#final fantasy xv monster of the deep

[fenrislorsrai]

Fandom Trumps Hate- Good Omens Offerings

this is a non-exhaustive list because there are so many Good Omens offerings. These are just Discord pals that were go "aaaaaaaaaaa what if nobody bids on me!?!?!?!"

well, then what if I give you the opposite problem and EVERYONE bids on you. AHAHAHAHAHA. Chaos for a good cause! my favorite!

Read the full offering for details. I've just given a super quick summary and additional fandoms they do if you're going "I hunger for CROSSOVER" plus said nice things about them. HAHAHAHA. YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT MY COMPLIMENTS NOW!

Get art or words as a gift for your favorite fandom for a charity donation! Fandom Trumps FAQ on how it all works. @fandomtrumpshate

Dorli-+ Legend of Zelda, Avatar The Last Airbender- illustration, banner, or book cover -- up to M rating - does trans/nb characters, f/f ships - absolutely the softest, squishiest looking character work. get the most huggable version of characters. (or squishy AND hot. ohohohoho)

SassishMoon- illustration up to E rating- does trans/nb characters, f/f ships -special note, I got art for Moon last year and it was fabulous. also have a collab coming out in a zine and it is HOT HOT HOT.

WarGoddess- + FullMetal Alchemist- Illustration up to E rating- interested in angst, unhappy endings, genderbending- lovely textures. beautiful skins tones and absolutely fabulous wings.

Sightkeeper- illustration up to E rating- option for comic page if bid goes high enough!- interested in trans & nonbinary characters- Delicious line work and delightful facial expressions. also: monsters

TheRavenMuse - 5-10K fic up to E rating- make it dark, make it weird! and by weird, has done Bentley/Bookshop smut. TIME FOR CRACK.

contritecactite- + Final Fantasy: VII, XII, XV, Ace Attorney 5-10K fic up to E OR 5K podfic of your work up to M rating- interested in trans & nonbinary character, F/F, polyships, and canon compliant/fill in the gap in canon type fics- go get you some RADIO omens. and Book Omens. writes very caring stuff... and sometimes caring is a good healing fuck.

accidentaldemon- under 5k up to E rating- interested in polyships, trans & nonbinary characters, and humans AUs- do you need some Crowley & Young Shadwell fic? AccidentalDemon has you covered.

TawnyOwl- 5-10K up to E rating- loves AUs where they meet and find they're perfect for each other in a new and special way.

SeedsofWinter +Our Flag Means Death + Venture Brothers- Fan Labor for up to E rating. (length depends on final bid value) Deep content editor. Goes way beyond the basic spelling and grammar check. This is a draft editor to help fill in missing scenes and fix pacing. Has run several zines as the editor! Interested in trans /nb characters, polyships, f/f, reader insert, unhappy endings, and RARE PAIRS.

Ngk_is_cool - under 5K up to T- TV or Book Omens! time for all those secondary character to shine! anything but a/c. especially interested in ace and queerplatonic relationships. do you want a fic with some footnotes like the book?

Shaninal- under 5K up to M rating- A/C in some canon complaint fluff and humor. OR beta read for 5-10K up to E rating for Good Omens, Percy Jackson, or Miraculous Lady Bug

EdosianOrchids- 3 options! 2 soft & fluffy up to 5K and one 5-10K hurt/comfort. TV or Book Omens. especially known for chronic pain, disability, and PTSD focused fics. Come and get some HEALING and comfort for the chronic issues. also does aspc fics.

HKBlack- 10-20K up to E rating. Interested in trans/nb characters. Love AUs with a happy ending. THERE WILL BE PUNS. SO MANY PUNS

This is only a partial sampling go see the whole Good Omens tag

and if you are have a gomens offering not listed here, feel free to add in reblogs! Let's give some charities some money!

[kplays]

Alright, it's now time for main game related final fantasy games!

Other poll victories Mobius, chocobo mystery Dungeons, theateythem final fantasy curtain call, and final fantasy crystal chronicles

Next week will be Pulse vs Ivalice alliance

Feel free to give reasons or fond memories in the notes or reblogs

[whumperofworlds]

Whumptober 2024 Days 22/25: Hard Fight

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: Blood, battle, injured, passing out, argument, stitches, strong language, male whumpee, male caretaker, implied whumpee x caretaker

FANDOM: Final Fantasy XV

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

ENJOY!!!

_____

Tourniquet / Reopening Wounds / "Oh, that's not good."

Stitches / Being monitored / "It's for your own good."

The moment Ignis was knocked down, Prompto knew this fight had gotten bad.

