics because December here is under a constant cloud and I just want y'all to see them all golden and cute without learning how to take aesthetic pictures 🥴 💙❤️😆🥰

linktr.ee/Mezzy

#klance #can i tell everyone to look away before i write tags to someone privately lmao no? damn #anyway yes i meant music!! and thank you for sharing something!! #baking seems like a hyperfixation #like i know you said you baked once but then look at me #...i was thinking if i could make salads.... i gotta be medicore at least at one food thing #its a joke its a joke #i will one day get used to focusing on more complicated kitchen work than heating up meat or cooking things in salt and water #anyone else had trouble getting out of bed this december? #once i do i try to pick physical activities that dont require creative thinking because man #at the post office i had small talk with a lady waiting in line she didnt speak polish so u know me it happened #and she recommended light therapy lamp #im very tempted to try it becase i had record bad thoughts sleepless nights and jerking awake this month #it might be rooted in economic instability growing inflation costs of living and shitty working conditions while still trying to buy gifts? #but hey there are things we cant have control over and there are things we can #ive got winter wonderland comic coming though #i will try my best to speed-finish it as a christmas gift aight #i hope its going to be a nice thing!! #wow thats a long set of tags

[legendoftherisingtide]

[intro]

Bakugou is a prideful, arrogant person. He holds himself to the highest standard; he is the best and everyone else is simply below him. Everything he has ever done was in pursuit of being number one, shining above the rest. He has to have a perfect victory, he has to be a perfect student, he has to win to save.

He pushes and pushes and won’t let anyone see his weaknesses or his insecurities. He can never lose, he can never fail, he can never show that he regrets or hesitates or that he hasn’t thought everything through. He must never be vulnerable in every sense of the word.

Then why is he standing in the rain.

To apologize shouldn’t be a sacrifice, but it is for Bakugou. To pour his feelings, to admit his wrong, to let down all of the walls he has built and be vulnerable. And in front of his whole class.

He is willing to sacrifice his pride, to fully sacrifice any superiority he could have, to bare his soul and even risk rejection. Because he knows Midoriya is more important. Because he wants him to come home, he wants him to know his true feelings, because he wants things to change. 

Because Midoriya has changed him. Midoriya has opened his eyes; by showing him he’s allowed to be open, that his feelings should be expressed, that he has so much to learn, and so much of that was learned through Midoriya just existing.

He isn’t sacrificing his safety frivolously because he’s expected to as a hero; he is doing it because he has grown. He is doing it because he has finally admitted to himself that he wants Midoriya to be with him and safe.

So I will sacrifice this for you. Not because it will change anything, as much as I want that I know that I can’t just fix all the wrong with just this. And I am willing to do as much as it takes to earn your forgiveness. But I don’t need that from you, not now and not ever if you don’t want that, I just need you to rest. I did so much wrong. And I am sorry for everything. You don’t have to do this alone. Lean on us. You are so strong and being supported doesn’t discount that. You’ve taught me that. 

I hate the rain. But I will brave it for you. 

He would do everything in his power, admit so many things, just to get Midoriya to take care of himself. We see him being the most vulnerable he has ever been in front of people that aren’t Midoriya. He does so much completely out of character, all in pursuit of being there for Midoriya. 

For Izuku.

He finally gets over himself and finally tells Midoriya the feelings he has felt for so long.

He lets go of this idea he is inherently better and finally acknowledges that his hatred for Midoriya has always been about his own shortcomings and insecurities. But he still wants to be better, they are still rivals. He isn’t going to sacrifice that part of him because that is just who he is; he is still going to push to number one.

But now it’s different.

There is verbal and vocal acceptance and respect. Before it was unspoken; their relationship had changed ever since Ground Beta. They were proper rivals, with mutual respect and care, they were actively making each other better.

But Bakugo finally verbalizes it and tells Midoriya, not only is he sorry, but he wants to actually have a proper friendship; he wants to continue to become better and earn his forgiveness. He wants them to push each other to be better, he wants to continue to fight for the top spot, he still wants to be the best.

But when did it become something else? 

When was the turning point when it started to shift from wanting to surpass Midoriya and be the best, to wanting to keep up with Midoriya and stay by his side?

Bakugou has already sacrificed himself for Midoriya before. His body moved on its own; with no hesitation, he would save Midoriya. He has already risked his life for him. But there is a layer to it that I don’t think people talk about. 

He tells Midoriya he shouldn’t try to win this on his own. 

He disguises his concern with an insistence that he’s in it to fight for himself when he initially joins the battle. But it is to fight by Midoriya’s side and support him.

But taking the hit for Midoriya, jumping in the way isn’t just support. This is sacrifice. This is giving yourself to ensure the safety of someone. And it was second nature. 

There are two reasons and both are a sacrifice of something in the moment.

It is knowing someone is so valuable, so great, in all senses of the word, that they must be protected. Bakugou is sacrificing his body and admitting that Midoriya needs to stay alive, for personal reasons and/or for the world. He needs Midoriya to be okay, Midoriya can’t fight alone and Bakugou will do anything to make sure he will be okay. 

But the sacrifice of ideology. 

With every development, he has relinquished parts of himself. When he sacrifices himself he is not only sacrificing his body but is admitting that he can’t do this on his own; he needs Midoriya too. This isn’t him wanting to be better than Midoriya, it’s him wanting to do it together.

Midoriya changed him.

He doesn’t die for Midoriya. He wakes up and just as his last thought was Midoriya, so was his first as he woke up. He runs to his side. People are dragging him back, trying to have him rest, knowing before he even said anything that he would lose his mind over Midoriya’s situation. 

Everyone sees how Bakugou feels about Midoriya.

He sacrifices himself because Midoriya can not die on him. Midoriya has to stay alive. Midoriya has to keep fighting. 

There can not be a world that doesn’t have him in it.

This is the culmination of what has been developing ever since the final exam where Bakugou finally works with Midoriya; the day that win to save, save to win was noticed. Then furthered after Ground Beta where they finally talked to each other and something changed within them both.

But the final sacrifice is the culmination of Bakugou’s character.

He knows what this decision will mean. Everyone screams for him not to. He knows that he is going to die. He knows he will not win this fight.

This isn’t dying for the cause. This isn’t just a hero complex. This is because he can help Midoriya and he will. This is for Izuku.

I will sacrifice myself for you. To give you more time, to give you even the slightest chance of winning. I will sacrifice myself for you because you are who can win. I am going to die. I am going to die and in my final thoughts, I will ask if I will still be able to be by your side.

