#how the esper kids relationships evolved & all

[kunstkombi]

MP100 Fallout AU

I wrote down some headcanons for this AU (& others) in February & well, come April there's suddenly a Fallout TV series? (& there are Magic the Gathering Fallout cards since earlier this year, too??) Well Fallout brainrot is revived, here's long-ass worldbuilding/background ramblings.

Vault Tec & Claw

Claw existed before the Great War as an organization researching psychic abilities; though in this universe powers initially don't nearly reach the levels of MP100 canon

Toichiro & his wife start working with Vault Tec overseas & are assigned Vault 100, that is just being constructed

They are to conduct experiments with FEV-variants on promising psychics to try & enhance their abilities by new means the vaults offer in the future

Mob is born in 2058

Several years later Toichiro starts to "collect" mostly young espers to populate the vault with; of course the plan of direct & experimentation with yet unknown risks is left out

Parents of the kids he's interested in are offered contracts that promise a safe place for them to survive with the downside of being taken away to 'monitor', but the desperation over the worsening state of the world makes it easy to agree

The Kageyamas even beg for them to take both their sons, not only the one with some innate abilities - and succeed

Toichiro's wife leaves him over the increasingly unethical plans for the vault, but to her dismay their own son stays with his father

Vault Occupancy

In 2072 the contracts take effect & Vault 100 is populated and sealed (with mostly kids from JP & USA families)

Toichiro & the Ultimate 5 are in charge and oversee the vault and experiments

For about two years the vault is operated with its young residents living a pretty standard vault life, they have restricted permission to be in contact with their families

As the experiments so far show no effect & the young population is getting harder to control, the decision is made to make them enter cryosleep early & continue with different lines of experimentation while in this state

In 2074 all residents except the six in charge enter cryosleep, including Toichiro's own son

Correspondence with parents of the kids is fabricated from here on

Many of the kids die in the next few years while supplemented with barely tested substances to increase their affinities

In 2077 on the day of the Great War, Toichiro & the Ultimate 5 enter cryosleep themselves, joining their own experiments as subjects now that the fatality rates have reached 0 & brain scans look promising

They set their own systems to awake at a scheduled point in the future

Post-Apocalypse

It goes as planned; the 6 of them wake up & find themselves enhanced with never before seen psychic powers, marking their final experiments a success

Vault 100 is unsealed & Toichiro wakes only Sho from the remaining children, to take him with him

Sho is initially too weak to fight back but doesn't take to it kindly; as soon as he is able he goes back

He wakes Ritsu first, of course

Together they start waking the remaining kids - some of them, including Ritsu, don't seem to see any changes in their abilities, several of them are incredibly disoriented

However, Mob's cryopod malfunctions and won't release him - they could break it, but can't guarantee his survival should they forcibly remove him

They can only try to look for someone to help, so even if Ritsu has a hard time leaving he and Sho start their wasteland journey with that mission, while Teru stays back to watch over the others and Mob

Unfortunately Toichirou comes back in search of Sho and they are forced to flee, leaving Mob unattended

Reigen & Mob

Not too long after everyone's gone, Reigen instead finds the vault - it looks newly opened which could promise a fortune (& he isn't so wrong about that)

Despite, or because, not knowing what he's doing, he ends up accidentally releasing the single kid left

Mob is fine but overwhelmed & immediately starts frantically looking for Ritsu

Reigen's words don't get through to Mob - he gets some reaction when he talks to him in Japanese, but ultimate can just follow while Mob scours the whole vault

Soon he gets a showcase of Mob's new powers & in their strongest form, while Mob reaches 100% despair

In the explosion, most of the vault is destroyed

Reigen is shocked but fascinated and he stays with Mob and calms him

His initial plan to bring the kid somewhere safe asap change with the idea of taking him with him to profit from these powers - Reigen himself is not the strongest & survives mainly on charisma & luck out there

Reigen lies to him about knowing more than he does & possibly being able to help him find his brother

Throughout Mob's traumatic awakening into an entirely unknown world alone Reigen is his only company & guidance, so Mob trusts him quickly - & Reigen gets attached quickly

Reigen continues lying but his own gains aside, he soon genuinely tries to help Mob find Ritsu as well as the truth

