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fairyringtaxiservice · 11 months ago

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Title: Binary Star Fandom: Dr. Stone Pairings: SenkuxOC, ChromexRuri, TaijuxYuzuriha, Summary:

“If you had the opportunity to rebuild civilization as it was, would you?” No? Seriously? Why would she do something that sounded so annoying? But, maybe, if her weird gremlin friend Senku had still been alive, if he hadn’t been murdered, just maybe she would have liked to try. Taken captive by Tsukasa for valuable medical knowledge the Empire needs after refusing to come along willingly, Lumina spends her days trapped in a cell where strange men assume she’s a totally legitimate qualified doctor, despite only being sixteen and irritated, and ask her to treat all sorts of ailments from dermatitis, heavy metal poisoning, to broken hearts. Wait, what’s the last one doing in there? She wasn’t a therapist? If she ever got out of here maybe she really would kickstart civilization just to stick it to Tsu—no, that already sounded exhausting. She’ll continue being spiteful and contrite just to push Tsukasa’s buttons though. She felt she was getting really good at that.

The alternative, less dramatic summary might be something like this: 'might actually just be an afterschool PSA about rabies in disguise' or 'a historical love story between human civilization and water filtration' or '*jazz hands* Senku is a space criminal, read more to find out why~* or 'chapter 4 is objectively the best chapter because it's all Yuzuriha and Yuzuriha is objectively the best character.'

Anyway, it's just a self-indulgent asexual romance with a concentrated focus on what other things they could have made with what they had to create a lot of other quality-of-life civilization building stuff I wanted to see Senku do, but didn’t actually end up happening for what I imagine are a lot of reasons. The scope of the actual story, the genre of the narrative, or even canonically Senku couldn’t have had time to do it all. Romance might not even happen if it doesn't feel right. I also do a closer, more introspective look at all the other character's thoughts and feelings. I like to consider it Dr. Stone DLC. Check it out if you're willing to take a chance.

Chapters: 6/? Word count: 35,908 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45630784/chapters/114822286#workskin

Chp1 text under cut. Thanks for reading in advance. I would have liked to have gotten the canon characters in the first chapter, but I suppose this is a pretty good way to determine whether the OC will drive you nuts if you take a stab at this or not.

Lumina was having a moment of indecision. Or maybe it would be more accurate to refer to it as a moral quandary? She didn’t think she was particularly moral or immoral, but she was currently considering killing a man. Which, all things considered, on the morality scale tended to dip way down into immoral, but on the other hand…

This man was going to die anyway.

And if he didn’t die now, then he would continue to suffer. Horribly. In no uncertain terms. Like, in an objectively, egregiously horrible manner.

Because, howling and raving and shaking below her vantage point crouched atop a fallen tree wedged into the roots of other trees overlooking a small slope, she could tell that this man had rabies. She placed her chin in her hands, elbows resting on her knees as she crouched, and gave a long dispirited sigh.

The man below her merely quivered, entirely unaware of her existence.

It’s the hydrophobia that really cements it, she thought with a frown and a detached frame of mind.

His body desperately needed water but each time he got close enough to the puddle left over from the rains a day ago in an attempt to actually drink it, he was unable to follow through and violently shuddered away from it. Because that was what rabies did. It took over the portion of the central nervous system that controls swallowing, speaking, breathing. The howling wasn’t because he was raving, it was because the virus caused violent spasms in the throat and larynx. Even thinking about drinking water could trigger a response.

Feeling very much like Atropos, one of the three goddesses of fate in Greek mythology, she watched over him, expressionlessly, poised to consider his thread of life, scissors hovering mere millimeters away. Ah, maybe that was a little dramatic, but…

Really, she didn’t like having to make this judgment at all. It would be a lot easier to just walk away and do nothing. Rabies was a terrible virus, and she was absolutely and utterly terrified of disease in this world without modern medicine.

…To be fair, she had been terrified of disease back in the old world even with modern medicine.

But regardless, it was a terror she felt significantly more vindicated about here, in this new world.

To be even more fair, however, rabies only spread through the salvatory glands and not so much through human-to-human contact, so long as he didn’t spit in her eye or some other mucus membrane or something, she’d probably be fine? Rabies victims weren’t zombies. After the challenge of making clothing from tanned animal skin, one of the first things she decided to make for herself was a pair of gloves. Because everything was Gross. There were a lot of things that she knew logically, factually, and intellectually weren’t Actually Gross but still made her Feel Gross anyway. Her stitching was pretty much abysmal garbage, and she had to force herself to accept she was simply bad at sewing, but having gloves, tall boots, a comfortable but simple dress and underclothes to protect her from the vast Grossness of the world was important to her.

Anyway, the gloves would probably be fine.

Experimentally, she tried to bite her flesh through the long elbow length gloves.

Yeah okay. It was fine.

…Probably.

….She rubbed her own saliva off her gloves, too. Because, well, Gross.

As she’d already thought before, it wasn’t like there were any documented cases of human-to-human transmission via bite wounds, but was sound rationality supported by evidence and facts going to stop her disease-fearing anxious ass? No!

Moving on.

She was disturbingly confident in her ability to kill a man should she need to. The human body was somehow both so, so very fragile and so, so very resilient. But right now? With that man practically insensate to the world it would be very easy for a small and skinny girl like her to extinguish his life. His back was turned to her, he was on his knees, it would then be so easy to take him by surprise. She had a knife and it really would be a simple matter to thrust it into his throat and sever the carotid artery with grim precision. He’d bleed out in twenty minutes, tops, true assassination style. Bet on it.

Lumina recognized she was beginning to disassociate a bit, viewing herself and situation from the outside as if she were someone else. She acknowledged that she knew in her bones, breath, and spirit that she could kill a man. She knew this to be clear and true.

She could kill a man.

If she had to.

She just wasn’t so sure she could kill an innocent man, however.

But walking away and doing nothing was also a choice. Choosing to do nothing here would be choosing to let this guy suffer and she didn’t like that any better. His brain would continue to swell against his skull wracked with encephalitis, burning with fever, causing confusion and seizures and a glut of truly nasty stuff all while his body desperately needed water but the virus denied it, unfeeling and merciless. Then he’d slip into a coma, experience some kind of organ failure, and die.

Awful way to go, really.

Honestly, this situation sucked for everyone involved. He couldn’t consent to end of life care, she couldn’t provide palliative care where he could be surrounded by family and friends and be comfortable before his end, and she’d have to murder him because she was presently leaning towards that direction since it felt marginally, by the smallest of horrific increments, more kind? And?? It would?? Be murder. There was no consent here? He probably didn’t even have cognizance of where or who or what or anything?

But who knew! Just maybe he’d be like one of the twenty-nine documented cases of someone who got rabies, experienced the full onset of symptoms, and recovered naturally on their own! Twenty-nine out of… ehhhhh, 59,000 deaths per year (back when there was a human population), so like, not great odds, but still better than zero percent.

Instead, it’s just zero point zero zero something-something percent. So an infinitesimally small chance.

She sighed dismally into her hand.

“What am I going to do with you?” she murmured softly, eyelashes fluttering sorrowfully.

Her mind drifted.

Finding another person in this stone world really should be more shocking, but it wasn’t. He wasn’t the first person she’d come across. Probably wouldn’t be the last either. She’d found very minute, almost imperceptible traces of people as she’d made her journey down to southern Japan from the north. A few footpaths that had now become overgrown, a decrepit bridge over a tiny creek consisting of three sturdy logs lashed together with decaying fibers. Simple things that were old, dilapidated, and would leave no physical evidence in a handful of years, but were also unquestionably made by human hands. She didn’t know how long she’d been encased in stone, but if it was enough time for giant trees to pop up all around them and for the land to irrevocably alter, then it’s probably been like a million years, but really, who knew? Anyway, for these small traces of humanity to exist there had to have been people who woke up from the stone before her.

Wherever and whatever happened to those people now that their works had fallen into disuse, well… it wasn’t entirely too hard to guess.

She enjoyed the exploration of this new world with a freedom and buoyancy of spirit she never had in the old one. Gone entirely were days of people-related psychologically-entrenched trauma and paranoia! How awesome was that? She didn’t have to worry about anyone! She made her own schedule, she didn’t have to worry about crowds or stares, and she didn’t have to figure out how to interact socially with people her own age after missing almost eight entire years of school! It was just one good thing after another!

She did sorely miss her computer, however.

Despite that, she took to her new life with an inexpressible joy. Sure, it was dangerous and frustrating and she’d nearly died twice already, but she was able to hike mountains, follow rivers, and explore wherever she wanted. The wind in her hair, the stars above her head, her spirit bright and untethered. Her goal was simply to head south. In the back of her mind she sometimes wondered if she would even recognize home when she crossed it or see people she knew trapped in the stone, but always eventually let the thoughts pass by without examination.

And then she started finding the first few skeletons.

They weren’t ancient, but they were old. She usually found them singular and alone, but a few times she’s seen two skeletons at once in close proximity to each other, so they had probably died together. A man and a woman here, a woman and a child there. It was a little sad but also infinitely fascinating trying to put together how these people had lived and died before she’d come upon them.

Still very sad though. None of them had been very old in terms of lived age. She could tell based on how fused some of the bones were. Human bones ossified with age, with some portions only fusing around certain points in development. Being able to tell if someone was in their mid-thirties or if they were younger than her when they died made her feel…

…Unpleasant? Hm, no, that wasn’t quite it. Sad? Well, yes, but also…

Melancholic? That was closer and more specific.

Ah…

Oh. Okay. She got it now.

Lumina was experiencing loss. Grief. Sorrow.

Loss of a future snuffed out in an instant, both hers and a billion others. Loss of everyone she knew and a world she had known. Loss of dreams, of expectations, of a tangible, knowable place in the world. She hadn’t exactly made a place for herself in the old world, but she’d been getting better, and the potential had been there…

She recognized she didn’t exactly feel lonely or isolated living on her own in the wilds like she probably should, although she hadn’t exactly expected to. However, experiencing existential, soul-aching grief and loss triggered by dead people she didn’t know was different and also wasn’t quite something she was willing to fully unpack any time soon. That was a problem for future-Lumina to deal with. She’d compartmentalize and stuff it in the feelings box for now. Given her past experiences, she wasn’t exactly surprised at her psychological state being what it was. After all, she had lived th–ah. No. Choose a different thought, brain. Psychologically, she was simply just–no, that’s still an intrusive thought. Choose again, and choose better.

…

Whenever she found the lost, lonely remains of Those Before she would dig shallow graves and arrange their bones properly before burying them. It felt like the right thing to do. She wasn’t religious and didn’t know any prayers, but laying those skeletons to rest beneath the earth and building cairns to mark their passing simply felt fundamentally, intrinsically, and instinctually right. She couldn’t always find all the bones. Animals or time among the elements had taken them away, hidden from the world forever. In those cases, she did her best to find as many of the bones as she could before burial.

Skeletons didn’t really scare her. Getting sick and catching disease in this world without modern medicine terrified her. Skeletons? Not so much. And what truly interested her, the life passion that electrified her blood and made her heart pound against her chest like a violent prisoner fighting to escape, was figuring out how people died. It was profoundly fascinating, edifying, and, as a weird gremlin friend of hers sometimes liked to say, exhilarating. Even more exhilarating were the deaths that were sneaky. Murderers who covered up their crimes using science or intrigue–relying on the half-life of a drug disappearing from the body of a victim before investigators could identify it had even been there, or poisons that imitate cardiac arrest and other ‘natural deaths’, or “accidents” that, as things turned out, weren’t so accidental after all.

There were a million different ways to die and therefore a million different things she needed to study in order to identify the really, truly sneaky deaths. Subjects such as toxicology, or biology, or biochemistry, or cytopathology, electrophysiology, epidemiology, hemotology, herbology, neurology, pharmacology, virology–just so many many -ologies that you could use to easily kill people and be deviously sneaky about it!

It was really… So. Damn. Fascinating.

Ah. But in the old world you couldn’t just walk up to law enforcement and ask to see their most sneaky ongoing murder cases. Which was honestly a huge bummer. She’d had to make do with cold cases.

Once, in this new world, she’d found a man and woman’s skeletons and they were definitely totally unquestionably murdered. Blunt force trauma. To the skull. Both of them. Probably didn’t die on impact, but also probably didn’t last very long afterwards.

Was she worried there was a murderer running around this forest? Not really. Those bones had been maybe thirty years old at the very least, even if their owners hadn’t lived for quite that long. Ah… she made herself a little sad again. Welp. Disregarding that small, bitter thought, there wasn’t going to be a murderer waiting for thirty years to silence her after finding their victim’s remains. Also? There wasn’t a judicial system anymore given the general lack of an existing society, sooo…

All things considered, she felt pretty happy being one of the few people roaming around in the world playing forensic scientist, medical examiner, and grave digger with what was left behind. Content, even.

She had done a lot of thinking about the skeletons that had once been real people. Those people either, presumably, broke out of the stone or were born to people who had broken out of the stone. She wasn’t sure what the difference was between herself and the people who’d broken out of the stone and the ones who hadn’t.

It was probably a whole mess of catalytic cascade reactions in response to some kind of synthesis borne from… something? Some kind of outside stimulus maybe? But what…? Assuming the microstructure of the stone wasn’t something entirely alien, then what did it react to in order to cause the cascade?

Lumina hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about that specific phenomena. She didn’t see the point, so she had decided not to waste time puzzling it out when her own survival was her top priority. What did she care about unraveling the secret of the stone? Let someone else do that if they wanted, or existed.

What her mind came back to again and again and what she thought was kind of amazing, was that after breaking out of the stone she now had sensation in her middle and ring finger on her left hand again. Back in The World Before, those fingers had been sliced off and had to be reattached with surgery, but the nerves never recovered from the initial cuts nor the surgical scarring and so she lost all sensation in those digits.

But now! Full sensation! In her fingers! Amazing!

So, whether it was the (presumed) cascade reaction during depetrification or the petrification phenomenon itself, it had somehow restored the nerves in her fingers. Which, first thing, how? And how was a bigger question that brought even more questions. For example, how did the petrification or the cascade reaction target those specific damaged nerves? How did it identify that they were even damaged? Did it somehow have a map of her exact genetic specifications before she’d suffered the nerve damage and pulled a factory reset on her body? Or did it have a generalized map that it would work its effects on and anyone who broke out of the stone would have the same blueprint?

If it was the latter, then what the hell kind of eugenics bullsh—

No, you know what. Whatever. It wasn’t a mystery she needed to solve right this moment. Or ever.

In a snap judgment, she had decided it was magic. Or aliens. Or magic aliens. Magic aliens with a focus on human eugeni—

In another snap judgment, she decided that, actually, it was the former and thought about it a little more.

