#finally came true

[mischievous-thunder]

Wade's life's so damn colourful

[betelgeuse-the-second-musicman]

Just ate kangaroo meat and it was so damn good. Tasted a bit like metal, but it's nothing that a little barbecue sauce can't fix.

[passionpeachy]

me with some jellyfish 🪼🪼🪼

[egophiliac]

So how’s ride kamens going for you as I just pulled my self together long enough to read the other half of the current main story

I've been working on catching up on the event stories since they announced the upcoming main story update! (I totally bombed the last few events...they're so fast-paced and I just didn't have time...😭)

and then of course they went and dropped THIS on us today

(you don't understand, I LOVE Tajador and I already love the two blurry frames they've given us of non-silhouetted Kelka, I'm ready to absolutely lose my shit come the announcement/reveal(?) stream on Thursday --)

[tamagoneko]

TRUE COLORS

[lady-raziel]

hilarious that with each new day that passes a new bit of dirt from JD Vance's past gets discovered and plastered over the internet...it's almost as if this is why presidential campaigns have always announced their running mates well before the convention...so that if glaring issues with a candidate came to light quickly there would be time to replace them on the ticket before they were officially locked in...it's almost as if certain things in political campaigns were done for a reason, donald...because the very same critical failures had happened before...but no i'm sure you and your guys attempt to recreate a fantasy version of history while ignoring all the reasons that history was a disaster will work this time...because you are built different and the 10000th time trying fascism will work like a charm...

[gingiekittycat]

The thing is, Crowley never says he doesn't want to be an angel again.

When Aziraphale is getting really excited about the prospect of restoring Crowley to full angelic status--"we're having a ball," "perhaps you can tell me while we dance" levels of excited--Crowley isn't over there saying, "How dare you," or "I don't want to be an angel again," or "You don't know me at all," which are all reactions we'd expect... If that's the way he felt.

What he says is, "Heaven is toxic."

Because being an angel again isn't what's holding him back. All Crowley's said for years is, I go along with Hell as far as I can, and I didn't mean to fall, I sauntered vaguely downwards, I was bored at lunch one day, I only ever asked questions, I'm unforgivable. That's all he's said, and that's all Aziraphale has heard, words of regret. And maybe they even talked about it. Maybe they even talked about the parts of Heaven that Crowley misses, in a perfect universe, maybe we could have still been angels together, doing good, isn't it a nice thing to dream, isn't it a nice fantasy?

But the thing that Crowley knows that Aziraphale doesn’t is that this particular fantasy can't come true. You can't make it a reality. But Aziraphale, see, that's where he lives, in the fantasy. Like the cotillion ball, right? He manipulates the humans and ignores the danger to play out his fantasy, and Crowley can only see it going that way in Heaven too: Aziraphale turning a blind eye in favor of delusional happiness while Crowley trails behind him, terrified, hissing that there's danger lurking all around.

Because there is danger in Heaven. Crowley knows. All the demons do.

Sure, it would be nice. Everything safe, everyone safe and restored to who they were before the Fall, doing good as angels are meant to do, without hiding, without trauma, without being afraid. It's a nice fantasy, but it will never happen. Not in Heaven, anyway. Because Heaven is toxic, Crowley has learned that the hard way, and it's a knowledge you can't unlearn with a simple status change.

He doesn't want to unlearn it, anyway. The serpent of Eden is the last person who will choose "ignorance is bliss" over truth.

So I don't think we should fault Aziraphale for wanting Crowley to be an angel with him. For dreaming about the fantasy. Crowley himself has probably even dreamed it.

If Aziraphale has any fault, it's believing that Heaven is the place that can make that fantasy can come true.

[doodlejoltik]

they acknowledged it directly!!!! going INSANE over this line

Arceus choosing to speak to the whole stadium when he only ever talked to Rei before. Volo and Rei being on an equal playing field now... Rei unable to form a comeback, because it's true

it seems to me that Arceus originally tried, and failed to reach Rei... but why?

also adding in this screenshot from his sync pair story. just Because

[pybun]

GIGANTIC IS FUCKING BACK!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[sagaubeloved]

I noticed while walking around with Xiao that he just — he just has his mask on?? At first I thought it was just him in his ideal animation or something and stopped to let him take it off, and even minutes later he STILL HAD IT ON. Switched with my other characters and then back to him and STILL WEARING THAT MASK. Jumped and smacked things to hopefully trigger the mask away and nope, still there.