It is no longer can I beat you. It is no longer can I surpass you. It is can I still catch up to you. It is can I still even be equal to you. He has already sacrificed the idea that he could beat Midoriya, that isn’t what he wants anymore. What he wants is to stay here with him.

I will sacrifice everything I am. I have wanted to be the best. All my life I have wanted to surpass you and everyone around me. But you. I will let that go for you. I let it go in my mind for so long now and I have never wanted to admit it. Is it even possible? Is it even possible for me to catch up to you? Is it even possible for me to stay by your side. I can’t be that anymore. I am sacrificing even that now. I will never be number one now. I will never become the person I always dreamed to be. I will never surpass you. I am forever sacrificing that now. I will die here.  

But can I still be with you?

The sacrifice of his life is him fully relinquishing everything he is, admitting that he can’t keep up, losing all of the progress he has made, letting go of everything that made up his character.

And the last thing on his mind is if he can still be able to be by Midoriya’s side.

He won’t let him go again. 

#EDITED BC I REALIZED I DIDNT PUT A READ MORE SO IT MUST BE SO OBNOXIOUS #so I finally finished putting in the images and mustered up the courage to post it #I’m always so nervous about posting opinions or anything long bc I get super passionate and I’m scared it’s wrong— #i added pictures as evidence but in reality is was bc i was super insecure that no one would want to read all that-- #the intro was so long and was also made to apply to both togachako and bakudeku so i just made it a masterpost instead #this is still very long i am sorry but i have so many thoughts #but like yeah this is just my little essay about sacrifice and love and how they’re intertwined #and it goes both ways #but that’s for another day and another essay #togachako follow the sacrifice and love perfectly #so I will probably write one for them as well… maybe #bkdk #bakudeku #bnha meta #bakudeku meta #bnha analysis #mha analysis #bnha spoilers #<- for the whole manga but cmon if ur reading this you know it all #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku

[benevolenterrancy]

AND IT'S COMPLETED! Last chapter finally posted!

The Torchwood team manages to get themselves dumped into the middle of the Korean War and have to struggle their way through injuries, medical staff, time anomalies, demon hunters, and more general confusion than even they're used to dealing with on the regular in order to find a way home.

Meanwhile the MASH crew get a bunch of British spooks who just may win for being the weirdest patients they've ever had, and that's saying a lot.

#torchwood #mash #mash 4077 #fanfiction #normally i only post when i start a new fic but by god i've been working on this one long enough that i want to celebrate finishing it #i am very satisfied with how it turned out and it was beyond fun to write - i really needed something this kooky when i started writing it #and going through afterwards to edit and get all the pieces lined up was an excellent way to unwind #and against all expectations there are actual people reading it? which stuns me? i thought this was going to be a For Me Myself And I sort #of crossover #so to everyone who has ALSO been reading and commenting: thank you - you sustain me you're magical people i am giving you all little kisses #also the number of people who only know one of the franchises or the other... wow i'm so flattered you'd try reading a whole crossover for #series you don't even know #hopefully it was easy enough to follow even without knowing hte other show bc both of them have such bigger cumbersome casts... #for anyone interested who is a MASH Exclusive sort of person - they finally show up in chpt3 #it takes a minute for them to get there but i promise you that they do and they get to cause all sorts of problems on purpose

[grillbyz]

still thinking about the. asgore's winter alarm clock dialogue like. If they ever finish this (please) imagine waking up one day to asgore divorced-reemurr saying "he was... my rudolph" ab some guy he used to know like

"I was... his Santa. He was... my Rudolph." With those sprites. like. Oh he was yours and you were his, huh. Sir. Sir--

hello, sir, what was that about the mistletoe--

Oh so. he uses the same nickname your ex-wife used for you. Is that so. The very same huh---

Oh so you wanted to show him the sun huh. You wanted to hold his hand and bring him to the surface and show him the beauty of the sun didn't you

#undertale #asgore dreemurr #rudy holiday #rudolph holiday #i make this post in an affectionate manner thumbs up #also sorry for the long post but i found this page open in my ten trillion tabs collection and felt so normal ab it #Very aware of what's going on in deltarune as well but just thinking ab. the alarm clock specifically #i have many thoughts ab rudy and asgore in both games but also just #toby fox rly did just give us this #toby what are you saying about asgore toby toby come back here--- #i need. to make post ab rudy and asgore thoughts one day. or draw something. or finish writing things #stares off into the distance i need to finish my kingdings gaster pining fic where rudy and gaster eventually become friends #there are so many thoughts in my head. but also. #going to fix my sleep schedule fr if ut alarm clock ever drops bc dear god #deer god even

[lopsidedtreetrunks]

Happy 10th birthday to The Song Ever

#guys can u believe its been 10 years i feel so old bsksdjlka #ylvis #what does the fox say #my art #artists on tumblr #sketch #gonna write a novel in the tags now so: #i havent drawn anything in a few months bc ive been dealing with medical stuff #this sketch was supposed to become a full painting and it was gonna be awesome and the composition was gonna be great etc etc #this sketch has been in my files since late june lmao thats how long its been since i drew anything #so yes i am very disappointed that i couldnt finish it but since it's such a momentus occasion I thought I'd post this mess anyway :') #I just really wanted to commemorate it as (and sorry for getting all depressing here lol) ... #... it was kinda the last thing that brought me a whole lot of joy before a lot of shit started going on in the family that basically ... #... ended my childhood (metaphorically) #anyways i loved it when it came out i listened to it constantly along with their song stonehenge (which i still listen to occasionally hjsd #and truckers hitch when that came out about a year later i think #ANYWay sorry for rambling and being a sad little guy in the tags lol enjoy the art and listen to the song :D

[mirrortouchedsea]

My piece for @enstarsbb !! Super excited to finally get to share this with everyone! Mission complete!

(Pssst you should check out the artist I worked with too over at @alkaloidalypse /@/zacizach on twt/insta)

#shay writes #ensemble stars #enstars #enstarsbb23 #knights enstars #izumi sena #arashi narukami #those 2 r the most important in this fic so they get tags #i havent written knights in such a long fic before pwease be niceys #i was. very inspired by fragrance #okay its midnight i should sleep i just thought i'd post it while im awake so. #oh also it is unfinished but i dont plan on posting part 2 on ao3 so. #i'll post it here if i ever finish it.