The four went out on a monster hunt to get some Gil; a large Malboro that had been terrorizing travelers. As Prompto and Ignis gathered the supplies needed for the hunt, Prompto heard Gladiolus and Noctis arguing in the background. Something about how Noctis didn't pack enough curatives, and how Noctis said that they didn't need them. He mentioned how his sword could down the Malboro quickly.

Well, even with his sword out, the Malboro was still standing.

Gladiolus was behind the monster, slashing it with his greatsword. The Malboro turned to face him, and belched out a noxious gas towards him, to which Gladio jumped out of the way.

Prompto would be admiring the sight of a sweaty and badass Gladio, if it weren't for the fact that the Malboro was getting ready to suck Gladio in its mouth.

Noctis rushed forward, his sword out and ready to slice down the monster, but the monster, with its tentacle, slapped him across the field. Noctis slid on the ground, dirt flying, as he laid there, unconscious.

"Noct!" Both Gladio and Prompto cried out.

As the monster approached Noctis, Prompto knew what he had to do.

He rushed forward, one of his guns out, and aimed it straight at the Malboro's mouth.

The Malboro saw this coming, and it readied another slap of its tentacle. The moment it unleashed a slap, Prompto dodged it quickly, failing to notice the sting on his side thanks to the adrenaline.

He held up his gun, and pulling the trigger, shot the Malboro in the throat.

With a screech that deafened Prompto for a moment, the Malboro fell to the ground, green blood oozing from the exit wound it had behind it.

Both Prompto and Gladio let out a sigh of relief, glad that the hunt was finally over.

When Gladio glanced at Prompto, however, his eyes widened, and Prompto tilted his head. Why was he looking at him like that?

The adrenaline began to wear off, and Prompto felt the pain on his side. He glanced down.

A large gash, large amounts of blood spewing from the wound.

"...Oh, that's not good…" Prompto could only mutter as dizziness began to take its hold. He held his head, his body swaying from left to right until he fell on the hard ground; the last thing he heard was Gladio's scream of his name.

_____

"...fucking idiot, Noct."

"Gladio, it was supposed to be easy!"

"'Course you don't listen, Princess. Take fucking notes."

Prompto nearly jumped when a powerful slam hit something hard. His eyes widened when he was jolted awake from the loud noise. His head throbbed, unsure of what happened. Where was he? What happened?

"Gladio, I-I wasn't—"

"You, Prom, and Ignis got hurt because of your idiocy, and for what?!" Prompto recognized the deep voice of Gladio; and he realized how angry he sounded. That… wasn't a good sign.

"Gladio, I-I'm sorry," Prompto recognized the second voice as Noctis', "I didn't mean to—"

"Then listen to me next time! Your dumbassery could have gotten all of us killed!"

Prompto groaned, his headache worsening by the arguing. Ugh, why now? He needed to rest, not hear this.

That alerted the two, as Gladio suddenly went silent when he saw Prompto. Noctis opened his mouth to call out his best friend's name, but Gladio placed an arm in front of him, stopping him. Gladio stood from the chair before quickly approaching and kneeling down to Prompto.

Before Prompto could ask what was going on, Gladio lifted the blond's shirt up, and Prompto cringed when he saw a line of stitches on his side. His skin was red from the stitches being tight, and Prompto could have sworn he saw a small trickle of blood from the wound he had sustained from the Malboro.

…Oh yeaaaaaah.

He remembered it all now. How the four fought a Malboro. How Ignis and Noctis got knocked down. How Prompto killed the Malboro protecting Noctis before he passed out.

Gladio looked over the wound, gritting his teeth upon seeing the small trickle of blood. His eyes were filled with worry as he pulled out a potion from his bag.

"Big guy…?" Prompto questioned, noting how gentle Gladio was with the blond. Usually, Gladio was rough, both with his words and with his physical touch. Seeing someone so strong handling Prompto as if he was a newborn Chocobo surprised him.

"Here," Gladio offered, holding up the potion to Prompto. "Drink this."

Prompto did as he was told; with shaky and careful hands, he took the potion and downed it in one gulp. The oozing wound began to close up mostly, but blood continued to pour down from one of his stitches. Gladio cursed under his breath.

"One of your stitches reopened," he muttered.

…Oops?

Prompto pursed his lips, realizing that all of his movements caused it. He didn't mean to make it difficult for Gladio to care for him… "Sorry," Prompto whispered, expecting Gladio to yell at him for his mistake.

To his shock, however, Gladio placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. "Not your fault," he reassured, "I should have paid attention when you woke up. Sorry."

Glancing down at the oozing wound again, Gladio turned to Noctis, who sat on a chair beside a table, watching the two with worry in his eyes.

"Noct," Gladio's voice was gentler with Noctis this time, "think you could get another potion outside?"

Noctis nodded with a hum, before standing and running out of the tent.

