#SQUARE ENIX I NEED TO SEE MORE OF HIM

[baconplasm]

more harbard posting because I’m obsessed sorry

[pinkkittysaw]

PROMPTIS IS SO BOYFRIEND CODED!!!!! 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[xekutozoren]

Dumb Doodlepad

idk, ish pretty random ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Some ideas I had in an AU where KH3 wasn't a mess, Sora didn't disappear, and our heroes go on missions in their local team headed by Master Aqua. Lea slept in and Naminé is fixing something behind the scenes. That's the excuse I'm going with for them not being in the group shot. - 3- And Sephiroth's there. Bc this is the Aquaroth AU keke

I had originally planned to do fully coloured pieces for all of these but just lost motivation along the way and wasn't really enjoying it. But I also didn't want to just let them sit there so this is what you get.

This is Kairi admiring byootiful and graceful Master Aqua. Aqua deserves more in-verse recognition in general, the poor thing. Despite Kairi getting pretty much screwed over by the games, she was at least made out to be super important.

I don't know if anyone pointed this out but this was my first reaction to hearing Aqua's theme. I thought Square Enix was gonna do something cool and link the two characters somehow but they didn't even interact so... lost opportunity. Again. I also just realised Roxas is way too tall here. Ah well, he's standing on a rock or something, idk

And finally, the two coloured pieces. Why am I putting them at the very bottom where people are less likely to see if they don't expand the post, you ask? Well, frankly, I don't think it makes much of a difference given my low note counts. :P

Some Ven and Aqua appreciation! Because Ven loves his blueberry mamma and could stand to show it more. There's also very little artwork of the two together so I felt the need to do something about that. I'm imagining him being clingy to her here after she starts to get more attention.

Aaaand my favourite piece!

Xion being a sweetie and wanting to befriend Sephiroth after noticing he's a bit of a loner when Aqua's not present. Her two bodyguards are behind her being dorks.

Thank you for reading and viewing all the way to the end~ \(>w <)

Credits for MMD backgrounds:

edRevolutionnaire

Square Enix & Disney

Vianesta

Hallow

[lurkingshan]

Cherry Magic Episode 3

THAT’S RIGHT BESTIES, WE ARE FUCKING BACK!!

First of all, let me pause to share the good news for anyone who hasn’t heard: GMMTV decided to give a hearty fuck you to Square Enix by putting English subs on the episodes airing on Viu. All you need is a VPN set to Thailand and a free Viu account and you can continue watching Achi and Karan and friends. Cheers to GMMTV for making sure their international fans didn’t get totally fucked over by this mess.

Now onto the episode: ANOTHER BANGER. If I could, I would ask for this episode’s hand in marriage. A few important points:

This is all new material that is NOT in the jbl (but presumably some of it at least is sourced in the manga, I’m no expert so manga readers hmu if you know)

It all felt so so very Thai—a field trip! a street fight! new side stories!—in the best way

They are using much of the extra time to deepen Achi and Karan’s characterizations and add more heft to their getting to know you arc, which is basically my dream scenario for this adaptation

This episode is all about Achi learning to see past his own insecurities to see the humanity in others, even people like Karan who seem perfect on the surface, and recognizing that he also makes real contributions to his community that people see and appreciate. I loved the arc of this episode and the way they let Achi work through his emotions until he arrived at a place where he could be the one to reach out to Karan and offer him some reciprocation for his kindness. It was so beautifully done and well earned.

I also really liked what this episode did with the side characters—Pai in this version is clearly different from Fujisaki in the Japanese live action, but there were some clever nods to a possible aroace read on Pai in this plot about her ex (Papang!). Rock growing to appreciate both Pai and Achi more was also very sweet, and Min and Jinta bonding over the kitty was just adorable. This show is so much fun and I’m thrilled we can continue to watch it.

[rydiathesummoner]

I loved FFXVI, to the point where I'm still talking about it over a year after its release. We can all agree that the side quests were... maybe not up to brand standard but I can see what they were doing. The vast majority of sidequests focused on an everyday, non-dominant NPC - in other words, the people who would be forming the new world Clive and squad are trying to make. Mid invents a way to travel. Blackthorne's town learns to make weapons with no magic. Northreach starts to rebuild Sanbreque. Lubor's town learns to stop being racist, blah blah you get the point.

But due to I'm guessing either budget or time, both Terence and Kihel didn't show up at all in the third act, and I think they would have really added to the overall message of the story. Especially Kihel, she has ONE job in the entire story, and that's to show the ordinary people with no special abilities and how they are affected by the wars of the dominants. She already had skills with medicine using no magic. She was a perfect candidate for showing that the world will go on without magic. She could have talked to Clive about her family, her journeys, and eventually her goals for the future. Given how much she was affected by Clive's actions, and how much he likes kids, it's a perfect setup for an adorable questline where Clive gets supplies for her medicines and he compliments her skills, maybe he'll offer to tell Tarja about her or offer an introduction. Or hell, just a conversation where we learn her name organically and not by digging in Vivian's archives.

Terence didn't need his own sidequest as much as Kihel, but I think it would have been cute for a quest to tie in the lanterns Kihel mentioned. If there's a lost spirit in this game, it's our boy Dion.

It would have been nice to help Terence make a lantern. Terence could have a whole speech about wanting a lantern for his "beloved" to set out when he feels it's time. It would still allow for Dion's ambiguous ending. The player could infer the lantern is to guide Dion's spirit to some afterlife, or literally guide him back to Terence from the water under Origin. Again, not really needed for the story but it would have been better than the "we feed bearers to an arena monster" questline (tf was that shit?)

If I were Square Enix, I'd take this as a lesson: to avoid chopping people for budget/schedule prioritize differently. Medicine girl and Terence got more screen time than Waloed randoms, so their side content should have been written first.

[whumperofworlds]

Whumptober 2024 Day 24: Under Rubble

Now on AO3!

TAGS: @gala1981 @whumptober-archive @crash-bump-bring-the-whump @rebelxwriter @expressionless-fr

@fourwingedsnake @whumble-beeee @whumpninja @kingxlinkwrites (let me know if you wanna be added or removed!)

CWs: bombing, trapped under rubble, blood, unconscious, self sacrifice, male whumpee, male caretaker, whumpee x caretaker, Alternate Ending AU (because fuuuuuck that FFXV ending), death mention

FANDOM: Final Fantasy XV

A/N: I don't own anything in this. Everything belongs to Square Enix.

ENJOY!!!

_____

Collapsed building / Equipment failure / "I never knew daylight could be so violent."

Noctis was so bored out of his mind, he nearly fell asleep during the meeting. However, he forced himself awake by shaking his head when he nearly fell asleep, blinking his eyes.

The man and Ignis were still droning on and on about this politic and that, and while Noctis knew he had his duty as a king, he still couldn't help but feel bored. However, after everything that had happened ten years ago, he felt he should do his duty instead of messing around like he used to.

Occasionally, Noctis piped up to suggest some ideas, but beside that, he let Ignis do most of the talking. He wasn't used to these types of things. He was glad that Ignis, Gladio, and his husband, Prompto, were there to help him if needed.

