For years I really struggled to enjoy FFXIV. I couldn't get into the story, I couldn't wrap my head around how things worked and did not get the appeal at all. I skipped cutscenes just to quickly get to where my friends were and that's it. I put it down for years at a time.
Shortly after Dawntrail came out, I watched a video by Jocat about how they came to enjoy the game after struggling with it for a similar amount of time. Between that video's perspective & the addition of female hrothgar (and Pictomancer!) - I decided to give FFXIV just one more shot.
It's now my favorite game and I've recently reached 5000 hours on it. Hooooly shit like it's been my entire life for the past 2 years now.
Anyway, all this is to say, I went into fantasia'ing my wol basically to just try and make something like my fursona because it was the only way I could see caring about her at all (I was playing a Miqo'te before).
M'chiyo has very much become her own character now! I even found a way to incorporate her old Miqo'te form into her lore which I will get into more in another post.
I think the secret to getting into this darn game is really making your wol your own.
So.... Both my fursona and my warrior of light represent me in ways, but they're quite different. ...and they're both very dear to me now. ;_;
I've been working on these for ages, and here they are finally! (The glow thread is a little hard to work with, especially making tiny little constellations!)
These are double sided and the constellations glow in the dark!!
I also have all the job stones available, as well as tons of other FFXIV stuff. All of it is handmade by me. I even do custom stuff! :D
There was this thing going around on Bluesky so I decided to answer them all for M'chiyo and put everything into one big post here!
Name
M'chiyo Yhisa. She used to be a miqo'te so if you know the lore, her nickname is Chiyo with those close to her.
I chose "Yhisa" because I saw it somewhere and it is close to "Yusa", which is my last name for my sona/online presence.
I… don't really have much else to say on this one?
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Race / Mains
Miqo'te until aether corruption caused her to turn into a Hrothgar upon summoning to the first shortly after the Byakko fight.
Mains are RDM, WHM, and GNB but it's really mostly just RDM.
Botanist is canon, Carpenter as well.
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Striking Feature
Face stripes, and she always has her oval glasses. usually in gold, but she does have lots of pairs to match every outfit. You lose lots of glasses being an adventurer, and I imagine glasses makers are all over having the wol rep their glasses and send her plenty. LOL.
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Age
Time in this game is weird and unclear….. I originally put her around my age (early 30's) but have since kinda changed it that she's probably mid 20's or so. I don't know, man.
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Personality
Pretty outgoing these days. Doesnt want to be still, wants to be on the move and doing something
Foodie, but cant cook worth a damn. Knows a lot about teas and herbs though
HATES the cold
Spends time at the gold saucer/seeking treasure in free time
Messy/unorganized
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Clothing
Kind of all over the place, but big on theming jobs around colors. Red/pink is her favorite.
Before her change to hroth, she covered up a lot. She didn't think she was much to look at.
These days, likes showing off her stripes a bit with her newfound self love/confidence after EW :)
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Childhood
Pretty typical childhood in Gridania. Spent a lot of time in the Botanist's and Carpenter's guilds.
Set out to be an adventurer (non wol) when Ikhi'a came to gridania and the two of them met.
If she's the wol, well just the normal MSQ stuff more or less. Still working that out.
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Goals
Nothing too surprising here, just seeing more places & getting stronger.
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Making a Living
She could use her crafting and gathering skills if she really wanted to, but there's just not time (or patience) for that.
Instead if she finds herself with free time she's out treasure hunting.
She'd get by more than fine just with what she makes as the wol though.
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Favorite food
Blueberry anything, anything floral as well. Being a botanist you learn to forage! So all of that kind of stuff. Fruit, veggies, mushrooms, edible flowers, etc.
Though if presented with meat she'll go a little feral, maybe it's a hrothgar thing.
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11. Worst fear
One of them has already happened! She really wanted kids, but is unable to have her own after the aether corruption/transformation. (This applies to both timelines, but is a much bigger plot point when she's not the wol, and she's with Ikhi'a #chikhi)
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Hobbies
Just being active. If she must rest and do something chill, spending time in the sun is still a must.
She's also very into making tea. Coffee somewhat too, but much prefers tea.
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Preferred party role
She can flex, but RDM (and therefore, DPS lol) is her best skillset and what she prefers to do.
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Talents
I feel like I've gone over them above (Making tea, botany/foraging, carpentry). I don't have much to add to that!
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Hometown
Born in the M tribe, moved to Gridania with her mother very very young so it's all she really remembers.
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Parents, 17. Siblings
I don't really have anything for this, just haven't felt like writing or thinking about it. I don't think she's close with any family at this point, they very well may have disowned her after she came back a hrothgar all of a sudden.
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Other family
I joke that there's a Eureka NPC that looks just like her, and maybe they're related. I dunno though. Kinda same answer as above, if anything.
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Love
Get crushes easily, oblivious when someone's crushing on her though. SHB is so ridiculous because they're BOTH stupid!
Once Chiyo and Raha do figure out feelings are mutual, they have an unspoken thing; they can't really be together due uncertainty of things until he can be returned home.
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Sex
Her new body came with all sorts of having to re-acclimate to her senses and everything, I feel like sex or being touched much at all would be difficult for a while. Plus body image issues. That's why not much happens until the EW inn room scene despite her and Raha being together since 5.3
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Thoughts about gil
Despite loving treasure hunting, and of course the money being a nice part of it, it's not the main motivator. It's just fun and keeps her busy!
She's not a big spender most of the time, she saves.
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Faith
I'm sure she grew up around certain beliefs, but I'm gonna be honest and say I haven't put the thought into this one and am not good enough with the lore in this area to have a good answer. For now it doesn't play much of a part in her story.
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Enemies
I mean………………. the usual suspects. Obviously.
