#lalafellin problems

[the-fellowship-of-lalafell]

So, I was doing the Moonfire event quest yesterday and got to the point where you look at your surroundings and tell Lyonell where to go. Now, that camera is set at ye average Midlander Hyur eye level.

I'm most certainly not. I am a three fulm, one ilm tall Plainsfolk. Now, I would ask for something to bring the viewpoint to my actual eye level, but I'd get a buncha feet and knees, a hip, maybe, if you're short enough, so... Maybe not.

Gotta wonder what poor schmuck's holdin' me up to that eye level, though. Probably some poor Elezen or something.

Ya doin' ok holding me during those, dudebro? Ya shoulders ok? How's your back? I'm not exactly light, even for my kind.

[starrysnowdrop]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #1: Steer

Idiom: steer clear of; to stay away from purposely; avoid.

During the events of patch 4.3, quest “Under the Moonlight”; Hali tries to convince Yume to take a step back from participating in the investigation of Zenos’ death and potential resurrection.

“Yume, can I talk to you about something?”

The auri samurai glanced down at her pink-haired lalafellin companion and nodded. “Alright, what’s the matter?”

“Well, you see…” Hali scrunched up her face, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say. She folded her arms and continued.

“Look, Alisaie and I, well we are worried about you, and we thought that perhaps you might need to take a step back and let us deal with the… umm… problem at hand.”

Yume shrugged her shoulders, not following Hali’s train of thought. “What? Why would I need a break? I’m fine.”

“Yume… you have had to deal with a lot lately—”

“So have we all! Honestly I was thinking that Alisaie might need to take some time for herself with Alphinaud embarking on a diplomatic mission to Garlemald and all. She is the one that needs to relax for a while. But I’m alright.”

The lalafellin astrologian shook her head and looked up at Yume with a concerned expression. “While I agree about Alisaie, I still think you need to rest too, you know?”

Yume was growing tired of Hali dancing around the issue, or was it the person in question. She raised her voice as she replied, “Just say it already! It’s because of Zenos, isn’t it?” She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. “You don’t understand. He is alive, and I need to know if it’s really him, or if an ascian has claimed his body!”

“Yume, listen to me! I think you need to steer clear of all this right now, especially when we tell Lyse the truth. She’s not going to be happy with hearing that Zenos lives, in any capacity whatsoever. Do you really want to be there to witness her reaction?”

Hali briefly closed her eyes as she began to recall the events of the past few days spent in Doma.

“You just had to deal with Asahi threatening you over his obsession with Zenos, and you are still clearly shaken up by the echo vision we saw earlier, so perhaps you should go back to the Rising Stones to relax, meditate, and clear your head. I will keep you updated on everything, I promise.”

Yume shook her head, with slight irritation in her voice as she wanted to put this whole needless conversation to rest. “…No, Hali. I need to see this through for myself, and that’s final. Lyse will just have to be a good little leader and learn how to tolerate me being in her presence.”

This time it was Hali’s turn to sigh. Yume and Lyse were not on good terms with each other anymore, not after they have had several fights over Yume’s fixation on Garlemald’s crown prince. Though Yume never wavered in her duty and fought Zenos alongside her and their friends, Lyse couldn’t stand how much Yume seemed to talk about Zenos, and how the samurai picked up and read every tome she could that held information on him. To not only Lyse’s eyes, but everyone else’s, Yume seemed to be growing obsessed with him, and she always seems to talk about him as if he were a long-lost lover…

Hali wondered for a moment if that was how she looked like when she recalled her days in Ishgard with Aymeric, but she quickly pushed those thoughts from her mind and shrugged. There might be another dramatic argument in the near future between Yume and Lyse, but it couldn’t be avoided if Yume insists on going to Rhalgr’s Reach with her.

“Alrighty, suit yourself.”

Yume’s Blog: @firelightmuse

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #10: Stable

(A/n: Another entry into the role quest rewrite series, this time beginning the melee quest with Estinien. At first I just defaulted to Estinien cos he is the token melee in the Scions in EndW, but once I sat down to write, I realised Limsa had a bit more in common with Ishgard than I remembered.

While it's more small scale compared to Ishgard's two thousnad year long war, the idea of breaking agreements and continuing old wars and blaming the other side for what one group started is still very applicable. In the end, the melee role quest is still more focused on the Sahagin than the Kobolds, but its a way to establish a beginning with Estinien and set his relationship with the Admiral/Limsa from the start.

Used the prompt to talk reference Limsa's stability as a nation, even if it's more specific to the city/more of a facade when they're still rebuilding relations with the other factions. It also feels ironic that the pirate nation is more put together out of everyone.

Word count: 955)

“You’re not much familiar with Limsa Lominsa are you?” Fhara asked, glancing up at Estinien as he cast his eyes over the crowded aetheryte plaza. Merchants moving to and fro, clusters of locals standing around chatting and enjoying the sunshine, and even a small lalafellin band was playing for a crowd.

“Not particularly,” he finally answered, “I’ve passed through to utilise their port, but as for the city of the rest of the island, I haven’t seen much.”

“Well, we’re here on official business, but I hope it’ll give you the chance to see a little more then,” she said with a smile, then gestured for him to follow. It would have to be the long walk to Maelstrom command if he wasn’t attuned to the aethernet in the city. A small blessing that Limsa always being so busy meant they both crept under the radar, and were uninterrupted on their way.

The Admiral was waiting for them with one of her officers, the latter of which offered a sharp salute upon their arrival.

“My delegate informed you were bringing assistance,” Merlwyb hummed, looking Estinien over.

“Estinien Varlineau, former Azure Dragoon, if it would give you any reassurance to my capabilities,” he introduced, offering a polite nod. The reactions were stark, the officer gaping in shock to be in the presence of an esteemed warrior, while Merlwyb barked out a loud laugh.

“The Azure Dragoon? I’d fear for your reputation then if you don’t manage to kill this beast in one hit,” she grinned.

