#it’s me I’m the Cid enjoyer

[rebelsofshield]

Star Wars: The Bad Batch “Entombed” - Review

The Batch go tomb raiding in a decidedly average episode.

When Omega stumbles upon a strange compass in a scrap heap, the Batch get roped into joining treasure hunter Phee Genoa on a quest to find a valuable artifact. However, this ancient tomb may be hiding more than riches.

One of the joys of Star Wars is that its setting provides ample opportunity for storytellers to play around with genre. Its a vast universe that has room for adventure pulp, war epics, spy thrillers, kaiju science fiction, star crossed romance, sports drama, and even slapstick comedy. The Clone Wars spent a large amount of its second season playing around with the possibilities offered up by the Star Wars playground. It makes sense that The Bad Batch would try the same and the series’ episodic format lends itself well to trying on different storytelling forms.

That seems to have been the inspiration behind “Entombed,” a treasure hunting story that takes the Batch inside a mysterious tomb. While the immediate comparison might be something like Indiana Jones or The Mummy (which The Clone Wars already riffed off in the rather fun “Legacy of Terror”), the result ends up feeling like you’re watching someone play the puzzle portions of a Tomb Raider or Uncharted game. If that sounds only mildly interesting, that’s because it is. Sure, there’s a fun monster crawling around in the tombs ducts, but it never feels like much of a threat and only appears in passing glances. While I appreciated the break from the usual blaster action last week, there just isn’t much going on in “Entombed” to hold one’s interest. “Faster” gave us some fast paced racing sequences and some enjoyable character beats for Tech and Cid, but the puzzles that the Batch and Phee solve here aren’t particularly interesting to figure out as an audience member and there isn’t much if anything going on in terms of development for our regular cast or guest stars.

It’s a shame given that Wanda Sykes is always brings a spark of energy to pretty much any project she’s a part of. Even if Phee is a fairly one note treasure hunter, Sykes voices her with enough snark and swagger to make her personality big enough to steal most scenes she’s a part of. I just wish Christopher Yost’s script gave her more to do.

“Entombed” does pick up a bit towards its final third with the reveal that the tomb is in fact the inner workings of a giant, ancient droid. The machine is fascinating to look at because of how thoroughly its sleek, almost stone like design feels so unlike any other droid we’ve seen in the franchise. I’m a sucker for any kind of eldritch contraption and watching this towering, dinosaur like mech wake up and start blasting away at the desolate landscape brought me right back into an episode that had otherwise lost my interest. And sure, I would’ve liked to see a bit more of this strange droid and get a hint at just what its ancient purpose might be, but just having this giant automaton wander about for a bit was a highlight.

In all honesty, outside of a cool robot, I don’t think I’m going to remember much of “Entombed.” Its passable but never quite interesting television for a series that still seems to be struggling to find a purpose for its less eventful episodes. Let’s hope we get back on track soon.

Score: B-

[doopcafe]

The Dad Batch: S2E5: Entombed 

Summary: TDB plays Indiana Jones with an annoying guest character; a giant mech trashes a lifeless planet with a death ray. 

Comments: This is a “filler” episode, but I don’t mind so much for reasons which will soon become clear. 

We open on Wrecker and Omega searching through a junkyard and then returning to Cid’s bar with their loot. One of the things Omega brings home is “plot contrivance”: a compass that’ll lead them through the episode. (It's literally a compass that points them to where the plot needs them to be).

The assumption is made that the compass points towards treasure because the aforementioned guest character is discount Lara Croft without all the character development. It could just as easily be an address to a liquor shop or like, a used books store, but nah, it’s treasure. They said so! 

There’s a thin veneer of “Omega has a bad role model” happening here, but it’s not developed or explored well enough to be even remotely interesting... This is really just a “solve puzzles to find treasure” plot.

Right, so the plot!compass leads them to a planet that’s been recently razed and left uninhabited, then to a mountain (which they conveniently landed right next to). Pushing away some rocks reveals a doorway. At this point, budget Lara Croft explains to the audience that the episode’s plot will now focus on obtaining the “heart of the mountain” (a stone inside the mountain). 

Keeping up with the treasure-hunter theme here, Kiner’s score suggests Indiana Jones and they even do a nod in the dialogue (“You’re just making this up as you go”) which is, to me, of course, annoying, but whatever. 

Right, so some Indiana Jones puzzles happen and they find the heart of the mountain, which is a sparkly stone. They pull it out and then... the episode goes completely off the rails. 

Turns out, the mountain wasn’t a mountain at all, but a giant f---king mech that activates and just starts lasering everything. Apparently, the stone was its restraining bolt. 

I learned a valuable lesson from watching this episode. So it turns out I’m willing to stomach plot contrivance if it sets up a story premise, but I’m also willing to stomach plot contrivance if it leads to giant mechs absolutely trashing a planet with a death ray. 

Inconsequential filler episodes are fine, but they should be used for character development. Besides, I know this show can be so much better. Let’s see the growth and spread of the Empire, let’s see some clones questioning Order 66, let’s see so many other ripe story points. 

Lol no, mech lasers planet! PEW PEW! 

My enjoyment: 3/5

I enjoyed this way more than I should have; I just can’t argue with giant mechs.

[angevon]

Games I beat 2024 - 6

FFXIV: Dawntrail

In a nutshell: I did not enjoy this. 

I’ll put my comments in a read more, but it won't be super in-depth. Most of what I didn't enjoy has been explained and discussed thoroughly by other people. 

So here I’ll add my own personal complaints which I didn’t see as often when I googled “does dawntrail get better reddit” for validation when suffering through the story.

My first and admittedly rather minor complaint is that they decided to give each fantasy race yet another fantasy name. The catgirls aren’t just miqote anymore, now they’re Homosaro or something, and bunnies are now Setsuna or hell if I know. It’s already hard enough trying to keep them all straight when many were given off-brand versions in Shadowbringers, so why do it again? I get that they’re going for ~cultural differences~ but this is way more annoying than immersive. 

With that out of the way, the main glaring problem with Dawntrail is the poor pacing. We go to a new area, we talk to the npcs to find out what’s going on. Rinse and repeat (and don't forget to tag the aetheryte!). This isn’t unexpected, but it’s made worse by the formulaic cutscene direction. 

You know what I mean. 

“Cut to a close up of character 1’s face. Wait 3 seconds. Character 1 nods. Cut to close up of character 2’s face. Wait 3 seconds. Character 2 also nods. Cut to your character. Your character punches their right fist into their left hand. Zoom out. Character 1 walks off screen. 3 seconds later, character 2 follows. 3 seconds later, you follow and the scene fades.” The flow of most cutscenes are aggravatingly slow-paced. I know they’ve got engine limitations that restrict them from being particularly action packed, but more and more I’m starting to think it’s just an excuse for laziness. 

Additionally, there was more than one occasion when the entire point of a cutscene was just to recap everything that literally just happened. Like, I know what happened, I was there! It happened 5 minutes ago! Why are you telling me this? I can excuse this in patch content when there’s months between story beats, but not in a fully released expansion. 

(It reminds me of ff5, when Galuf suddenly declares “I remember!” and then the flashback cutscene it shows is when cid (?) was slapping him, a scene which happened very shortly beforehand. I remember laughing my butt off as a kid because it was so funny to me. Great memory Galuf, good job! You’re not senile yet, definitely.)

I think the game would greatly be improved from shorter cutscenes without all this … weird pausing as we look at a character just to watch them nod. It ruins the flow of the scene and makes it all so boring. They need to find better ways to end cutscenes than showing people walking off scene. They ought to add more emotes and reactions. I’m quite tired of seeing Wuk Lamat do the Arthur fist meme, and seeing Alphi put his hand under (but not touching) his chin. In some ways it’s hilarious that they haven’t added any new emotes for the npcs to use, but in other ways it’s just sad and lazy. It makes the game feel both cheap and dated.

I should get this out of the way too: for the record, I found the first half of Endwalker a frustrating experience for similar reasons. I didn’t want to explore yet another snow region, and the Garlemald-focused story was made extra depressing just to bash into your head that war sucks. Then EW takes a huge swerve back into fantasy, and that’s when I found it a lot more enjoyable. Definitely a ymmv thing, of course.

Now, Dawntrail tries to follow the same formula, but just doesn’t manage the “enjoyable” aspect. I think, in fact, it’s too similar to Endwalker and feels like a retread. Immediately when I first saw the queen of sci fi land, I said to myself “here’s the final boss” because she’s basically Meteon. And I wasn’t wrong and they never tried to hide it either.

We have the running gag of Atlus Girls but it seems like Square Enix has the same sort of thing going on……

Another thing they retread is taking time to teach us where the food comes from. Seriously, is someone on the writing team a horticulturist or something? We had a lengthy segment in EW with the Loporits and here there’s a(n admittedly much shorter—but still there!) quest to teach us how they grow food in the electric field. It had no bearing on the story in this case, just there to… pad the game time I guess. Or world build but I honestly couldn’t give a crap at that point 😂 I want to know where the big bad is! but no you gotta slow down the story by telling me how to grow fantasy potatoes, go off I guess.

Which leads me to my other problem. Throughout the story I had major questions that the story either never addressed, or if they did address it, it was too late to be satisfying. For example, as soon as the queen of sci fi land (I refuse to call it Alexandria lmao) shows us that souls are being used as currency, I’m like “where do the souls come from”. And literally NOBODY in our group thought to ask this most basic and obvious question. It was so frustrating!!!! Turns out they were saving this info for a Big Reveal but by that time I was already grinding my teeth so much from how slow and boring all these filler cutscenes were, its impact was absolutely wasted. 

And the biggest question I have: who is Zuraal Ja’s mom? And who was Gulool Ja’s mom? Both questions were never addressed. Anything would’ve been better than what we got, which as far as was revealed in the main story: nothing. Never mentioned. Never named. Leaves me wondering if Mamool Ja reproduce asexually??? But Bakool Ja Ja had a mom, we even met her… so… ??? 

I mean this is absolutely the first question I would’ve asked! “We think Zuraal Ja is this kid's dad, just look at him it’s obvious” ok then who laid the egg? Heck, do mamool ja lay eggs…? I don’t know! They never said! 

I’m sure I have more complaints but tbh it’s been a month since I beat it and a lot of the specifics have faded in my memory. I don’t have the energy to comment on the ff9 aspects but ff9 was never my favorite anyway so you can just imagine I wasn’t impressed 😂

[paracosmicparadox]

Hello, folks. If you've already seen my previous FFXV posts, you know I have some opinions on the game. That being said, I've decided to actually do things with those opinions instead of just rant about them. SO. I took the questionable route of logging onto AO3 and creating a fic. It's really just a personal enjoyment thing and a way for me to cope with the lingering effects of the game (it's road-trippy and wholesome and a little angsty---the works) But if you're interested, it's called I Miss Watching The Streetlights Go By With You, and you can find it here.

Yes, it does involve some Promptis fluff bc I gave in and decided they were cute. If you're interested, coolio. If you're not, coolio. For a little snippet to know sorta what it's like, continue reading below.

Their food didn’t take long to come out of the kitchen, and Takka presented it to them with a flourish. “I’m sure y’all are used to the fancy stuff up in Insomnia, so don’t judge our fast food too hard, alright?”

“Give yourself some credit, Takka,” Prompto said, “Insomnia’s restaurants pale in comparison to what you can get here.”

A grin split Takka’s face. “You flatter me.” He turned to Ignis. “Speaking of food, how’s yours coming along? You up and cooking again?”

“I think you’ll be pleased to know that I am.”

“That’s damn impressive. I know if I lost my eyes, I’d just give up and retire,” he laughed. “Glad to know that you’re stronger than that. Really.”

Ignis couldn’t suppress the smile as it grew on his face.

As they ate, Cid chatted about the influx in business that had resulted from the new roads and conditions around Lucis. Apparently Hammerhead was working its way towards opening up a dealership. “Cindy’s real hooked on the idea,” Cid said, “She’s been planning it all out for months now. It’s gonna start out small, but with the way things are lookin’, it’ll grow quick. Hammerhead-brand cars. Can you imagine?”

“I’d buy from you,” Gladio said.

“Well, of course! I expect you lot to be our best customers!” Cid guffawed, then fell into a coughing fit and had to take a moment to compose himself. “I’m real excited for what the future holds, I’ll tell ya. Just wish Regis coulda seen what this old pit stop’s become.”

Noctis’s eyes softened. “He would’ve been proud.”

“Yes. Yes, he would have.” Cid reached out and tapped Noctis’s hand. “Of more than just Hammerhead. You were his pride and joy, you know that? It nearly killed him when your mother died, but he had you to raise, and that was reason enough to stick around. Now look at you. All grown up and leading his kingdom.”

Prompto didn’t miss the way Noctis’s eyes shimmered, but the tears didn’t fall. “I think he was scared I wouldn’t make the cut.”

