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topaz-mutiny · 2 months

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Okay so for me this is less an actual fanfic thing and more an opinion of mine being put through the lens of these characters, because my brain won’t stay quiet, and things that have happened in the campaign so far have changed my thoughts on how I feel about interactions between the characters. I used to be incredibly neutral on this, until we learned of the existence of a primordial fire shard.

So the TL;DR of my argument is: Ashrym now, Callowmoore later, after the characters, the cast, and some fans stop being weird and overly-pushy with the “it’s destiny” thing.

Maybe you agree, maybe you don't. Maybe you change your mind, if not nbd.

Contains spoilers up to and including episode 85 of Bells Hells. Nothing happens beyond a lot of swearing.

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There wasn’t really any discussion between Bells Hells about where to camp and rest after this terrifying, extensive, exhausting day – only a collective effort to finagle everyone through the waterspout and into the portal that Fearne had discovered. From there it was easy to emerge from the mountain lake and find what looked like a decent spot to set up camp.

Fearne offered to stay up on watch first; she needed some time to think about what happened today. She didn’t like feeling scared. And today definitely had a lot of things that scared her.

First watch went by relatively fine, which was a relief since Fearne was so pre-occupied, and then it was time to wake up those who would be on second-watch. She watched Ashton be roused, and he wandered to a decent spot to take up watch. Looking around, he seemed far away from the other person up on watch, and everyone else was settled into sleep. They were, perhaps, far enough away that the two of them could have a brief conversation before she cuddled up with Orym.

Her quiet approach was ruined by a yawn that escaped her mouth. She really was exhausted like everyone else, but this felt important. “Hey.” She said through the end of her yawn.

“Hey.” They grunted back. “Aren’t you heading to bed?”

“Maybe in a little bit.” Fearne resisted another yawn. And then, “Today was a little fucked up.” Ashton gave out a deep, gravelly chuckle.

“Yeeeaah. Yeah it was.” He said. “Fuck.” Fearne noticed a quick side-eye Ashton gave her, and they looked… worried. “Didn’t think you wanted to talk so soon after… fuck, you know.” They shrugged ineffectually.

Shit, right. She steepled her fingers, tapping them together as she thought about it.

“Okay, well, I maybe am still a little bit mad about it.” Fearne refrained from saying who she was mad at, maybe even mad at multiple people. She had looked away, but still caught the flinch in Ashton’s reaction. “But that’s not what I wanna talk about. I wanna talk about…” about what? The Ludinus funnel? FCG almost dying right in front of her (though she Had A Plan, she thought, don’t worry about it)? Otohan’s reaction to her being Ruidusborn? What that meant when butted up against the reality that she was a designer-baby? “… stuff.”

“… Okaaay?” Ashton looked hapless.

“IthinkIwannatalkaboutdestiny” Fearne blurted out. Ashton blinked at her. “I mean, I wanna talk about me. Stuff I’m being told about me. Stuff that’s–“ making me scared, she omits “– that I don’t think I like very much.”

“Ah.” There was a shift in Ashton’s posture, and they looked a lot more comfortable. Empathetic. That’s why Fearne singled out Ashton after all, they too kind of were dealing, dealt with, this stuff too. Even though she was still mad about it.

“When we were trying to get away from Otohan, she said something that kind of fucked me up a little.” Fearne started explaining, “She said I was, like, central to some of their plans? And it made me think about how I was made, instead of born, and… and I don’t like it.” She doubly didn’t like it, because wasn’t Imogen supposed to be the one central to their plans? The super special savior of Predathos? “What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?”

There was a small pause.

“I’m not sure if I’m allowed an opinion on this shit anymore.” Ashton finally responded, “The last time I got fucked up by this destiny bullshit I…” he suddenly got very quiet “… exploded. Fuckin’ literally.”

Yes, we know, Ashton. We were there. Fearne thought about his agonized confession that they’d rather die than hurt Fearne like that. During Fearne’s watch, Fearne had started to worry that she might be next, and she absolutely did not want to hurt her friends (especially Orym) like that. Her brows furrowed.

“I think something or someone is pushing me to explode.”

“You… want me to keep an eye out?”

“Maybe. I dunno.”

“Fearne, fuck, whatever you want me to fuckin’ do, just tell me.” Ashton’s stare was intense, serious. As Fearne peered a little closer she noticed his body language screamed regret, anxiety, pleading. Like they’d do anything for anyone of the Hells, please don’t leave them.

