#mom plays ffxiv ARR

[amememightywarrior]

Mom's Adventures in Eorzea I

Since Twitter is imploding, I'm preserving my play by plays of my mom adventuring with me in Eorzea and her reaction to MSQ.

Let's begin! Go to part 2

Aug. 31, 2019

So I've gotten my mom to try FFXIV and she is level 14 right now and practicing her targeting/killing moves!

Current skills we are working on: the basic archer rotation, targeting, switching targets when more than one critter is aggroed...and noticing when things are dead/she's being attacked.

She likes that chocobo porter thing

Cue eyerolls at Beatin's name

"Yeah, that's pretty creepy" - my mom about the Monoa mask

"Why are they all just standing there?"

"Small budget."

This just in, we made it to Limsa Lominsa! Next up: Ul'dah!

She is now roaming around Ul'dah, ignoring all unsolicited FC invites from strangers

*stares at Ifrit-egi* "What's the flaming thing?"

Level 16!

She thought the aesthetician was hilarious. We're done for the day, just before unlocking Sastasha. Not sure if she'll survive her first dungeon experience...I will have to conscript my friends into helping her!

Dec. 8, 2019

Okay, got a trial account set up for my mom so I could actually help her in-game...

...she went max-height max-muscle femroe this time.

7'3'' of pure power, smacks ladybugs with books

Dec. 15, 2019

weewooweewoo my mom's femroe is loose in eorzea again

eventually within the next hour this laptop will get it together and I will be able to follow her around in-game maybe

my fps is low so I'm running super slow my mom is now making fun of my short legs

I just took her for the laggiest ride in eorzea

She's doing the orange harvesting quest and whenever the flower wesp spawns I'm just yelling "BEES BEEEEEES BEEEEEEEEEEEES" the look on her face tells me this is not helpful

i'm so proud look at her go

she put on the level 5 caster gear and yelled "I LOOK LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF THE HOBBIT"

Feb. 16, 2020

Mom's femroe made it to level 12...lots of 'why am i getting hit???' 'oh my god' 'okay wait i remember how to do this' 'no i don't' meanwhile, I just cast a regen as she panics, get all the aggro, and Gravity everything to death once she's done beating up a couple mobs.

Apr. 19, 2020

*puts together a 'running around with mom' glam that looks like normal IRL clothes* LET'S SEE IF SHE NOTICES

My mom: "I noticed the shorts. I CAN RECOGNIZE THOSE CARGO SHORTS ANYWHERE."

Me: "Is it easier to tell what's going on with the voices [instead of reading the fairly small text]"

Mom: "....maybe...even if the voice acting is..." ARR voice acting gets a negative mark from my mom, officially

May 3, 2020

my mom just fell asleep listening to ARR Minfilia like...mid button press

Jul 4, 2020

My mom has named her chocobo Kweh.

"What do you want to name it?" "Hmmmm.....that sound it makes." "'Kweh'?" "Yes!"

Jul 7, 2020

Mom: "What's that blue thing following you" Me: "that's my friend he keeps me company" Mom: "that reminds me I should summon mine" *summons carbuncle*

Jul 19, 2020 (DragonQuest collab)

My mom's reaction to getting 'ze puff-puff' was a mix of '???' and 'wtf' and ' :O ' when the puff-puff was revealed XD

I also showed her my Cells at Work! cosplays and she thought they were pretty good although she was totally groaning at yet another reference to Cells at Work

Jul 28, 2020 (moonfire faire)

okay my mom is level 27 i can get her to get to 30 before the event and we can fend off giant muscle shark TOGETHER

Aug 15, 2020

doing the seasonal event at last with my mom~

she ran from the giant bomb at the very end and didn't get credit RIP

hmm she still didn't get credit, gonna have to try doing it for her...

okay she was not getting close enough to do the first dance...just imagine wild flailing and button smashing

her pride was injured since she got partial credit so she has gone back to do it again by herself

:D

"I didn't realize she was so green, can I change that" rip she'll have to get that free fantasia

Aug 22, 2020

Me as my mom is logging in: Eeeey look at you, in your summer outfit Mom: That's right, and I'm gonna wear it all summer!!

Wilred: "and sorry for trying to kill you" Mom: Lame she dislikes him already

Aug 23, 2020

My mom quickly formed a low opinion of Trachtoum and then laughed when the miller put him in his place. Then she lost the rock competition and said her ego would kill her if she didn’t beat him on normal

My mom did not like that her new upgrade did not disguise itself as her summer flame pareo immediately

Her max height Roegadame reeling at the smell of Brayflox's cheese was priceless, she practically vaulted out of camera view

Sept. 19, 2020

Mom: *sees someone on Midgardsormr* I want a dragon... Me: You'll get one Mom: Hmm...still not as cool as the sparkle lightning horse. Me: Oh that...I have that Mom: =_= Oh? Then why are we riding your flea-bitten chocobo instead?? Me: ...it's...not a 2-seater... Mom: figures

Sept 26, 2020

My mom is taller than Haurchefant

Oct 11, 2020

My mom was deeply offended by the professor's students who kept giving us the wrong kind of corrupted crystal, so when the third one tried to joke that we had gotten earth-aspected her face was like =_=

She's made it past Garuda in MSQ, right now I'm just unsyncing the trials to help her with mechanics

She has 4 whole minions now and decided to change it from her brickman...however she discovered she hates the goobbue sprout, called it a mushroom and went 'ew' when it sneezed XD She really likes the airship though

Oct 17, 2020

Your daily sploot as my mom plays through MSQ

mom just called Minfilia 'pink bustier'

my dog totally chewed up my second gaming mouse rip

I don't care about the teeth marks but I DO care that she deformed the rubber portion of the scroll wheel so I can't scroll...

Made it to Mor Dhona! yaaay

she's like half an inch taller than Biggs

Oct 27, 2020

it's getting to the point where I should probably learn how to play SMN so I can help my mom out I've programmed her crossbar for future and was like "THERE ARE SO MANY BUTTONS WHERE DO I PUT THEM ALL" Last time she played I set up the WXHB but I don't know how this will go

Our latest adventure involved the Gold Saucer, also. She got to do Air Force One and said it was fun XD She also enjoyed the Haunted Manor illusions although she had limited options due to being in ARR.

