Aesir Falling

There was one last thing I had no chance to share until it was brought to my attention last night, regarding this part of the dialogue concerning Lightning and Hope.

Lightning: “But it was thanks to that, that I was able to defeat Bhunivelze. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, we’re closely connected… I came here to tell you this, Hope.” Hope: “Light… As you wish, then.”

Lightning’s words more or less convey the meaning of “to tell you this mood/thought/feeling”. Something that is a bit hard to translate in English, to be fair, but that is hardly the point. You may think it is of little relevance—well now, think again.

This line is Squenix being their usual sneaky-bastards-selves in regards to their narrative with Hope and Lightning. Lightning’s line is rendered as this in DFFOO:

Let us play a game—spot the differences.

Guess from what is that line in LRFFXIII? If you have guessed, “Lightning’s final line in LR’s epilogue”, then you are correct.

This is the same line in which, in English, Lightning echoes Hope’s promise to her when he rescued her:

Lightning: “I only know… that soon, we’ll be together.”

And now, DFFOO took Lightning’s final words, adding to them the destinatary—Hope. Just like Reminiscence -Tracer of Memories- hinted at through Aoede’s closing lines on the epilogue.

All of which is to say—nothing else to see here, people. The battle is over and the war is won. Squenix may have done it being true to their narrative, but this is putting their foot down, and there is no longer any room for doubt.

As for me… Let us say it concludes a long, exhausting road—that I chose to walk because I am an analyst first and foremost—in pursuit and defense of the truth of the story. There is no better reward right now for Meowth than so many years of work not only having been worth my efforts, but proven right. I think I can say, I chose well. I may not be a shipper—all I ever aimed for was to grasp and expose the truth of the trilogy’s lore and storyline—but I am honored and glad to have walked this path alongside the shipping community that kindly took me in.

I just found the greatest thing.

This is a canary resuscitator.

When the miners notice the canary getting sick with carbon monoxide poisoning, they can close that circular hatch so no more gas gets into the canary cage, and open the valve on that oxygen tank to keep the canary breathing. In other words, they made a spacesuit for birds.

By immediately giving the canary access to clean air, the miners can save it from the poison. The bird lives. To be clear, this is not for economic purposes, this was specifically created because the miners felt bad and wanted to save the bird.

like, what other song can make that claim?

The crowd cheering after the first stanza when they realize what they’re all doing

So many people audibly ‘doing the guitar parts’… like ya do

The sheer number of voices joining the rediculous falsetto (thanks, Roger)

How they all start jumping at the ramp-up “so you think you can stomp me”

Fanfiction is fiction.

Fictional people are not real.

Fictional people do not have rights.

Fictional people cannot be abused.

Reading or writing about something does not mean the desire to do or support it in the real world.

If I find art upsetting/triggering/disgusting/outraging/unpleasant/squicky/distressing/offensive, it is on me not to read it, not the creators and hosts to remove it.

Curate your own experience. The back buttons exist for a reason.

If you don’t trust yourself to do that, get someone you trust to do it for you.

Fandom is an adult space. Adults create and own and host fandom spaces. If minors want to participate, then the onus is on them and their parents/guardians/trusted adults to ensure they participate appropriately, not on strange adults to stop being adults.

You often don’t know the assault status or mental health status or neurotype or race or nationality or religion or gender or sexuality or age of a creator or consumer, and they do not have to disclose to you to justify their fantasy.

AO3 is not a safe space. It is not intended to be a safe space. Proceed accordingly.

Just because you don’t like something or find it offensive doesn’t mean it is a “problem” that “has to be dealt with”.

Most characters in anime are not white.

There is no onus on you to reblog or share anything.

Everyone makes mistakes in fandom and is less than their best self sometimes.

Persistent pseudonyms encourage long term relationships.

Ship wars are stupid.

Someone else enjoying things does not impact on your own enjoyment of other things.

Tagging and warning is a courtesy, not a requirement. Assume any fic might contain untagged content.

Rating is an imprecise art, not a science.

Don’t hassle IP creators.

Most people who are in fandom are hoping to make connections based on a shared passion.

Trying to profit from transformative fanworks puts us all at risk.

No one is obligated to share your head canon or fanon.

Being kind rarely fails to pay off.

It is okay to block and remove people who make your experience unpleasant. You don’t have to placate them. (Learn from my mistakes).

Britpicking is a good thing.

You don’t have to justify why you like a canon/pairing/trope/kink. Sometimes navel gazing is fun, but you don’t have an obligation to explain yourself, especially to strangers. I share the overwhelming desire to refute an unfair accusation, but the people accusing you are rarely doing so in good faith, so you’re batting a losing wicket.