Fearne huffed. “I don’t know! Maybe I just wanted to tell someone, and I told you, because you got a little messed up and now I’m getting messed up too.” Ashton nodded, as though that made sense, though Fearne could still sense the tension.

There was a significantly longer pause. Fearne made no move to go to bed. Yet. And eventually was the first to speak up again.

“And I also wanted to talk now because if it were any other time I think the others would push us to kiss or something right about now.” Fearne looked at Ashton. Ashton cleared their throat, embarrassment flushing his cheeks.

“Ah, yeah. They can mind their own fuckin’ business.”

“It is a little weird.”

Ashton was turning redder. Purple-r? Dark green-er? Fearne forgot what color his blush was and couldn’t see well enough in the dark.

“Plus there’s that shard bullshit.” Ashton said.

“Huh?”

“Everyone started getting really weird about us after these fucking shards became a thing. More destiny bullshit.”

“Oh.” That’s right. The shards were from Primordial lovers, or something. Bells Hells didn’t just make that up, did they?

He doesn’t say it out loud, but Fearne could easily imagine Ashton saying “Fuck destiny.” They definitely seemed like they were resisting saying something. Being nice? Or thinking that they don’t deserve to have an opinion? Would they have been okay with it if their friends were just regularly cajoling and these lover shards didn’t exist?

Well, that kind of sucks.

Despite her lingering anger over The Shard Incident, what she told Chetney afterwards was still true. She liked him a little bit, whatever that meant. And she still maybe wanted to do things that made them happy. Maybe. A little. And it didn’t seem like a full-on Laudna and Imogen style relationship was going to do that; would probably make them feel even more uncomfortable and think it’s all just because of the shards and not that they kind of maybe like each other for realsies.

It was kind of hard to realize that was what she was feeling, but now that she articulated it to Chetney, it was a lot easier to notice. And that Ashton might kind of sort of feel the same? But they’re refusing to act on it now because of the shards.

“Yeah, fuck destiny.” Fearne says. Ashton starts to look relieved. Maybe they can talk about it later, after they talk about The Shard Incident and she stops feeling mad at them and herself, after the topic of the shards becomes a vague background memory to everyone else. An intrusive thought streaks through her mind – the thought that she’d be fine if they just became friends with benefits – and maybe she’d think about that later when she’s not mad. Maybe.

She was feeling a little better, to her relief. Now that someone else besides FCG knows what Otohan said to her, it felt a bit less like she was going to get strangled by her own worries. But she didn’t want to go to bed yet.

What she did want to do right now was make Ashton happy. And her own feelings weren’t the only things Fearne had started to notice. And realized she probably would have noticed retroactively. The shards, currently, were a problem, for one way to make Ashton happy right now. But there was another way that kind of sounded fun to get the ball rolling, at least until they could talk more. Ashton seemed about ready to tell her to go to bed, the start of an inhale.

Zero warning. No decorum. Fearne dove in headfirst as she always does.

“So when are you going to tell Orym that you like him?”

Ashton’s inhale became a strangled noise of coughing as he started choking on their own spit. Fearne, for her part, looked Absolutely Innocent (mischievous) as the genasi struggled to quiet their coughs before it could wake up the entire group, or draw the attention of the other person on watch.

“Fearne, what the fuck?” Ashton’s voice was pitched low to a panicked whisper, hoarse from coughing.

“What?” Perfectly innocent smile. Ashton tried to wheeze back an answer, but couldn’t through trying to suppress more coughing, and failing to suppress the extreme flustered blush that now covered their entire face, obvious even in the darkness. “If everyone wasn’t so focused on the shards I’m pretty sure they would’ve noticed too.”

“But – fuck – I don’t… where did… he’s–“ Ashton stuttered. They covered their face with their hands and groaned, “The fuck do you mean?”

“What do you mean what do I mean?”

“You’re saying I, fuck, I… fucking…”

“Like Orym, my very best friend.”

“That. What does that mean? And might fuckin not, you don’t know. I don’t know. Fuck!”

Fearne thought about it. She didn’t know like, a definition.

“You don’t know?” she asked.

“No. Maybe? No.” his emphatic response.

“But you’re feeling something.” Ashton tried crushing their face even further into their hands.

“And what the fuck is it?” Ashton demanded. Their hands still covered their face, absolutely refusing to look at her. He almost looked like he wanted to run off the nearest cliff.

Hmm. Did Ashton seriously know less about these kinds of feelings than she did? Was that what he was trying to explain?