Somewhere along on their journey they meet Dimple, an intelligent super mutant & he tags along, initially also out of interest in Mob's powers

[mob-choir]

hi! just wondering if u have any mp100 fic recs particularly nonromantic ones? i read “A Breach of Trust” already and that one went straight to the Fics of All Time for me!!

hello! here's some stuff from my bookmarks that is non-romantic, or where if there is any romance, it's not the main focus:

Issho by @toastytoaster22: a canon divergence AU where teru meets shigeo and ritsu when he's 8 years old, and things go from there. this is THE go-to fic if you liked A Breach of Trust imo - not for the genre and tone, those are different (though admittedly it's been years since I reread Abot so my memory of it is a bit fuzzy - will need to reread it soon!), but the key aspects are the same: it's a very well-written, long fic, with a gripping plot, excellent characterisation and introspection (the pov is absolutely fantastic), and heart-warming familial bonds that will make you cry. this fic will break your heart and then lovingly put it back together.

Butterfly Effect by Frecklefrog: similar concept to the above, also a fantastic execution. reigen and mob meet teru while out on a job, when the kids are around 11, and the plot evolves from there. again this has great characterisation and the relationships are very well-written, especially teru and reigen's.

Hiding His Horns (an orphaned work): this one is listed in ao3 as terumob but in my opinion this fic is plot-heavy more than anything else, and gives equal weight to reigen and mob's and mob and ritsu's relationship (in addition to teru and mob's), so i wouldn't say it's about romance. but it IS written in teru's pov, and his feelings for mob are not exactly subtle, so if that's not your cup of tea, i'd skip this one. but if that doesn't bother you, then i really recommend it. it's a witches and demons AU where teru, a promising young witch/exorcist, really really wants reigen, an incredibly famous exorcist, to take him on as an apprentice. he's less than pleased when he discovers reigen in fact already has a student, and that student is a demon of all things.

The Joy of Cooking (for a Family You Didn't Know You Had) by pepperfield: a 5 + 1 collection about reigen treating the people in his life to meals. this one is just great if you're looking for something about reigen and the gaggle of kids he ended up pretty much adopting. very very heartwarming, and the crazy conversations the kids have always make me laugh. each of their voices is spot-on. this fic does have some serirei, especially one of the later chapters, but it's not the overall focus of the fic at all.

The Destiny of Those Around You by @fightmemogami: this one is a series containing two fics, both equally great. both are missing moments from s1, after the seventh division arc. one is about shigeo visiting kamuro, the student council president (as he mentions to ritsu in the last ep of s1), and the other is about a conversation that may have happened between mob and onigawara (based on that comment he gave ritsu about how "your brother was worried about you"). both these fics are very good, i especially enjoy the way shigeo is written.

Color in a Monochrome World by Sifl: i have to be honest, i haven't reread this collection yet since i first did back in 2016, but it's in my bookmarks and i remember really enjoying it. it's a collection of gen fics, about different characters and different relationships, and while they can be read as stand-alones, they are subtly interconnected. the details are a bit fuzzy in my memory but it's very well-written, so i do recommend it. i will be rereading it soon myself.

Port in a Storm by W3LTERW8: this is a short character study set right after the separation arc. contains some good angst, as well as a great conversation between reigen and mob in the aftermath of what was a turning point for both of them.

Signed Up For It by @turning-the-kaleidoscope: heart-warming fic that takes place both before and after canon, focused on reigen's pov of the sort of world shigeo, as a born esper, lives in, and how different that world is from reigen's own. and how despite all that, reigen still wants to stay. has some great dialogue that really stuck with me, and the hurt/comfort is fantastic.

tomorrow isn't always another day by suitablyskippy (tumblr won't let me @ them, but they're also on here with the same username, I believe): hilarious fic, made me laugh out loud multiple times with how clever and quick-witted the writing is. reigen is caught in a time loop, is apparently the only person to be aware of it, and can't seem to find the cause, no matter how many times he asks mob to check if he's got a curse on him. excellent writing that casually drops some of the best-written, funniest lines like it's nothing.

Pull Up The Weeds to Grow Back Stronger by @spiritusrex: we are now entering what I'm calling the Mogami section of this post. this one is a great fic about minori in mogamiland, and how she slowly but surely manages to rebel against the role she is being made to play. great depiction of the start of a redemption arc.