The petrification or the subsequent cascade reaction in the undoing of the stone somehow “read” the original “code” and fixed whatever errors it found in order to form a working “program.” Which, now that she thought about it, probably wasn’t too farfetched. Compared to a hard drive, a gram of DNA could store so much more data. Literally 215 petabytes. It was enough to make external hard drives and their pitiful 2 terabytes of data storage cry. Humanity was doing that now—eh… was doing that from… before--since it had been getting harder and harder to make microminiturized data storage and electronics. It was exorbitantly expensive, but it could be done.

So either the petrification or the cas—maybe she should shorten this to ‘petri-cascade?’ Oh, but no, those things described completely separate phenomena and she couldn't be certain which one specifically had the rejuvenation effect.

…Petr(ification)-OR-cascade? Petror-cascade? Ehhhh, she hated that.

…

…So anyway, the petror-cascade probably read the information in RNA/DNA molecules. That’s 1,000,000,000 megabytes of data the phenomena could potentially sift through and assume administration over. Everyone’s DNA was a little different, obviously, so then theoretically you could restore a person back to their personal factory settings without an ‘everyman blueprint’.

Which. Like? Wow?

Did it work on congenital diseases? Genetic disorders? Autoimmune diseases? If it did, then how does it determine an ‘error’ from viable, perfectly executable ‘script’ when those errors are written in the ‘base code’ of that script? Factory resetting would still default to genetic abnormalities since the genetic abnormality existed in the original, default version of the code, wouldn’t it? If it could read DNA, then does it pull information from only an individual’s pre-existing values and variables, or did it pull and reformat from a database?

And the database concern still led back to eugenics… unless, of course, it was individualized and adaptational genetic treatment. If it truly was based on an individual, personalized DNA gene therapy then… who the hell made such a thing? Even a government would have a hard time getting the funding for such an all-encompassing, comprehensive system let alone all the work and manpower needed to produce such a thing to a satisfactory degree. Who unleashed this upon the entire world at once? How was it executed all at once anyway? What a massive undertaking.

Definitely, totally had to be aliens. Maybe.

So now all she had to determine is—

Nnnnope! Nope! No! She’s done with this! It’s all just unsubstantiated theory anyway! She’ll figure it out later! Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not.

…She’ll think about it.

…If she feels like it.

Right now, she had other priorities. She had broken out of the stone a year ago, naked, and upset about it. Now she was far less naked and far more upset about this whole late stage rabies situation instead. She couldn’t keep distracting herself from making a choice. For she recognized that is exactly what she was doing as she followed along with her train of thought. She had stalled for long enough. It was time.

She let out a breath and opened the eyes she didn’t realize she’d closed. Time stilled, time passed, time stilled again.

Then, finally, under the gazes of the litany of souls enshrined in stone around her, she made her decision.

Snap!

She paused.

…What was that?

Elsewhere, Gen Asagiri ambled out from the tree line to spot a village by the sea. From his vantage point, he could see a small crowd forming just outside near the bridges. An almost nostalgic scent lured him towards the crowd and he knew without seeing that he had found Tsukasa’s alleged dead man.

How intriguing. How fun! [Next] link tba

#dcst #dr stone fanfic #dr. stone #senku ishigami #drst

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glaivenoct · 2 years ago

Note

Sending character(s)= Noctis & Nyx

Thanks for sending one, friend! :D (Character Ask Meme here)

Once again Brina fails to answer things without rambling at least once ;u;

***Noctis***

1.) sexuality headcanon: Gay, gay. He gay. I also find ace Noct very valid. 2.) otp: NyxNoct, of course!!! <3 Shocker, I know :p 3.) brotp: Heh, this is silly but, let me die on my niche crossover hill of princely best friends Noctis & Zagreus from Hades. NoctZag? ZagNoct? Prince BFFs for life!! ;u; 4.) notp: I- imma just keep those to myself QuQ 5.) first headcanon that pops into my head: Stand by Me is actually a lullaby Aulea would sing to Noctis in the short time she spent with him when he was a baby. 6.) favorite line from this character: Hmm... that's a tough one. I'm gonna list a few lol "Dad... Trust in me." "Kings of Lucis! Come to me!" "Walk tall, my friends." "What can I say? I'm worth the wait." (my inner NyxNoct heart SCREAMED) "Talk about backseat fishing..." "Hey! I got muscle... you just can't see it." ANYTIME he nerded out in the Assasin's Festival DLC Whenever he talked to the cat at Galdin The entire scene where he meets with Cor at the first Royal Tomb

7.) one way in which I relate to this character: I, too, get overwhelmed thinking about my responsibilities that are looming on the horizon and just want to go back to a hotel room with friends and vibe and play video games while traveling to new places IsThatTooMuchToAsk :')

8.) thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: I don't know if I'd necessarily say it gives me second hand embarrassment, but it mostly just makes me snicker and go "omfg you little NERD" but probably his "Sharp erryday" line. This isn't necessarily my embarrassment either, but I LOVE in the ChocoMog Festival when he follows the Moogle dance all "Huh? Like this?" and then rubs the back of his neck all shy and goes "Can't believe I just did that." *clutches chest* I just lovehimsomuch ;u;

9.) cinnamon roll or problematic fave? CINNAMON ROLL. LOOKS LIKE ONE, IS ONE, BUT COULD ACTUALLY KILL YOU ALL IN ONE.

***Nyx***

1.) sexuality headcanon: Listen. This man is bi as hell 2.) otp: *bangs pots and pans together* NyxNoct NyxNoct NYXNOCT 3.) brotp: There's no way I CAN'T mention Libertus and Crowe! But also, I have a soft spot for some PelNyx! Both platonic and romantic. I just think there's a lot of mutual respect and trust between them and there's part of me that wants to explore it more sometimes! 4.) notp: Again, gonna keep to myself ^^; 5.) first headcanon that pops into my head: While Nyx was given the moniker of "Hero", his own personal Hero is his Mama. He has the highest, utmost respect and love for his mother and would drop EVERYTHING to help and give her whatever she needed. She raised him right and well even if he was a troublemaker at times. Nyx looks like his Papa, but gets all the charm from his Mama! 6.) favorite line from this character: Hoh there's a few, listing them all too - "I'm worth the wait!" (HOW CAN I NOT LOVE THIS ONE) "To hell with your power! I'm not here for it. I only came to tell you: You are no kings." "Rule well, young king." "Besides, didn't anyone tell you? I'm the Hero around here." "What, you got wings underneath that dress?" "Nifilheim took your home. Took all our homes! Nothing will ever change that." "Give Prince Noctis my regards." 7.) one way in which I relate to this character: I think, overall, probably his sense of loyalty and selflessness.

8.) thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: HMMM, I got nothin' for this one friends ¯_(ツ)_/¯ unless maybe there was a time Nyx ripped his uniform pants because his butt was just Too Thicc. @ me all you want on that one, because it could very easily be canon if you ask me!

9.) cinnamon roll or problematic fave? What constitutes a fave being problematic though, I'm genuinely curious lol. It's funny, because I think from the perspective of OTHER CHARACTERS in FFXV, they'd dub Nyx problematic fave in a heartbeat lmao. Me personally, though? The smug cool Hero dude who, at the end of the day, thinks his life is worthless? Your honor that is my battle hardened cinnamon roll, who, SURE, can at times be a smart-mouthed trouble-making asshole. I take no criticism on this, thank you. (also if you ask me, he looks like he can kill you and will actually kill you. but still my battle hardened cinnamon roll)

#asks

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tearblossom · 4 years ago

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Orbital Station Scene Analysis: Part 3

Lmao here we go again. Ready to fall even deeper down the rabbit hole that is this scene with me!? This one scene functions simultaneously as my source of joy and depression and I watch it more than I would care to admit. So, naturally, I have even more to say about it! It’s going to be long. Sorry.

Part 1- https://tearblossom.tumblr.com/post/645095661644251136/scene-analysis-this-is-just-what-i-personally-feel

Part 2- https://tearblossom.tumblr.com/post/645776311115186176/i-was-thinking-some-more-about-the-final-scene

In this one, I’ll be going into more detail explaining the emotional mask that I believe Takemura is trying so desperately to keep on during this scene (and undeniably fails at several times, with it coming off entirely upon the scene reaching a certain pivotal moment) and also pointing out the instances that I feel the mask slips occur. Honestly, it’s pretty easy to tell for reasons that I will explain. I’m going to reiterate the fact that I am not a facial expression/body language expert. This is just one human being looking at another human being and trying to figure them out. This is just my personal interpretation of this scene. Prepare yourself for many, many screenshots and gifs. Also, I will be using the same video sources as the other two posts because I don’t have my own footage.

https://youtu.be/ra-Ij1KU8r4

https://youtu.be/PUmQqVOq5oY

I failed to mention before the reason that Takemura even had to put up the cruel facade in the first place because I didn’t want to state the obvious and insult everyone’s intelligence. We all know the reason but I’ll just say it here anyway: Arasaka.

Arasaka is listening to Takemura’s every word so he literally cannot say shit to V that would hint at any sort of affection for him/her and absolutely nothing that would indicate any growing uncertainty in said corporation. Words mean nothing here. He has to speak through his eyes and expressions because that is all he has to offer, the only cards he has to play. That is why the meaning of this scene can be so easily missed and flies over so many people’s heads. I do not fault anyone that may have missed this on a first playthrough or even those that are still unaware of it whatsoever because Takemura is very, very convincing at first (his face becomes an open book once the contract gets brought out but we’ll get into that later) and besides, to truly understand something that involves emotions as complex as these caused by equally as complex reasons or anything involving subtext really, takes multiple viewings to truly appreciate.

In summary, what I believe is happening here is that during the entire scene up until the contract gets brought out, his mental state is constantly teetering on the edge of a cliff so to speak. He is trying so hard to fight his sentimentality and control his emotional responses not only to V’s misery and pain but also his own wavering faith in Arasaka because they are watching, listening, and monitoring. And he succeeds extremely well at first but it gets harder and harder for him to maintain the mask. The closer he physically gets to V, the harder it is to pretend, to hide. His eyes alone betray him on several occasions but eventually the whole facade just crumbles and he falls. And when the contract comes into play is when he truly, honestly looks at V and the communication through his eyes really begins.

Here is the key thing- it is the most important visual clue to understanding when things happen: When Takemura is feeling any doubt or his emotions begin to overwhelm him or he fears that they might, he promptly averts his eyes to get himself under control and readjusts the mask that has slipped.

He looks away from V during these moments!

(Just to clarify, I don’t think that every single moment in the scene that he looks away from V has this deeper meaning behind it. When people talk it’s completely natural for them to turn their heads, avert their eyes to look at other things, etc. These are just some moments that particularly stood out to me as signs pointing to my little theory.)

Okay...let’s start deciphering this conflicted, broken mess of a man.

Scene starts. Takemura is fiddling with the Rubik’s Cube. He puts it down. Expression cold as ice.

mask on full display in all of it’s glory

They talk about Saburo being back in the body of his son and have this exchange of words:

V: “Saw Saburo Arasaka’s back. In Yorinobu’s body.”

Goro: “Yes. Justice has been done.”

And then it happens for the first time...

(Could this be...doubt perhaps? Has justice really been done?)

Moving on- he walks over to stand behind the chair across from V, telling them of their imminent death.

Goro: “I will be blunt - the surgery did not help. You will be dead before winter.”

And then he proceeds to make this face immediately after...

(Lovely, isn’t it? Just full of sympathy. His mask game is strong. But don’t worry though because V wins in the end BIG TIME.)

Understandably, V gets very upset upon hearing this news.

V: “How... how’s that possible? Arasaka’s got the best and the brightest.”

And then something happens again. Whatever could it be, I wonder!

But wait, there’s more!

(He couldn’t even wait until he finished talking before looking away! It’s getting more difficult for him to look at V with a straight face every second! Also, his expression here is the most broken looking yet.) :(

He must not reveal what is hidden behind this emotional wall that he’s worked so hard to build up specifically for this meeting because the room they are speaking in may just as well be made of glass with Arasaka’s unrelenting gaze, an ever-present entity, on the other side of it. He will do so soon though, when he offers V salvation. The contract raises the stakes. The rules change. He feels the wall breaking and there isn’t anything he can do about it and he knows it.

IT’S CHAIR TIME, CHOOMS!

He looks away another 6 TIMES! Leaning more and more over that edge. Feast your eyes...

IT’S CONTRACT TIME, BABY!

Oh, shit!

It’s happening!!

He does look away here but there’s no mask on when he looks back...only despair.

It’s gone.

TO SIGN OR NOT TO SIGN

The disguise is off now. From this point onward, Takemura looks at V with his true feelings on display. This is where the ability to read the emotion portrayed solely through one’s eyes really comes into play because even though he’s not trying to hide anything anymore, he still can’t say what he really wants to say. We have to feel it through his expressions. His thoughts are so loud during these final moments of the scene that we don’t even need words to know what he’s saying.

REFUSE TO SIGN

SIGN

HOLY GRAIL MOMENT!

(I’m literally going to copy and paste what I have in my part 2 analysis about this section because I explained my thoughts on it about as well as I am able to there and have nothing else to add. My apologies for repeating myself but I feel the exact same way about it so it still applies here.)

These reactions make perfect sense because we’ve always known that he cares deeply for V and never stopped. He just couldn’t hide it! But even with this treasure trove of emotional mask slips and unintentional displays of affection, I still wasn’t sure exactly how deeply he cared for V. In other words- if he was actually in love with V or not.

Is he already in love or is he still in the process of falling in love? Is it just a friendly love? (hell no! I knew that was definitely not the case but I still had to ask just so I could cross it off the list!)

And then the two of them walked to the door and said their parting words.

V: “Gonna see each other again?”

Goro: “I believe we will.”

V: “So… see you.”

Goro: “Visit me in Kagawa - I will show you what is real food.”

And then…

he proceeded to make these faces…

HOLY

SHIT!

(The mask isn’t just gone now- it’s burned, splintered, shattered, exploded in a million pieces, disintegrated!)

This man just had the biggest revelation of his entire life: the realization that he is in love with V. These are looks of love and I will not be convinced otherwise. I’m not a facial expression expert or anything, only stating my humble opinions here, but are you seeing this!?

He realizes the truth and it catches him so off guard that he has to look away. He contemplates these newfound feelings and tries to sort them out in the few seconds that he has left with V. And he does. He accepts them. He welcomes them. The gentle, knowing look he gives V when he looks back at them is saying just this.

He also knows that he is now fucked because his love for V is going to complicate things so much more than they already were. Now that he is fully aware that he is in love, these feelings are going to directly conflict with his duties to Arasaka later if a situation arises that places V and Arasaka on opposing sides and I think we all know that is most definitely going to happen at some point.

And now he has to see the love of his life die and just leave this place and go on with his day. Damn. This is turning into one of the saddest love stories I’ve ever seen. Something major is going to happen in the dlc that is going to force his hand one way or another: V or Arasaka? I hope that Arasaka somehow fucks up so bad that it makes his choice easier but my heart breaks imagining the amount of conflict and torment that await him.