He felt Prompto squeeze his hand slightly, and Noctis jerked awake again, blinking his eyes before turning to his beloved. Prompto smiled, before whispering, "Still sleepy after all these years?"

"Yeah…" Noctis yawned with a shrug, "I'm doing what I can to do what I need to do, but ugh… even now, meetings are so boring."

"Sometimes you have to do what you need to do," Prompto pointed out, "You're doing great, Noct."

Noctis quirked a smile at this. Prompto, for years, had been so supportive of the king, and he was lucky to marry someone like him. The two had been close for years, and their love for each other grew ever since the sun returned.

Ignis and the man appeared to have made an agreement, and they shook hands. Noctis sighed internally. Finally. The meeting was finally over—

BOOM

The building shook then, and Gladio, Ignis, and the man nearly fell on the ground. Noctis and Prompto jumped from their seats as they try to steady themselves from the sudden earthquake. Noctis' ears rang as his heart pounded in his chest. What was that? An earthquake? But there was no newscast regarding natural disasters. What was going on?

"Someone blew a bomb in the building!" All five of them heard a voice scream from a distance, "Evacuate! The building is going to collapse!"

The man bolted for the door and disappeared, never to be seen again. Gladio immediately took Ignis' hand and yelled out to the other two, "C'mon!"

Noctis and Prompto didn't need to be told twice. Grabbing each other's hands, they followed Gladio and Ignis out of the room, as the ceiling began to collapse above them. Noctis could hear screaming around him as people fled the scene; at the corner of his eye he could see a small fire engulfing a nearby staircase.

"Keep running!" Gladio yelled, and Noctis realized that he and Ignis were further ahead. Noctis hurried faster with Prompto not far behind him.

The black haired man coughed as smoke entered his lungs, and he felt small bits of debris falling on his head. Prompto was also coughing from the smoke, but the two continued to run towards the emergency exit. Gladio and Ignis were already there, waving at the two to hurry, that the building would collapse any minute.

Just a little more. Then we're—

He heard a gasp of surprise behind him, and he felt Prompto's hand slip from Noctis'. Noctis turned and realized that his beloved tripped on a piece of debris.

"Prom!" Noctis cried, running back to help his husband up, despite Gladio and Ignis yelling out to keep running. He was not going to leave Prompto behind. Not like this.

He helped Prompto back on his feet, failing to notice the roof collapsing around them. By the time he realized this, it was too late; the building began to collapse, with large debris falling straight towards the couple.

Prompto shouted something Noctis missed, and he was suddenly shoved out of the emergency exit. Their eyes met then; horrified ones to resigned ones, as Prompto disappeared in the debris.

Noctis' eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat, as he stumbled to the ground. He could only watch as the entire building collapsed, with nothing remaining of it after a few seconds.

"PROMPTO!" Noctis screamed, tears filling his eyes as he stood from the ground. He rushed forward to the remains of the building, but Gladio gripped the collar of his shirt, keeping him in place.

"Noct!" Gladio yelled, "It's dangerous! Get back!"

"NO!" Noctis screamed, "Prompto's still in there! I have to get him out!"

"You can't help him if you don't back away, Noct—" Gladio warned, but he lost his grip on Noctis' shirt, and Noctis barreled towards the wreckage.

"NOCTIS!" Both Gladio and Ignis screamed, and without a moment's hesitation, rushed towards the wreckage to stop the king. They pushed away large debris and rubble as they searched for the runaway king, screaming out Noctis' name along the way. The two kept their eye on the mount of black hair, but they were unable to relocate him—it was as if he disappeared into thin air.

"NOCTIS!" Gladio screamed, "Come back here or I swear to Shiva's tits, I'll—"

Gladio paused when he and Ignis heard heavy breathing close by, along with sniffling. He glanced at Ignis, who pursed his lips in worry.

"You're so stupid, Prom," a voice—Noctis', Gladio recognized—whispered, and the two heard hands digging into rubble, "you're not supposed to be the one caught in the crossfire. If you're dead, I'll kill you myself—"

Both Gladio and Ignis ran forward, listening in on Noctis' voice. The king's voice was trembling, on the verge of tears. Not a good sign.

They eventually came across Noctis, who managed to find Prompto, buried under the rubble. A stream of blood flowed down the blond's forehead, and he was unconscious. Noctis was holding Prompto's hand, trying to hold in a sob to no avail.

"Noct," Gladio whispered, "move."

"B-b-but Prompto—" Noctis tried to whisper, but Gladio shook his head.

"We're gonna get Prompto outta there. Sitting there and crying ain't gonna help him now."

"But he could be dead!" Noctis exclaimed, "What if—"

"Noctis." Gladio growled, using Noctis' full name. Noctis paused and froze in shock. "Let. Us. Help. If you don't, Prompto will definitely die."

Upon hearing that last sentence, Noctis knew that Gladio was right. He moved aside then, reluctantly letting Prompto's hand go with a sigh. Gladio could see the guilt and sadness in his eyes and he frowned. He knew how much he loved Prompto, and how he cared for him. Losing Prompto in such a way would devastate him.

With a sigh, Gladio crouched down and took Prompto's hand, feeling for a pulse. Weak, but still alive. Thank Cosmos.

He gathered as much rubble as he could, grabbing the largest parts of it, and he pulled. He gritted his teeth, as he grunted and panted. It took a few minutes, but finally, he managed to pull the large rubble off of Prompto's body.

"Iggy," Gladio ordered, "think you could call an ambulance?"

"On it," Ignis was already on the case—with his cell phone, he called 911 and began speaking to the operator from the other end. "Yes, a bombing has occurred here. The king's husband is severely hurt. We're in…"

Noctis could only watch as the scene unfolded in front of him, tears threatening to fall. This was all his fault. If he had been more careful, Prompto wouldn't be in this state. He would be okay. Not buried under the rubble, nearly dying.

"N-N-Noc…"

The three froze when they heard Prompto's quivering voice. Noctis' eyes widened, as he rushed forward and knelt down to the fallen blond.

Prompto began to stir, groaning in pain as he slowly glanced up at Noctis. He was hardly breathing, but alive.

"Prompto!" Noctis gasped, and without warning, wrapped his arms around Prompto. Tears fell then, as he sobbed. Prompto couldn't help but smile as he returned the hug as best as he could.

"Whoa, hey, babe, too tight, I'm gonna suffocate more," he joked. Leave it to Prompto for cracking jokes at the worst times.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," Noctis whispered, burying his face in Prompto's shoulder.

"You'd do the same for me," Prompto pointed out, "you can't be the only one who's a self sacrificing idiot here."

Gladio and Ignis shook their heads, with Ignis pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. Gladio could have sworn he heard Ignis mutter, "Idiots."

They were glad that help had finally arrived; they didn't have to lose any more brain cells seeing these two idiots.

[paracosmicparadox]

So, I'm falling back into the FFXV kick, and I have decided that I disapprove of how little complex character development Square Enix has given the guys?? Like where is the emotional depth beyond surface-level cutscene angst?? So I took matters into my own hands and have compiled a handy little list of headcanons / expanded canons that I think make sense.