What??? FOR WHAT REASON????

[vanessakimballs]

restoration is good (TO ME) because after 12 years we finally get to see carolina gather the clarity to understanding tex. just as carolina was beaten down, when we don't have sarge or wash to guide us, it happens.

tex saves us. the woman who failed defies fate and saves the day.

[ominous-horse-noises]

my last couple of fhjy posts have been popping off (by my blog's standards) so now i present to you: serious + unserious finale pt 2 predictions

Squeem makes a final heroic sacrifice for the bad kids. it is very emotional. Gorgug almost gets rage starred over it.

Gertie cameo in the post-fight epilogue + Kristen letting her down easy (I think Kristen's going to realise she's kind of been taking their flirtationship less seriously than Gertie and end it) -> also a possibility Kristen is going to see online/get a call from Tracker that Nara and Tracker have broken up but decides against trying to rebound back

The Rat Grinders (including Lucy) are resurrected by Ankarna and Fabian immediately gets an alert from his bank that he's gained 5 new nemesises: he is miffed that Mary Ann isnt one of them

The FBI agent shows up mid-battle trying to arrest Fig and all the bad kids yell at him to fuck off simultaneously. Adaine pushes him into lava.

Buddy pulls a Kristen and creates his version of Yes! out of Baccarath

Newly revived Yolanda boots Bobby Dawn out of her office and it's extremely satisfying

I dont think Brennan is going to reuse the deus ex machina of fhfy so Ayda and Aguefort are definitely only showing up post-fight, but Fig tells Ayda on the spot that she's dropping out to go travelling with her OR Fig very excitedly introduces Ayda to an uncorrupted Ankarna ("My girlfriend's back in town!!!")

K2 uncorrupts Cassandra in a move that makes Brennan leave the dome again. Zac once again has to narrate it.

Either Aelwyn or Ragh/Lydia show up during the battle as back up allies. Personally I hope it's Lydia because I'd love to see her confront Porter on the correct use of rage

Turns out TRGs they're fighting are simulacrums bc of their disproportionately small hp- ngl I'd hate this outcome, bc TRGs having shit coordination and hp feels like a justified consequence for them cheating the system, but it would make sense since Porter needs followers to become a god of rage and war, and he has to know these kids don't stand a chance considering TBKs obliterated the Last Stand

Adaine smug callback to resurrected Oisin's oracle taunt/killing his grandma but she fumbles the execution and hits him with an Adaine's Furious Fist instead. Bonus if Riz threatens to eat him

Mary Ann is revealed to have never been rage starred she's just here bc she was told by Porter that it was mandatory to attend

Bucky asks Kristen to meet Cassandra and very clearly begins to want to convert

Hallariel drops that she's actually pregnant during a tirade about Fabian crashing the house

Aguefort tells TRGs that they're being held back a year

'hey girlieeee' callback during climatic moment

Ecaf cameo

[dire-miralis]

WE WIN

[shima-draws]

Grips my shirt and tears it apart so that all the buttons go flying and SCREAMS I love Law and Cora so much what the FUCK!!!!

[ageofzero]

Yuna is the antagonist of a potential Final Fantasy X-3, thank you for coming to my TED Talk

edit: okay I'll put it under a read more since it'll be a long post (but not as long as my entire conversation was), but what's promised is due.

Now that I have to make the post for real I had to do some wiki reading on what the actual Things going on in the novella were, and… well, a lot of my theorycrafting was based on incomplete and kinda inaccurate information. BUT I can’t read Japanese, the book was never released here, and I am going to go with rule of cool for a little bit of this even as I keep the stuff that sounds kinda dumb on the surface. I’ll be the first to say that Tidus exploding from a bomb he thinks is a blitzball is dumb (true), and Chuami thinking she’s Auron’s daughter is a dumb plot beat (petty), but I’m weaving this bridge and I’m not going to rewrite those. I am going to change some contexts and make them exist in a narrative that I hope is compelling. That’s my disclaimer, now I’m gonna get into it.

SO.