[altschmerzes]

Hey! im ace and aro and was wondering if you could talk about what being engaged and getting married means and looks like to you as an aro person? I feel like so few people talk about it that i have no real frame of reference. it’s really cool that you’re happy and living authentically doing all these things and i guess yeah i just wanted to hear more about that if you felt like sharing! have a great day <3

yeah!!! i'm happy to talk abt that!! it's definitely nothing i've seen any kind of like..... broader awareness of, or people talking about, and i probably would've been like. more optimistic about my future if it had been something i'd seen, i think. this got a little long so i'm throwing it under a cut but here it is!! a bit of an explanation of like. How My Engagement/Marriage Works And How That Came To Be. (signed off on by my fiance, for the record - i didn't want to write out an answer to this without checking with them, but they're totally fine with it!)

i think it's probably wildly confusing to some people to see me post and talk abt being aro A Lot (it's one of the most prominent aspects of my online personality i think sdlfjs) including being like. incredibly romance repulsed, and then mention being engaged or having a fiance or referencing 'my wife' (though we're not married yet it is one of my Favourite jokes to make because 1. i think it's very funny, and 2. i just like saying it). people contain multitudes etc etc but i do wonder if people are confused by that sldfjs. my engagement is like... honestly everything i'd ever have hoped for if i'd asked myself at any point in the years since i started identifying as aromantic what my ideal life would include.

i've always had a hard time being alone and i wanted the intimacy and mutual support and just. ability to Do Life with someone that a relationship involved, while also being, as i've said, intensely romance repulsed and not really open to sex either. really just sort of figured that wasn't going to happen for me. the odds of not only meeting an aroace person (the only sort of person i thought might have an interest in the same sort of relationship i wanted and was comfortable with) irl never mind being compatible with them personally and in our priorities just seemed incredibly slim. which like... made me sad sometimes. i'd always sort of daydreamed about getting married which is wild for someone who is as romance repulsed as i am, which i know i keep saying but it really is an incredibly intense feeling for me (i tried dating once in high school and had several panic attacks before breaking it off after our third extremely mild fourteen/fifteen year old date, and often feel physically ill trying to read about fictional romance/watch it on tv). but y'know. sometimes we just don't get what we want in life, and i was fine with the idea of having my friends and my synagogue community and like. hoping my friends wouldn't all leave me behind alone as they all got into relationships.

what ended up happening is obviously not that. i'm really truly unbelievably thrilled every day to wake up and remember what i've got to look forward to every day. my engagement is entirely platonic, and it's exactly what both of us want and are just. beyond happy with and excited for. my fiance is a lesbian, actually, and has been incredibly good and patient with reassuring me that the relationship we have, exactly as it is, is what they want too, that they don't feel like i'm depriving them of anything. we love each other very much, and we're building the life together that we want, in exactly the way that we want.

and that's how it happened, really. we talked about what we wanted. i got engaged at the end of what i've referred to as a 'several hour long conversation' which is the truth sdlkfs. a close friend and i both had sort of 'evaluating the next couple years of our lives and how we wanted pivotal parts of our futures to go' moments about the same time, and it came up i think mostly as a half-serious suggestion that we could get married. for logistical reasons, it made sense for us. and then we started talking about what that might look like - what we wanted, from our lives and our futures, and our hypothetical marriage. and the more we talked about it, the more serious it got, the more real it got, and the more we both i think realized we wanted the same thing. the same life, the same way, together.

we talked about a whole lot in that first couple of days. one of the very first things we talked about actually was kids - did we want them? what was important to us about having and raising children (names, religion, etc)? then it was stuff like did we have strong feelings about where we lived. did we want our own rooms in our home, did we want to wear rings (i love my engagement ring. it makes me smile every time i notice it on my hand), what did we want to tell our friends. we had conversations about whether and how we wanted a wedding. what sort of physical intimacy we were comfortable with, what sort we might want (really glad we did that, and that we were honest and open about that - nothing better, it turns out, than Cuddling Your Wife). what sort of affection we were comfortable with around other people.

our relationship, our life, is what we want it to be. exactly what we want it to be. what makes us happy. we've built it from a vast and beautiful array of choices and options, adding the things we want and leaving the things we don't. it's an approach i would highly recommend to everyone, honestly - talking about what you want out of your relationship, what you want to do and how you want to be with someone rather than just picking which of a short list of proscribed 'types of relationship' you want to have. it leaves a lot more room for nuance and what will actually make you happy than much less contextually nuanced things like assuming your definition of 'dating' will match the other person's, or that the kind of relationship you want just isn't possible. setting up that kind of foundation in communication and honesty and being clear about our expectations and needs has fostered a relationship where i feel respected and valued and heard - and i'm reasonably certain (and i hope!) that they feel the same.

we travelled to my birthplace so they could be introduced to my family and my childhood best friend. it's always both surprising and amusing to me every time someone assumes i'm gay (gender is complicated but we both tend to read as women) - this happened a lot there, and as i've told my extended family and other more casual friends about my engagement. this doesn't bother me at all (i'm not out to almost anyone irl as aromantic, and it's a reasonable conclusion to reach given what information they have) but it's extremely funny when i also get to find out which of my family members/people i knew in middle school always sort of wondered if i was gay but never asked sldkjs. turns out the answer is 'a lot'.

re: assumptions, for the most part, we don't bother explaining the nature of our relationship to people. this is also something we talked about! we discussed how much we wanted to clarify or contextualize, and decided that ultimately like... with the exception of people we're very close to, and in contexts like this (fairly anonymous post on ye olde internet with the ability to immediately block anyone who clowns on it), it's really nobody's business unless we decide it is and we're cool with just letting people assume whatever. that does lead to some like... i can't speak for them but it gets a little weird for me sometimes, i'm not gonna lie. it feels a little like getting misgendered, having people assume that i'm in a romantic relationship. i say that as a nonbinary person who's mostly just. chill about not being out about that irl. that's the best descriptor i have to help people understand what might be a hard thing to understand. but it doesn't bug me enough to want to put myself - or my fiance - through what correcting that assumption would involve. i mostly don't blame anyone for it - it's extremely reasonable to assume someone who is engaged is in a romantic relationship with the person they're engaged to - except for when friends who know i'm aromantic and somehow think this means that's... changed, somehow? or jump to assuming i'm in a romantic relationship before considering i might not be in one and still be engaged anyway. so it's kind of weird, and feels a little bad, but not enough to really do anything about it except hope the world changes a bit and stops making assumptions about other people's relationships at some point.

that's really the only downside, hand to gd. that and worrying that there might be consequences, legally, if the wrong person finds out we're married but Not Like That. everything else is honestly amazing. it's the best thing that's ever happened to me and i'm so unbelievably happy. i never thought i'd ever get to be this happy, or have a future this bright and warm and full of love to look forward to. having spent a lot of my life for various reasons thinking i just wouldn't have a future at all, it's like every day is a really incredible dream, except i'm never going to have to wake up.

the moral of the story i guess, if you've made it this far in this novel of an answer, anon, which i wouldn't bet on, because it's so much longer than i planned on it being (SORRY SDLKFJS i guess this is more than just a 'writing fic' problem for me now XD), is that your relationships are what you make them. assuming that what you want isn't possible, or that nobody could possibly want the same thing, is a great way to cheat yourself out of something wonderful. nobody has to have any kind of relationship, obviously, if they don't want one, but i think there are a lot of people - aromantic and not! though i do think this probably impacts aro people. more. - who could benefit from the idea that there are more options out there than just like... 1. romantic relationship constructed in a specific way and following a specific path, and 2. being alone.