“They’re surprisingly resilient. But should I have it in my sights, I’ll try and land a definitive blow.”

“I have no doubt. But let us discuss the matter at hand.”

“From what we’ve learned so far, people will turn into blasphemies when they’re overcome by despair and apathy. Have you seen any signs of that here?” Fhara asked, well aware that the city itself seemed full of cheer, without any sign of dissonance.

“Nay, our problems haven’t laid within the city. But instead with our neighbours, the Sahagin,” Merlwyb said, with the officer beside her taking over to add, “It all started with reports from men patrolling the borderline at Skull Valley, and then when we reached out to the factions there for more information, the Sahagin confirmed their numbers were mainly affected.”

“I suppose that makes sense, if you don’t mind me saying Admiral. Limsa’s long had issues communicating with both its neighbours on this island, and while discussions have helped with the Kobolds to smooth over past disagreements, I can see some of the Sahagin still being wary of any peace talks,” Fhara nodded, thinking over what she knew of Limsa’s conflicts.

“Aye, we’ve had a steady peace building between us and the kobolds, and even with the Sahagin. But as you say, some factions aren’t quite ready to trust us, even as we’ve assisted in curing their tempered,” Merlwyb said with a frown. She spied the curious look in Estinien’s eye.

“For you ser, since I know you may not be aware of our history - before now, Limsa Lominsa has long been at odds with both Sahagin and Kobold on Vylbrand. The Sahagin were only recently involved in our conflicts, pushed to our shores as they were for breeding grounds, but our longest conflict was with the Kobolds. Tis only with the aid of the Scions that we have finally reached an accord with them.”

“What manner of conflict was this?” He asked.

“Land, of course, same story as any other. When our pirates first reached these shores to call them home, they didn’t care a whit that the Kobolds already had it. Fighting ensued as it does. At one point an agreement was reached for peace…but pirates do as pirates do, and they take what they please. We broke the agreement and restarted the conflict, all of our own folly.”

Estinien was silent, taking in her tale with a quiet contemplation. When he finally responded, it was with a heavy tone, like that of a world weariness that had seen it all before.

“You say it is as pirates do, but I would argue that pirate or no, man is ever the culprit in their own folly. Man will always take as they please, whether it be land, or power. They may blame it on a desire to feed their people or a sense of fear of the other side, but it wouldn’t change that their actions cause harm to all, and they wouldn’t give a damn who suffers.”

A single blink was the only hint that Merlwyb was thrown by how easily Estinien had responded, her face otherwise a picture of professionalism.

“You speak from experience.”

“In a way. Your tale isn’t too dissimilar from Ishgard’s own. Far be it for me to overstep when I’m not here as a delegate on behalf of Ishgard, but I would advise you and yours mind those ties with the Kobolds from here on, lest you make the same mistakes again,” he said.

“Duly noted.” The two continued to regard each other carefully, leaving the other two present to share an awkward look before Fhara finally coughed to break the tension.

“I know this means we’d be well to check in with the Kobolds factions in case they’re affected, but right now you said the Sahagin were the main concern?”

“Aye, that they are. Though I hope the history lesson allows Ser Estinien to understand where we stand now on this island with all factions,” Merlwyb said, finally breaking into a polite smile.

“That it does. While the Sahagin are our primary focus, I’ll be sure to keep the Kobolds in mind, should we fear their turning as well.”

[thelongestway]

FFXIV Write 2024, Prompt #5: Stamp

Sharlayan was a city with an actual immigration policy. One would almost wonder why they'd need one, being an island in the middle of the ocean with so few visitors that any outsider would stick out like a sore thumb. But they did.

I suppose the problem with being a city run by scholars is that they like their neat graphs too much to give up the paperwork, even as they groan and suffer when they have to fill it in themselves, as the Archons and other Sharlayans were doing as the ship docked.

"As professort Montichaigne used to say, 'If you haven't collected the right kind of data, then that's something you won't be able to fix later without starting all over,'" Alphinaud said sagely as he finished up his own application form. I could swear, his pensmanship got neater the more nervous he was.

"Yes, well, as master Matoya used to say, one has to think before collecting any data at all. The point of all this paperwork is lost on me," Y'Shtola put her signature on the form with a flourish and then looked at me. "Is the form going well? They can be somewhat counterintuitive, especially for a non-citizen."

"They're ridiculous," I admitted, "but I think I have the gist of it. If you would kindly look it over when I've finished, to see if I've missed anything?"

"Of course."

In a few more minutes she did just that, and I watched her eyes widen and mouth curl into an appreciative conspiratorial grin.

"This I have to see," she handed the form back to me. "Everything looks good to me."

I returned the grin as I put away the document on top of my pack. "Well, not long now."

Soon, we were standing in front of the migrations office. I was dressed for what my application said, of course; simple trades clothing, some hefty bags. The only thing giving me away was my thaumaturgists' staff, but I'd always preferred to glamor those as simply as possible. This one looked like a walking stick.

The Lalafellin immigrations officer allowed the Archons in immediately, of course, and the Levellieur twins - with a warning about their father, which they took in stride. Then she turned to me.

"Name and occupation?"

I gave my name. And added: "Alchemist."

The Archons stared. Y'Shtola stifled a laugh. The immigrations officer didn't notice.

"Alchemist? A rather more constructive pursuit than most of the 'adventurers' by vocation we get here. What do you specialize in?"

"I make pots." I said, doing my best to imitate Elezen scholars everywhere - that is, to make a self-evident statement that somehow nonetheless assumed my collocutor's ignorance.

"I'm sorry, pots?" The immigration officer frowned. "I must bring to your attention that if you have any restricted drugs or substances in your possession you must declare them."