Noctis: Has clinical insomnia and frequent lucid dreams (sorta a given, but bear w me bear w me)

Feels the weight of having to take so much on from such a young age much, much more than he lets on

Loves to argue

Would've been happier if he and Luna stayed as childhood best-buds rather than betrothed fiancés (controversial, ik, but it just didn't seem like he cared that much for her romantically to me?? Like he obviously cared about her, but it seemed like a really strong penpal vibe rather than a "We're-gonna-get-married-and-be-the-next-hotshot-couple" vibe. If you disagree, coolio, I'm not gonna debate w you on this one)

Has a natural sadness to his eyes regardless of what he's feeling

Went through an anime phase (possibly still in his anime phase, idk)

Social anxiety for the win

Severe RBF

Prefers tea over coffee (black tea is best---particularly lavender earl grey)

Can play the cello (practicing tho?? Don't know her)

Writes the most beautiful poetry when The Motivation™ strikes him (usually when he's home sick and half-delirious)

Prompto: Has ADHD and clinical anxiety, but is undiagnosed and doesn't take any meds for either of them.

Is legit like SO SMART, but can never focus, so not many people take any notice

Wears contact lenses (he had glasses as a child and I refuse to believe he had some high-tech corrective surgery to eliminate the need for them when lenses are cheaper and less risky)

Doesn't drink caffeine because it makes him jittery

Doesn't drive the Regalia when the guys are around because having other people in the car distracts him from the road. Also he tends to drive like a speed demon, which worries Ignis to no end.

Sunburns insanely easily

Could legit become a hitman if he wanted to with the amount of gun-knowledge he has. It doesn't matter what firearm you put in this boy's hand---pistol, SMG, sniper, rocket launcher, you name it. He can and will hit the target every single time.

Addicted to adrenaline

Pansexual

Has a lot of self-loathing (we see a bit of this in Ep. Prompto) and talks with an online therapist about it via text whenever his lows hit him. He's making great progress in learning how to heal and how to accept himself for who he is beyond the mask he wears for others

Ignis: More than a little bit of a control freak, and works very hard not to be too overbearing or critical about his friends' misgivings

Hypochondriac

Wants to protect everyone all the time and mentally kicks himself when he doesn't get there fast enough

Is SO PROUD of Noctis's journey and felt a stronger hatred towards Ardyn than anyone else in the group for what he forced Noct to go through (he stayed up at night sick to his stomach with hollow rage and baked nonstop to take his mind off of it)

Can verbally obliterate a man, but only rarely chooses to do so bc he's classy like that

After losing his eyes, he notices so much more beauty in the world than he used to (the sound of rain on the Regalia's roof, the specific gait of each of his friends, the smell of salt on the wind in Galdin Quay, the flawless feel of one specific silk tie he has in his repertoire, etc)

His internal compass is never wrong

Regularly takes antacids for his stomach

Has the straightest teeth you've ever seen

Demiromantic

Gladio: Hates being wrong: it's his way or the highway

Actually so much smarter than the musclehead jock front he puts up

A little vain and easily jealous (this man has a Jealous Face like no other)

Thunderstorms are his favorite; his ideal place to be is at a campsite, during a storm, with a well-worn book and a mug of Irish coffee in hand

Would throw himself in front of a bus for any one of his friends

Would beat up kids for the folks he cared about in middle school and spent the time he wasn't training to be a Crownsguard sitting in detention with the most unrepentant, smug, and-I'd-do-it-again look scrawled across his face

Can make a better smoothie than anyone (except maybe Iggy)

Spotify junkie

Had a dinosaur phase as a kid and can still name random facts about them whenever the opportunity presents itself

Avid technology-hater and only has a phone to make calls and join the others in playing King's Knight since they begged him so profoundly (he's sure the thing's going to be his downfall)

Gets most of Prompto's pop culture references

[bengiyo]

Cherry Magic TH Ep 2 Stray Thoughts

Last week, we began our foray into the GMMTV take on Cherry Magic, and it started strong. They kept all of the early setup recognizable from the Japanese adaptation. Achi just turned 30, is an underachiever at work, and is a virgin. He is bombarded by everyone's thoughts when his powers manifest: he hears the internal monologue of anyone he touches. At first he is overwhelmed by this, and surprised to learn that Karan, the office star, has a crush on him. He's been helping a new junior, Rock, and decided to stay late at work to cover for Rock so he could see his partner. Karan also stayed late to help Achi, and has taken Achi back to his place to stay the night.

Overall, I'm enjoying the changes so far.

I'm glad GMMTV has been including the nicknames for the actors in English, since that's how much of us find and follow them.

Wait, Square Enix has rights on this story?

The room is messy? I'm going to fight him.

Tay and New were actually the best choice for these characters. Newwie is better modulating his performance than he did as Kao years ago. The pajama scene is really excellent.

HE EMBROIDERED A REFERENCE TO HIS MOLE ON THE PAJAMAS. OMG.

I knew Karan wouldn't let me down by kissing a sleeping person. I appreciate them letting us have a peek at Tay's chest though.

Take notes, babies! You gotta practice your cooking so you stay ready for your crush.

I like that Achi is internally mulling over how someone acting on their crush feels for him.

This tie scene is new, but I love it.

Oh, I like mirroring Rock's breakup with Achi wondering if it's okay to let Karan care for him. People should consider the role of reciprocity in love and affection.

The audio mix for this show is surprisingly good. Sounds are coming from the correct speakers.

Wondering if we'll flash back to the boss's thoughts later.

I'm so happy to see Mark again. I love the way he's playing this version of Minato so far.

Okay, reading the cat was funny. I like Jinta.

Oh, Achi, you're giving me secondhand embarrassment.

Newwie looks good in this brown suit.

I don't mind how much more explicit about feelings this version is being. This episode directly exploring what the polite boundaries are around crushes has been really good.

I like the not-date turning into a company hangout, though I wonder why Karan and Achi weren't originally invited.

Pai definitely knows something's up with Karan and Achi.

Two rooftop scenes two days in a row? I need OffGun to come through for us tomorrow too.

Will Rock come running up next week like Rokkaku? I kinda hope he doesn't.

Tits next week!!!

This is a good adaptation so far. I like the way this episode meditated on the social politics of a crush, and how an unexpressed crush can be painful for both parties. Karan is carefully toeing a line and afraid of making Achi uncomfortable, and Achi is worried about taking advantage of Karan or leading him on. We end on Achi assuring he doesn't view Karan negatively, setting us up for the next phase of this. I'm deeply impressed.

[kuroshitsuji-igurisshu]

G-fantasy 2023

𖤐Hello everyone Kuronians𖤐

Today I would like to tell you about this magnificent illustration featured in the April 2023 issue of G-fantasy magazine, which has undoubtedly become one of my favorites, not so much because of what it represents but because of what it communicates.To commemorate the magazine's 30th anniversary, Yanuzza created an illustration that blends greetings for the magazine and the story of Black Butler.