#gav gab #aromantic #aro blogging #gav answers #a MUCH LONGER post about my engagement/marriage and life and whatnot than i thought i'd be writing but #here we are. #the truth is i'm just already the world's biggest wife guy and i want to talk about it all day long sldkfjs #'how are you a romance repulsed aromantic engaged' very happily as it turns out! #they also just went home after a visit yesterday (were long distance rn while we’re finishing school) and im a big baby about it #turns out sleeping alone after NOT doing that is. hard and weird.

[aziraphale-novak]

btw social media sucks and isn't real life. like tumblr is one of the least sucky social networks out there because of its lack of addictive algorithm, but apps like tiktok, instagram or features like youtube shorts come directly from hell. it literally kills your soul

#not that i think many tumblr users are in other places #but i became stuck to social media for a very long time and it killed my creativity and motivation #and after finally getting rid of all apps with 60-second vertical videos available at all times #all my love for drawing writing creating things came back in less than two months #seriously i never thought i would be able to fill pages and pages with my drawings in such little time #or even finish a complex digital piece #and don't get me started on my writing which i hadn't worked on since. actually 2021 when i first got tiktok #even now that i'm going through a rough patch i'm convinced it would have been 10x worse if i still had instagram #let's kill addictive algorithms #social media #my post

[lucalicatteart]

Poll adventure (paventure? lol) Day 15: read the small story tidbit below the poll for more details, OR just vote based on initial impression

(✦ see past poll results + further information HERE (link) ✦)

Yesterday's poll decided that The Adventurer should purchase some new shoes for himself while he's in the city...

~

It costs quite a bit of coin, but in the end he decides that having a new sturdy pair of boots will serve him well on his travels. After he's done in the shop, he rushes back to the local inn before nightfall, eventually settling into a somewhat restless sleep..

The next morning, he orders some cheap vegetable stew from a food stall, then lounges in a park as he has his breakfast, watching the squirrels weave through flowering trees and birds pecking about in the dewy grass.. When finished with his meal (and sufficiently recovered from the emotional turmoil of burning his tongue on the soup), he quickly sells his old pair of shoes to a sketchy pawn shop before finally getting back to his journey...

By his calculations, if he he walks all day, it should only be two more sleeps before he gets to his destination, so he sets out to travel as efficiently as possible. He doesn't have the money to rent a cart, or the skill to ride a borrowed horse, but, he does have some fancy new walking shoes and a renewed sense of purpose. No more meandering through fields looking for flowers, napping in the shade, or scanning the ground for cool rocks.. He's going to focus this time!

......After a few hours, he comes across a broken down carriage in the middle of the road, with few people surrounding it, seemingly stuck trying to repair a wheel or something. It's hard to discern from afar..

Maybe if he helps them, he could get a free ride.. or some coins.. or make a new lifelong friend! Who knows? Possibilities flood his mind, this is what adventuring is all about! Wandering into interesting situations and making the most out of them!! .. But, then he recalls his previous oath.. he's supposed to focus today and not allow himself to sidetracked.. And who says he has the skills to help anyway? It could always just be a waste of time... Hmm...

What should he do?

~

~

Additional Information

the adventurer's current main quest: follow his map to reach the abandoned castle ruins and see the rare animal specialist about the mysterious egg he has

#paventure posting #poll #polls #choose your own adventure #GHWOOPPPs yeah it's been an entire month basically since the last one ghj.. I said I was trying to get back on schedule.. idk what happened #I guess I initially thought that april would be a less busy month but then it actually ended up being MORE busy with a ton of appointments #and stuff so then I had like no time. on top of trying to get a lot of other stuff done... so.. eughhh #I DO STILL want to keepon track of this more though. I want to at least get him to the abandoned castle so he can complete #his quest. I think like. the first poll a lot of people seemed to like and care about and participate in so it was kind of like 'oh! cool! #it can be a fun collaborative story with a lot of people!' but then gradually less people participate or care so then I kind of allow mysel #to slack with it as well liike 'oh its fine if I miss a day or two here and there' which then turns into a month when I have other stuff #to do lol. Because it does still take time. like maybe 2 hours to put a post together. even if the art and writing is relatively rushed and #quick. Especially since polls are not editable once posted so half the time is just proofreading the post and tags 15 times #just to make super sure there's no errors or etc. lol.. But trying to clear two hours of time during an already hectic day for something #that generally speaking very few people are engaged with or care about at all when it's meant to be interactive (like with normal art #or costumes or other stuff I do - low interaction doesnt bother me since that's not the point/it's not as relevant. but with an actual poll #you do want like.. the most poeple possible to vote on it etc. lol) so it's like.. ehhh #I was originally thinking like 'oh i could do this for an entire year and tell like a whole story and it'd be cool to see where it ends #up eventually after so long and the community kind of choosing the direction of everything!' but now its like 'well people care significant #ly less about the following polls than they did the first one so maybe not As Big Of A Thing but I do at least want to finish the current #thing going on' etc. I mean if in the next few posts it becomes More Of A Thing then it's very fluid. I could do it for longer #but with the way things are looking it's like. is it worth the time investment when i ALSO have 800 other creative projects I'm meant to be #working on?? etc. etc. ANYWAY though.. Still there will probably be at least 10 or however many more since there's still like 1-2 more days #before he even gets to the castle plus then doing things AT the place. #I want to continue his journey!!!!! I also have just felt sick and weird and so unfocused for a while eughhh.. sorry #OO I almost forgot about his injury from the fight. i had to just add it in the last moment lol.. SEE this is why I proofread 100 times #I can't edit polls so they have to be Correct the first time.. ueghhh

[universestreasures]

Extension / Spinoff Of This Thread With @shacchou

The vibration from his pager in his pocket was sudden and out of nowhere, but he reacts to it as effortlessly as he did anything. Tasuku, along with Jack who was back in his card form, both move away from the other members of the Buddy Police that had gathered to arrest the criminal they both apprehended. His face shifts to one of concern as he presses the button in the center, immediately connecting the human to the youngest of the two Kaiba Brothers.

