clover: wakes up in an unfamiliar place
clover: HOE DONT DO IT
announcer voice: WELCOME TO THE NONARY GAME!!!
clover: OH MY GOD

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@kei-o-l
clover: wakes up in an unfamiliar place
clover: HOE DONT DO IT
announcer voice: WELCOME TO THE NONARY GAME!!!
clover: OH MY GOD
ZE3 WON’T BE OUT FOR A YEAR YET IT’S #1 BEST SELLING FOR 3DS GAMES I’M PISISNG MYSELF?
Update on this post: ZE3 is the #1 best selling game in general right now. It holds both the #1 and #2 spots, across platforms.
could you elaborate? about how sigma and junpei are foils i mean
Sure thing!
First thing I’ll start with is morality, the glaring point here:
Junpei is ultimately, a selfish person. Regardless of what sort of Junpei tunnel vision you have, he is a selfish person with regards to the greater good. Junpei prioritizes his loved ones above all, and no I’m not disputing that, but Junpei is also more than willing to manipulate others, use crafty and passive aggressive tricks and essentially leave people in the dust (see: DOOR 3) for the sake of his loved ones.
The good that Junpei does throughout the course of 999 is either for Akane’s sake or by pure accident. Junpei is an accidental hero who is glorified by those around him despite his inherently selfish intentions. Helping Clover? An accident. He was literally describing Snake’s corpse and Clover happened to pick up on a crucial detail. That was it. It was due to Clover’s agency that Snake was saved–not Junpei. Junpei didn’t “save” Clover. Clover did.
Junpei likes to view himself as some sort of white knight, patting himself on the back for defending and “protecting” Clover and Akane, not because of his moral code but because it fuels his ego. “I could’ve saved her!” is a prime example of that. The emphasis put on his capabilities, and what he can do for others rather than their actual well beings. A common mentality that’s expressed throughout the narrative.
Despite the fact that Junpei is initially viewed as a golden hearted, pushover, innocent sort to the player he subverts that trope entirely by proving that he does have autonomy, keen insight as to how he can tip the scales to his own benefit (re: rigging cards so he’d get the door he’d want, DOOR 3, manipulating Ace, etc.), and if anything holds said autonomy over others.
Whereas with Sigma:
When you see Sigma, you see stereotypical masculinity. Tough guy, mechanic’s uniform, likes women, probably aggressive, strong, muscly and big. Basically, stereotypical masculinity personified. Male power fantasy. Sigma instead, ends up being a man who values emotion intensely. Sigma is an optimist, Sigma is an idealist and that is treated as a flaw within the narrative. Sigma is tenacious and refuses to compromise his compassionate values. Even for someone else’s sake, regardless of how much they love him. And that’s not viewed in a positive light: Sigma abandons Phi so he can comfort Luna during her last moments, however he blatantly ignores how it impacts her, claims that it’s the right decision simply because it adheres to his moral code.
Sigma is outspoken but as I said before, never asserts his dominance over others—that’s why he loses. Whereas Junpei is desperate to survive, and that’s why he does it so well: Junpei has a clear mind, concrete goals and crystalized survival instincts. Sigma does not. Junpei is willing to assert his dominance over you. Sigma is not.
There are shades of grey in the good Sigma does for others, that’s the realism to it. That when you sacrifice so much for others without a care, you’re bound to harm those you love in the process. And he endures the ramifications for it. Sigma doesn’t get his way. He never does. Yet he fights regardless. Sigma is a reckless altruist who endures and is impacted by the ramifications of said altruism. Both in the present and in the future.
Sigma is ultimately vilified by the cast, whether it be a result of his naivety or his actions in the future. However Sigma’s intentions are always, always inherently good–you can say differently about his words, but Sigma never once takes a course of action with malicious intent. Yet he’s consistently vilified, and the cast’s perception of him is more often than not disagreeable, bad, etc.
