#xiv lore

[eriyu]

my headcanon for a long time has been that souls have a degree of control over when/where/how they're reborn. that's why the same souls keep returning to the Dotharl tribe: they choose to.

it also provides a logical explanation for some people (Gerolt, Rowena, the trolley crew) looking exactly the same across reincarnations despite one side of my brain screaming that that doesn't make any sense with either real life genetics or how even in game, people end up looking more or less like their family members. perhaps souls have a preferred form that, within limits, they can facilitate being reborn as.

(the soul having some role in determining physical form would also dovetail with dragons' system of asexual reproduction and personal evolution; despite them being from a different star, they still ought to operate under the same natural laws)

at the same time, the key would be that it is a choice — and that allows the WoL to be anything. you don't have to look like Ardbert, because why wouldn't Azem, the traveler, counselor to the people, want to be someone different, live somewhere different, have totally new experiences, in every new life?

[miqojak]

Miqo'te Lore

Encyclopedia Eorzea - Miqo’te Identity: “A common trait among all Miqo'te is their fierce pride for their heritage as hunters. Seeing themselves as part of the natural world itself, they prize above all the freedom of the hunt, and do not shun death when old age and infirmity sap them of the physical talents needed to pursue their quarry to their satisfaction. To the free-willed Miqo'te, other races’ way of life - their wont to flock together with their own kind, to overrun nature to build cities, to seek safety and stability in laws and alliances - must seem quite curious indeed.” Encyclopedia Eorzea - Physical Attributes: “Roughly a head shorter and smaller of body than the average Hyur, the Seekers are blessed with a wiry strength, surpassing agility, and the stamina to run for hours under the blazing sun - a combination of traits that makes them uncommonly suited to hunting in arid climes. As many Seekers are adept at climbing and diving, they also make for excellent sailors. Among their most striking physical features are their eyes, with their narrow, vertically-aligned pupils and faintly colored irises.”

[tinolqa]

Botanica Eorzea Update

Apologies for the delay, but the document has been updated to reflect the addition of new plants in 4.1, as well as botany leve-specific items from Stormblood.

Check it out -->HERE<--

[eriyu]

this Q&A answer is so funny. Koji Fox, circa 2018, deflecting from the issue of Azem like his life depends on it

[eriyu]

Lyse's relationship with Moenbryda in ARR feels considerably more fucked up to me than her relationships with any of the other Scions. like there's Papalymo, obviously, which is certainly complicated but ultimately they weren't lying to each other. and with most of the others, there's a bit of distance? obviously they're comrades, but she mostly just sticks to Papalymo's side like glue.

then there's Moen. she — or Yda — was so much closer to Moen.

and whether or not "Lyse" was planned yet during 2.x, the deception between them is never addressed. Moen was presumably in the same boat as all the other Scions: knowing about the switch, but playing along. so she and the real Yda were like sisters? that closeness has gotta make it so much more painful for both of them than the way the others tend keep things very business-like.

and what was Moenbryda's relationship like with Yda's little sister before Yda died? is there history there to paint over? i'm inclined to think so, with the way Lyse appears to have been genuinely really shaken by Moen's death.

i want to think that Lyse knew that Moenbryda knew the truth, like with Papalymo, and that the two of them had already been genuinely close. but i also think that if that were the case, they'd have said something at some point by now...

[eriyu]

for all that i care deeply about the most minute aspects of XIV lore — and i do — there's a lot that i prefer to keep ambiguous. or not even ambiguous so much as adopting a kind of doublethink around it all.

like the time bubble. i ADORE the time bubble and i think more people should enthusiastically embrace it. yes i've known the Scions for years, and yes it's been five years since the Calamity for that entire span. i've seen the twins grow and change so much! and also they're the same age and height they were when i met them.

it also goes for gameplay mechanics and combat. yes it's silly that my WoL is engaging in extended duels with melee fighters as an archer. but i enjoy her being an archer so we're just going to gloss over exactly how that works and it's fine. limit breaks don't actually charge on a literal gauge, until i want to imagine her and Alisaie competing for LB, and then they do.

i'm still not even solid on where she's from!!! her whole family is still back home in Meracydia, but also one or two of her sisters got trapped in the dome in Yyasulani. and i can play with both of those scenarios, and both can even inform her character, and when i want to play with one, i simply don't have to look at any details of the other that don't serve my purpose.

[eriyu]

it's curious that Treno was keeping tabs on Alexandria, while Alexandria had no idea that Treno survived... Though Sphene says earlier that Treno "remained neutral throughout the war" and would have no obvious need to hide, either they did intentionally remain hidden for the entire 400 years since the Storm Surge, or knowledge of their existence was suppressed. "Going by the records, the Storm Surge extended to every corner of the world. Nothing and nowhere was spared," Shale said.

Nobody questions it when Miayli says any of this, though. Nor the fact that if Treno's people were in Alexandria when it got transported to the Source, they should still be there now. Right?

[eriyu]

going absolutely bonkers over how much this reddit thread is making me rethink lore

there are a LOT of things that make a LOT more sense when you separate "life force" into a third thing besides soul and memory. i still need time to process all of them. and i have questions about individual scenes/events still, like i want a list of times 生命力 was used in JP but life force wasn't in EN. but holy shit.