“Nonsense. You may have acted like an ass sometimes, but you were young. That’s what young folk do. Your father and I were worse about it than you were.”

He’s still young, Prompto wanted to say. We’re all still young. He turns twenty-one in fourteen days. Gladio’s the eldest of us, and he turned twenty-four this past April. Prompto said nothing. First he got upset over their eventual old age on the drive over, and now he gets upset over their youth? This was why he had Deirdre. He was a wreck.

[relentless-endurance]

Okay, having finished Pandaemonium, I think I can properly rank the raid series... so the spoiler free list is:

1. Eden

2. Pandaemonium

3. Omega

4. Alexander

‘what about coils?’ coils is kind of. it doesn’t follow the same structure and model, and you can’t even really queue for it anymore, so idk. I enjoyed it! It has good Alisaie/twins content, the bit with their grandfather did make me cry, and its good! But its sort of. Idk its own thing?

okay, full spoiler explainations below the cut. BIG SPOILER WARNING, etc. read only if you’ve done all these raid series in full

okay so to clarify: the top 3 are very close to each other for me, and I liked them all a lot. Alexander is many steps below them for me

1. Eden

This wins out as number one for me, as I enjoyed the stories of all the tiers a lot, and the music is some of my favorite not just in the raids, but the game period. Its a coming of age love story about two girls, and you never really get to see that like.... ever, and that means a great deal to me, and it just fucking gets me every god damn time. And it gave Ryne a time to shine as... Ryne, and not Minifilia then Ryne. Just as herself.

2. Pandaemonium

As your resident Azem/Ancients enjoyer, this was my SHIT. Elpis was my favorite part of Endwalker and this series was made for me. Getting to meet Elidibus as he was, and not as we knew him the msq, and getting to pal around with Eric Tony. I wasn’t as huge on the second tier’s story, as I’m not big fan of Lahabrea, and I don’t particularly like the like... being a hardass to make you stronger or whatever the fuck was going on. I don’t like bad dads. But tier one and tier three were a lot of fun, the music overall was really good (tier 2s will always be the best though), and I enjoyed the majority of the fights (except you fire chicken, fuck you fire chicken).

The ending with Elidibus also hurt me emotionally.

3. Omega

I wish I had deeper thoughts but honestly just. Omega good. Alpha is baby, and getting time with Cid is always a treat, and him and Nero being the most divorced is never not entertaining. Alpha getting a soul at the end gets me every time too. Also the way it end ups connecting to the later MSQ is so fucking good man. Just.

Most of my enjoyment of it is on the story, and on the music. I’m not a real big fan of most of the mechanics until the final tier tbqh.

4. Alexander

Admittedly on my first go, I actually enjoyed it a fair bit. The fights were fun and the music slapped, and I am always happy to be doing stuff with Cid. But like, upon reflection + some friends sharing perspectives its kind of mid as hell. In my opinion, a good story and music can carry you through fights that aren’t as good, but fun fights and music cannot make up for a mid tier story.

Mide started off being potentially very interesting, but kind of fell off hard. A lot of what was happening was just Mide’s heterosexual nonsense and also like. The cult shit??? what??? It was very. something. It had potential but it just really. didn’t click. The goblins in this game are just. I don’t know, I’m not really a fan, even if I like individual characters.

It was really only good for canonizing the concept of time loops in this setting, which has obvious relevance later, and the stuff with Alexander specifically is kind of neat. but it like. idk, it just didn’t really click for me.

can’t wait for whatever is next with the raids honestly, of course thats hella in the future with 7.0, but yeah! next up is the alliance raid conclusion.

[wolveria]

Carry It With You

Pairing: Hunter x F!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Oral sex, explicit content, Hunter is a feral dilf

Summary: Looking after Omega was an enjoyable task, one you're happy to do. You just wish her father-figure wouldn't disappear every time you enter the room.

AO3

“You’re good with her.”

You glanced over your shoulder, eyeing the man leaning against the wall between your living room and the front door. He never seemed comfortable in your home, perhaps he wasn’t used to domestic settings, but he was at ease at the moment.

When he realized you were staring, Hunter gave one of his soft smiles that turned up one corner of his mouth. You quickly looked away, back to the subject of your conversation. Omega was currently using your desk to finish the painting she’d been working on since dawn. She was determined when she put her mind to it, just like the clone who watched over her like a father.

“She’s easy to look after,” you responded, keeping your voice low so as not to disturb her. “Smart, observant, quiet.”

A little too observant from the looks she sent between you and Hunter far too often.

“Yeah,” Hunter said in his usual taciturn manner, but his voice was gentle. “Thanks for doing this.”

“Of course. I’ve always wanted to have a little sister.”

I’ve always wanted to have a daughter is what you didn’t say. It would put you on the same co-parenting level as the man across from you, and that might reveal some truths you wished to remain buried deep.

“So… are you back for a while?”

Hunter gave a tiny half-shrug, his arms crossed as he watched Omega in front of the window. The setting sun had turned her pale hair into a golden halo.

“Not sure. At least until Cid gives us our next job.”

“Speaking of Cid.”

You grabbed your bag from the nearby counter, snapping Hunter out of his haze. Only now, as he eyed you up and down, did he seem to realize you were dressed for the parlor.

“My shift starts soon,” you explained, ignoring the heat at the back of your neck from Hunter giving you a thorough once-over. “I know you just got back, so I can take Omega with me if you need some time—”

“It’s okay, I got her.” He rubbed the back of his head, something he only seemed to do when talking to you. “You’ve done enough. Really, I appreciate it.”

You opened your mouth to tell him you didn’t mind, that you were there for him and his squad if they ever needed anything, but Omega’s sense of timing, as always, was either incredibly good, or just the worst.

“I’m all done!” She hopped down and ran—and then walked with a raised brow from Hunter—across your living room and held up the picture for him. “Recognize it?”

Hunter took the sheet of thick paper with care, his smile warm.

“Sure do.”

Curious, you drew close to his shoulder to take a look. It was rather good, a drawing from a viewport, the stars smearing as the ship was about to jump into hyperspace.

“That’s from my first time in hyperspace.” Omega gave you an expectant look. “Have you seen many planets?”

Your arm brushed against the crook of Hunter’s elbow. You stepped quickly back.

“Er, no.” You tried your best at a smile. “First time I ever went into space was that prison shuttle.”

“Oh…”

Instead of leaving it at that, Omega folded her hands behind her back and said far too innocently, “Maybe we could take you out to space again!”

“I don’t think—”

“Sure.”

You winced at interrupting Hunter, but he simply gave you a curious look out of the corner of his eye. A look that ordinarily would have been intimidating, seeing as it was from the tattooed half of his face, but you were a good judge of character. After getting to know Hunter, you’d found that his gruff exterior was just that. An exterior.

The two followed you out of your apartment, and once they crossed the threshold, you closed the door and locked up. You took up your usual position during these walks, with Omega between you and Hunter. The streets of Ord Mantell were safe with him by your side, as a hard look from the sergeant was enough to discourage anyone who might bother you.

You tried not to think about the fact you looked like parents walking with their child, but you did fondly note that Hunter was still carrying the drawing.

“I thought maybe you wouldn’t want to go back into space after…”

Hunter trailed off, not needing to explain the state he’d found you in. Languishing in an Imperial prison on a remote space station, your only crime having been speaking out against the massacre of the Jedi.

“My first experience offworld might have been… rough—”

“That’s an understatement.”

Your lips twitched.

“But that doesn’t mean the whole thing was bad. I met you. All of you,” you corrected.

Hunter didn’t speak immediately, but when you glanced at him out of your peripheral vision, that faint smile had returned.

“Surprised you stuck around, to be honest,” Hunter admitted, humor dancing on the edges of his voice. “We don’t meet too many new folk from them stowing away on our ship.”

That was true; most of the escaped prisoners had gotten off the station with stolen shuttles, while you’d managed to find the one occupied hatch that led into the interior of the Marauder. The only person onboard had been Omega, and while finding a young girl had been the last thing you’d expected, you managed to avoid detection and hide in one of the storage compartments, hoping to escape any way you could.

Of course, you hadn’t known at the time there would be clones involved, especially one with enhanced senses. As soon as they’d dragged their target onboard, another Imperial prisoner who was just as startled as you were, the hyperdrive had been activated and you’d thought you were safe in your hiding spot.

And you were, until a certain clone sergeant had opened the storage compartment and yanked you out. Fully armored with his helmet staring you down, it had seemed your fate would be decided by a band of ruthless mercs.

As it turned out, the band of “mercs” were renegade clones, ones not loyal to the Empire. Not only that, when you landed on Ord Mantell, they convinced Cid to take you on as a bartender/janitor/whatever the cantankerous Trandoshan wanted.

The clones hadn’t only rescued you, they’d given you a new life. The Empire had taken everything, and at the prospect of having to start over with a new identity, you would have been lost without them. Now you had your own place, a stable job, and a group of odd but wonderful people you could count on.

It was a shame one of them consumed your thoughts day and night, and he, in turn, always seemed to be looking for the nearest exit if he spent more than thirty seconds in your general vicinity.

You released a heavy breath. It drew Hunter’s attention, his brows perked, and you fumbled to explain away your frustration.

“Uh, just, not in the mood to work.” You gestured to the parlor coming up at the corner of the dingy street. “Could think of better ways to spend the night.”

“Oh?”

You could have slapped your forehead. That was another issue, your habit of turning into an idiot around him. You were perfectly fine and normal when discussing Omega, but as soon as you tried to make small talk, you became the galaxy’s biggest doofus.

“Yep,” was your only response, especially because Omega was looking between the two of you with a funny expression. You were positive she could see right through you, and you wondered why, with all of his enhanced abilities, Hunter failed to do the same.

You wished he could. It would make the rejection easier if it you could just get it over and done with. Instead, you gave them both a parting wave, your eyes lingering on Hunter’s silhouette longer decent before you disappeared into the neon lights of the parlor.

Tending the bar was a nice distraction, and soon you forgot all about how much you missed Hunter when he went on missions, how worried you were until he returned. It was hard to think about what the next mission might bring, or what would happen if the Empire discovered where the squad was hiding, when you had to pour bottles of crimson and sapphire alcohol for rowdy patrons and break up fights around games of Sabacc.

Thankfully, they didn’t get too rowdy with the Batch nearby. Omega and Wrecker were occupying the dejarik table, and you were currently serving a second round of bitterfruit liquor to Tech and Echo. You weren’t sure how they could stand the stuff, but perhaps they liked the strong taste after years of bland military rations.

You scanned the parlor, but a certain sergeant was conspicuously absent. So much for distractions. The patrons were dwindling as the night wore on, which meant less to occupy your time and thoughts.

Echo said something.

“Hmm?”

His smile held a teasing glint.

“You seem out of it tonight.”

In response, you poured yourself a glass of bitterfruit. Cid didn’t mind if you imbibed here or there, especially considering the clientele you dealt with.

“Sorry. What did you say?”

Echo’s mischievous smile faded as he watched you down the glass in one go. He and Tech exchanged a glance.

“I said, you up for vid night?”

You perked up.

“Oh, I didn’t think, since you’d just got back—yeah, of course. Any vids in mind?”

Your question led into a discussion between Echo and Tech about which holovid they should pick, which of course led into an argument about the merits between a xenobiology documentary (Tech’s idea) and a classic romcom (surprisingly, Echo’s choice).

You paid them little attention, your gaze wondering across the parlor, at least until the Weequay and Ithorian regulars signaled you over. You obliged, giving them two shots of their usual, Wicked Womprat, and returned to the two clones. By then, they had decided on the romcom.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend, regardless,” Tech said with a wince. “We took substantial damage, and I’ve barely started repairs, only enough to get us back to Ord Mantell.”

Your stomach dropped.

“Anyone hurt?”

“It’s difficult to escape unscathed when one has to travel on foot through gundark territory,” Tech continued, fidgeting with his empty glass. “Hunter took a claw strike to the back of his shoulder, but his armor absorbed the blow. He’s fine.”

You would argue with Tech’s definition of fine, but Echo was studying your face, so you quickly grabbed up their cups and put them in the washer. Tech frowned, reaching for the glass that was no longer there with a half-hearted attempt.

“Well, guess we’ll see you tonight, then,” Echo said, getting up from his barstool and giving you a cheeky little salute with his scomp link. “Bring a bottle of Thermal Detonator with you.”

“You paying for it?”

“Not a chance.”

“Then you’ll have to settle for tea and cider.”

“Hard?”

You waved the two men off, refusing to dignify the question with an answer. Echo’s penchant for alcohol aside, vid night was a post-mission tradition had allowed you to grow closer to the squad.

Or… most of them.