Prompto sighed, settling in the covers without opening his wounds again, before he glanced up at Gladio. Instead of anger and disappointment, Prompto could see concern and guilt in his eyes.

"You can yell at me now," Prompto offered, knowing that he caused himself this injury. It was only natural—whenever Prompto messed up in a battle, Gladio called him out on it. After the fight against the Malboro? He felt he deserved it.

Gladio frowned, shaking his head. "I'm not gonna yell at you," he said, "I'm… glad that you're okay. You had me worried when you passed out."

Gladio? Worried? Prompto would be laughing if it weren't for the fact that he had a reopened wound oozing with blood.

"You're�� not mad?" Prompto asked, trying to verify.

Gladio shook his head again, his frown intensified. "Of course not," he answered, "in fact, the opposite. You did good protecting Noct and Iggy. So… thank you, Prom."

Prompto's heart raced, his eyes sparkling as the words echoed in his mind. Gladio? Proud of Prompto? He had to be dreaming right now.

"...Who are you and what have you done to Gladio?" Prompto couldn't help but joke.

To his surprise, Gladio let out a roar of laughter at the lame joke Prompto made. He watched the taller man, a smile growing on his face. He never thought that he would make Gladio, of all people, laugh. And it warmed his heart. Seeing how his large chest heaved when he laughed, his grin… Prompto just wanted to hold him close and kiss him.

…Huh. That's new.

"It's me," Gladio began, wiping away a stray tear that fell down his eye. "I mean it Prom. You did a good job. Thank you for keeping them both safe."

"Anytime," Prompto chuckled, "doing whatever I can to keep you guys safe."

Neither of the two noticed that Noctis was peeking from behind the tent flat, along with Ignis, who had bandages covering his abdomen. The two watched the other men interact, and Noctis smirked.

"Ten thousand Gil they get together before this trip is over," Noctis betted to Ignis.

To his surprise, Ignis smirked and said, "Deal."

[flagwars]

Video Game Flag Wars: Round 1

Now that the National Pride Fusion Flag Wars has ended, we can return to the Video Game Flag Wars! The prelims decided which flag would represent each series, so now the tournament contains one flag per series. This does not include mods and fangames, as there are multiple flags from Hearts of Iron mods and Roblox games in the tournament. As there are so many flags even after the prelims, there will be 32 polls in the first round rather than the usual 16. Let me know what flag you want to win! See the brackets below.

Round 1:

1. Crimson Cult Banner (Thaumcraft) vs. Flag (Roblox BedWars) vs. Salmon Run Flag (Splatoon)

2. Unnamed Flag (Lego City Undercover) vs. Atlantic Federation (Valkyria Chronicles) vs. Homestead Banner (Palia)

3. Middle Eastern Alliance (Squad) vs. Shadowkin (Raid: Shadow Legends) vs Bilge Rat Adventures Flag (Sea of Thieves)

4. Saker’s Flag (Fable) vs. Novistrana (Republic: The Revolution) vs. Arstotzka (Papers, Please)

5. San Andreas (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) vs. Kirin Tor Offensive Banner (World of Warcraft) vs. Alliance of Galactic Travelers (No Man’s Sky)

6. Black Revolt (Kaiserredux) vs. Aquileian Republic (Supremacy) (Equestria at War) vs. Rescue Corps Flag (Pikmin 4)

7. Tropico (Tropico) vs. Sons of Liberty (Metal Gear Solid 2) vs. Commune of Revachol (Disco Elysium)

8. Mawkin Flag (Metroid: Dread) vs. Calchaqui (Europa Universalis 4) vs. Kazan Military Okrug (Thousand-Week Reich)

9. King Dedede’s Flag (Kirby: Triple Deluxe) vs. Meat Flag (Slime Rancher) vs. Flag of the Crown (Cult of the Lamb)

10. Communist Australia (Victoria II) vs. Delian League (Imperator: Rome) vs. Ominous Banner/Illager Banner (Minecraft)

11. Patagonian Worker’s Front (Kaiserreich) vs. Castle Siege (Super Smash Bros.) vs. Yara (Far Cry 6)

12. Stag Beetle Flag (Animal Crossing: New Leaf) vs. Fortnite (Fortnite) vs. Livonia (Arma)

13. Gaul Úr (Red Flood) vs. Strong Badia (Homestar Runner) vs. Super Earth (Helldivers)

14. Alam Melayu (Rise of Nations (Roblox)) vs. Tiki Tak Tribe (Donkey Kong Country Returns) vs. Sea Slide Galaxy (Super Mario Galaxy)

15. Great Lakes Government (Kalterkrieg: Shadow of the Weltkrieg) vs. Principality of Kemerovo (The New Order: Last Days of Europe) vs. Joker Banner (Balatro)

