how strange it is to be anything at all

via prev

"I'm sorry," Xie Lian said. "Something like this has to be made clear."

Mysterious Web-Footed “Ghost Dog” Caught on Camera

The elusive canids deliberately avoid humans

Deep in the Amazon rainforest lives a seldom-seen beast known as the short-eared “ghost dog.” There’s an air of mystery surrounding the wild dogs because it uses its keen sense of smell and hearing to avoid humans, which means information about them is scant—for example, there are only four museum specimens in existence. Now, new research published in the journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation is finally shedding some light on these cryptic canids. True to their name, the short-eared dogs (Atelocynus microtis) have small round ears, short legs, long bushy tails, and partially webbed paws (similar to other canids in the Amazon). According to previous research, they primarily feed on fish, insects, and small mammals, but have also shown a predilection for scavenging the cadavers of larger animals...

Except it's also very baked into the world. There's a couple photos you have to get as you advance through the story, but mostly they're fun so you bookmark one or two as you progress through the game. And as you explore the world sometimes Prompto will ask to stop at scenic locations or tourist traps or whatnot and bam you've got a few more. And if you do this every time you save, you end up with quite a collection.

Anyways, fast forward to the end of the game, when you, the main character, are about to die. You know this. You are marching stubbornly to your own martyrdom, with no hope of survival. And the main character turns. And asks to see Prompto's photo collection.