The scenario from the novella and audio drama is thus: Tidus died again in an accident, and Yuna brings him back. But he’s not back in the same way that the Fayth gave this dream a real living body at the end of X-2. The official term for it is “beckoned”, but I probably won’t use that to describe him based on my previous understanding. No matter if he’s beckoned or not, or whatever terminology you want to use, the thing is that Yuna summoned him back. She’s holding him to life, and he can never know. It’s been a year since the moment Tidus died, and Yuna has seemingly regressed into patterns that put her into what was once Yevon’s circle. Tidus is looking injured/weakened (“Chuami: It wasn’t just [Tidus’s] words that felt hollow. When I shook his hand, his grip felt weak and lifeless... I think he’s injured. Or maybe he’s sick or something.”), and people are looking to Yuna for help or information regarding the strange not-quite Unsent (the beckoned) that are appearing in places in Spira. Help she is not capable of giving. Wakka and Lulu are protecting her as she prays in Besaid Temple. The world is seemingly acting out, with a second shoopuf appearing in the Moonflow and its energies overflowing and drawing more illusions into reality. (“Yuna: The Moonflow energy is responding to the will of the living. It’s as if… we’re in the Farplane.”) And it’s more vivid than what the Farplane is capable of, even breaking the rules of “beckoning”. This is something new, something worse. Something worse enough to bring back Sin (which I thought was just me extrapolating a potential, but they actually mention it in the audio drama that it happens). Yuna promises the people that she will defeat Sin, but Wakka tries to keep her from being made to promise such a thing at first, which is an interesting choice (“Wakka: Yuna, let’s go back to Besaid. They’ll push this all on you… Sin is for summoners, in their minds.”).

Where does the world go in this present circumstances? Why IS Yuna seemingly content to do what chafed her in the Eternal Calm short movie and stay praying in Besaid and helping the elders who are lost now that Yevon as they knew it is in shambles? Why are Lulu and Wakka enabling and protecting her in that? Why is Tidus looking injured and weak and why is Yuna keeping him at arm’s length? Why does she tell him that she’s fallen in love with someone else?

I know the typical story beat interpretation is “Yuna told him that and pushed him away so he wouldn’t be in danger for what she needs to do, bc defeating Sin caused his death last time”. But hear me out. Yuna knows Tidus isn’t alive. She knows that revealing that information to him will cause him to disappear again. She’s actively summoning him back to life and he has no idea (but he must suspect something is wrong, even before Yuna formally pulls away from him, he’s weakening and he probably doesn’t feel right in his own skin). I posit that her maintaining Tidus’s life is what she’s really doing praying in the Besaid Temple. She doesn’t want to get involved with the Moonflow situation, the shoopuf or the overflowing energy of the Moonflow itself. She doesn’t even really act when seeing all the ghosts in the crowd, and actively stops Kurgum from acting (plausible deniability: she and everyone else decide that sending them in that moment would be the wrong call and riots would break out, but that density of ghosts means that’s a significant amount of pyreflies that could become fiends at any moment).

I posit that Yuna’s powers are working, that people close to her think her powers aren’t working (Lulu and Wakka), and she’s hiding it from everyone else. That her powers aren’t working because she’s currently using them to maintain Tidus’s existence. And this maintaining is breaking the Farplane in half, because she’s powerful but has no idea what she’s doing. (Why would she really know what she’s doing or the consequences? Who has any information of what she’s doing and what will happen if she does it?) I posit that Yuna’s love for Tidus is so strong that it corrupts her sense of right and wrong. X-2 is Yuna largely going on a personal quest, and incidentally helping people but separating herself from the title of High Summoner and doing something she wants to do. Rikku encourages her to do something for herself for a change right before she agrees and runs off to become a sphere hunter. She still saves the world, this time from an ancient danger Old Yevon buried and an Unsent is threatening to use (for love, notably), but she did it in the course of looking for Tidus. Who the Fayth return to life, who she hugs and is so so relieved to have in her arms again.

She’s not going to let him go, she couldn’t let him die again so much that she called him back to life.