I know who I am when I'm alone by RedWritingHood: mogami arc fic where reigen is also stuck in mogamiland as another random inhabitant of this world. really really great fic about how your thoughts and feelings don't determine the sort of person you are, your actions do. you can still do good by someone no matter how many intrusive thoughts try to get you to be a horrible person.

Come Morning Light by NotHereForIt: this one deals with the fallout of the mogami arc. reigen finds himself in a dream that isn't his, where mob is being haunted by the six months that never happened. some darker themes, as expected from anything dealing with the mogami arc, but great hurt/comfort.

since you asked for non-romantic stuff particularly, I will put the following two recs on their own. they're both terumob, and the romance is pretty central in both (especially in the second one), so they may not be your cup of tea, but they both have some of the best redemption arcs i've ever read, both in this fandom and outside of it. if you don't mind the romance, i wholeheartedly recommend them, i've read both multiple times:

Tunnel Vision (orphaned): a canon divergence AU (set before the two of them meet) where mob's school is undergoing some renovations and he and his friends are temporarily relocated to teru's school. teru senses there's another esper at his school and does NOT take it well. he makes a lot of mistakes. roughly follows the events of season 1. written in teru's pov so his feelings for mob are always prominent as they slowly shift from animosity to something else, but i don't know if i would even call this a love story. it's about teru's redemption first and foremost. excellent writing and characterisation, and i have to give a special shoutout to tsubomi, i really loved the way she was written in this fic.

Sword of Damocles (also orphaned): cannot describe in words the impact this fic has had on me. it's a no powers AU set when the kids are 16. teru is, to put it bluntly, a complete asshole, and so are his friends. when he brags to them that he'd be able to charm anyone and get them to kiss him (without being the one to make the first move), they dare him to prove it, and point to a random guy walking by (shigeo) as his target. now teru just needs to charm him and get his kiss so he can go back to his life, but it may not be as easy as it seems. obviously this fic has a lot of romance in it since teru is trying to charm mob into going out with him since the start, but the slow burn is one of the best i've ever read. teru starts off as highly unlikable, and he's not very charitable (in his head) towards mob at all, but slowly, very slowly, he starts to change. it's incredibly well-written, and as the title implies, you spend the whole time reading it with a sense of anticipation and dread, wondering when things are gonna come crashing down and how bad the fallout will be. a really, really great fic, i wish i could reread it as if it was the first time.

that's all i've got for you! i hope at least some of these can pique your interest, and that you enjoy them. would love to hear your thoughts on the ones you do read, if you like! i'm always open to talk about great fics.

[animalanie]

A Certain Scientific Railgun Headcanon: How You Met Them

Fandom: A Certain Scientific Railgun/ A Certain Magical Index

Title: How You Met Them

Pairing: Characters X Gender Neutral Reader

Warning(s): Maybe false information? (Explained below)

A/N: Hello, everyone! It's been a very long time since I saw this anime, so if some parts don't make sense or are incorrect, please let me know. Also, I wrote about the recurring/main characters because there are just so many of them. If there is a particular character you would like to see, please let me know! Enjoy!

If you like my work, feel free to find more in my Masterlist! Or if you would like to see more, you can request here from any of these fandoms!

Accelerator: You had heard a lot about the highest-ranked of the level 5s in the city. Of course, you had never met him in person. One day, however, you had seen a little version of Misaka Mikoto, one of the level 5s of the city, running into the park frantically and stopping in front of you since you were one of the few people there. As confused as you were, you were very keen on taking care of her until her guardian came and took her home with them. Both of you were playing in the park when he ran over to where you two were, on the swings. His clothes and hair were a complete mess as he regained his breath next to you. Needless to say, he was very worried about the kid- something you had never thought to be the first thing you would learn about him, and definitely not the last.

Index: You were Toma's neighbour for quite a long time but after a certain day, you began hearing weird noises constantly. They were mostly muffled yelling or things crashing around and you were sick of it, so, you finally decide to check out what the cause was. You knew for certain Toma lived alone and couldn't help the urge to check it out. The second you knocked on the door, it flew open but no one greeted you, not at first. You looked down to see a white-haired girl wearing nun-like clothing, except it was being held together with golden safety pins. Her puppy dog eyes looked up at you as Toma walked up behind her.