I’m not your Mum. (Well, okay, a very few of you can call me Mum or Mom, but if you are one of them you already know who you are ❤️)

2. Why do you write fanfiction?

3. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

4. Are there any writers that inspire you?

5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of?

6. What element of writing do you find comes easily?

7. What element of writing do you struggle with most?

8. Which character(s) do you find easiest to write?

9. Which character(s) do you find most difficult to write?

10. What’s your favorite genre to write for?

11. Who or what do you find yourself writing about most?

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about.

13. First fandom you ever wrote for?

14. What’s your favorite fandom to write for?

15. What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve ever written for?

16. Any guilty pleasure trope(s)?

17. A trope you’ll never, ever write for.

18. Wildest fic you’ve ever written?

19. Do you prefer canon-compliant, AUs, or something in-between?

20. Gen fic or shippy stuff?

21. Favorite pairing to write for? (platonic or romantic!)

22. Do you listen to anything while you write?

23. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

24. One-shots or multi-chaptered works?

25. Have you ever daydreamed about side adventures/spin-offs from your fic? Tell us about them!

26. Is there anything you’ve wanted to write, but you’ve been too scared to try?

27. What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received?

28. How well do you handle criticism when it comes to your writing?

29. Have you ever gone outside of your comfort zone for a fic? How did it turn out?

30. Tooth-rotting fluff or merciless angst?

31. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them!

32. Summarize a random fic of yours in 10 words or less.

33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process?

34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of.

@aesirfalling Highlight reel for part 4! 

Part 3

Stream

Part 4 starts off with a viewer comment mentioning that Kaji is doing a great job with Hope’s voice. Kaji laughs and says that after three episodes he feels like he’s gotten the hang of it. He serves an absolutely immaculate Hope line to demonstrate (08:30) and Tan-chan says “That’s it!” Kaji says, “Yay, I passed the Tan-chan audition!” (cute)

As Lightning and Hope fight PSICOM soldiers Tan-chan’s all, “Hey, what weapon is that soldier using?” They take a closer look and it’s revealed that the weapon is a police stick. Kaji laughs and says “A police stick… And this side has a gun-sword.” They have a chuckle about this. Then they’re all “Well, but Hope has a boomerang, so I guess it balances out.” LOL

They have a conversation about Hope’s boomerang and how he gets stronger boomerangs throughout the game. “Lightning must give them to him off screen,” Kaji supplies. They comment that a blade like Lightning’s would be too much for him, but then Kaji’s all “But he’s awfully good with that knife…” and proceeds to make “Shwick! Shsssk” noises meant to be Hope flicking the knife open and shut. “He must’ve practiced at home when Nora’s wasn’t looking,” he jokes. *laughter from Tan-chan*

Kaji and Tan-chan are very taken with the monsters in the Sunleth Waterscape. They particularly like the gremlins and the flandragoras. They have a lot of fun inventing voices for the monsters and discussing their cute points. They run across a particularly populous group of flandragoras and Kaji cries, “It’s Flandragora Fest 2021!” LOL

THIS CLIP LMAO! I feel like it speaks for itself, but I’ll put a translation below.

Hope explains that if they take the sewers they won’t be seen. Light agrees. They plan to make for the sewers, but the moment control is returned to the player Hope auto-walks right out into the open in plain view of the soldiers.

Kaji: “Hope! Hope, no! You’re stopping right there?? Like, okay, I get the auto-movement, but that’s not a great place to stop!” *Hope runs off* Kaji (amazed): “And somehow the soldiers completely missed that. Alright.”

Then there’s THIS clip. Also gold.

Hope: “Ah, Light-san! You’re pushing me! Light-san! Light-san! Why are you pushing through me? Is there some kind of no-hands-allowed rule? Kabaddi! Kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi!”  (Kabaddi is an Indian contact sport which involves a lot of tagging and tackling.)

*Lightning runs back over and shoves around Hope again*

Hope: “What’s going on, Light-san? Let’s stop with the kabaddi already.”

LOL

As they travel through the food production plant, Kaji is still awed by how nice and soft and caring Lightning has become. “You can tell she’s a big sister,” he comments. When Lightning and Hope argue over whether or not Hope should give up on his revenge Kaji’s like “Aaahh, I’m on both their sides. Lightning has a point, but I also get where Hope is coming from.” Gosh, it’s so nice to watch a stream from a guy who understands the game and doesn’t invalidate Hope’s anger/trauma.  

The episode ends after Light/Hope leave the production plant and Snow and Fang show up to kick ass and take names. There wasn’t as much to report this time because the bulk of Kaji’s commentary was mostly just him periodically summarizing what was happening in the game and clarifying story details for the viewer. And, of course, remarking over and over again about how nice Lightning’s been acting.