Fingers crossed I can show her leap of faith although the floating city is kinda rough, we might wanna aim for the other one...I think that's on a schedule, right?

oh good the catboy at the counter in GC gives me the schedule

ANYWAY she's getting close to the end of ARR now, so I have to make her do leveling dungeon once each play session XD fun times. I will most likely unsync castrum and prae so she doesn't have to deal with buttheads potentially

Nov 7, 2020

My mom hit level 49 today! I eagerly took her into leveling, thinking we'd get a good chunk in, but... ...fucking Garuda twice in a row =\

Anyway she should hit 50 tomorrow! Then I'll take her through Castrum and Prae (unsynced for Prae for sure, otherwise the usual PUG speed means she'll be running through in utter confusion and not processing anything)

I'm kinda on the fence about castrum unsynced. It's a bit less annoying with a full group so I don't have to do e v e r y t h i n g but I also don't like salty people near my mom so...hm.

also she was like "So when do I get to see the fanzine you contributed to?" and I was like "*NERVOUS SIDE-EYING* uh when you're caught up with me" the struggles of spoiler territory

Nov 8, 2020

Well mom and I were gearing up to hit castrum but then my dad called from the grocery store because he forgot his wallet

And then the internet died

made it through castrum! But with all the delays, no Prae today...ah well

Nov 14, 2020

it's time time to take my mom through prae

me: LOOK WE'RE IN A CUTSCENE TOGETHER mom: oh okay

mom, in old creaking voice while watching Gaius: it is your destiny, Luke

ground targeting on controller is tough :X

mom, watching Nero: so...a jealous classmate?

so in cutscenes she takes up the entire side of the screen she's on for me, while in her cutscenes Ameme is either hidden behind her or is just a little face staring in a corner

Mom: that was fun she likes dodging lasers???

The Praetorium completion time: 68:19

sorry lalas and lala fans, my mom still thinks lalafells walk like toddlers carrying a full load in the diapers

Well she unlocked flying but can't seem to fly with her company chocobo, not sure what we have to do to fix that...

Nov 15, 2020

mom used her free fantasia to make her roegadame less green

mom has just discovered minfilia's butt window

'is that her butt hanging out of a hole?' 'yep' 'whyyyy'

Nov 20, 2020

Nov 22, 2020

Nov 23, 2020

Nov 24, 2020

me: so the theme for this primal sounds just like This Is Halloween mom: *after a few measures* you know I'm pretty sure it IS This Is Halloween

elidibus is so small compared to her

on Teledji Adeledji: "A toddler with a goatee"

Nov 27, 2020

Mom back on MSQ, aka the rise and fall of alphinaud’s ego

So far most of playtime has been spent terrorizing her by asking her to find places on her own

Her sense of direction in games is a travesty because she does not look for landmarks ever

Mom was like “THEY STOLE THAT FROM TRUE LIES!! Is he going to pee his pants next??” after we got to Trachtuom

Leviathan vanquished~

She has found post ARR story much more interesting so far and I have promised her it gets better

Nov 28, 2020

and we are back at it again, time to watch my mom get lost in limsa

i will eventually get my mom to call mor dhona 'more donuts'

i drew a terrible map to show her what's going on with the refugees and Ala Mhigo in the hopes that she will remember somewhat in the future

Nov 29, 2020

last day of vacation, how far can we get my mom through MSQ...? maybe she will meet Ysayle!

mor dhona currently pronounced 'more dunna' after I said 'more donuts' she said 'didn't you promise me sprinkles' but she actually meant sparkly gear so she could see herself better

mom on urianger: "he sounds like a pompous preacher"

"Why do they call her Antecedent?" I had to look the word up, it means 'precursor', mom was like 'maybe she founded the organization' and I was like 'yep'

I'm waiting for her to get locked out because we haven't done the hard ARR primal modes yet XD

All right so we ended up finishing When the Cold Sets In because the cold has indeed set in so we have to walk Brie at a certain time every day so it's not too cold/dark. I think next session I'll have her do the primals since that's coming up soon anyway...

Dec 5, 2020

and we're back at it! Watching my mom run around the Toll trying to find the crystal brave recruits now

she's gotten more self-sufficient so I'm not leading her around by the hand anymore in small areas XD

"It says to talk to Tataru in Rising Stones" "and where is that" *excited* "WAIT IT'S OVER HERE :D"

I also showed her Yoshi-P showing off the snowman mount, the momora mora minion, and the giant beaver she asked where the beaver's tail was and I was like 'I dunno I'm pretty sure it's a vampiric hamster'

must...restrain...hatred...of ilberd...

she's really navigating eorzea all on her own...i'm so proud...

eeey she passed the 'find the rising stones after I dump you in a random spot in the Toll's aetheryte plaza' test

she failed the 'go to the waking sands' pop quiz, sadly

Ifrit hard down, and done for the day!

Dec 6, 2020

time to terrorize my mom with the 'how do you get to the waking sands' game

she hates titan once more

she just went 'eh *handwiggle*' at aymeric's voice the judgment has been passed

'you know what his voice reminds me of? those 17th century lords and ladies with their lace and their snuff. bleah'

her reaction to Lucia was just 'who's blondie?' and then a heavy sigh when I refused to tell her

upon seeing me riding the great serpent of ronka pot: 'are you riding a wine cask?!'

okay, quit just before snowcloak, we'll do that dungeon next weekend ran around the gold saucer for a bit at the end XD

verdict on the senor sabotender weapons: "No."

Dec 12, 2020

Mom just called Varis "Mr Discontent"

Ilberd: let's be sneaky Mom, sarcastically: Oh yeah I'll be very unnoticeable wherever I go

she just got her evenstar coat, I told her to put it on

"OH MY GOD MY BOOBS ARE HANGING OUT" "IT TOTALLY LOOKS LIKE I COULD BE IN A CASINO" "I THINK IT'S PRETTY COOL ACTUALLY"

*5 minutes later* "So when do I get to stop looking like a circus clown?" XD she doesn't like the skirt on it

Oooo we're about to meet Moenbryda!

