#OOC Retirement

[eorzeashan]

Long time no swtor thinkpiece, but.

Thinking about Eight in the IA class story and then who he is post-Alliance; going from a bold, daring and casually ambitious wildcard to someone who feels as if he's lost most of his zeal to become rather...listless. Empty. Not to say that he isn't fulfilled by his work in the Alliance (who all make exceptions to have him do anything but murder all day) but he starts picking up more mundane activities like, peeling potatoes for the Alliance cantina, or doing minor tasks that don't involve much thought on his own volition-- a stark change from a man who only cared about his blade and who it fell on. It's like he's been soundly defeated by the circumstances surrounding him.

Then there's the issue of his companions, who only knew him as their cunning leader who stopped at nothing to achieve his goals, even using some of them in the process, who now appears to be an entirely different person. One who quietly fades into the background, instead of being in the thick of it. He's changed.

His skills haven't waned, but his voice is flat, his eyes without gleam, his all consuming desire that drove him to accomplish the impossible by the day naught but simmering ashes by the time they reunite with him in KOTXX. He even apologizes to some, without explanation. This distresses Vector, in particular, who witnessed the worst of his sides way back in the day. "It's not me you should apologize to, Agent." Vector can only quietly say, "I have never held you in ill regard for the choices you've made, anathema as they were to my principles." It's a conversation that peters off, but one that Eight never had, never had soon enough --his firm refusal to rectify or acknowledge that Vector could choose him over his own ideals is one that gnaws at him on the inside for years, on his own belief that people cannot change what they truly believe in, and so there is no point in trying to make amends for what bridges he burns in the pursuit of his own wishes. This, and many other denials, compound over the years into a rather hurtful self-made solitude that follows him long into the Alliance. (A mother will never give up her son. There is no other way. I cannot change my nature as a weapon. Their rejection of me is something I must accept.) A punishment, but for who?

Perhaps he still feels he's failed the last mission Keeper entrusted to him. The one that asked him to become a real, living person, and not just a sword dressed in imperial colors.

Eight spirals during the events of the Eternal Empire. He watches his downfall happen in real time. There's little he does about it. His home is gone, as are the people he fought for--Keeper, Watcher 2, Intelligence--and this new age is only filled with allies he cuts down faster than he can imprint their names into his memory. He's alone in this fight at the behest of others who do choose their ideals over him, who, in the end, turn away in fear and disgust when he bloodies his blade in their name. He makes no effort afterwards to right his image in their minds. He plays the villain, if others will not. For the first time, he tires of killing.

This leaves him alone, an outcast even among friends. Eventually, amongst the ruin their failed Alliance leaves in its wake, someone asks why things turned out this way; his lack of a will in the greater fight comes to light and sets several alarm bells off. Lana reduces his duties on the battlefield. Others, out of shared guilt and a fear of the bloodshed he wreaked on their orders, give him a wide berth to live normally for a while. It's not much and does little to his disillusionment and estrangement with his allies, but...it's a start.

Eight the Assassin turns into just Eight. And Eight the former agent, ex-Cipher, killer extraordinaire who never once dreamed of the stars, turns into someone who quietly watches the sun set on a world he barely recognizes,l but still stays up to see it, potato peeler in hand.

#swtor #oc: orradiz #ooc #kotxx #this is just. rambling thoughts. #eight gets so damn lifeless after but he's...healing. living. what else is living but moving past your will to die #eight's weird complex about the ideals of others and people being unable to treat him as anything but a stepping stone for that #and he used to treat others like that as well #and wuh OH keeper still haunting him like a decade later #he's just. he had so much energy back in the class story and it all faded away #he's a lot wiser now but also has so much shit to work through and he has no friends. i said it #the retired and mysterious life of ex agents #HELLO? IS ANYONE OUT THERE DOES ANYONE UNDERSTAND THISSSS

[jikangairodo]

I was reading a post Shibuya AU fic where Nanami survives, and someone in the comments described him as a shaking, angry, purse dog and I can't get that out of my head.

#[ooc] #one eye is gone #along with his depth perception #half of his body #got fried #he doesn't have the same #maneuverability as he did #because the skin is tight #itchy #his grade will probably drop #idek if he'll stick around #afterwards #thinking thinking #retirement would be good #but there are still people #he needs to look after #is he still useful though? #or more of a hindrance? #shaking angry purse dog #indeed

[osoreruna]

yeah, yeah — comedic relief...blah, blah... but also, y'all do realize, the fact that toshi regularly coughs up blood is a sign that he never fully / properly healed from his afo battle, right —

#𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 + [ OOC ] #and it's because of how he continues to utilize ofa #y'all realize this right — #he continues his normal hero work for YEARS... #he VERY LITERALLY sacrifices his own body to continue saving people #to continue being of service #to continue being the world's symbol of peace... #he wouldn't be in anywhere NEAR as bad of shape if he'd listened to sir when he told him to retire. #or even just cut his shifts in half. #but no — he continued at full capacity for 6 years... #6 YEARS HE NEVER PROPERLY HEALED FROM LITERALLY LOSING HIS STOMACH AND A LUNG. #6 years he prioritized literally EVERYONE ELSE over himself. #i've said it nine times and i'll say it again: #you don't have to LIKE all might...but you gotta give him props. #i'm not sure there's many other heroes that would get up every day and sacrifice their entire selves to being a TRUE hero for *society* #after going through something like that.

[ardenssolis]

[Oh to be retired and free from work. The dream.]

