#christ this got depressing

[masteraqua]

thought too hard about it and got worked up

but this is the core of my issue with how ux was handled. so much of the storytelling was done in choppy, sporadic updates that left WAY too much up to interpretation. which wouldn't have been a problem if it had all been self contained, but it's NOT.

and it's not just the one game either. all of the current ongoing story threads—nameless star, yozora, verum rex, quadratum, strelitzia, subject x, ava, master of masters, luxu, black box—have been teased over and over and over without resolving anything. it's all set up and never any pay off. and when there is pay off, it's abruptly swept under the rug because nomura stopped caring about those plotlines years ago.

between 2002 and 2012 we had games that delivered complete, satisfying stories, with a beginning, middle, and end. but since then, all the actual games turned into pay to win mobile experiences or awkward cutscene collections or dlc or cut content that got revived as a kh3 demo. the only full games we've got in the last decade are kh3 and a rhythm game, the latter of which had a main plot development implausibly grafted onto the end of it, like it's just another one of ux's updates where information is unceremoniously dumped.

and now we're (theoretically) going in for another round of this with khml sometime this year, assuming it doesn't immediately get delayed and canceled like the last mobile game did. see this post for my thoughts on that.

like do you see the problem?? at some point the games and stories were gradually stripped apart for their raw components and now they're just plot and characters and buttons to press.

following the story feels like playing a gacha game now. press the button and maybe you'll find out what happened to skuld. or maybe you won't. but at least we still have your attention.

literally what are we gonna do if it turns out skuld isn't subject x

[possamble]

Have you seen that short where Marcille goes to an "ex-dungeon lord support group"?? It's so funny that it EXISTS at all but it ends with her being awkward because everyone there lost something great and she's sitting there like "uh... I lost the will to do my hair." But it's so sweet because her hair is styled in that short by someone who cares for her 🥺

I did!! If I recall correctly, I think Pattadol actually set it up because she wants to help former dungeon lords heal?? It's very sweet and also SO funny.

And kind of tragic. Marcille thinks she got off easy because she doesn't remember how much she used to love taking care of her hair. It was such a huge part of who she was as a person and now she doesn't even remember it well enough to grieve it. She says "oh well, I guess I'll cut it short" like she didn't spend years growing it and taking care of it. Like it wasn't a point of pride for her, like it wasn't something she really loved about herself.

Sure. It's not as bad as what happened to Mithrun and Thistle, who had their entire selves taken away. But the demon still took a fundamental part of her in an active attempt to make her more vulnerable, and she doesn't even think it was a big deal...

[autogeneity]

the irritable stomach and nausea are surprisingly making it much harder to stay hydrated than fed

[damnedrainbows]

How the deer had lingered at the bar for as long as possible afterwards, with his claws pathetically gripping the glass Husk had before, just to feel the warmth of the other until it diminished and all he was left with was a memory.

Alastor had miscalculated Husk’s final move in this game, and what his real ace was. He thought it was the Lilith card, and then he was certain it had been his abandonment. The final card he had to play came the very next day. He hadn’t left the bar, remaining in the same spot and holding a glass that had long since lost its warmth.

He already knew what had happened when Charlie stood there, authority on her sweet features, and tears clouding her eyes. His world crumbled in an instant, and the life he’d made in a year was gone. Still, he smiled. He’d cut off her sobbing lecture, figuring he’d spare them both the pain.

He wasn’t angry.

“I understand, Princess.” He’d stood and grasped his staff, bowing to the girl not out of mocking, but genuine respect. “Thank you for allowing me to be here. It’s been an honor.” If he was losing it all, then Alastor was losing it all on his terms, and no one else’s.

He’d left before she could inform the idiot it was a temporary suspension of only a month, and he’d left before he could see the horrified and guilty tears in Niffty’s eye.

He’d returned to his manor, and never had being there felt so overwhelming in grief. The halls carried the memory of a certain little bug that would skitter about chasing rats and leaping onto him while he tried to read his paper. The bar he’d allowed Husk to customize to his liking—the only spot in his house decorated in spades and hearts and diamonds-carried the memory of the bar cat that used to roll his eyes as he watched them, almost fond.

The silence, and loneliness was deafening, suffocating…but it hadn’t been for long. Lilith had wasted no time in seeking him out, none too pleased her link to her daughter had been severed by his actions. She hadn’t been merciful. On the contrary, it seemed that night and the alienation of his friends had given her plenty new ammunition.

“Poor little fawn, by himself in this forest of loneliness. Nobody is there to pick you up now. Nobody is there to protect you. When will you stop reaching for connections that you know aren’t destined for you? Your only company now is me…and this eternity.”

Alastor used to fight her. He knew it was a losing battle, but if he could just pretend to get a blow in, then at least he wouldn’t feel like helpless prey. Now however, he never fought her. If he was being honest with himself, for the first time in his life and afterlife, Alastor was losing the will to fight.

Depression was an ever present whisper that hung over this realm and it had finally found a way to sink its teeth in. He’d kept its jaws off of him before easily, through the power that gave him some sort of grounding, and the superficial friendships he formed. Now he had neither. Now he had nothing.

Alastor was like a rag doll when he was tossed like discarded trash, back in through the portal. He wasn’t sure where he had landed, honestly. It wasn’t his manor, and seemed to be somewhere outside. She probably didn’t want him to be able to get somewhere where he could lick his wounds. Sepsis sounded like a dream right now. If only death by it wasn’t fuelled with more pain.

You think you deserve a merciful end?

The thought brought forth a manic giggle, even as he coughed another bubble of blood into the asphalt and shivered from the agony. He was weighted to the ground, wrapped under the chains that were like no other, with their black, ghastly links and the interwoven thorns in each one. Fitting that even the leash itself was barbed and meant to slice.

He supposed she wanted the humiliation. She wanted whoever to find him, to end him, to know that he didn’t die a free man. He’d be found like the chained dog he was, and ended just as pathetically as one. And at this point? He welcomed the euthanasia.

@hazbinned

[muirneach]

i spent all day hanging out downtown and the only pictures i have are from walking home in the river!

[batemanofficial]

hello upper middle class northern usamerican tumblr user. i want to play a game. you will notice that you are in a super america convenience store in rural kentucky - you have three minutes to purchase a snack and drink of your choice and make normal small talk with the cashier. however, if you use the word "cryptid" or generally make reference to appalachia and its inhabitants as "wild", uncivilized, or lacking restraint around alcoholic beverages during your time here, i will personally tie you to the chassis of a four wheeler and tip it into the river. live or die. make your choice

[askinnyblackman]

when will neoliberalism end. i'm tired

[daydrinking75]

im just so fucking sad and scared all the time and its ruining my life

[krispytm]

I went on Twitter to look for AsoBaro fanart to share bc yeah and there was so much hate. Bro, wtf, I never saw anything like that on Tumblr 😭😭

[sodrippy]

can i be so honest right now my parents should be ETERNALLY grateful that i respect them enough to not have killed myself even once this whole time

[serendipitous-mage]

......... who's gonna tell him ... .. ill do it @markiplier

[boycritter]

it was six months ago today.

[redstrewn]

for some reason all the fictophilia playlists are depressing as hell 🤨 so i made a not depressed one bc having an imagination is bomb. only 5 songs rn but drop some if u know more

[janiedean]

hypocondria is off the charts this evening yeeeey

[sad--tree]

no1 talk 2 me abt my spotify wrapped top songs playlist it's So Bad help

[spaghettiandart]

NEED to reread worm