"Mokuba, are you okay?! Are you hurt at all?! What's your status?!"

"Tasuku...I'm...I'm okay. I'm not in danger or anything. I just...didn't want to contact you through...normal means."

"Oh..." He can feel his heart rate slow with that confirmation, but he still remains on edge. "Well, I'm glad you're not hurt. Didn't expect you to use the pager for a non-emergency, but that's no matter. It's clear you called me for a reason through these means. So, please. Say what you want to say. You...don't sound like yourself."

"Y-Yeah...I...I kinda have a big favor to ask of you."

"I see... Well, all you need to do is ask me, Mokuba. I'll do my best to help you in anyway I can. I promised you that the day we met, and that offer still stands now."

"Thanks, Tasuku."

The officer can hear Mokuba taking in a deep breath next. It was clear as day something was up. The way he was speaking now reminded him of how he was during the period his older brother was in a coma, when he was in agony over his brother's condition despite what Seto Kaiba had done to him. He was a caring and loving soul, Tasuku knew that much to be true.

"I...I wanted to ask if I could...stay with you for a while? I...I need some time away from my house, away from...away from..."

"You don't need to say it. I already can understand what probably happened. In any case, you're more than welcome to stay at my place for as long as you need. It's no trouble at all."

"A-Are you sure? I wouldn't...be burdening you at all? I know how busy you are with your work."

"Of course not. Friends and family are never burdens." He makes sure to emphasize that for him before continuing. "And while I'm an important part of the Buddy Police, I'm not the only officer on duty. Besides, Mr.Takihara was going to have me go on forced vacation for a few weeks now that the Rare Hunter situation is handled anyway. So, it really is no trouble at all."

Ruby hues widen once the sounds of sobbing reach his ears. The sounds of crying where among his least favorite noises, but not because he found it irritating. Crying often was a signal someone was in pain. Pain was a form of suffering, and as someone who wanted to rid the world, especially children, of suffering, hearing it made his heart ache and his ranger towards his assumed source of it grow.

"How...How dare he..."

The thoughts echo in his mind as he clenches his free hand, it shaking in his righteous anger. Seto Kaiba was already someone he didn't exactly like for several reasons, but to think he'd do something again to hurt his brother after the stunt he pulled at Death-T? Did he really learn nothing after almost losing everything?

Whenever he runs into that bastard again, he's going to give him a personal taste of Tasuku's own brand of justice. No one, no matter who you are or what the circumstances, should treat the only family they cherish in such a horrible way. He didn't even need to know the full details to know just how bad the situation was. Mokuba's tears he can hear through the speaker spoke volumes.

"It's going to be alright, Mokuba. I'm going to help you get through whatever it is that's troubling you. Just stay strong until I see you, okay? Know you're not alone."

"...T-Thank...T-Thank you...C-Can we meet at...the park?"

"Sure, no problem. Jack and I will meet you there. He can carry you back to my place. You did say you always wanted to fly on a dragon, right?" Jack normally wouldn't be too comfortable carrying someone on his back, but considering the circumstances, even Tasuku knows his Buddy wouldn't turn this down. The dragon cared for the young boy just as he did, after all.

"Mhmm. S-See you soon."

"See you soon. Be careful."

The transmission ends and his hand falls to his side. His teeth gritt in frustration, his breaths almost sounding like a dragon's growl. Despite his politeness and warm smile he tried to maintain as a part of his professionalism, he was still a rather emotional person. He felt thing so intensely, so deeply, that they threatened to consume his actions. And his emotions right now were screaming at him to go down to the Kaiba Mansion and personally give Seto Kaiba a piece of his mind.

It's at that moment when he feels a warmth and sees a glow coming from his chest. Tasuku knows right away it was his Buddy calling out to him, no doubt sensing his emotions. He puts his hand over the pocket where Jack's card was stored, closing his eyes as he moves to communicate with him telepathically.

"Tasuku... I understand your feelings toward the situation. You are not wrong to feel how you do. Your righteous heart of justice always cries out at the suffering of others, especially those you are close to. However, if you wish to truly help your friend with the emotional troubles he is facing, then you must calm yourself first. If you are consumed by your anger, then you won't be able to help anyone. Your friend is counting on you right now. Do you understand what I am saying?"

In situations like this, Jack really acted like his own consciousness. Everything he was saying was absolutely correct. Getting upset now would not help the situation. It would probably make it worse than anything. Mokuba was his priority right now, not his brother. All his focus should be put into making sure the younger Kaiba was safe and taken care of. In a way, he's to assume the role of an older brother for the time being, the role at this very moment Tasuku thought Seto Kaiba didn't deserve at this moment. And it's a role he will not fail at for the sake of his friend who reached out to him desperately, a friend who needed him and wanted his aid.

He would not fail.

"I...I understand, Jack. I know what must be done." He takes a deep breath then, trying to steel himself before he makes his next move. Tasuku reaches into his pocket to remove his Buddy's cards, holding it up into the air as he prepares for their departure. "Let's go to work."

With that, Jack's card glows, the dragon manifesting in his mini-form before the human. Tasuku grabs his deckcase, the Star Pulsar, from his pocket and shows it to the other. The red gem in the yellow case's center resonates with a golden glow of Jack's eyes, the deckcase eventually transforming into its true form, that of a yellow drone with four points sticking out of it.

"BUDDY SKILL ON."

The technological voice from his device is soon followed by a light burst of wind as Jack's Buddy Skill makes itself known. Two green rings appear at the boy's heels, their power causing him to start floating in the air. Once airborne, he wastes no time flying straight into the clouds towards his destination, with Jack soaring at his side.

It is during this flight that he informs his legal guardian of the situation. Mr.Takihara, being the kind of person he was, had a soft spot for children. So, of course he was okay with the idea. Tasuku had his own apartment joined with his, anyway. It was up to him how he managed the one-bedroom space. He gave the boy that kind of trust as if he were an adult.

