#i once more have ffxv brainrot

[flowers-of-tenebrae]

Random DotF musings pt. 1

(spoilers for the whole book)

A Savior Lost - Ardyn:

So I uh totally forgot there was an "animated prologue" to Ep Ardyn. I did watch it...back in 2019. That means between Episode Ardyn, the animated prologue and DotF, his story has been told thrice in three different forms. Huh. (Well it's par the course for FFXV tbh)

It starts off rough tbh, but I like how the author reminds us of Noct's "shaggy hair and wayward nature" in the opening paragraph. Then you realise it's set in chapter 13 so any slight amusement - at Noct's expense - becomes 😭

I've had DA brainrot, so the justice (Somnus) vs. vengeance (Ardyn) themes stood out. In executing his ideals of justice and governance, Somnus corrupts Ardyn's purpose (his calling) and leads him on the path of vengeance... Culminating in Ardyn doing unto Noctis/Somnus what Somnus did him: 1) Somnus slaying Aera before Ardyn vs. Ardyn stabbing Luna in Altissia, and ofc 2) Ardyn vowing to destroy Somnus' entire legacy and lineage (through Noctis), much like how Ardyn's past as the "savior healer and future king" was demolished/buried and how his wondrous future (as king with Aera by his side) was cut short. This all seems v obvious, but it sounds cool to me when framed with DA's concepts of spirits vs demons - i.e. "if you see them as a demon, they'll become demons and reflect your expectations back at you".

Also obv Jesus/Judas parallels

The last line goes hard ✍️🔥🔥🔥

Now, the train has clearly steered off the rails of canon and into new territory

Not a fan of them casting Bahamut as the big bad antagonist (so cliché). Like the way his speech (as an Astral) is formatted though

It's easier for me to accept the Noctis/Somnus and Luna/Aera parallels in 2024 than it was back in 2019. But even more important than those are the Ardyn/Luna parallels, which we can see taking shape in this part.

Verdict: A slog to read, denser than expected, less exciting bc I've experienced Ep Ardyn - and the animated prologue. Certain parts felt more like reading a "dry impassive timeline" than a story. (I still question Aera's judgement in telling Somnus.) But this chapter does set the stage, so I can see why they still included it. And it's worth re-treading for that last scene alone.

The Beginning of the End - Aranea:

There's anti-food promotion for once, too much of it really. (Ew stale popcorn)

We learn a little bit of Niflheim's past state and its decline. Cool

Omg mentions of Aranea's parents!? Do we know more about her parents than Iggy's?? 😂

Wow they have an aerial safety net system in Gralea (for dragoons...?) Also, Gralea 🔄 Garlean empire - yeah the ff devs weren't subtle (it's a FFXIV ref)

Aranea's penchant for nicknames strikes again -> Tiny = Diamond Weapon

I liked seeing more of Aranea's dynamic with Biggs and Wedge and learning a bit about the latter two. Not as much Aranea + Sol in this ch as I'd expected, but that's okay for now.

While not quite as impressive as [ME2 spoiler] Miranda giving her resignation to the Illusive Man, Aranea going "I really can't stand you" to Ardyn, winking, then diving off the edge of Zegnautus Keep is still pretty awesome

The ffxv devs keep trying to make me care about Loqi but it's never worked

BONUS: FFVI ref spotted! (dancing mad) + minor Tenebrae lore drop (they were a tourist trap /jk)

Verdict: Some parts were repetitive ngl BUT this was more engaging than the prev ch bc 1) it's new content, 2) ARANEA!! - however the action scenes would've been more exciting to play through vs. reading. I'm going to sound like a broken record here; I feel robbed we didn't get to play as her (DRG ladies ftw) and see her wink on screen 🥲

[lunanoc]

Shipper tag game

tagged by @sunriseverse (thank you for tagging! <3)

What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care about anymore?

uhh probably sakura/syaoran from cardcaptor sakura? very original i know i continue to be Very Basic. to be fair i was 13 and i’d just discovered what fanfic was so there’s that. now it’s more of a nostalgia thing? they’re cute but yeah not much else

Which ship would you consider your first one?

