#I’m never falling asleep during an etoiles stream again btw. last time I did and woke up he got the code sword. this time he lost the shield

[zeb-z]

ok but the thought of the code actually glitching to break Etoiles armor hits hard though. these monsters are literally made up of code, they can glitch appearances, glitch items - of course they glitched his armor.

besides that, it's an ultimate blow to his character.

he's upheld his expectations as the islands greatest warrior, their defender. with this comes not just that responsibility, but a sort of respect for who/what he's been fighting off. the codes he's grown so used to. if he were to ever lose, he'd expect it to be from exhaustion. from being physically unable to lift himself up and fight anymore, because there would be no other way he would not stand and fight - but he loses without being given a chance to win. the code messes with Etoiles’ own player coding to unnaturally break his armor, giving a dirty death to someone who fights with duty and honor.

it wasn't fair, and that's the entire point, it was never going to be fair. like how they psychologically fucked with him using fake Pomme before, and almost won - this was never a fight to see who could win. it was a fight to ensure that he would lose. he’s reminded of something important - that he can bleed, and he can die.

this island doesn't play fair, and he can't shoulder the weight of the world on his own. a single shield will never be enough to protect a whole village. and now he's lost the actual shield, the one thing he could use to protect them all.

the loss leaves him without protection, both feeling guilty failing as the guardian of the island, and unsatisfied, because how can he say he truly got a chance to beat the challenge? there is no satisfaction in this loss, no way to come to terms with his failure, because it wasn’t done on an even playing field.

it’s hardly a consolation, knowing his loss was unnatural, unfair, because it’s a loss he could not afford. not only did he lose the shield, but he learned that there are moves that are unfair and unnatural that he can’t fight against. how’s he meant to fight something that can influence his own coding, especially without the shield that gave him the chance to fight in the first place? how’s he meant to protect the island, when he can’t protect himself?

15-1, G fuckin G