typing this out while waiting for STACKS spoilers below cut do not click if you haven't finished MSQ
Holy shit.
I am very pleased with where the story is going. I was praying for them to give focus to a particular plot beat and BOY HOWDY DID THEY.
The overall complication is not a singular or group of villains, it is nature itself. We are now fighting against a natural process--Etheirys is trying to heal itself. And unfortunately, that healing process means whatever shards are left, they're looking at being rejoined in an entirely different manner than what the Ascians were up to. It's a full-bore natural disaster.
And quite naturally there are people trying to use it for their own purposes.
(there was no need to fuck with him like this but you know what, YES.)
The whole thing is giving me 'the road to the hells is paved with good intentions', and holds the promise of bringing up some deliciously morally gray scenarios. For me at least, I gotta sit with Halmaurt's bombshells (even though for the moment the Scions don't consider her words to be true) because talk about the sheer shock. Everything that's happened, everything that the Warrior of Light's been through, the creation of the desperate plan to hold off the Endsinger--and then this comes out of left field. Nobody knew about this. Nobody even considered this possibility?! And yet...it seems we have two people who did?!
Listen we have no fucking idea here. This gives me the impression that the original Halmarut had this thought--BUT WHY? What for?! For me, the only way this could have even been considered is if the original Halmarut--or rather the one who held the seat up and during the Final Days/Sundering--knew of Venat's plan to sunder the star.
And then there was THIS:
I don't think this is Hades. Or any of the Worst Coworkers talking. I'm willing to be wrong, but that lot is passed the fuck out somewhere in the Lifestream letting themselves peacefully dissipate into the cycle. I don't think this is Venat either.
AZEM TRUTHERS ENTER THE CHAT
Could Azem have known what was going on? Or guessed? Is it even them?
ANYWAY.
(hold onto that line for a moment. Also:)
Beautiful. 10/10 no notes needed. Straight to the point. Mwah. No pussyfooting around.
Things are going to get reaaal interesting...
And later:
THAT IS THE TEN MILLION GIL QUESTION NOW AINT' IT?
I personally don't think Hydaelyn knew. But that's a different post.
Then, this:
(GIRL, SAME)
...okay. If you have somebody willingly offering you fucking information on their evil plans SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT SOMEPLACE--
And it continues!!
How outta pocket are these other fucks if Every Locker 2027 is fucking saying 'i hate these guys'?!
AHHH I need to scream about the new patch but SPOILERS so-!
(under the cut it goes)
BRUHHH MY HC CAME TRUE!! I feel like this was lightly hinted in the game at one point?? But I genuinely cannot remember where it was. I think there was mentioned about Hydaelyn forcing the shards apart, so my HC while I wasn't sure what to do with the story after EW was that the shards will rejoin naturally since like... being apart like that isn't its natural state. And it's not a physical separation but a metaphysical one.
I LOVEE how they frame it. That it's not some evil power we're dealing with here, but the natural state of things and the result is a total reset, total annihilation with no ill will. I also love their continuation of the diffificult moral choices from Shadowbringers, too. They seem to have just forego that (not so much for EW but they rushed it so hard that it fell very flat for me) for EW patches and Dawntrail, which left me a bit eh but I don't find the expansion as bad as people suggest.
I could feel that similar difficult understanding yet disagreement that we had with Emet-selch from Shadowbringers and I'm eating that shit up. But also it feels to me like Halmarut knows that we are Azem, imo, which is interesting. My screenshots are fucked for some reason so I'll have to go and try taking them again later, but it's very sus.