She's taller than Moenbryda ahahaha

on Urianger and Moenbryda: "...he doesn't like her?" me: oh he likes her... *Moen picks Uri up* ...she just does that.

her current feelings: voice acting is better, story is more interesting, but there is a LOT of talking at least Minfilia isn't instantly putting her to sleep anymore.

Dec 13, 2020

Mom: "Alphinaud causing problems yet again..."

Mom, to Roaille: *muttering* gonna smack you with my book Me: your book with two ipads attached? Mom: yeah

Mom: *watching Teledji Adeledji be evil* ...is he about to bump [the sultana] off? I hope she keeps a blade in her bodice

"I can't imagine what my shirt would look like if I had chosen big boobs" ahahahahaha

NPC: "So she was a double agent!" Mom: "Sounds more like triple" Me: "...IT WAS THE ASCIANS WHO HAD HER FUNDING HERETICS!! A QUADRUPLE AGENT!!"

Yuyuhase casting aspersions on Riol's spy ability HOW DARE

keeper of the lake unlocked and ready for the next play session~

Dec 19, 2020

Mom and I successfully cleared Keeper of the Lake! No wipes even on Midgardsormr!

she's making fun of how slow Midgardsormr speaks ahaha

she promptly summoned him as a minion

"So now I've lost the protection I didn't even know I had?"

Middy: I REMEMBER, HYDAELYN...AND I CONSENT Me: Consent is important! Mom: What is he talking about???

It's Starlight time with Mom~

"I feel like we just finished watching a Hallmark movie" "...and not enough vaccines to go around...WHEN DID THEY WRITE THIS?? =\ "

she actually started wheezing at the snowman mount as we bounced around central shroud

when it was time to log out, she specifically went out of the Rising Stones so she could log out as a snowman

Dec 20, 2020

Mom: I liked her, it's a pity they killed her off RIP Moenbryda next up: HILDIBRAND for some whiplash

"It's very slapstick/vaudeville" after snorting with laughter at Hildy on top of the tower posing

"So...he's not a zombie?" "No...but he survived all of that..." "Including the burial..." "Yeah. We don't know what he's made of." "I'm going with 'mostly ego'."

sighs of annoyance as she gets lost in Ul'dah

I asked her if she liked it so far and she said 'Yeah, it's pretty funny!'

during the salamander oil section when hildy's getting all orgasmic: "At this point I would've knocked him in and held his head under the water"

"So...we didn't find anything." "I mean Nashu got the hair ointment"

her roe is so fucking tall the card went flying half-hidden at the bottom of the screen omg

Dec 24, 2020

here we go again

We are on Mask of Grief. Closing in on HW!!

Dragons fly overhead. “Where are they going??” “Ishgard!” “Well that’s not good”

Brostinien spotted

“Why can’t I ride my snowman indoors!!?? :( “

Alphinaud was such a terrible negotiator back then

Hahaha watching him get slapped down by Merlwyb...still funny

“You would entrust the future of Eorzea to a bunch of sellswords??” Alphinaud we are right here how DARE

Pranks mom by photobombing with snowman any time she talks to an NPC

Steps of Faith here we come! *sits in queue*

Success. Much easier nowadays I have to say.

Mom when Minfilia gets an invite to a banquet: “is this a trap”

I showed her Thancred and all his girlfriends and she shook her head

She wanted to log out on her snowman

Dec 25, 2020

it's time fingers crossed we can get to the end of post-ARR...

mom laughing at Tataru's arcanist mishaps

when WoL just nods: "well I'm certainly supportive =\ "

she loves the beach when there's no sand to torture her, like the real beach she was stuck at the other day

after Tataru glances back fondly in cutscene: "WHAT was that look. It PORTENDS something TERRIBLE. She's going to TURN INTO SOMETHING--"

Chewchewchewchew

Whenever my mom goes into the rising stones, she just smashes her character's face into the door before selecting the entrance

Minfilia talking about how she'd rather stay home than go to the party and I feel that

Riol briefing us, I remind my mom that Mirage Trust is owned by Teledji and she said "I had a feeling" he's one of the few characters she can remember XD

mom when she's flying to the place to meet Alianne: "Another chance to use my snowman :D"

just got the long cutscene warning, here it comes

mom as nanamo lifts cup to her lips: "She's being poisoned!!" as nanamo falls: "that wasn't obvious at all"

When the vial is revealed: "So that's what it was for!"

Ilberd: "The poison did its work swiftly. Her handmaiden can attest to that." Mom, pretending to be handmaiden: "Yes, I made the batch myself!"

Teledji Adeledji bisected: "*nod* I like it."

Raubahn's arm removed: "Gross!"

Other alliance members leave: "Abandon ship!"

Raubahn frees WoL: "All right! I'm gonna whip out my book and wave it!"

"They killed everyone off for the new thingy? And just when I started getting used to their names..."

Me: "Alphinaud's having a crisis" Mom: "~it's all my faaaault~" Me: "It IS his fault!!" Mom: "Yeah, it is..."

lord, post-ARR Midgardsormr voice acting

And we are done!! Next session: Heavensward!

