a storm of blood

I had to make this sideblog for anime because i got anon hate for putting it on main

[siderealcity]

The symbology of the Convocation of Fourteen is just... one of my favorite details in ffxiv. And yeah, I know they have zodiac signs because Final Fantasy Tactics had zodiac signs and FF12 had zodiac signs, but 14's spin on them is inspired, and I don't think that gets enough appreciation.

Each of the Ascians is characterized to at least superficially match their sign. Emet-Selch seems like a Gemini, seemingly on both sides of every issue. Fandaniel seems like a Leo who wants to be the center of attention. Lahabrea, The Creator, seems like an artsy Pisces... just...y'know, a horrible one.

And it's not as if "terrible, messed-up version of Zodiac symbol" is new here. Tactics definitely had that already. The thing ffxiv adds to the trope is the presence of the Sun.

Azem's symbol being the sun and not a constellation tells us exactly what their role in the Convocation was supposed to be. The sun's path through the constellations is what gives all those signs their meanings. You can't be a Gemini unless the sun is in Gemini. The sun's passage through the zodiac is supposed to illuminate the best way forward. This is why Emet-Selch calls them both "Shepherd to the stars in the dark," and "Counsellor to the star's people." They're meant to inspire people to become their best selves. This is inadvertently what WoL does in numerous places and times across the game, (and one of the ancients in Elpis even comments on it) because apparently repeatedly dying at the hands of their coworkers and friends for eons did not get them out of having to do their job.

When the sun protested their unspeakbly terrible plan, they went all in on their hubris by casting it down forever. They never replaced Azem. They don't even want to remember they ever had a sun. They don't have the light that illuminates their best selves, their better future. So they can't find it anymore. They don't know how to be themselves anymore, in Azem's absence. In Elidibus' case, literally. He is so desperate for the guiding star he can't even remember having, that he constantly, instinctively, seeks out Azem in different forms. Wearing Ardbert's corpse, and wandering up to WoL for awkward chats, and looking back to the heroes of the past who were definitely Azem shards.

The sun, torn from the heavens, leads to the maker's ruin.

[vulpesfelidae]

The fact that G’raha speaks about the fact that he actively grieves for the warrior of light he knew, despite you, the same person, sitting across from him in that gondola, is so absolutely soul shattering.

G’raha Tia woke up from a hundreds of years long nap to a destroyed world finding out not only that you had died, but that you had died long before your time due to a world ending deadly chemical weapon that nobody could’ve predicted would be launched. He spends years researching the reflections and the rejoinings to pinpoint the exact moment that the calamity of light happened on the first reflection to transport himself there to stop it. Merging his own soul and body with the Crystal Tower to gain enough power to transport through time and space to stop the fall of the first.

A whole century of fighting a losing battle G’raha, the Crystal Exarch, realizes the only person who can win this war is You. The Warrior of Light. G’raha builds a city for you. Saves the lives of a thriving community for you. Summons you (and inadvertently all of your friends) to the home he built for you so you can save the world. And save yourself. All while operating under the guise that he will kill himself in order to do it. And he almost does, but you stop him. You save him and bring him home back to the source to make good on a promise that you will go on an adventure together.

G’raha Tia wakes up from a nebulous amount of time passed nap to see You. But not the you he remembers, but the you He remembers. The you that survived and not the you that died. Two conflicting parts of his memory celebrating and grieving the loss of someone standing right in front of him. So close to touch but a walking ghost that he can’t.

He misses you. You’re right there. He mourns your death still after over a century. You are alive and sitting right across from him. You smile at him. He smiles back.

[gumjamin]

Look don't I don't really care about whether or not you think Dawntrail as a whole is good or bad.

That's not interesting.

Instead talk abt what makes you go ABSOLUTELY FERAL from it (or ffxiv in general).

What is it that hits your brain in just the right way to make you fall into a never ending rabbit hole of madness and obsession. A rabbit hole from which you emerge from with endless and absolute knowledge about super niche subjects that may come up in conversations once or twice.

a character? Plot beat? Theme? Job rotations??? A dungeon with absolutely unhinged lore? A random ass sidequest that is somehow relevant still today and lives rent free in your brain???

Go wild w those plz, I need more of those.

[booty-uprooter]

I like the look on wol's face when bakool ja ja's mom mentions the wanderers palace (hard) boss. 'oh shit I'm the one that killed that guy. better keep that to myself lol'

[voidsentprinces]

Reminder: A Realm Reborn wasn't particularly about us. It was about the Eorzean Factions, it was about the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and their interactions with and thwarting Gaius and the XIVth Legion. We were just a useful champion slowly growing to fame but not truly a Warrior of Light until literally the prelude to the Castrum raiding mission.