Message for G-fantasy:

As I think you know, Kuroshitsuji was born thanks to G-fantasy magazine, and with this special relationship, every year Yanuzza creates an anniversary illustration. For the 30th anniversary, she did not simply create an illustration, but rather wanted to emphasize the beautiful relationship she has with Square Enix's magazine, so much so that he included pearls as the main element since these stand for 30 years of marriage.The couple who reach this milestone celebrate the pearl wedding: a precious material that indicates the rarity of the event and at the same time the preciousness and durability.Don't you find this a beautiful declaration of love?

Message to Kuronians:

In addition to the main message mentioned above, Yanuzza never fails, in fact he wanted to embed (succeeding perfectly) another meaning dedicated to all fans of the series. The phrase we see on the cover is a quote from William Shakespeare "The world is your oyster" which in addition to wishing good luck in life contains a very beautiful meaning that we can say can refer to Sebastian and “Ciel” .An oyster, together with its pearl, represents something precious, extremely rare and beautiful. Suffice it to say that the process of pearl formation is something very special: it is the result of forced entry into the oyster of a foreign or indesiderate substance. This leads the oyster to defend itself by covering the foreign body with the only substance it contains: nacre. This is how a pearl is formed, a mysterious object that is sold at exorbitant prices precisely because it is highly sought after and peculiar in its kind.

Despite the countless references to their forced relationship (and “Ciel's” past) there is also more that will make you love this illustration even more.Just as the oyster sticks to the rock to survive predators, Ciel sticks (or perhaps it would be better to say relies) on Sebastian being the only stable point in his messy life. Sebastian is the only person who knows everything, a little dog ready to save him from trouble, to help him. The bond of the oyster and his rock is very strong, so much so that he does not abandon the mollusk even during strong sea currents, and because of this affinity between them it is very reminiscent of the way “Ciel” bound the demon to himself because of the strict contract, but also because of the well-positioned position of the mark. We have said that the oyster needs its reef to survive, and for this very reason by separating from it, it would die from the pitfalls of the sea.I find it fascinating that the oyster is referred to as a "weak mollusk" precisely because without its reef it cannot defend itself against the pitfalls of the sea.

This very strong similarity, we also have with the young master, in fact he decides to become in every way like his brother, precisely because he considered himself too weak to bear the role of head of the family. Moreover, it should also be mentioned that Francis greatly emphasizes the second son's being fragile during a private conversation with Vincent, which his son accidentally manages to overhear making him feel even more wrong. In addition to this, I would like to emphasize the fact that “Ciel” is left alone at the age of ten, and precisely because of the absence of an adult figure, a figure who conveys security and stability to him, I find it very normal that he feels a bit like an oyster "clinging" to his safe rock.

The semiotic details:

To add an extra touch to the child she birthed along with the G-fantasy, Yanuzza not only focused on the semiotic meaning, but also on the colors and clothes emphasizing this concept of the oyster and the rock. Ciel (as we noticed from the meaning of the oyster) is supposed to represent the mollusk, in fact we can see this from the percentage of ivory clothing (bandage, shirt, pants, shoes, earring and accessories representing small and delicate pearls) in addition to the color, the sleeve of the kimono style jacket shows us a shirt ending with from the sinuous shapes ( which we also find in the end of the pants) that precisely resemble the shape of the mollusk.

As for Sebastian, the colors are darker (Ciel's jacket tends to blue while Sebastian's tends to gray) furthermore, the outfit has very little white: the vest and the tie clip representing an oyster with pearls (not to mention the shirt and gloves he always wears). I find very interesting the brown detail of the tailcoat lapel and the inner tails, which recall the concept of the rock.

I love the way Yanuzza crafts her works of art (because that is what they are) with no less than two opposing meanings. She succeeds with great skill, to offer us a work of luxurious pain with the peculiarity of wrapping it in that idyllic yet naive appearance.

If you are curious to see more of my posts, you can find me on IG as Kuroshitsuji_itaru 😈

[breakfastteatime]

OKAY! Spoilers for Original Final Fantasy VII discussion of Rebirth! This is your only warning.

Cloud remembering Zack was a real surprise... even if he remembered wrong. Well, I'm sure in another world that's exactly what did happen, but not to this Cloud. I did love Tifa being all "I'll let Aerith know, okay????" because she knows Cloud's not got it right...

I really like that they're playing up the degradation angle with Cloud, even though that's not what it is. S Samples INDEED. It's been a minute since I played Crisis Core, but I also think that's why Zack didn't experience degradation. Of course, he also died sooooo...

When you're talking with Biggs, it's like he's from the main remake timeline whereas Zack is from the alternate universe. Initially I thought maybe they were dead in the lifestream, but of course that didn't make sense... And how Cloud can see into that other world in his dreams... but it's also not the one he winds up in near the end, because the only way to keep track of what universe we're all in is based on Stamp the dog. I think we've seen four variations now?? Maybe five? Because when Zack makes his choice in the tunnels, he creates another alternate world. UGH SO GOOD.

Oooh, but the opening flashback where you see hints of the REAL Cloud under the mask... So subtle. So good.

Evil Cloud. Evil, Sephiroth-quoting Cloud who kills indiscriminately. YEEEEEEEES. He was so ready to straight up murder Elena daaaaaaayum.

I love that they're really playing up how unstable and genuinely dangerous Cloud is to be around. The real Cloud is in there somewhere, but he's so lost. And the ending where he's chatting away to Aerith even though she's dead... although that did also undercut how impactful that part of the original was. The part where Sephiroth tells him he doesn't have any feelings because he's a puppet and Cloud fights back against that was lost in Rebirth because we flick between realities - including one where Cloud murdered her (at least that's what it looked like to me). Ultimately, I do like the ending, but the original did it better. Honestly, it will be easier to figure out how far they're taking that once we play the final part of the remake. I understand they have to pace a three part remake very different because in the original you just... carry on to Icicle Inn.

...seriously though, does he think she's alive???? Because it really feels like he thinks she's alive... which, well, I guess we'll see him mourn later.

The way they're really foreshadowing how Cloud is ultimately the most successful robed figure - albeit without the robe - because Hojo considered him to be a failed experiment. Again, it's in the original, but they're able to really expand on it here.

Oh - another minor complaint but still: did not like that we can't go upstairs in Shinra Mansion. Another part of the original I loved. But LOL at the door code. I SEE YOU, SQUARE ENIX.

The sidequest with the dude who makes a weapon for Barret and says that someday Barret might not need the gun any more. Nice nod to Advent Children.

Speaking of Advent Children, which obviously at this point in the remakes isn't canon, but with Cloud being so out of it re: Aerith it kinda takes away the whole him coming apart because of his depression and guilt in AC.

Hey, SE, while you're busy remaking stuff, wanna update those graphics on Advent Children? I always forget how GREY it is until I watch it again. And Cloud has such pretty eyes in the remakes!