The Beginning and The End

#cyberpunk 2077 #goro takemura #takemura #takemura romance

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ozzdog12 · 4 years ago

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2020 Top 7 (and 1)

2020 am I right? We saw an insane amount of games come out and 2 brand new consoles. What a wild and weird year for gaming, and life in general. In case you are relatively new here, and to be honest that would be completely fair considering I don't post very often on Tumblr anymore, every year going on the last 4 years (on here) I have done a Top 7 (& 1) for my favorite videogames of the year. Check out 2019, 2018, & 2017. What’s wild, as I look back on my list of games that I’ve completed and played, only maybe 10 came out this year. 2020 was a huge backlog year.

Lets get on with the ‘And 1!”

Favorite Game that Didn’t Come out in 2020: Control (PS4)

Control may very well have been my 2019 Game of the Year, had I played it in 2019. I LOVED Control. I wanted to play it in 2019, but initial reports that it was a little rough on base consoles put me off until it was fixed. And Holy smokes what an insanely fun and trippy game once I finally started it. I knew within the first 20 minutes this was going to be the shit when I went down a hall, walked into a room and talked to the “janitor” left out a door behind him and the entire building had shifted. I’ve always liked Remedy games, but from a distance. Max Payne 1&2 and Alan Wake all oozed with weirdness and intrigue, but never enough for me to finish them. I missed out on Quantum Break. The story is Control is just the right amount of mind f*!$ for me and builds a universe I didn’t know I needed. It take some time to piece everything together, then everything just clicks. The game does have a weird difficulty spike when fighting bosses and the checkpoints were too far apart at times, but those were later patched. I spent an insane amount of time within the Federal Bureau of Control building and even more time after that with the Foundation and AWE DLC and it STILL wasn’t enough. I wanted more. Outside of Prey, I can’t think of another game that stuck in my brain more after I’d finished it. Control is absolutely a MUST PLAY title. In a world where everything sort’ve feels similar, Control stands out of the crowd.

Number 7: Astro’s Playroom (PS5)

I never thought in my wildest dreams that a game I had almost zero interest in playing would end up on my list of favorite games this year. Astro’s Playroom is being labeled as a ‘Tech demo’ but that feels like an insult to what it is. It’s a full fledged game and its free! I’ve paid more for less. A charming little platformer that lives and breathes the history of the Playstation. So many cool Easter eggs and references. It certainly centers its gameplay around the DualSense controller and everything it can do, but at its core, its a completely approachable and forgiving 3D platformer. I played it just to see what it was about, next thing i knew I had completed all the levels and wanted to further explore all the nooks and crannies within the game. I wanted to see everything the game had to offer and I had an absolute blast doing so. Makes me kinda wish I’d played the previous game on PSVR (I’d have to have a PSVR too)

Number 6: Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)

Another quality title, albeit a spin-off, from Insomniac to add to their Spider Man universe. Gameplay felt obviously like Spider-Man, but Miles has unique abilities that made the game feel different enough, especially the cloak and stealth. I enjoyed the fact that it was short and concise. The issue with most ‘open-world’ games is that they are entirely too bloated with unnecessary filler content (I’ll get to that in a later game), something I felt the first game suffered from, but I also understand why they are there. However I could’ve use one or two more story missions to help flesh out some characters, but it wasn’t required and didn’t change my opinion one way or the other. My one BIG gripe was with Miles himself. He is an extremely smart young kid, but so incredibly naïve. Peter Parker tells him the one thing he SHOULD NOT do is tell people he is Spider-Man. I get it, that’s part of his growth, but Miles thinks he can just solve his problems by revealing his identity and it almost certainly never works out.

Number 5: The Last of Us: Part 2 (PS4)

The Last of Us Part 2 may be the most polarizing game in the history of the medium, but for the absolute wrong reasons. I’m in the minority that I very much enjoyed my experience with TLOU2, quite a bit actually. Its better in every single way over its predecessor, except the overall story. There are plenty of fair criticisms to be had about the story and various things within the game itself, but I thought the gameplay was so tight and crunchy. There were genuine moments of suspense and terror that I felt that no other game has ever given me. The entire hospital section (2nd time) was so susensful, I had to put my controller down to gther myself. Some of my favorite moments in the series I experienced with a character I wasn’t overly fond of. How many games can do that? The Last of Us Part 2 was meant to invoke emotion, not necessarily joy. I think that's what people lost along the way. Say what you will about the direction Naughty Dog has taken over the years, but you would be hard pressed to find a studio that makes games graphically better than they do. Yes, I know about their crunch culture, but this is not a place for that. I will say, the game was a tad bit too long, which is not something it typically say for a single player, narrative driven game. The pacing and the way the story was told wasn’t my favorite, but I respect what it was trying to do, even if it failed in some aspect of that, I finished the game within the week it was released. Something I RARELY ever do. I’m a father and I related with Joel a lot in TLOU, but I also recognized how wrong he was. There is a lesson to be learned. Your actions always have consequences and while he was doing what he thought was the right thing, it wasn’t his choice to make, and in doing so set up a series of events that were entirely avoidable, but again, that’s the point isn’t it?

Number 4: Grindstone (Switch)

I’m counting this as a 2020 game since it just came to the Switch this year ( less than a month ago) but its not the first time I’ve played it. Grindstone was the only reason I kept my Apple Arcade subscription and when I let it lapse, there was a void I just couldn’t fill. I bought Puzzle Quest on Switch but it just wasn't the same. Its THE perfect game for bite sized play, even though in its addictive nature, you’ll clear a few levels and an hour has passed before you know it. It has the perfect amount of depth that most ‘match’ games don't. You have different weapons, items, and outfits w/perks to use and experiment with to keep it fresh. I went months without playing my Switch and when this was announced in August, I couldn’t wait! Sadly, I had to wait 3 months, but since then I have spent so much time on the Switch. It gave me a reason to play it again. The art style and humour is great. The variety of enemies and challenge is just right. I can’t recommend it enough. Seriously, check this game out!

Number 3: Doom Eternal (Xbox One)

I will be the first to tell you, I did not like Doom (2016). I found it extremely boring and trite. I understood what Doom(2016) was doing and it succeeded, maybe too much. Nostalgia is a helluva thing. So in saying that, I was mildly interested in Doom Eternal. Doom Eternal is nothing like 2016 outside of it being a Doom game that connects to the rest of them (& also being a sequel to 2016). The mechanics are drastically different with more platforming (for better or worse). Eternal is challenging, at times very hard, especially early on. Eternal has no respect for its players, in a weirdly good way. It laughs at how you’ve played FPS before this one and WILL MAKE you play it its way, not your way. Yes, you point and shoot, but ammo is scare and you MUST use everything in your arsenal. No more using just 2 guns for the whole game. The enemies are relentless. Sometimes you have to pause and take a breath after a battle because you go a 100 mph for the whole fight. You have to continuously move or you die. There is an enticing rhythm to it. I categorize Eternal as ‘Blood Ballet’. Its a game where when your feeling it, much like a rhythm game, you get in the zone and there is no stopping demons from getting slayed. Surprisingly, unlike most games in the genre, it seemed to get easier (sans one extremely frustrating platforming section late in the game) the longer you played it. Was that a testament that I ‘learned’ the Eternal way or it truly did get easier? I don’t know, but the final Boss(es) were....easy.. I had more problems and deaths within the first 4 hours than I did the final 8-9 hours. The multiplayer was also surprisingly fun. The older I get, the less interested I am in multiplayer, but I found myself coming back for more for a good month or so.

Number 2: Gears Tactics (Xbox One)

As 2020 comes to a close, I came to a stunning realization. I might be a bigger Gears of War fan than I had previously thought. Don’t get me wrong. I love Gears, but I seem to love Gears more than I thought. I'm way more invested into the lore than I recall. Anyways, Gears Tactics is everything XCOM 2 SHOULD’VE been. Not only does Gears Tactics utilize the Overwatch action, its makes it EXTREMELY important. The story revolves around the father of Kait Diaz, Gabe and a ragtag group of mostly random soldiers to take down Ukkon. Anyone who is remotely interested in the Gears universe will love the story and references. The gameplay is just so damn satisfying. The bosses are very challenging and different. I actually had to change my strategy to finish the final boss. I experimented with a totally different style of class and was rewarded for it. The post game stuff is also aplenty. This game scratched a VERY specific itch for me and I’m itchy to jump back in. I’m glad this came to Xbox One because I’m current computer could not run it.

Number 1: Ghost of Tsushima (PS4)

I have a very odd relationship with massive open world games. I love them, but I get very burnt out on them. They all have a relatively same-y formula and are often populated with bloat. GoT does have some of that but to its advantage, its not very populated, in a good way. One of the things that I really appreciated about GoT and its side quest is most of them felt meaningful. The thing that really stood out to me about GoT is the absolutely satisfying combat. It just feels SO GOOD. It requires timing and patience. There are different fighting styles for different enemies and even the armor you wear is more than just cosmetic. The combat is so fun and satisfying that I was immediately excited when they announced Legends, a multiplayer add on, for free. Its so much fun and is a blast to play with a group of friends. I’m sporadically still playing the Legends mode. I initially wanted to play the game in ‘Kurosawa’ mode but I am glad I didn’t because the game, even on the PS4 is stunning, and on the upgrade on PS5 is jaw-droppingly smooth. I did play the entire game in Japanese with English subtitles. I still don't know what Jin’s English voice sounds like. GoT does a good job a drip feeding you new abilities and things to keep things fresh. I love stealth and once I unlocked it, I spent the majority of every battle taking out as many enemies as I could while in stealth mode. Ghost of Tsushima does a lot of things very well, that the few things it doesn’t can be easily overlooked.

#videogames #control #grindstone #tlou #doom eternal #gears tactics #ghost of tsushima #ps4 #ps5 #xbox one #switch #nintendo switch #playstation4 #GOTY #spiderman #astro playroom

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pan0ramy · 4 years ago

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re8 thought dump because YE

i feel like this was almost inevitable but idk where else to talk about resident evil village so i’m just going to rant about it here!!! i have,,,, a lot of thoughts on this game after being so excited for it for so long

obviously, massive spoilers if you haven’t finished the game. i feel like i have thoughts on pretty much everything so please please please stay clear of this post if you’re trying to stay blind

otherwise, let me just rant about this game for a bit - mainly the story and characters - because i have Thoughts™

(also i feel like it goes without saying but this will be probably be quite long, so. strap in, ig)

okay SO. the whole intro was pretty interesting - even though we’d seen bits of it in trailers, it was still pretty unnerving and felt like it came out of nowhere. but the first thing that really stood out was the first village section with the hordes of lycans; i didn’t expect this game to start freaking me out so quickly but JESUS my blood pressure went up fast.

there’s so many of them coming at you at once, and not only have you just lost half your damn hand, you’re not really used to the gunplay at that point AND you don’t have that many weapons at your disposal. so it’s basically just “hey we’re throwing you into this ring of death, good luck surviving!” which... now that i think about it, that really sums up the whole game lol

but for the most part, the early parts of the game are what we saw in the demos, so there’s nothing too new - it was nice getting to see the scene with all four lords and mother miranda, though. i wasn’t sure how the whole chase scene with the lycans would work - i thought heisenberg’s area was going to be some sort of mine, and that the chase would take place there - but it didn’t, and it was interesting regardless of it being so short.

but the castle. THE CASTLE.

i would be lying through my teeth if i said i wasn’t excited for dimitrescu like everybody else; i’m firmly in the camp of people who both meme about how attractive she is, and then also the people who legitimately find her attractive, soooo i kinda had high expectations going in?

and sure, the castle section is only part of the game, but if there’s anything that makes me nervous most, it’s stalker enemies. resi 2 remake was actually pretty tough for me to get through because of how anxiety-inducing mr x was, and even though i don’t feel like she was as present as mr x was, lady d was still great! there were a good few times where you could hear her walking around and you just knew she was searching for you, which was really damn cool.

also, i know capcom had a lot of hype to live up to with lady dimitrescu, but goddamn they did such a great job with her. she’s so imposing but badass and just... really damn cool? like i honestly found myself being excited for her to show up rather than being scared. i just think she’s neat! I MEAN LOOK AT HER.

(also yes i know the whole internet has talked about how attractive she is, but can we just. appreciate that for a second???? she’s gorgeous and yall can’t tell me otherwise. like. bro ik the pronunciation is wrong but the way she says dimitrescu made me GASP i love this powerful vampire woman)

if anything, though, i... actually felt really bad that her story ended up the way it did. i mean, think about it: you break into her house, kill the three people she’s grown to consider her daughters, rob her shit, and then kill her? she technically goes through the same kind of parental grief that ethan does, in a way, which is a really interesting parallel. grief seems to be a theme that capcom really pushed for this game, and it works.

also, her boss fight design is badass. she’s literally a dragon, how is that not incredible

so the castle was great, where could the game go from here? oh, i don’t know, how about gOOD OLD FASIONED FUCKING TRAUMA.

jesus christ the dollhouse GOT TO ME.

i’m pretty used to horror in general; i love horror games, movies, books, you name it. i’ve gone to horror movies where people have ran out because of fear all while i’ve sat there giggling the whole time. but the dollhouse? that dollhouse is FUCKED. i can’t remember the last time i watched someone play through a horror game and was so... on edge the whole time. the fact that they keep you waiting for so long with nothing happening just... makes the atmosphere incredibly uncomfortable, and then when shit does start going down, it goes down fast. in other words, jesus fucking christ that baby will haunt my nightmares until the end of time

basically capcom managed to make the n*zi baby joke from south park: the stick of truth legitimately terrifying, and i was glad to see donna die. moving on.

moreau’s section is the one i... actually don’t have as many thoughts on. it’s cool, sure, and the whole idea of him turning into a fish when he hits water is neat - it’s definitely a good callback to re4 - but idk, it didn’t really scare me that much. i can see it scaring those with a fear of water or the ocean, for sure, but eh. i thought the designs were cool, but i kinda tuned out a little here.

heisenberg, though, was anything but. the entire time leading up to village’s release, this guy has fascinated me for some reason. i don’t know if it’s because he’s the most normal-looking of the four lords, or the fact that he has telekinesis, or his amazing voice acting (seriously i know some people have shit on his VA but oh my god i adore it) or what, but this guy stood out to me from day one. i even went into the game expecting him not to die tbh. but no, he does, and his fight is pretty damn cool all things considered. only in a resident evil game could you have a mech fight and have it not feel out of place lol

also this line ^^^ legitimately made me laugh so hard i almost choked on my water. THE FACT HE TURNS AROUND AND APOLOGISES SO MEEKLY its fucking hilarious to me

but anyway.

similar to alcina, though, i was left with one big question about heisenberg - what did mother miranda do to him to get him to join her impromptu familly? he said himself to ethan that he didn’t want to join, so what did miranda do that didn’t give him a choice? did he have a family at some point? is he grieving too? what did miranda take from him? i can only hope this gets answered in the dlc, because it’s by far one of my biggest questions surrounding all of this. i may very well have missed it somewhere, and at least we know he has his telekinesis abilities thanks to miranda, but it’s a question that’ll definitely be on my mind going forward.

at this point, though, the story REALLY gets insane. it’s really nice how village decided to just continue on straight from what 7 did, and i’m very glad that everyone’s theories about chris being a werewolf were wrong - it’s a really nice spanner to throw in the works. if anything, the whole revelation of mother miranda disguising herself as mia the whole time since rose’s birth was really cool, and ethan being Mold™ the entire time was pretty neat too - it made a lot of things both in 7 and village make more sense.

what i’m still digesting, though, is the ending.