#FKDKDKFKF I get so jealous of my older coworkers #when they're about to retire from this rat race 😩 #THE FREEDOM #;ooc jabber #;tbd #;mobile

[elfydesires]

Lethal elf weapons

#lusty goddess || eirwen #royal mothers retirement || gaefawen #lover superior || priestess #royal advisor || cogita #woodlands beauty || volsenya #ooc #seaborn beauty || erodite #winter elf queendom || eirawen #hilda #rhewynn

[icemde]

welcome to: i'm throwing a hypothetical question out to all muses of the fairy tail guild

as they get older, who: - becomes fairy tail' next guild master - retires from guild life -founds their own guild -remains in fairy tail

#❄*:·. « ooc. » #ya'll are free to reblog this with your thoughts and such #anyways i am team gray retires from guild life #still loves the guild to death but i see him retiring and taking on an apprentice like ur #that's my two cents

[moonkssd]

//oh no rocket secretary urge is real

#ooc #decommissioned elite agent #didnt want to retire #so decided to be a secretary somehow #after a lot of rehab

[bunhype]

\\ depression stage of grief ig

#im retiring from pkmnirl #ooc #not rp

[shallliveoninsong]

◇ I find this text conversation you can get from the General so fascinating. Many of his voice lines say how he finds the travels of the Astral Express much more interesting than his own life--which makes sense, a lot of his work is either administrative or managing things behind the scenes. In many aspects, he's settled. Regulated to taking a background role unlike the days of his youth. If he didn't have so many responsibilities and so much grounding him to the Luofu, he'd travel with the Astral Express, no doubt.

However, as far as I know/remember this is the first time he's referred to himself as "changeless". Obviously, that isn't entirely true, we all grow and change or are changed by our experiences. But I believe by this he means this more so from a logistical standpoint and from an outside perspective looking in. The other HCQ members or their successors have all changed so much, both on a personal level as well as their goals or factions.

And then there's him. He was in the Xianzhou military all his life before the Sedation happened and he still is, albeit in a different role. He's grown accustomed to the daily life of trying to keep peace for the Luofu. Has he even really changed? Of course, there are sides to his home he's become much more acquainted with (and doesn't agree with much of it) for he has many criticisms for how many things are handled (especially after the Sedation but also military decisions and how often the Xianzhou is drawn into conflict) yet he still plays the game, remains as one of the Arbiter-Generals, trying his best to do all he can for what he can control.

And let me just cry about how he wanted to be a Galaxy Ranger as a kid TwT. Since we aren't sure exactly how old he is, maybe they had already (seemingly) disbanded by the time he had that dream, but either way, it is very cute but also sad. "Pity that life never goes the way you want it to go" feels like a statement with many meanings, beyond the current one he's speaking about.

Let him retire and go travel the stars to be an animal conservationist Hoyo!!!!

#ooc: Mew mews #string of clues [headcanon] #calculated not lazy; mostly [jing yuan] #(i say let him retire but at the same time also still feel like him becoming a boss would be a such an impactful end) #spoilers cw

[alchemistdetective]

Hearing discord commentaries of stuff you're not in the discord in is like being a granny listening to the kids talking about the cool new things like the Fortnites

You don't know what is it about, but you're happy for them

#OOC #RETIREMENT HOME

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: Since he's retiring from adventuring, Galwyn goes back to his monastery to officially withdraw. He'll continue following their beliefs, but he won't be a practicing monk anymore.

Adam (playing Billie): Let's all go, this will be interesting.

DM: He meets with his old teacher and they speak rapidly in increasingly incomprehensible riddles and triple entendres.

Tati (playing Seraph): Oh yeah, his monastery's whole deal is riddles. He probably talks super cryptically and poetically all the time and we all thought that was just Galwyn.

M (playing Kjell): I try desperately to follow the thread of the conversation. *face screwed up* "So in this metaphor... we're all..... trees??"

DM: They seem to be comparing his place in your lives to trees in a forest, but also a school of fish, and simultaneously the alloy of metals in a perfect sword.

M: Nah, I'm totally lost. I love him.

#funny #dnd #monks #retirement #Billie #Seraph #Kjell #Lyra DM #just little d&d things #ooc #NPCs #Galwyn Til'athrin #riddles #wordplay #travelling trauma centre

[eorzeashan]

do you think Jadus spends all his time in seclusion building his secret minecraft mind palace and that's why he never came back

#swtor #ooc #picture if you will. jadus with cat ear gamer headphones and a RETIRED number one fortnite champ t shirt #what do. you think he's doing by himself.

[ichoric]

birthday ( ´･ω･)

#haha MADE IT #ooc #ok i retire to the shade

[osoreruna]

every now and then i'm reminded that we'll never get to see all might proper again, and i cry a little inside —

#𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 + [ OOC ] #tbd #i've got season 1 playing in the background while i work on things and do laundry #and i just........look at him :sob: #i still love him but he was so COOL #all might really is RETIRED retired huh... #that one part just passed when shig busted down the ua gate and the press got in #and yamada....'they technically are trespassing can't we just beat 'em up ?' #ALSJFLKD #anyway usj is up next so i'm gonna go bawl my eyes out now —

[ardenssolis]

['My King', 'My Sun'...]

#I think about this all the time #BUT FDSFSFSDF sorry for not being around but I am exhausted #10/10 do not recommend going into staffing as a civil servant lmfao #but it's good experience but man.... production based work is the worst #;ooc jabber #;tbd #me pulling a nanami and daydreaming about retirement 43545434353 yrs from now

[elfydesires]

Elf sucking your dick. Call that the elven hello

#ooc #lusty goddess || eirwen #royal mothers retirement || gaefawen #royal advisor || cogita #woodlands beauty || volsenya #seaborn beauty || erodite #winter elf queendom || eirawen