[jazzraft]

NYX ULRIC FOR MOST FUCKABLE CAMPAIGN: Day 3

Woe, I be upon ye, with a lovingly crafted, academically cited argument as to why Nyx Ulric is more fuckable than Biggs FF7 for the @most-fuckable-ff-man poll. (Listen, Sephiroth is just going to win the trophy in the end because Final Fantasy fans are basic, can we at least knock out the rest of FF7 and give the other games a chance?) I have provided compelling evidence for most cases, please do your due diligence as a free thinking tumblrina and click through the links. It is my firm stance that, if presented in his full context, you will find that Nyx Ulric is indeed more fuckable than the opposing candidate.

VOTE NYX!

leather pants need I say more?

chest scars don't you just want to trace them... with tongue?

TATTOOS that mean something, don't you want to crack him open during pillow talk and find out what?

dom energy if you don't see it you ain't old enough to vote sorry

SCRUFF (see above)

smolder

bitchin jacket

supermodel strut

love a man in uniform

immigrant spirit

loyal to a fault

feminist

pansexual (I know more than you)

literally on fire and looks good doing it

heroic jawline, bastard smirk

culturally significant braids (a man with no culture is not fuckable sorry biggs you have no roots)

stays dead like a real man and doesn't need daddy square enix to deus ex machina his ass for franchising purposes like a capitalist COWARD biggs

MODELED AFTER A GAY FRENCH PORN STAR FR

fights imperialist bastards and looks good doing it

spits in the face of god

told a 100 crusty old ghost monarchs to go fuck themselves and they rewarded him for it

voiced by that breaking bad guy you're all obsessed with

his weapon of choice is these bad boys. takes a real fuckable guy to look your enemy in the eyes as he bleeds out beneath you

stared down the threat of tentacle porn and did not even flinch. fuckable - the freaky kind

i'm sorry, did biggs take on one of the most fearsome bosses in final fantasy single handedly and WIN? did he take down more than one?? no I don't think so, you'd need to be a main character to do that /shot

this is what he looks like when wet.

Fellow simps, if you're out there, feel free to add and reblog so the masses know what they're missing. I will not be taking questions from the press at this time. Please vote responsibly.

[bunkahi]

[MAJOR SPOILERS] up to the end of 6.0: Elidibus knew the future, and how translation harmed it's impact.

I posted this on twitter, but almost no one saw. As such I'm uploading it here, not only because I can go into more detail, but because I think this is one of the most important aspects to Elidibus' character that I never see anyone talk about.

Elidibus knew the future. This has been DIRECTLY stated since 2.55... but what you may not know is that this has been indirectly hinted at (more explicitly in Japanese) since Elidibus' first appearance in 2.1. In this sickly written 'essay,' I will be sharing with you all an incoherent babble of Elidibus' story, along with major changes in the English translation that diminish the legitimacy that he knew the future before becoming Zodiark.

Please note: Tl;dr version is at the bottom, for this post IS long. Tl;dr implores you to at least look at the images provided below.

Let us begin not at 2.1, but rather 5.3. The most important translation difference in my personal opinion. It is your climb up the crystal tower, and Elidibus stands before it's throne. As he awaits your arrival, he ponders the crystal in his hand. The crystal of the Exarch's memories... memories of a possible future.

For those who may not be able to see the images above, I will summarize the difference. While most of the translation is the same between Japanese and English, there is one major difference.

In both versions, Elidibus looks at the Crystal and calls it worthless. A possible future is the same as the past. It is fated to fray, fade, and disappear. In English he follows this with "Leaving naught but a gaping void..." Meanwhile, in Japanese he says "Within me as well... could such a thing have once dwelled, I wonder?" (keep in mind I'm trying to keep the translation here as exact as I can, including the awkward structure, as I want it to be easy for people to compare my translation to the original text.)

I think this is very... very interesting. While I, at times, adore Square Enix's liberties in translation (otherwise we would not have the absolute banger “The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it.”), I think this was an interesting moment to take liberties.

What's done is done however, my main focus on this essay is not to criticize the translations though. It is just to inform what I believe is true about Elidibus' character. As such, I will no longer be addressing translation differences beyond providing them for context.

So let us move on to discuss the very interesting implications this has, using the short story "Ere Our Curtain Falls"

English version: "Will you not look at your crystal?" I asked.

When Elidibus was still Elidibus and Lahabrea still Lahabrea, we had collected all of our memories of the Fourteen and committed them to crystal, that those who would take our seats one day might learn. Elidibus would, I was sure, find much within to help him remember─yet he shook his head.

"I am Elidibus. So long as I remember my duty, that is enough. Aught else I would only lose again in the course of this timeless struggle...and if these memories are truly so precious, pray do not ask that I forget them twice."

The last part in Japanese: "I am Elidibus, and I remember what I need to do, and how to accomplish it. That is enough. Even if I remember this or that, I will lose it again in this continuing battle. If it is an important memory, don't make me forget over and over again."

(Link to Japanese story, which you can switch into English, at least on desktop, at the top right of the page)

Elidibus thinks a crystal that holds memories of a possible future is worthless... and he refuses to look at his own memory crystal... how interesting... very very interesting.

As a quick refresher of the important things that occur next: You fight Elidibus and put him in the crystal tower. The final days begins again. Left with no one else to turn to, we go to speak to Elidibus at the crystal tower. He remembers us in the past, and knows where he must send us... which is something that can only be done THANKS to him being sealed in the crystal tower.

And now I feel we can move on to OUR beginning of Elidibus, aka 2.1. Though there is a LOT of text that I feel should not have been altered, I only translated what I feel matters most to me. A specific piece of information that had it's implications completely altered, and the implications that Elidibus goes out of his way to TEACH Minfilia about the ascians.

(I will only transcribe the translation.)

"Was I not passed down in folklore? Well, it has been thousands of years since I last appeared in this world. Can't be helped. You all are the ones who defeated the priest of the abyss. I thought you understood a few things about us but...

We are immortal beings. When we posses a person, even should you destroy the dark crystal, our existence won't be destroyed.

I am the mediator. I have no desire to fight you all. Today, I came only to tell you that. Let us meet again."

Kiiiiind of strange that he would just casually tell us that they can't be defeated like that. What is there to gain in giving away such a secret? Perhaps he's cocky... or perhaps there's more.

to recap what matters in the next patch, 2.2: The sahagins are preparing to summon Leviathan. Y'shtola spies on them, and hears them speak of how they're going to ascend in power (a parallel to things Elidibus said to Minfilia.) We decide to investigate, and witness the Sahagin priest ascend into "immortality," before watching his essence be absorbed within Leviathan, with him questioning why the emissary/white robed one seemed to have tricked him.

Now keep in mind, before this patch, it's already established that Lahabrea is the one to promote primal summonings, AND that Lahabrea is back. What reason would Elidibus have to no only promote the summoning of Leviathan, but to risk teaching immortality to the Sahagin priest, especially when he KNOWS the scions are in direct opposition to not only to the ascians but to primals? And for this to be one of the first things he does, after thousands of years of not appearing in our world, and AFTER he approaches Minfilia to speak of seemingly only non-sense. What, oh what could be the purpose?

"My power... it's being taken... I'm being absorbed by the great water god? Did I... not become... immortal? White robed one... what... is this?!"