Junpei is a survivalist who places those he loves above all and is glorified by both fandom and the cast despite his neutral and selfish intentions; Sigma is naive, prioritizes the greater good above all as he sacrifices every bit of himself for said greater good, hurting those he loves, and is willing to take an extreme course of action for it which enables vilification from both fandom and the cast. Yet one is perceived as a hero in canon while the other is not, which was the danged point, which is what I mean when I tell you that they’re foils.
i can’t believe that like… every single person so far is wearing long sleeves and/or a sweater and/or two shirts, since it is December and all
except Sigma who is wearing a short sleeved polo like “i have only a few more days of These Guns and i am going to make the most of it”
GET REKT JUNPEI
I just want to point and laugh at the people who thought Akane didn’t care about Junpei in the first game.
if i may– ive (personally) never seen anyone claim akane didnt care about junpei. ive always seen the interpretation that she does (along with other people), but she values her plans and the 6 billion people brother kills more, and that’s why she’s machiavellian and so willing to use people like chess pieces while emotionally distancing herself.
that said, her representation in ztd really bothered me. the akane we see in 999– that is, sweet, kind, optimistic, quirky, pacifistic (i’ll refer to this personality set as “june”) –was specifically crafted for the point of manipulating junpei and the players around her (that and it was a recreation, but i digress). in other words, it was a persona. she is, in truth, a much more serious, calculating, and ruthless (for lack of a better word). this idea is re-enforced in vlr as we see her willing to be murdered by dio for her plans, attacking sigma with the knife to force him to jump, i could list more but this paragraph is long. we also see, however, that she has junpei’s ring, which does strongly imply she still cares. she’s just, as stated, willing to sacrifice everything for the 6 billion.
so what i expected in ztd was something akin to her vlr personality. she has no reason to be june anymore, especially now that junpei knows what she’s like. we’re also forcing akane into situations which should bring out her true nature, her no-holds-barred goal-oriented established personality… and it all got side swept for some junepei bullshit. we have this great, complex, morally-ambiguous female character, and it was all just shelved for Muh Jumpy uwu.
i cant even begin to describe how unbearable that scene where junpei and carlos let themselves get machine gunned so akane is protected is, how she’s reduced to some sniveling pile over Her Poor Junpei. i mean, does she care about junpei? yes. i have a hard time believing she doesnt, even before ztd. but its just wildly out of character and irritating to see her so fixated on him and so pointlessly emotional. thats not… who akane is. she would be remorseful, but i really cant picture her sobbing over junpei’s death like that. not so out and open. not when she’s about to jump and go reunite with junpei and carlos. it just doesnt. make. sense. not with all we know about her. i mean, for fuck’s sake, this is the same woman who used junpei in 999 to ensure her survival and help ruin the cradle execs who kidnapped her, the same woman who got sigma to lure him to the moon so he could be used for the ab project. why is she suddenly so… emotional about him? its inconsistent and weird.
also how her powers were handled was… obnoxious, but that’s another rant for another post.
but so uh, yeah. in case you were wondering why people dont like ztd akane, thats why. butchered characterisation for The Het Ship™. if you werent, well, now you know.
who would win in a fistfight: you vs. characters from 999
ace: he would probably win due to his strength and size advantage, but you should challenge him to a fistfight anyway, just on the off chance that you win. also, he is easy to confuse if you just wear different clothes. if you do that, then you would win the fistfight handily snake: if you’re punching him for no reason, you would probably win since he can’t fucking see you. if you’re punching him after hurting his sister in any way, you would lose the fist fight within 0.005 seconds santa: has a six pack and a secret gun and is very angry. you would not win in a fistfight clover: might be small, but is full of unbridled rage at all times and will immediately sock you in the jaw without thinking first. you would not win in a fistfight junpei: hands down, you would win a fistfight against junpei, as he is a weak and scrawny nerd. you wouldnt even have to fight him, you can just tie his shoelaces together when he’s not looking akane: though you would almost definitely win in a fistfight against her if you’re in a timeline where she has not fought you before, she will probably just jump to another timeline after beating you and use all your tactics against you. you would probably not win in a fist fight, unless you expose her to fire, in which case you would still probably not win in the end even if you win the fistfight because she will trap you on a boat and threaten to kill you seven: he’s a fucking cop. you would not win in a fistfight lotus: though her big bazongas might seem to get in the way, she is actually angry constantly and is ready to punch out anyone, at any time, for any reason, especially if you threaten her. you would not win in a fistfight 9th man: he dies if you look at him wrong. you win the fistfight with little to no effort
Shall we extend this to the VLR characters as well?