Because I personally find it funny, she probably has the most beef with Emet-Selch. She was Going Through It so bad during SHB and he's making his stupid sassy little comments at her, plus causing the Exarch problems…so…
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Role models
Has a lot of admiration for all of her fellow Scions & other friends for different reasons. I don't have a more interesting answer, sorry!
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25. Fondest Memory
(1) #chikhi - Proposal on top of Kugane tower. They started the day climbing it together and finally got to the end at sunset. Ikhi'a can climb it no problem, but Chiyo was tghe one who struggled all day.
(2) #wolgraha - Their time hanging out together in Lakeland when she wasn't aware of the Exarch's Identity. She was going through a lot and the Exarch was such a comforting presence.
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Biggest flaw
Impatient, can have a one-track mind. She gets better with this but it was REALLY BAD in early game. She would often have this "can we hurry this up?" attitude about things
(That's absolutely some self insert flaws. And a callback to when I was impatient with the game itself.)
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Beliefs
I dunno what to put here, skipping for now!
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Thoughts on societies
Some of them (Like the Omicrons and Loporrits) she really enjoyed helping out, while others, like the Moogles, really pissed her off.
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Greatest regret
Maybe some of her attitude & disinterest in the beginning, and being hard on herself.
If you want to do this too, the blank template is over on Bluesky!
Okay, listen. I know half of these are Evanescence songs. I had to fight myself not to make ALL of them that way. Cut me some slack!!!!
I'm gonna go into why I picked each song, and there will be heavy spoilers up to Endwalker.
(also, some of the text colors and stuff are simply not cooperating, I tried to fix it multiple times. ;_; )
I found a grave
Brushed off the face
Felt your light and
I remember why I know this place
I found a bird
Closing her eyes
One last time
And I wonder if she dreamed like me
As much as it hurts
Ain't it wonderful to feel?
So go on and break your wings
Follow your heart 'til it bleeds
As we run towards the end of the dream
End of the Dream - Evanescence
To me, this one is just very wol-coded in general for Endwalker. I mean, "I remember why I know this place" screams Elpis to me. "I found a bird closing her eyes one last time and I wonder if she dreamed like me".... Meteion and her despair!? "The End of the Dream" itself could be about the final days. This song is simply Endwalker. It's crazy.
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Call me when you have the time
I just need to leave this part of me behind
Do you remember me
When the rain gathers?
And do you still believe
That nothing else matters?
For me
It's still the autumn leaves
These ancient canopies
That we used to lay beneath
No, by now
The night belongs to you
This bough has broken through
I must be someone new
Euclid - Sleep Token
Wolgraha, more Wolexarch specifically. Basically just him yearning as always, but "The night belongs to you" being about how the wol brings night back to the first, and "I must be someone new" about how much he's changed over the years as the Exarch and maybe even when he comes back home with us? It just works.
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They said I was chosen
But they never saw me broken
Burnt wings still try to fly
Even angels scream when they die
I'm the end and I'm the start
A burning soul with a fractured heart
Torn between love and the void I feel
The more I live, the less I heal
He says my name like it's still the same
But I'm not her, I've changed
I rise, then I fall
And no one can save me at all
Burnt Wings - Aeriel
Another general wol-coded one. "They said I was chosen but they never saw me broken" stands out in particular. The last bit is more wolgraha though, but could apply to a lot of things to be fair. ;p
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How long, baby, have I been away?
Oh, it feels like ages though you say it's only days.
There ain't language for the things I've seen.
And the truth is stranger than my own worst dreams.
The truth is stranger than in all my dreams.
Oh, the darkness got a hold on me.
I have seen what the darkness does.
Said goodbye to who I was.
I ain't never been away so long.
Don't look back them days are gone.
Follow me into the endless night.
I can bring your fears to life.
Show me yours and I'll show you mine.
Meet me in the woods tonight.
Meet Me In The Woods - Lord Huron
This is so painfully wolexarch. "Oh, it feels like ages though you say it's only days"??? Are you kidding me right now. "Oh, the darkness got a hold on me"????? Please. This is just Shadowbringers. Help. If you're really into Shadowbringers/wolgraha/wolexarch especially this song is worth analyzing.
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I've been looking in the mirror for so long
That I've come to believe my soul's on the other side
All the little pieces falling, shatter shards of me
Too sharp to put back together
Too small to matter
But big enough to cut me into so many little pieces
If I try to touch her
And I bleed
I bleed
And I breathe
I breathe no more
Breathe No More - Evanescence
I've thought about this one for specifically M'chiyo's story for so long. I've even done artwork for it! It's about her being literally someone new and mourning her old self. Also I can't help but notice the use of the word "shards" here. C'mon.
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All my life
Didn't wanna dream I could lose you
But you just left
What if I can't see your light anymore?
'Cause I've spent too long in the dark
And I'm on my knees
Without shame begging to believe, but I feel
So far from heaven
Far From Heaven - Evanescence
That first part always makes me think of 5.3, when the Exarch crystalizes. Also light and darkness, y'know. It's just like Shadowbringers, once again.
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....aaaaand that about covers it!!! I doubt anyone went through all this but if you even looked at some of it, thank you! I have an entire playlist with like....50+ songs and I may throw more of them and my ideas for why they fit on Tumblr sometime. :)
The grind is OVER. This was to celebrate finally getting the "Jack of All Cards" title + Magicked Card mount.
I really came to appreciate all the different content you have to go through for this.
It's got you doing everything from leveling Blue Mage, to all of Bozja's storyline, to most of Eureka, farming several extremes, lots and LOTS of Triple Triad and so much more. Quite the undertaking for someone who's pretty casual gameplay wise like myself.
Short of 100%'ing Stardew Valley (twice!), this is the most work I have put into anything in a video game EVER. ...I kinda miss it!