"I'm an alchemist," I repeated. "I have a list of volatile substances prepared and attached for your perusal. However, as I believe that we are talking about two vastly different definitions of 'pots', I would like to state for the record that while I am also trained as a botanist, growing any of the species of plants the preparations of which are known colloquially as 'pot' here in Sharlyan would possibly afford me an automatic lecturers' position at your Studium. The climate just isn't right, you see, but..."

Impressively, the immigrations officer did not lose the thread once, even as she skimmed the rather long list as I spoke. The public speaking skills of local scholars must be truly abysmal; no wonder Alphinaud routinely ran circles around them since childhood.

"You've made your point, scholar," she said, finally putting a stamp on the application. And then she smiled at me - a strange, half-hidden smile. "But I think you do need to visit the Studium at some point. If you believe growing a staple source of cloth, food, dyes and medicine is impossible for our botanists merely due to vagaries of climate, you will... Find meeting them to your benefit."

"I'm certain," I said, and made way for Estinien.

As I took my place next to the twins, Alisaie whispered: "Alchemist? Really?"

"I do make high quality pots."

She giggled.

"You'll fit right in."

[candycryptids]

25. what is your wol's relationship with their family? are they estranged? still very close? tense?

28. what sense does your wol most rely on? hearing, touch, sight, smell, taste? maybe even aethersense or dynamis?

for Tangy!

Tangy’s relationship with her birth-family as it is RIGHT MEOW (Hah) is, estranged. Or… more specifically, her memory of her Mom was wiped off the page ‘bout 5 years ago, and it made things from her childhood (4-15’ish) kinda. Fuzzy. Thinking about the people around the Blinding Mother Shaped Gap In Her Memory kinda makes her dizzy and gives her a headache? So, she hasn’t given much thought about any of her siblings in some time either. She’s pretty sure they’re ok, though. Probably. She doesn’t resent them for whatever circumstances left her without them, at least, even if most people probably would- she assumes they’re struggling with the same cheese-brain memory problem like everybody else. And besides, she’s not sure they’d recognize her anymore anyways… 🫥☠️

She writes often to her ‘adoptive’ family though! Nothing but fond affection from Tangy for the Lalafellin travelers that said it was ok to make up a name when she struggled to remember hers, lol. She’d hate for them to worry, and really she’s doing quite fine, there’s lots of good food and new people, and travel, and sparring.

She does not tell them about the sad parts.

One of these days she’ll have time to go visit them, but there’s so much always going on, between moving headquarters and whatever’s going on with Bahamut and His Greatest Majesty, King Moggle Mog, may his Pom remain fluffy forevermore, so it keeps getting put off. Maybe they’ll have to make a special trip instead… 🫣

She does, btw, remember her old name by ARR, but by that point it doesn’t even feel connected to her anymore, which is why she continues using a ‘silly/childish’ name instead.

I think of all Tangy’s senses she trusts/relies on touch the most. If you can touch it, it’s real, you know? It’s present, it’s in the now. It’s grounding, it shows affection, it keeps people together in crowded places. Followed up closely by smell… she doesn’t have any vision or hearing problems, and there’s no case of hallucinations, but when a reasonable chunk of your memory is painfully blinding in every sense sometimes it’s just. Easier to close your eyes and press your forehead against a beaten smooth linen tunic and focus on the texture and the warmth and the smell of dirt and Chocobo feathers. Or rose oil and leather, and the slight roughness of a miners cotton shirt.

Sometimes she remembers the softness of furs and cloves and she isn’t really sure what that’s about. [It is A Touch and a Smell she remembers from her childhood, set adrift without the full memory to anchor it down]

[amberrrrrrrito]

ive been postulating switching from fem lala to hrothgar for a very long time because thats just hilarious, and with the reveal that the graphics update will also come with a free sample of fantasia, that idea has been cemented... the problem is im stuck in not one but two dilemmas

for the name should i,

a.) keep my original lala name b.) create a new name, but make it ethnically lalafellin

c.) create a new name, not lalafellin

and,

a.) male hrothgar

b.) female hrothgar

[the-littlest-kojin]

I want a scene where my Lala Dragoon meets Shio for the first time

Sitting in the bar, Shio sighs as her line of sight is below the bar.

Next to her, sitting on an identical stool, a Lalafellin woman glances sidelong at her. "You too, huh?"

Letting her forehead collide with the wooden bar with a thunk, Shio sighs. "Yeah. But watch this."

Standing up again, the Kojin pushes her hat back, letting the barkeep see her face - and causing a hush to fall over the bar, broken only by the whispered words "Warrior of Light".

Gesturing to her stool, Shio starts to explain the problem - only to be cut off as people spring into motion, going to get her a taller stool.

Snickering at Shio's obvious distress, the Lalafell laughs. "Fame, huh? Don't expect me to bow or pull grass for you."

Leaning against the bar, Shio scoffs. "I don't want you to. I'm Shio. And you are?"

"Linari, and since they're not bringing me a new stool, you're getting all my drinks for the night."

Shaking her head, Shio smiles. "Agreed. But you've gotta keep me company for the night."

Squinting up at her suspiciously, Linari nods. "Deal, Warrior of Light."

Shuddering at the title, Shio seats herself on the new, taller stool, and orders a pair of drinks. "Just... don't call me that."

[semi-imaginary-place]

ffxiv the loches to the end of 4.0

exploring the loches and fates its clear that ala mhigo has a very strong history of monarchy, stronger than what is shown for doma. a parallel is that both doma and ala mhigo are nationalistic and seek independence from garlemand, and they are both nations that are historically monarchies. doma rallies around the idea of a king, the king as a representation of a nation, and after a period without a monarch seeks to reinstate the monarchy. ala mhigo is also kingless but seems to be moving away from the idea of a king.

damn this man has been hiding out in the salt monastery, get him some food and water.

thanks for the convenient plot device to beat fordola urianger. i haven't seen you all expansion. speaking of people who haven't shown up what are the acsians up to didn't see them much in 3.0 either. ffxiv has had a long standing problem of juggling multiple plots the main ones set up in arr are the ascians light vs dark and the garleans global polimilitary conflict.

the salt lake is giant, it takes half the horizontal surface area of the map and there's an entire city down here

there's no way the player character knows how to operate garlean technology. this is sora at the computer.

the ala mhigan quarter has so many alleys. this map is useless. why does gyr abania have the special ishgardian black chocobos?

and now after 9 levels omega is back. uriange using us in his double blind experiments.