“It’s like…” Fearne thought about the little tryst she had with Deanna and Chetney. It was fun, and glorious, and she was excited, but… no, not exactly what she was asking about Ashton and Orym. She thought about Imogen and Laudna, and their recent admission to being together. That was kind of it, but didn’t seem like the right kind of description. Fearne thought about why she brought this up in the first place.

“It’s like, wanting to hang out a bit more…” she began. Ashton looked like he was glaring at her through his hands, but it was probably still out of embarrassment. He was paying very close attention to what she was saying. “… and also, maybe, saying and doing nice things for someone, just because. Something chaotic and random." Ashton removed their hands from their face and settled on having their arms crossed. Their face was still darkened with a blush, but were at least willing to show it now. Was there anything else? “And sometimes it feels like you drank a hard liquor and your stomach gets all hot, but you never even get tipsy.”

Ashton still looked like they wanted to throw themselves off a cliff.

“Does that sound familiar?” Fearne asked when Ashton failed to respond to her rambling. Some small night bird let out a haunting call.

Ashton mumbled something under their breath, at last, but Fearne couldn’t hear.

“Ashton?”

“… You’re really gonna make me fuckin say it out loud, aren’t you?” Ashton grumbled.

“You don’t have to.” Fearne said. She thought about Chetney. “But it might help.”

“Fuuuck.” Ashton pinched the bridge of his nose before looking away, refusing to make eye contact with the impossible faun. “So, maybe, hypothetically, some of what you said sounds a little fucking familiar.”

“And?”

“And maybe, I might tell Orym about it.”

“Soon?”

“This is a big fucking maybe, Fearne. Besides, you remember what Orym said, right?” and now, Ashton was questioning her.

“About what?”

“About whether or not it’s okay to miss Dorian.”

It kind of crushed her soul to remember Orym’s confession. She missed Dorian lots, oh so much, and she was pretty sure Orym did too. Orym was her best friend, and they traveled so much together. And he still felt… guilty. Over being a widower and having new friends and family (and maybe more?). But he also said how horrifically lonely he was, even with Fearne there right beside him.

She looked at Orym, curled up by the fire, and frowned.

“Maybe that’s something you two can talk about. After you tell him what you’re feeling.” Fearne offered. Ashton looked skeptical. Like he was thinking he would immediately fuck everything up. “Orym’s not going to be mean about it, I don’t think.”

“No,” Ashton agreed, “He’s going to be sad and guilty about it. And then I’m gonna feel fucking sad and guilty about it.”

Fearne smiled, “I think that’s why Orym needs his friends, Ashton. To help him feel less sad and guilty.”

“Orym would disagree.”

“I’m not saying he should stop feeling those things. Will was very important to Orym. Still is important. But… it’s eating him alive.”

“Hmm.”

“He might do something stupid and reckless because of it.”

“You think Orym’s a time bomb?”

“Maybe a little one.” Fearne sighed, then walked up to Ashton and pointed at his chest. “Tell him you like him. It’ll be good for you. Whatever happens after, happens after, so don’t worry about it right now.”

“I don’t even know if that’s true.” Ashton shrugged, leaning away. “But fine, I maybe. Might. Might, Fearne.” He stressed as Fearne started smiling deviously at him.

Good enough, she supposed. “Ooookaay then. Have a good night.” She sauntered over to the sleeping Orym, and began to curl over him to sleep, leaving Ashton standing in the moonlight, thinking.

Fearne was feeling a lot better.

#critical role #fearne calloway #ashton greymoore #orym of the air ashari #ashrym #callowmoore #bells hells #me last week: fuck I think I ship Ashrym now #you can probably tell I'm not a fan of soulmate or destined bonds stuff #and Ashton learned their lesson about recklessly chasing destiny #Ashton “Fuck Destiny” Greymoore is a mood #also Fearne would absolutely be the instigator of shenanigans #will Orym speak up first or will Ashton speak up first? Both are incorrect: The real answer is Fearne #honestly after Orym's confessions any ship with him is going to be a Long Burn that could rival Perc'ahlia #thanks for coming to my Ted Talk disguised as a fanfic

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frickingnerd · 1 month

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being in a love square with phoenix, apollo and athena

pairing: phoenix wright x gn!reader x apollo justice x athena cykes

tags: love triangle/love square, rivalry, friends who bicker, cunning phoenix, implied workplace relationship, trucy is here too

apollo and athena are often bickering with each other when it comes to you! they are aware they both have a crush on you and while they are good friends, they both want to be the one you end up with!

phoenix on the other hand knows about apollo and athena's feelings for you, while they are oblivious to his crush on you!