K: When your fist bounces off the armour and your bones shatter into a million fragments, you realise that you would not win in a fistfight.
Clover: She’s still the unbridled force of rage that she was in 999, but now she’s been professionally trained. All you see is a pink blur before she breaks all your limbs and then stomps you into oblivion. You would not win in a fistfight.
Tenmyouji: Another returnee from 999, we beat him then and expect to beat him now. Just watch out for the sneaky kick he’s picked up since then.
Quark: He’s ten-years-old and unconscious. Go ahead and win in a fistfight. You monster.
Luna: She is three-laws-compliant and therefore you would win in a fistfight provided no other humans are threatened with harm as she wouldn’t fight back. Given your progress down this list so far, however, I suspect she would find some way to restrain you and stop you from challenging everyone you meet to a fistfight.
Dio: Who knows? In theory, he’s the top agent of a world-ending terrorist organisation, but his form has been incredibly inconsistent. Allow him even the slightest chance to start monologuing rather than pay attention, and you would win in a fistfight.
Alice: Remember how Clover thrashed us? Alice trained Clover. You would not win in a fistfight.
Phi: She’s small and slight, so you’d think you would have an easy time. However, the moment you win she would shift to another timeline. All she needs is one chance to land one of her devastating low-gravity-high-kicks (which she can somehow do even in normal gravity) and it would be game over. You would not win in a fistfight.
Sigma: On the face of it, an approximately even match up, Sigma’s strong robotic arms making up for his old age. But there’s one thing you missed: Sigma still thinks he’s 22. He overexerts himself at the start of the fight and twists his back. This causes him to realise his advanced age and the AB project collapses. You would win in a fistfight, but doom human civilisation.
ztd verison. for kicks
Carlos: you wouldnt win, this man is trained to pick people up and run. hed maybe let you win if it wasnt a fight w/malicious intent bc hes just that nice.
Eric: he’s easily angered if ur fighitng him at dcom and that could give him an advantage. but do you really want to beat him? he just sells ice cream. either way, it’s a toss-up re:who wins.
Phi: see above. unless youre in a timeline where she got nerfed in which case you win by default, unfortunately.
Q: this kid will wipe the floor with your limp lifeless body in seconds flat. but look at them theyre barely over 4 ft tall. theyre the nicest kid in the planet. why would you do this to them. youre gonna lose anyway
Junpei: he’s pissed at the world and in top physical shape, but he can stand to be taken down a peg or two. so even though you should do it for everyone’s sake, theres very slight chance youll win this fist fight
Akane: she’s got her time goddess powers AND somethign about dcom makes her erratic and dangerous. she can shift. akane’s got this one in the bag
Diana: listen. listen why would you want to fistfight diana. that being said, she’s also got a lot of pent up anger, can EASILY knock you out in a fist fight.
Mira: we all saw when she ripped eric’s chest open with her bare hands right. dotn fistfight mira because you will loose And die, no two ways about it.
Sigma: this dude knows what hes doing. he’s wise and Buff, and ready to protect everything. he’ll win in no time.
Delta: i mean. you dont stand a chance but everybody needs to punch him in the face.
I CANT BELIEVE THEY DRAGGED THIS ON FOR SO LONG
Durarara ending parody with zero escape
i took a philosophy class my first year at community college, and it was the funnest shit ever - prof gave us a powerpoint and told us to fight with him when we disagreed so we could have discussions, then gave us his steam username so we could play racing games together. one time, he told us this story about a prof he had in grad school - guy was tenured, and apparently a great teacher. but he had this time built into his schedule where other profs would be in labs, experimenting, doing research, where he stood in his empty classroom with a warm cup of tea and stared out the window. for these 1.5 hour schedule blocks. and the administration would come to him and be like “dude, we’re not paying you to stare out the window, why aren’t you working?” and he’d say, “i am working. i’m a philosopher, it’s my job to contemplate the world and life and that’s what I’m doing,” and they couldn’t do shit cause he was tenured. and then every handful of years he’d pop out a book that blew everybody’s tits off and they’d get a surge of new philosophy grads come to study with him and make the school a lot of money.
