#pls don't spoil beyond the mentioned point

[godtier]

and now for something completely different—

so I'm playing through ffxvi and I wanted to Rant about my experience so far so spoilers

so firstly, and not actually spoilers lmao, idk why this game makes my ps5 so warm. it's honestly not... *that* impressive graphically? which isn't necessarily a dig at it; I'll play anything as long as I can tell wtf is going on and it's fun to play. so idk if it's just yet another AAA game that isn't optimized well or what, though typically console games are *more* optimized... idk! just a gripe.

other than that, I'm seeing some Issues developing narratively... I'm not what I'd call an Expert Writer but yknow it's been noticeable so far. here are few thoughts and gripes with the story:

the inconsistencies in the story. the biggest one so far, and this is what I'd consider p big spoilers, is clive's whole "I gotta come to terms with the fact I killed Joshua" which is like... okay *fair* I suppose, but once he figured out that he was ifrit, yknow after killing benedikta, he... I mean he kinda *did* immediately accept it?? so... the whole "I gotta accept this" part was odd. I have heard tell that it was meant to represent a jungian acceptance of the shadow, or at least that's what people are alluding to in their own theories (and this is all secondhand btw bc I have the tags blocked til I finish)

to elaborate on what jung's interpretation of the shadow is for those who don't know: the shadow is essentially the suppressed subconscious, the things you don't want to acknowledge, for better or worse. it's most typically applied to things like traumatic events, but jung specifically does not commit to the idea that the shadow is *only* bad things. when you confront the shadow, the next step is to integrate the shadow to the conscious mind or ego, which you could argue was why they may have written it the way they did; clive isn't just acknowledging that he did do that (which he pretty readily did when he figured out he was ifrit's dominant) but he's also accepting it as irrefutable fact and integrating it to the ego so it cannot be repressed again.

now... having said that, the *problem* narratively that I'm seeing is that... well. Joshua isn't dead. clearly if Joshua had died... well, that'd be one thing. now they're saying "well ACKCHUALLY 🤓 he didn't die at all!" so that, to me, renders the entire "journey" pointless. what exactly is he accepting? if he didn't actually do it, why or how could he feasibly accept ifrit in that context? wouldn't his subconscious mind, his shadow (ifrit in this case) remain unincorporated? it's just very clunky and I think it was meant to show Clive as an unreliable narrator.... but there's really no one there but Joshua to confront this false accusation. and Joshua is MIA currently at the point I'm in so! who knows!

moving on, Jill is currently nearly a non-character at this point. what I mean by that is she's always just sort of... there. the only times she's shown depth is her speaking about hating herself for what she did with her powers while in captivity. even then, it doesn't appear to be given the attention smth like that deserves; we see a handful of flashbacks from when we fight her at the very beginning... and that's really it. I would like to see more but I have a feeling they will not be showing us

benedikta died way too early. she seemed like she was going to be a character of mild intrigue, but she was killed so very quickly. her and cid's past relationship (whatever that might have been) was only just elaborated on (we know cid saved her from slavery but little else), but I feel it could have been fleshed out beyond that. they spoke in broad terms about how she was and then what she became... but nothing I would consider to be substantial enough, given her connection to a major character. we also don't see enough of her and hugo, just that scene where they practically dry hump in the hallway. we know he cared a lot about her, esp during the scene with her uh. severed head? which... who did that, exactly? they blame it on cid, but we know he would not have done that. but anyway, fleshing out their relationship would have been nice