I think the writers forgot that limsa lomisa is a lalafellin name because they seem to be under the impression that its a seawolf city.

oooh they added yelling intot he background noises. nice touch

hien really did fly across a continent. ah on yolback. i was wondering why they didn't run into the same problems we faced going to doma in that moving an army across imperial controlled waters is going to spark a war. but if he only brought a few people that makes more sense. although i dont see any of the mol or xaela. when did yugiri get a yol. the doman forces might have been more effective drawing garleans forces to doma and away from ala mhigo. that door, it would have been so much easier just to unlock it but that would also have been much harder and riskier.

the story is obviously not going that way its just not how its written but raubahn could have been the new ala mhigo leader. conrad says that he wanted someone who has lived outside of garlean occupation and was more widely traveled than himself and raubhn fits the bill. politically speaking lyse is the family of two famous revolutionaries but raubahn is even more famous as the bull of ala mhigo and general of the immortal flames. he also has the proven battle and leadership record that lyse lacks. additionally here in the battle for ala mhigo he's made pipin lead general and is fighting not as a general but just as a soldier so he is willing to give up command and the flames would be fine without him. but on a personal level i see why it makes sense in character for him not to. now that illberd is dead his strongest ties are in ul'dah with nanamo and pipin. most importantly is that 4.0 isn't raubahn's story, its lyse's. She's the main character here and most things are written in service of her character arc instead of what would actually make sense.

I've said it earlier but I do really like how 4.0 centers the stories of women. I didn't even realized how bereft heavenward was of lead female characters until I got to 4.0 and it was the lyse, yugiri, and alisae show. basically until hien gets introduced on the azim steppe, lyse, yugiri, and alisae are the ones driving the plot they're the main characters and I do like that.

duty support for ala mhigo is interesting. you got tank arenvald, dps raubahn and lyse, and healer alphinaud so you cannot have everyone at once. of the 4 alphinaud is the least plot relavent but i refuse to play healer. not after it took me 5 attempts to clear battem's mettle. I may run this a couple times to see what dialogue I get.

my ilevel is so low i shoule not have run this as tank. wow the the dungeon end scene's really evolved used to be final fantasy victory music and then the pc jump excitedly and now its just a camera pan

jp zenos voice actor is doing a job. zenos usually sound soooo bored and now he's excited and deranged. did zenos just compare the wol to the primal he's trapped in a cage, illberd's primal.

localizations this time round have been pretty good. but i noticed this line is a bit different, i wasn't listening too closely but it was something like "I've never had so much fun".

zenos seems lonely. desperate for a connection and not accustomed to having one. also lol got him monologue-ing. he offers the hand of friend and wants to be rejected what a messed up little man. zenos has never had a friend. reminds me of those chronically online people with no friends but who are desperately lonely and they're doing these mental gymnastics and justifications for nothing. damn zenos is projecting HARD onto the player character. like pc is just standing there while zenos rants about how they must be the same.

wait wait did zenos just call the wol yuuitsu tomo like his one and only friend or the only friend for him. bruh you've never even had a full conversation with this person. ok wow a lot of lines are different I'm going to have to go look up the japanese version later.

zenos fused with a primal. how does that even work? probably more aether bs.

wow the game forces a sunset for this part of the game

seriously, last duty of 4.0 and not a single ascian this entire patch. devs really did give up on explaining why every boss fight is now on a platform in the void

see he's showing blood that's how you know he's scripted to die. suicide? edgy.

the price of freedom

THE FUCKING EYES ARE STILL THERE. and now the ascians show up after not seeing them since 3.x. what has y'shtola been doing since she was injured? uuuuuuugggg zenos said he used omega's power to trap shinryuu... so where's omega? the cidnero divorce saga continues! they were business associates

empires, occupation, communities diaspora

lyse is the main character. foil is hien. both monarchies kingship symbol of what doma lost.

zenos is under utilized his most interesting part is his final scene. but he also had to kill himself there because now that he has reached the meaning of his existence there was nothing left but the void again. miserable pathetic loser. having an existential crisis faced with the reality that his life his empty he continues to seek the only thing that can make him feel anything, the innate fear of death when he is on the brink of it.

[keicordelle]

The Daily Inconveniences of an Au Ra: Stride

"Keshet, I hate to be a bother, but would you mind slowing down?"

"What?" Keshet looked to his side only to discover that Krile was not there. Spinning, he found her a dozen or so yalms behind him, dashing to catch up. "Oh, sorry." He drew to a halt, allowing her to pull even with him, and when they set off again, he was careful to clip his pace to better match hers. How Lalafell got anywhere in a timely manner with their stubby little legs, he would never know, but the least he could do was try to accommodate them while they were together. Even if it made his stride awkward.

Still, having longer legs than any Eorzean race was more blessing than curse, particularly in his line of work. He could outpace just about anyone who sought to run from him and cross battlefields in a fraction of the time it took his comrades. If there was an emergency, he was easily the first on the scene, which was great, since he was usually the most suited to handle it anyway. So long as he wasn't restricted by the speed of his companions, he could sprint as fast as an adolescent chocobo.

Of course, problems arose when he had to match his pace to others, which resulted uncomfortably often in him tripping over his own damned feet. If only he could just pick up the smaller folks and carry them on his shoulder, like he'd seen Raubhan do with Nanamo, but the first time he'd tried that with Alphinaud, he'd let out a high pitched shriek and spent a good half bell scolding him about propriety.