[impossible-rat-babies]

eyrie vibes

[noxtivagus]

NIGHT IN THE BRUME

[tritoch]

honestly ffxiv is so funny about gender in ways i can't even begin to explain. like this: if you play a male warrior of light, as i do, then venat becomes...well, idk what she is, but she's not a girl's girl.

men venat interacts with or affects that we see:

azem, her respected and beloved protege

the warrior of light, her brave little spark, for whom she directly intercedes twice in ARR even when her life is all but spent

hermes, who she seems to like and whose angst she comes nearest to understanding of any of the ancients

emet-selch, who she left a gap in the sundering for

women venat interacts with or affects that we see:

ysayle, who she gives the echo and then totally ditches to the point where ysayle develops extremely incorrect ideas about her destiny and future that ultimately lead to her death

minfilia, whose body she straight up takes over and who she basically lures to her death

the minfilias of the first, who she condemns to a cycle of reincarnated suffering and violence

krile, whose body she takes over and puppets around

obviously this lands entirely differently if you play a femwol. but it's so funny this way round. like as someone who has known a fair number of older women in the sciences she makes perfect sense to me exactly like this. hydaelyn is motherly (she calls you her children, she is linked to the mothercrystal) and this makes people want to project that characteristic backwards onto venat, but i don't think it works like that. venat is a woman and she is full of love and compassion for the world generally and she is a gnostic demiurge figure but she is definitely not anyone's mom and she has absolutely no qualms about treating other women as mere pawns in her greater plans.

she is such an aquarius though. love that for her.

[ambalambs]

Back with another Miko question! I know Miko is a bard but does he like to play for others or does he play mostly for himself? What's his favorite instrument to play, can he play more than one? Do you have a playlist or any certain songs that you could see him playing (or playing a FFXIV version of, e.g. replacing names of places or gods with ones from XIV?)

Okay so this one is a bit complicated for me to answer I think cuz this is kinda a topic about Miko I get a little nervous about lol music is a huge part of his character and I always get a little worried I make this part of him a little dumb. But alas I'm just gonna, as they say, yolo this so enjoy lol

But yes yes yes! Miko loves playing for people! He will play for the sheer entertainment to get people into the music and dance or he'll just play to keep someone company. He doesnt mind and he's usually pretty good on judging the situation and what is appropriate. but he does also play for himself, yes. especially if he is a bit down, but he'll mostly just play cuz he can and its something to do and he likes it. he also hums a lot which might drive some people nuts but at least its pretty lol

His best instrument is his voice, of course xD but no really his favorite is the violin! I see miko being strangely skilled at picking up just about any instrument tbh. all he needs to do is listen and watch someone play it for a moment and he can easily just fall right in and follow along. like the morin khuur from the steppe i just see him having gone big eye zoomies on the people playing those at the time cuz he'd never seen them before and was itching to give them a try lol (tbh im kinda thinking his music skill is probably something he inherited from his azem. that guy was probably coming up with insane songbird concepts and shoving them at hythlodaeus and the poor guy would have to tell him to chill out lol) but miko leans more towards string instruments like the violin, harp, guitar. something about the quickness of the fingers and the violin having a bow tickles him cuz he also wields a bow in battle lol but he's always down to playing anything given the opportunity. but yeah okay this is long winded but if miko has to pick one instrument as his go to its a violin and his voice.

which okay now as for songs im gonna drop some links here and pray they dont break. i do have a playlist for him but its a mess of inspirations and random songs that just make me think of him and i feel kinda weird linking it so im just gonna pick out a few that are big inspirations for him. which first off miko has huge celtic violin/fiddle vibes so if youre ever curious what miko would just play offhand just look up any of that xD

a song that ive always felt is very HIM since the very beginning has been Andrew's Song by End of Silence. i can just always picture him singing something like this for some reason about his journey. it also kinda sounds like a younger miko, perhaps arr time when he's just starting off, which i like lol

next i kinda find lindsey stirling's violin style to be a big inspiration for him especially Between Twilight. this one is especially something he'd play on the violin just to play. not to perform or anything but just the natural miko music, if that makes sense lol

as for when playing other instruments i basically see him being like this and this where he can just basically use the whole instrument to make any kind of song or just play anything with ease. also really love the idea of him being so quick with a lot of them like that xD

now this is where i get a little embarrassed cuz i do actually have a singing voice claim for miko and its that peter hollens guy on youtube. which has the range and very disney prince-esque sound to it. i'll link his version of Sleepsong here for quick reference cuz i do really like that song as like an example of a lullaby his real mom wouldve sang to him when he was little. also speaking of lullabies with mom i like imagining The Song from Song of the Sea as basically what baby miko singing with his mom would be like lol

now as for some songs that i just especially associate with him as a little bonus here i think this version of Into the Unknown would basically be miko's pre-shadowbringers song he'd sing at the exarch if ffxiv was a musical LOL and then for rage miko (because he does have a deep anger in him i mean what wol doesnt? lol) definitely Burn by 2WEI. and lastly, just gonna toss this one out there too, but i really like this version of The Musician as like basically something maybe his Azem and Hydaelyn would sing to him as a prayer i dunno lol

but okay *wheezes* i hope that covers enough lol now im gonna hide in the shadows again >_>;

[autumnslance]

Back to it...

Sharlayan and Labyrinthos today!

I'm always fond of the conservationist angle FFXIV takes in many of the crafting and gathering quests, and Erencille's duties, at least, fall along the same lines.

Other gleaners dealing with procuring knowledge not related to flora and fauna...we don't hear a lot of, though Shaggles' quest chain has a gleaner who apparently pestered an alchemist for a specific tool when they probably just coulda...gotten a similar one? But that might be that particular gleaner; it's a "not enough info" situation.

Mandatory MMO poop side quest. Also a Werlyt mention for a rare cheese created by masters in that region.

Erenville says workers right, and we love him for it. Also for clocking Our Heroes in their frog disguises.

The "heartbloom", better known later as Elpis flower, introduced here too, with Krile finally realizing why she's had issues since arriving in Labyrinthos. What we know now, it makes sense this is where they start conversing. Also where we get reassured as to the fate of Minfilia's soul, hints of Emet-Selch's, and reassurance Hydaelyn hasn't bound the WoL.

Keep Galuf Baldesion's name out of your mouth, lady. The Crystal Exarch comes out to play with the Forum; G'raha's experience with civic matters and city budgets and planning coming in quite handy. His slight tone and stance shifts when he goes Exarch-mode are my favorite things.

Thanks for the hand, Scholarch. Also Sevestre in the background, one of the few not wearing one of the Forum's dumb hats.

