kisoha - Tumblr blog

[kisoha]

Me when one of my party members is being unnecessarily rude:

[kisoha]

Hunter and prey

[kisoha]

I think Shadowbringers is a great example of how knowing or guessing the "reveal" doesn't hurt a good story, and writers who understand that will write more confidently and tell better stories. That the Exarch is G'raha Tia is not hard to figure out. He has a distinctive lip shape, and he's the guy who was in the Crystal Tower! He's not even a very good liar at the end of the day. And none of that makes his arc as the Exarch any less powerful, imo. I don't think trying harder to obscure the Exarch's identity would make Shadowbringers a better story. Because the emotional core of his arc isn't in shock value. It's in the unfolding story of G'raha's journey, how he came to be here, why he is hiding his identity, why he pretends not to know you or who G'raha Tia is. It's in the culmination of a hundred years of planning and secrecy and loneliness, in how he's willing to die to save two worlds and you, in why it all goes wrong at the last minute, in how hard he tries to play the villain so you'll let him go, and in how unconvincing he is in that role. It's in the choices he makes when he realizes he doesn't have to die. It's in everything he chooses to be. He has a good story, and a good story doesn't lose its power when you know all or part of the ending, because a good story is about the journey.

[kisoha]

I think Gridania is the funniest of the starter city-states in FFXIV, at least for the duration of ARR, because they seem so completely oblivious to their own societal problems. Starting in Ul'dah was really like "yeah so uhhh watch out for The Mafia" so you go "okay yeah i get the gist", then you get to Limsa and someone comes sprinting up to you screaming "THERE ARE NO PIRATES HERE" unprompted so you go "hmm. weird and telling thing to say but i appreciate your candor", then you get to Gridania and it's like "hello! you have entered Paradise City, population 'however many Elezen are here and NOBODY ELSE'" and you're like "hang on do you actually not know what racism is or are you fucking with me?"

Like you'll be talking to Raubahn and Nanamo and they'll be like "oh woe we need to fix the dire income inequality in Ul'dah but we need to wield that very power to enact our plans" and Merlwyb will say "Yeah I'm a military dictator shove it up your ass" and the Kan-E will be like "all i wish for is peace in the Black Shroud... we believe all life has value" and then have the Adders send you out to murder one hundred oppressed miqo'te poachers because she thinks they smell funny

of course these things develop as ARR goes on but this is really silly at the start

[kisoha]

wol: it's not my fault that I don't remember! I didn't choose to get sundered! Emet, with no clue how he escaped the sundering: skill issue

[kisoha]

ok so like. imagine. you're a high-ranking government official and one of your colleagues has announced his decision to step down and retire, and named his successor, so you and your coworker-bestie-husband(™️) go on an official administrative business trip to go meet said guy. and then you arrive and you find A Cat in the bushes outside the office. it's in poor shape but its microchip says it actually belongs to your other colleague-and-friend. you are bullied into taking the cat to the vet AND letting it tag along despite your protests. and you finally find the guy you were supposed to meet and the cat is like. staying in the room. where you are supposed to conduct aforementioned highly confidential job interview. and you try to shoo it away but the guy you're trying to interview is like No i want the cat to be there. Because i'm nervous. About the job interview. Let the cat stay. I trust him because my pet bird loves him :). so the cat gets to stay. and then you keep going and you bump into yet another old acquaintance of yours (now retired and living her best hippie life) (which is highly frowned upon) and she goes Oooooh! Is that my cat you've found? :) and you're like, what the fuck is the deal with this goddamn cat, but you can't say that outright because you are a government official on a very important mission, so you go "i wasn't aware you even had a cat? also the microchip says it belongs to our other colleague" and she goes "oh well no i don't but clearly this cat is wearing the collar i give to all my pets so it must mean he's come from the future :) where i will own this specific cat :) hi little kitty! pspspsp!" and you're like, what the fuck is wrong with everyone today? and then the cat looks at you and says "she's right. i come from the future. where everyone has been turned into cats since the world ended. also i will kill you in about twelve thousand years from now. fucker."

[kisoha]

One of my favorite parts of Endwalker is Emet-Selch seeing the Ghost WoL, immediately clocking it as Azem Something and going No, Not Today Satan while Hythlodaeus is sitting down beside the Ghost WoL and making pspspspsp noises at them and offering them free hugs and Emet's Aether and giving Emet the biggest wettest puppy dog eyes of Can We Keep Them?

Meanwhile WoL is having some emotional whiplash and an existential crisis.

[kisoha]

this endwalker culinarian levequest text makes me smile so much. im imagining fourchenault's moon escape plan happening in a different timeline, he's so proud of himself for being right, and then he gets to the moon and the loporrits only have his least favorite food. serves him right

[kisoha]

My entry for the FanFest EU 2023 art contest! I had the idea somewhere in my mind ever since I finished Endwalker... wanted to show the winding journey through the Aitiascope dungeon

I made it as a finalist, which I'm still so blown away and happy about...

[kisoha]

Why Lolorito despite being a Ruthless Ammoral Capitalist is actually still a better person than a modern day CEO.

He actually pays those under his employ fairly well from what I can gather considering the kind of loyalty they seem to have for Lolorito. Money is a powerful motivator.