The only other circumstance that made him lament the extra length to his legs was when it came to mounting stairs. He had yet to encounter a step that was not absurdly shallow - Nhaama forbid that he had to climb anywhere in Ul'dah, where the stairs were even shorter than Eorzean standards to accommodate lalafellin legs. Even in Ishgard, where his height was less an outlier than elsewhere, he still had to take them two at a time to walk comfortably up them, and boy if that didn't earn him some scornful looks. Ramps. They should just put ramps everywhere.

"Thank you," Krile said, more magnanimously than was warranted, considering he had been the one at fault.

"No prob-" His words cut off as his toe caught on the back of his heel and sent him sprawling to the ground, just narrowly missing spearing his horn through his hand. He sighed, peering up into Krile's shocked face. "-Problem," he finished, and she laughed merrily while he picked himself off the floor.

Read the rest of the series on Ao3!

FIRST | PREV | NEXT

[ironeaterfinya]

Final Fantasy XIV: Penniless Peril

or: Can you beat FFXIV without spending any Currency? Part 1 - How the fuck is this supposed to work

As the title says I am going to try something which is arguably the biggest undertaking I have done in my 12000 hours of playing this game and that is beating it without trying to spend a single currency. What does this entail? Well the simplest explanation is as follows: If it appears in the currency tab in any way, shape or form it is not allowed to be spend. That means no gil, no grand company Seals, no tomestones, no hunt seals, no MGP, no beast tribe currency.

"But Fin, you can't really beat an MMO because it constantly gets updated!" This is technically true, however the Hydalin-Zodiark-Saga as it has been called ends with base Endwalker. That means The challenge is over once we beat 6.0 and see the credits. Also this is my challenge so I get to choose what to do, you are not my boss.

Now that we have established the groundworks, lets introduce our Warrior of Light:

Ninisa Nisa

Lalafellin thaumaturge who choose a lifestyle of abstinence and lives of hand-me-downs. Which in gameplay terms means her stats are shitty and is dependend on the generosity of others. Of to a great start.

Arguably the game is fairly slow and until you reach level 10 you can't even use porters to move you around which means up until then you have to travel everything by foot anyway.

Walking is going to be our primary means of transportation as teleportation (usually) costs us a small amount of gil. However because I am a responsible adult who knows about internet safety I have access to a surprise tool that will help us later and is going to make our early game travel a little bit easier:

The Free Teleport! Yes I play in German let me be

You get this by setting up 2FA, by the way. This makes this aetheryte literally free and thus is not making us spend a single gil on frivolities such as "convenience".

I am sorry Chocobo porter. You were a great help back in HW days but sadly I cannot rely on you for this playthrough

Our first primary teleport is going to be Horizon in Western Thanalan tho as we have to travel to Vesper Bay quite often.

When I reached Horizon for the first time I was already level 15 and decided to head straight to Vesper Bay and unlock Glamour and dying as I can’t stand walking around in this mish mash of wild outfits.

Oh Swyrgeim, you truely are the most underappreciated NPC in this wretched world...

You bitch.

Well, unlocking glamours is easy, however, being able to dye outfits is not as we sadly need to acquire some Orange Juice. After some quick research tho I found out that you can get some OJ as a reward from a Sidequest in Limsa. Glamour on the other hand provides us with a new unique problem I didn't think I ever had to face: Prisms are a finite resource. Yes, you can technically craft them, however the recipe requires you to buy the Master Book for Prisms which sadly cost 300 gil and are therefor unobtainable to us. As far as I know is that they don't drop from dungeons either, so after doing some quick maths I am limited to a total amount of 64 prisms. However this is still a substantial amount and leaves some room for experimentation.

I mark down the juice as something to get later and make myself on my merry way.

This marks the end of part one of this text based lets play. Sadly I decided to start this after I have already gotten to Horizon at that point and had to recreate the images and gear up until that point. I hope you will nontheless follow along in the future! [Start] [Back] [Index] [Next]

[mmorpg-escapism]

I appreciate the little "Meanwhile..." moments that get inserted. It's the narrative reminding the player that we don't exist in a vacuum, that others are working to solve the same problem on the other side.

ShB's first "Meanwhile" takes us to Estinien, who has run into (and through) Shadowhunter & company. Right away, I'm impressed that Estinien knows who Shadowhunter is, though not entirely surprised given that the dragoon has been shadowing us for as long as he has.

Or I would be impressed with that, but in reality Estinien had his first run-in with the Lalafellin bloodhounds that are Tataru and Krile and got that info from them. There's a lot of information exchanged, and we learn quite a bit about what's gone on since we departed for the First. ...oh god Black Rose is so much worse than the post-StB quests indicated.

Wait... does Shadowhunter ever appear again after ShB? I don't remember...

Anywho, something something Estinien & Shadowhunter team-up and they're going to Garlemald. I'm sure that will end well :u

[starrysnowdrop]

Were there any barriers to you establishing your OCs relationship? Perhaps social or cultural stigma? Or a concern that "ships" with that character were already overdone? Or simply a fear of being seen as "cringe"? If so then how did you overcome this?

Ohhh now this is a good one, as this is something that I’ve been told, that I have inspired others to “overcome their fears” of shipping based on certain stigmas in the FFXIV fandom, so let’s get into it shall we? Oh and I will apologize in advance, as this WILL get long.

The Stigmas

Hali x Aymeric

So for Hali x Aymeric, the obvious stigma is that Hali is a lalafell, and Aymeric is not. Though I’ve seen lately that this stigma has waned a bit, especially here on Tumblr where people who infantilize lalas don’t seem to last long, but keep in mind that there is still plenty of lala infantilism on the bird app and other places like Reddit and in game.

For my main ship, that is really the only thing that I see that makes the ship “problematic” to some in the fandom; some people still see lalafells as “child-coded”, despite lalafells being a fantasy race of little people, no different to gnomes, hobbits, dwarves, etc. in other fantasy media, and despite the in game world treating lalafellin adults the same as any other race.