And time to meet Ameliance. Another mention here of her funding and donating to the Scions, as a way to support her children, though later we learn she was involved even before the twins left Sharlayan, keeping a hand in her father-in-law's endeavor. But she's a tad cautious here in this discussion with the WoL.

Also pretty sure her correspondence with Tataru is what got her the twins' current measurements and clothing preferences, and is the reason our receptionist didn't gift them new gear on returning from the First; Tataru knew Mom had it covered.

There's also the gift of Fourchenault's old nouliths for Alphinaud.

A few hints too from Ameliance on Fourchenault's behavior versus his true feelings, and who exactly is actually running this household. In fact, there's something about Ameliance that reminds me of Venat; not just the superficial "pale white-haired woman" angle, but the mischief, rule bending, the general delight at the world--while underneath there is a sharp, canny mind, a will of iron, and a desire to do what's right, though perhaps in a more roundabout way than we might prefer. And I feel like there's an intent there and I may need to muse over it a bit more.

You can really see where the twins get a lot of their traits when studying both Fourchenault and Ameliance.

Also sorry Alisaie, but your house is massive and fancy. My apartment could fit in the foyer. You were raised as a "spoiled princess" (and we have the receipts from ARR, darlin'), just deal with it.

So many little lore reminders and hints of things to come in later quests, or even the patches. Well worth replaying so much later for the refresher, as well as fixing my notes.

[justcaytlin]

Oh yeah, one good thing about moving back to Tumblr is I can chronicle my FFXIV D&D group much easier!

I'm DMing a campaign where I run my friends through the ARR story (and eventually the rest of MSQ, but one bite at a time, eh?) and we've just started.

Prior to the campaign, I put together a 123-page PDF player's guide for them, as they are unfamiliar with Final Fantasy in general and also to convert lore into D&D mechanics. Rather than taking the homebrew route of creating all the jobs/classes from whole cloth, we converted existing D&D classes into FFXIV flavor.

The PDF also contains custom backgrounds, "This Is Your Life" from Xanathar's Guide but Eorzea-ized, and of course races (tweaked from someone else's homebrew, which is linked in the document).

Of course the PDF is already out of date because that's how these things go, but it's still, like, 99% good.

June was a feverish month of creation LOL

Anyway, here's our intrepid party:

Maeda Matsu (Matsu is her given name) is our Au Ra White Mage (Druid of Stars 2/Cleric of Life X, a Hydaelyn cleric). Barry Spalding (Barius) is our Garlean Gunbreaker (Artificer Armorer). And Sayonji Himemiya is our Red Mage (Wizard Bladesinger).

The First Rising

The first two sessions, I wanted to introduce them to the setting, its characters, its story, etc, and also help them kind of get a feel for their party dynamic. So I set it during the very first annual Rising Festival after the Calamity. For funsies, I decided it would be held at the Gold Saucer, because of course Godbert would hold the first Rising Festival in an attempt to reunify people and bring joy to those who were hurting.

I played the ARR trailer video up until the end of the Calamity, narrating over it and what was happening so they could get the emotional enormity of what had happened.

Then I spent time with each character, doing some story RP with them that explained their normal circumstances and how they got to the festival. Matsu's flighty, flaky mom wanted to take her to the cool new festival. Matsu's a Sharlayan Scholar, and Krile is her mentor, so I had Krile give her a Twilight Sparkle-esque assignment: go have fun and make some friends.

Barry was tagging along to his brother's friend's bachelor party, which was a dumbass stunt of "tee hee let's sneak into savage Eorzea in disguise and have our party at their casino!" They basically brought Barry along because he's sorta always the hanger-on, and his brother Nero thought it would be hilarious to get his baby brother drunk as a skunk in Eorzea. Shortly after arriving, they basically abandoned him to go have fun themselves.

Sayonji is a neglected lil baby whose mother was one of the Company of Heroes, but vanished when he was a child. His father then vanished with the other Warriors of Light during the Calamity. He puts on airs of arrogance and being full of himself to hide his hurt. A traveling bard, Temur Himemiya, came to his town of Summerford to talk about the Rising Festival. Sayonji fell *instantly* in love (hence, taking on the bard's last name) and declared right then and there he'd be an adventurer too. He went to the festival riding high on being ~in love~.

He was 15.

How It Went

They met and had a blast doing a bunch of party games. They competed against Yda and Papalymo in the obstacle course up Mount Corel, doing the limit break mechanic to launch Sayonji to the finish line.

They had an astrologian read their fortunes using the Tarokka deck (especially since my husband had already coded up a really cool tarokka reading table). Barry is 100% sure it's fluff and nonsense because lol being in the middle of a corrupt regime??? what lol??? He's a soft baby boy.

Sayonji started to cotton on that Barry might be a Garlean. Most especially because he was weirdly neurotic about keeping his dumb pirate bandanna on over his forehead.

They made contact with a pair of extremely arrogant 11 year old Sharlayan twins whom Matsu had seen around the Studium.

Suddenly, a *tower of light* appeared in Event Square and Godbert made a big show of it, like, OH NO, HEROES, WHAT DO WE DOOOOO, GATHER IN PARTIES OF NO MORE OR LESS THAN FIVE PEOPLE PLEASE THANK YOU

They nabbed Alphinaud and Alisaie as their fourth and fifth (the twins had been arguing with Godbert that they should be allowed to run the tower on their own because they were PRODIGIES) and entered.

The whole tower was an exercise in getting to know your party:

A philosophical discussion with a couple of moogles about what to do if you find a Garlean baby in a camp after you've killed all the soldiers. (Party was solidly in the Don't Kill the Baby camp) The only goal here was to come to a party consensus.

A room where a freaky candy was created to represent each person's deepest fears. You had to eat someone else's candy and be in their shoes for a little Echo scene. Note, they had to attune to a crystal, and Barry could not. He was trying and panicking, and Godbert basically was like "Oh oops it must be on the fritz :D" and had it generate an appropriate chocolate. Matsu learned that Barry is a Garlean, and both Matsu and Sayonji came to the conclusion that he is a soft sweet boy and not a spy, and also he has a shitty family.

