thecat-inthehat

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it’s over for me i discovered a weather app map layer that shows wind currents worldwide in real time. i just stared at that for so long.

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Zenos is the most romantic character in Final Fantasy XIV. Turning into a dragon so he can cross the expanse of the universe just to reach you, fixated solely on being by your side at the end of everything, desperate to finally achieve his fated dance amongst the stars with his cherished friend. Literally ripping apart the cosmos to get to you, disregarding any negative opinions you have on the matter because he's there purely for the satisfaction of it all.

No one is doing it like him. No one else can do it like him. I'm swooning.

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NORVRANDT / IL MHEG

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hands clenched into fists facing the mirror repeating over and over in a hollow voice Your life will only improve if you stop thinking of yourself as a calamity that befalls other people

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triangular relationships… to me

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but you see, bunnies own the moon collectively

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ride_the_rhythm.mp4

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i do prioritize sensual pleasures too much in my life but in my defense my body is constantly sending wordless signals telling me if i dont do something that feels good I will die very very soon and that's quite hard to ignore

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You can not convince me otherwise that Jack Garland would not be Zenos's wet dream and blanket to Fandaniel.

"Your friends were a disappointment. But you-"

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHO YOU ARE!" *Punches him*

"It fills you even now, doesn’t it? The hunger. To bite down on-"

"I don't have time to listen to your nonsense!" *Punches him*

"Good morrow to you. Have a taste-"

"Just tell me about the moon. That's all I want to know." *Then punches Fandaniel*

'Do you remember when I told you I wanted to die-"

"All I care about is killing Zodiark." *Kills both of them*

"Here me then-"

"Shut the FUCK up!" *Kills him*

Like, this man would have Zenos down bad even more than the WoL, all while proclaiming he just wants to kill Ch-Zodiark. It is criminal that there is no fic with them. I may have to just do it myself.

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If you ever wonder what I mean by the game does a good job of Showing Zenos' internal self but fails at Telling it is: Unlike with Yotsuyu, who you not only get to see the past of but you also get told about it from her and other NPCs that knew her closely, Zenos gets next to nothing OTHER THAN assumptions by characters who don't have clear pictures of him themselves.

But like. First scene. Guy talking to him. Mentions an ambush and only one survivor. You can HEAR in his voice that Zenos is impressed by the enemy. Which lets you draw a conclusion that his sense of morality? Of allegiance? Very fluid. Very whatever he wants it to be. Because any actual die-hard Garlean military leader would be pissed or appalled that their men were attacked, their men lost, etc. but Zenos is just like, "Oooh. Good for them. Well done."

And then. The survivor. Zenos kind of, "There's nothing wrong with having a desire to live." So, whereas Garlemald typically treats desertion as a capital crime, Zenos just shrugs. Again: Zenos doesn't care about the usual rules. He is, in fact, quite disrespectful of Garlemald. You can FEEL IT.

And then of course you get the cowards line. Where the commander is all, "Yes. The XIIth is no place for cowards." And there's a PREGNANT pause that you instantly understand as this man signing his own death warrant. Because you already know HE'S the coward. You can already tell Zenos is going to remove the actual coward from the ranks.

The cinematography, the pacing, the use of well-known tropes with the character. I found it very easy to read Zenos from the visual cues and such I was being given.

But not everyone is good at that. And when they try to use the information given to them via text, by ignorant characters, they get a skewed idea. Which becomes the wrong idea.

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junelezen day 5 : ice around the heart.

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everything post-Endwalker hinges on the idea that even after saving the world and being released from their duty as Warrior of Light the WoL will seek adventure for it's own sake. They're still doing the same things they always do but this time purely because they want to.

And I don't think that change would have been possible without Zenos.

The final confrontation with him at the end of Endwalker, his questions spurring the WoL to think about why they do what they do, or the duel that serves to show them how fun it can be to fight without the weight of the world on your back. It's crazy to think that for all of the harm he caused the positive consequence of Zenos's actions was inspiring his friend to live freely.

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underscoring the WoL's whole story I think is a sort of horror story about what it's like being turned into a story while you're still alive

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Do you ever think about how Midgardsormr flew across time and space in a desperate bid to save his unhatched children, not knowing if he would find safe haven, only to watch those same children suffer at the hands of man over the eons, and yet Midgardsormr and most of his children are still willing to make peace and believe in that mankind is ultimately good despite it all. Wow.

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Let me hug Themis, okay.

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hi do you like romantic ruffles and tasteful cleavage? have I got a shirt for you.