Yume x Zenos

(Yume’s blog: @firelightmuse)

So for Yume x Zenos, but also to a lesser extent Urania (Hali’s Azem) x Hermes, and my other secret ship that I haven’t revealed yet because it’s still in development, these ships fall into the category of being “problematic” because they are Hero x Villain ships at their core, and because Zenos, Hermes, and the secret ship partner are all major antagonists in the story, they have many haters.

Now there isn’t anything wrong with not liking certain characters, as I truly think we all have certain characters that we just don’t vibe with for one reason or another. But there is a problem, however, when people go after villain shippers just because they happen to not like those characters.

Just like with the Lala infantilism problem, villain ships get a lot of hate in the fandom, but for different reasons. I would guess that the main reason is the haters assume that villain shippers either don’t see that the villains have done bad things and/or try to minimize or excuse the villains’ bad behavior. Now I won’t say that there aren’t a few people out there who will truly excuse a villain’s bad behavior and try to make them out to not be as bad of a person as they are written in canon. But I really do think that there’s not as many of them as the haters are likely to believe.

Remember: just because someone is a fan of a villain doesn’t mean they agree with their actions, and a writer is NOT the same as their character. For example, Yume may minimize and/or downright ignore all of the pain and suffering Zenos has inflicted upon not only her, but innumerable others, doesn’t mean that I as Yume’s writer share the same views. I actually consider Yume to ride the thin line between anti-hero and villain herself, just so y’all know.

How to Overcome the Stigmas

So now that the individual stigmas of each of my ships have been outlined, how did I overcome the stigmas? And how difficult was it for me to do?

Well, if you’ve followed me for several years already, you might’ve seen that Hali, my lala WoL, is not the first WoL I have written. That honor goes to Yume, who is a Raen Au Ra and she doesn’t come with the same stigma that Hali does as a lalafell. So I had the privilege for several years of being able to write Yume without the infantilism that Hali would have to fight against in the fandom. But those years gave me enough courage in my own writing to create Hali and to fend off the stigma of lala x non-lala shipping and my own insecurities surrounding it.

Though it was difficult, and it took me a long time to do so, I eventually realized that I was happier and way more fulfilled when I wrote what I wanted to and not what I thought my followers or my friends or anyone else wanted. Trust me, I tried more “popular” and less “problematic” ships before, and even though they were nice at the time, I ultimately dropped them because I realized that I didn’t feel fulfilled, and that I was scared to write for more “problematic” ships because I feared the backlash.

One HUGE thing that I highly recommend is to find yourself a good support system to surround yourself with. Whether that be reaching out to your mutuals here on Tumblr or joining discord servers with like minded individuals, having people there who can help you through your journey in shipping will help greatly! Trust me, I wouldn’t be where I am today without my support system to be there for me when I’m having a bout of anxiety and/or insecurity with my writing.

Another thing that I highly recommend you do is to Unfollow, Hide, and/or Block haters liberally!! Please, it’s for your own mental health and wellbeing to do so! If you’re wanting to ship your lala oc for example, never hesitate to block the lala haters out there! No good will come from seeing the hate all over your feed, because it will just bring you down.

That’s about all I have for now. If you have any other questions on this subject, please do not hesitate to send me a message, DM, or ask!! I am always happy to help with any questions or advice when it comes to shipping! Thank you so much @mimble-sparklepudding for the ask, and thank you all for reading this very long winded answer!! 💖

[beetlebrownleaf]

#WoLiangerWeek 2022 Day 2 - Book

Mind the content warnings. Mild Endwalker spoilers.

[CW for pregnancy and mentions of menstruation and miscarriage.]

The couple had taken a trip to the library back in Sharlayan, at the insistence of Urianger.

“Here we… are,” Urianger said, slamming another set of books down at the table.

“Good gods, Urianger, how many books could they possibly have on babies and child rearing?”

“This is Sharlayan, my beloved,” he said, “There exist many books on many subjects.”

Beetle laughed at she looked at the cover of one of the many tomes.

“Urianger - this is a book on raising puppies,” she said, with a laugh.

He shrugged.

“It could be useful,” he said, “Children can be wild as dogs, after all. I know Mistress Alisaie couldst certainly be, in her youth…”

“Ohh boy, I hope she doesn’t hear you say that,” Beetle replied, opening another book.

“What to Expect When You are Expecting… a Multiracial Baby,” she repeated, “Hey, this might be right on the money!”

She opened to the table of contents.

“Let’s see… Hyur and Elezen, Elezen and Miqo’te… Roegadyn and Hyur… wait a damn minute. Where’s the Lalafell and Elezen section?”

She turned the page.

“Ohh,” she said, “There’s just one single section on Lalafell. And it’s the biggest one.”

She flipped through the book, all the way until the last section, and read off the first paragraph:

Congratulations! Very few Lalafell successfully conceive with other races. Their vastly different physiologies make it very nearly impossible. But pat yourself on the back! You’ve beaten the odds.

She looked at her husband with a wry smile.

“Pat yourself on the back, dear. You beat the odds.”

Urianger laughed as she continued:

It can be quite scary, but the good news is, if you are a Lalafell, and are noticeably pregnant, you’ve already made it further than most Lalafell who carry multiracial babies. Yes, it’s true: most half-Lalafellin babies do not even make it past three weeks gestation. Many don’t even know they were ever pregnant, even when the miscarriage occurs; the bleeding is often so slight, it is mistaken as a late cycle.

“Huh! I never knew that,” she said, “Did you?”

“Nay,” Urianger said, “How sad, though, for many couples attempting to conceive… I cannot even begin to imagine.”

“Well, looks like we’re beating the odds all over the place here,” Beetle said, continuing.

That having been said, you are not entirely out of the woods yet. All pregnancies carry the risk of complication, even singularly-raced pregnancies. But worry not! With careful habits, a well-balanced diet, and proper rest, you should be able to carry your baby all the way to term with virtually no problems.