Kanzaki: A skilled sorceress who was the hot topic around where you lived, yes, she was. You, unlike other people, absolutely despised her because of the rumours you heard. That was until you got to meet her once when you were at the church near your residence. You were definitely shocked to see her at a place like that, considering everything you heard about her. But there she was, standing amongst a few other nuns and chatting with them as if it were natural to her. With all the courage you had, you approached them. The thing that surprised you the most was that she was nothing like you had learned from others.

Kuroko: You both were in the same class for your new year in middle school and only found out halfway through when you had a class trip. You two were in the same group for your daily activities and clicked with each other instantly. You realized how weird it was that you two didn't know of each other's existence before this event took place but were glad to meet each other, even if it was as late as it was. Not to mention, it was absolutely unbelievable how much time you both ended up spending during the whole trip.

Last Order: You first met her at a park and found her running around in just a torn up blanket. You were sitting on a bench when she ran past you and tripped over a rock, and because of your power to manipulate time, you were quick enough to act upon that. However, you could say it was an awkward first meeting since you caught her by her blanket, causing it to tear off from her body. Though, slowing down the time to your advantage once more, you caught her by her arm this time and wrapped the blanket around her before anyone else in the park saw the state she was in. She was quick to thank you with a toothy smile.

Misaka: You were known for your ability to use the wind to its advantage and were a level 4 esper, not to mention, very close to becoming another one of the level 5s in the city. You assumed that the reason it was Misaka that approached you and no one else was that you were in the same school. You never really asked and she never said. You were, either way, awestruck when she asked you to meet her at a cafe near the school. She told you more about other level 5s and helped you train to control your power better and become stronger but made sure you two had fun at the same time. Needless to say, your relationship evolved further than just training buddies.

Saten: You were a level 1 esper with the ability to bend water at your will but were still learning the basics of controlling the way water moves. You had been doing so for at least a year, though, and saw no progress, which made discouraged you undoubtedly. You had stopped practicing as much anymore but when you finally found the courage to try again, you went to the river you always practiced by to find a girl, who you learned was Saten. Your friendship mostly began because of the similarities you had when it came to becoming stronger and this only helped you encourage each other.

Toma: You were new to Academy city and were very fascinated by what the local people here possessed in themselves. It was something you had never seen and it was naturally very unique to you. One of the people who caught your eye, though, was Toma, a guy who always called himself unlucky and thought nothing would ever work for him. You ended up meeting him in a popular mall where he was struggling to handle a girl in white clothing. You were still very clueless as to what made you attracted to the boy with apparently no esper ability. Contrary to his constant statements, however, you were sure there was something he possessed, something unique.

Uiharu: You recently joined the Judgement and were to learn the basics of the committee members' routines, duties, and responsibilities. To guide you, Uiharu stepped up and made sure you knew how to make certain decisions when necessary and what actions you were expected to take in certain situations. She was your mentor for about a week as you followed her around and helped her out. Though she was extremely shy at first and couldn't speak to you without stuttering at least once, she began to loosen up as time went on before she finally found herself feeling comfortable around you.

[serenlyss]

Mob Psycho Fic Recs

I've been keeping track of some of my favorite finished and in-progress mp100 fics as I find them and figured I'd show them some love by linking them here! They come in no particular order or genre, just whichever I bookmarked last haha. If you"re looking for good mp100 fics be sure to check these out!

To Strike A Chord Author: Hino Rating: Teen Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: platonic ritshou, mutual trauma, post world domination arc Summary: Ritsu visits Shou, feeling uneasy about his past. But he's not the only one. My Notes: Short and sweet, it touches on Shou and Ritsu’s mutual trauma from the World Domination arc and gives insight in the Suzuki family relationship before Touichirou decided to take over the world. Also Shou plays the guitar.