Imagine if Emet-selch has raised Azem before and worked with us, because I am genuinely wondering how they will explain the key. Yes, Azem travels, but the shards only existed AFTER they died. And since the speech from Ethos was ancient babble, we have no way of identifying who was speaking. My guess is that it's Azem, however, it could also be Emet-selch because he is genuinely the only person still defending Azem and the reason the seat (and Azem themselves) hasn't gotten yeeted outright after they walked out. I feel like the only ways they key can exist are:
Azem created to traverse the shards therefore they were raised as themself at one point in 12k years (likely by Emet-selch using that crystal, but it does take away from his reaction seeing us and how he treated us in ShB so they'd have to work hard to implement this right if so)
Emet-selch made that using Azem's magic, like he did with the memory crystal, while he was traveling in honour of Azem so the voice we heard was likely his (while possible, the lock on Azem's soul suggests maybe only Azem can use it unless there is another explanation down the line as to how he can use it. However, I find it hard for him to part with it if so considering none of the others even know the Azem's crystal existed from the looks of things)
Azem actually made this before the Sundering for another purpose, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to travel beyond their own star and that was the original purpose of the key but it was a WIP so... (problem with this is that it doesn't address the voice if that voice were to be Azem's however!! Azem is a position afterall, and it's very possible that they plan to leave their creation to the person who comes after them which technically is now us, the WoL)
Hydaelyn did indeed tell Azem of what happened and who she met, but Azem chose to still walk their own path. In one of the stories, it seems Emetr-selch also let them go understanding this so it wouldn't be a surprised if Venat/Hydaelyn did the same. And their way of helping knowing the inevitable is to created the key to help us be able to travel as they would like to, which then will help us be able to achieve what we need to do. (A part of me likes this and a part of me doesn't, mainly because I genuinely did not like how the time travel is done and resolved in endwalker and I can write a whole damn essay about it, but I'll leave it out. I like it because I like Azem being like... the other path away from both of them, the one doing their own thing, but yea I don't like it because the whole THIS TIMELINE MUST BE LINEAR type rings very hollow to me after ShB).
OR wild theory, Azem just knows we were there. We have the same soul as theirs, I wouldn't be surprise if there was some connection going on ESPECIALLY considering they basically told Themis during the raids that someone is gonna show up to help you don't worry about it. Like sure, maybe Venat could have told them but even so, they wouldn't have known that we'd show up again AND fall straight onto Themis. So Azem shenanigans is wildly possible. I think this would be a cute and funny one tbh just plain old Azem shenanigan.
Also also, I complained earlier how I didn't like the time travel done in EW (and that cutscene after Elpis was awful. Not the Venat walking through pain, that was good, but the previous scene with the rando ancients. I genuinely disliked that. Bad representation of what driven her imo) but I did really like when they were asking if Venat know and the option that she probs eventually realised it and chose to trust us. I think that was wayyyy stronger than what they did in EW. She made her choice, paid the price, and faced with the consequences. It was beyond her control and she can only do her best and put her hopes in us to keep fighting to the end after she's gone. I was going to say I wish this was introduced earlier but like... Venat got shafted hard in EW imo and her story was so rushed (and Hermes, too, considering they are both extremely important to the arc). It's very glaring after the stellar writing and patience they gave emet-selch. I was really looking forward to Venat being handled like that but OH WELL
EDIT: Came back because I forgot to ramble about Zero jhgkshgfjk love her, hated how her story ended in EW patch. The writing felt juvenile after ShB and even EW for the most part, but omg it's good to see her. That story felt like it should have been kept for an expansion, not patches. Hell, while I generally do like Dawntrail, that should have been the expansion tbh. I hope we get to see more of her in Evercold. She should come with us tbh. She has two roles now, perfect for Trust. Sphene should come too.
ALSO AHHH THE AZEM STUFF I WAS SO HAPPY. SO SO HAPPY. I LOVE AZEM SO MUCH AND WE'RE GETTING MORE OF THAT IN EVERCOLD I AM SO EXCITED.
My stupid little gay wol doesn't eat his tacos like a chad no he holds it with both hands and even eats it while going om nom nom and! you will not censor him!!!
Today, I finished FFXIV Patch 7.5 for the 6th time, bringing all my most current alts up-to-date! Whew!
Time for a break! (Actually, time to get back to MSQ on @gotgroove )