he often gets to step in, when they are bickering over who gets to take you to their investigation, and gain your attention instead, by playing the role of the reasonable one!

while athena and apollo want to date you as soon as possible, phoenix is aiming for a slow burn romance with you! he'll be there for you whenever he can, until you eventually fall for him instead!

as the boss of the wright anything agency, he does hold the power to keep you longer in the office or send apollo and athena out to investigations to spend more time with you

apollo and athena both wear their hearts on their sleeves and you know they have a crush on you before they even get to confess to you!

since both of them are aware of the other's feelings for you, they both go all out and bravely ask you out on dates, whenever the chance comes up!

for the longest time, the two of them don't realize that they actually have another romantic rival in phoenix!

but once they do, apollo and athena are ready to put their differences aside and team up against phoenix! after all, they fear they'd have no chance against him and that he'd win your heart otherwise…

their romantic rivalry often even shows in court, as the three of them try to get the good cases, so they can win and impress you

as the only member of the wright anything agency that doesn't have a crush on you, trucy tries to support all three of them! though truly, she is rooting for apollo, as she believes phoenix could still find another partner, while apollo will likely stay single forever if he can't get you…

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mannap · 10 months

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If I gotta be like this mf in all the bad ways

chronically late

seen as intellectually talented at a young age but feeling like a failure 24/7

suffering from severe depression

barely holding my shit together

isolated from everyone my age (See: the third and fourth point)

Where tf is the equivalent to this dude in my life??? This ain't fair, yo

#I would never admit it to anyon's face but I kinda do need someone to be my eternal rival and/or hype man/woman #or “man of destiny” or whatever phrase 5 year old Gai uses in that flashback👀#like...can i have this one thing in the sea of garbage and disappointment that is life or whatever... pls #naruto #kakashi hatake #maito gai #might guy #kakagai #i guess #this isn't really a ship post or whatever but feel free to interpret it whichever way suits you haha #either way they're the best duo in the manga/anime. no competition #naruto shippuden

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destinysbounty · 2 years

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Can we take a moment to acknowledge the love triangle from Cole's perspective tho?

Youve just spent all afternoon scrounging around a scrapyard for spare parts to help you return to the city amidst a robot apocalypse. Just as you step into your bestie's parents' house, said bestie suddenly lunges at you and starts calling you names. You have no clue why but obviously youre not gonna let this pass, so you start fighting back.

Then your other friend says "this macho stuff is making you both look like fools! Maybe you belong together!" And in that instance you vaguely remember your bestie's girlfriend momentarily flirting with you the other day, and you begin to wonder if thats why your friend is so mad at you. But you dont have time to ask because now youre being attacked by robots. And then you get stuck in a metal compactor with your friend, and you apologize for fighting because "you had no clue" - and you really didnt! You initially had no idea what was going on and in a lot of ways you still dont.

Like. Idk. Sure, Cole eventually figured out that they were fighting over Nya, but he didnt know that in the beginning. All he knew was thay Jay was mad at him all of a sudden. Jay just went for the throat and he responded in kind.

This more than anything suggests that Cole's continued presence in the love triangle is mostly just a commitment to the bit, and honestly i can respect that

#au where cole drops out of the rivalry the moment he realizes what theyre rivaling over #cole: wait we're fighting over a girl? ah nvm you can win this one bro #jay: wait seriously??? i thought you loved her??#cole: yeah as a friend!! dude im GAY #jay: then why were you fighting me??#cole: no no no. YOU were fighting ME. im not just gonna sit and take it when some electric twink tries to deck me #cole: i had no clue what we were fighting over until just now actually #jay: yknow what that makes a lot of sense actually #ninjago #ns3 #ninjago rebooted #cole brookstone #cole ninjago #destiny post

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cherryjasper · 4 months

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cottagecore except you're trying to get more blackberries than the other cottagecore girl so you can snub her and use it as an excuse to definitely not flirt with her

#theyre both first gens with whacky colors #briar who is the guardian is sand/metals/mist #and the unnamed pearlcatcher is jungle/platinum/mist #didn't realize they were both mist until typing this #it's destiny #anyways the pearlcatcher doesn't have a name so you're free to provide names #also im not linking them cause theyre not gened yet lol #the pearlcatcher is a nocturne and my first ever notn hatch #anyways i call these “cottagecore girls who do not want to talk to you”#you are free to use this term as much as you want because i find it hilarious #youre also allowed to steal the idea of rivals to lovers cottagecore girls because i find the idea equally hilarious #flight rising #flight rising scry #flight rising guardian #flight rising pearlcatcher #cottagecore #dark cottagecore #tagging cottagecore so the people there are forced to see my stupid idea im way too amused by

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thefirstknife · 1 year

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Spoiler question but do you think you know who from this week's quest will become a you know what?