Of Cold Hands Reaching Author: UncannyCookie Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: terumob (can be read as platonic), angst, ptsd, trauma recovery, hurt/comfort, dissociation, miscommunication, post-mogami arc, slow burn Summary: After six months in Mogami's mind world that weren't even real anyway, Mob returns to his old life. Everything is fine. My Notes: A really interesting take on what Mob’s mind looks like after spending six months in Mogami’s fake world. It gets pretty real when discussing Mob’s dissociation and apathy about the whole thing but gets sweet at the end and has a happy ending. It’s introspective, which I really like, but has enough lighter moments in between that it doesn’t feel heavy constantly.

Delirium Author: Janekfan Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: serirei, pneumonia, hospitalization, guilt, smoking, depression, sel-harm, panic attacks, fever, sickfic, love, kissing, caretaking, misunderstandings, mental instability, flashbacks, unconsciousness Summary: Reigen questions himself. My Notes: Reigen decides to pick up smoking again as a coping mechanism and hides it from Serizawa. It goes into Reigen’s feelings of self-loathing and depressive tendencies that the manga only really touches on. It’s dreary pretty much throughout but does have a happy ending to end on a high note!

April Fools Author: SparkyFrootloops Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: dad reigen, good parent reigen, teru is reigen’s son, hijinks & shenanigans, pranks Summary:  Teruki gets to celebrate April Fools Day at his new home with Reigen. My Notes: This fic is short but so so funny and full of heart. Teru trying to prank Reigen, who he lives with in the context of the story, is hilarious and all the dialogue is just gold. I also really love Mob’s cameo in the second half. Just a solid found family comedy one-shot to lighten your mood and make you smile.

Broken, Repaired, New Author: GalacticConfectionist Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: serirei, abuse, child abuse, domestic violence (all abuse is only implied/referenced, never shown), light angst, hurt/comfort, pining, good parent reigen, good brother reigen, original character but she’s really good Summary: “You’re a good kid” He said, ruffling his student’s hair. There’s a moment of quiet and Reigen sighs, “Mob, remember this. Guys who hit women are the biggest losers in the world.” Reigen’s sister comes to visit, shenanigans ensue. My Notes: I don’t usually go for fics with ocs in them since I don’t typically end up connecting with them but this is one of the rare exceptions! Reigen’s sister escapes her abusive husband with her daughter and goes to Reigen for help. She ends up staying with Serizawa and trying to set him up with her brother. Despite the references to abuse it’s actually a very lighthearted fic about wanting to make your friends happy and taking care of those you consider to be family. Misaki and Reigen’s sibling relationship is well-written and she has enough personality and motivation to make me invested in her situation. Just an all-around good read if you want to smile and feel happy.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! lol Author: marnies Rating: Not Rated Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: serirei, good parent reigen, good parent serizawa, sickfic, fluff, epic family moments Summary:  reigen and serizawa adopt teru and shou and move in together asmr My Notes: This fic is just a good time. It’s not too far in but still has enough content to be worth a read. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but that’s the charm of it, and it comes across as humorous and lighthearted with its found family dynamics. Reigen and Serizawa are both clueless parents of their adopted sick kids and are just trying to help each other out.

The Space Between Author: sofia-estrella Rating: M (nsfw content in later chapters) Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: serirei, reigen pov, slow burn, coworkers to friends to lovers Summary: Reigen never expected Serizawa to stay. My Notes: A really nice fic about how Reigen and Serizawa’s relationship grows and evolves slowly as they spend more than a year together over the course of the narrative. Both Reigen and Serizawa are very in character and their relationship is approached with care and concern from both sides, which I think is very fitting for them! It does a good job of balancing soft character interaction with personal squabbles and drama, which makes for an interesting and entertaining read.

The Joy of Cooking (for a Family You Didn’t Know You Had) Author: pepperfield Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: good parent reigen, background serirei, found family, unintentional parenthood, cooking, meddling kids, family fluff, food as a metaphor for love, getting together, light pining, 5+1 Summary: At first, it's easy. Mob likes takoyaki. This, Reigen can remember. When Teru moves in, things get a little more complex, but it's fine. He only has to feed one kid on a regular basis; he can handle this. But before he knows it, he's memorized all of Tome's favorite restaurants and he's keeping a stash of snacks in the office just in case Shou visits. This whole "family" business has gotten out of hand. My Notes: Good old dad Reigen taking care of his five unruly children. In this fic Teru lives with Reigen and everyone else is just along for the collective ride. It’s a 5+1 fic about Reigen cooking/buying food for the kids as a way to show he cares about them. It’s really cute and shows how much Reigen cares about the esper boys and Tome after all is said and done in the manga.