16. Shadow Isles Clash Banner (League of Legends) vs. Rebel Corps, Phantom Thieves Version (Persona 5 Tactica) vs. Antarctica (3D Atlas (1996))

17. Generic Flag (Roblox) vs. Standing Flag (Dragon Blade RPG (Roblox)) vs. Zhu Xi's Legacy (Age of Empires 4)

18. Kitakami (Pokémon Scarlet and Violet) vs. South California (Cyberpunk 2077) vs. Watchers (Overwatch)

19. Avalar (Spyro the Dragon) vs. Union of American People's Republics (Red World) vs. Grey Warden Heraldry (Dragon Age: Inquisition)

20. Eusan Nation (Signalis) vs. Aurelia (Ace Combat) vs. Outer Wilds Ventures (Outer Wilds)

21. Columbia (Bioshock Infinite) vs. Sickle Moon Flag (Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker) vs. Eggmanland (Sonic Unleashed)

22. The Allied Nations (Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3) vs. The Rebellion (Just Cause 3) vs. Federation of the Americas (Call of Duty: Ghosts)

23. Great Lake Revolutionary Council (Extremis Ultimis) vs. Courland (Empire: Total War) vs. Columbia (Crimson Skies)

24. Pontiac Province (Judgement Day: Aftermath of the Red Flood) vs. Communist Iberia (Hearts of Iron IV) vs. International Workers' Armed Forces (Krasnacht: Twilight of the Gods)

25. New California Republic (Fallout) vs. Deep Hollow Valley (Night in the Woods) vs. Victory Flag (Fall Guys)

26. Zheng Fa (Ace Attorney) vs. Golden Deer Banner (Fire Emblem: Three Houses) vs. Warbanner (Risk of Rain 2)

27. Blue Flag (Halo: Combat Evolved) vs. Wario’s House (WarioWare) vs. American Collective (Twilight of the Anthropocene)

28. Niflheim (Final Fantasy XV) vs. Republic of America (Dustborn) vs. American Empire (Pax Britannica)

29. Corvus (Dead Ahead (Roblox)) vs. Banner of the First Fleet (Monster Hunter)

30. Fillydelphia Contingent (Balefire Blues) vs. Federation of Anrakan Isles (Suzerain)

31. Yartar (Baldur’s Gate 3) vs. Hurons (American Conquest)

32. Falkreath Hold (Skyrim) vs. Assassin Jolly Roger (Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag)

[ffocarchive]

Wait I need to know what everyone else thinks about this:

(By FFXV video game, please rest assured that I mean the 2016 title, Final Fantasy XV, and not 'Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV' nor 'Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire' nor 'A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV')

[thedarkone121]

Fire + Ice = Water AU — The Eikon of Water: Leviathan The Lost (Part I)

At long last, we have reached the second main character of this AU — The Eikon of Water; Leviathan the Lost!

Notes on The Leviathan in the AU:

Canon had mentioned that the Leviathan is known as “The Lost” and from what I gathered, the Leviathan’s last known Dominant was almost hundreds of years ago. Now, I’m sure there will be plenty of game-design/story reasons for this if the DLC does include the Leviathan on why it never reemerge, I’m going to give my reasons in this AU.

The Leviathan in this AU takes the role of a Sealed Good in a Can, where it plays a more good force of nature compared to its last predecessor in Final Fantasy XV. 

While I don’t know what would be right the age for a Dominant to fully Prime — I believe Joshua was the youngest to do so — Morgan is able to fully prime into the Leviathan when she’s around four years old. Believe it or not; I actually found a good reason for why this is possible.

I’ve been hinting over in the last posts that the Leviathan is a fully sentient Eikon. Unlike the other Eikons who allow their Dominants’ wills to oversee their own or acting almost nuclear when the Dominants don’t have control over them, the Leviathan is a creature that has its own agenda and will not go on a rampage if their Dominant doesn’t have control over them. One thing you have to understand about the Leviathan is that while yes, it is still a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands; it is also a weapon that can think and has goals of its own. Goals that can differ from their Dominant.

During the five-year-timeskip when Jill is pregnant with Morgan, Leviathan is aware of Ultima’s plans for humanity and has been working on plans to help the heroes stop Ultima. But since Ultima had destroyed its original Dominant Bloodline centuries ago for going against him, the Leviathan could not find anyone else that could possibly handle its powers. That was, until the child of Fire and Ice was conceived.

Leviathan definitely had a time trying to work with Morgan. After watching Morgan try to drag home a snake — one that’s too big for her size — Leviathan took the form of an astral projected white snake. It was something that Morgan wouldn’t be alarmed by and wouldn’t alert her parents, less Clive discovered that his daughter is a Dominant and tries to take Leviathan away to spare his daughter of the curse.