Will Amanda become a Guardian, I assume!

I don't think so. I don't think it would serve any purpose. Her story came to an end; we learned all we needed to learn about her and she went out the way she lived and for what she believed in. There's also nothing really pointing to her being that relevant to bring back. Like, purely from a technical standpoint; they removed her as a vendor and gave her a send-off, complete with her entire backstory. Making her a Guardian would just be making a new character with her model, but new. I can't see them doing that.

One thing that I also feel like people are forgetting, somehow, is that if she becomes a Guardian, she will not be Amanda. Like, that will be a new character. Nothing she's done before will matter. Crow and Savathun were exceptions central to the story to go forward so they had exceptional stories where they got their memories back. Amanda simply is not. She died and even if she becomes a Guardian, there's no more Amanda. It would be a blank slate. No matter what, all of her conflicts and relationships are over.

I just don't think we need a blank slate New Light Guardian right now or that Bungie would keep her in the game like this currently. I think this season was centered on wrapping up stuff about her, giving her a full scope of the backstory and basically letting us say goodbye. It does not read like a setup for a new Guardian.

Obviously, Bungie could have something extraordinary planned out that we can't possibly guess and that would make Amanda returning as a Guardian really compelling. Who knows! Maybe this is something that will happen down the line. As in, after this saga ends and some new story in the setting begins!

But right now? Until the saga ends? I just do not think Amanda as a Guardian is a storyline that needs to be told while we're scrambling to wrap up loose ends before The Final Shape. She was a human face to the war and a victim of it, something to remind us about our mortality and the fact that we're not invincible. Despite Guardians and all our powers, we are fighting for people who are mortal and fragile and those people also have the right to defend their home. Amanda took that very seriously and helped a lot of people, but ultimately at the cost of her own life.

Bringing her back could offer some potential stories, absolutely, depending on how you want to take things in the future. But overall, I just think it's not likely for her to be planned to return as a Guardian, at least not within the scope of the current story. Of course we can't really know what's in store, but from what we do know (lore-wise and meta-wise), the likelihood of this happening is very low.

#destiny 2 #destiny 2 spoilers #season of defiance #season of defiance spoilers #amanda #ask #mostly it's like. they were able to write out a character and focus on the remaining stories. by bringing amanda as a guardian back...#they would just have to ADD a completely new character. which defeats the purpose of writing her out #I highly doubt they're looking to write a new light that will have to be included in the current plots #if anything. she might be rezed on the side and be a random guardian nobody knows about #i just don't think amanda was important enough to get that focus on her that rivals characters like crow and savathun #i've seen people saying that we can just give her the memories back and like. hello? that is incredibly cruel #guardian amanda would be a new person. forcing her to be what she was before is explicitly stated to be bad by the narrative #after crow's struggling and savathun's mistakes and clinging to what she was before which led her to her death... yeah.#'just give her the memories back!' you are the baddies #and without memories she's not amanda so idk what would be the point of a new light character with her model (but reworked)

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cafalla · 4 months

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Pokémon BW Rival Destinies: Wrath of the Legends (2013) Comic Storybook Scans

The second book (here is a link to the first!) is titled "Wrath of the Legends", and is adapted from parts one and two of the episode "Stopping the Rage of Legends!" This book is about Ash and crew going to the Island of Legends, where they get caught up in a battle between the Forces of Nature.

Ash tries to battle Clay for the Driftveil gym badge, but instead is given a fetch quest to refill the revival herb stock at the gym.

They set out for Milos island and meet a guy named Lewis, who says the revival herbs are drying out and the grass Pokémon of Milos island are falling ill.

They learn that the island has a legend involving the revival herbs and the legendary Pokémon Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus.

The crew attempt to summon Landorus, who is the peacekeeper of the three, and instead Tornadus shows up.

Tornadus is here and it is not happy. Apparently an obelisk that protects the island from Tornadus and Thundurus has been destroyed. Thundurus also shows up, and it too, is not happy.

And of course, these two are both not happy at all to see each other, thus making them each more unhappy. Quite the unhappy bunch we have here.

Turns out Team Rocket is behind the destroyed obelisks, and all is going according to keikaku for them. And yes, I'm putting this panel out of sequence because it literally says "according to Team Rocket's evil plan…".