On Revelations and Renovations Author: mustdang100 Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: good parent reigen, reigen adopts teru, background serirei, hurt/comfort, adoption, fluff and humor, 5+1 Summary: “I’m really sorry to bother you, but, ah, I don’t suppose that offer to stay at your place for the night was still an option?” Five times Reigen got called a 'dad,' and one time he called himself one - a vignette-style fic on how Teruki grows up and Reigen acquires a family in the days, months, and years following the World Domination arc. My Notes: Teru decides to stay with Reigen after all following the world domination arc, and then never leaves. It’s a super cute and fun fic about found family dynamics between all the main cast, but specifically Reigen and Teru. Teru and Reigen’s banter is well-written and funny, and the whole concept and execution is really charming and fun to ready.

A Real (Psychic) Conman Author: Trinz Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: esper!reigen, empath!reigen, swearing, reigen centric Summary:  An AU where Reigen actually is the 21st century's greatest psychic- or at least the second, or third, or maybe fourth- the point is that he’s an esper and his "I'm so powerful I can hide my aura" thing is... actually true. My Notes: This is one of my current favorite fics. I read it all over the course of like two days up to its current chapter and I’m in love with the author’s psychic Reigen concept. It follows the canon storyline with some divergence to account for Reigen actually having powers, and really paints him in a different light. It also has an air of mystery with its over-arching plot that, seventeen chapters in, still has only been hinted at, but the real star of the fic is the way a psychically powered Reigen interacts with Mob, Ritsu, and Dimple and the creative ways the author incorporates his powers of telepathy and empathy. Really creative and a super fun long read if you want a longer story!

[smokeybrand]

Zodiac Age

It’s no secret that i am a massive fan of the Final Fantasy series. Essays abut that franchise riddle this blog. My adoration for their world building and storytelling is profound, even is they kind of devolve into a Star Wars-esque retelling at time. Square sure does love that Hero Journey literary trope. Things like that don’t bug me because there are little unique changes to that specific plot, little dashes of creativity that take the form of setting, characters, or overall plot. It might follow the trope in the sense of character development, but the story told to get there is wholly it’s own. And let me tell you, some of these stories are the best that’s ever been told.

Final Fantasy VII is my favorite of the entire series. Great characters, vivid world, and a plot simple enough to follow but embellished to near mythic levels. Final Fantasy IX is another favorite, though, that one is more a fairy tale than anything. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a goddamn masterpiece and epic in it’s own right, but that story is more than at home with those old Grimm tales we were told as kids. It’s mad endearing that way. Final Fantasy Tactics, spin-off title, is probably the best story, overall, told under the FF banner and it’s not even a main title. The War of Lions is a tale of political intrigue, familial bonds, and devastating betrayal sprinkled with magic and demons and summons and dragons. It’s f*cking incredible and can give Game  of Thrones a run for it’s money. I imagine, in time, i’ll revisit these stories and gush about why i love them so but that’s not what this essay is about. No, this essay is about the second best narrative in the entire FF franchise; A narrative that has been written off because people couldn’t get passed the gameplay. This essay is about my fourth favorite Final Fantasy title, Final Fantasy XII

The strongest part of this game is easily the story. It starts with a wedding. A beautiful affair between two nations to solidify a peaceful relation and treaty of prosperity but that bliss would not last. War, a bloody coupe, the death of a prince, and the betrayal of a king. All of this happens in the intro to the game. As you play, you take the perspective of a common street rat. You follow along with his misadventures, exploring the oasis city of Rabanastre withing the annexed kingdom of Dalmasca. During his various excursions, Vaan finds himself entwined with the charismatic sky pirate and main character, Balthier, as well as his longtime Viera companion, Fran. After a heist gone wrong, the group find themselves thrown into the same lot as the presumed dead princess of Dlamasca, Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca, and the man framed for murdering her father, Basch Fon Ronsenburg. The party is eventually completed by the final addition of Vaan’s childhood friend, Penelo. What starts as a tale of rebellion and unrest, evolves into something so much more. The dismantling of the current world system, the shattering of chains binding man to malevolent gods, wresting control of human destiny back into human hands, and a destiny laid forth by a visionary painted as a tyrant.