Snake-Levi would often try to get Morgan to jump into deep water whenever it was nearby. This is due to my reasoning that it needs to be big enough for the Leviathan to manifest since, it’s a colossal sea monster. However, with Clive and Jill being the great parents that they are, they would take Morgan away from the deep end and would give her swimming lessons in shallow waters. Suffice to say, it’s a good thing Morgan can’t understand a thing of ancient swear words from her floating snake.

Whether it’s something to be thankful or not, the Leviathan found a chance for Morgan to transform into the Leviathan when she is captured by Hugo and taken away. Right to Rosaria, where there is plenty of deep water to hold the Leviathan.

To my fellow viewers, this is not the end of my lore dump of this AU’s Leviathan. I still have one more thing to post, and it’s regarding the backstory of the Leviathan. Why was the Dominant bloodline destroyed? Why is it battling against Ultima? How is Morgan able to handle manifesting such a large beast?

Find out next time 😉

[mister-e-muss]

Alright. Time for another Backlog Report. May ‘24

As always, thoughts are below.

Etrian Mystery Dungeon

Being completely honest, I didn’t quite know what to expect with this one. While I know that Mystery Dungeon is a larger series than its iconic crossovers with Pokémon, I wasn’t sure how the formula would work when melded to a different series, especially one as anti-roguelike as Etrian Odyssey.

I enjoyed how the game played out as a shrunken-down version of EO’s team and character building. I liked the idea of locking a dungeon’s layout. IMO, that was a nice way to find a middle ground between EO’s mapping and MD’s random generation.

In a word, I liked it. Do I think it’s a good game? Sure. Do I think it’s a great game? Unfortunately not.

The narrative is painfully sparse. While Etrian Odyssey is known for its sparse narratives, I was hoping for something more along the lines of Etrian Odyssey Untold. It seems perfectly fine for most of it, but the ending feels distinctly undercooked, with the main antagonist not having even a single word of dialogue.

While I locked the combat, it doesn’t feel as deep as could be. For that matter, having the FOE’s require status ailments for any damage to be down just feels like an extra bit of restriction. I don’t like it when customizable games like this have a built-in wrong answer.

The soundtrack is also a mixed bag. This game does have my favorite rendition of The End of Raging Waves, many of the tracks are either unfitting, loop too often, or both. (EO2’s FOE theme was not meant to be an exploration track dammit!)

I enjoyed this game as a whole. But solid gold, it is not.

Final Fantasy XII; The Zodiac Age

To start with, who talks about this game?

No, really, who talks about this game? Who wakes up in the morning, offers their daily prayers to the Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca shrine kept in the closet, and walks out the door thinking “Oh boy, I cannot wait to spend another day telling people about my favorite game of all time: Final Fantasy XII.” (You can’t hear me through the post, but I’m laughing rn because that is a sentence that has never been said.)

FfXII is in a weird place in the series. It isn’t as foundational to the series as the first four, nor as widely popular as VI, VII, and X. It doesn’t quite generate the same vitriol from disappointed fans as XIII, XV, and to a lesser extent, II and VIII. (Btw, playing VIII, and it is just fine.) Even it’s immediate precursor XI is of more value as an object of curiosity in a “What would a FF MMO look like before they made XIV good?” Hell, even when discussing the more overlooked hidden gems among the series, it still has less fans than IX and V. The most people seem to think about this game, myself included before I actually played it, is “Well I know there’s a X, and XIII is supposed to be the Worst Game Evar, so logically there has to be two more in between there.” For that matter, I think the reason why XIII has so many design choices it does, is because XII is also so very much XII.

Looking at the game as a whole, I think it’s easy to see why this one slipped so hard under the radar. Final Fantasy XII is not a game that presents itself all that well. That’s not to say it looks bad or plays bad. If anything the world design is gorgeous. But it is a game that takes a while to reveal the true appeal.

Truthfully, this was one of my first purchases for the switch, alongside Fire Emblem Three Houses and Digimon Story CyberSleuth. (Incidentally, CyberSleuth is a really really good monster catcher game and you should go play it.) Over two years and 60 hours, I explored the world of Ivalice.

The gambits are a great bit of customization. They involve you in the decision-making and let you fine tune a party that functions well enough to tear through superbosses. But it takes until the third hour at least for you to get enough to really start playing around with the system, and even then, it sometimes isn’t as refined as you’d like it to be. Multiple times I wished I could add a second condition to a certain action. Sometimes when playing, I jokingly thought to myself “Man, this gambit system is groundbreaking. Now if only it could be included in a game where combat was fun in its own right.” Why hello there Unicorn Overlord :D!