cid's death. now, it's not that I'm saying something as basics as "he could have lived" which, maybe? and it's not even that they did the whole "oh [mystery person] (it's Joshua) shows up to save them but he's too late!" trope crap. what bothers me the most about his death from a character perspective is his lack of *any* mention of the daughter he supposedly loved so much as he lay dying. now yes, up til that point, we only know that cid has a daughter via a sidequest that people could miss. but that in and of itself is an issue. why introduce that aspect of his character... and then never do anything with it while he was alive? why did they feel it sidequest worthy? they could have just slipped it in as banter or something, maybe gav teasing him or something?? anything?? basically the fact that he dies without nary an utterance of his so beloved daughter, not even her name, was a huge sour point to me. sure, you could argue that he wanted to get pertinent information to Clive as quickly as possible since he knew he was dying, but I would have been satisfied with just a whisper of her name (which I don't remember them mentioning during the sidequest?) and they could elaborate on it later, maybe in a follow-up sidequest??? maybe you find the letter he meant to send her back?? anything??? it just seems so weird from a characterization standpoint to introduce this concept of him melting for his daughter, his daughter being such a soft spot, etc, and then... never addressing it in a meaningful way when he's on death's doorstep

OK this is a dumb thing and not necessarily a negative thing but how the fuck did tomes, a geriatric librarian, survive the raid on the hideout but a bunch of younger, much more spry characters just croaked and couldn't escape lmao. IDK I LOVE TOMES DONT GET ME WRONG but it was just so... idk. funny? I also get it's a game mechanics contrivance as well, given that they built an entire mechanic around him, but idk I wanted to mention it bc it makes me laugh

that's about it for now. if you message me about this tho, pls no spoilers beyond the iron kingdom crystal raid. thank. 🙏

[conspiracieys-archive]

I know you haven't done a Dusan Nemec thing in awhile (and you don't have to answer if you don't want too) but how do you think he would act in a realationship or to a regular, I know you've briefly mentioned it but how would he treat them? What kind of dates would he take them on? How would they sleep together? Anything else you can think of I'm curious ☺ also what kind of music and movies do you think he likes??? (I asked this a while ago just didn't know if you got it sorry)

YES HELLO i honestly don’t know if i got it i am so sorry. idk if tumblr ate it or if i just forgot (both are super possible) but i am still so sorry. i am Ready To Do This. im always down to talk abt Dusan cause Lordt knows this man needs more love. he’s a fucking disaster and he’s kind of a shitty person. i love it. let’s Do This.

Read More cause long

with a regular, there’s not... Too much emotional depth. like they are both aware that it’s mostly about the sex, but Dusan respects or is interested in them just enough to keep them around instead of tossing them aside like a one night stand. that said, he doesn’t kick out his regulars right away. sometimes they leave of their own accord, and sometimes he has shit to do so they gotta go, but sometimes they stay the night in Dusan’s big ass bed. and they can actually talk in the morning. it’s not ... as awkward as it would be with a o/n/s cause Dusan and his regulars do this a lot.

but at the end of the day, with a Regular, Dusan’s just not in it that deep. they have something he’s interested in (dick, vag, information, something) and he keeps them around. i did write about Dusan and comfort here, and i think that kinda applies to them, too. like it’s important to note that a regular sex partner is not an emotional connection. Dusan just wants to bang someone who knows him and knows his body and who he knows relatively well.

he doesn’t take regulars on any sort of dates cause it’s purely physical. he will invite them over, or have them meet him at Blume HQ for that Locked Personal Office sex, but since there’s no emotion behind it, theres no wine and dine going on.

AS FOR how they sleep together, like at night, Dusan takes up most of the bed. he doesn’t exactly starfish but he lays on his back with an arm out so his Regular can snuggle if they WANT to, but it’s fairly obvious that he doesnt care. he just wants to sleep after a night of Good Sex.

VS a relationship, i mean. when Dusan commits, he commits. the line between Regular and Relationship isn’t exactly thin but it’s also not the thickest line either. and in this context, a Regular has the huge potential of bleeding into a relationship.

if he’s in a relationship, depending on the type, that’s the only person he sees. (i mean, open relationships or poly relationships exist and Dusan is down for any of them ig. just depends on the Partner in question) he does like the... consistency of being in a romantic relationship. like no new partner every night, no switching around to not get attached (unless the s/o in question was a Regular sdfjkhlkjdsf then that Failed Hard). just... Dusan, and this person he cares about a lot.