probably sakura/syaoran or link/zelda from the legend of zelda, again very basic but technically i discovered fandom through zelda forums so

Your first fanfic was about which couple?

still sakura/syaoran, and yes it was terrible because i was still like 13

Do you remember the first couple you saw fanart of?

i honestly have no idea but i’m going to assume it was probably link/zelda just because of the forums (i keep repeating the same two ships over and over rip)

Have you ever gotten into ship discourse?

no. not in a public setting anyway. i tend to keep to the ships i like and steer clear of the ones i don’t, and if for some reason i come across one i don’t like enough times that it starts to annoy me i’ll bitch about it in private because i’m a big believer that occasional bitching with your friend group is healthy, or at the very least while not tagging it/censoring it so it’s not going to end up somewhere the people who do ship it can see it

Did you use to have any NOTP or have one currently?

i don’t think i ever had genuine notps before dmbj really, at most 99% of the time it’s not really what i’d qualify as a notp, more just ships i don’t really care for? but i don’t have any strong feelings about them either way. dmbj fandom is particular for me in the sense certain spaces and people have pushed certain ships onto me enough directly or indirectly i just immediately get annoyed whenever those ships pop up so i avoid them like the plague now. i’m not going to say what they are (even if if you know me you probably have an idea) but they do exist

Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

pingxie from dmbj the brainrot is very real 😂 though for lack of food i mostly read chinese language fics these days (reminds me i should also make myself some more food one of these days too)

Currently, do you have any OTPs?

absolutely no one is shocked it is once again pingxie my beloveds who’ve had me in a chokehold for the past two years now atp i am literally here forever help

Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

uhhh you know what i was going to say not really but actually. and it’s weird i have such strong feelings about this since i never hardcore shipped them anyway but ichigo/rukia from bleach i just refuse to perceive that is not the endgame

Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

not really? if anything the closest i can think of is zhongchi/tartali from genshin that i initially didn’t really understand the appeal of but i got curious and ended up liking it. i’ve drifted away from it now because i don’t really enjoy the genshin fandom in general, and i don’t agree with a lot of the takes on them but that happened i guess

Do you have any ship that, in the past, would've been considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

honestly i can’t really think of anything besides hopelight from ffxiii? and i guess kaeluc from genshin but i also don’t super actively ship those it’s more of a casual thing. oh wait i thought of this coming back but i kinda vaguely like ardyn/noctis from ffxv also casually but that is definitely cancellable over material oops

What is your favorite crack ship?

i don’t do crack ships really because i’m Very Basic and have zero imagination so i need substance to connect dots 😂

What is the couple you read the most fanfics about?

i can’t tell if this is past or present tense so i’ll just answer both. if it’s purely the amount over time it’s probably a toss up between destiel from spn and soukoku from bsd. if it’s currently what do i read about it’s pingxie

What do most of your ships usually have in common?

this is such a loaded question, weirdly a lot of them start off with differing degrees of antagonistic or challenging/playful relationship going on (on the surface anyway) and it progresses from there, and the care is both intense but not so easily expressed. there are clearly exceptions to this exhibit a: pingxie but those tend to pop up more for some reason. this is not discourse by any means but for example it’s why i preferred klance over sheith and that’s all i’ll say about voltron because that’s a can of worms i refuse to open ever again. what i’m saying is sometimes i wonder why i’m not a heihua person because on paper that’s what i should be and yet here i am with the old married couple 500k slowburn of a ship instead 😂

What you absolutely hate in a ship?

i wasn’t sure about what to put here but @sunriseverse is right, anything that fundamentally changes either of the characters for the sake of the ship or a trope. fanfic by nature is ooc to a degree anyway, but there’s a difference for me between when people make the effort to understand the characters and how they work/would work together, and when they either reduce them to two-dimensional cardboard cutouts for the sake of smashing them together, or make them out to be something they’re not. even more so when it then becomes the Universally Accepted Fanon Characterization

tagging @shaish, @tatchling, @tiesanjiaoshenanigans, @kelly42fox, @thatlittlemouse and uhhh honestly anyone else who wants to do it

[x-nephophile-x]

leave me be, im on my OC moodboard bullshit again