All according to keikaku.

The gang try to fight the feuding legendary Pokémon to no avail.

For some reason, Lewis is sure Landorus will show up if it is summoned by a shrine maiden. He just decides to appoint Iris as a shrine maiden…I guess because she is a girl?

Apparently any girl dressed up in shrine maiden clothing will work.

You look great, sweetie! Also just love how Iris looks like she is indoors while the guys reacting to her are outside? Lewis, it already looks like you are back at the shrine. Also love Ash's singular "Wow!" and Cilan's dead open mouth stare.

Iris does look cute in her shrine maiden outfit. Here are a couple more pics of her.

I'm a sucker for characters getting interesting alternative outfits for plot.

So the gang summon Landorus - Pokémon battles and Team Rocket shenanigans ensue. All that's really important is that the gang defeat Team Rocket, save the legendary Pokémon, and Landorus stops the fighting between Thundurus and Tornadus.

Now I'm going to share some panels of that are meant to be very serious, but are just downright (Darius) hilarious to me.

I love when there is supposed to be a serious moment between powerful Pokémon and they aren't saying anything besides their names! It's so comical, I love it.

They have such a way with words.

The legendary Pokémon calm down and work together to give life back to the island. The revival herbs and grass Pokémon flourish and heal from their illness while Ash and gang continue on their journey.

And yeah! That's basically it for this book.

I did forget to mention Lewis has a partner Pokémon, Gothorita. Just like Palpitoad in Book #1, Gothorita steals the show for me with her expressions.

We stan a goth(orita) queen.

。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°

That's all I have for now, it was quite fun going through these books. My Pokémon anime experience ends with Pokémon Advance, which took place in Generation 3. I enjoyed revisiting the anime art style!

I'm not sure if there are more books in this series, as I only found these two (link again to the first one!) at the store.

As always, you can read the whole book(s) and view higher quality scans on my Internet Archive account.

Thanks for reading!

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samarecharm · 2 years

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YOU. YOU UNDERSTAND!!

Personas having bonds with their users is SUCH a good concept I wish was explored more in canon and the moral ambiguous nature of the Phantom Thieves' personas just make it so much more interesting. Like the leader literally has SATAN as the incarnation of his soul has got to mean something. I could go on for HOURS about it. and loki isn't evil!! he's on the same level as any other persona (perhaps a bit more fucked up, but its part of his charm). He's not driving Akechi to kill people, because he is still Akechi!!

also I would like to remind everyone that Joker was 100% down to kill Kamoshida if Ann had chosen to do it. Joker can have a bit of moral ambiguity too, as a little treat.

Yes yes yes i think so much of the game skimmed over some very interesting mechanics! Thats unfortunately what happens w AAA titles; certain fun concepts are simply introduced, never explored. I wouldve loved to see Arsene talk to you, or have Akira consult him every once in a while. Thats HIS persona! The intro sequences for each of the Main personas is them reminding each thief of what they stand for! They are quite literally bonded and in this together ! One doesnt exist without the other, so i think it is safe to say that personas have their users best interests at heart (literally!)

And u are so right; the moral ambiguity of the thieves is almost NEVER addressed in a way that felt satisfying. The only person who called it like it was, was Goro! I dont think he had an issue with WHAT the thieves were doing; he was more upset with how they were framing it. Goro had no problem using his powers to fuck people up, but he also wasnt pretending he was doing people a favor by doing this. This wouldve been SO good to dig deep into! Akira clearly wants to Help people but he also wants criminals to get what they deserve; theres a pull between ‘just doing the right thing’ and ‘making sure bad people have bad things happen to them’. I dont think this is a negative trait at all tbh but its acknowledging that you can have an Akira who is Spiteful and motivated by vengeance….like goro…

Anyway i think that just adds some confirmation that Satanael is a bit more fitting for Akira than youd think. None of the thieves are goody two shoes (NONE of them!). The police have done nothing to make their lives better, and so they take justice into their own hands.

Ill leave this persons tags here too bc i thought it was relevant to ur thoughts 🤔🤔🤔

#persona 5 #long post #i tried looking up yaldabaoth and like Any history regarding him #but all i could find was a wiki #and then like 4 different links to the p5 yalda #so i think im gonna go back to the wiki and check the references and get some more info from there #its all very interesting; i think atlus cheaped out on like #making the allegory as thin as possible #but its still something to work with #akira and goro hand picked to fulfill a destiny and both of them unknowingly rejecting it #they have their own agency and agenda #and that trumps any ‘good vs bad’ arguments in their eyes #‘ill get whatever power i need to see the end through’ and for akira that meant rivaling the power of a god

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chromaji · 6 months

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like this shit is funny as hell just scrolling through everyone then BOOM GIANT BLUE BAR FOR LUCK. AT LEVEL 4. we're gonna see how well Riot can land ailments in just 5 hours during my next 2hd stream.

