#I am just glad that I unlocked just about the most complicated sequence of movements

[elizabethrobertajones]

Just saw some art that reminded me of my own Stormblood dragoon experience. So, Frog hit 70 Dragoon out in the Azim Steppe while doing the MSQ. I think I hadn't quite unlocked flying yet. But you see, you only need access to the Azim Steppe to get to the 70 job quest because it's not gated behind any higher level area. So I tootled up to it probably still wearing like level 63 gear or something, started the quest, and got all the cutscenes out the way, started the fight, and got absolutely murdered.

Then my brother pointed out it would be a lot less hard if I finished the MSQ (he was always nagging me to do that for some reason) and collected at the very least some 69/70 dungeon gear and quest stuff for Dragoon so I could actually do the fight without being auto attacked to death. And like, eh, not like you need better gear than what I had to continue doing literally anything other than the 70 DRG quest. So I nodded and got on with doing that. But I did really want to get that quest done so I pretty much just waited until I had Castrum Abania upgrades and 68 quest reward gear and tried it again, and did actually beat it after much travails, learned the meaning of friendship and love etc, as you do.

So in Frog Canon, like, the order of events that unfolded as Bounding Frog, warrior of light, was fighting the Stormblood war on two fronts, was this:

Estinien leaves Ishgard and heads directly for the great big hole in the ground that he stares ominously at in a mid-Stormblood cutscene

Despite ominous pronouncements about what he has left to do, he gets distracted and travels all the way to the Far East after deciding maybe the hole in the ground at least is someone else's 70 raid series problem, and I guess he hit a dead end investigating that.

Frog encounters him in the Azim Steppe having his hot girl summer literally at peace, blissed out, free of all burdens save his newfound purpose

Estinien is like "What are you doing here anyway?" and she's like "Ummmmm we're kinda kicking the Garleans out of every single province at once because the twins have absolutely no concept of moderation I guess?"

Estinien looks at Orn Khai and says, "Oh no. Listen, small and extremely ambitious friend I have adopted. I have another, smaller but even more ambitious friend who is doing stupider things. Can you wait here for like. A week. I'll be back, I have all the aetherytes between here and Ishgard unlike some people."

Estinien teleports back the nearest aetheryte in Gyr Abania he has and stealthily follows Alphy around until he needs to do a big damn hero moment uncredited.

Estinien teleports back to the Far East and sits on a rock sharpening his spear and looking moody for a few hours

He and Frog do the 70 job quest together

He's like "cool so did you finish the war so we can hang out?"

She's like "no lmao I still have to liberate Ala Mhigo. Wild, right?"

Estinien slowly drags his hand down his face.

He returns to Gyr Abania to appear in the appropriate cutscene after the Stormblood quest is complete

He returns to the Far East to hide in Kugane until Krile comes to get him for the next time he canonically appears and this whole thing explains is why he is SO resentful that anyone would dare try to pry him out of just sitting down for FIVE MINUTES.