After closing time and cleaning up the bar, your walk home through the seedy streets of Ord Mantell was one you did alone. No one bothered you, the locals knew you had Cid’s protection, and it didn’t hurt to have a squad of heavily armed soldiers as friends.

Once you arrived home, you set up your living room so there’d be enough room for everyone, or at least the three members you knew would be coming. Echo was the closes thing you had to a best friend and didn’t miss a night, and Omega and Wrecker never passed up a chance to use your Mantell Mix popper.

Hunter, on the other hand, rarely joined, and when he did, he sat stiffly on your sofa, back ramrod straight as if he was being inspected by his drill sergeant. He never seemed comfortable around you, and in fact, you would suspect he hated you if it wasn’t for the way he softened and warmed when Omega was there. In those moments, he didn’t shy away if you stood close. He didn’t hold back from sending you one of those gentle, close-lipped smiles you never saw anywhere else.

And then other times he would vanish or avoid your eye as he stood as far from you as he could. Tonight, for example, you’d gotten that sense of closeness walking to the parlor, and then as soon as you’d arrived… nothing.

He had other things to do, you chided yourself. Still, the hot and cold treatment was confusing, and you wished you could get a glimpse of what was going on in that, admittedly handsome, head of his—

There was a soft knock at the door. You frowned. Rarely did someone softly knock. Echo’s knocks were confident, Wrecker’s were delivered with enough force to vibrate the wall, and Tech’s were rapid, as if annoyed from being out in the open for too long.

But soft? Soft could only mean one person.

You opened your door, fully expecting your stoop to be empty, but no. There he was, armored up. Even his bucket was adorned, hiding his face. From the tense edge of his shoulders, it seemed he was going off to fight another war.

“Hunter? What’s wrong?” Something had to be wrong for him to show up, unannounced, without the others. “Did something happen?”

Your questions earned you a slight tilt of his helmet.

“What? No, nothing’s wrong.”

Your stomach fell.

“Then, you have another mission?” That would explain why only Hunter had shown up. The others were preparing for—

“Oh, uh. No. No mission.”

Now you stared at him.

“I, uh.” He rubbed the back of his helmet. “I wanted to apologize.”

“…Apologize?”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Wrecker and Omega passed out, I didn’t have the heart to wake them. And Echo’s helping Tech fix the ship. So, looks like vid night won’t be happening.”

The tension finally loosened from your muscles. No one was dead or dying, there was no dangerous job they had to run off to. They were just busy.

All except Hunter, it would seem, and his posture didn’t exactly broadcast a desire to be here. Why hadn’t Echo just commed you? Why had Hunter come himself?

You tried your best at a smile.

“Oh, okay. Uh, thank you for letting me know, Hunter.”

He didn’t move, didn’t speak, and your manners kicked into gear before you could process what you were saying.

“Would you like to come in?”

Well, too late to take it back now. You moved aside, giving him the space to do so if he chose.

You half expected him to make his excuse and run the other way, but instead he said, “I… Yeah. Okay.”

He strode into your apartment with careful steps, as if afraid his mere presence would break something. You shut the door, equally careful, before moving around him to enter the open kitchen.

“Tea?”

“That’s fine. Thanks.”

Success. He’d have to take the damn helmet off if he wanted to drink. You rummaged through the cupboards for two cups and plugged in the electric kettle. You’d already filled it in preparation for vid night, but you set aside the stronger tea packets for some tarine tea, hoping the mild flavor would be more suited to his heightened senses.

You glanced over your shoulder to find him staring out of the bay windows of your living room. You’d gotten lucky and were able to rent a unit on the very edge of the city, facing outward over the desert. There wasn’t much to see on the ground, but the stars sparkled prettily over the edge of the canyon-laden horizon.

But your eyes were only for him. He should have been out of place in your apartment, an armored intruder in the living space, but either you were so used to having clones here or Hunter simply didn’t feel like an intruder. You were so comfortable about him.

You turned back to your tea-making, an ache in your chest, and you wished he felt the same.

Neither of you spoke, the only sound between you the quiet rattling of cups and kettles. It wasn’t long before the water was boiling, and you turned off the kettle and dipped a tea bag into each mug before pouring the steaming liquid.

Hunter had moved to sit at the island counter, and you nearly stumbled, unaware he’d changed position. You cleared your throat and placed the tea in front of him, his expression hidden but the angle of his helmet followed you as you sat on his other side.

He removed the helmet, finally, and you got a good look at what you hadn’t noticed earlier that day. Hunter always had bags under his eyes, a result of little to no sleep, but they were darker and more prominent than usual. His lips were pressed into a thin line, but as he pulled the mug closer and his nostrils flared, the hard lines of his shoulders relaxed.

Focusing on your own mug so he wouldn’t catch you staring, you broke the silence.

“You’re not sleeping.”

He offered a light huff.

“Can tell, can you?”

You shrugged, wrapping your fingers around the warm ceramic of your cup. Cid hadn’t just hired you to pour drinks and clean the bar top. You had a knack for reading people. It had worked in your favor, right up until you were one of the few who saw the Empire for what they were and got yourself thrown into a cell.

But Cid had an eye for talent, and she used your skills to her advantage. Whenever a new client came in, you had two buttons under the bar. One for when the client read as less likely to cause trouble, and the other for those who had big bright signs over their head that screamed: DANGER.

You were good at what you did. You’d marked a couple of human men, ones who dressed like ordinary businessmen, and when they’d come back out of Cid’s office, you’d doubted your use of the second button had been warranted. But Cid had patted your shoulder and said negotiations had gone smoothly as soon as they’d walked in the door and realized Cid was going to keep a blaster trained on them the whole time.

It was how you knew the squad could be trusted; you’d never had doubts about them. But you did have doubts about yourself when it came to Hunter. How was it you could read strangers so easily, but Hunter was an immutable stone wall?

Hunter realized you were staring—when had that started?—and eyed you with a raised brow and an unspoken question.

You quickly turned back to your tea and sipped it, singing your lip in the process.

“You just seem tired, that’s all,” you said, wincing as you rubbed your mouth on the back of your hand. “Is everything okay?”

“Besides being on the run from the Empire? Yeah.”

And there he went, catching you off-guard again with his brand of dry humor that only you seemed to notice.

“I can see why that would cause a few sleepless nights,” you agreed.”

He released a small breath.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t joke about that, not when…”

You could have slapped yourself. Every time you opened your mouth around him, whatever came out was always the wrong choice.

“No, no, it’s fine, really.”

You placed a hand on his forearm. Hunter stared at it. You drew back, taking another drink to cover your burning cheeks. Even a light touch of his plastoid armor was enough to send your heart racing.

“It doesn’t bother me to talk about the Empire,” you added, setting down your cup. “It’s a topic that can’t be avoided anyway.”

“We don’t have to talk about that tonight.”

“Then what should we talk about?”

The lines of his shoulders went stiff again, followed by a wince that was so quick you nearly missed it. It wasn’t a wince caused by you, either.

“Tech said you’d been hit,” you said slowly. “Gundark, right? Are you hurt?”

“It’s not bad,” Hunter responded, his reassurance automatic, as if downplaying his injuries was secondhand nature. “Already had one bacta shot. It’ll be good as new in a couple days.”

You tapped a finger on the countertop.

“Wait here.”

His gaze on your back was heavy, sending a tingle up the back of your neck. You returned with the medkit you kept in the bathroom, and Hunter already had his protests prepared.

“That’s not necessary—”

“Can I take a look, at least?” You set the kit down on the countertop, keeping it closed but your fingers hopeful on the clasps. “Please?”

He released another breath, but his eyes were soft.

“Yeah, okay,” he said, giving in faster than you’d thought.

Your mouth ran dry when Hunter stood and pulled off his gauntlets. He unlatched a hidden clasp in his armor and pulled the chest plate free, followed by the armor that protected his midriff.

When Hunter pulled off his gloves and detached the top of his bodysuit from the bottom, stripping the tight black material over his head, you had to remember to breathe. All the clones were in peak physical condition, but Hunter was something else entirely. His broad chest tapered into a narrow waist, the muscles standing out in stark relief against the rest of his skin. You were aware he was more enhanced than the typical clone, but you still couldn’t believe someone like him could possibly exist.

There was more to his body than the perfections the cloners had designed in him. Scars lined his skin, sometimes in slashes or pockmarks depending on the injury. It was clear a lot of them hadn’t received bacta treatment in time, leaving the skin marred and discolored.

You wanted to touch every single one. Lightly trace your fingertips over each ridge and hollow, map every inch of him, knowing him in a way you’d never dreamed possible.

To say you were staring was an understatement, but Hunter was gracious enough not to comment besides a raised brow and an upturn of one corner of his lips. His eyes were bright with amusement, and your face was on fire as you turned back to your medkit and opened it with more force than necessary. Dry before, your mouth was flooded with saliva now, and you could only pray you didn’t start actually drooling in front of the sergeant.

Hunter retook the barstool as you fumbled with the medical supplies. You pulled out a small tube of bacta cream and gathered what little was left of your dignity as you rounded him.

The sight of his back drew you up short. Dark, bruised flesh reached from the top of his left shoulder blade down to his ribs, giving the appearance he’d been rammed by a spaceship rather than a gundark. You didn’t know how he could stay conscious, let alone walk to your apartment.

“Hunter…”

He curled around the mug, the muscles in his back slightly rippling at the tiny movement.

“Told you, it’s fine.”

You made a noise and popped open the cap of the tube.

“Tech shouldn’t have let you off the ship. I wouldn’t have let you off the ship.”

Squeezing the bottle, the transparent cream made your skin tingle as it fell into your palm, and you rubbed your hands together before lightly placing them on Hunter’s bruised shoulder blade.

He sucked in a sharp breath, but as you moved your hands across his skin with a delicate touch, the muscles of his back began to relax.

“Yeah?” he asked, voice all gravel. “Wouldn’t let me leave the ship, huh?”

Thank the Maker you were behind him. He wouldn’t be able to see your eyes go wide as you hard-swallowed. Your hands remained steady despite the quiver in your breath, so you had that going for you, at least. All those medical holovids were paying off. You hadn’t told them that you’d been studying triage and first aid on the off chance the Empire found the squad on Ord Mantell and they had to flee. You fully planned to go with them, but you wanted to be useful, earn your way onto their ship if that ever happened.

But now, you wondered how you would survive cramped quarters with the man you were currently treating. There was more room in your apartment than on the Marauder, and even with half of his armor gone he seemed to fill up the space and occupied every corner of your thoughts.

Your palms continued to tickle from the medicine, but you didn’t pause in your work. In hindsight, you should have used gloves, but your brain hadn’t exactly been at its sharpest as soon as half of Hunter’s bodysuit had come off.

“Uh-huh,” you answered, too late for your silence to go unnoticed. “I would order you to bedrest.”

Why. Why did your IQ drop as soon as you were alone with him. So what if you were currently touching him? It was just skin. Hunter’s skin. Bare and warm and beautiful—

Hunter gave a chuckle, the sound trembling up your legs.

“I bet you’d make a great medic.”

A small, undignified noise escaped your throat, which you covered by clearing it.

“All done,” you mumbled, returning to the medkit and placing the tube inside. “You can get dressed now. I would advise you to get some actual rest, in an actual bed, and—"

You gripped the lid to close it, and a hand encircled your wrist.

His hold was gentle, but you froze as if it were a grip of steel. You met his eye, opened your mouth to question him, but no words came out as he rose from the stool and stood over you.

One minute you were standing in your kitchen, the next your back was against the wall. Hunter was close, his face buried in your neck, his nose pressed against your sensitive skin.

It was all you could do to hold onto his arms, your knees lacking the strength to hold you upright, your brain static as your body crackled like a live wire.

Hunter took a deep breath through his nose, his voice halfway to wrecked.

“I’m sorry, you just—Maker, you smell so good, and I…”

That same pitiful noise came out of you, a noise you’d never made before, and Hunter growled low in his chest.

Now you really did have to hold onto him, wrapping your arms around his neck for stability and to hold him closer. Your brain was still struggling to catch up, but every fiber of your being wanted to press closer, bare yourself to him to be devoured.

That certainly seemed to be the goal as he brought his lips to your throat, tasting you with the tip of his tongue.

You closed your eyes and tilted your head back, bracing yourself against the wall as he parted his lips. He took turns between sucking, kissing, and licking your skin as if he were addicted and craving more.

The strength vanished from your legs. Hunter pressed you against the wall, holding you up by slipping his armored thigh between your legs. The curve of his armor pressed against your groin, and you whimpered, unable to stop yourself from grinding against it. You were soaking wet, the evidence now on his thigh plate.

Hunter dragged himself away from your neck just far enough to get a look at you. You couldn’t have looked much better than he did, his eyes hard and dark, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. A wolf tasing a sample of his prey.

“Should I stop? Tell me now if that’s what you want.”