Within minutes, the pair made it to the park. They sit on a nearby bench as they wait for the younger Kaiba to appear, Tasuku getting anxious as the minutes pass. Would he get there safely? Should he have just gotten him? What if he got mugged on the way here? All these thoughts rushed through his mind, and he was debating about going, until he hears footsteps approach and Mokuba comes into view at long last.

"Hey, Mokuba. Glad you got here safe."

He offers the young boy a warm smile he hopes will offer him some comfort and relief. Ruby hues observe the other's response, Mokuba providing only a small nod. The bag he was carrying with him was quickly noticed as well. Seems he brought things with him. Good. It be difficult to be away from home without some of your personal items, after all.

"Got everything you-"

Mokuba then approaches the Buddy Police Boy Wonder, Tasuku remaining still as he watches on. It is then that Mokuba slowly moves up his hands until they find themselves wrapped around the older boy's waist, the other's head resting on his shoulder pad. Before he can make a response, he freezes in place at the all too painful sound of crying reaching his ears for the second time tonight.

Tasuku responds soon enough, wrapping his own arms around the boy and providing gentle pats on his back. This is not his first go around comforting a crying child. It was something he, unfortunately, had plenty of experience with, considering his line of work. Children were often targets of game-related crimes, but that was part of why he did what he did, to protect those who could not protect themselves. It was his life's mission and one he continues to get stronger for.

"Mokuba...Don't worry. It's all going to be alright. Have faith in me, Jack, and your friends to help you. We'll be right there by your side to help you through this. I promise."

His grip on the boy tightens slightly then, a physical confirmation of his promise. He was going to care for Mokuba as if he were his brother, just as he would do for Gao or any of his friends should they need it. The selfless boy who was too desperate to become an adult would always shoulder the burden of those around him, being their rock when they needed it most...even at the cost of himself.

"Now, let's get going. You must be exhausted after everything." The Buddy Police officer speaks up once he hears the sound of the sobbing decrease, gently letting go of Mokuba and directing him towards Jack who was now in his true form. He lowers his body to the ground, allowing Mokuba to climb on his back safely. Tasuku will be sure to thank Jack for allowing this to happen, considering he was not a fan of being ridden.

Once secured, the three then soar into the air and into the clouds, leaving the town of Domino behind for the neighboring city of Cho-Tokyo, a place where Seto Kaiba had no power in. Hopefully, this change of scenery would help his friend recover from the emotional wounds inflicted on him, wounds that he should have never been inflicted on one so young, so innocent...like Mokuba Kaiba.

#💎 Crystalized Hidden Gems (Drabble) #💎 Wonder Treasure (Tasuku Ryuenji) #💎 NPC: Wonder's Faithful Buddy (Jackknife Dragon) #💎 Vice Treasure (Mokuba Kaiba) #💎 President With A Blue-Eyed Lighting (Shacchou) #💎 Wonder's Game Of Life (Tasuku Yu-Gi-Oh! DM Verse) #💎 Vice's Monochromic Alternate Path (Mokuba Manga Verse) #tw long post #(Ani may reblog this if she likes to keep the full story content of this on her blog! #(i've been working on this on and off this week and finally finished it #(in short: tasukus heart breaks for mokie has decided to be big bro figure for now and wants to punch seto kaiba in the face LMFAO #(i love writing tasuku's pov its so interesting to me #(and as ive said before hes one of the muses ive put the most work into so im usually very happy with his writing and this is no exception #(also love jack got to drop his dragon wisdom as that's always fun. he's such a dad #(mokies in good hands with his friends even if they can only do so much for him ;;;; #(anyway ty to anyone who read this and this event in me and ani's rp journey is breaking my heart ;;;;; but its been fun to explore #(love to hear peoples thoughts on these drabbles or whats going on in any of my threads so feel free to comment away

[tommy-thomas]

Sintax error AU- Chapter 1. Part 3.

Uncommon ally

Alphys, papyrus and undyne stand still, looking at the foreing placed door. The more undyne looked at it, the more she felt uneasy.

Something about that door, other than the fact it wasnt even supposed to be there in the first place, made a cold sweat go down her neck

"Since when theres a door here?" She asks

"It looks weird..." papyrus asked, looking just as nervous as her

"I found it has been some weeks, but thats not what i wanted to show" Alphys aproaches the door, opening it

Inside theres an impossible pitch Black void. Its sight filled undyne with a weird sensation. The felling of dread, and hopelessness

"Its inside it, i want you two to take a look at"

Undyne hesitates for a moment, not sure about entering whatever that was. She could fell papyrus behind her, waiting for her move.

As the Royal captain, she could not show fear, specially not in front of papyrus.

Holding her head high, she got trought the door, alphys and papyrus right behind

Inside there was an impossible big room, lit dimly even tho no light were able to be seen.

The room is filled with a variety of objects. A table with sealed flasks, the remainer of the content still on the bottom of each. A shelf filled with old cassete tapes. A broken glass dome sat in a table, burned papers on its side, an old bookshelf, and at last, a giant computer screen, connected to several other computer bases.

"What is this place?" Undyne asked, felling uneasy but morbidly curious. Everything seemed to move on its own, not always looking quite right.

As if not even the objects knew exactly where they should be.

"My recurring theory is that this place is some sort of pocket dimension, but i am not sure" Alphys around the room, wobbling around sure of her path "since i found this place, i have come quite frequently"

Papyrus looks around, tiping his hat nervous

"This place fells weird..." his voice trembles with uncertanty

"And how will this place help us exactly?" Undynes walk to the table with the flasks, taking one filled with a thick Black goo, looking at everything moving started to make her fell sick. Focusing on something would prevent the felling to get worse

"I dont know yet" alphys said, her voice sounded far

"You dont?!" Undyne put the flask down, trying to locate alphys, withouth success

"Not yet" she grabs a book off the bookshelf, briging it for undyne to see.

"This place have tons of book and reports, all filled by hand from someone unnamed"

She opens the book showing to undyne. The pages have long turned yellow, the ink faded leaving but a small trace of its existence.

"Whoever they were" alphys continues "made hundreds of books around the study of human and monster souls, mostly of it is in an old alphabet. I have been in the work of translating some of it"

Undyne takes a closer look. The ink appears do make some scriptures, made out of a diverse range of drawings. She couldnt read any of it, or even think how this could mean something

"I have only been into a small portion of it, but have already found a lot of new information" alphys closes the book, her blue eyes looking deep into undyne's "if i have extra help, im sure we can find something useful"

Undyne hold her breath. There it is, the woman she fell in love with. Pure determination flamming inside those deep blue eyes.

