#lpffxiv:s

[livvyplaysfinalfantasy]

Here’s a run-down of the representatives and what we know of them:

Bertliana of Little Ala Mhigo. Wilred’s friend, who honored him at the Tomb of the Forgotten Sword.

Stark Woad of Radiata. She helped the Warrior of Light, Lyse and the Leveilleurs sneak into Castrum Abania at the tail end of 4.0.

Raganfrid of Ala Gannha. The village elder, who knew Curtis Hext well.

A Vira Ananta, presumably Sarisha or Vajra.

An unknown and very colorful Qiqirn. Presumably not one of the murderous ones.

Tibost of the Ala Mhigan Quarter. He can be found in the markets, straight ahead of the gates to the Royal Menagerie. Previously, he was the “Tattooed Troublemaker” in one of the mobs clamoring for Fordola to be executed - the only one who was still reluctant to accept Raubahn's placations.

J'dyalani of Ala Ghiri. She references Baut, a character in one of the Peaks’ sidequests: Baut is a former Garlean commander who betrayed the Empire to let the Alliance take Ala Ghiri without bloodshed, and the questline ends with J’dyalani confessing her love to him.

Watt of the Saltery. A smuggler in the time of Theodoric, his knowledge of Ala Mhigo’s sewers was instrumental to the Scions infiltrating the capital.

M’rahz Nunh of the M tribe. M’naago’s father and nunh of the Seekers around Peering Stones.

It’s such a diverse group - not only in terms of age and race but also in terms of their perspectives, values and abilities.

[livvyplaysfinalfantasy]

This sidequest does not unlock flight. It’s just a great sidequest - maybe one of my favorite sidequests in all of Stormblood. It helps build out lore and set a tone for Seeker of the Sun Miqo’te while roping in some really great Final Fantasy VII references, and the result is honestly incredible.

M’zhet Tia is a young hermit living on his own in the Fringes, outside of the rest of the M tribe. However, he’s been battling the ruling nunh - M’rahz Nunh, M’naago’s father - almost incessantly. M’rahz asks you to help train him, presumably because he’s tired of seeing the poor boy fail so often.

As it so happens, M’zhet Tia is basically the Miqo’te equivalent of every single ginger boy cat ever: very earnest, but very stupid. And he’s easily my favorite Miqo’te NPC to date.

M’zhet Tia explains that he has a vengeance against M’rahz Nunh for stealing his father’s title of nunh and exiling him from the village. He asks for you to help him train by throwing Garlean grenades at him, and that seems to work because he returns to M’rahz ready for another battle.

Only M’rahz explains to him that his father was not banished, or exiled: he left the tribe peaceably, and he fought and died valiantly to protect the village despite no longer being its nunh. It’s almost a perfect recreation of the Seto storyline from VII, ending with the fact that M’zhet coming to terms with his father’s disappearance and death and realizing his wish to follow in his father’s shoes. Despite how long he has still to go, both M’zhet and M’rahz are as determined as ever to see that the young man becomes a proud leader to his people.

[livvyplaysfinalfantasy]

This scene was the moment when it hit me just how far Final Fantasy XIV’s cutscenes have come since A Realm Reborn.

And it happened exactly when they made the most rugged man in the game burst into tears.

At long last, with everything settled in Ala Mhigo and the beginnings of a new representative government put in place, Raubahn knows it’s time for him to return to Ul’dah. And yet he’s out in the Royal Menagerie, looking at the stars “one last time.” Just as you leave him to it, though, who should appear but Nanamo, completely to Raubahn’s surprise.

Immediately she tells him that he is dismissed from his service - and the words are as painful for her as they are for Raubahn. The part that got me emotional was when she refers to the Warrior of Light in passing, as a “most trusted advisor,” only for Raubahn to think that he did something to betray Nanamo’s trust.