So yeah, i think that’s still what being a philosopher is like
André, sweating, and adding another scoop: “and… strawberry… for his… B̵̮̬̯͉̱͋̔̋̽Ĺ̶͔̹̹̊͠Ǒ̷̧̤͕̭̭̝̥̝͈͋͒̈͒̂̎O̵͙̽̏͛̉̓̒̐̀̓D̶̢͙̩̦͎͎̩̮͖́̔͐̍͋̔̚
thus begins Glaciator ep 2.
The city of Amaurot
[FFXIV : Shadowbringers msq spoilers]
This is the last area of the Shadowbringers msq, kept secret until the end. The surprise is here : who expected such a masterpiece in the depths of the dark sea of Norvrandt?
Amaurot, a lost paradise that Emet-Selch cherishes more than anything.
But what about this ?
The name Amaurot appears in Utopia (1516), written by the english philosopher Thomas More (1478-1535). It is the capital of the island of utopia, an imaginary world that represents the ideal society and the perfect government. The author details all about her foundation, appearance, people and management :
“ Amaurote is gently sloping on the slope of a hill. Its shape is almost a square. […] The streets and the places are suitably arranged, either for the transport, or to shelter it against the wind. The buildings are comfortably built ; they are brilliant with elegance and cleanliness, and form two continuous rows, the width of which is reduced to twenty-two feet. Each house has a door on the street and a door on the garden. These two doors open slightly with a helping hand, and let in the first comer. The Amaurotines apply in this the principle of common possession. To avoid the idea of individual and absolute ownership, he has changed houses every ten years, and what has to be divided. […] Really, we can not imagine anything more pleasant or useful to the citizens than this occupation. The founder of the empire has understood well, he applies all his efforts to turn the spirits towards this direction. The Amaurotines attribute to Utopus the general plan of their cities. This great legislator did not spend time in the construction or beautification of what had been planned ; for that it took several generations. So he left to posterity the care of continuing and perfecting his work. The current houses are elegant three-storey buildings with stone or brick exterior walls and interior plaster walls. The roofs are flat, covered with crushed and incombustible material, which costs nothing and retains better than the lead of the wounds of time. ”
- Extract from Thomas More, Utopia II. Cities of utopia and especially the city of Amaurote, 1516.
So, the presence of Amaurote as the main city of ascians people makes sense, but the illusion built by Emet-Selch brings even more.
In Amaurote, time seems frozen. The atmosphere and music of the area offers a curious mix of serenity and nostalgia. The city shines with beauty and greatness, but the streets are empty and dark. The few Amaurotines who lives there appear and disappear like ghosts, wandering eternally for two purposes : confront their opinions and exercise their creative magic.
These wishes are similar to those described by More in his book : the people of Amaurote designed and built their city to be functional and safe. Every Amaurotine and every building is affiliated with a particular function. Architecture is sophisticated and not only functional, because in Utopia, creation is the essence of human and that can lead him to always go to the best, for him and for others.
So, it’s possible that the life in Amaurote that we see and Emet-Selch describes to us have never been real in this way. She would be a projection of his own utopia, probably ideal city of the ascian civilization. His trauma of incalculable wars, plagues and calamities, the memory of the apocalypse and the loss of his people, his whole planet, are probably the consequences of this utopian Amaurote.
We are walking in the city where Emet-Selch would have liked to live. We are walking in the streets of his last dream who could ward off the pain of his past.
Emet-Selch is not only the keeper of memories and history of this world. He gives us his precious burden, his ideal world of harmony to which we must henceforth work, and no longer act blindly.
Amaurot will remain a shadow, an illusion, a dream, but which must be an example towards a better world. For everyone.
asked by @temeriancaptain: favorite places in xiv
Yeah, I love all the Scions, especially Y’shtola, Urianger and *looks at smudged writing on hand* Thunk Red
A sad story
The Warrior of Light: “ uhh,,,, kupo??? lmao ”
Emet-Selch:
FFXIV pick your boi edition