A room where you had to speak out loud your worst flaw, and someone else had to talk about how they'd be able to compensate for that flaw. Heroes should be able to lift each other up! Speaking your flaw would summon a platform that would help build a bridge across a chasm, and having it compensated for would stabilize it enough to be able to stand on it.

At this point, both Alisaie and Sayonji were commiserating on "WHAT IS THIS UNAGREED UPON GROUP THERAPY BULLSHIT"

Final room was a fight against Mama Moogle (fat moogle) and her moogley minions. Lots of goofy combat, and they knocked Mama Moogle so hard she quit early.

They got lil plastic medals that, when pressed, would do the tinny victory theme. They say "I survived the Tower of Light at the first annual Rising Festival!" on them. Super gaudy.

Everyone parted ways a bit sadly, assuming they'd never see each other again. Matsu gave Barry a lil kiss in hopes of impressing his jackass brother and friends.

And Then The Call

Last session, I had another round of "here's what you've been doing ever since that day." Matsu had realized her mother was a flake when her mom casually dropped that Matsu was a foundling and didn't seem to get that this was Big News to her. Sayonji had been adventuring, and by adventuring, I mean being a gal friday for Bentbranch. Barry was busy trying to experiment on solidifying the gunblade and the art of gunbreaking.

Matsu was in the middle of discussing with her father and Krile about trying to become a cleric of Hydaelyn, and then breaking the news that she knew about her birth, when her vision blurred and she blacked out.

Sayonji ran into Temur again, was horribly embarrassed that he hadn't done hardly enough, Temur composed a little ditty on the spot about him helping little old ladies, and Sayonji blacked out.

Barry was walking through Ala Mhigo with his brother when Nero got into a spat with a little girl and her mother, and when the girl attacked him, Nero reacted without thinking and went to rifle-butt-smack her in the face. Barry intervened and blacked out.

They all had a joint vision of themselves in a floating void -- the others were glowing light figures, like the Warriors of Light -- and they got to see themselves as max level as a lil glowing light did the Hear, Feel, Think shtick.

Then they saw the glowing orb start to bleed black mist and shrivel, and an Ascian appeared, picked up the orb, and crumpled it in his fist. Then he shot away, and the three of them were able to give chase and limit break him into non-existence.

When they woke up, they all basically got lil scenes that got them to a boat. Barry asked his brother to cover for him while he went "field testing" and Nero took this to mean he wanted to basically do Garlean Rumspringa and also probably do some casual murdering of Eorzean soldiers, which is a-okay in his book. Nero gave him the thumbsup. Krile was excited about the vision, and Matsu's dad was worried. They urged her to start adventuring, and Krile offered to put in an appointment with Baderon at the Adventurer's Guild in Limsa. Sayonji told Temur about his vision and got a lil ditty in compensation.

It's worth noting right about now that I've been making quest plates for them, so they can keep track of the long-term questions.

Anyway, they all got on their boats. Sayonji and Barry had about a month on the boat together to catch up (Barry was a stowaway). They met Matsu in the Cieldalaes, where Limsa customs is presently, since the Yellowjackets are buttoning up everything in response to a spate of kidnappings.

They met Brennan, the friendly peddler, who chatted with them and asked them why they were adventuring and whatnot.

THEN PIRATES ATTACKED, and we stopped for the day.

Whew

Most of these writeups won't be this long, since they won't encompass THREE SESSIONS plus setup, but at least I have something I can point to now lol

[xiapet]

WoL Intro

I figured I should probably introduce my FFXIV characters so I can WoLpost on Tumblr. This is not a FFXIV exclusive blog, it's just the thing I can't shut up about rn so I'll pin this for the time being.

Name: Applesauce Betty (main alias), Melorabette Lenoir (birth name)

Race/Clan/Gender/Orientation: Elezen/Wildwood/♀️/Undefined

Age: 29 at the start of ARR, born 1546

Main Job(s): WHM and BLM

Secondary Jobs: SMN, RDM, SCH, AST

DoH/DoL Job(s): Botanist

Partner(s): Aymeric de Borel (former), Lucan Artorian (fiance's WoL, current)

Other family: Renadora Artorian (eventual daughter with Lucan)

Applesauce is a WoL and fucking hates it. Blames herself for everything, wishes she could be a normal woman living a normal life, stubborn, kind of a hypocrite, serious, and stoic. Pragmatic, highly emotional but represses it, cannot go with the flow, doesn't like change, a control freak but only when it comes to her own situation, prone to mental illness, socially awkward due to years of isolation after her mom died, very good at keeping her decorum, always sees things through to the end. Fiercely loyal, empathetic, maternal towards kids. Eventually works through her trauma to be a more likeable version of herself.

Name: Rhu'by Edwina

Race/Clan/Gender/Orientation: Miqo'te/Keeper of the Moon/♀️/Bisexual

Age: 21 at the start of ARR, born 1554

Main Job(s): AST and BLM

DoH/DoL Job(s): Alchemist

Partner: Estinien Varlineau (eventually, it's a slow burn)

Rhu'by is NOT a WoL but does have the echo. Highly spiritual, sees ghosts and was bullied for it as a kid, misunderstood, independent, headstrong, excellent judge of character, can see through people's bullshit, soft and gentle spirited, highly understanding and open minded, can be snarky if she likes you, a mild flirt but oblivious to other's flirting, a yearner, generally chill, bright outlook on life but not to the point of being the sanguine, level-headed, perceptive.

I like to share gpose and WoLqotd type things so now if you see those you can have some background information into who these characters are. I've been playing on and off since 2019 and consistently since Endwalker dropped. I'm always open to discussing lore so feel free to ask questions if you have them. Rhu'by is an existing OC from ttrpgs I'm still fleshing out and is my alt character I made this year (2024), Applesauce is my main character who I started the game with in 2019. I have 2 main timelines/canons happening simultaneously.

Applesauce's canon includes Rhu'by but only as a side character who comes in later in the story.