“Well,” she said, “This one looks… promising.”

“Then shall we put this one in the ‘check-out’ pile?”

“Yeah, sure. Where is it?”

Urianger pointed to a very large stack of several books.

“There, beloved,” he said.

“What– that’s the check out pile?!”

“Of course! We must needs prepare ourselves, if we art to be successful parents!"

“I mean… you know the baby’s going to be born no matter how much we read, right?”

She merely shook her head, handing the book to her husband.

[lordrethandus]

Daily Writing Challenge August 2022 Day 2

Forever / Displaced ( @daily-writing-challenge @zoronadotatanado​ )

World: Final Fantasy 14

Theme: Kupla - Magic

The Sea of Clouds was not for the faint of heart. Giant floating islands as far as the eye could see, held aloft by unexplained magicks and mysterious crystals– the wind itself was always a threat to blow off the unprepared, hurling them down into the thick clouds below. And if the unruly weather wasn’t trying to kill you, the local wildlife certainly was. Truly a treacherous place.

“Whoa! Did you see that?!” Leleni squeaked, excitedly tapping at the top of his head to get his attention. Zoronado’s steely blue gaze whipped around just in time to catch a glimpse of something humongous diving back into the clouds beneath the floating island; too big for him to kill if it decided it wanted to have two Lalafellin explorers for lunch… “It looked like a big whale! But it was flying?!”

He couldn’t help but smile at her bliss while he carried his ward. She was a child again– filled to the brim with wonder and delight, and he was grateful to see this side of her again, even if the moment was fleeting. He remained silent to allow her to enjoy this moment as much as she possibly could, even as his heart was heavy in his chest; for his thoughts lay elsewhere.

Last night he caught sight of a letter sticking from her backpack. He knew it was not his business, and it was certainly wrong to go through her things, but the harder he tried to ignore it, the more his curiosity itched at the back of his mind. Leleni was sound asleep from the bottle of wine she brought along for the journey, so he had no fear of getting caught– but that only made the letter more tempting to read, not less. Eventually he caved in, sat upright, and carefully pulled the letter free to read it in the dying light of their starving campfire. 

To Lady Leleni Nar Leni, Daughter of the King, and Jewel of Kol’din,

You have brought our family great shame by fleeing to the land of giants to satiate your incredulously voracious curiosity. If it were in my power, I would bombard Limsa Lominsa with my fleets, break their armies against my knights, and burn and salt the fields until they delivered my daughter back to my arms. No father should lie in wake fearing the fate of their children. And yet I am powerless to bring you back to the safety of our island castle. So you force my hand into exercising the only option I have left. If this letter ever reaches you, know that you are no longer my daughter. Upon my death you will not receive neither lands nor wealth. Your birthright is forfeit. Your sister will inherit Kol’din until her son comes of age. The Bulwark Knight you dragged along with you has failed to bring you back home. As a result, he has been stripped of his titles and honors as well. Know that you are both exiles. Strangers to your own homeland. Permanently displaced until the end of your days. Should you ever think about returning and shaming your former family further, you will rot in the howling cells, but not before you watch that traitor traveling with you drop from the gallows. Goodbye forever, Leleni. Do not reach out to me or my family ever again.

-King Fafasasho Nar Unusasho

Zoronado has always known Leleni’s father to be an angry man, but this was far worse than he could ever imagine. Stripped of her birthright? Disowned by her own father? How could she smile and cheer as if nothing had happened? He glanced up to see the sparkle in her eyes as she held onto him tightly– if she was truly hurting, she was exceptionally good at hiding it. 

“Thank you for carrying me…” She suddenly spoke, glancing down to meet his gaze. “If I hadn’t been so clumsy I wouldn’t have rolled my ankle so foolishly…”

“Not a problem, My Lady.” Zoronado beamed, returning his gaze to the bridge ahead before she could see the pain in his eyes; even calling her My Lady didn’t sit right… for now she was just… Leleni. Perhaps she would tell him what happened eventually… until then he would just have to silently endure for her sake before he could comfort her openly.

Losing everything he’s ever worked for didn’t hit him nearly as hard as he thought it should. Becoming a Bulwark Knight was the one thing he could ever want, knowing that no matter how grueling the training was, he would find comfort in knowing the skills he learned would protect a nobleman or lady and give his otherwise worthless existence purpose. But never in his wildest dreams did he expect to ever protect a woman as fair and as free as Leleni.

“... what?” She asked, causing him to blink back to reality. “You stopped and you’re staring… is there something on my face?” 

Zoronado struggled to find the words as she innocently rubbed at her soft round face, thinking there were some leftover crumbs from their lunch or the smeared remains of a bug that struck her during one of the more violent gales earlier today. Instead he just smiled, lightly shook his head, and started walking again.

[steak-n-popotoes]

FFxivWrite ‘22 - 18 (Free Prompt)

Is a pinch of nutmeg really enough spice for something like this? Popola thought. Eft and mushrooms are such overpowering flavors... Maybe something mild to just blend everything together? She surreptitiously added a few shakes of paprika to the egg mixture before pouring the lot into the crust and over the other ingredients. Everyone likes paprika.

Renaud could smell something from his study - between the most heavenly thing he had ever smelled and the house burning down, he wasn’t sure which. Was Popola cooking something? He put the songwriting on hold long enough to investigate.

In the kitchen, Popola was standing atop a stool, fussing over a large round dish she had just pulled from the oven. Judging by the smoke cloud she was hurriedly waving away, it looked as though it had been in there a little too long. When she turned around and revealed the dish, her beaming expression was proof that the slightly blackened meal was likely for him.

“What exactly is that?”

“Trapper’s quiche! Your favorite!”