The Parting of Glass wasn't about us either. It was, once again, about the world. And how it had begun changing after Gaius's fall and the brief period of peace away from Garlemald's Shadow. About Alphinaud beginning his arc of growth with hubris and the creation the Crystal Braves and what it might of looked like IF the Scion's good nature was lent to anyone and everyone. And thus opening itself up to the very corruption Minfilia feared to move away from the Waking Sands and to the Rising Stones in the first place.

Heavensward isn't about us. It is about Alphinaud's continue growth, learning of Ishgard's past and history. Hubris, arrogance and narrow viewing lead Alphinaud to steps of the Foundation, it has lead Estinien astray and made Ysayle believe she is a messiah incarnate. And through the journey, each of them grow as they learn the terrible truth about the Dragonsong War. Estinien in particular has his eyes opened and no longer simply seeks revenge on Nidhogg but to get to the bottom of it all. So no other shepherd's son has to live as he has. Ysayle learns she is a shade and a faux Shiva not truly Hraesvelgr's beloved or even in the same category as her. She learns swallow such delusions and embrace what Saint Shiva stood for in its entirety. Which means leaning to lay the road for peace between Ishgard and the Dragons and opening a path to this by sacrificing herself for those she loved so dearly. Alphinaud learns from all of this and more and is humbled by the duty of a knight, the fervor of a dragoon, the sacrifice of a saint, and the courage of his companions and of Sharlayan's arrogance from Master Matoya. To put others before himself and allow others to support him when he falls.

The Far Edge of Fate isn't about us. It was about how Ishgard carries on after Thordan and the Heavens Ward are shown to be the monsters they are. How the remnants of the church, the knights of Ishgard, and the civilian population react to the realization with rejection. How facing off against Nidhogg possessing Estinien, the Warriors of Darkness, and the machinations of Ilberd force Eorzea and Ishgard to look inward and know truly where they should go from there. To ignore the easier road and take the higher path no matter the strife and hardship it provides them. Because when they reach the otherside they would be better for it. Finding that courage, after five years of procrastinating and hemming and hawing, the Eorzean Alliance finally begin to mobilize to free Ala Mhigo from Garlemald and perhaps take on the Empire itself.

Stormblood isn't about us. It is about Doma and Ala Mhigo fighting for the survival of their people and cultures. Facing the parts of their society that were spurned and used as tools of hatred against their principles. That provided the necessary cracks required for Garlemald to break them down and oppress them in the first place. And how reforging under those values and those long histories of violence can make a new path and come to terms to over throw the tyrants who fed on their weakened states and make a strong unity still.

A Requiem of Heroes wasn't about us, it was about the world facing down the barrel of war with Garlemald. And uncovering its origins, its founding father was an Ascian. How Varis is forced to face down the lie as Elidibus wears the skin of his son and the great grandfather he and other Garleans were taught was a walking god in all but name was a sham and a daemon bent on causing more pain and suffering than mankind ever deserved. How the effigies of hate and pain choose to use their fervor to help their people instead of turning against them once more. How every person can change and be given a second chance. How that second chance is what that person requires or if they are pushed the wrong direction, can caused tragedy to unfold. And lastly, it is about our companions, slowly. One by one. Being dragged to the unknown. The story slowly taking away the players on the stage until finally...

Shadowbringers was about us. It was about how we were instrumental to the world so much that it lost nearly all hope in another timeline. How a group of your fondest friends began and how your comrade's furthest decendents acting on the hope of your legend and stories. To provide a plan of action and lead to happier world. How even when everything seems lost and gone and your purpose seems to turned everything around you into twisted monstrosities. That you can bring the night and wait in comfort for a dawn to bring better days. And the tenacity of your aid providing a world on the brink, the love, the compassion, the understanding, the strength, and the will to stand up to a flood of destruction and spit fate in the eye. Even it costs them everything, they keep fighting until they can see a brighter tomorrow.

Death unto Dawn was about what the tomorrow brings. How it could be another fight but to find what is WORTH fighting for. The memories of those you fight and lived amongst, old studies and things of the past being made to provide the answer to the future, making right wrongs even against those you had wronged unfairly, and to gather together and keep each other safe. You are not alone out here. There are those who will help you along to a brighter future.

Endwalker was about you and yours. About how everyone reacts to an uncertain future in different manners. How some would make ready to flee at the approaching storm, while others would fight, and others might even push you further to the edge. But even when all is lost, call upon the memory of happier times to light the way with hearts aligned shining brilliantly against despair and finding your place amongst those memories.

Growing Light was about us teaching another to hear, feel, and think and experience the world seemingly gone. That everything needn't be give or take. It can be a charitable, warmer place if we make it. It can be kinder and even in the face of unrelenting and undying destruction. Hope will spit out a tooth and stand up once more.