#'roger death counter' yall we might have a more powerful candidate #sanna: i am at peace. i am in control of my own destiny. || riot: FUCK IT WE BALL. FUCK IT WE BALL. FUCK IT WE BALL.#i haven't explained that sanna & riot have a dynamic and it's basically 'saturday morning superhero tries to stop her nefarious rival'

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youssefguedira · 2 years

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Yusuf is there when Nicolò enters the old temple, not a vision of him, no portal behind him that will take him somewhere Nicolò cannot follow yet again before he has the chance to reach him, just Yusuf. He's alone, his head tilted upwards and eyes closed, illuminated by the shafts of sunlight that fall through the cracked ceiling. The sight of him - here and safe and whole, finally, after everything Nicolo's fought through to reach him - takes his breath away.

"Nico," Yusuf says, and opens his eyes to look at him. He smiles, and he's still Nicolò’s Yusuf, even after everything that's happened.

Nicolò can't wait another second, then, sheaths his sword at his back and walks up the stone steps towards him. Yusuf's smile widens, and then he's stepping into Nicolò's already open arms, laughing. "I missed you."

"Missed you too," Nicolò says. He kisses Yusuf's temple, holds him close. "So much, Yusuf, you have no idea-"

Yusuf leans back, cupping Nicolò's face in one hand. "I know. It's okay. I'm here."

But Nicolò knows him well enough to know something's wrong. "What is it?"

"It's not over, yet." Yusuf steps out of Nicolò's arms and back a few steps, leaving him cold. "There's so much more you don't know yet, but we're running out of time. He will return, soon, and we're not ready."

"Tell me what I need to do," Nicolò says immediately. He can't bear the idea of Yusuf disappearing again, not now when he's finally here, when every other time Nicolò has tried to reach him he's been a second too late. "Anything, and I'll do it, whatever it is. Just tell me what you need."

Yusuf smiles again, sad. "It's not you, Nico. We need more time. And I can buy it, but-" He cuts himself off.

"Then I'll help you."

Yusuf shakes his head. "You don't understand. For this to work, I need to reform the seal, and I can only do that by" - there are tears in his eyes, now, and dread running down Nicolò's spine - "by sealing myself away along with it."

Nicolò realises just a moment too late what that means. "Yusuf-"

"If I seal myself here, in the past," Yusuf continues, "when you return to our time, it will be just strong enough to hold. You will have the time you need to finish this. And once all this is over, the seal can be broken in our time."

"I can't," Nicolò says. "There has to be another way. This can't be it."

"It's the only choice we have," Yusuf says. "I cannot - this was always my path, Nicolò."

She's manipulating you, Andromache had said, the goddess. She's using Yusuf to make you do what she wants, can't you see? If Nicolò hadn't understood then, he does now - neither of them ever had a choice in this. Yusuf was chosen because Nicolò would follow him anywhere, and Nicolò was chosen for the same reason.

Nicolò realises something else then. "If you seal yourself here, you'll be trapped for thousands of years."

"I'll be asleep," Yusuf says, soft. "It'll be like the blink of an eye. So when this is all over, you'll have to come wake me up." He smiles, then, even through his tears. "Just like old times, no?"

And before Nicolò can say anything else, the air around him begins to glow gold, condensing around Yusuf, who tilts his head back and closes his eyes, and Nicolò cannot move, frozen in place by something beyond his control. All he can do is watch as the light gathers around Yusuf, blindingly bright, until Nicolò cannot see him anymore. Whatever's holding him releases, and he runs towards Yusuf even though the light hurts his eyes, and just as he reaches out the light fades.

Before him is what looks like a crystal, tinged orange, clear enough that he can see Yusuf inside, his eyes closed. He looks like he's just sleeping, like this is one of the mornings Nicolò had had to wake him but had paused for a moment just to watch him.

Nicolò lifts his hand to the crystal. It's freezing cold when he touches it. Yet again, he's too late.

"I'll come back for you," he tells Yusuf, even though he knows Yusuf can't hear him. "I swear it. I'll finish this, and I'll come back for you." His voice is trembling, but he can't let himself break down now, not when there's still work to be done. The faster he finishes his task, the sooner he can wake Yusuf.