...man, capcom, you put poor ethan through all of that and then you have the balls to actually kill him? i mean shit, you made us think he was dead for a whole 20 minutes but then nope! he’s alive! but then nope! he’s dead again! i did see someone point out that at least ethan got to go out on his own terms, but dammit i would’ve at least liked for him to get to see mia one last time. i think it would’ve softened the blow a little more. but i guess that ties into the whole grief theming this game has going for it, and like i said, i probably just need some more time to digest it.

i don’t dislike the ending, it’s just a very big culture shock - it’s definitely a ballsy move, and i really respect capcom for going all out the way they did. they really held back on nothing in terms of this game’s story and i absolutely love it. it was so, so worth the wait in that regard.

and tbh that’s kinda how i feel about the whole game in general; it was super super good, very much worth the wait, and i absolutely cannot wait to see where resident evil goes from here. i have a gut feeling this’ll end up being one of my absolute favourites in the series, which i know is very high praise, but i really do love it that much. i wasn’t disappointed with much in this game, if anything at all. it’s just a super fucking good video game man idk what else to say at this point

#resident evil #resident evil 8 #resident evil village #if you read through all of this: first of all i love you. second of all i am so sorry lol

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steve0discusses · 4 years ago

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The Fullmetal Alchemist Live Action Movie Part 7: More Philosopher Stones than their PC Farm Can Possibly Render

So last we left off, a bunch of weird stuff was happening. Mustang just set Envy on fire, Lust and Gluttony kind of walked up from stage left, and Ed and Hawkeye just broke out of bougie jail and barged through a chain link fence on some Jeep. Good thing Mustang is here to explain it all to us:

(FYI I am so bad at spelling homunculus. I don’t even know which way is real anymore.)

What is incredible about this movie is just how much everyone else already knows, while Ed knows freaking nothing. Also, if you know about homunculi, then you know about sorcerer stones, and you’d know about...most of the things in Fullmetal Alchemist. Assuming that Mustang, who can look at a homunculus tattoo and be like “yep that’s a homunculus” doesn’t know anything else is kind of a big leap.

This actor had fun. I legitimately enjoy the actor who plays Mustang, I really do.

Anyway, we do get a little bit more explanation at this point by going back to the part where Hughes dies and just...showing it a second time but with this extra reveal:

(see Hughes die yet again under the cut because this movie did it not just once but twice)

It’s at this point that Hughes turns to the phone and in his dying breath is like “It’s lab 5, go to the old POW camp, at lab 5” but not only did I think that the person on the line was the general (Because Hughes originally said it was the general) apparently now the person on the line is...Mustang? And that’s why Mustang knew about lab 5?

Like it’s...it’s just kind of confusing. I know this plot because I’ve seen the anime, but if you have not seen the anime beforehand or read the books, you’d be so freakin up a creek right now about why we saw this scene twice, and why it was completely different both times.

To make things even more confusing, that whole Tucker side plot is so random, that not even our baddies know what is going on with that whole Tucker side plot.

Anyway we have to give Gluttony and Envy have to do something in order to make their presence make sense. Honestly Gluttony just needs to have a single line in this movie.

Just everything is that same shiny neutral Phong. Look at all that Phong. Like other parts of this movie are passable, this was just so hilariously overlooked.

And like I dunno if this was a teeth harness or not but damn. Damn that looks stupid from the back, hahaha. He kind of lumbers slowly after these 9 dudes (same extras we’ve seen everywhere else, ps—this is still just the same guys) and it’s not all that scary because like...they can easily outrun him. The only way you can die to Gluttony is if you trip and then take a nap for a little bit.

Mustang gets hurt and it’s kind of funny how they shot it. It was actually rough to cap because they have to do so many tricks to not show us exactly what is happening, so they rely on sounds, on zooming in on people’s shocked expressions, because they Do Not Have The Budget to do more than this.

I don’t remember if this happened in the anime, too. Like from this point forward everything is kind of like “can you spot the source material?” because it’s just become so jumbled at this point.

Ed, who as you can imagine is a bundle of emotions by default, suddenly gets really protective of his mean Dad although like...we’ve barely made Mustang seem like a Father. Hell, we’ve barely made Ed seem like a kid. Why would he get weird and conflicted now?

Just the awkward teenage energy that only occasionally stems off of Ed is very unpredictable.

This is a full grown man.

Finally, we make it to Lab Number Five, the correct one this time. It’s got an alchemy circle…

It’s got a ceiling full of...zombie corpses, if you squint real good because I have to shrink all these images (Yes, they fit in the zombie corpses, but could not fit in the North or Father or Ling Yao or like anything Armstrong) It’s got everything that we need to put that nail into that Fullmetal Alchemist coffin, but ran out of time to fully explain or do.

It’s even got Al!

Yep, this is happening now, this part of the show. Ed is just having a WILD TIME trying to keep up with it and so are we.

So apparently Shou could just turn Al “off” this whole time. This explains why Al was just chilling under a blanket for 36 hours, but like...doesn’t really explain how Shou can do this or why he is bothering to do it right now.

But we need Shou because...well someone has to tell Ed what the plot is and what he should be doing at this very moment.

(Winry is here too)

So, with the threat of Winry getting shot in the head, Shou Tucker demands that Ed make it impossible to do any magic, because magic is very expensive and hard to animate. I could be wrong...but I’m pretty sure he also took off his right arm in the show at some point nearish to the end...I think? Forgive me, everything before 2020 is kind of a haze in my memory.

PS him ripping his hand off with all these sparks everywhere gave me serious Star Wars prequel vibes that I can’t explain. Something about the CGI, something about this contrived mess was like “Ah, I’ve felt this insanity before...long ago in a simpler time” and it was kind of nostalgic for me.

GOL LOOK AT THAT.

This Mickey Mouse glove just hot chilling on that sparking end. Hahaha I love it so much!

Shou just...delivers one of the most important reveals, sending Ed on a bit of a spirit journey because the stones he’s wanted for so long are actually very bad.

As you can imagine, because Ed likes to freak out, he has a big ass freak out, to top all freak outs. This actor spent like sooo much of his time just screaming at the ground. Which, I mean this is a shonen, so that checks out.

I’m just letting you know in case you decide to watch this movie and you have some epilepsy issues--skip this part. Just skip it. I don’t personally have it, but like...they went kind of extra in this part.

Now unlike the show, this movie has like...no apology for Dr Marcoh. Freakin stabbed him through the chest and was like “I don’t care if it means we can’t have the original FMA ending I freakin hate this guy” and you know...good on you, movie. Dr Marcoh was a really bad person. Thank you for not even attempting to justify this godawful man.

This crazy ass fanfiction movie.

Anyway, Shou directs Ed to look 10 feet up to get the rest of that juicy content. That Juicy FMA DLC that was within eye distance this entire time but youknow...cropped offscreen so it just didn’t exist.

Can’t believe this wasn’t the FIRST THING you’d notice when coming into this room, since Ed has been hardwired for red stones for like 10+ years. But youknow.

Anyways, we’re getting a ton of visual elements from FMA, just checking off that check list here in the last 1/3 of the movie. But wait, it gets weirder.

What I love about this is that Shou tells us all of this stuff because I guess Ed asked for Philosopher stones once, and even Shou is like...heyyy I figured it out! But like...hell would anyone even want to do this though?

Because that’s what happens when you have Shou freakin Tucker reveal the big master plan when he is not the big master. Like this explains nothing about Father, about Ed’s Dad, about the homunculi, about the corpses in the ceiling, like there’s just no explanation, other than just –“hey! Look at this atrocity I found just now!”

There is actually a horror element to that, where you don’t need to explain everything if you’re doing horror. If this were a horror movie, this would probably...be fine. You could have a fully explained movie by just saying “they turned POW camp people into rocks and now the zombies are here!” and that would be fine.

But it’s just...that isn’t this movie. I had so many expectations. And honestly...I expected way too much from 1.5 hours of content.

So Shou pulls a gun on Ed, which makes sense. Ed is lookin to make stones, and if stones are made out of people—then it’s time to kill Ed. First thing that make sense in this movie, but I don’t know if it makes sense coming from Shou freakin Tucker who made it seem like he just wanted to kill Ed because Ed got him arrested that one time.

It may have been just the translation on my end but like...Shou’s reason for pulling a gun out here was a little nonsense. But Shou himself is already a little nonsense anyway.

So we say goodbye, for the last time, being honest—he’s fully dead—he’s not coming back—to Shou Freakin Tucker. You were a mess Shou. I won’t miss you.

And if I forgot that this guy comes back, I fully apologize ahead of time, but I am 99% positive that I remembered that this guy never comes back.

(He might come back.)

And then Lust is like “Hakuro why did you do that? Like what are you even doing???”

And everyone else is like “Oh, the General. Of course. Why didn’t I uhhh….see that coming?”

Because they had to condense a whole bunch of corrupt Generals for this movie into one character, and so I guess Hakuro took it for the team?

Also these guys are here.

Just every single person standing in this room is pretty confused, as you can imagine. No one really expects to open up Volume 2 of FMA and it’s accidentally printed the last page of the entire series.

Anyway, that’s all for this 15 minutes (It was actually a little short 15 because there was ton of caps) I’m very tired because I did this workout routine with bro that was like 300 squats and I don’t know what day it is. I wrote “update blog” in my bullet journal (because it’s January, so I’m bullet journaling) so I’m just gonna do that because I want to use this green sparkly jelly pen and cross off all of today. Mm. Satisfying.

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/fma/chrono

#FMA #Fullmetal alchemist the live action movie #live action #fullmetal alchemist #recap #photo recap #ed elric #al elric #though putting al as a credit in this one seems like a stretch cuz he just freakin sat there the whole time #hawkeye #colonel mustang #maes hughes #shou tucker #just can't have enough shou tucker #Can you even believe that this went so quickly when I finally just did it? Amazing. Amazing how little productivity I had last year wow.#Hopefully this year I can get this blog back up to old productivity #we'll see what happens because it's still a bit of a weird situation outside

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Guilty Gear: 15 Most Powerful Characters

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Guilty Gear has one of the more ridiculous storylines in fighting games. A beautiful-looking series with a fantastic cast of heroes and villains, the sci-fi anime aesthetic lends itself to some wacky concepts.

The broad strokes of the series aren’t all that bizarre, as it tells a pretty basic story overall. In a world where magic was discovered, three scientists accidentally unleashed a new type of species that led to a lengthy war between these creatures (Gears) and humanity. One scientist became a genocidal monster, one a grizzled anti-hero, and another a mysterious wildcard watching over everything. Eventually, the war ended and peace reigned, but the possibility of the war reigniting is a constant threat.

That’s not too out there on its own. Except the story also features a large vigilante doctor who wears a paper bag to hide his identity as a crazed serial killer. There’s a ninja who gets elected President of the United States, only to later figure out it would be easier to just start his own country. There’s a comatose boy in a weaponized bed whose personality is a mix between Freddy Krueger and Mandark from Dexter’s Lab. There’s a yoyo-wielding bounty hunter, a time-traveling Axl Rose knockoff, a dandy vampire, an assassin who uses reality-bending billiards as a fighting style, and so on.

Shit gets weird.

With Guilty Gear Strive finally out on store shelves, giving us the long-awaited final battle between Sol Badguy and That Man, it’s time to take a look at the most powerful beings in the Guilty Gear universe. One character I’m leaving off the list is Leopaldon from Guilty Gear Isuka. Not only is the game not canon, but even WHAT Leopaldon is (a dog and a wizard piloting a yeti?) isn’t well-explained. But if you want Leopaldon, he’s definitely on our official ranking of all the characters in the series.

Anyway, here the most powerful characters in Guilty Gear:

15. IZUNA

Izuna, a hero introduced in Guilty Gear 2, is a bit on the mysterious side, but there’s enough information to make it apparent that he’s someone to take serious. Not only is he over 500 years old, but he resides in the Backyard, an environment so uninhabitable that most others would be crushed by its magical atmosphere. He’s skilled as a swordsman, and his teleportation abilities are said to be equal to the strength of several hundred mages combined.

It’s presumed that Izuna didn’t show up in Guilty Gear Xrd because Ariels saw him as such a threat to her plans that she sealed him away and kept him out of play before her schemes could really kick into gear. That’s quite the compliment, in a roundabout way.

14. RAVEN

Raven is all about experience and durability. He simply can’t die, can contort himself, and is unable to feel pain. Even his Instant Kill sees him summon energy that engulf him and his opponent, which turns his enemy to dust while he simply lives to fight another day. He also has control over spatial magic in a way that makes Faust look like a novice. He’s absolutely a force to be reckoned with no matter what character he’s up against.

Still, resilience can only get you so far. When you get down to it, he’s comparable to someone like Deadpool or Wolverine, albeit with an even stronger healing factor and some magic bells and whistles. He may live to fight again, but he can still be overwhelmed and defeated with the right strategy. Guys like Slayer and Dizzy might not be able to completely annihilate him, but they can presumably contain him.

13. THE VALENTINE SERIES

The initial Valentine was the final boss in Guilty Gear 2 and Ramlethal Valentine was the boss in Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign-. They, along with Elphelt Valentine and Jack-O Valentine, are treated as crucial parts of the series.

Yet, they just…never really do anything that justifies ranking them higher on this list. Plus I have to lump them together because it’s hard to really compare them when they can apparently shut off each other’s powers.

Then again, I guess the original Valentine is the alpha of the group as she could upgrade her form a couple times over for the sake of final boss battles. Not that it did her any good.

12. I-NO

I-No is a tough one to figure out. Guilty Gear XX introduces her as a major threat, and a mysterious one at that. Her origin isn’t explored at first, and by the time the series explains what the hell she is (some kind of being the universe created out of everyone’s wishes for a better tomorrow?), it doesn’t really give her much context as a combatant. That said, “Manipulating probability” is one of her powers, making her pretty damn formidable when combined with her almost unlimited battle experience and toughness.