Playing this game, it felt like I was in conversation with it. One where I wanted it to be something that it wasn’t.

“Do you want to play a game where the main fun of combat doesn’t come from combat itself but by refining your strategies and party-comp?”

“That sounds vague and abstract, but I’m willing to work with it.”

“How about an upgrade/skill tree style of system that restricts you from using equipment until you unlock the very specific ability to use it, and all of the would-be stat boosts are also abstract and don’t actually change your numbers?”

“That just sounds like the Sphere Grid from X, but worse in every conceivable way. Will I receive weapons that don’t benefit any of my party members’ jobs?”

“You’re guaranteed to.”

“Shit.”

“Okay, how about a political drama set in a diverse and expansive world, with a really cool magic-science aesthetic and a culture that isn’t just Europe-but-fancy?”

“That actually sounds pretty cool. You’re going to tie in this grand overarching narrative with individual character arcs that flesh out both person and world right?”

“. . . Kind of. Think less ‘Characters driving plot’ and more along the lines of ‘Plot happens to characters.’”

Briefly touching on the characters: I like most of them, but I wish there was more actually between them. Vaan makes a friendship comment to Ashe in the very late game at it feels almost completely undeserved because These People Don’t Interact. As for Vaan himself, I talked briefly with a mutual of mine about it, and I repeat here. I don’t hate Vaan. I just wish he had more going for him as a protagonist. I kept waiting for him to be an interesting or engaging character and he only had around three moments of substance in the whole game. He has a very undercooked revenge story that lasts for barely 5 hours with sidequests, and beyond that his main job in the party is to Not Know Things, and be wowed by all the pretty sights. There’s an argument to be made about how X did something similar with Tidus, but the key difference there is that Tidus is actually engaging of a character, with a character arc that lasts the whole game, and whose ignorance is used to provide the player and the party extra perspective, even coming to challenge the status quo.

The soundtrack is also not my favorite. Not that it has many bad tracks, just not many that really stick. I still hold that FFIV has one of the best soundtracks in the series. Both this game and Etrian Mystery Dungeon suffer from a common problem with the soundtrack, and it’s an unfortunate side effect of how these games are designed. Seemless integration of combat into exploration also means that there’s very little dedicated combat music, so you’d better enjoy listening to those world themes because they aren’t going anywhere.

For all that FFXII does that doesn’t jell with me completely, I should have hated this game. Either that or forgotten about it like everyone else. Honestly, if I had a wider selection of games in my early Switch library, I might have done just that. And yet for all my grievances with this game, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. I loved exploring the world of Ivalice. Even when I finished this game, I’m not entirely sure I was ready to say goodbye to it. However I also really really wanted to start on Harvestella, so off to the very short and underwhelming final dungeon I went.

If you enjoy Xenoblade as a series, I feel like you owe it to yourself to try out Final Fantasy XII. It might not be anyone’s favorite game of all time, but it is worth the time spent.

[oraclesthroughthedark]

Fandom Awareness

"Seems like we're all done with the preparations! I do love when a plan comes together seamlessly like this~!"

"I'll be right with you, girls, I just have a few things to set up before I leave Leanbox for a bit. It pains me SO to leave my DARLING Vert to handle things on her own for even some days... but alas, I have so many duties. Now let me update my social media real quick..."

((This post is just to make people aware of franchises which I'm most familiar with. Since I'm crafting missions around the characters I get, the most familiar I am with the series, the more confident I will be on my posts and the less research I'll have to do, which might result in faster posts. Due to OneHeart's ability to mimic people or take forms that people know, it also requires more research from me if I don't know the series that well. Please note, however, that this blog is open to ALL FANDOMS and OCs. This list is just for light referencing, and knowing me, I definitely forgot some so I'll update it a bit along the way:))

Major Fandoms [Extensive Knowledge]

Ace Attorney

Danganronpa

Deltarune

Fire Emblem

Hazbin Hotel

Honkai: Star Rail

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Persona (3, 4, 5)

Pokémon

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Touhou Project

Undertale

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Major Fandoms [Partial Knowledge]

Bleach

Borderlands (2)

Digimon (up to Frontier)

Dragon Ball (Z)

Final Fantasy (except XI, XIII and XV)

Genshin Impact (up to Sumeru)

League of Legends

Legend of Zelda (mainly OoT, MM)

My Hero Academia

Naruto

Overwatch

Pretty Cure (Soaring Sky)

Resident Evil (mainly the first 4)

Saint Seiya

Silent Hill (1, 2)

Sonic the Hedgehog

Steins;Gate

Tales of (Symphonia, Zestiria)

Wuthering Waves

Yakuza (0 & Kiwami)

Zenless Zone Zero

Minor Fandoms [Extensive Knowledge]