Only in this scene do we really see just how anguished Nanamo has been - not at Raubahn’s desire to remain in Ala Mhigo, but his attempt to hide his feelings from her. Though Raubahn did not wish to forsake his oath to her, all Nanamo wanted was for him to be honest with her about what he wanted - and Nanamo is too selfless to want her best friend to suffer in silence, even if it means saying goodbye to him. And so she promises him in a way bordering on terrifying that she will “wield every weapon at her disposal” - Pipin, Lolorito and the Monetarists - and with that, Raubahn is moved to tears. With Raubahn free of his ties to Ul’dah, he and Nanamo take in the stars of Gyr Abania together.

And for all the issues I had with the rest of Nanamo’s arc in 4.1, this scene brings it all to such a satisfying conclusion - and it paves the way in future main scenario quests for a sultana who is both generous and cunning.

We stan a sultana.

[livvyplaysfinalfantasy]

This was something I only noticed while playing through as Ashe! There's a moment of pause while accepting the quest in which Hien is left looking at Cirina, and I can't help but wonder if that pause was intentional! There have been hints that Cirina has feelings for Hien, most recently in the second lore book:

Though she is known to many as Cirina of the Laughing Reeds, at times she looks to the south in silence, as if deep in thought, before mouthing a silent prayer (108).

But it would be really sweet if Hien shared those feelings in some way, even if their respective positions would make a relationship impractical.

[livvyplaysfinalfantasy]

Hien Rijin: “WELP”

This little interjection felt so awkwardly nonchalant after so many big reveals that it became a joke between me and @barbariccia for the rest of the time we were together in person.

[livvyplaysfinalfantasy]

[livvyplaysfinalfantasy]

[livvyplaysfinalfantasy]

HERE SHE IS.

Almost immediately, there's a distinction to be made between this Fran and her namesake. Part of this no doubt comes from not having a loudmouth sky pirate to talk over or for her; the rest, though, can be attributed only to a difference in characterization.

When I've written about Fran's role in XII's party, it's with the acknowledgement that she has a tendency to be highly passive-aggressive more often than not. She speaks in clear, straightforward language but rarely offers her own opinions - even when the stakes are life and death - relying instead on pointed facts and furtive glances to convey her feelings.

XIV's Fran is much, much more verbose. So too does she immediately confront the Warrior of Light's decision to travel aboard the Prima Vista, asking you how you can expect Lente's Tears to trust one who sides with "the enemy." When Montblanc protests, she even goes so far as to threaten to "cut him open" - and Bwagi of all people has to be the one to talk her down.

All of that said - and I don't say this lightly - XIV's Fran is everything I've wanted in an NPC since 4.0 ended.

She continues her discussion of aid by presenting two demands on behalf of the Dalmascan resistance movements: soldiers capable of fighting the Empire, and gold from the East Aldenard Trading Company - which, as Fran rightly says, you and yours have continued to ally with despite their consistent dealings with the Empire. You have directly contributed to the enrichment of a group that actively profits off of Dalmascan occupation, and Fran asks for you to both acknowledge that fact and to take steps to redress it before she agrees to guide you through the Golmore Jungle. And because she's the only Viera you're likely to meet for the foreseeable future, you're all but obligated to fulfill her demands if you have any chance of finding the Orbonne Monastery.

It's so, so refreshing to have a story where the Warrior of Light's status as "the liberator" doesn't hand-wave away the other harmful things we've contributed to throughout our alliances. It's good that economic justice is finally getting the shout-out it deserves, especially after the disaster that was Nanamo's crash course in austerity in 4.1. And above all else, it's incredible that XIV is painting its version of Fran as a proud Viera woman with deep cultural and emotional ties to both the Golmore Jungle and to Dalmasca as a whole without once downplaying her legitimacy as one of many leaders of a rebellion.

Once you and Montblanc and Bwagi depart, she muses to herself that she does not expect the demands to be taken seriously - and that "Princess" is a fool for trusting us.

"Princess" can only refer to the most recent leader of the Dalmascan resistance efforts: a young woman who has taken up the identity of Ashelia B'nargin, the princess who has in this universe been dead for more than thirty years. There's no indication in this scene as to who this new leader might be, or what relationship she might have to the Dalmascan crown. What is clear is that "Princess" has some measure of faith in you as the liberator, and that Fran - despite harboring significant doubts - is undoubtedly deferring to her judgment.