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Even though she’s treated as the boss character in Guilty Gear XX and spends the story messing with everyone, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core lets the rest of the cast catch up to her. Most of her endings involve her being defeated and even killed by those she just beat in-game. For instance, I-No defeats Baiken in-game but then Baiken just gets back up and murders her.

11. BAIKEN AND ANJI MITO

These two are so intertwined and comparable that they’ll have to share a spot. As I already mentioned, they both own I-No no matter who wins the in-game battle, which I’m going to take as a sign that they’re simply superior to her on the battlefield. Both are part of the series’ interesting subplot where people of Japanese descent are both incredibly rare, but also teeming with energy. Unlike May, these two have actually tapped into their genetic potential.

But it has its limits. Baiken has been demolished by Justice in the past, and her attempts to get revenge on That Man only ended in frustration when she couldn’t land a single hit. And he wasn’t even fighting back!

10. KLIFF UNDERSN

Poor Kliff is one of those old school fighting game characters who dies in his own ending, therefore dying in canon. Not that it’s surprising, considering he’s entering a fighting tournament in his late 80s. Still, Kliff is a legend and made a name for himself during much of the war against Justice. Sure, he was taken off the board before we could see how well he’d measure up to some of the younger warriors, but according to canon, Kliff survived at least 16 encounters with Justice.

He couldn’t seal the deal, but surviving against Justice that many times is too impressive not to give him a spot on this list. It’s not like Justice is the kind to spare a defeated foe out of respect. Kliff had to earn his survival time and time again.

9. KY KISKE

Ky Kiske has spent the entire series getting the short straw when compared to his rival and co-protagonist Sol. As Sol’s power keep creeping upwards and making him more and more OP with each new installment, Ky is just off to the side, feeling sorry for himself. He is still more than capable, but on paper, he just can’t hang with the likes of Sol and the other heavy hitters.

The epilogue for Guilty Gear Xrd suddenly shone a new light on Ky, though. Sol fought alongside Ky during the Crusades and saw what he was capable of. It looked nothing like the man he dueled with on multiple occasions across their adventures. Ky then admitted the truth: he had been holding back all this time because, while he may want to defeat Sol, he doesn’t want to kill him and those are two very different fighting strategies for him. Ky may not be some kind of nuclear option in battle, but if he truly wanted to, he could kill you 10 times before you hit the ground.

8. SLAYER

From his first appearance, Slayer made his mark as the retired assassin who was simply too strong for this shit. He’s more of an interested onlooker than a major player and usually only gets involved for the sake of his own amusement. With his otherworldly biology and centuries of experience, Slayer is rarely shown to be in any real peril. Even in defeat, he lies awake and bored, suggesting that he lost only because he allowed it.

It takes a while, but we do eventually get to see some measure of his potential. He’s casual about danger, but there are threats out there that could at the very least make him break a sweat. That’s basically the rest of this list.

7. BEDMAN

Bedman spends the first half of Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- making his way through the rest of the roster. Depicted as an enigmatic being who fights his enemies both physically and mentally (and is near unstoppable on both fronts), Bedman not only overpowers series regulars, but is able to take on multiple opponents at once while still making them look like the underdogs.

The moment that truly shows how dangerous Bedman is when he comes across Slayer. At first, we get the idea that it’s a stalemate and that Slayer may be up against someone worthy of his effort. Then, sometime later, we see Bedman standing triumphantly over Slayer, Millia, and Venom, who all lie at his feet. And after that, he still keeps going, taking out Faust and Chipp while forcing Johnny to escape. Dude is scary.

6. PRESIDENT GABRIEL

Gabriel showed up in Potemkin’s ending, and since then Arc System Works has been playing up how incredible he is while never, ever putting him in a game! It’s outright maddening. Make him a DLC character or something. We’ve been waiting decades!

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He’s a man Potemkin looks up to and confides in by the end of the first game. Then they introduce Slayer and tease tease this nigh-unbeatable immortal is Gabriel’s rival. It isn’t until Guilty Gear Xrd that it really becomes apparent how tough this guy is. After the story spent all this time building up Bedman, Gabriel completely clowns him like nobody’s business.

That’s what you get for killing that dog, you comatose asshole.

5. SOL BADGUY

Every now and then, fiction gives us a character so powerful that even trying to make them cease to exist does nothing. Blow up Darkseid with anti-matter, use magic to erase the Sentry, go back in time and destroy the MacGuffin that makes Apocalypse immortal, etc. They somehow just exist in spite of that. Sol is on that level. I-No once sent him back in time, had him kill his younger self, and Sol simply shrugged off the paradox. The dude is ridiculous.

Sol grows more powerful in each game and even then we’re told that he’s holding back. By the time the dust settles, he’ll probably be worthy of #1 post on the list, but right now, he’s just a high-ranking, angry fellow who’s important enough to be what the series’ bizarre title is named after.

4. JUSTICE

Despite being killed off in the first game, Justice is the constant source of dread in Guilty Gear’s story. Many of the games have revolved around the threat of Justice’s return, whether it’s getting her daughter to follow in her footsteps, cloning, or even resurrection. And yes, Justice is bad news because when she was active, she led a war against mankind that lasted 101 years. She only lost because she was sealed away.

After being released from her prison, Justice was eventually done in by Sol Badguy, the only Gear to predate her creation. It could be said that Sol took her out when she was weakened, but it could also be said that Sol was holding back.

Regardless, I’m going to rank Justice higher because of of her mental control over the entire Gear race, Sol excluded. Yeah, that’s a pretty major weapon to have in your back pocket, even if it doesn’t really come into play in a one-on-one fighting game. Sol was lucky to be in a situation where he could take her out before she could call in the reserves.

3. DIZZY

Dizzy makes me think of when someone is writing a Justice League story and has to come up with a reason for Superman to not be around, like he’s busy in space or off in another dimension. Dizzy isn’t the protagonist of Guilty Gear, but she is the daughter of two of the most powerful characters, and is mainly held back by plot contrivance and her attempts at pacifism. If she wanted to, she could wipe the floor with practically anyone, and there’s even an alternate reality (one where Ky died during the Crusades) that shows her embracing her potential and leading the Gears to victory against humanity.

Her so-called “Instant Kill” in Guilty Gear Xrd paints the best picture. Dizzy reluctantly fires a projectile that misses its mark, but leaves a horrifying mushroom cloud in the distance. Her freaked out opponents can only survey the damage, slowly turn to her, and surrender. Again, that’s what she’s capable of when holding back.

2. ASUKA R. KREUZ/THAT MAN

I can’t think of a more ambitious concept for a fighting game character than That Man. He’s alluded to in Sol Badguy’s ending in the first Guilty Gear game, making you imagine he’ll be the final boss of the next game or maybe the one after that. Instead, he makes mysterious appearances in the Guilty Gear X games. We never get a good look at him, but we see that he’s capable of easily slapping aside anyone who gets in his way. Then he pops up in Guilty Gear 2, including in a boss battle where Dragon Install Sol Badguy can’t even dent him. The Guilty Gear Xrd series gives him a little more dimension, finally revealing his true face and name.

Now it’s time for Guilty Gear Strive where maybe, just maybe, That Man will be DLC down the line. Maybe. Since the beginning, the series has been building to a climactic battle between Sol Badguy and Asuka R. Kreuz. As it is right now, That Man has proved to be higher on the food chain than his old scientist colleague, but that kind of uphill battle is expected.

1. ARIELS

Guilty Gear 2 and Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- built up “Mother,” the force behind the Valentines and the one signing Bedman’s checks. At the end of -Sign-, we found out that the big mastermind is…a lady Pope possessed by a divine force. Sure, why not. Then in the next game, we got to see her go from putting on a professional and benevolent face for the public to going on a killing spree, painting her face like a juggalo, and ranting about how humanity is redundant and needs to be done away with.

Once again, Ariels would have made for a kickass final boss in Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator, but she remained part of story mode only. She was eventually taken down, but it took Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, Sin Kiske, and That Man teaming up to do it. But as revealed in Guilty Gear Strive, she’s still alive!

What is your ranking of the most powerful Guilty Gear fighters? Let us know in the comments!

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secret-engima · 5 years ago

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Some Ardyn DLC and Plot Thoughts

Okay randomest thing but have I ever talked about how the Ardyn DLC heavily implies that Ardyn is not in control of his own actions?

Maybe this is a me thing, or alternatively a thing Everyone Has Already Talked About but like- think about it. A plea for insanity could already be made and won because he was strung up by meathooks for 2k years in total isolation with only the plague known to turn humans into screaming mindless monsters i his head for company. But when we first see him post being broken out of Angelgard, when he’s talking to Besithia and stuff, the revenge plot is ALL Besithia’s idea. It’s clear Ardyn is bitter, but he’s not- vengeful. He’s quiet, disinterested, very clearly depressed (and for good reason) and frankly gets ANNOYED by Besithia’s constant hamfisted “Oh you must want revenge on the people who hurt you, you just MUST want to kill those people who are conveniently my country’s worst enemies DON’T YOU.” Every time Besithia says/implies that sort of thing Ardyn either reacts in annoyance or says something to try to make Besithia drop it.

And then the fight with the Lucians happen. And Ardyn starts hallucinating them as SOMNUS. Somnus who taunts him, Somnus who attacks him. The focal point of his restrained bitterness dragged to life, ripping open the already unhealed mental wound and making it 100 times worse, making him even more mentally vulnerable.

Then, THEN.

Ifrit happens. Ardyn daemonifies Ifrit out of pure defensive desperation and is granted visions and then, THEN he suddenly starts laughing and swearing vengeance on the Lucis Caelum line.

Also in that DLC, a little bit later in fact, we’re told that daemonifying people transfers things to him. Memories. Knowledge. Names.

Is it that far of a jump to assume that it transfers emotions too?

What a coincidence then, that it’s only after Ardyn daemonifies (and thus receives some kind of data transfer from) the Infernian, the immortal Astral who hates humanity enough to kill them all, who hates Bahamut for being the one to strike him down, who has had thousands of years to stew in his hatred and spite toward both, that Ardyn decides to get revenge. Not by just going and killing the Lucis Caelums, which he could totally do considering his powers, oh no. He goes on an elaborate, years long scheme that will not only kill the Lucis Caelums, but will kill the Oracles (who hold Bahamut’s blessing), and kill the Chosen King (who also holds Bahamut’s blessing) before he can fulfill Bahamut’s vaunted Prophecy. A plot that will by extension will kill all humanity.

Humanity, Bahamut’s beloved Prophecy, and both of the lines that hold Bahamut’s blessing. Basically a plan to lash out at both all humanity and Bahamut specifically. You know, the two things Ifrit hates the most.

It’s also spectacularly convenient that Ardyn lashes out against those infiltrating Lucians, but only after they start the fight and after he starts hallucinating Somnus. But you know, it’s not like we have evidence that being infected with Starscourge causes personalized hallucinations tailored toward the infected’s most emotional memory/fixation point. Pshh. That would be like seeing other daemons cling to their strongest emotion and hallucinate their fixation point in place of the actual people in front of them. Like a Naga stealing a random human because she was convinced this was her long lost baby and then going ham on the humans who came to rescue aka “steal” their not-naga-baby buddy.

Oh wait.

There’s also the fact that the flashbacks in the DLC to Somnus are .... weird. Vague. They don’t match UP to the anime special episode (which does not take place from Ardyn’s POV but an outsider’s that bounces from Ardyn to Somnus to Aera btw) that got released about Ardyn. All the other anime episode specials matched mostly to what the game implies (to my knowledge) but in the anime episode the confrontation between Ardyn and Somnus is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. It’s in a throne room rather than a field, in front of a crowd instead of just Aera and Somnus, Gilgamesh is there attacking the Chosen King alongside Somnus (which handily explains why he was cursed to live in the Tempering Grounds or whatever), and Ardyn crawls up to the Crystal and is rejected, at which point he has a sword driven through his heart (“So, that is how you would end it” indeed) and then presumably chained up in Angelgard when it turns out he can’t die.

Like- I GET that the development team was having some ... issues around that time and a lot of plot stuff probably got scrapped after all the other DLC was canceled (just look at Dawn of the Future and how Ardyn’s two dialogue options in the Bahamut convo were CLEARLY supposed to be the lead up to either the canon ending or the alternate ending but go scrapped and instead are just ... the same ending cutscene starting a little differently) and one of their Important People left the FFXV project altogether but like ... really? You couldn’t either put the anime episode in the field in a private betrayal or put the DLC flashbacks in a throne room with Gilgamesh in the corner?

Then there’s the entire Thing where Regis MEETS Ardyn as the Adagium and yet makes no reference or hints or even unease at seeing the immortal daemon that nearly killed him in the Kingsglaive movie that is set years after Ardyn tries to murder Regis’s face.

Basically what I’m going for here is that in the Ardyn DLC, anything post the Ifrit’s daemonification (and possibly before) is not reliable. Ardyn is not a reliable narrator, and he’s VERY LIKELY not nearly as in control of his own actions as he thinks he is.

Does this completely excuse his actions (like murdering Luna, daemonifying Ravus, making us CHASE PROMPTO AND NEARLY STAB OUR OWN BEST FRIEND BEFORE YEETING HIM OFF A TRAIN, etc?) absolutely not. It’s just- it’s just this Thing I noticed the first time I watched the Ardyn DLC and then the anime episode forever ago and that I’m finally sitting down to ramble about. I genuinely don’t think Ardyn is entirely in control of his actions. I think it’s the Scourge that makes hallucinations tailored to fixation points/things with intense emotion tied to it (love for a child, hate for a betrayer sibling, greed for a magic crystal) and the anger of a centuries upon centuries old Astral that never got his revenge finally pushing Ardyn over the edge that he’d been clinging to for centuries. I don’t know how much an insanity plea factors into stuff like blame and penalty so I won’t offer an opinion on that specific spot. These are just ... some thoughts that hit me.

Also there’s the entire implications I first felt were there when playing the original game that it was awfully convenient that the game’s ending and our supposed victory is actually Ardyn’s plan coming to fruition: the death of the entire Lucis Caelum line and the Chosen King (both of them) that conveniently also ends his suffering as an immortal daemon that keeps coming back after gruesome deaths but I think I’ve made enough of a rambling fool of myself on the internet today so thank you and good day.

ALSO ALSO HOW CONVENIENT IS IT THAT THE SCIENTIST WHO DUG HIM UP AND HAD IFRIT THERE TO BE INFECTED ENDS UP BEING DRIVEN MAD BY ARDYN’S LIES AND DIES BECOMING THE SAME THING HE PRAISED ARDYN TO BE: A DAEMONIC MONSTER WITH AT LEAST MOST OF A MAN’S MIND. HOW CONVENIENT. HOW “COINCIDENTAL”.