Cardcaptor Sakura

Chrono Cross

Chrono Trigger

Clock Tower

Deep Rock Galactic

Disgaea (5 and under)

Doki Doki Literature Club

Dynasty Warriors

End Roll

Hyperdimension Neptunia

Ib

King of Fighters

Koihime Musou

Mad Father

Made in Abyss

Mana Khemia

NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD

Noragami

Payday 2

Petal Crash

Princess Tutu

Puyo Puyo (& Madou Monogatari)

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Shaman King

Shantae

Stardew Valley

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

The World Ends with You

Virgo VS The Zodiac

WIXOSS

WORLD OF HORROR

Minor Fandoms [Partial Knowledge]

Arcana Heart

DRAMAtical Murder

Dept. Heaven (mainly Riviera & Yggdra/Blaze Union)

Lobotomy Corporation

Monster Prom

Pillars of Eternity

Reverse: 1999

Rune Factory (1/Frontier, 3, 4)

Sailor Moon

[seradyn]

6 questions;

I was tagged by @blossom-adventures to answer some fun questions 😁

1. Last Song? - On the Wing by Owl City. They’re one of my favorite bands; I’ve listened to them since I was very young. Even had a little CD player I used to listen to this album with. This song is absolutely gorgeous.

2. Last show? - I don’t watch much cable/network stuff. But if you’re really looking for something new My Name is Earl has always been a comfort show of mine. I watched it with my dad and sister and it’s really a fantastic show. Although be warned it got canceled on a cliffhanger, so there’s no satisfactory ending. I mostly watch YouTube though.

3. Currently watching? - Similar to previous question, right now I’m watching a YouTube series. Revisiting Needs Gaming play Ark: Survival Evolved because one of characters on the show, Thick44 (real name Tony Schnur), passed away recently. I watched them play Ark back in high school, so I wanted to revisit that series to pay respects to Tony. Their videos have brought me countless hours of entertainment. Me, my sister, and her fiancé all play Ark together too, so I always felt a deep connection to this series in particular.

Long live the Wyvern King.

4. Currently reading? - Exclusively fanfics 😂 The last one I read was Sweet Disaster by creative_frequency on AO3. Very sweet Ardyn story with some great smut thrown in. You should definitely check it out if you’re an Ardyn person. If you read part two, I suggest you pick the second outcome if you want the best ending 🥰

5. Current obsession? - Well, I’ve dedicated an entire blog to Ardyn soooo 😂😂 speaks for itself I think. Aside from that though, Final Fantasy in general has been an amazing community to join. I’ve only been a fan for about 2 years, I grew up a Nintendo kid and never had access to the consoles that had FF. Got into FFVII in 2020 and it was over. The amount of love and connection I feel to the characters constantly surprises me. And playing Dissidia has made me love the characters from games I haven’t played yet. I currently have all the pixel remasters, FFVII-IX on switch, X, XII, XIII, and XV on steam. I’m halfway through IX, with X being first in line for me to play next. I hope I can get to all of them 😁

6. Unrelated obsession? - I have quiet a few, although FF will always be my greatest love. Pokémon would probably be my second biggest obsession. One of my first ever games was Pokémon Pearl, and I’ve loved the games since. I’m like a walking encyclopedia for the damn pocket monsters 😂 I also played around in competitive VGC, so I’m a pretty good battler too.

This was fun! Thank you for the tag! I’ll poke @savage-rhi if they want to answer 🥰 I hope you and blossom are doing well ❤️

[marmolita]

OKAY it’s lunchbreak time which means I can come write some kinda sorta meta for the like three people who care about both these fandoms about how Final Fantasy XV and Supernatural are philosophical opposites.  Spoilers ahead for both FFXV and spn!!  Hopefully we’re far enough in the future from the releases of both of these that nobody cares about spoilers anymore but YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

SO

Final Fantasy XV is, at its core, a story about Noctis coming to terms with his fate and the fact that he has to die to save the world.  Part of it he knows is his destiny and part of it he doesn’t know the details of, but fundamentally he is on a journey of self-discovery and coming-of-age.  At no point in the entire game does he attempt to find a way out of his destiny.  He knows he’s the king of light and he’s going to fulfill this destiny, it’s just a matter of when and whether he’s going to be strong enough to do it.  And yeah, he delays it -- or, the player delays it, at least, by tooling around fighting monsters and going on side quests instead of proceeding to Altissia.  He’s not ready for it.  He has to go through hell and lose people he loves before he’s ready for it.

In the end, though, he accepts his destiny and walks tall to his fate, and he dies, and the world is saved as a result.  We all cry because we’re sad for him, and we’re mad that he has to die, and we wish he could have a happier ending, but we understand that he’s doing what he has to do and he’s being a hero and this is the ending that this story needs to have.  It’s tragic but it is, fundamentally, a happy ending for the world.