His words were tight as a bowstring as if he were balanced on the edge of his control. The gravel in his voice alone could ruin you, but you cleared your head enough to answer him.

“Hunter.”

His nostrils flared at the crack in your voice. You reached up, running your palm over the dark curve of his tattoo before running your fingers through his hair.

His taut muscles trembled at the soft touch, but he went still when you untied his bandana with one hand, letting the dark strands fall to frame his face.

You’d never seen him with his hair down before, and gods, he was so pretty it nearly hurt.

He stared at you in wonder, mesmerized, and then the spell broke when you surged forward, meeting him in a hard kiss that answered his question.

Hunter didn’t waste any time; he pinned you against the wall, thigh tight against your cunt as he plunged into your mouth. Your fingers tangled in his hair, you wrapped your tongue around his, sucking it and drawing a needful sound from him.

Impatient, Hunter grabbed you by the ass and lifted you, forcing your legs around his waist as he bore you aloft. You gripped him tight, knowing he wouldn’t let you fall, and he guided you both to the bedroom without even needing to see. He only stopped kissing you when he laid you down on the bed.

His lips returned to your neck, but then they moved downward, grazing over your collarbone and down the middle of your chest all the way to your stomach. Even clothed in your sleep shirt and shorts, his kisses left a trail of fire in their wake, and when he got to the hem of your shorts, you were on your way to igniting.

Hunter looked up, meeting your eye as he gripped your shorts by the waistband and gave them a little tug. You lifted your hips to help, and to urge him to keep going, and by the crook of his smile the message was received.

He bent your legs at the knees and slowly kissed down your thigh, teasing his lips over sensitive skin before he reached his goal. He breathed over your clothed mound, and you shivered, unable to close your thighs as he kept them wide open with strong, callused hands.

Hunter placed a kiss over your covered clit, the flash of a smug smile as you tried to buck your hips against him. He made sure you were watching before he took your soaked panties in his teeth and pulled them down your legs.

Maker, you had to be in a dream, the best dream in your life, except you knew it was real. You trembled, exposed to him in a way you’d never been to anyone else, but his expression, a mixture of wonder and hungry desire, was enough to set aside any self-doubt.

Hunter started at your knee, once again trailing his lips up your thigh. Your fingers gripped the sheets, only then realizing his bandana was wrapped tightly around your hand. You held onto it like a lifeline as he lowered his lips to yours.

All it took was one taste, a long drag of his tongue between your folds, and he lost the last of his control. Hunter latched on to your clit and sucked, lapping mercilessly with his tongue, wrapping his arms around your thighs to hold them flush to his shoulders.

You bucked your hips, giving a sharp cry, but he held you firm as he devoured you, hurtling you close to the edge. No matter how much you writhed or whimpered, he never wavered from his goal, his tongue massaging while his lips sucked and pulled at you.

He didn’t even pause to come up for air, like a man starved, and you came undone at a startling speed.

You cried out ragged as white-hot waves rolled through your body, your brain static as you clenched around nothing. Hunter lapped up your juices spilling over his tongue, slowing his greedy pace as you whined from the overstimulation. You would have been mortified from coming so fast, but you’d been pent up for weeks, the subject of your frustration currently between your legs.

When you had settled enough to catch your breath, Hunter leaned over you, careful of his lower half still clad in grey armor. Your hands gravitated to his shoulders, warm and bare under your exploring fingers. His smile was soft and a tiny bit sheepish.

“Was that all right? I’ve never… I just really wanted to taste you—”

You leaned up and kissed away his insecurity, licking across the seam of his mouth and tasting yourself there.

He groaned, gently pushing you back onto the pillow as he returned the kiss at a filthy, unhurried pace.

Hunter pulled back and granted you mercy and air, but he couldn’t keep his lips to himself, tracing them down your jaw to below your ear, and you arched your back, shamelessly rubbing your slick against the barrier of his codpiece.

“Hunter, please, fuck me.”

The plea was out before you could stop it. You adored Hunter, more than you should, but you also cherished your friendship with him and the squad, and you didn’t want to ruin that.

But when he pulled back to meet your eye, the loose strands framing his face, his prominent features thrown into relief from the faint moonlight streaming through the window, you found you didn’t want to take it back.

“You sure?” His voice was gravel. You’d never heard it so low before, and it was unfair how it turned into pure sex.

“Yes, stars, yes. I’ve never been so sure. Please, Hunter.”

You weren’t above begging, but it turned out that wasn’t necessary; Hunter stood from the bed and stripped off the rest of his armor with a speed that would have impressed his former commanders. His bodysuit left nothing to the imagination, the outline of his hard cock deliciously obvious, and then he stripped that away too, leaving himself completely bare.

Leaning on your elbows, you greedily took in the sight of him. The broad slope of his shoulders, the trim waist, the muscular thighs. And above them, his hard length, much thicker than you’d anticipated.

Maker, it was going to be a very tight fight.

Before you had a chance to become anxious, Hunter returned to the bed, crawled over you, and settling between your legs as if it was his new favorite place. He gave you a soft, sweet kiss before returning his mouth to your neck, his hands exploring your chest with careful curiosity.

“Have to admit, been wanting to do this a long time,” he said, lowering his hips so the underside of his shaft rubbed along your folds.

“R-really?” you stuttered, proud of yourself for being able to form words at all. “I had n-no idea.”

Hunter’s mouth traveled far enough to reach your chest, and he nuzzled a nipple before taking it into his mouth and licking it.

You groaned and pressed the back of your head against the pillow as your dug your fingers into his back. He seemed to go between uncontrollable lust and wanting to tease out your pleasure to an unfair degree. It was perfect.

“I’m sorry for that.” His lips returned to your neck, his teeth grazing against your skin like a threat. Or a promise. “And I’m gonna make it up to you.”

He reached between you and guided himself to your folds, rubbing the head of his cock against your clit and drawing a shudder from you before he prodded against your entrance.

You tensed at the intrusion, but he continued to plant small kisses along your skin, murmuring that it was going to be all right, and you were doing so well for him. You melted under the praise, and as soon as your muscles relaxed, he pushed.

You tensed again, sucking in an involuntary gasp. You’d been right about his girth being more than you were prepared for. Instead of continuing at the risk of hurting you, Hunter pulled back and took your left leg, placing it over his good shoulder.

Opening up to him at this new angle, Hunter pushed forward again, and this time he slid in with less resistance. The stretch was nearly overwhelming.

“Hunter,” you groaned, gripping his shoulders hard enough to bruise.

“I got you, sweetheart. I got you.”

Gently gripping your hips and tilting them upwards, he pushed in the rest of the way with one smooth motion. His hips held firm against your ass, and he gave a low growl into the side of your knee. A thrill shot through your gut, and you clenched around him.

“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath, and you involuntarily clenched again.

“Sorry, ‘m sorry,” you babbled. The stretch around his cock was going from an uncomfortable burn to a soothing molten heat.

“Don’t apologize. You’re perfect. So perfect.”

His teeth grazed across your thigh as he continued.

“You’re so wet, so tight for me. Should have done this sooner.”

You moaned in agreement, arching your back and encouraging him to take what he wanted. As cock-dumb as you were, it was about as coherent as you could be.

But Hunter immediately knew what you were trying to communicate, and his fingers dug into your hips.

“I’ll try not to be rough. Don’t want to hurt you, doing this.”

You weren’t the only one having trouble speaking; Hunter’s words were laden with lust, slightly slurred as if drunk off of you.

“Fuck me,” was what you groaned, the only thought running through your head. “H-Hunter, please—”

He pulled back almost all the way to the head, and with a tight growl, slammed back in. Your cry was ragged, but you pressed your leg against his shoulder, refusing to let him slow.

With the next shove of his hips, you were little more than a whimpering mess, holding on as best you could as Hunter’s pace increased, his hips striking yours with loud, wet slaps that filled your bedroom. You were helpless to move, the girth of his cock wide enough to hold you in place, and there was already a mess on the sheets beneath you as Hunter fucked you within an inch of your life.

Every thrust added to the tension growing in your gut, his cock rubbing against the sensitive place inside you, leaving you gasping for air.

“Hunter, I’m-I’m close.”

“I can feel it,” he growled between his teeth. “Gonna come for me again, sweetheart?”

The affectionate name sent a throb through your core, and before you could warn him, you tightened around him like a vice. The first wave slammed into you and left you breathless, but Hunter reached down and pressed his thumb against your clit. Your silence broke and you cried out, loud enough for the neighbors to probably think you were being tortured, especially when Hunter added a couple of circles with his thumb.

Granting you mercy, Hunter released your clit and drove back into you relentlessly, his pace uneven and unraveling.

“Where—"

“Inside.”

It must not have been the answer he expected, because Hunter gave another sharp curse and dug his fingers into your thigh, slamming into you one last time. His throbbing was added to your own as he spilled inside you, his muscles beautifully strained and taut. You kept your free thigh wrapped around his waist, wanting every last drop.

Hunter gently pulled your leg from his shoulder so he could press himself fully against you, and you received him without a second thought, wrapping your arms around him. You ran your fingers through his hair as he tried to catch his breath, his forehead touching the side of your temple. His bandana had disappeared at some point, lost in the expanse of your sheets. You almost hoped he’d forget it so it could be yours. A keepsake to remind you of tonight before he regretted his decisions in the morning.

But he didn’t move except to brush his nose against your cheek, his softening cock still inside you. Against your expectations, that fact made you even more wet.

Hunter groaned, a shiver passing down the muscles of his back.

“You’re getting tight again.”

“And you’re getting hard again.”

You didn’t know how that was possible, but he was, and that certainly wasn’t going to help your dripping situation.

Hunter gave you one of his rarer smiles, the one where silent laughter warmed his eyes and crinkled lines at the corner of them. To your disappointment, he pulled out and lifted himself off you, disappearing from the bedroom to reappear a moment later with a clean towel.

After he finished cleaning you up, an act of care you weren’t used to and left you flustered, Hunter returned to the bed and pulled you snug against his chest, burying his face in your hair.

You were both quiet for a moment, and you were reluctant to break the silence. But now that you were coming down from your post-orgasmic high, there were questions that needed answers.

“Hunter?”

“Hmm?”

“You said you’d wanted to do this for a long time…” You licked your dry lips. “How long?”

“Well, I suppose since… soon after I found you hiding on our ship.”

It had been that long?

“Why?” you asked, the blunt question coming easily in your relaxed state. “Why me?”

There was a smile in his voice as he rested his chin on top of your head.

“Despite what you’d just been through, you were patient with Omega and her curiosity. You were polite to the rest of the squad when you didn’t even know if we were safe. It was easy to see what kind of person you are. And after what the Empire tried to do to you, I got, I donno. Protective.”

You moved closer, intwining your legs while tucking your head against his chest, warmth radiating through your stomach.

“I had no idea,” you said. “Honestly, I thought you hated me. You always seemed to disappear when I entered the room.”

Against your expectations, he chuckled, a low rumbling noise in his chest.

“Yeah. You, uh… It was because of your scent.”

“My scent?”

“You smelled good. Too good.” He released a small breath. “I thought I could ignore it, or at the very least control myself. But there were times it took all my discipline not to take you against the nearest surface, whether you wanted it or not.”

You squeezed your eyes shut and bit your lip. Yep, definitely wet again.

“And I didn’t want to do that to you, so I would just… leave.”

Hunter gently stroked your hair, his voice low with regret.

“Didn’t handle that so well, did I?

“I don’t know. Considering where we are, I think it turned out all right.”

Hunter gave another one of those gravely laughs that turned your stomach into jelly.

“Good point.”

A few seconds of silence passed before you had to voice the question begging to be lifted off your tongue.

“Will you stay?”

You didn’t specify if you meant the night, or something more, but Hunter seemed to know. Maybe you’d been slow to understand him, but he’d always understood you.

“Yeah.” His arms tightened the smallest amount around you. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay, as long as you want me.”

Your own muscles loosening with relief. You hadn’t ruined this after all. You didn’t know where it would go from here, but that was a problem for tomorrow.

You closed your eyes, and for the first time since the Empire had torn apart your life, you allowed your guard to drop. You were in the safest place in the galaxy, wrapped in the arms of someone who wouldn’t let harm reach you.

Your lips twitched.

“What?” he asked, having sensed the tiny movement.

“Omega. She’s hinted more than once that we should spend time together. I think she knew what was happening before we did.”

Hunter chuckled, the low vibration making you shiver.

“Of that, I have no doubt.”

He kissed the crown of your head.

“Try to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

Hunter’s fingers trailed between your strands of hair, lightly massaging your scalp. The soft touched allowed you to drift off to sleep, assured knowing he would be there in the morning. And hopefully, the rest of the mornings after that.

“Hmm.”

“What?” Echo didn’t bother looking up from the repair panel. They would have finished by now if Tech’s attention hadn’t constantly been pulled toward the hangar entrance.