(Nile is the first to ask when he returns through the gate, waiting for him with Andy, Quynh and Sebastien nearby. "Where's Yusuf?" she asks, looking behind him - the plan had always been that Nicolò would bring Yusuf back with him, after all.

Nicolò can't bring himself to say it out loud.)

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It feels like an age before Nicolò returns to the temple, now in the present. It's over, finally - the five of them have sealed the demon king away for good. The others are outside.

The crystal is overgrown with vines, now, just like their old favourite meeting place on the island where all of this had started. Its surface is scratched and clouded with age, but Nicolò can still make out Yusuf inside it, looking exactly as he had when Nicolò left him in the past. He hates to think of the crystal here, alone, for so much time.

There's a glowing mark on the crystal's surface that hadn't been there before. Nicolò approaches it carefully and places his hand over the mark.

Almost immediately, glowing cracks begin to grow from where his hand touches the crystal, spreading across the whole thing until it's glowing as brightly as it had when it was formed, but he can't look away. When the light dies down, Yusuf hovers in the air for just a moment before whatever spell had held him there finally breaks, and he collapses, but Nicolò is there to catch him, sinking to his knees and cradling him close. He doesn't move for a moment, and Nicolò is terrified, because what if something had gone wrong-

Yusuf gasps awake, his eyes fluttering open. He looks around frantically before catching sight of Nicolò above him, who nearly sobs with relief, holding him impossibly closer.

"Nicolò?" Yusuf whispers, his voice hoarse. Nicolò nods, unable to speak just yet, blinking back his tears and brushing Yusuf's curls away from where they've fallen into his eyes.

Then Yusuf asks, "Did I oversleep?" and Nicolò has to laugh even though it comes out sounding more like a sob, kisses his forehead and smiles. "It's over, then?"

"It's over," Nicolò confirms, and then, "I love you."

Yusuf sits up and wraps his arms around Nicolò's neck, buries his face in Nicolò's shoulder and holds on tightly. "I love you too."

(When they return, Nile is the first to them, hugs Yusuf so tightly he laughs, and then it's Sebastien's turn, then Andromache and Quynh both.

They choose to stay on the surface, all six of them. And neither Yusuf or Nicolò are the same people anymore - sometimes Nicolò wakes screaming, sometimes Yusuf gets a distant look in his eyes and it takes a worryingly long time for him to come back to himself. Sometimes there are things Yusuf still can't tell Nicolò, and vice versa.

They make it work, though. They find a quiet place in the woods, far away from the temple and any danger, and they're safe, and happy, and together.

It's all Nicolò's ever wanted, really.)

#neon writes #posting this separately in an attempt to unbury it a little #the old guard #kaysanova #ANYWAY guess whos playing skyward sword. thats right folks this is ANOTHER different zelda au #ive condensed the entire thing into this because im not going to write much else for it #but. the plot:#nicolo and yusuf are childhood rivals-to-friends-to-lovers. at the time when Shit Goes Down they're coming up to the point where they have #to pass a specific test to become soldiers/knights/whatever. the wing ceremony if youre a zelda fan but theyre both participating. anyway #they both win (andromache and quynh are two years ahead of them nile and booker are the year below but they're all like. adults. not 17)#anyway they win and go on some kind of flight around the clouds because the kicker is that this takes place on a sky island and they get #around by riding giant birds i love ss. anyway while they're flying around (victory lap or something) yusuf mentions weird dreams he's been #having. then a giant tornado appears things happen yusuf falls below the cloud barrier separating the land from the sky nicolo is thrown #from his bird. wakes up explains this to andy who is like Well Shit. cue epic quest to find yusuf who has some destiny shit to do #gods and all that. its not important #but theyre trying to defeat an evil demon king before he comes back. merrick with horns can be the visual for that. nicolo spends half of #his time chasing after yusuf who always has to leave before they can talk. maybe quynh isnt with them on sky island and is the one guiding #yusuf instead i dont know anyway eventually nicolo has to do some hero stuff and all that. and this happens when theyre running out of time #as a kind of last resort. but then nicolo nile booker andy quynh defeat The Evil and rescue yusuf and its all good #the plot of this isnt very well thought out. i just thought about that scene with zelda and then about them and had to make this about it #enjoy #the reference to yusuf oversleeping is bc there's a bit in skyward sword abt link always sleeping in and then having to wake zelda and it #causes me 10 psychic damage so i had to adapt it here. that line is the whole reason this fic exists

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