"You can count on us"

Suddenly, all the computer bases lit up, beeping with life. The giant screen lit showing only a small message

[ i n s e r t d t ]

Bent onto the keyboard was papyrus, his head down, hat on the buttons, not looking well

"Papyrus!" Undyne rushes to him, cursing to herself for leaving him alone

She grabs papyrus by the shoulder

"Paps? Are you ok?" He raises his head, confused and appearing sick.

"Ugh.. " He mutters, putting his hand on the head " evrything.. spinning"

Undyne holds him, sitting him carefully on the ground, keeping close. She wasnt the only one felling sick with this place.

"Papyrus you're a genius!" Alphys runs to them, shoving the hat to the side uncovering a small little hole that glowed strongly.

"I didnt knew it could be turned on!" Alphys looks at the buttons and screen in a misture of surprise and excitement, a smile plastered on her face

"Alphys-" something felt really off, as much as undyne didnt wanted to admit, she was scared.

This place wasnt suppose to exist, she could fell in her soul. The longest they stayed, the stronger it felt

"What is dt..?" Papyrus muttered, his eyes locked at the screen

"Its--" alphys began, but was cut Short by another voice

"Ị̑t̖͊s͙̔ ͎̋b̲̄ṷͮt͍̅ ̫͆t̗͛h̤ͯe͚ͮ ͉̄m̮̾o͓ͫs͎̅t͙̆ ̠̓ị̓m̘̑p̫͂o̮̔r͙̍t͕̾a͉͛n̰ͣt͔ͣ ͙̓t̖̅h͔̽i̝̎n͌ͅg̺̿ ̱̊ò̮f̥̂ ͎̑o̥ͥu̦ͫrͦͅ ̰͗e̘ͦx̳͗i̫͛s͕ͩt̮́êͅn͉̆c̟͊e̥͌!" A robotic squeaky voice boomes, the screen turns into a horrendous laughing face

Plant roots filled with thorns materialized around the screen, wobbling around withouth any type of sense.

In a single second hesitation, undyne evoked her Spear, pushing alphys back pointing at the screen ready for attack

"W̱͑ȍ̩ȁ̟h̞ͧ ̳̽w̼̿o̲̍ ̤̚ẁah there captain haha" the face boings around the screen, as if to imitate trembling, putting its roots up "no need go get a͓̽ ̜ͨg͎ͬ ͕̇r͇̒ ̘ͭe̤̓ ̖̉s̲̈ ̪̉s̹̋ ̘́i̞ͯ ͖̑v̫͒ ̰̃ȅ̩ ̬̀ now do we?"

"As MUCH as id love to smash your faces, i am here to simply talk" the face smiles, putting the roots down

"Who are you? What are you?! Are you in change of this place?!!" She demands loudly, putting her spear closer to the screen

It smiles smugly

"Howdy! Im Flowey, Flowey the flower! And i am here to help you guys!"

"Im sure y'all must be confused, but trust me. You're all going to love i have to say"

Is smiles confidently, undyne was more thsb ready to explode that thing in half out of pure spite

"Let him talk" papyrus says now standing up, he still looks weak, but his intentions are filled with anger

Undyne bites her lips, but lower the weapon

"Speak then, flowey"

"Finally, was felling a bit treathed back there!" it laughs, patting the roots on the ground

"Anyway- i know you guys are trying to find a way to.. well, kill the human"

"And dont get me wrong, i totally support killing that piece of shit. Buut you guys will never succeed at this rate." It snarks

"So, i decided to give a little help. By telling you guys where to actually start. Which iss-"

It moved the roots, poiting at the tiny shining hole

"Right here!"

It smiles proud of itself, ankward silence remains

"Ok i heard enough" undyne brings her weapon up again, ready to jam it on the keyboard

"heyͬ ͒h̓E̲̔Y̭ͤ ̣̍H̱̊Ė͚Y̜͋ ̘͗H̤͛E̼͐ỴͨH̬͆Ḛ̎Ȳ̮H͂ͅE̗̒Y͕̓ ̣̾N͈ͯO͔͂ ͓̌N͔ͭḘ̑E̘̓D͕ͧ ̩͊T͍ͯŌ͓ ̠ͧG͓̿É͓T͕͒ ̝ͩÂ̠G͔̽R̝̽E̲͊S̥͐S̱ͨǏ͙V̯̍E͇͌!̖ͦ!̯ͮ" The voice squeals, the face getting smaller trying to 'get away' of undyne

"Ī͉T̘̏ ͙̎M̱ͯA͖̽Y̱ͣ ̰ͩL̰͂O̦͐O͇̅K͙̎ ̰͒S̪͑T̼̍Ü͓P̟̌I͇ͭD̗ͨ ̦ͫḆͯU̼ͭT͓̅ ͖ͬL̻̓I̫͒S͛ͅT͉ͦE̳̚N͎͑.̓ͅ ̱ͣA͖ͫL͉̓L͓ͫ ̳ͦW̖͊Ė̦ ̻ͨN̺̔E̹ͧE͚̔Ď̺ ̼̄A̔ͅ ̺̔S̠̚M͍ͪA͍ͯḶͧL̃ͅ ̮̀L̠͌I̟̚Ṭ́T̮ͩL̙̈́Ē̟ ͕͋P̗̃I̦ͯE̦̓C̩̃E̝̎ ̫̎Ö̰F̦͂ ͆ͅT̺̐Ȟ̭E̮̎ ̦̓H͚̅U͔͋M̤ͥAͥͅN̫̍ ̙̍D̩ͤE̖̓T͙͐Ë̤́R͕̐M̞ͩI̫̔N̯͐Ả̭T̫́Ì̼O̝͒N̺ͯ,̳́ ̦̽T̗̍Ő͍ ͈̈́S̹ͪH͚̃ẠͦT̬͗T͉̾E͍͗R̯͌ ͚́İ̗T̤͆S̳̊ ͍ͪS̻̒O͎̿U̙͐L̞ͦ!!"

"Determination? Are you crazy?!" Alphys go in front of undyne, almost getting blastered making undyne jump back

"C̹ͧr͓ͫa̲ͯz̜̏ỹ̞?̘̀ ̞̅Ḿ̦a̩̿y͔̒b͔ͮe̙͗, l̯ͯȳ͉i̬ͦn͖̐g͕ͧ?̼̉ ̗̓N͖͛o̜̒t̟͑ ̘̔a͇̍t̗ͨ ͔ͦa̰̓l͇ͣl̰̏"

"Think with me. What's the only thing that can kill a human? Another human. But since we can't really get a human here, we just need something strong like one"

"But DT its stupidly hard to get, and my lab, even if i knew how to use the old machinery, is looked over 24/7 by the human. And even then we'd need to reach its soul!"