His favorite, made by his wife, just for him? Hells yes. There was a satisfying crunch to it when the knife was worked through, although Renaud was pretty sure that much resistance wasn’t supposed to be there whether it was satisfying or not. He examined the slice a little more carefully. The burnt skin was thin enough that it wouldn’t be a problem, but what did look like a problem was all the red flakes mixed into the inside. Hmmmm.

“That’s not cayenne, is it?”

Popola suddenly looked bashful as she came over to the table. “No... it’s paprika...” The cayenne in that curry she made a while back hadn’t gone over very well.

“Well, alright.” Renaud tentatively tried a mouthful. While the texture was a little unconventional, he did enjoy having something to bite down onto, especially once the crust gave way unto the soft filling. The eft was less rubbery than he remembered in the previous times he’d enjoyed a trapper’s quiche while still retaining a pleasant chewiness, and the fish taste was a little more mellow. Whatever the paprika was supposed to add, he didn’t really think he could taste it, which was good.

If anything the mistakes seemed to make him enjoy it more, so maybe they couldn’t really be called mistakes. His wife wasn’t making mistakes, she was making a quiche just for him. Suddenly he felt rather protective of his food.

“So, it’s good?”

“Well, of course it is. I’m just glad I don’t have to share-”

“Oh, Beef you’re just in time!”

Ah, bugger and shite. Renaud looked over his shoulder to see Beef already dropping his bag at the door and making himself at home. How the hells did he always know whenever someone put in some effort at the kitchen? Was it smells? On the wind? Some other part of that damned super sense of his?

Beef was wandering toward the kitchen, gingerly poking at the air with his nose like some sort of cat, and all the while Popola was already offering that he help himself to quiche. Of course she was, she was his sister and a good hostess.

Renaud slid his plate further from the edge of the table and out of Lalafellin arms’ reach, then began to eat faster to try and keep as much of his quiche to himself as he could.

The best he could hope for was that Beef would cook up something almost as good as what he'd take.

[unbloomingmoonflower]

devourer of hearts [1]

So I oop and made an AU and now I wanna write a thing for it. Gonna has the OG Shuri x Esti ship, but Esti is playing the adventurer role this time. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Forgotten Knight was far busier than usual. Civilians, knights, adventurers all intermingled where one could barely be distinguished from another. Ishgard had become far more welcoming when its gates were opened. 

It was a good thing, Estinien considered his musings while focused on his tankard, that it was becoming noticeably difficult to determine one’s status in Ishgard ever since he had returned to pay a visit to Aymeric. Ishgard had no need for the Azure Dragoon now that the threat of the horde was no more. 

He could wander as he wished and he was taking full advantage of that.

Sharp, blue eyes flickered throughout the tavern, his ears tickling at the mixture of hushed and slurred conversations in the air. One table nearby was a full party of adventurers, trying to huddle to be heard amongst themselves yet still speaking loudly enough to catch the Elezen’s attention.

“Can’t believe we found another one,” muttered the Midlander of the group. “A gapin’ hole right there, heart completely gone...bloody hell, I sure don’t want to risk my neck for this job.”

“We already took this job from Camp Dragonhead, Hethor,” the Dunesfolk Lalafell piped up, sounding resigned. “No wonder they seemed damned pleased to be rid of the responsibility. No one said the suspect was a Hearteater.”   

Hearteater. That word piqued Estinien’s interest and in spite of himself, he wanted to hear more of this party’s conversation.

The Hellsguard Roegadyn’s appeared to barely hold back the contempt in his voice. “Even with this job, that makes how many deaths now? Seems to me that these Hearteaters are a growing problem. Oi, Mae, haven’t old mates from Gridania told you something about them?” he barked to the Hyur, whose garb suggested she was the healer of the party and very likely hailing from Gridania. Estinien couldn’t restrain himself from hearing what she had to say. 

Under her comrades’ inquisitive stares, did the one called Mae stammer, “O-Only once. They found a body near the old Haukke Manor with the heart removed from the corpse too. I-I don’t know if they found others,  Zwynblaet.”

“Whatever the case,” the Roegadyn responded curtly, “we gotta tell them fools back at Dragonhead that we ain’t doing this job. If this thing finds us, who’s to say that it won’t rip our hearts out too.”

“I agree with Zwyn,” the one called Hethor added before he glanced at the Lalafellin companion. “What about you, Rurutomi?”

Rurutomi heaved a sigh. “Guess it’s all but decided, eh? We all aren’t dying to a Hearteater today or any other day.”

It seemed that conversation was what the group converged to have, for once the Lalafell gave his own assent, they rose from the table, chair legs scraping against the scuffed floor before leaving one by one, with Hethor paying the barkeep for the drinks. 

This made for quite an interesting evening. Estinien took a long draw of his ale, brows knitted as he considered what he had just heard. “Hearteaters, eh...” he murmured against the rim of his tankard before setting it down. If these rumored creatures were suddenly becoming an epidemic across the realm, with bodies cropping up, then the creatures clearly had no qualms about keeping their habits hidden. Even so, it appeared from what those adventurers spoke of, is that one had yet to be captured and killed. 

Were these Hearteaters some sort of voidsent? The void has long since produced a steady stream of creatures, yet not one was documented with such a moniker as this one. It made the Elezen curious enough. 

Estinien was in need of a new adventure. Finding one of these creatures may be the start.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The heart was a delicate thing. 

Mismatched irises fixated on the recent acquisition held in her bloodied hand, the body of an Elezen male at her feet. The scent of his heart had been irresistible and finding him wandering alone near the Behemoth’s dominion was just a moment of opportunity. His blood stained the snow beneath him after she had ripped his heart out, her fingers slick with the iron-scented liquid. 

Her claws dug into the slick organ, crushing it as she brought it to her lips. Her tongue darted out, catching the droplets of blood. Her countenance twisted in disgust as she dropped the organ, watching it dent into the snow. 

“Such an impure heart,” she breathed in disappointment, as she stepped over her victim to disappear into the howling winter winds--leaving only the corpse as a trace of her presence.