“Hunter still hasn’t returned.”

“Yeah, and he probably won’t for a while,” Echo said, annoyed. “You gonna help me with this or—”

“Do you know where he is?”

Tech’s wide eyes were larger than usual as he turned to stare at him, and Echo couldn’t help but smirk. It wasn’t often he got the upper hand on the genius.

“Oh, I have a good idea.”

“Where?”

“Well,” Echo explained with dramatic pause, rubbing it in Tech’s face that in some areas, he had a total lack of awareness. “Vid night didn’t happen, so he went off to let a certain someone know we wouldn’t be there, and now he hasn’t been back since.”

Echo plucked the hydrospanner out of Tech’s frozen fingers and gave him a smug grin Domino Squad would have been proud of.

“Wasn’t it obvious?” Echo added for good measure.

Tech blinked, opened his mouth in the quickest expression of indignation Echo had ever seen, and raised a finger to say—

“Did they finally kiss?!”

Echo and Tech slowly turned. Omega beamed up at them.

Tech glanced between the two of them, looking lost and slightly panicked, but Echo simply chuckled and lightly patted Omega on the shoulder.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, kid.”

Echo glanced at Tech.

“When you’re both older.”

The indignation was back.

“Just because you and Omega are technically older than I does not mean—”

Echo ignored the rest of Tech’s objections and returned to the damaged console, still needing to finish repairs for their next mission. He let himself smile, hoping that wouldn’t be for a while.

If anyone deserved some happiness, it was Hunter and his girl.

[chryza]

Masterpost of what I think about you based on who you simp for in FFXIV I’m going to try and include as many characters I’ve vibe checked as possible but if yours isn’t here comment them and I’ll give you a custom roast for free. If I forgot someone, please refrain from saying “How could you forget x” I have three different memory disorders okay I did my best 😭

The Scions

Minfilia-You think a woman’s tits can redeem anything bad about her and you’re right.

Lyse-You’re a lesbian with a hard-on for destroying capitalism to the point where your friends ask you to maybe tone it down a little

Papalymo-Ur into dads. Not dilfs. Just dads.

Thancred-You like your men ROGUEISH and BLOODIED and BEATEN and BABYGIRLED

Urianger-You have autism or you are currently in an irl relationship with someone who has autism. Thank you for your service

Y’Shtola-okay little sun. (You enjoy being verbally degraded, so this is for you, a compliment)

Tataru-I love you. You want someone who can cook for you and tease you and who in turn you will shower with affection which is the only currency you have to offer

Estinien-I’m gonna be honest the only thing I can offer here is that you like brooding men who are idiots. Don’t go for a joint bank account.

G’raha-If you like GRAHA then you desire strongly a partner you can cuddle like a stuffed animal if you like THE EXARCH then you are a bottom and you like the dark academia aesthetic

Krile-You need a partner that will fill the emotional void left by your mommy issues

Moenbryda-You have autism but you kin urianger instead of crushing on him. Or ur just really into chicks who can crush you with their thighs and you’re mad that people turned it into a meme

ARR

Kan-E-Senna-I don’t believe you. You’ll have to defend yourself to me in a trial by combat

Merlwyb-Your perfect first date is dying side by side with the person you love as you fight for your lives but you’ll probably end up getting a coffee or something

Nanamo-you are SO into the princess and knight aesthetic thing, you LOVE fairytales so much.

Raubahn-You like men with an “I can fix him” flair but who have already been fixed. You’re also touch starved

Lahabrea-The line between annoyance and attraction is a tightrope you walk every day but by god you’re walking it

Cid-GOD you love himbos it’s not even a “haha I love stupid men” thing to you it’s a REQUIREMENT, the men you date need a HIMBO RESUME

Gaius-Your devotion is impressive. No one can tell you what to do with your life. I think you’re a Jane Austen protagonist.

Nero-SCRUNGLY SKRUNKLY MAN HAG BLORBO HEHEHHEHE EVIL SCIENCE

Heavensward

Haurchefant-I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Why don’t you wrap yourself in a blanket and pretend like he’s the one holding you.

Aymeric-Objectively the most stable main character in this godforsaken game, you take your husband material seriously.

Lucia-You’re a lesbian who mains warrior, I shan’t elaborate

Edmont-pathological dilf/gilf enjoyer to the point where you need help and/or jesus

Artoirel-your dream is to become one half of the most powerful power couple to ever power

Emmanellain-You’re gay in a hipster filter flower crowns cavetown kind of way

Ysayle- You were chronically disappointed by stormblood. You say everyone is out of your league but chin up champ, ysayle wanted to fuck a dragon and probably did so you can’t be that bad

Hraesvelgr- ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Igeyorhm-What does it matter if a female character is developed, you are horny in the here and now and that’s more important. You probably think femdom is hot too 👀

Stormblood (god help me)

To preface-if any character from stormblood is your simp of choice you automatically get a sticker that says WEEB slapped on your forehead.

Yugiri-I feel like you listen to metal and keep neat pets like tarantulas or snakes. I cannot explain why.

Gosetsu-For want of a proper bushido character you settled on him but then when the Tsuyu plotline happened you genuinely fell in love with him. Kind of a DILF, reblog.

Hien-himbo connoisseur. You own a sword.

Sadu-WOMEN. BIG FAN OF W O M E N. That’s your only personality trait rn but that’s okay, life’s hard.

Zenos-you are a godless degenerate who is unironically into BDSM (it’s okay me too)

Yotsuyu- You know she’s a femme fatale. You know there’s no way that’s going to end well. But you are so allured by her viciousness and tragic backstory what does it matter that you’ll end up dead on the floor. “I can fix her” yeah keep telling yourself that bud.

Fordola-you are genuinely one of the sweetest people in the world and I think you COULD fix her actually.

Asahi-Liar, you’re a fandaniel simp

Shadowbringers

Lyna-you believe drinking your respect women juice is not only an obligation but an honor and you still avert your eyes from the Victoria’s Secret posters in the mall

Kai-Shirr-HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Runar- I feel like I can’t even call you a furry in bad faith. You just love nice men that much. Who cares if he’s a lion.

Feo Ul-Trans. You definitely have an au where the WoL took them up on their offer to become King Titania.

Ran’jit-I…don’t believe you? You’ll have to explain to me why you like him

Ardbert-So soft. So nice. Hnnnn oh yeah we were talking about you. You’re not a himbo enjoyer because you do prefer men who have some brain cells but you DO like em sad and you DO like em muscley

Emet-Selch- He is the character who in the entire game the story tries its hardest to make us simp for. It worked. The only thing I can do is quote another video on this same subject: You are DISEASED.

Elidibus-Someone hits u with the 🥺 and you melt like butter. Your favorite activity is peace and quiet.

Endwalker

Fandaniel-You self-identify as a goblin. You were a theatre kid. You love that he’s sad and insane but you don’t want to fix him. That would ruin the appeal.

Ameliance-“Bro I said I wanted to fuck Ameliance as a joke but bro….I don’t think it’s a joke anymore”

Nidhana-You’re correct. About everything. You’ve never been wrong. You own booty shorts that say “I love women in STEM” on the ass

Vrtra- ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Jullus-for you, enemies to lovers isn’t just a trope, it’s a lifestyle

Venat-📸 hmm? Oh sorry that was just me taking a picture of you admitting you desperately crave someone to take care of you. Mommy issues. NEXT!

Hermes-you adamantly differentiate between Hermes and Fandaniel, but at what point must the line be drawn for your “I can fix him” complex to kick in hmm??

Hythlodaeus-You have a praise kink. (You also should come be my friend. We can simp for him together ☺️)

[dragons-bones]

Aside your wolship have you like other ship in ffxiv? npc/npc or wol/npc??

I don't ship any of the rest of the Squad; I used to vaguely have something for Alakhai before I realized that felt incredibly wrong for her (she is aro/ace, and in this case a relationship really did not fit how I was developing her) and gently retconned it away (easier because I'd never written any fic for it). Rereha (aro/bi) has some fuckbuddies but I don't consider any of that to be proper "shipping." Heron (bi/ace) is not-so-secretly a huge romantic but I have no ships with her; she's the one most likely to get a ship in the future if there's ever an NPC I feel would make for a good match. She tends to aggressively adopt people as new siblings, though, so the chances of this are slim. XD

Absolutely love other people's wolships of course, including other Aymeric-shippers! A lot of folks in my FC and friends circle like to write their pairings or do screenshots or both and it's so much fun seeing everyone's creativity and how they interpret their preferred NPC and ugh. Good stuff. So hell yes to shipping my friends' WoLs with their blorbos. :)

NPC/NPC...I like Cid/Nero because the "skipped straight to being divorced" will never not be hilarious, but it's been years and I still don't know if they were ever a romantic couple in Squadverse, Rere's teasing to get Nero riled up aside. Lucia/Hilda, obviously, though I'm still feeling both characters out so as much as I'd like to write more for them, I'm still basically rotating that pairing like a rotisserie chicken in my head and Pondering how they got together in Squadverse. Otherwise, I don't really ship characters; if there's really nice art of something, I'll like it and throw it in my queue, and if I'm intrigued by a fic summary and tags on AO3 while browsing I may give something a click, but there’s nothing I’m ever really actively looking for.

And like, even though my WoLship is obviously something I really enjoy a whole hecking lot, it's but one really small aspect of my enjoyment of FFXIV. The game's theme of found family (the Scions!! my family!!! I love them!!!!!!!!) is something I adore, and I'm most happy playing in the sandbox of worldbuilding and friendship when it comes to finding the niche from which I take the most enjoyment in this fandom. Shipping is fun but ultimately for me, it's tertiary.

[finalorangefanta]

Ranking the first ten FF games. They are all incredible, so jot that down. These are merely ranked by the enjoyment I got from each. I shall note the version I completed them on.

10. Final Fantasy (I)

Pixel Remaster on iOS (iPad). Fun to play to see the origins of the series and just how many aspects have been there since game number one. Surprisingly good, but lacking in story.

9. Final Fantasy IV

DS port on iOS (iPad). The DS version voice acting was a little much for me and the DS’s focus on map exploration was not transferred well to the new platform, so I might have enjoyed the PR or a rom of the original better. Also found it too melodramatic.

8. Final Fantasy II

Pixel Remaster on iOS (iPad). Shockingly deep story for a Famicom game, though I understand they implemented more of the GBA Dawn of Souls version changes for this PR than they did for FFI. I loved the guest party members and what they added to the story.

7. Final Fantasy VII

Switch port of original. Aesthetically very cool, but hard for me to navigate the backgrounds with 32-bit graphics. Also glitchy. Cloud annoyed me. Would love to play the Remake.

6. Final Fantasy V

Pixel Remaster on iOS (iPad). I looove the job system. Underrated soundtrack. My favorite Cid. The meteor travel makes no sense but other than I found the story very fun even if not deep.

5. Final Fantasy VIII

Port of Remaster on Switch. I’m realizing I put a lot of weight on mechanics, because this game, much like FFV, is definitely stronger in its mechanics than its story. I love junctions. And I actually love how far the game leans into a convoluted story. I loved battling 3 space sorceresses. “Drawing” magic would take forever without the 3x speed feature though, so definitely play the remaster.

4. Final Fantasy X

HD Remaster on Switch. Just a solid game that resonated with my own religious trauma. Love the turn based combat. I hate Titus and Waka. Everyone else is great.

3. Final Fantasy VI

Defunct mobile version. The first FF game I ever played though I only beat it 3 years ago. It is just such a complete experience. The total package. Wonderful story. A huge party of memorable characters.

2. Final Fantasy III

DS version ported to iPad—specifically iPad. Why wasn’t there an iPad specific version of IV? The characters weren’t much but the world was riveting and I looooove the job system. I found the chibi art style very cute. No voice acting was also a plus.

1. Final Fantasy IX

Switch port of HD remaster. Such whimsy. I was sold on this title from the sword fight to flamenco music during the play performance at the beginning.

[sarenhale]

Just watched the Endwalker trailer.... I am super excited but also heavily thinking about the expansion, and what it will mean for Zenos as a character.

Long ass thoughts under the cut.

He’s posed as the final boss here, the big bad guy, but it made me think a lot when the game and some characters explicitly say: “Maybe Zenos isn’t even our final obstacle, the final days will be’. Which also leads me to think that Zenos is just... well, vibing and thriving in the destruction, but that he could not be the reason the final days are happening and everything is going to shit.

He sure as hell is enabling things to happen, but I don’t know if I believe that he’s the instigator and the one behind the idea. I think he’s more of the opportunist taking advantage of chaos and delirium to act his plan of the final hunt, but I think it has been made clear enough that he doesn’t exactly care about Eorzea ending or wars happening to create an intricate plan such as the one put in motion by Fandaniel, he just wants to relive the hunt with his first friend and enemy once again. (Which don’t get me started, it’s so fucking sad man, don’t make me think about it or I’ll tear up...)