Alphys voice squeals as she get more and more agitated.

"Not exactly!"

"With only a drop of its blood, im sure we can get DT. As long as we drop it here"

Flowey points at the little hole again, grinning

"Still really hard to, dont you know what that thing is capable of?!" undyne sweat runs cold, what was that thing thinking?

"Oh i know silly" flowey snarks "thats why i will help to trap him if necessary. Of course i will be counting on you guys to bring him to the flower patch, on the ruins. To give the first attack and to do all the hard work, buuut im sure yall can handle it"

Flowey blinks it eyes rapidly, as if trying to imitate a cute face. Failing miserably

"Why should we trust you?"

Papyrus sound angry, he holds himself on undyne, who is more than happy to fell him close

"Ẉ̷͐h̴̭̀a̧̞̒t̨̗ͫ ̵̙̂o̥ͭ͟t̂͟ḧ̵́e͂҉r̢ͫ ̷̳ͭcͤ͜ȟ̷o̊͢i͌͠cͨ҉e̥͐͡ ̡͈̃dͥ͜o͒҉ ̭͆̕ỹ͡o̢̥̽u̵ͭ ͎ͫ͘h̸̤ͯa̛͌vͥ͏ē̴?͆͡" Flowey laughs as everything fades away

When they came back to their senses, they were back at the original door, now with the familiar floor and walls they were used to.

Papyrus promptly bends down and throws up, shaking like a bamboo stick.

Undyne assists, not really know what to do other than give support. She herself was confused and still processing what happened.

The face, that place, so many things felt off.

And flowey the flower didnt looked nothing like a flower

"Lets do this" alphys looks at them serious "theyre right, what choice do we have?"

"We may not have another choice for now-" papyrus cleans his mouth with the back of the hand "doesnt mean we wont find any other!"

"I dont trust that guy, not at all"

Hes angry, looking at undyne intensely

"Do you undyne?"

She blinks for an instant, thinking.

It is truth that the whole thing was a mess

That place made no sense in any type of way, and the weird giant talking computer.

Attacking the human... getting its blood. Even with help she was sure they couldnt make it, no way they could defeat the human.

Yet, something burned inside her.

The honor of a knight, the vow to protect no matter what. The weight she swore to carry, until her body turns into dust.

"I dont trust the 'flowey' guy, but shes right. We need to try"

Undyne set her hand on papyrus shoulder, trying to comfort him

"You dont need go come, it will be dangerous, suicidal, and you have a brother to come back to"

She smiles

"Its not a shame to go back"

Papyrus look at her with suprise at first, then anger, then understanding

"No we.. we need to do this together"

He looks at undyne, not a single doubt in his voice

"Its settled then" she gets up, looking at both of them " tomorrow night we reunite at papyrus house, be sure to not get followed"

They both nods in agreement and a knot get made on her stomach.

What if she just sealed their deaths?

#i have finished it like #a week ago #but then i was fixing my writing mistakes and i thought #“you knwo what? this is shit” #and re wrote it #so yeah lmao #also mu wiritng isnt good? so any tips are very welcome #sintaz error is back! ....kinda #still jo time. but i am inspired #😎😎😎😎 #nanainani #sintax error au #writing #undertale au #eeeeeeeee #long post

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

I finally finished Final Fantasy XVI

Holy shit that game was good. And that ending. I cried. Multiple times.

After the game was done I had to go for a walk to get over the ache in my chest. It’s hot as balls outside, but thankfully I did not melt into a puddle. Heat aside, it helped me get some thoughts in order.

The characters, the plot, the music and the world will live in my brain rent free for a long, long time. (Cid for favourite character, in case anyone was wondering.)

There was emotional weight behind every character.

The world feels lived in and crowded. As much as I love FFXV, one of the criticisms I have towards that game is that its world feels woefully underpopulated. Here, in FFXVI, this was very much not so. There are people and it feels like their decisions have weight. It’s not just the protagonists and the antagonists, but also the secondary and tertiary characters.

I’m a sucker for political fantasy stories, and this one absolutely hit the sweet spot for me. In its politics it made sense to me. The fight for resources, the religious aspects, the very human pride that can make everything so much worse.

And the slavery, well...

This might actually deserve its own post, but imo it lent everything an extra devious note that you couldn’t distinguish a non-magical human from a bearer (that is the English word, right? I played the game in German), if the latter didn’t have a brand on their cheek. Humans can be cruel to each other no matter how they look like.

Bearers are objectified, not considered human. And with objects you can do what you want. They don’t feel pain, and when one breaks, you can get another. Logic like that is scary, not only because of its cruelty, but also because of how plausible it can be. In the sense that it has happened before in history.

I really appreciate it that this story is, in large part, a tale against this type of thinking. Against slavery, against greed and senseless pride.

It’s about learning understanding and appreciating the world around you.

The only thing that missed its mark a bit imo, is that by the end of it all, magic is gone. I can see the sense behind it, a little bit, but I don’t like it.

Clive associates magic with greed and pain. His trauma has in large part to do with magic. He was born a bearer and hated by his mother for it, he thought a Domini murdered his brother in cold blood and was branded himself soon after, to be pressed into military service for 13 years. Only then to learn that his brother’s murderer was himself. All of that, all that pain and misery, because of magic.

So yes, I can see why Clive would think humanity would be better off without magic.

But

Wouldn’t it have been more impactful, if the people had learned to use magic responsibly, that it isn’t just an easy shortcut? What if they had found the wonder that lies in magic?

That would have gone against everything Ultima thought magic was.

Imo erasing magic is an easy cop out, but that might also be fit for a post of its own.

And it also invalidates the development the people of Valisthea went through. As well as Lubor’s whole quest line. Which honestly frustrates me a bit.

Oh yeah. The side quests are amazing. I did every single one and many build on one another into whole mini quest lines. The stories they tell make the world so much richer.

All in all, I love this game. It’s not perfect. But then again, nothing ever is.

#ffxvi #geist plays ffxvi #ffxvi spoilers #I FINISHED IT #I'm more than one emotion #this got long #my thoughts are a mess #this is all over the place #and by no means comprehensive #I don't think I articulated some of this very well #I have so many thoughts #long post #the ending was very emotional #but it also frustrated me #will I be writing fanfiction for this? #y'all bet I will #there's so many things I could talk about with this game #is there someone out there I can yell with?