#so sorry i'm going to ramble soooo much this was such a good quest

[allegorism]

penacony being an ipc penal colony that fought for its freedom and it being the main scenario for how aventurine, a former slave sentenced to die for killing his master and that is currently working for the ipc, stages his own death while asking himself why can't he feel free. and eventually, through that staged death, he reaches the one place in which the ipc nor the family, the two factions who could have him executed, have any control over him after making peace with his child self...

#he gambled with his own life. all or nothing #and he won. #like. man we're SO back #i can't wait to see where the plot goes from here on #probably it will take a while until we see aventurine again because we're dealing with whatever is happening in penacony #and the sea of quanta is its own can of worms #but the way they're introducing hi3 lore through acheron AND welt who was introduced in the sea of quanta arc..... #so sorry i'm going to ramble soooo much this was such a good quest #hsr spoilers #mona.txt

[alienturnip]

Finished FF16 a few days ago and I do have some (long) thoughts about it, so I'm noting them down below. Reactions include the Waloed & Origin arcs.

Tagging @zadien as you requested <3 My thoughts won't be organized but I'll try my best to articulate as I go. Wall of text alert!

I think this is yet another case of "the story didn't satisfy me a lot but the characters bewitched me body and soul" so here I am at the end of the roads... with a lot of grievances toward how the story was structured & written but also impossibly attached to the cast haha, needless to say I have fanart ideas planned and incoming.

Things that I enjoyed a lot:

CliveJill's scene with the snow daisies, where she tells Clive that she wants to spread her wings after all this is over. MY GIRLFRIEND... YOU SHALL HAVE THE WORLD.

Jill being so good with acting dkfjsl <3 <3 she's so cute....

Jill being as much of a ruthless mtfk as Clive, they're soooo in tune when it comes to wrecking havoc

Everything about Joshua he brings SO SO MUCH to the table both with his personalities and the themes he represents. I would ramble if not for fear of this post's length...

Dion's contradictory demeanor hahahahaha - he insisted everyone call him "Dion" but wouldn't shut up about "Ifrit" and "Phoenix", he also refused Harpocrates' gift but then gave another to Clive 2 seconds later, then sauntered off without even checking if Clive likes it or not...

I generally bemoan the lack of discussion on Dion's relationship with his country's imperialism and his hands in that (like, everything about him was perfect to address that topic even in very brief ways?), BUT I highly enjoyed Dion's theme about the loss of personhood and to be reduced to a vessel of power and worship, his multifaceted relationship with the concepts of power & duty & hierarchy. So subtly yet powerfully done with so little screen time... I think Clive's own engagement with the theme (which is supposed to be his central theme) comes short in comparison.

Dion's side quest with Harpocrates also scratched my brain in INCREDIBLY ways, but again I won't ramble too much in this post...

(Hahaha by this point I think everyone knows who my fav is)

Dion & Joshua's dialogues are all so well-written (maybe save for Joshua's last speech...)

Everything about Mid & Gav, they're beautifully done, I love them they have such solid places within the narrative and lovely personalities too. When I watched Mid navigating the Entreprise I was just squealing and cheering for her! Her talking about the dream of flight and the danger it might entail, and her plan of turning such a weighted topic into a lighthearted treasure hunt! My gosh 💗 Gav's drinking scene with Clive is also especially touching, I felt a lot for his burdens.

Lady Isabelle may I have your hand in marriage--

Clive holding Joshua or clutching his body...... breaks me every time I love love LOVE tragic siblings

I can honestly write an essay for each of the characters (especially Jill & Dion my thoughts about them are overflowing) but they will have to be separate posts at this point, let me know @zadien (or anyone else reading this 🫣) if you'd like me to talk some more.

NOW onto the criticisms proper...

Waloed & Origin arcs were pretty underwhelming, mostly because I feel like they haven't offered anything new that wasn't already resolved in the previous arcs...? I enjoyed Barnabas' vibe but his impact on me was a big fat 0, and here comes the conundrum because, well, I'm guessing him being emotionless & devoid of a personality is supposed to be the point with his worship of Ultima, but even that was not done well... All his bedroom scenes kinda ruined all of that, not to mention the out-of-nowhere 'mother' appearances that the story doesn't even bother to explore aside from showing her naked body (Benedikta got the same treatment after her death my god I'm so sorry my beloved)...

Idk what I'm supposed to take away from the character and, in consequence, the Waloed arc? I know nothing of who he was, his dialogues didn't even match Clive's growth at that point - again, why is Clive questioning his humanity NOW of all time, when the story has been going so well? Could they have, idk, shown Clive's fear coming back to him after reuniting with Joshua & discovering Dion's descend to madness, so that they can segue into the Waloed arc more smoothly - that despite Clive's best intention he may lose all his control at the most crucial point and ruin all that he holds dear (like Dion), and that he never let go of his guilt at Phoenix Gate, and having Joshua back unwittingly brought back the nightmares he'd lived with for 13 years? Maybe that would give his identity crisis at the beach some more substance instead of "Barnabas bested me twice and now I'm wet and sat" situation he got going on... I am thankful for Mid & Dion's arc & CliveJill romance & everything about Joshua but the main villain & plot points felt so distant... MY BRAIN WAS NOT SCRATCHED

(I adore Mid & Dion & Joshua hahaha they're so colorful in 3 entirely different directions, my silly children)

I am also not really convinced by Ultima's writing. The plot reveal of him being a God who created humanity but then abandoned us all *could* have been pretty powerful and on point if it wasn't executed in such fragmented ways. If only they dig deeper into one or two specific aspects of that concept to explore...