This led me to think ... where will this character go? What will happen? I am VERY torn about this, mostly because SE has done an incredible job at keeping everyone guessing and surprising people everytime with the story. 

Could Zenos end up being an ally? Could he be spared? Can he come to reason? I see people even mentioning that he could be a Scion... I honestly really don’t see that happening, the man is batshit insane and as much as I love him, he doesn’t give a shit about Eorzea or helping the world, and I’m sure 99% of the Scions despise him or just want to see him dead. He won’t be a Scion, that would be really out of character for everyone. (For him to be one, for everyone to accept him as such)

But I do wonder if he will end up being spared, or changing his mind. Maybe being a ‘neutral’ force? Maybe even temporarily allying with the WoL (and only with the Wol, he doesn’t care about the others) to prevent him from dying, because he doesn’t actually want his rival and friend to die. A ‘villain turned ally out of necessity’ situation with him would be cool, and would make sense if he wanted to protect the Wol temporarily from another foe, even for just ‘being the one that has to kill / defeat them’. He’s very possessive over the Wol, I feel like.

I just hope we won’t have to kill him... he’s one of my favourite characters now, so I would honestly be DEVASTATED to see him go, even if I perfectly know he would deserve it and everyone would probably be happy if he did. But I just can’t help thinking about how much I love this character, his story, what he implies, what he represents, all the things he carries with him... I feel like Endwalker will surely give us a lot of content for him, which I am excited and happy about, but I just wish we could not kill him so we get to see more.

This is where I get conflicted because my realist side tells me we already got a fake death, even if we DID kill him, and fight him with the intent to kill. He managed to escape death though, and came back. I just think it would be a bit unrealistic to have him escape death once again, and even more unrealistic having him being an ally. One could argue we already have examples of Garlean villains turned allies, with Nero, Cid and Gaius, but like... they weren’t like this.

What I love about Zenos is also what makes him unreedemable.

Zenos is mad. Zenos doesn’t give a shit about anyone, about life, death, people, slaughtering innocents, about Eorzea, hell, he doesn’t even give a crap about the world ENDING if it means he can have a final dance with his beast. And I LOVE all these unique parts about him, but I also realize those parts are what make imagining him surviving so hard, considering the circumstances. 

Cid, Nero and Gaius weren’t mad with power. Sure, they all did bad things, but you don’t see them talking about how they just wanted to fight one person to feel an emotion and destroyed countries and people for that reason. The others had reasons behind their actions (as bad as those reasons could be, their actions were still guided by logic), Zenos doesn’t. Zenos is a feral animal and follows his istincts, that’s why I find it so hard to imagine him as someone who is not a villain. I would LOVE for him to be saved, to have someone give him a chance, my humane (and emphatic ass) wants someone to take a chance on him also because I feel so close to his struggle, but my realistic side says ‘Yeah, it’s not gonna happen’. 

As much as I love this character and would like him not to die, I also realize he did horrible things and slaughtered innocents without even thinking about it. I went back to check on dialogues of people talking about facing him in the war, and man it’s bad. People basically describe how he wouldn’t even find enjoyement in killing people or winning wars, but how we was just ‘looking for a feeling’ even on the battlefield, while destroying people’s hopes and dreams in Doma and all Yangxia. It’s bad. It’s REAL bad. Sometimes I forget how... bad this character is.

“...I do not think there was any joy in it. Nor justice, nor morality, nor meaning. To him, the weight of one life is no different from that of a thousand.  A challenge had been issued and was accepted. But on finding us no challenge at all, his objective changed. There were tales of imperial soldiers being flayed for slaughtering families. For breaking brave men’s spirits. Only later did I come to understand why. He did not desire obedience. He desired hate… and men consumed by it.  A new battle. A new enemy. A new challenge. The hunt, I am told he called it. A hunt without end. And when all our best lay dead and broken, he left. He left, muttering that we had “bored” him. But our weapons, at least, held his interest. For he took a fallen samurai’s sword, having grown… fond of it. Since that day, he has ever wielded Far Eastern blades. He is said to be fascinated by ones with storied histories, and so soldiers who seek to to curry his favor often present those of defeated enemies as gifts.

Lyse: It’s like all a game to him. People are suffering -- dying -- and he’s collecting swords? “

But man. I don’t know what Endwalker has in store for me, for Zenos, but I sure hope maybe something can happen where he doesn’t die. I don’t know how the fuck that would happen, maybe we would need to see more of him and understand his story/his side better, and see if he actually does want to work with the WoL side by side instead of just fighting him. Maybe that can happen, he does care about the WoL after all, and he knows enjoyement and thrill will come out of being with them. I just don’t know how that could realistically *WORK*... But I sure does hope there’s some kind of compromise, where he maybe just can reflect on his actions and do something about them.

This is my stupid ‘I see too much of myself in Zenos to talk rationally’ self talking, but I am so sad at seeing a character that has struggles and grew up feeling nothing but apathy, being loved by no one, end up like a villain again. Having to just be put down like a feral animal. Again. 

I guess my stupid ass would just like him to be happy, found peace maybe, HELL, I don’t know if he deserves it, but some parts of me tells me he does. I just get so sad when I am reminded at how much his father, family, nation, no one gave a shit about him. That’s too much human and close to home for me to disregard everything entirely and just call him a villain. 

I also am conflicted because I wonder if what I want for him isn’t also out of character, and something that would ruin his character and story. I love Zenos because he’s unapologetically himself, does what he wants, and obeys no one’s agenda, but his wants and instincts. I don’t want his personality and story arc to be ruined by salvation or him randomly becoming an ally and everyone pretending he didn’t do anything wrong, that would make me hate him and SE so much. I would much prefer him dead than him ruined as a character. I do wonder if me wanting him to be spared death and him being unapologetically himself are two things that can’t co-exist- it FEELS like that, honestly. I have faith in SE that they will write him and the story well, and make me enjoy what happens, so at the moment I’m not particularly worried about him being ruined as a character. But I just got to the point where I am so attached that I am of course scared of losing my favourite character. I guess we will have to see, honestly only the game and what will happen in the story can tell me if I am right in having hope for him or if I am not. There’s a lot of possibility in the story, a lot of surprises in SE’s writing everything everytime, and i how they make things WORK, so there’s hope in THAT.

And maybe I want to see a different solution for him that isn’t death. Call it retribution, maybe I am projecting TOO MUCH in this character, but yeah, just being honest and baring my emotions to the world here. I guess we will have to see what happens. 

[psijic-toast]

FFXIVwrite 8: Tepid

Ao3 Link if you’d prefer. The fact that it’s chapter 7 is going to bug me

Life would have been simpler if she wasn’t the Warrior of Light. Or if G’raha never found out she was.

Jokes on her for thinking she could hide from the title at the Find, where the scholars are far enough away from the loop to not be kept in it. Out here they only heard the tail end of news, topics summarised; the Warrior of Light a flacelss, nameless figurehead. Here she was T’ahria the Nymian Scholar, the hired muscle with little interest in books besides those she used to hit hippogryphs with, Cid’s friend, though no one knew where from.

But then she just had to talk to Cid about how well the elemental converter worked, while in earshot of the local allagan scholar. G’raha had questioned her when she got back to the tent, feigning offence that she hadn’t told him sooner. He asked about her battle with Leviathan, the answer morphing into what felt like a tall tale, if it wasn’t for the queasy dread it still brought to her stomach.

“- It was… terrifying. Utterly terrifying”

“You faced a primal in its natural element. I would be more surprised if you weren’t terrified”

“It wasn’t that, or not wholly at least. In some weird way, I’m sort of… desensitised to fighting primals at this point. It’s just that…” She curled in of herself, mumbling the last words into her blankets.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I can’t swim”

And now she was, standing on a short outcropping at the edge of Lake Silvertear, stripped down to her smallclothes, clutching her shirt like it would somehow keep her afloat. Or just not willing to part with it, as that would mean she’d have to take the next step of getting in the water.

It wasn’t a warm day, the sky cloud covered and grey. A cold wind rolled off the lake, chilling her to the bone. She shivered and cursed the Miqo’te next to her, who was taking extra care to keep his aetherometer from the supposed ‘splash zone’.

“This is a stupid idea”

“This is a brilliant idea” He smiled as he turned to face her, just as underdressed. She tried not to stare, and wasn't quite sure why she wanted to. She’d seen men undressed before, the baths at the Rising Stones were public and unrestricted - She’d seen more of Hoary Boulder than she ever planned or wanted to. She didn’t know why she was struggling to keep her eyes off him, just that it added another reason for wanting to redress and head back to camp.

“It’s freezing”

“It’ll be better once you’re in the water”

“I refuse to believe anything will be better once I’m in the water”

“Well, you won’t know if you keep standing there”

She clutched the shirt tighter, looking down at the lake. The water was clear enough to see the bottom on one side, which made it appear alarmingly shallow to jump into. The other was where the slope into the main body of the lake started, the drop hidden by the murky depths. Neither seemed inviting.

“Are you sure there’s nothing here?”

“T’ahria, this is where I come to bathe. Trust me, there’s nothing in the water this end of the lake”

“Wait, why do you bathe here when we have showers at- Hey!”

An arm was suddenly under her knees, an arm at her back catching her from falling. She found herself cradled against G’raha’s chest, taking some enjoyment from the warmth provided even if it did come at the cost of great confusion.

“You’re taking too long” He grinned down at her, adjusting her in his arms. 

“What are you…” for a brief moment, she thought he was going to jump in with her. But then he started to slowly swing her, arms getting used to the movement, and his marginally worse intention came to light. “G’raha Tia, don’t you fu-”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence before she was sent sailing through the air. A scream tore past her lips, leaving water to fill her lungs upon contact with the lake.

G’raha, for his part, managed to stop himself from buckling over as he laughed, the look he caught on her face spurring further fits of giggles. He waited for her to resurface, running though quips to say. 

His chuckles eventually died down, however, when she failed to pop back up. Dread started to settle.

“T’ahria?”

No response.

“T’ahria!”

Oh Gods, I’ve killed the Warrior of Light

He jumped in a few fulms away from where she landed, quickly making his way through the water. He searched through the kicked up sand, trying to find any sign of her. To call the water tepid would be generous, and frankly untrue. It was as cold as the air above it, leaving him shivering and scrambling, displacing the sand even more.

Finally his hand brushed skin, and he gripped it, trying to drag whatever limb he had found up to the surface.

He did not expect the limb to drag him down in turn.

He startled, gasping as the lakewater flooded his mouth and nose. He just barely registered that it was T’ahria that pulled him under, blurred visions just barely making out the furrowed brow before she clung onto him. He made it back up to the surface, coughing and staggering, one hand reaching down to hold his new weight closer.

“G’raha Tia, I’m going to kill you”

“Don’t do that! You scared me half to death”

“Don’t throw me in a lake!”

“That’s…” He finally got control of his breathing again, both arms moving to support T’ahria clinging to him. She was shaking like a leaf, arms and legs wrapped around his torso and hips, face pressed close to his chest. She was grumbling something about losing her shirt. Regret stirred, and he was willing to admit it wasn’t one of his better ideas. “That’s fair”

“Can we get out now?”

“No, no, I’ll show you how to float at the very least” slowly, G’raha pried her legs off of him, once more carrying her. “Trust me?”

“Yes” She glared up at him.

[thebmatt]

FFXIV Write Day 1

Foster – “encourage or promote the development of (something, typically something regarded as good)”

“I still cannot believe you built a bloody airship! I mean, I’ve done maintenance work on them under Cid or Stephanivien’s tutelage, but you BUILT one, from practically nothing!”

Tataru looked up from the pile of paperwork she was dealing with and grinned at Franks. “What, you didn’t think little old me could do it all by myself? No, wait, that’s not it, is it?? You’re JEALOUS!”

Franks threw down the cloth he’d been using to clean his gun and tools only moments before. “Of COURSE, I’m jealous! You know how many times I’ve tried to make time with either one of them to learn more about magitek engineering? I’ve lost count, because every time, without fail, either I have to cancel because the star’s in peril again or one of them has some company emergency or other to deal with! And now here you are, buildin’ an entire AIRSHIP! Hells yes I’m jealous!”

Tataru spasmed as she tried to hold back her mirth, covering her mouth, but there was no hiding the look in her eyes. First a few giggles escaped her, growing more numerous and loud, until she released peals of laughter, falling over in her chair. Franks eventually joined in, the pair enjoying a simple moment together.

Eventually Tataru managed to get herself under control. “Well, hopefully one day, this will all be in our pasts and you can spend the rest of your days building and maintaining magitek, if you wish. Think you’ll open up Cid’s first competition? Or maybe work for him? Wait, can you stand to be around Nero that much?”