Rhu'by's canon does not include Applesauce, but has Rhu'by as main participant in the msq (for gameplay and lore purposes)

This is mostly because the events of Ghimlyt Dark are important to both canons but for different reasons and cannot exist in the same canon so 2 canons it is ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Maybe someday I'll have the confidence to share any of the pounds of fanfic I have written/am writing about them but don't count on it.

[tea-and-conspiracy]

About the Mun

(No pics...sorry, interwebs. I’ve had stalker issues in the past.)

~~~

– one / NAME / ALIAS.

Nic or Ellie is fine! The latter being Eliane’s IC nickname but my friends all use them interchangeably anyway, so. :P

– two /  BIRTHDAY.

Not posting for privacy reasons.

– three / ZODIAC SIGN.

Virgo!

– four /  HEIGHT.

I’m taller than most people I know but I still can’t reach the frigging top shelf.

– five  /  HOBBIES.

Well...gaming, really! I can’t say art anymore because it’s my job. I also enjoy writing, hiking, and roadtrips!

– six /  FAVOURITE COLOURS.

Blue. Blueblueblueblue...and sometimes green.

– seven / FAVOURITE BOOKS.

A year ago I would have told you the Song of Ice and Fire series. Now...I don’t know anymore. :/

– eight  /  LAST SONG LISTENED TO.

Amorphis - The Mission. I loves me some metal.

– nine  / LAST FILM WATCHED.

Bone Tomahawk (it was messed >.<)

– ten  /  INSPIRATION FOR MUSE.

Ellie was originally my alt circa ARR 2.xish. A friend of mine said she was going to roll an alt and asked if I wanted to be his sister, and I said yes. So we hammered out ideas for the Dufresne twins, and I made Ellie to match her character, Juleaux.

Part of it was HW was coming up and we were excited and wanted poncy elves to play with in Ishgard. Juleaux’s player decided that we were lesser nobility who ran a manufactory (in part because she was eyeballing MCH) and since I was eyeballing AST I decided they had a Sharlayan mom.

At the time my main was a pretty stoic, quiet character, so I wanted Ellie to be her opposite: someone nosy, mischievous, gregarious. I based her off of several fictional noblewomen such as Lady Eboshi and Margery Tyrell. It worked better than I could imagine and I had so much fun playing her, so eventually I bought a fantasia and made her my main!

- eleven / GOD KNOWS WHERE IT WENT. god knows… (idk what this is, so i’m leaving it)(yay anime song?)

– twelve  / MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL.

That one’s the fault of @gwenneth-in-wonderland . There was a long stretch of RP where everyone would pile into Eliane’s office and discuss Plot Things <tm> over tea. She jokingly called it Tea and Conspiracy and I loved it so much that I knew it had to be my blog name.

Tagged by:@danaan13

Tagging: @carmen-ffxiv   @endangered-liaison  and whoever else!

[lyllyan-weiss]

FFXIV FANFEST: What we got...

I'm excited about what we got. They promised us one race and we got two. Yeah, its gender locked, but I can see it from the lore side. I don't remember playing a ff game where there was a male viera. In final fantasy X, I don't remember a female Hrothgar. I know a lot of people are upset about it, but I'm so happy that we have what we have.

Dancer being a ranged DPS blew me away, but darn it I'm so excited! The dancer looked so graceful and I literally started crying.

I had never played a game where I literally cried at seeing just the art. This game has literally changed my life and helped me build a relationship with my father who my mom tried to basically make me see him as the scum the earth. It has helped me get through tough times and gave me courage to do things in real life that past me could never do.

I remember playing beta for FFXIV ARR and feeling so happy, and felt like I was in a whole new world. That same feeling then is what I have now.

Basically, all I'm saying is that no matter what FFXIV gives me, to me it is another adventure to go through and that everything that is given to me, no matter big or small, I will appreciate all of them. 😁

[goldbasar]

types - olympians ::ONYX ANGARA::

APHRODITE: laughter-loving, sweet smiles, dressed in silk and satin, flower in their hair, thrives on attention, sees the world as a runway, unapologetically sexual, the sea washing their ankles, in love with love, stirrer of passion, cunning concealed by painted lips, secret daggers, doves, revolution in their kiss, delighting in the waves, flirtatious winks, strolling along the beach, staring wistfully from a balcony, this is how to be a heartbreaker, your girlfriend thinks they’re attractive, wants to be adored, gets turned on by danger 

APOLLO: glitz and glamour, art galleries, turning the volume up, being made of gold(quite blatantly cause of design reasons but also due to her pretty big heart & interest in goldsmithing! ), neatly-organized music sheets, notebooks filled with poetry, bathing in the sunlight, the powerful urge to create, collecting vinyl records, beautiful cover of Wonderwall, playing multiple instruments, tasting like sunshine, healing touch, speaking in prophecies, smile mingled with wrath, shunning lies, sporting shades, hanging out at music festivals with their friends, sleeps naked, arrow to the heart, paint brushes, probably has a Tinder account

ARES: armed for battle, wants to raise a dog with their significant other, soft spot for children, gives piggyback rides, scarred body, blood on their hands and face, willing to fight the world for the ones they love, fights against injustice, warm hugs, well-worn combat boots, boxing gloves, bandages wrapped around bruised knuckles, fist raised in protest, ignites revolutions, fear is a prison, more sensitive than what their tough shell may have you think, exhausted, damaged goods, force to be reckoned with, red roses, curses under their breath

ARTEMIS: keen senses of a hunter, freckles like constellations on their skin, piercing eyes,disheveled braid(s...kind of), moonlight peeking through the shadows, the calm of the forest at night, lying on the grass and staring at the stars, mother doe and her fawn, protecting their kin, the moon shimmering on a still lake, quiver full of arrows resting against the bark of a tree, running with wolves, bonding while circled around a campfire, not being much of a people person(and yet she’s the WoL and gets involved a lot. this is more early ARR era. she learns to appreciate company more and more.), arrow hitting its target, popping egos, patience on 3%, touches heaven and returns howling