I say all of this because, I've seen people mad that Dawntrail is leaning hard about being about Wuk Lamat and others. To which I say so what if Dawntrail is about Wuk Lamat and Koana? So what if its not about us? We've had four story lines about us. Now we must impart what we've learned to the future as they face similar and sometimes overwhelming odds. To stand tall against the onslaught and make their own choices, their own way to bring a smile to all they hold dear. How family needn't be blood related, they can just be a group who sit down at the table at the end of the day. And speak, laugh, cry, and love. Unto this trail to dawn we shall light way for the future of our world and everything this new dawn brings is worth it.

[autumnslance]

WoL is most often a Point of View character, and I've heard Alphinaud described as a deuteragonist often (especially in the earlier expansions that focus on his character development). Shadowbringers and Endwalker are unusual in they're explicitly about the WoL. Not just as a champion doing the combat for those who can't, but the focus is on the "blank slate" PC for once as we shift from political low fantasy to existential high fantasy...and now back again.

But Dawntrail is far from the first time the WoL has taken a side seat to another's character development, far from the first time they've mentored another. The stakes were pulled back because they cannot keep escalating, and as one 10 year arc ends, a new one has to begin somewhere. Seeds are being sown in the 6.x patches and in 7.0 and its patches. There has to be a balance between the experienced hero and what comes next, and doing what WoL does best - working with others - is how it's been presented.

Also remember that "blank slate" we project so much of our own characters into. But the MMO cannot account for all of those headcanons and fanons and fanfiction, so it's about the Assumed Default WoL, and there's freedom in between the lines to make it fit your own.

It won't suit everyone; not every expansion story does, and that's fine. How it fits into the overarching framework of the stories being told and offered to us will be important in the long run, and hindsight after further story may show this new setup and these characters in a different light down the road.

[kaiserouo]

i love ghosts

[gildedstarbaker]

"He's just a Ghost. You raised an army! You can bring back one Ghost!"

[nagunkgunk]

Legend: The Black Garden

oh by the big fuckin ball in the sky I’m done

[saydoubleu]

Thin Line (part 1)

[penvelynn]

I discovered you can launch yourself into Rasputin and I am endlessly amused by this

[oneple-deactivated20231109]

small felwinter

[ennui160-deactivated20210122]

nox honestly was not the only predator the hetalia fandom harbored. something about the environment here just… made it really easy for predators to slip in and access vulnerable people. i saw a lot of people, aware that shit was going on under the radar, excuse the abuser involved because they did a good job of pretending to be normal in public. i’m sure this isn’t the only community that did and continues to do so, but it was RAMPANT. it sickened me.

please stay alert and remember that there are more people like him out there. look out for your friends and cut out the abusers you may keep in your orbit because tolerance of cruelty is cruelty itself

[truthteller-lumen]

Nox (cynicallyinkless, fiveminutemeal, lorimer-no, etc) is an internet predator, a scammer, and a chronic liar. Here’s what you need to know.

He always made it seem like I had a choice and free will but… he manipulated me so bad that leaving wasn’t an option because I felt so bad for him. It’s so insidious. - one of Nox’s many ex-partners

Nox (Noximillian, Noxim Raven, Cynicallyinkless, @SirAlthair, @SirAlthairx,  fiveminutemeal, onehalfdime, lorimer-no) is an internet predator.

He has pursued teenagers and young women nearly 10 years his junior. He is 32 and his latest partner was 19.

He has emotionally abused his numerous partners via gaslighting, emotionally manipulative language, and negging, as well as other abusive tactics.

He has cheated on his partners with multiple other women_. _Though he claims to be in happily polyamorous relationships, many of the partners he was dating were not happy about the situation. He often kept the truth about his other partners from them.

He has lied about his entire identity to his partners, up to and including faking his own voice and sending pictures and nudes that were not of him. He also lied about other details of his life, such as his family structure (claiming his mother was dead and that he had adopted a daughter) and his educational status (claiming he had finished his degree), which leads to: 

He has accepted nearly $3500 from his friends in order to fund his education, then did not finish his degree. What the money was used for is unclear, but he took multiple expensive trips with his friends after receiving the cash.

Be aware. Know the facts. Protect yourself. If you’re in a relationship like this, seek help immediately. If you see the warning signs of a relationship like this, get out as fast as you can.

More information is below the cut.

Keep reading

[jukemaid]

emet-selch: so. who created the evil armor.

lahabrea:

elidibus:

emet-selch: i’m not angry, i just want to know.

[delta-chan]

On Amaurot and the Masterful Manipulation of Nostalgia

I’ve made a passing comment about this, but realized that it needed its own write-up because it’s so good. Here are my thoughts about the genius of Amaurot’s design and how it strengthens the final act of Shadowbringers!

Keep reading

[haillenarte]

dark knight quests, part ii;

Here are translations from “Our Answer,” the level 50 dark knight quest.

Keep reading

[rinsbian]