#Secret Engima Rambles #ffxv #ardyn #ardyn dlc #episode ardyn #SE theorizes

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irageneveart · 6 years ago

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If everyone in Mystic Messenger played DBD, which character would they play? 👀👀👀

omg you hit the right button hahaha. thank you for this request anony!!! everything under the cut like always, I hope you enjoy 🧡

RFA + BONUS Playing Dead by Daylight

ZEN

games? why would he play games in his free time instead of running or going to gym or spending time with his babe

also please don’t forget he has a vintage PC from 20 years ago or older. that shit doesn’t run DBD. or anything

when Seven and Yoosung got the game and tried to make everyone to play, they gifted a laptop to Zen. that’s it Zen you have no excuse now

the only times he’s playing it it’s when they call him of a Survive with Friends

after a brief look through the free options he gets David, that’s a strong man that surely will survive

Zen is picking the game mechanics pretty well and there’s no panic when the heartbeat goes crazy, but he isn’t getting well with the technology behind it

“GODDAMMIT I WANTED TO GO LEFT, who puts the down button between left and right???” the down button jdksdjkfsbfksf

he has survivor rank 16, doesn’t play enough to get them up

he tried killer too, and somehow he did a perfect 4k with Anna, a strong and beautiful woman suited for himself no babe of course you’re more beautiful

he felt proud but trying a second time he got destroyed. never again

YOOSUNG

whenever he gets some money to spare he buys the next DLC in line

survivor main, all of them are lvl 50. but he jungles between rank 3 and 2, can’t go higher but doesn’t get lower either

he’s that Claudette that helps everyone. you’re hooked, you have Yoodette nearby. you’re in the basement, after the killer left a wild Yoodette gets out of a locker and unhooks you. for just how long have you been there???

his perks are team oriented, he’s pro at taking hits for his teammates and gets some nice last moment rescues

also if there’s a hex on the map Yoosung is your man, somehow he always finds them

doesn’t play killer very often, mostly for dailies. but his go to would be The Legion, Frank or Joey. there’s something about them bad boys that he’ll never be and he enjoys the chase and tracking downed survivors after failed mending

JAEHEE

she wouldn’t have time or energy to play

“MC…please, stop looking at me like that. Of, you really want me to play don’t you?”

alright she’s playing

she started as survivor at everyone’s suggestion, and after reading every survivor’s perks she’s ready to go in with Feng Min. great skill checks, good strategy, she did almost all the gens by herself and rescued almost all of them from the hook, while she only has been hooked once the entire game

one girl army

however she didn’t look like she was having fun

“I’m saving people and getting the job done daily at work, MC” wow ok someone save her

one day you tell her to take on your trial, you had to go *somewhere*

killer, The Pig. how hard can it be

when you come back to the screen all your points were maxed out, 2 pips and everybody was praising the killer in the end game chat

??? another reason not to mess with Jaehee

JUMIN

“What is the purpose of this game?”

it’s…just a game. you play it to have fun. what purpose you want

he starts out by playing SwF with MC, Seven, Yoosung and Zen. usually Seven is the killer, sometimes MC, but after Zen complained so many times why does he have to be in team with the trust-fund-kid, Jumin had a better idea

“Do you want me to chase you instead?” lhfjlfkhfllyf

he wanted to read the lore of every killer before choosing one. how can one choose his partner if he doesn’t know their background?

he ends up going with The Trapper. ex CEO in line, wanted to be like his father so much he mass killed a bunch of coworkers. he understands the story. juju what

after a brief explanation of the controls and everything, Jumin is destroying everyone in the first 10 min. perfectly placed traps, he always guesses where the survivors are hiding and on which gen they’re working

“Why I cannot pick this killer?” well,Ju, they’re DLCs, you have to buy–

all of them are bought. for MC too

He also plays Michael, his quiet self combined with The Shape make the perfect jump scares and mind game chases

SAEYOUNG

rank 1 on both survivors and killers, all of them are 50 and he also knows top secret details about the upcoming DLC that no one even knows it exists yet

damn you

as survivor he’s the joker of the team. you can’t catch him, he’s like vanishing mid chase. hatch escapes and flashlight saves are his speciality and somehow he always has brand new part on his toolboxes

also expect him to bring the killer on your head only because he’s a troll but he’ll make up for it later

as a killer he loves playing The Doctor, laughing together with Herman with every electrocuted target, but he also plays The Spirit or The Hag

he’s on the entire map, playing against him is literally nerve wracking

BONUS

VANDERWOOD

plays both survivor and killer

as a survivor even if you can’t hear him you know he’s nagging. you failed a skill check? you see Jake turning towards you

since Darkness Among Us went live expect to see a judgemental Jeff from behind a wall when you miss that killer stun too

he has great calls and if he points you to go somewhere you better do it

usually loses because he tries to get everyone to escape

his rank is higher as killer than survivor, and he likes to play killers like The Cannibal or The Wraith, efficient in downing down survivors but also that requires some strategy. he also likes playing The Hag for that wonderful Devour Hope

killing that t-bagging Meg by his own hand is his guilty pleasure

SAERAN

killer main, although every character is maxed out

if he plays survivor he’s the most lone wolf survivor you have ever seen.

and he plays Laurie or Nea

you toxic lil shit

as a killer he likes those like The Hag and The Clown, cause he likes imagining all of the survivors being grossed out and screaming in fear

he mains The Legion for a reason he won’t tell you, not even if you guess. “I just do.” it’s all you get

likes to play around the basement and watch the survivors die one after the other trying to rescue their friends

saeran are you ok lol

V is the perfect Dwight main. he’s nice to have around but he’s pretty bad on his own lmao

he’s more into altruistic and chases type of survivor than objective one, he rarely completes generators

he loves doing totems tho, there isn’t any HEX on the map but he needs to do that one last totem

the one that always writes “good game” at the end of the game, even if he died first and he had to wait the entire game to finish

while in SwF somehow he’s never on the same side of the map with the rest and when they question where he is he suddenly appears just to get hooked, tunneled and to die

i’m a bitch sorry

he likes the game tho and is happy RFA found something to do together aside work

RIKA

yes she plays it too, tho not with RFA. she heard about it from a letter from Yoosung so she tries it herself. maybe one day they’ll get in the same lobby

she read everyone’s story and she felt deeply sorry for The Nurse. needless to say she’s her main

sometimes if there are DCs or people die too fast, she’s letting the last survivor to escape

if she’s feeling particularly melancholic she’ll just let everyone farm and escape

she doesn’t write in the end game chat but secretly waits few seconds, waiting to see the survivors’ reactions. leave a “gg” in the chat and she’s beaming

she can’t play it daily, and wouldn’t tell her psychiatrist she has it on her laptop, but it’s a nice outlet to spend her free time

#ira geneve #rfa headcanons #zen hyun ryu #yoosung kim #jaehee kang #jumin han #saeyoung choi #mary vanderwood 3rd #saeran choi #jihyun kim #mysme rika #mystic messenger #dead by daylight #anon request #writing request #my writing

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followingfallout4 · 6 years ago

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How would the companions seduce Sole - part I: the guys

Synth!Codsworth: He doesn’t intentionally seduce Sole; Although he may slowly realise his feelings are no longer platonic, his main play is waiting for Sole to figure it out. Whenever Sole then does realise what is going on, Codsworth figures that they can opt to ignore it so they continue to travel together, confront him which allows him to deny it if he deems it necessary or ideally allow things develop naturally in a positive manner. The latter not requiring him to make a move; succes! Nevertheless, Codsworth has seen all those romantic shows too and subtly tries to get closer to them. Sole considers it at least endearing when he tries come up with ideas of things they could do together. Codsworth has always seen happy picnics and going to the movies together as a means to ‘woo’ someone, so it’s dificult for him to figure out how to handle things now those places may spell danger instead. In the end, he mainly uses very genuine compliments to get Sole swooning. That and the way he just understands Sole because he’s been in her life so long ends up being the biggest turn-on for Sole.

Danse: He finds excuses to get more time away from them at first, when he’s still with the brotherhood. Seducing is not an option, he is not having any kind of... romanic entanglements when he has his duties to uphold. Then he realizes that he cannot stop thinking about them and does the opposite: constantly seeking their company. He tries to get them involved in things he likes to do in his downtime. His go-to place is armour, working on it with sole ideally. The fact that that gets him and Sole to both work up a sweat is just a very nice side-benefit that allows him to take his shirt off around them (and gauge their reaction) and that allows him to sneak a peak at Sole from time to time too. But when push comes to shove, if Sole wouldn’t shove him against that working bench for more than smithing, he isn’t gonna either. That is until they are together. Then he takes every spare moment he can to get to them. As far as words go, he eventually opts for some big ones, the kind that show Sole that he is a little bit more invested in their relationship than just being a companion. Danse has a way of making Sole feel like they’re the most important person in the world to him. Actually, they’re not entirely sure that that isn’t the case.

Preston: Chivalry isn’t dead because Preston is still out there. He praises Sole and looks at them as if they are a god(dess) and cannot believe he’s lucky enough to even be in their vincinity. He doesn’t actively try to seduce Sole that much (he wouldn’t know how best to handle that), but damn the lingering stares he does. When they walk into a room, when they walk out, when they are speaking to an audience,... he looks at them with pride and reverence and something quite different. Basically tension between them can be cut with a knife half the time. Any and every settler has at some point at the very least once left a room with them in it because they felt they were interrupting something just by the way he looks at his commanding officer. He jumps on the opportunity a little too fast if Sole shows any interest which makes for some laughs and smiles. The rest is babe-story.

MacCready: MacCready isn’t exactly a natural at flirting and needs Sole to take initiative there. The main way in which he tries to seduce Sole is by simply opening up to them more than to anyone, show his softer side and hope his hopes for a future with them don’t get crushed. He essentially does whatever he can to show Sole how important they are to him and beyond that just hopes that Sole gets the subtle hints. Hints such a letting Sole sleep an extra shift when they take turns to watch for enemies, protecting them to the extent he steals their kills, allowing them to sleep in his arms if they want to, giving up his own vest and scarf when they get cold, somehow always keeping snacks around that Sole likes... Once they’re together he suddenly regains his bravado to just randomly remind Sole that whenever they need a break from the battle or if they want to try something new he’s always game. .

Nick: Nick’s a gentlemen and a suave one at that. He mainly seduces by paying attention to them, by remembering the little things. That varies from the name of their childhood dog to the way they like their drinks. The only hiccup is that he in’t sure to which extent Sole would be interested in a heap of ‘scrap metal’ as he often considers himself to look like, ut it is not a hurdle. He is just fine with treating Sole right regardless, and not taking it any further. If anything, it allows him to be even more smooth because he feels like he has nothing to lose by it anyway. The only way Sole can really tell he’s doing it on purpose are the nicknames he chooses for them; they become terms of endearment. He does, however, ask them if that’s all righ first. Additionally: the man may have robotic limbs but he still remembers how to dance just fine, thank you very much. ;)

Deacon: Deacon knows how big of a part their shared sense of humor and ability to rapid fire sarcastic comments just makes him and sole *work* together, but when it comes to seducing sole he mainly uses a sense of almost reckless arrogance and banter to get Sole out of their concentration and in his arms. His quips become a little more suggestive at first, to test the waters and whether Sole is responding in kind, and turn into innuendo-loaden quips and battles of sarcasm, winks and grins that eventually drive Sole up the wall in all the best ways... especially because he is patient enough to never make the first move beyond that and somehow seems to use a deeper voice to talk to Sole when he really means business.

Gage: The main advantage of their ride-or-die lifestyle is that both Sole and Gage get their adrenaline pumping by fighting. Because of that, Gage knows well enough that the moment to suggest some time alone is right after a fight. Which coincidentially, is also when they’re most impressed with each other. Blood runs hot, one thing lead to another and before either of em knows it the porter and the boss are giving the most scarce variant of pillow talk a go. This also may mean he tries to actively seduce Sole by challenging her to a fight without weapons and if they’re up for it also not too many clothes. Beyond that, however, he always waits for their cue to continue the ‘fight’ below the belt.Last thing he wants to risk is confusing a sense of bloodthurst for something else. But the moment Sole kisses him, all bets are off.

Hancock Hancock may be a ghoul but he’s very physical. He knows exactly where and how to kiss Sole in such a way it’ll drive them mad and he knows it. More importantly, everything in his body language when he is near Sole shows it too. The sheer amount of self-confidence with which he approaches Sole is his secret weapon. He excels at suggestive grins and using a lower tone of voice to blatantly tell Sole -when he knows they are interested- how he feels when he feels it, which serves to be a a pretty devilish combo. Subtlety is not his game. When they don’ have the time or space to do anything specifically but if Sole does clearly show romantic (or even just sexual) interest in him, he also always seems to be standing extremely close and yet not close enough for Sole’s liking. When Sole finally would manage to get him into bed, he doesn’t hesitate to drag it out and be a total tease to them.

X6-88: X6 would take a very long time to even consider making a move on Sole. What comes first is a thorough analysis of the way they have been behaving aorund him, and it is only when he is convinced that he isn’t just reading into things what he wants to that he acts. X6 tends to be so focused, so composed, that the moment he is alone with Sole (or knows only they can hear him) and he makes a quip or a jab at Sole -especially out of the blue- it stands out. He knows Sole is particularly sensitive to knowing X6 lets his true colours shine through only for them. X6 gets to Sole by saying things that an easily be taken two ways: a dubious way and a very innocent remark. But also by not behaving the way he ought to as their protector but the way wants to as their lover. X6 just stops supressing his more human nature from time to time in subtle ways. When those rare comments are of a sexual nature... well he doesn’t even have to put in much of an effort.

Maxson: Maxson challenges Sole. He asks them to go on increasingly more responsibility-demanding jobs and seeks to see them thrive. This also allows him to discuss tactics with them until late in the night if need be. He doesn’t want to risk coming on too strong and have Sole feeling pressured into anything. Instead, he takes these moments as a chance to get insight in several ways. He allows Sole to ask more personal questions, if they answer some personal questions in return. It gives him a chance to let Sole to see him as something else than ‘The Elder’ when they are alone. He drops his posture a little, relaxes, leans forward to express interest when they talk. He shows them that he’s more than his rank and also only allows them to really go head-to-head against him. The more challenging the mission, the more he can be found subtly protecting Sole. Not against incoming enemies, Sole’s got that covered just fine, but against those who may be against their presence in the Brotherhood for any ungrounded reason. He makes sure people know they are under his protection. If need be he takes up responsibility for some more reckless actions of Sole’s, after which he just tells them to see him in his office for a debrief on their mission. In closed quarters, when Sole asks him about it he pretends he has no idea what they are talking about with a hint of a conspiratory smile.