(side note: I never truly knew how this happened so I had to consult the wiki page on the novella, and I suspect what original information I was working with was misrepresented and misinterpreted. I openly admit that the wiki page doesn’t really help me fully understand what happened, aside from explaining how Tidus ended up in proximity to a bomb. My understanding from someone’s explanation was that an Unsent summoner on the island Yuna and Tidus got washed up on after a storm told her she could call back the dead if she wanted, as a summoner. They’re all made of pyreflies, Aeons and Fiends and People and Unsent alike, and summoners are in the business of manipulating pyreflies. Either calling them from the Fayth to form an Aeon, or Sending them to the Farplane so they do not become Fiends. A summoner with enough power could summon someone back from the dead, could they not? And this Unsent summoner knew how it worked, and told Yuna how to do it. But I don’t know how real that scene could be, or how accurate it is to what’s written in the book. It’s my rule of cool moment, though, and I worked with that as my understanding when I made this theory. We have to make our peace with that, if you’ll allow me this extrapolation of Spira’s rules and a summoner’s powers.)

(The meme is Tidus kicking a blitzball and it turned out it was a bomb and his head gets blown off, but wiki says they ended up on a vision of a Besaid from 1000 years ago, and the bomb was something neither Tidus or Yuna had seen before and to them it looked like a blitzball. So, Tidus approached what he thought was a blitzball, wondering who’s ball it was, and it exploded as he reached it. I still think that’s really dumb but I’m not editing it out bc Tidus’s death creates very interesting consequences.)

So, if Yuna is summoning Tidus back to life, and she desperately doesn’t want him to find this out so she avoids him and pushes him away through any means necessary, but he’s still weakening and fading enough to be noticeable by people… perhaps also himself… Yuna returning to Yevon in some capacity could just as likely be her looking for a means to keep feeding power to this summoning she’s doing so she doesn’t lose him. And what kind of consequences does it have to do this? He’s being summoned, but he’s not actually an Aeon. He’s not an Unsent, he’s not just being beckoned. He wasn’t even real, he was a dream in a summon held together by the raw power of Yu Yevon turning into Sin. The Moonflow overflowing and seeing a long-dead shoopuf is the least of the consequences. The Farplane is delicate, it requires careful maintenance, and here Yuna is shoving her foot in the door and holding it open for a solid year! And no one knows she’s doing this! Spira’s past is full of history, some of that long-buried secrets that no one was supposed to find again. Sin wasn’t supposed to be able to come back, but the ghosts aren’t staying ghosts anymore (“Lulu: I mean Sin came back, right? What’s to stop anything else from coming back?”).

Even people who only know her by reputation seem to think she’s acting strangely (“Kurgum: I thought Lady Yuna was… a righteous person.”), because something is wrong and no one can put their finger on what. Who would have the pieces to put any of this together, and who would even suspect Yuna in the first place? She’s actively not getting involved in politics, she’s locked herself in Besaid, she seems reluctant to answer someone she worked with and should be amicable with now (Baralai).

I think the story should follow down this path, I think it should find Yuna at the end of it, once savior and now destroyer. She’s willing to let the world rip apart in order to keep Tidus, and I think that’s a compelling premise for X-3. The past surging forward like ghosts, vengeful and lost and wanted and terrifying. Who sides with Yuna (Wakka, Lulu) and covers up the problem? Who bands together to face down the High Summoner (Tidus, Rikku)? Who doesn’t know where to place their allegiance, or who changes sides when they realize the extent of what Yuna’s hiding? What does she do when she’s faced with her friends, and the person she loves so much, telling her to stop?

There’s a line in Eternal Calm where Yaibal (named in X-2 but not in the movie itself), after asking about whether or not she’d be joining one of the factions, if she’d be making a faction of her own. And I think in this potential X-3, she’s making her own faction through the actions of becoming antagonist. She’s made Wakka cover for her, she acts in a way that make Lulu and Wakka both protect her regardless of whether or not they know what she’s doing. I think it would be so fascinating to make this a conscious decision on her part. Things have broken so utterly, and she’s desperate to hold them together, and becomes the antagonist in the process.

Squeenix would never do it, they’d never be so bold as to make Yuna the antagonist and follow through on this trajectory of her lying to people to hide that she’s the one breaking the world in half (up to returning the ghost of Sin itself to terrorize Spira). Sin isn’t the final boss in this one, it’d have to be Yuna, we have to stop her and fix what went wrong. It’s not ever gonna happen, but I still think Yuna should be the antagonist of X-3.

[galaxii-star]

MY STUPID BITCHES