I am especially fond of the idea of Ultima as symbolic for "the absent parent" and "the narcissistic parent" (both in the intimate familial context and the wider context of head-of-state/leader figures), which could have paralleled SO WELL with Anabella & Sylvestre & EVEN ELWIN had they not cut off Anabella's presence immediately after her death, or had they make Dion reflect deeper upon his relationship with his father beyond "I killed him I am so sad", or had they make Joshua's and Clive's memories of Elwin more complicated - maybe in how they (especially Joshua) worshipped his as their father & leader, but less so as a man, someone human & flawed? And then they can explore how the children gaining autonomy & freedom despite their parents & the circumstances that shaped their childhood as a direct mirror to them breaking away from Ultima? The frustrating thing is, I THINK they did try to do that, what with all the Inner Voice snippets and the initial buildups and all, but the execution keeps coming up short...

Ultima & the Eikons as symbols of "power that binds & enthralls" in contradiction with Clive's fight for a "free world" could've been much more relevant and poignant if maybe they allowed us to get more invested in Ultima's backstory (flashback cutscenes perhaps? more involved murals? a more multifaceted discussion around the concept of will? some attempts at humanizing Ultima's race so that when Clive says "you're just like us" we feel it a bit deeper?) instead of just having the guy monotonously narrating all the plot twists... my god. Not to mention all the on-the-nose dialogues of power of friendship & crude slavery allegories... I don't know! I think Square did NOT do it well in this one.

That's all I can pull from the top of my head at the moment! Ready to hop into replies or asks to talk some more, but yea!

#ff16 #I have both love and frustration for this game in equally intense measure #hoping that the general impression didn't come off as being too negative but yeah... #...at this rate I am just listing all my wishful thinking for things that might have happened #trying to rewrite the game in my head etc. etc. #On an unrelated note #I was fighting the Knight of Splendent Heart and was again filled with longing for A TERENCE BOSS FIGHT #for twinside arc #that'd be my dying wish... #Just-- Square #listen #just lift these moves in wholesale #or maybe even reuse Clive's later Bahamut skills #MAYBE DION BLESSED HIM LIKE JOSHUA DID CLIVE I DON'T KNOW-- #jura plays ff16 #ff16 spoilers

[tosteur-gluteal]

GUYS

WEBTOONS

Click for my ramble

Nomads by Captain Juuter: I LOVE IT! I joke around saying that Lance is better Izuku (and I began to read the webtoon for that) but DUDE I'M EMOTIONALLY INVESTED. LIKE. SO BAD. HELP ME. The characters are awesome, the universe is so cool, the lore is simple yet SO INTRIGUING. Even the antagonists are so likeable like WHAT (they're not bad peeps dwbi). Amazing. I love it.

demoholic by noxmillion: I picked up the webtoon because bro has green hair (and grass hair is funny) and idk why, i jusr felt so good reading this. It felt nostalgic for some reason??? Idk, the silliness, the dynamics, it just felt like home?? Uuhhh yeah also at the same time I was reading another webtoon with the love interest as another not human green haired guy and I was like "bro is tryna copy demoholic 🙄🙄🙄🙄" (turns out it's not a bad webtoon I just prefer my boy Yugo) Also the panels are dynamic, the characters are funny, I'm eager to read more!!!

My Daddy is a Villain by M0N0KR0M: SO DAMN CUTE!! This webtoon, hear me out, this webtoon makes me smile all the time. IT'S SO WHOLESOME!! So funny. I just love the dad's energy so bad, I love Mona so so so so soooo much she's so precious I would die for her. My favourite side character is definitely Hisashi he's 10/10

Surviving Romance by Lee Yone : I am. So invested. In the characters. Goddammit. You think it's a romance but PLOT TWIST!! It's a zombie apocalypse and our girl Chaerin has some steel balls I swear. Rina is definitely my favourite. She's 🔥💯💯💯

I can't spoil because it's so so so good please don't miss on this you WILL regret it

Omniscient Reader : Guys. Who doesn't know Omniscient Reader I LIVE for Dokja's tomfoolery . I know it's looonnggg asf but man I just love this dude. He's a silly. Also I used to hate Junghyeok but now he's like. Ritsu from MP100. I like him he's my little piece of shit 😚 their dynamic is so fucking funny

Hyper Ultra Giga Magical Quest by Lolo: I know, it's in French, I'm sorry, but LISTEN THIS WEBTOON WAS ONE OF MY FIRST. It's so cool. The silliness is overflowing. the artstyle is so pretty. So magical. So gay. So 💥💥💥

It just brings back the cartoon energy from my childhood. Idk why. It felt like uhhh Wakfu??? Copycut??? Kaeloo?? Idk I might be on crack. I JUST LOVE IT.

Magical Mom by Prinnstar: Man I wished Pailin was my mom 😭 it's very wholesome! The art is stunning!! It updates very rarely sadly, but the few episodes we get are YUMMY!!! Get this now!! Cool action scenes!! Magical people!! Silly talking cat!! I like talking cats.

I can't go on with the list just, have my faves here. Might update it later

#toaster talks #toaster being silly #toaster ramble #webtoons #webtoons original #webtoon canvas