It is thanks to this "slip" in Elidibus' decision making that we learn that the ascians are in fact NOT immortal. They are simply beings of aether that have not dispersed. They can be ABSORBED within something, and when that something is destroyed, they don't return. It is directly thanks to Elidibus doing this that we learn not only how to defeat him and his brothers... but also that we can seal him away in the crystal tower.

Surely this is just coincidence, right? There's just no way. Clearly this is all set up to be a piece of sad, tragic irony right?

I take us now to the very final cutscene of 2.55. Though there are differences in translation, I find them mostly negligible. As such I will speak referencing the English translation.

The final cutscene features Lahabrea and Elidibus. Elidibus appears within Lahabrea's shadow to speak of Nabiales' death before the camera changes, placed in a cage and peering into the other side where Lahabrea and Elidibus stand. The bars of the cage separate them, though the darkness makes it hard to see.

Elidibus says that the warrior of light is becoming too strong. That they must make haste to stop them. He suggests Lahabrea head to the northern lands, and Lahabrea agrees and departs.

Urianger appears from the dark behind Elidibus, wishing to know why he has been summoned. To which, Elidibus says the he wishes to speak of fate.

Now why does he do this? As a reminder of what comes next: We defeat Lahabrea, Igeyorhm, and Thordan. This leads to there being no calamity on the source ready to absorb the 1st after it succumbs to light, and the Garleans having access to Azys Lla, meaning they have direct access to the warring triad.

All of this happens at the very end 3.0. However, this conversation between Urianger and Elidibus happens in 2.55. Even should you try to argue that it doesn't take place exactly when it's shown to us, it does HAVE to happen before the mid point of 3.0 at a minimum considering Lahabrea is obviously alive in this cutscene, and more than likely happens before you cross the bridge into Ishgard.

The only thing left to truly note when it comes to this topic is that all of this is reinforced in 3.1 with cutscenes in the Great Gubal Library (2nd to last cutscene of the patch)

"This is thy proof? The Gerun Oracles? Apocrypha."

"Our fates were ordained long ago, Archon. The Garleans are no exception. Nor the Triad. You know what must be done.

In conclusion, Elidibus knew Lahabrea would fail, and that he would need Urianger for not only the warring triad, but to get Minfillia to stop the flood of the first. It was a fate ordained long ago, for we are in a soft timeloop.

Now you may ask, how can you explain him knowing to do this despite his memory loss? If this is all the case, why does he fight us at the crystal tower so genuinely? To be blunt, I cannot give you a direct answer, outside of what is stated above. Elidibus seems to know on SOME level 'some' kind of goal. Specifically saying "I know what I need to do, and how to accomplish it."

Does he directly state what this goal is? No. Ultimately everything above can only be counted as speculation, but personally, I am of the mentality of "why show us this if it's not meant to mean something? Why does Elidibus do something that has already been established as another character's role? Why would THIS be the first thing he does in our world for thousands of years? Why have a character do this if it's not meant to mean something? Especially when THIS something (teaching immortality) leads to the DIRECT consequence of being sealed in the crystal tower, which is our ONLY way to go THAT far into the past to know about Meteion?"

When did he learn the future? That also would be speculation, but as Emet-Selch states, the memory crystals were made before the Zodiark's summoning. If they are truly eluding to his crystal holding memories of a possible future, and the Japanese version of Ere Our Curtain Falls specifically states that he's been losing himself and his memories since the moment he fell from Zodiark to help the convocation, then chances are high it's before the summoning. Who told him would be pure speculation, but the most likely answer is either Venat, Azem, or the Warrior of Light. And before anyone brings this up, no, I do not believe the writers are going to drop every character related to Zodiark and Hydaelyn just because we're moving on to a new chapter. The consequences of the past will continue into the future. While the ancients may no longer be the FOCUS of the story, I doubt we're never going to see them or interact with the past ever again. They will more than likely be explored further in side content ([SPOILERS FROM DAWN TRAIL TRAILER] given Solution 9 has text in Proto-Alphabet, aka the alphabet of the ancients... yeah... um... don't think our explorations related to the ascians and the past are over.) [SPOILERS OVER]

Now, I still haven't worked on translating 4.X, so I will make no comments towards it and any information it might hold in terms of Japanese Elidibus' views on not only the world, but of the future. Perhaps when I have time to translate it I will make a follow up post. I will also be posting some of my smaller translations from twitter to tumblr in time.

Tl;Dr: Elidibus thinks a crystal of a possible future is worthless. He refuses to look at his own crystal. Because his crystal was made before the sundering, he knew the future at least before that point.

Elidibus taught us indirectly how to seal away ascians, and summons Urianger to help him before there is even a CHANCE of knowing he'd need him unless he knew the future.

With this in mind, it's clear to me that Elidibus guided our path into sealing him into the crystal tower so that he could make the time portal and secure the soft timeloop we're in. Though chances are HIGH this is all subconscious the entire time because of memory loss.

Thank you for coming to my Elidibus Talk.

[xekutozoren]

Unspoken Words - Part 1

I'm lazy and don't have the patience to draw a full comic so I used MMD.

FOR THE FEELS ; A ; I need Terra talking more dammit, so here's him expressing himself a bit more.

I made this mainly for closure after KH3 (as do most Terraqua artists do with their artwork, I suppose ehe) Sorry if it's OOC, this is kind of the result of exploring these characters, their pent-up emotions, and just my take on them. That and I'm several years late. I got back into KH and BBS after 3 rounds of Covid hitting me. Terraqua became my comfort ship.

How bold of me to use a Terra POV when I don't know him as well as Aqua. Please don't kill me.

I guess I'll see how this goes and decide from the responses if I'll upload part 2.

Credits

BBS models by Otzipai-Art, KlaidAstoria and VulpesFelidaeMMD Anti-Aqua model by wallawallabingbong Stage models by Mr-Mecha-Man, redRevolutionnaire, Square Enix & Disney, Nintendo, Julehyrule, AJD-262 and Hakirya

[gascon-en-exil]

…I've just realized that just comparing the two, Partitio is smaller, more emotional, just more than a few of sort of stereotypical tropes in gay pairings when in a vacuum, but he's still iirc the second tallest of the whole group, and fairly buff on his own. He just comes out like that when compared to Osvald. Idk, just find it amusing

The pairing is quite similar to Dimidue in that regard. I'm not going to say that's a major draw for me, but it is pretty funny that they have that in common.

Like, the artist didn't have to draw Partitio leaning on Osvald looking like he's about to cop a feel of some big fuzzy man peaches...but that's what we got. I see you being covertly horny and gay, Square-Enix, and I applaud you.

But yes, Partitio's character sits in this fun space where you can read a variety of gay ship tropes and historical toxic masculine tropes into him as you please. He's got that whole pseudo-Wild West swagger going on, but he's also the most emotionally demonstrative of the male travelers not that that's saying much. If I recall he cries twice during the game, with one of those being mocked by an antagonist, which is an easy lead-in to making him sad and gay and in need of an affirming bear daddy. A daddy who calls Partitio "lean but strong," at that...man's got a thing for twunks.