Franks chuckled as he resumed cleaning a wrench.”Honestly, once you recognize and accept that his boundless arrogance is an attempt to mask both his profound fear at having to essentially restart his life in a formerly-hostile land AND trying to sort out exactly how he feels about Cid, he’s really not that bad. But while working at the Ironworks would certainly be enjoyable, I think my place is in Ishgard, in the Machinists guild. I want to be at the forefront of that discipline, both training new recruits and helpin’ Stephanivien come up with new tools for them to use. I foresee workin’ closely with the Ironworks to make that happen, though, so it’s really the best o’ both worlds.”

Tataru nodded. “I don’t know what the Scions will do once this is all over. I don’t even know if there’s really a place for us once the world is saved, if such a thing is even possible. But I might quite like working for Cid, I think. There’s a lot of upsides. Good pay, constantly getting to learn, don’t have to leave Mor Dhona…”

“Not to mention being in constant proximity to a certain Lalafell engineer…” Franks added, smirking as he looked over in her direction.

Tataru flushed and quickly looked away from his knowing gaze. “Y-yes, I suppose being near my good friend Wedge would be a nice perk!”

“Uh huh” Franks replied, not at all sounding like he was buying that description for one second. He finished wiping down the last piece of his aetherotransformer, and with practiced ease, began reassembling the components. With a final click, the device came together and lit up from within. Giving it a final examination, he returned it to its place at his hip and began reassembling his gun. “So…this next question might seem cruel, and if it’s hurtful please tell me so I can apologize, but I’m curious. You’re clearly a good engineer, which means math isn’t a problem for you. So why have you had such a problem with arcanima?”

Tataru had returned her attention to her paperwork, but the question stopped her mid-sentence. She looked back at Franks, her expression one of sad acceptance. “Thank you for saying it like…. that”

“Tataru, I’m so…”

“No no, it’s not bad. It’s nothing I haven’t asked myself and wrestled with, but I came to an answer a while ago.” She picked up a small clock that adorned her desk. “When I’m building, anything from constructing an airship to something simple like sawing wood…the math is there, a physical object in front of me. When I can see, can feel, the results right then, it all makes sense in my head. But with Arcanima….it was all in my head for me to unravel before it would manifest the magic. That’s harder for me. Not impossible, I don’t think I could have manifested a carbuncle or a Ruin spell otherwise, but I was a lot less confident, doubly so when I had to fight with it. I think that confidence, or lack thereof, is why my carbuncle didn’t do what I want.”

Franks nodded. “That absolutely is understandable. Everyone learns differently after all.”

Tataru’s smile brightened. “And really, I’m somewhat glad it didn’t work out! I wouldn’t have been able to find my talents as a crafter and intelligence gatherer for the Scions if I hadn’t accepted defeat with a grimoire!”

Franks laughed. “Absolutely true. I’ve no idea what would have become of the Scions if you hadn’t! We probably would still be wondering how we’d pay for the fare to Kugane! Definitely wouldn’t be eating as well, that’s for sure!”

She had to laugh at that. “Oh, I get it, I’m just your bank lender and chef, is that it?”

“In all seriousness, do you still wish you could join us in the field? Fight alongside everyone?”

She paused, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “I won’t deny the idea doesn’t STILL have some appeal, but I know I’m way more valuable to the Scions in my current role. I do wish I had a more reliable way of defending myself, especially should the Garlands attempt another Waking Sands massacre, though. I suppose I’ll just have to hope the people of Revenant’s Toll are more capable of defending us than the citizens of Vesper Bay were.”

Franks looked back down to his gun, nodding. “Mmm, makes sense. Even if you aren’t in enemy territory, as it were, traveling around isn’t always safe. We might just have to….” he stopped, nearly dropping the assembled firearm.

“Have to what, Franks?”

“I can’t believe I never thought of this. How did it not occur to me?”. Franks stood up, slinging his weapon across his band into the holster that held it in place. He looked to Tataru with an almost manic gleam in his eye. “Go get something warm to wear, Tataru! We got someplace to be!”

Tataru looked confused “W-where??”

Franks grinned. “Ishgard!”

A bell later, the air around the Ishgardian aetheryte gave a slight pop as it was suddenly displaced by the appearing forms of Franks and Fearless. Both shivered, if only briefly, before their bodies re-acclimated to the colder temperatures that they had grown used to those many moons they’d spent in the city.

Both were quickly recognized by practically everyone they passed by, and while Franks had little hope of recognizing most of the people who spoke to them, Tataru seemed to know everyone, able to call them by name and ask personal questions that she’d had to have learned about on those random evenings in the Forgotten Knight. More than once, she was able to recognize fully helmed Temple Knights by voice alone. Franks, for his part, hurried them both along, seemingly eager to reach their destination.

“So where ARE we going, exactly?” Tataru asked in between a conversation with one of Hilda’s people in the City Watch and a noblewoman of a minor house. Franks didn’t reply aside from a grin on his face until a few minutes later when he stopped in front of a building and pointed. “There!”

Tataru bid one more person farewell and stopped to take in where the pair had arrived at. Sounds of rhythmic thumping filled the air, which smelled of flame and metal and soot. She looked up at the building. “Skysteel Manufactory? What are we doing here?”

“You’ll see!” Franks called back, already having made his way to the corner where one needed to turn to enter the Manufactory’s font door. Tataru squeaked and started after him as quick as her smaller legs could carry her. By the time she rounded the corner, Franks had already thrown open the wooden doors of the entrance and strode in.

“Franks, my old friend!” a voice cried out from within. Tataru quickly ran to catch up, and as she entered the door, the eyes of an Elezen man quickly jumped to her. “And mistress Tataru! What a surprise!”

“Good to see you too, Lord Stephanivien!” she replied, smiling.

“Whatever brings Ishgard’s savior, and most importantly my best machinist, and the Scion’s….erm…what IS your official role within the Scions of the Seventh Dawn these days, milady? If half of what Franks tells me is true, “secretary” would seem a woefully inadequate title! Perhaps ‘the very hull on which the entire ship is built’? No? Too long?”

Tataru giggled. “Oh no, milord, ‘secretary’ is just fine. I like it, makes people underestimate me! And that’s how I get em!”

“Who’s come calling, milord?” came a voice from the upper levels of the Manufactory. A woman’s head peaked over the railing, her blond ponytails dangling from the sides of her head. “I thought I heard….TATARU!” With that, she bolted for the stairs that led to the entryway, sliding down the rails. Tataru ran for the woman and lept right into her arms, hugging.

“What’re ye doin here, girl? I thought you were busy keepin’ them Scions from fallin apart!”

“I don’t know, rightly! Franks dragged me….” Tataru trailed off as she noticed that Joye’s braids had somehow completely undone themselves, and her hair was a wild mess. “Are you ever going to tell me how you do that??”

“Dunno what yer on about! FRANKS!” she turned and yelled at the man who’d been quietly conversing with Stephanivien. “Why you dragged this poor lass all the way out into the cold arse o’ this time o’ night without tellin’ her what’s goin on?”

Franks smiled, leaning away from Stephanivien, and crossed his arms. “Well, Joye, I’d like to introduce you to someone that, well, you don’t really need introduction to! That lady you’re hugging is Tataru Taru, Scion of the Seventh Dawn, the glue and rivets that keep the very organization held together, and-“

“We know who she is, ye daft sod!” Joy interrupted, setting Tataru back on the ground. “Ya literally just watched us have a mini-reunion!”

“-AND, assuming she’s amenable, the newest member of the Machinist’s guild!” Franks continued, as though he hadn’t been interrupted.

THAT got everyone’s attention. Both Joye’s and Tataru’s jaws dropped. Stephanivien simply smiled.

“Wait…this is your solution to me wanting to increase my martial skillset?” Tataru asked.

Franks threw his arms out, gesturing around to the manufactory around them. “It’s a perfect idea! Think about it! You’re already proficient with magitek, you’ve certainly proven that by now! You already know what I’m guessing is about 80% of the members already! You don’t need any extensive training in magic or heavy melee arms, all you really need to learn is how to shoot! I don’t doubt you can get the hang of that, especially with Joye teaching you!”

Joye looked down at Tataru. “Aye….aye I can! Tataru, this’ll be great!”

Tataru still appeared in shock. “But…I don’t…I don’t have a gun! And I bet they don’t keep ones sized for Lalafell around!”

Stephanivien knelt down to face her. “As it turns out, my dear, we actually made a custom one for a colleague of ours from Garlond Ironworks. He frequently comes to collaborate with our fair guild and commissioned a carbine with which to recreationally shoot. He keeps it here, as well. I believe you are acquainted with one Wedge? His weapon should suffice for you to practice with until we can build a custom one for you. I daresay he will not object either, would you not agree?” He winked almost conspiratorially.

“I know where it is! Come on Tataru, let’s go blast some training dummies!” Joye practically dragged Tataru behind her as she ran outside. Tataru didn’t require TOO much prompting, however, as pretty soon, she was running full steam out the door behind Joye under her own power.

Stephanivien turned to Franks. “Seems you have a knack for fostering talent in people, my friend. I heard of the fortune that befell the Baroness de Jervaint, and now you’ve added a new member to our guild’s ranks as well! I know you must wear any number of metaphorical hats, but I am quite glad the Machinist’s goggles are among them!”

Franks smiled. Whatever the future held, he was glad to keep building towards making it better.

[kamino-blues]

Common Ground (Echo x Reader): Part 1

Rating: PG

Warning: None

Spoilers: This is a rewrite (sort of) of Episode 10: Common Ground, so if you have not watched I would recommend not reading. There are also spoilers for the Citadel arc and Bad Batch arc in Clone Wars (If you haven't seen them yet! Figured I would include this just to be safe)

Word Count: 1,482

The last episode made me really upset with how dismissive they were being of Echo, so I started a little writing project! I don't often write oneshots, so hopefully this isn't to ooc - I hope you enjoy <3

It was sunny on Ord Mantell, sun rays piercing through the smog that covered the entirety of the sky. The side streets in town seemed less dirty as you walked towards Cid’s Parlor, hand in hand with Echo. His brothers were ahead of you, the energy light as the previous mission was a huge success. Omega was perched on Wreckers shoulder, both of them goofing off with the Mantell Mix that contributed often to your guys' debt (you weren’t complaining though, you found it cute that they had their thing).

You had started traveling with the Bad Batch before Order 66, working as the group’s medic for their missions. It wasn't like that at first though, not working with the Bad Batch until later in the war. You were a medic that jumped from battalion to battalion, often working with the 501st. You had worked closely with Echo, becoming close friends with him before the incident at the Citadel. His death shook you to the core, you never really recovered from it.

So when you were cornered by Rex on Anaxes with him muttering about how Echo could possibly be alive, you automatically agreed to the mission, hoping to see your dear friend again. When you helped Rex take Echo out of that contraption that day, you were a mess of tears. You had helped Echo to the best of your abilities as you all escaped to the Havoc Marauder. You didn’t go on the mission to the spaceport, but before Echo left, you pulled him into a kiss, muttering a small “Please make it back safe, I can’t lose you again.”

Echo had given you a small smile, nodding as he held his hand on your shoulder. Him walking away pained you, but you knew in your heart that he would be back. And that he was, him pulling you aside after talking to Rex. He informed you how he was going to be working with the Bad Batch from now on, and how he wanted you to come with him. He had already gotten permission from the Batch (and Anakin, he was the one who was able to place you somewhere permanently), and you automatically agreed, wrapping your arms around him. He flinched, but slowly hugged back. The rest became history, you two getting together shortly after.

So hand in hand, you lean against Echo as you both watch Wrecker place Omega on the ground, who was absolutely radiating happiness. The whole group really felt like family to you, and you were so grateful that they accepted you as one of their own. Omega moved over to the two of you, holding out the bag of Mantell Mix.

“Echo! Y/n! Wanna try some?” Omega looked at both of you, a large smile on her face. You nod, a smile creeping onto your own as you reach forth to grab some. You never had it before, and you looked at it for a second before placing it in your mouth. Your eyes widen as you look back and forth between Echo and Omega.

“Wow, that’s a lot more fruitier than I expected” Omega giggled at this, holding out the bag to Echo. He let go of your hand, taking a few in his hands before smelling it. The look on his face was priceless, you succumbing to giggles, laughing even harder when he turned to look at you with his eyebrow raised. He gave you a smirk before placing them in his mouth, cringing at the taste. Omega joined your giggling, until Hunter stormed past, motioning for everyone to go into the parlor. Omega faltered for a second, then turned around to follow him in. You paused, looking up at Echo with a questioning look.