Final Fantasy XII is a grand epic that feels very intimate, very small. You’re never far from the characters or their plight. Indeed, it’s their development and relationships that drive this story. Political intrigue and human destiny aside, the interactions between these individuals are absolutely wonderful. Vaan is a chump but, having played this game several times and looking back on this story with the eyes of an adult who appreciates great storytelling, his blank personality is necessary. He’s the vehicle the audience uses to immerse themselves in this world. He’s our allegory so ll that bland that colors him is simple place holder. an is who we make him. On the other end of that spectrum, you have the “villain” Vayne Carudas Solidor. Vayne is easily one of the best written characters in the entire franchise. His characterization and development can give Delita from Tactics and Ardyn Izunia from XV. Holy sh*t, Ardyn is magnificent. I can write an entire essay on him, alone, but that’s one for later. Maybe. XII is one of the best written of all the FF titles but Vayne, specifically, is written on an entirely different level. There’s never a time when you do not understand his motivation. There is never a time where you do not agree with his logic. There is never a time when you condemn his deeds. They are all necessary for the ultimate goal of human prosperity. Vayne is the antagonist of this story because of circumstance and he understands that better than anyone. He even prepared for that eventuality with his brother, Larsa. Even in defeat, he still wins; A victory for all that cost him everything. F*cking brilliant writing, man. Brilliant.

The world of Final Fantasy XII is absolutely gorgeous. It takes place in Ivalice, the only recurring setting in the FF franchise. It’s a staple, like Chocobos or Moogles. Vagrant Story and the Tactics games all take place here, to varying capacities. I love how meaty the lore and systems are for this universe. The Judge system permeates almost every title taking place here and they are to be heeded. Ranging from consequences of battle to outright characters in the narrative, these judges often have ornate armors and insane strength. Gabranth, the main Judge of XII, serves a rather dubious role throughout this tale. He and his contemporary, Cidolfus Demen Bunansa, the Cid of this game and father of Blathier, work together with Vayne to further his ambitions. Chasing their wake leads our team all over Ivalcie, visiting Ordalia, Valdenia, Kerwon, and Purvma. We follow Fran home to the Salikawood and hunt some powerful monsters in the rolling dunes of the Giza Plains. This world is gorgeously realized with loving passion and gentle renders. It really is a feast for the eyes.

Now, the reason everyone passes on this particular title lies in the fact that the gameplay doesn’t feel like an FF title. In that regard, the discourse is correct. XII does not play like a traditional Final Fantasy title. It skews closer to their MMO titles rather than their offline fair. It can be difficult to learn but is it really so different than what you’re used to? Is it really so alien? XII does a pretty decent job teaching you how to manage your party. Admittedly, yo can’t directly control what everyone does at every second but all titles in this franchise are kind of like this. I can see how that aspect can be disorientating wit the pseudo-action RPG aesthetic. That’s why there are Gambits. These things are little predetermined commands that allow you to program your party while you handle the heavy lifting on wither offense, defense, or support. It’s kind of like the system they use in FFXIII but, you know, good. You still play XII. You still have the ability to control your characters, in a limited capacity. Sure, i would have liked to have more direct command over my party but this workaround is fine once you get used to it. Besides, i think they fixed this in the international Zodiac version or whatever. I haven’t played that one yet but what we have in the vanilla game, the License Board, Tecnicks, Magicks, Quickenings, and Espers, all add a variety that gives you copious amounts of strategy. Building a character strong enough to trust to the Gambit system has it’s own reward.

Final Fantasy XII is an outstanding title that deserves so much more respect than anyone gives it. Your requisite hitters like IX and VII are rightfully mentioned in a much greater capacity but lesser titles like X and VIII have no business holding their position in the fandom zeitgeist in lieu of XII. This game has one of the most epic stories, a brisk plot rarely marred down by melodrama, one of the greatest villains in the entire franchise, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. The world is lush, full of life and vibrancy, hiding a sinister undertone that grips your attention until the very end. If you can manage the learning curve of the battle system, if you give it a chance, you’ll be rewarded with one of the all-time great games in the Final Fantasy pantheon.