I am both amused and grateful that, unlike the first game's country bumpkin character Alfyn, Partitio has no notable no-homo dialogue and instead comes with conversations where he doesn't pick up on innuendo involving women and gets flustered when a woman trolls him by suggesting they had a drunken hookup - and is just shy of giving him two gay dads that everyone in the fandom is fine reading as a divorced couple that get back together in the end. I also note that SE could easily have straighwashed the entire Crossed Path system, by giving Temenos/Throné just as much ship tease as Hikari/Agnea and by pairing Partitio with Castti and doing the same. We could have had three obvious straight couples, with Osvald and Ochette left as a platonic father-daughter dynamic. But nope - Temenos has/had Crick, Throné seems turned off by sex in general, Castti/Ochette is...something, and Osvald and Partitio are over here being kind of gay. So fun.

(Of course, perhaps because of comments I've had to deal with on my recent video, I can already see someone reading this and accusing me of being stereotypical and that I'm the reason straight men are afraid to cry, etc. To that I say 1) fictional character, and 2) provide an explanation for Partitio's Stimulate voice line that doesn't involve him being enthusiastic about shoving things up his ass. )

[could-they-beat-donald-duck]

So let's get this out of the way because I'm sure this blog is giving you many questions, namely why and how?

Well the short answer for why is that it's something I've been thinking about for a very long time and honestly I really need a creative outlet. As for the how? Hoo boy it is genuinely shocking how powerful Donald Duck is if you put in the research. To start, he served in the navy meaning he has at the very least basic combat and firearms training. On top of that he has standard toon physics which are unique to most western animated characters which means he can easily shrug off most attacks that would normally hospitalize people including being cut in half, taking explosions point-blank, falling from indeterminately tall heights.

He also has been shown to draw upon a berserker rage which can amplify his strength and speed to monstrous levels as is often showcased in classic cartoons but was given the most focus in the 2017 Ducktales cartoon in which his rage was often the deciding factor in the matchups he was subject to throughout the show. But that's only scratching the surface because his strength rockets from a provincial threat to a world threat if we choose to take his Kingdom Hearts incarnation into account. Donald from Kingdom Hearts is a powerful spellcaster with an arsenal of offensive spells reaching up to the -za level in terms of power including the very powerful Flare and its variants which is considered an "Ultimate" spell. Already an impressive feat in itself but Square Enix decided to massively buff this duck in Kingdom Hearts III where it was revealed he is capable of casting the spell Zettaflare. Zettaflare is a spell on a level unseen in any other Square Enix game and the only other person to use it was drawing directly from the power of the dragon god Bahamut. Now granted, casting that spell took enough energy out of Donald to make him fall unconscious but the very fact he was able to cast it already places him as one of the strongest Black Magic users Square Enix has ever created. Because of the shocking level of power displayed by Kingdom Hearts Donald, most of these matchup analyses will be divided into "Could they beat regular Donald" and "Could they beat Kingdom Hearts Donald." Lastly despite the level of seriousness with which I take these matchups, always remember at the end of the day that this blog is not meant to be taken seriously and has a miniscule amount of bias. If the difference in power between Donald and an opponent is close, and I think it would be funnier to see Donald Duck emerge victorious, I am more likely to lean in his favour. Just remember that none of these characters are real, nor are any of these scenarios likely, so please don't get upset with me if your favourite character is just objectively weaker than Donald Duck.

[whumperofworlds]

I'll Always Be Here

Now on AO3!

Fandom: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (OC centric)

A/N: Not too whumpy, but I feel this still applies on this blog LOL. I mean, nightmares suck right? Better give it to my sweet poor guy! Also, it's Gulru and Rae's debut on this blog!!! I loved these two, and it's been a while since I wrote them so. Yeah!

I only own Rae and Gulru. Everything else belongs to Square Enix.

CWS: Nightmares, crying, romantic Caretaker x Whumpee, male whumpee, referenced death, referenced kidnapping, referenced slavery, tied up, food mention

ENJOY!

_____

I'll Always Be Here

He couldn't move.

The Thundara spell had paralyzed Gulru, preventing him from moving his body. The electricity sparked around him, and if he moved a muscle, the spell did its work, shocking him slightly. His breathing grew heavy and quickly, as he tried to breathe to no avail thanks to the panic attack rearing its head.

In front of him was Jack Moschet, grinning wide and with hatred filling his eyes, his arms crossed as he watched Gulru struggle. Behind Jack was Gulru's dear Rae, tied to the large, broken pillar, his hands wrenched behind his back. The Clavat's eyes were wide with fear and guilt, as he watched Gulru struggle to stand.

It hit Gulru then. Gulru tried to rescue Rae from Jack's clutches, but he too was caught. Rae was bait for Gulru, and the Yuke fell for the trap, hook, line, and sinker.

"Stupid bird," Jack mocked. "Don't you realize what you've done?"

Gulru flinched at Jack's voice, wanting to scoot away, but due to the paralysis, he couldn't. He whimpered, wanting to get far away from his former master as soon as possible. He needed to get away. He needed to save Rae.

"P-please…" Gulru stuttered, "Let Rae go! Y-you got me, just let him go, please!"

"And let him come after me once I'm through with you?" Jack laughed. "Ha! You're so stupid as always, boy!"

Tears began to fall down from the eyes of his helm, as Gulru whimpered and sniffled. This couldn't be happening. All he wanted was Rae back. But because of his foolishness, he'd never see Rae again. And it was all his fault.

"For what you've done to me," Jack growled, raising his gigantic hand. His claws shone in the sunlight that peeked over the broken roof of Moschet's Mansion. "I'll kill you right here!"

"NO!" Gulru could hear Rae scream out from behind Jack. Rae strained and struggled against his bonds, as tears fell down his face. He sobbed before he begged, "Don't kill him, please! Gulru! GULRU!"

Gulru shook his head, as more tears continued to flow down his helm. No. No no no. This couldn't be happening. He didn't want to die like this. Not when Rae was in danger. Not when he had just tasted freedom for the first time. Not like this.

Jack's claws flew down, aiming straight for Gulru's neck—

_____

Gulru gasped as he sat up, sweat beading down his helm. If he had eyes, they would be wide as saucers right now. His heart pounded, as he breathed heavily from the nightmare he had.

Wait… nightmare?

Gulru glanced at his surroundings. It was mostly dark, but he could still see where he was. He was in the tent that the caravanners set up for the night, with everyone still asleep in their sleeping bags. Beside him, also sleeping in a sleeping bag, was Rae, alive and safe.

Alive and safe…

Gulru placed a wing to his chest, trying to calm himself down from the nightmare he had. Tomorrow was another day of collecting myrrh—he needed to sleep. But his racing heart wouldn't calm down. He tried to take a few deep breaths to calm himself, something that Rae had taught him whenever he got scared or nervous. But his racing heart continued to pound in his chest. He sighed.

He wasn't going to get any sleep at this rate. He needed some fresh air.

He carefully crawled out of his own sleeping bag, not wanting to wake the others. He didn't want to wake them over something so trivial as a nightmare, so it would be best to let them rest. His eyes adjusted to the dark then, as he carefully stepped over his comrades until he reached the entrance of the tent. Quietly unzipping the flap, he left the tent before zipping it back up; he didn't want to let the breeze wake his friends up.