MEANWHILE

Supernatural is season after season after season of either Sam or Dean or someone they love needing to die in order to save the world, and not doing it.  Or, they die and then come back the next season!  This isn’t a coming of age story.  It’s not about learning to accept your fate.  Supernatural is all about standing up to your fate and saying, “Fuck you, I’m not going to sacrifice myself for this, there has to be another way.”

Supernatural is about never giving up on finding a way to SAVE your loved one from their fate.  Changing their fate!  Rescuing people.  Sam needs to die to close the gates of hell?  Dean says yeah no I will doom the world to being full of demons forever because I will not accept my brother dying for it.  Dean needs to be locked in a Ma’lak box and dumped under the ocean to save the world and we know that that’s absolutely what needs to happen because it’s written in Death’s book as the only possible outcome?  Sam punches him in the face and is like nope!  You’re not doing that!  Fuck this!  And somehow another option arises and Dean doesn’t have to live in a coffin for eternity.

There are so many discussions in the late seasons about “I believe in us” and “we can find another way, we always do,” and it’s just really fascinating to me how the entire emotional core of this show is that you don’t need to die to save the world.  You don’t need to let your loved ones die to save the world.  You, as an individual, should never stop fighting to change their destiny, and guess what!  In this universe, somehow, it always works.  (....leaving aside the discussion of how all the women die for real, obviously there is nuance here but I’m talking about the primary throughline of the series)

ANYWAY

I’m not making a judgement call on which philosophy/moral is better.  I love both of these canons and I love both outcomes.  I have loved “hero has to die to save the world” stories since the first one I encountered (shoutout to Diane Duane’s Deep Wizardry) in all their incarnations, and I can find emotional catharsis in “yes you do really have to die” and “you found a way to not need to die” and “someone else died so that you didn’t have to.”

I’m not qualified to speak on the subject but I do feel like there’s also a certain amount of cultural impact here as well, like, Supernatural is an extremely American show.  Individualism and freedom are at the core of this “hell no I’m not dying for this” story.  Meanwhile, FFXV is extremely Japanese, and honorable self-sacrifice has been a thing in Japanese culture for centuries.  It’s interesting also considering how Supernatural is also a show fundamentally based on Christian religion and Christianity is all about a dude who died to save everyone, and yet somehow that’s not a thing that’s going to happen to our main characters.

Anyway idk!!  I just find it fascinating that there are two very different approaches to the same “gotta die to save everyone” story.

[kennycrows]

hi! I'm a fan! I saw you mention your plans to play the ffxiii trilogy and I wanted to ask🗒️🎤: 1- out of all the final fantasy games, their spinoffs and adjacent games like tactics which ones did you play or watched a walkthrough/lets play of? 2- is there a final fantasy game you don't ever want to play? (feelings and thoughts can change with time ofc) 3- out of all the ones you've played which one/s are your favorites? 4- I really like ffxiii and the gifs you make. can I anticipate some delicious gifs during/after your playthrough?

lmao i love that this is an interview.

1. i've played vii-x, xii, xiv - xvi. my older sister, who got me into ff, actually was a beta tester for xi and hated it, so i never touched it. then i didn't have a ps3 so i missed out on xiii. i tried playing vi when i was little, but i didn't get far. then i tried again on my phone, but it just didn't feel right and i gave up on that too. i don't watch a lot of playthroughs/streams, because it just makes me want to play the game myself. i have read summaries for them all though.

non-mainline games: i've played x-2, vii remake, all the dissidias and theatrhythms (which i love), woff, monster of the deep, and some crystal chronicles and type-0, and i'm just about to finish vii rebirth.

2. probably tactics and xi. i don't really care for tactical games and one mmo is enough for me.

3. viii! viii was my first one, and it's always been my favorite. my other faves are x/x-2, xiv, and xv.

4. thank you! i probably will, but it'll be a couple months before i get to play it. i've got to finish rebirth, re2, and maybe dawntrail first. depends on how busy i am.

[narcolepticprince]

ooc;

@captaindrautos fished up a soggy boot and Ignis said "I think I've come up with a new recipeh!"

Iggy no

[emissaryofwind]

Sony executive: so our next game is a uh *spins wheel* Final Fantasy... *rolls dice* VR... *throws dart* fishing game!

[ladylvciscaelum]

Let's fish!

[mysticdragon3md3]

More messing around with Noctis and the boys?  What?  Did they hear how much Persona 5 players gushed over just messing around with everyday, slice of life stuff?  Is this going to work for FF15...?

[marina-and-the-memes]

NOCT FISHING IN VR LMFAO