The thing Lolorito cares about above his own wealth, is Ul’dah.

He still has standards as to what he will and will not do for profit.

What does a Modern CEO care about more than profit? Their own Wallet, to the detriment of everyone around them so long as they have fat stacks of cash.

[kisoha]

My hottest take about Heavensward I guess is that Haurchefant should have come on the Dravanian road trip. For being such a major character in HW we get to do surprisingly little with him until the very end. Just imagine: Ysayle like "I will expose the truth and tear down the Holy See," and Estinien all "I'M GONNA STAB NIDHOGG SEVENTY-SEVEN TIMES" and Haurchefant in the middle like, "Is it not a sign of Halone's blessing that we are here together, comrades all, working for the good of Ishgard!! 😊😊😊" He'd have been so proud of Alphinaud for building his little campfire. And he'd have fucking loved the moogles.

[kisoha]

I literally can't stop thinking about the WoL and Themis.

The realization that this person you thought was a villain for years is just a sweet little guy before he's thoroughly corrupted by the biggest sacrifice he'll ever make and the fallout of it. That he looks up to you, and you're the kind of hero he aspires to be.

That he respects you so much that he asks for your thoughts on his warring internal identity, because he's unsure if he can be a person when so much duty is on his shoulders.

The guilt that he might have volunteered to be the heart of Zodiark because it's what he thought you might do

There's so much heartbreak throughout the last tier of Pandaemonium -- the way he's so excited to show off his battle skills for you, then so grateful to just spend a few more moments in your presence. The exchange of aether, that the WoL volunteers to give him aether without a second thought to give him form for just a little more stolen time. The pleading for you to hear him out because he has feelings to share in his last moments.

And then he has the absolute gall to tell you that it all had meaning because he got to meet you and get to know you.

And despite finally, finally remembering everything, he chooses not to stay.

Then he dissipates into nothing??? And he's gone.

Because they never stay. Hades and Hythlodaeus didn't. Why would Themis?

But there's still an open portal to Elpis. You can still go back in time and interact with the Unsundered world, daily if you want to, and you have close friends and allies now who live there. So why wouldn't you send a letter? Why wouldn't you wait until Themis shows up again, just to spend another moment of stolen time together?

I will never stop being heartbroken about this 💙

[kisoha]

Just remembering that final fight with Zenos..... no one tell the Scions about this.

[kisoha]

upon your return,

[kisoha]

when you get cleared of regicide charges in the middle of HW

[kisoha]

Discord Prompt of the Day: Prayer

"So, yeah. Don't pray to the Fury to send you friends. Maybe don't pray to any of the gods at all, just to be safe." -- Ajisai Kawanami, on mistakes made

[kisoha]

Vrtra really said "Even here have we heard of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn" like he wasn't having Thavnair intelligence scooping up every detail of anything and everything to do with Louisoix Leveilleur the second he heard Bahamut hatched and was ready to glass Eorzea and Some? Mortal??? from Sharlayan managed to almost tank the blow

Ahewann, sprinting out of the meghaduta into the town square: I Need The Sharlayan Ambassador Right The Fuck Now

Five, six years later and the intel squads say the Scions have imploded, except whoops no they haven't they've snuck out of the regicide accusations into Ishgard and have disappeared into Dravania trying to end the Dragonsong War? pffff yeah good luck with that Nidhogg's been filling up my inbox for a thou- WAIT WHAT? WHO?? AND THE LEVEILLEUR GRANDSON???

Ahewann, sprinting straight to the Ishgardian consulate without stopping: Hey Uh Can You Tell Me What, and please understand this is very important, The Fuck

Then for a short bit family matters quiet down, again, maybe. Estinien "Not Not Nidhogg" Wyrmblood passes through Thavnair but moves on to Othard pretty quickly. Ahewann gratefully takes off his running shoes and Vrtra peels himself off the ceiling like a scared cat from worrying which would be worse to meet, Estinien or Nidhogg. Midgardsormr dies again but that's less of a big deal than it should be, he'll sleep it off. Tiamat is suddenly flying again for the first time in five millenia so that's . . . good, the world is ending but that's good at least. Estinien Wyrmblood may or may not have joined the Scions, no one can get a solid confirmation. Anyway he's got to get these scales to the alchemists, the Baldesion reps are coming soon, he can't focus on his own family drama right now-

He looks up and standing before him is an Archon astrologian in a bathrobe, another Archon nerd cosplaying as a gunbreaker, two Archons oh this must be the Baldesion group, [INSERT INSANE PLAYER CHARACTER APPEARANCE], well they look . . . interesting, are they imitating the Warrior of Light? and an Ishgardian dra -

Vrtra, malms away in the meghaduta: A

Vrtra: Ahewann

Vrtra: Ahewann we've got a Code Leveilleur situation here

Ahewann: What?

Vrtra: THE SCIONS ARE HERE

Vrtra: ESTINIEN WYRMBLOOD IS H E R E

Vrtra: GET YOUR SHOES ON AHEWANN HOW DID WE MISS THIS

Ahewann, spilling curry down his front, bursting out of the throne room with laces untied: Hey Everybody Come Help Me Throttle The Spymaster