Upon request by an anon (the Far Harbor DLC ones are gonna be shorter because these characters are... harder for me to grasp cause I’m not as extremely familiar with them. I know you also asked for Faraday but I can’t grasp him quite yet. But give me time ;) ): DiMa DiMa doesn’t really flirt. DiMa is upfront, compliments Sole just straight-up asks them whether and how they want to be ‘courted’. If anything, what marks his flirting is his patience and honesty about his feelings. He likes to tell Sole about his dreams of the future, and how he would like them to include Sole if they so wish. He paints pictures of love and peace. Aside from that; if Sole takes 5 minutes or 5 years to return their feelings, DiMa does not mind to wait. This also may mean a relationship may be put on the long track if Sole is equally bad at taking the initiative there.

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noythe · 6 years ago

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Of Oracles and Kings

After surely enough hours of thinking I finally managed to write down, what I am thinking of the Prologue of Episode Ardyn. Everything I gathered since the release of Final Fantasy XV will be used in this post, probably not pleasing every single individual - but this is my opinion alone.

All the facts I am going to list are part of the Game, may it be from several translation sources - as far as the german was closer to the original japanese, I considered a few things from there, too.

Remember, this is a post made by someone who hated Ardyn on an early stage, but fell in love with the chancellor after enough time, fancfiction - replays and so on. But I will edit this whenever I find something new that is a reliable source.

Now is your last time to turn back, if you are an Ardyn hater or want to spill more fire into it.. Last chance to scroll past this. Thanks.

And by all means. Whatever I have written down there - this does not justify what he had done in the game.

1: Izunia

Ardyn Lucis Caelum. The name we all got to know during the stage of the game, as Noctis goes into the chrystal. The tale of the accursed. I guess I do not have to repeat this. We all know it very well. But the first name we stumble over by this handsome traveller with that voice like silk -> Izunia.

So, in the Dossier by german translation it was stated, that the Name of Ardyn was Izunia.. Before they became Lucis Caelum. Considering the Anime now - I have two theories.

They messed up the translation. Again.

Which is hopefully more like to be happening: Before the Plague went down and everything went to hell, everyone might have been normal. Same for Somnus and Ardyn. Only as the world needed it, they were gifted by the Astrals to stop this. Rising over the human limits with their abilities they were given the Name of Lucis Caelum. For whatever reason. I hope this will get finally solved and covered in the DLC.

2: Fleuret/Oracle

We have Aera. A woman that is betrothed to Ardyn and sneaking out to see him. Called the Oracle .Didyou guys ever reconsider that an Oracle was not always meant to heal the people? If we can take the information of the Prologue for granted, Aera was talking to the Astrals/Godsl and spreading their word and plans among the people. Perhaps because she could understand the godlike gibberish. She was no healer. It was Ardyn on his own. They looked up to her and took her word for granted.

So after he was no longer able to heal, I guess the Astrals or Bahamut decided that they needed a new source of Light in this darkness. Because the Plague was not gone after Ardyn was killed/imprisoned/abandoned. But it couldn’t be her. It couldn’t be Aera. Even if she looks a lot like Lunafreya and shares her last name as far as I know - she died to protect the man she loved. Besides the shared looks are quite intersting.. Remember the time Ardyn was killing Lunafreya and his entire look softened for a mere second? Perhaps he saw her again.

So, we see another woman next to Aera - perhaps Gentiana as she was a Messenger of the Gods as well and some Artworks show a dark haired woman that wields the Trident. It is not confirmed yet, but I guess that she might have assisted Somnus indeed. Just not like the very first Oracle did.

3: Scourge

While both brothers have their way of dealing with it, I have to say I like Somnus even less than before. Not that he just burned the people alive - he made it worse without noticing, calling his brother a traitor for doing his best to stop the plague from spreading. So in fact, Ardyn cleaned the mess up - his younger asshole brother created. Also - people say that the Memory might a fake. I can nearly assure you it is not. During the early scenes you see Somnus gathering the Victims of the plague. It is night. Do you guys remember what happened in the game during night and with Demons around? Right. The Area got misty/foggy and some particles were flying around. So. GUESS WHAT. There are DOZENS of people. It’s just what happens with all the scourge piled up. As Aera dies Ardyn can’t hold back the darkness he had gathered over an undefined amount of time. Maybe it had been years. So what Somnus had faced with Gil in the beginning.. Was probably NOTHING compared to the darkness Ardyn had been holding back, Same for the moment Ardyn gets stabbed by his brother in the tower/Temple/whatever.As the entire Scourge that was gathered in his body is released, it’s all dark. This is one of the effects of the scourge. Don’t play it down. So killing someone with the scourge is not an option, as we saw it only spreads ( Reference: The ‘Death’ of Ardyn during the ending) Unlike the method Ardyn used -> Taking it in and keeping it contained. That gives me to think..Did Lunafreya heal it the same way like Ardyn did? Was she getting that weak because of it and the Covenants?

There probably was a way to clear it. Perhaps a special rite whatever. But that was never mentioned. Maybe Ardyn was just send to sacrifice himself with all the Scourge, only given this task. One live in exchange of countless. But we know how this played out.

4: Kings

I noticed some people claiming that Ardyn was in the end selfish as he announced himself King. He didn’t. He never really did. First of all he was traveling alone and in secret, admired by the people he helped with a real solution. They despised Somnus for what he did - and I can’t blame them. If someone would burn my entire family just for the sake of ‘preventing’ things, I would be pissed too.

Ardyn was loved by the people. They asked him to be king. They had chosen him. And he knew what kind of burden that would be, but for the sake of them - he would have been their king. We see Aera talking to the Chrsystal - performing some kind of ceremony to listen and spread their word. It was Somnus who asked. But the ones seeing the scene don’t know what was told. Only Aera and Somnus know - at least that was what I thought. But recalling Episode Ignis helps here. The Chrystal itself tells us there, that Ardyn was indeed chosen.

They call out Ardyn and he ends up in the same room - Somnus seems to snap, revealing his master plan to get Ardyn to them because they had lost him before and says that he is the chosen one. Somnus lied. Otherwise Aera wouldn’t be so surprised. He didn’t even wait for HER to announce it. Aera the Oracle - the messenger of the god, the voice the people would listen to.

So I assume that Somnus is indeed the jealous King Ardyn told us about.

That he was in the end rejected by Chrystal was not his fault. Ardyn hadn’t done anything wrong in this case. He had tried to fulfill his calling - knowing what would happen. Sadly we have no real information about this but I really guess that Ardyn was talking the truth. He was erased from history. And we know that Somnus felt guilty.

5: Curse and Blessing

We know that Ardyn is immortal. Unless Noctis shows up and fulfills his calling and cleans up the mess Somnus and Bahamut had created.

We also know that the Oracle promised Ardyn to remember him always - even if no one else would. Foreshadowing? Perhaps. Perhaps she had seen the future like Ignis did during his Episode. Words she used during the gameplay trailer reveal, that she wanted Ardyn to live ( I guess she meant him. And I guess the scene was a dream that haunts him during the 2000 years or after his freedom.)

Maybe she had used these words before, trying to encourage him. Perhaps she had known about the state he was in. Maybe she knew he had a calling to follow. This is just a theory of mine and I can’t say for sure how this will play out. But I hope SE will play it smoothly, otherwise I will be mad af. But he calls it himself Both during the train-scene. My thougts on that. The Blessing part might be indeed from Aera.. While the curse keep him chained to this world and far from the woman he had loved.

6: Lies

There is no good or evil, only thinking makes it so.

If it would be a twisted memory, I assume we would know. Ardyn had suffered a lot. He had seen people die he cared for. He had lived, loved and in the end found peace. People say that this insight into the Episode might be twisted because it is Ardyn’s story we’re talking about. Think about it again. Aera is telling us the story and we have enough proof that he is talking the truth. As it is even said by the developers that the Anime will show the side of Ardyn we didn’t know so far. It is confirmed.

(And if someone screams. BUT THE PLACES ARE DIFFERENT - Watch the prologue again, or at all.... Watch it for real. And notice the details, temple area, open at the sides, different time. It is as confirmed as I can say now. If SE tricked us.. Well. I just can work with what I have. There is no mistake in the Animation or such. Watch it 200 times if you have to. I can point it out by seconds, but I am too lazy for that.)

To erase every single trace of Ardyn in history, Somnus had to work cleanly. I have to say, Somnus did good by that. Either because he burned everyone alive who knew or made sure the day was never mentioned like it happened.

But why isn’t Aera mentioned? Somnus erased Ardyn from history. Guess you wouldn’t want anyone to know that you actually killed his fiancé, because you’re a mad,stupid idiot she knew the truth that he didn’t. Sad death. I hope they’re happy in the Afterlife. They deserve it.

A lot has been lost. No one had known. No one. And to be fair, a common quote I stumbled across lately a lot: History is written by winners.

He calls himself noble, thinking that his actions are the right ones. Maybe that’s why he burned the people alive. But burning innocent people is not noble. There is nothing noble about killing the fiancé of your brother and calling her a foolish woman. There is nothing noble of tricking your brother and cursing him, giving him no choice but to mourn for the love he had. Good job Somnus. It took your nearly 2000 years to realize and ask your friendly younger version to give Ardyn peace, huh. A little bit late, asshole. No, I don’t forgive you.!

To finish this for now, I have to say: Ardyn deserved better. Same for Aera. It is a tragedy.

Not you, Somnus, I hope I can smash you in an epic-long-ass-bossfight during the DLC: Otherwise my comrades-Character will wipe the Lucian floor with your remaining body parts. I hope we get more answers during the DLC and can’t wait to finally play it.

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silversablinovaallday · 6 years ago

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A Slice Of Pizza

Description: After the events of the Spider-man ps4 game and it's DLC's Silver Sablinova actually decides to take Peter up on his offer to get pizza.

Read it on A03 Here

Hammerhead was finally down. With all the flames and sparks licking at his metal body, it was hard to be sure that he was really gone; but after a few long moments of locked servos and unseeing eyes remaining motionless, they knew they had accomplished their goal. It was almost sad to see the lump of robotic parts, hunched over themselves in an ocean of fire, while the barely visible, still flesh covered face was charred by the inferno. He had a rule against killing, but this time it may have been the only way. Hammerhead was too strong and if allowed to come back, would; no doubt, be near impossible to beat.

Attempting to use that fact to block out the terrible feeling of watching a man die at the hands of his partner; or rather, her jet, he instead used his regular wit to defuse the situation. “Huh, that was fun,” he beamed, turning to look at Sablinova. “Hey, do you have dinner plans? I know this great pizza place.”

She seemed taken aback by the invitation, standing still, thinking about it for longer than Peter would have expected. She hadn’t said yes but she hadn’t said no either. After the longest minute of his life, she sighed. “I cannot. I must return to my home country.”

“Oh, right. I know you’ve got a war but can’t you spare ten minutes? Send your men back and get some good food. You deserve it, you know? After everything.”

She began walking towards one of the jets left untouched in the hangar after the battle. The cockpit door lifted open as she got closer but she stopped before hopìng in. Not turning around fully, only tilting her head slightly towards him she calmly asked, “how close is this pizza place.?”

Peter perked up significantly. “Oh, it's super close! Especially for your jet! It's the best! You’ll love it!” He ran over, jumping in the pilot's seat before she could. “I’ll drive. Fly. I’ll fly!”

“You absolutely will not,” she protested.

“I’m already in here. What are you going to-” She lifted him right off the seat by the collar of his suit before he could even finish asking his question. “Oh, I guess that's what you'll do.”

“You are much lighter than I thought you’d be. I am concerned about how you deal so much damage in combat.”

“Well placed hits more than anything. Can you put me down now? This is kind of embarrassing.” She gave him a half-hearted smile that he had never seen before just as she threw him off the jet and back to the cold, hard, metal floor of the hangar. He recovered quickly, jumping back onto his feet with little effort. “Thanks, that was really uncomfortable. Come on let’s go! My treat! But we should keep out of the public eye so I’ll have them deliver to a rooftop. I’ll call, you fly.”

She rolled her eyes, jumping down into the cockpit. “Input the coordinates in the terminal. Then hop on and we can go.”

Peter did as he was told, already getting Eddie on the phone to order to the usual location. It only occurred to him as Sablinova took off, that he had no idea what type of pizza she would like. “Hey Eddie,” he yelled over the roar of the engine as it pushed off of the ground. “It’s me, Spidey! I’d like to order my usual and like two or three other pizzas. I’m with a friend and I don’t know what she likes so can you make a couple different ones. Like a cheese, veggie and maybe a meat lovers? That covers all the bases right?”

“Sure Spidey! Anything for you and you’re in luck; we’re not busy over here tonight so it’ll probably be really quick. Ten, maybe twenty minutes.”

“Thanks, Eddie! See ya then!”

He hung up just as the jet set down on the all-too-familiar rooftop. Peter walked along the wing waiting for Sablinova. Through the glass, he could see her fidgeting expertly with the controls. Suddenly, he was very thankful she didn’t allow him to take the controls. He may be a scientist with a degree in chemical engineering, but that didn’t mean he knew how an advanced fighter jet worked; or how he could go about figuring it out.

“We got some time to kill before the delivery. Want to play a game,” he asked when the door opened.

“How old are you,” she asked sarcastically.

“Old enough to drink, not old enough to like it; know what I mean?”

“No.”

“Alright well I’m older than 21,” he laughed.

“I find that hard to believe,” she scoffed at him in a slightly more playful tone than usual. It was still forceful and direct but had a hint of humour in the tone. “I’ve done some research on you. You’ve been in the news for eight years.”

“Yeah? So,” he asked, extending his hand to help her step down from the jet and onto the rooftop.

She neglected it of course; leaving him hanging as she jumped down on her own. “Why then? Why did you suddenly appear then?”

Peter sighed and took a seat on the wing of the jet, leaving his legs dangling over the edge; watching as Sablinova paced with her arms crossed in front of him. She was waiting for an answer and; knowing her, would not let it go until he answered. “It’s when I got my powers. I wasn’t born with them, it just kind of happened one day. Long story.”

“How did you do it?”

“Now that’s classified. Forgive me but I’m not exactly planning on giving my secret of superpowers to anyone; especially violent mercenaries who have tried to kill me. And a few times at that. Besides,” he continued; his voice getting a little cheerier. “You can't anyway. The spider is dead and it's a complete fluke that it didn't kill me in the first place.”

“How old?”

“Fifteen when I started.”

She stared blankly at him for a moment with almost a hint of concern in her eyes. “You are a child. Twenty-three is far too young to be involving yourself with such dangers; spider powers or not.”

“You couldn't have done it without me.”

“We could and would have.”

“Yet I did all the work while you chased me like I was the criminal.”

“You were are a criminal.”

They reached a standstill. Conversation stalled, filling their air with the noises of the city once more. It was awkward and unnerving.