Echo just shrugged, placing his hand on your upper back to guide you into the bar. “I honestly don’t know, I just know we should probably get inside before he yells at us”. You nod at this, walking in while staying as close as you could to Echo. You noticed Cid standing right next to the bar, her obviously waiting for you guys to return. You stopped next to Echo, him standing with his helmet in hand, you leaning up against his shoulder. He lightly tapped you with his prosthetic, glancing over before frowning in Cid’s direction.

Echo was not a fan of Cid, he didn’t trust her. These meetings were usually tense, the happy atmosphere you all had a few moments ago transforming into an uncomfortable weight on your shoulders as you all waited for news of the next mission.

“I’ve got a mission for you boys” Cid glanced over all of you, her eyes focusing on Hunter once she was done with her sweep. “A simple extraction on Raxus.”

You saw Tech sit up at that in the corner of your eye, and you end up moving slightly away from Echo to focus on Tech. “Raxus? That is the former center of the Separatist government. It has since become an Imperial outpost-“ You noticed Echo tense up, and you moved back to put a hand on his mid-back. He flinched at the contact, and you pulled away, frowning.

“You’re being hired to locate and free Senator Avi Singh from his confinement” Cid stated, her eyes hardening as she saw how you all were taking this news. You started to zone out, slightly hearing Hunter arguing with Cid about how you guys don’t work with separatists. The war had been long and hard on all of you, and the idea of working with someone that hurt so many of your friends and allies did not sit well with you. You were especially worried about Echo, he had been through so much because of the Separatists.

Hunter pushed away from the bar, walking towards Cid with a glare on his face. Cid turned, and they headed away from the group. Echo automatically turned towards Tech, taking a few steps toward him.

“I don’t agree with this- first it was choosing to work with Cid and now having to work with the Seppies?” Tech looked up from his datapad, quickly fixing his glasses while keeping eye contact with Echo.

“It’s as Cid said, a job’s a job. We are in debt to her, so we can’t refuse to do this mission without getting ourselves in more trouble than we already are” Tech stated, moving his hands to accentuate his point. He shook his head, looking back down at his datapad as Wrecker looked between Tech and Echo, a frown on his face. He made eye contact with you, giving you a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and turned to Tech again.

Echo moved away from them, his glare lightening slightly when his gaze landed on you. “I think they are all being way too casual about this- working for the Seppies would have been treason a few weeks ago, this goes against everything we have ever done.” His hand was fidgeting, fingers tapping against his thigh. You slowly reached your hand out, hesitating before you touched his hand, making eye contact to see if he was ok with it. He nodded, and you intertwined your hands, you holding his one with both of yours as your right thumb traced shapes along his.

“It feels like we don’t have a choice, Echo.. We’ll figure it out as we go along, maybe Hunter is even getting us out of the mission right now.” You say, trying to find something to comfort him through this situation you all had gotten into. He sighed, his grip tightening on your hand as he pulled you into a hug. He moved his arms to wrap them around you, burying his face in your hair. You quickly return the hug, your hands holding onto his mid back. His grip was tight, trying to ground himself.

“I hope you are right” he muttered into your hair, him pulling away and giving you as close to a smile as he could. Echo grabbed your hand again, you starting up tracing patterns against his skin when Hunter walks over, a frown on his face. He leaned down, having a quiet conversion with Omega. You overheard most of it, tightening your grip and sending Echo a frown when you realized that the mission was happening and Omega wasn’t coming along.

You gave her a small frown while mouthing ‘I’m sorry’ as you all started moving towards the exit of the bar. Omega nodded, the frown not leaving her face knowing she wasn’t going to be a part of the mission. Echo tugged on your hand, getting you to start following Hunter and Tech as they led the way out of the Parlor. You both knowingly glanced at each other, the realization that the next few rotations were not going to be enjoyable.

[doopcafe]

Star Wars The Dad Batch (1x13): Infested

Summary: TDB returns from a mission to find someone has taken over Cid’s office.

Comments: Cid concocts a plan to steal a shipment of spice from the thug that took over her bar so that the Pykes will murder him. Instead, the Pykes want Cid and crew to return their spice, which they lost in a nest of monsters during the heist.

Lots of good humor here with nice pacing and no major complaints. The Cid/Wrecker dynamic was fun and Cid’s nicknames for everyone in the group continue to be amusing. These “character development” episodes are very much welcome, as they build some needed depth to these characters.

Really, at this point the only thing the show is missing is a stronger thread to carry me through. “Crosshair is trying to kill them” isn’t really a strong motivation to press the “watch next” button. At this point if it wasn’t for my goal to watch all existing Star Wars content, I’m not sure I’d keep watching this?

My enjoyment: 4/5

[criminalmutantsins]

Ranking Every Boom Studios DW Comic

I finished reading the Boom Studios comics a few days ago and I liked them. Some parts were kind of underwhelming, but it was still enjoyable. I can’t find the Joe Books series and I’m not sure if I should read them or not.

Anyways, here are my rankings and my short explanations:

6. Campaign Carnage

I liked this series but it was the most underwhelming. When I first heard of Suff-rage and her powers, I was super interested but she was underutilized and kind of bland. What should I expect, she’s a one-off villain.

My favorite part was the Darkwarrior Duck callback and Darkwing’s desperation to bring back Morgana. It’s nice to know that they care for each other that much; the show didn’t do a great job displaying that.

5/10

5. Dangerous Currency

The crossover was fun and cute, though the story was a bit shaky in some places like the explanation on how Negaduck is the slime/ink, and the ending was meh. I don’t mind that this arc is considered non-canon because there are small mistakes that irk me like Drake not knowing Fenton when he appeared in an episode, and Fenton’s mom not knowing her son isn’t Gizmoduck when she’s worn the suit in the show before. Those things break the immersion for me.

6/10

4. Crisis on Infinite Darkwings

This arc was so close to being number 3, but there’s a big reason why that I’ll explain later.

It was a great reference to the famous DC arc and all the other Darkwings were fun to see, especially Quiverwing Duck- his backstory is heartbreaking. I liked that we got more info on Negaduck like his disdain for not being unique and a possible tragic backstory. It was disappointing not knowing more.

The ending was pretty good with bringing back the Tron-splitter and seeing Negaduck’s evil and slightly evil sides(it was funny). The Darkwarrior Duck cameo was also really great. He’s such an underrated character and needs more attention.

And we got more Morgwing development. I may not love them, but they can be cute.

7/10

3. F.O.W.L Disposition Arc

FD almost tied with or lost to CID; however, an aspect really changed my opinion.

Morgana finally being characterized as more than a love interest.

Morgana was my second favorite female character-just below Gosalyn-but I still had issues with her. Like, 1. Her magic talent being inconsistent and 2. Only serving as a love interest. She is so interesting and could be an amazing character. It sucked that the creators didn’t give her the time.

Her strong magic power and willingness to sacrifice herself made her out to be a headstrong and powerful sorceress, which is something I wanted to see.

I also really liked that Darkwing’s weakness is showcased here- his ego- and he actually learns how detrimental it is to his work and the world’s safety. And it actually stuck throughout the rest of the series afterwards.

8/10

2. The Duck Knight Returns

I loved this arc! It was such a great start to the comics! 😍

First, it tackled a situation the show barely touched- what if DW had to quit crime fighting long term. “Toy Czar Us” kind of tackled this though it was very short. We see how much not being Darkwing does to Drake, he’s depressed and disconnected. His intense ego diminished.

Another thing I love was actually seeing how much Launchpad mattered to Drake. We see him having flashbacks with his close friend and getting upset when something reminds him of their adventures. Drake sometimes even calls Launchpad just to hear his voice. It makes my big Drakepad heart beat even harder, and it’s nice to know that their friendship is not one-sided.

Also, having Megavolt and Darkwing as co-workers was amazing. Peak comedy!

The only thing that’s keeping me from giving this arc a perfect score is Negaduck finding out DW’s secret identity. Mostly how it was handled afterwards. Negaduck finds out his alter ego, even goes to house, yet after that he doesn’t take advantage of that info seriously.

9.5/10

1. Darkwing Annual- Quackerjack’s story

I love love love this story! 😍😍😍

Quackerjack is one of those villains that interests me since we see his origin story like Megavolt’s and Bushroot’s. We get to see more into his mindset and what drove him crazy, such as the discredit he gets for his toy ideas.

Although I’m a Quackervolt shipper, I really like Claire and she was a good way to introduce the less villainous side, and make you feel bad for Quackerjack.

It’s also nice to see Darkwing actually have sympathy for his enemies. I’ve always seen Darkwing and his enemies being kind of the same; they are people who want to be noticed but do it in different ways.

The ending was also amazing yet heartbreaking. We can see Quackerjack contemplating what he has done as he’s walking to Claire’s door. Then we see a red glow and Claire opening the door to a Quackerjack toy. He’s regrets everything he has done and thinks he’s only good enough as a toy. That is so sad and relatable. We’ve always had times when we’ve doubted our worth. This story gives Quackerjack more layers in an enticing story. This gives it a perfect score. It also benefits being a solo comic rather than a series like the others.

10/10 🥳

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! If you read the comics, I would like to see your rankings. Also, can someone tell me where I can read the Joe Books version incase I want to read it? 😁💕

[porta-decumana]

Very abbreviated, sleep-deprived thoughts about 5.5

Werlyt will take some time for me to digest, I think.  The plot has always made me somewhat uncomfortable given how dark and despairing it is... it just evokes some bad feelings for me.  There were parts I found that I did enjoy about the conclusion but a lot of parts I did not.  Gaius vs Valens felt pretty satisfying.  Seeing Gaius use the new Terminus Est ability was -chef kiss- perfection.  The weird imperialism apologist vibes from some of the dialogue was very uncomfortable however.  As much as putting Gaius in charge of a military unit makes sense as he’s a very well-known military general, having the people of Werlyt actually nominate him felt... really, really, really weird. It’s definitely a troubled plot that mishandled a lot of things.  I don’t think I viscerally hate it as much as a lot of people but I found it very stressful and some parts of it off-putting.  

I don’t get Valdeaulin’s arc suddenly being wrapped up but I’m taking this as a W because at least he didn’t get killed off like I feared he would.

Cid and Gaius being on somewhat amiable terms again feels good on paper but I wish they had a longer scene where they had talked about their feelings because I am a sucker for that shit lol

Did they really tease the idea of the WoL and Gaius piloting a mech together and not do it because I’m forever sad but basking in headcanons.

I need to go back and get a screenshot of Gaius in absolute anguish over discovering the identity of the overmind in Diamond Weapon because that image killed me inside.  I really like how Gaius felt more like a concerned father in this segment.  They honed in on his emotions in a lot of scenes and I liked it.  It made him seem less robotic.

The Cloud Deck is a super fun fight, probably the best in terms of production quality.  The mechanics aren’t exactly novel but they feel like they’ve been handled in a refreshing way.  Gonna farm the EX a bunch with my fc tomorrow.

ALFONNNNNNNNSE -sobs-

The MSQ was very fine.  The only two things that really bothered me were G’raha and Tiamat.  In terms of G’raha, while I think the character is great, I’ve found the way they’ve written him lately to be a bit disingenuous to his character.  It feels like he’s been reduced to a near drooling fanboy almost every time he talks and that feels like a far cry from the person he’s been in almost all of Shadowbringers.  I get that he’s getting to live out his dreams now but I feel like they’ve discarded a lot of his character development and that’s very sad imo.  He had such a good arc and it’s like they’re ignoring it.

In terms of Tiamat, I thought the addition of her being tempered added nothing to the story and was padding so we’d go around Azys Lla a bit longer.  It felt like it downplayed the tragedy of her summoning Bahamut and her feelings and semi-retconned her HW appearance. 

Pagl’than might be my new favorite dungeon tbh.  The ending area is absolutely stunning and the second boss is super fun!

I’m glad Lunar Bahamut was a fight in the dungeon instead of a separate instance for 6.0.  We’ve fought a lot of Bahamut over the years... we don’t need another instance of fighting Bahamut.  

I’m still hollering over Zenos having Faust’s spear.

Bringing Fordola and Arenvald back made my heart happy, I love those two.  The fact that Arenvald is critically injured now though?? Hurts my heart.  Thanks, Yoshi P.

Estinien vs Alisaie is the rivalry that will fuel me during Endwalker probably.

I think I was waiting for more of an “oomph” with the story.  I’m not disappointed but I’m not chomping for the next part of the story, if that makes any sense.  

Nier raids pretty much highlighted to me why we need to stop having homage raids.  Even being familiar with Nier Automata, I didn’t find the story of the Nier raids super enjoyable and felt a lot of it just didn’t make sense.  It feels like something that people familiar with the series might enjoy but everyone else is kinda left in the dust.  The 24 man itself had some wicked cool fights though.  I really liked the 3rd one especially.  

I won the new caster top and I’ll post pics tomorrow when I’m not about to pass out from exhaustion.

I want all the new hair.  Gimme gimme.  Especially that ponytail.