He sighed, before turning to the remains of the campfire. Smoke rose from the gathered burnt wood, with small embers stuck to their tips. He looked ahead to see the carriage, the Paopamous also asleep. The carriage was the same as it was—at least the Striped Bandits hadn't found them here and tried to steal from the carriage.

He sat on one of the logs that were around the small campfire, watching the embers and black smoke slowly rise from the remains. His mind tried to focus, to focus away from the terrible nightmare he had. But every time he tried to think of something else, that nightmare came back. How Jack had attempted to kill him. Right in front of Rae, no less. And Rae… seeing Rae scared broke his heart. He always boasted how he was brave and would never back down. But at that moment, seeing Rae crying and fearful for Gulru's life scared the Yuke more than anything else.

And it was all Gulru's doing. He was caught because he was reckless trying to rescue Rae. And now not only was Gulru traumatized from that ordeal, Rae was as well.

"Because of you."

Jack's words to him before he attempted to kill Gulru echoed in his head.

"Because of you."

It kept repeating in his mind. Gulru held his helm with his wings, trying to shut out his former master's voice.

"Because of you. Because of you. Because of you."

It had been a year since Jack was killed after that incident. Why was his voice still haunting Gulru? Why?

Tears began to form in the eyes of his helm, as he sniffled. His body shook, as the voice continued to blame him for what had happened.

He tried to hold in a sob, but he failed to, as he held his face in his wings. His crying was muffled, careful not to be too loud as he continued to cry. The nightmare repeated itself in his mind, as he cried and cried.

"Gulru?"

Gulru stopped suddenly; he would have widened his eyes in surprise and shock if he had them. With trembling wings, he removed them from his wet helm before turning his head.

Peeking out from behind the flap of the tent was Rae, a small frown on his face. Upon seeing how wet his boyfriend's helm was, his eyes widened. He left the tent fully then, turning for a moment to zip the flap up, before he turned back to Gulru.

"R-Rae?" Gulru questioned, his helm red in embarrassment. Oh Cosmos, did he hear him cry? "D-did I wake you? I'm sorry, I didn't m-mean to—"

"No, it's okay," Rae whispered, "you didn't wake me up, I promise. I noticed you were gone and I had to check up on you." The Clavat studied Gulru's helm, to which Gulru looked away shyly. He didn't want Rae to see that he was crying over a dumb nightmare. "...You're crying."

Gulru shook his head, as if denying that he was crying. "I-I was… it's—"

"Oh Gul," Rae said with a voice full of sympathy and worry. He walked towards the log Gulru was sitting in before joining the Yuke. He took Gulru's wing, gently squeezing it; it was Rae's way of telling Gulru that everything was okay, that he was safe. "What happened? Who made you cry?"

Gulru frantically shook his head at the last question. He knew how protective Rae was to Gulru; he never forgot the one time a Selkie had yelled at Gulru to the point of tears, and Rae threatened the Selkie to apologize to the Yuke. It nearly got the group kicked out of the town due to Rae's actions.

"N-no one did," Gulru finally said after a few seconds. "I…" He paused, unsure if he should say what had happened. Would Rae be annoyed or laugh at him over his problem? It was so trivial—nightmares had happened to Gulru before, and they never bothered him as much as this one.

But feeling Rae's warm hand and his worried expression pushed Gulru to at least tell him. Rae never judged him during the few years they knew each other. He wouldn't judge him over something like this.

"I-I had a nightmare," Gulru sighed, tears beginning to form in his eye holes again.

Rae only nodded, squeezing Gulru's wing. A cue to keep going.

"Jack… he kidnapped you," Gulru continued, his voice slowly cracking, "a-and I tried to save you, but he caught me… and he killed me. You were tied up a-and you couldn't do anything… I was scared, you were scared, and I-I…" He couldn't hold the tears any longer, as he buried his face with his free wing and began to sob.

Rae's frown intensified, scooting closer to Gulru. He released his hold on Gulru's other wing, before wrapping an arm around the trembling Yuke.

"Hey…" Rae soothed, "it's okay. It's just a nightmare. We're both safe."

"B-but," Gulru hiccupped, sniffling as he tried to wipe away the tears. They kept coming, however. "It was all my fault. If I-I had paid more attention, you wouldn't have gotten kidnapped and hurt. None of that would have happened if I wasn't s-so stupid—"

"Gulru," Rae piped up firmly, shocking the Yuke. Gulru turned to see Rae's face, noticing the narrowed eyes. He wanted to scoot away, feeling that he made Rae angry at him, but Rae held firm. "Don't ever call yourself stupid again."

"...What?" Gulru whimpered.

"It hurts me to see you depreciate yourself, Gul," Rae continued, his narrowed eyes changing into concerned ones. "You didn't do anything. Jack is the one at fault in all of that, not you. And even if you are at fault, you fixed it by coming for me. You even killed Jack by yourself." He leaned on Gulru, his head on the Yuke's shoulder. "You saved me, Gulru. And I'm alive. You're alive. We're both safe. You're my hero that day, and even now."

Gulru sniffled, the tears finally stopping. He wiped away a stray tear that fell, before he asked, "Y-you think so?"

"I know so, Gul," Rae confirmed. "You're brave, and strong in your magic… you're definitely a hero to me."

"...Rae," Gulru whispered, reaching out to hold Rae's hand again. The Clavat took it, squeezing his wing. "I-I'm sorry that I made you worry."

"It's okay," Rae whispered back, a small smile on his face. "Just know that I'll always be here. Always."

"And the same goes to you too, dear," Gulru chuckled, scooting closer to his beloved. If he had a mouth, he would be smiling. Smiling that he was lucky to have a boyfriend like Rae.

At the corner of Gulru's eye, he spotted a small bright light shining from across the hill. He gasped, seeing the sun slowly rising from behind the hill. The sun's rays shone, its light brightening up the dirt roads and the trees, giving them more color. It was beautiful; it shone just like the giant crystal that Gulru had seen in Tipa. How long were they sitting here, talking it out? Gulru wasn't sure. But he didn't mind at all.

"Wow," Rae piped up in awe, his eyes sparkling. "It's been a while since I saw the sunrise. This is beautiful!"

"I-it is," Gulru agreed. Despite seeing it many times, Gulru never took the sunrise for granted; after over a decade as Jack's slave, he missed the little things such as this.

The two watched the sunrise together, cuddled up to each other and enjoyed the view. It wasn't until a few hours later did the two heard stirring in the tent nearby.

Rae reluctantly released his hold on Gulru before standing, much to the Yuke's disappointment. But he understood why; it was another day of collecting myrrh.

"I gotta go make some breakfast," Rae said, stretching his arms up with a sigh.

"I-I can help," Gulru offered, also standing. "I got enough ingredients to make some apple fritters."

Rae smiled at his beloved, nodding to accept his offer. "Sounds great! Thanks, Gully."

Gully… another nickname. That's so cute.

The two began their work on breakfast, their bond stronger than ever after that night.