Her gaze never broke, and even through his mask, he felt as though she could see right through him. Perhaps she could. In all of a second, he realized just how oblivious he had been. He changed into and out of costume in alleyways and rooftops all in the time and her men were on surveillance duty. Perhaps one had managed to find him in one of these inopportune and compromising moments. Oh god, Peter thought. What if she’s seen my Spiderman briefs?

Peter tried to shake the thought and blurted out the first thing he thought of. “I feel like there's a ‘but’ coming. I was a criminal; but…”

She took her time responding. “But,” she continued. “I am thankful for your help in the end. You kept my client alive and I do believe you were the one who put my rogue outpost in their place during the devil's breath incident, and that; I have to thank you for.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Peter chuckled softly. “Oh, our pizza’s here. I can hear Eddie climbing the stairs.”

He jumped down from the wing and ran to the side of the building where the short but ever cheerful pizza shop owner was trying desperately to navigate the bulky pizza boxes through the narrow fire escape. Without a moment's hesitation, Peter lept from the building's edge, easily catching the railing on the balcony Eddie was standing on. “Hey, Eddie! How you been?”

“Better since you’ve given my place a shoutout. Thank’s for that Spiderman. Here’s your pizza.”

“How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing. Anything for you.”

“No, no. I can’t do that. This is four pizzas.”

“How about a picture of you eating it then for the company website?”

“You got it, Eddie. I’ll send it your way later tonight.”

“Thanks, Spidey. Enjoy your pizza date,” Eddie laughed pleasantly while handing over the pizzas and beginning his climb back down to the alleyway below.

“Ding, ding! Soups on,” Peter shouted as his head popped over the ledge. “I got a bunch because I didn’t know what you liked and I thought you’d kill me if I interrupted you when you were flying. So we got cheese,” he tossed the box like a frisbee at her; which she caught easily. “A meat lovers,” again tossed lazily to her. “Veggie,” another one on the pile. “And double pepperoni but that's mine so I’ll keep that.”

“You are not keeping the best to yourself.”

“And; let me guess, you'll fight me for it?”

She smirked at him, “you are learning. Very good.”

He laughed and passed the final box to her; topping off the pile like it were a layered cake. “Care to join me on the edge?” He lightly patted the railing beside him as he took a seat. “Second best view of the city from here.”

Sablinova took his suggestion and sat down on the railing; having to keep most of her focus on staying centred on the slim metal bar. He; of course, didn’t have to worry about that. He stuck firmly to any surface and didn’t need to worry about falling to the cold pavement below. Because of this, he seemed to be in better spirits than her; folding his mask up just above his nose, exposing most of his face making it easy to shove nearly the entire slice of pizza into his mouth without hassle.

She was shocked. Not surprised that he would do this: he had to eat somehow, but amazed that he would show her this with no hesitation. He was far more open and exposed like this. Was it possible that he trusted her that much?

For the first time, she could see the smile that she could only have imagined before; only it was nothing like what she imagined. It was much more full and sweet; curving lopsidedly whenever it wasn't being stuffed with greasy, cheesy, bread piled high with pepperoni. It was warming and comforting; reminding her that there was; in fact, a person behind that mask. Someone who had a life outside of being a vigilante. A man who had hopes, ambitions, family. For a moment she regretted all of the things she had done. How her men had hunted him. How she had given the command to bring him down no matter the cost.

A quick memory of her home country and how the money from Osborne would aid her cause reminded her that she had no choice but to follow orders and her feelings were mutual again.

Trying to break the silence; and hopefully, her unblinking stare, he took out his personal cell phone rather than his suits built in phone and snapped a selfie. “For Eddie,” he clarified as if she was confused. “Want to get in on a pic? I won’t send that one to him though.”

She was still mesmerized by the half-masked face. “Why take it then? If you aren't going to do anything with it?”

“Oh, I will! It’s gonna be my new phone background. Proof that you like me now.”

“I don't like you.”

“Oh really?” he smirked, raising his arm to take the picture. “Come on, smile! Turn that frown upside down.” She didn’t, so he raised his opposite, grease-soaked hand to lightly grip either side of her cheeks and pushed them into a chubby-cheeked smile. “There!” He snapped the picture before she could swat his hand away, violently grabbing his wrist in a death grip.

“Do not touch me like that again!” There was a new-found softness in her voice; matched with the residual smile that stayed after his fingers were removed.

“Lesson learned! My bad,” he laughed. “But I did get the picture.”

The phone was pushed closer to her and to her surprise, it depicted not her with a forced smile, but instead; the aftermath of his childish antics. She was smiling of her own free will, and so was he. Their hands a blur as she swatted him away. It looked almost friendly.

“That's definitely one for the scrapbook. At least it would be if I still had it. But that's fine; phone background it is. Do you like it?”

“I do,” she answered honestly; a soft smile creeping back on her lips. “You are a remarkable man, Spider. Something else entirely. How do you do it?”

“Do what? I already told you I'm not going to explain my powers.”

She took a slice of pizza and ate it while her eyes traced the skyline. “No. Not that. How do you manage your life? You must have a job, family, friends.”

“Oh, that. Well, it was really difficult when I first got my powers. Between learning how to control them, designing my suit and web-shooters, family, school, friends. To be fair though, I only had two friends so it kind of worked out on that end. Not too much obligation. Then one… he went away for a while, and the other became my girlfriend who broke up with me not long after.

“After the Devils’ breath incident I lost the only remaining family member I had. She was a wonderful woman. I wouldn't be anything close to the man I am today, had it not been for her.

“With her estate, I was able to get an apartment; I’ve been homeless for a while you see. Couch surfing; not that I sleep that often though. Not with being Spiderman. Oh, and my job doesn't exactly help either.”

“Nothing you are saying makes it sound like you are doing well.”

Peter huffed, “yeah. Saying it out loud now makes it sound a lot worse.” He scratched his chin absentmindedly. “I’m doing alright. It just sounds bad. I just need a job that forgives me being late and absent a lot.”

“I will add you to Sable's payroll.”

He choked on his pizza; and kept choking until he slapped his back hard enough to dislodge the hunk and send it falling to the ground below. “I’m sorry what?!”

“I will add you to our payroll. In exchange, you will continue to keep New York; and more importantly, Norman Osborne safe. And report directly to me at least once a week.”

He was still recovering; breathing heavily. “Is-uh, is this just a macho way of asking me to keep in touch?”

“It’s a business proposition.”

“Well; in that case, I accept. Even if it’s just so you can talk to me more. This has been nice. I always said you guys should pay me for my work. But wait,” he paused. “Don’t you need all that you can get to fight the war?”

“It’s worth having a strong ally in the wings in case we need them. That is if you'd be willing to come to Symkaria if your help is necessary.”

“Absolutely. Actually, I'd like that. Someone I care about is a reporter and she's going there soon to do media coverage and I’d prefer to keep her safe.”

“I will keep an eye on her. Mary Jane Watson correct?”

“Y-Yeah. How’d you-”

“I had this entire city under personal surveillance. I know everything, Mr. Parker.”

He choked for a second time that night, sending another chunk of pizza to the dirty alleyway beside the other. “You know who I am?!”

“Yes. Do not worry; only I know. None of my men are aware of your true identity.”

Peter could feel the anxiety rising in his chest. “How do you know?”

“I was given; no I should not say it like that; I took the surveillance tapes of the fight with Doctor Octavius. Oscorp has some of the most advanced surveillance technology in the world. Not only did I have multiple angles of your face once you removed your mask; but I also had clear audio of him calling you ‘Peter.’ Not much digging and research lead me to the one and only Peter Parker. Orphaned as a young boy, raised by an aunt and uncle until the uncles unfortunate passing. A genius; soft-hearted by nature with an outstanding lust to help people. Friends with a reporter named Mary Jane Watson at the Daily Bugle, who just so happens to have a history of working with Spiderman. I cannot say it was entirely too difficult to piece together who you are.”

“You never said anything,” Peter sighed. “I would've thought you’d out me when you came back.”

“Personal lives should be left outside of work. Secret identities are no different. I would gain nothing from revealing who you are to the public.”

“I guess I should thank you then.” Slowly he peeled away the mask revealing the blushing babyface underneath. “It’s nice having someone I can show my real self to. It’s lonely being behind a mask all the time.”

She seemed somewhat taken aback. She already knew what his face looked like, but there was a distinct difference between the grief-stricken and injured man in the video, and the sweet grin of the child-like boy in front of her now. “I can imagine your struggle.”

“Well since you already know, I think its time for a real introduction.” He extended his hand towards her, “hi! My name is Peter. Nice to meet you.”

She rolled her eyes; taking the hand nonetheless. “You may call me Sablinova or Sable if you wish. It is good to meet you officially.”

“You too!” He shook hands over enthusiastically and with a rockhard grip that may just leave bruises. “Now may I offer you some of the cold pizza that I can't seem to get a bite of? We have four after all.”

“I would like that very much.”

They spent many long hours up on the rooftop chatting, with only a few one-sided threats thrown in for good measure. And even though she hated to admit it; she was grateful for his unwavering kindness.

#spiderman #spiderman ps4 #silver sable #silver sablinova

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sulevinblade · 6 years ago

Text

DA Question

Tagged by: nobody, I just wanted to play

Tagging: @gremlinquisitor because I haven’t seen you do it yet

01) Favorite game of the series?

Inquisition, hands down.

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

Fun story, I first played Origins somewhere between seven and nine years and never got my Brosca out of Orzammar. It was on PC and I just couldn’t get used to the controls. Then I made a friend who is a hardcore Bioware fan. Xe got me invested in Mass Effect first and I marathoned all three games (almost, I haven’t actually finished me3) then got stubborn and refused to play Dragon Age, but xe sent me Origins and I had no reason not to at that point. I still held out till this past summer, but once I started I never looked back.

03) How many times you’ve played the games?

I’m on my second Origins playthough, DA2 only once so far, and uhhhh technically I’ve only finished DAI once but I have three other playthroughs I intend to see through to the end.

04) Favorite race to play as?

I love dwarves, oh my god. There was never a question that my first Warden would be a dwarf, and I only waited as long as I did for a dwarf in Inquisition because I don’t like the Cadash origin. Bring back my Orzammar dwarves!

05) Favorite class?

Warrior, always. I have a couple of mages and enjoy them, but I am a warrior player at heart always, my first protag will always be a warrior, and I tend to love warrior characters too.

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

So far in Origins, my choices have been largely the same, though I think I’ll try to save Conner this time. I have a Hawke right now who I’m trying to play as red but it’s SO HARD, I just like being nice to people and making friends! So far many of my Inquisition choices have been the same, except for romances, but Varevas is going to drink from the Well where Ghilanel let Morrigan do it, Astoria’s going to conscript the templars where both of them recruited the mages, Varevas will disband the Inquisition while Ghilanel kept it going, there are a lot of changes coming when I get time to play through stuff.

07) Go-to adventuring group?

Origins is always Alistair, Zevran, and Wynne, no matter how hard I try to make myself mix it up. I was warned about DA2 so I changed it up for maximum friendship but if I had my way, it would’ve been Jonah, Aveline, Anders, and Fenris or Varric. Three guards and a healer meant leaving a lot of chests unopened so I tried to bring Varric along when I could. Ghilanel’s go to was Solas, Dorian, and Varric, and so far Varevas’ has been Dorian, Sera, and either Bull or Blackwall.

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

Ghilanel has the most time and creativity invested in her at this point. I didn’t put much thought into any of them going in beyond appearance and who I wanted to romance (though Ghilanel was originally going to be a Cullen or Blackwall romance, fucking egg ruins everything) but Ghilanel grew and grew as I played and thought about her. Leohta, Jonah, and Varevas all have a lot to offer, but in terms of being developed and able to support a story of their own, it’s definitely Ghil.

09) Favorite romance?

Dorian, oh man. I just swoon, he’s perfect.

10) Have you read any of the comics/books?

I’ve read almost all of the comics (I’m halfway through Knight Errant) and I have many of the books but haven’t actually started any of them yet.

11) If you read them, which was your favorite book?

I enjoyed Magekiller a LOT!

12) Favorite DLCs?

Descent. The Wellspring is possibly the most beautiful environment in any of the games, I almost cried when my party got there, and everything leading up to that was also visually stunning as well as exactly the kind of lore I live for. It also features my beautiful wife Valta and her perfect husband Renn which is just a bonus. I will say, though, Jaws of Hakkon could easily surpass it if they’d like, put out a novelization of Ameridan’s Inquisition. Trespasser was incredible too but sadly I was spoiled and that took a lot of the fun out of the end of it.

13) Things that annoy you.

Little things like not being able to swim and not hearing banter when you’re on a mount. Bigger things like the fact that in order to make an informed decision about Orlais (as a player) you have to have read an entire other novel because the game doesn’t give you the information you need, even if it’s also not necessarily things your character would know. All the sort of stock things, like Cassandra not being bi (among other characters but she’s the one that makes me the most angry), Bioware whitewashing their own characters, no dwarf romances. Not even touching on fandom stuff.

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Ferelden always.

15) Templars or mages?

Templars, to be contrary (by which I mean I have Opinions about this and while in general I side with mages in all things, I still say Templars).

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

I only really have one complete world state right now, with Leohta romancing Alistair and putting Anora alone on the throne, and Jonah romancing Anders and running away with him at the end of the game, but within that Ghilanel is the Inquisitor with Varevas as her clan’s First who survives the Conclave with her; Astoria as a rebel mage who joins up before even considering going to Redcliffe because her nephew is the Inquisitor; and Leohta attending the Conclave undercover as a Carta member and trying to maintain that cover after Haven.

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

Leohta and Jonah both named their mabaris Leon, and Buian named hers Taz.

18) Have you installed any mods?

PS player, no mods here

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden?

It beat the alternative. Die in the Deep Roads now, or die in the Deep Roads later. Leohta chose later.

20) Hawke’s personality?

Blue as the summer sky over Lothering, Jonah is a pure child.

21) Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition?

Only for their love interests; Ghilanel and Solas were all green and gold until the breakup, then she dyed her armour deep red. Varevas and Dorian are white and red. Leohta’s all warden armour, just like Alistair. Astoria would match Bull if Bull wore more clothing...

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

Leohta would’ve been more careful with Zevran’s heart to avoid having to dump him right before the final battle.

Jonah would’ve investigated the alleged serial killings sooner, to possibly save his mother.

Ghilanel would’ve worked harder to make something of herself before the Inquisition knowing she’d need it later.

Varevas would’ve... I dunno. Probably flirted harder with Cullen, he’s hilarious when he’s all out of sorts over it.

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

I’m sure I do but I can’t think of any just now, which is odd.

24) Who did you leave in the Fade?

JONAH BABY I’M SORRY I DIDN’T KNOW so from now on it’s gonna be Stroud

25) Favorite mount?

Ghilanel liked the Royal Sixteen and Varevas loves his Dalish All-bred but in general I don’t bother with them, I like the banter more than getting around faster.

#meme #gremlinquisitor

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