(if the relationship hits the 8 months mark, Dusan sits them down and they have that Deep Talk about what they want from a relationship. the one that lasts a couple days and they both have to walk away and think about the questions they each asked type of talk)

and while he’s not.... big on dates, he likes to go all out for dates. whether it’s at a Super Fancy Uptown Restaurant™ or a Roof Top Bistro™ or a deeply intimate picnic at a park, Dusan puts his all into it. Man he cares about his S/O!!!! he wants to spoil them. and this dude is rich as FUCK he makes fuckin BANK!!!!!! he can and will senselessly spoil his partner with grand dates. fancy food. he reserved the whole park, hired a bunch of body guards to keep people out so him and his S/O could enjoy the evening without anyone else around. (buying out the park helps if things get heated so it’s less awkward when they try and get it together to go home.)

he has also been known to take a S/O to the movies, or literally fly them across the country for an impromptu night watching the Latest Broadway show. he might even go above and beyond and plan a romantic weekend in Venice (and if it coincides with some Dirty Dealings he has to do... its ok........ no one rly needs to know............................. HEY! what did you expect? he’s Dusan Nemec. he’s still pretty dirty when it comes to Blume and ctOS stuff! love doesn’t mean that stops! it just becomes less obvious to the public and to DedSec because he cares so deeply for someone other than himself)

with a romantic partner, Dusan is more inclined to cuddle and share his space. he doesn’t starfish, doesn’t stretch out to make a point. he lays on his side, 100% ready to Spoon (he does Not jetpack. he likes to be on the outside of snuggling. he’s so paranoid, trying to spoon him will not go well)

the sleepier he gets, the more affectionate he is and he often falls asleep murmuring incoherent sweet nothings against his partner’s neck, tracing nonsensical shapes into their skin as he cuddles them. god i wish that were me. also Dusan will initiate cuddles with a romantic partner. he’s like... get over here........ right up against me... awful.... i love him......

aaaand to wrap it up: music and MOVIES!!!

music wise, he’s pretty open minded, although he is NOT a huge fan of pop music. boybands? gross. he loves Zayn Malik's music now that Zayn’s gone solo but. i think he prefers classical music. soft, dramatic, no lyrics, nothing rly too overwhelming. something to work to or cook to or read to.

catch this man getting rly emotional over classical music. one day he’s just laying on his back on the kitchen floor, staring unseeingly at the ceiling because its So Beautiful. (this happens like once a month)

MOVIES.... he likes classic films i guess??? classic, oldies, cheesy. he loves super old westerns im sorry but I Do Make The Rules and Dusan Loves Cowboys. he’s also big on foreign films. catch him watching French films and his eyes get all glassy cause he just... loves. also Chinese films, too.

he hates Fight Club i just wanna put that out there. he wont watch horror because he doesnt have time to be jump scared every 5 seconds. if theres like a non-jump scare-y horror movie, he’ll probably watch it but he thinks jump scares r Weak. he’s way more powerful than me, i cant watch horror movies of ANY kind.

he hated Inception btw. (i loved Inception) he just... hated it. the only Batman movie he liked was the 1st Batman with Michael Keaton. he’s not a big fan of the rest of them.

he loves Indiana Jones tho jot that the fuck down.

he’s neutral on Star Wars. he just hasnt watched the franchise with someone incredibly passionate about it. if he watches it with me, he’ll Love it. he HAS seen it though he saw the original trilogy and the prequels. “Cassian whom? who is Finn. what is happening. where is Luke?” - Dusan when someone asks him what he thought of TFA and Rogue One.

the only Star Trek he likes is the original series. by that i mean, it’s the only one he’s ever watched all the way thru. someone make this man watch the other series !!!

the first dude Dusan ever popped a boner for was The Rock jussayin.

THATS ENOUGH FROM ME

i hOPE this is what you wanted??? if not pls send another ask and i will add on/clarify whatever??? i love Dusan and i love rambling about this jackass.