ATHENA: discerning gaze, unreadable face(more early ARR era), the patience of a life-long teacher, quiet museums, owl perched on their finger, armor that intimidates, eye for architecture, plays the sims for the sole purpose of building houses, studied the blade while everyone else was busy getting laid, big fan of logic, loves brain teasers, go-getter, balls of wool displayed on shelves, ancient buildings, sweaters in neutrals and cool colors, hair done up, can kill you with their brain, heads to the library often to research, sharpened pencils, abs that can cut steel, stoic statues, pottery classes  

DEMETER: soil-covered hands, smile that can bloom flowers, skin loved by the sun, being the mom friend, can lift you and all of your friends, flowers kept in the pockets of overalls, takes pride in their beautiful garden, speaks to their plants, leaves rustling in the wind, stalks of wheat, picking fruit, greenhouses, heart as strong as a mountain, values simplicity, daisies dotted across a collarbone, curls crowned with flowers, folded pile of sweaters in warm hues, pulling out fresh-baked bread out of the oven and the smell wafting through the air

DIONYSUS: drunk shitposter, on their sixth glass of wine before you’ve even finished your second, seductive smirks, untamed curls, rich fabrics on dark skin, sleek-furred panthers, theater masks, stage productions, receiving a standing ovation, rose caught between their teeth, being the baby of the bunch, wild parties that last from sundown to sunup, creeping vines, inspiring loyalty, grand opera houses, masquerade balls, rolls of film, shattered chandeliers with broken glass scattered across the wine-spilled floor, pouring champagne into flutes, lives for the applause

HEPHAESTUS: the calloused hands of someone who knows labor, sweaty brow, flame burning in their eyes, inventive mind, broad shoulders, steampunk goggles, nuts and bolts stored away in little boxes, ashes, striking a match, blueprints for future projects, fixing up a busted up car and giving it cool upgrades, wrestles with bitterness, work boots have seen better years, wrinkled plaid shirts, iron melted by blazing fire, huge jackets, crafting masterpieces, greased-stained overalls, fascination with robotics, pain is fuel, stack of weaponry, even their muscles have muscles

HERA: resting bitch face, dressed to the nines, cows grazing on a pasture, cool rain, loving and hating fiercely, hand clutching a string of pearls, large chandelier with glittering crystals, plays the sims for the sole purpose of killing off their sims, romance to realism, pictures of the sky while flying on a plane, files that under fuck it, downs glasses of wine as they relax with a scented bubble bath and netflix, like their selfie or you’re grounded, knows 57 convenient ways to murder a man, dark eyes that penetrate your soul, marble and gold

HERMES: devil-may-care smile, ink-stained hands, always up-to-date on the latest technology, will steal your french fries, does it for the vine, shitposter, puts googly eyes on everything, meme hoarder, long drives on the highway, ma and pop diners, spontaneous road trips, folded maps, fingers dancing across the keyboard of a laptop, shooting hoops on the basketball court, chatting up strangers as you all journey to your own destinations, goes jogging in the morning, mixes red bull with coffee, menace on april fool’s, hoodies and sneakers    

POSEIDON: storm with skin, colorful coral reefs, waves crashing against the shore, the sea casting its spell, stroking the soft fur of a cat, their heart pounding as their horse’s gentle trot speeds into a gallop, tousled locks, clothes smeared with paint, owns several sketchbooks yet always yearns to own more, leather jackets, fondness for diy projects, handwriting that flows across the page, nimble fingers playing the strings of a violin, velvety singing voice that haunts your dreams, mood as ever-changing as the sea, the roar of a motorcycle, compass with a spinning arrow

ZEUS: thunder in their heart, running on coffee, flash of lightning, natural charisma, eloquence, badass in a nice suit, aficionado of history, force of nature, lenny face, pretends that they don’t have feelings but they do, nightmare-filled nights, proud arm around their lover’s waist, high-rise buildings, planes soaring through a cloudless sky, technician on the piano, maintains order, strong handshake, juggling multiple events on their busy schedule with apparent ease, most likely to be voted class president out of their peers, expensive watch, like a boss

tagged by: @aethernoise <3 <3 thank you! I love this meme. immediatly did it for all my characters ovo”” tagging: @nenet-ffxiv, @fairwindsandblueskies @locke-rinannis if you want to and haven’t done this already!

[dragons-bones]

You play FFXIV. Tell me about your WoL!

*excited squeak, claps*

Well, my main is a Highlander Hyur, Synnove Greywolfe (the link goes to her tag). I’ve got a couple of other characters (Rereha Reha, Dancing Heron, and Alakhai Noykin), but the prospect of having to get through the ARR MSQ again has my brain going NOPE, so it’s probably going to be a while before they get some proper attention.

L’ANYWHOODLE SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT SYNNOVE:

Primary job is Summoner! (Because I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing on Scholar!)

CARBUNCLE MOM

Loooooves her precious aetherial babies yes she does

(And they love her back! To the point of violent murder if you look at Mommy funny!)

Name is pronounced either “sin-NOH-vuh” or “sin-NOH-vai” - both are technically correct

(Seriously even I can’t settle on a pronunciation I’m not going to give anyone grief for it.)

Born in Ala Mhigo, escaped the city with her family when it fell to the Garleans when she was five

Mom is a Midlander, but Synnove got her tallness from her Da

Is, like, taller than so many people around her? Especially a good chunk of her FC? How are you all so tiny, she can easily carry two people, one under each arm, with a third piggyback

GIANT MATH NERD

Like to the point she’s actually pounded on Cid’s door one night, going, “CID. CID GET UP I NEED YOU TO DOUBLE CHECK MY NUMBERS BEFORE I CAST THIS SPELL OR I MIGHT BLOW UP HALF OF EORZEA.”

(do not leave unsupervised with @aethericgeometry‘s Khebi, Science will happen and everyone will regret it except those two)

Looks all stoic and unyielding but is really just a Mess running on not enough sleep and too much caffeine because she went three days straight again with absolutely zero sleep working on equations and formulae for her latest project

Cute things will break her, like her carbuncles, and miqo’te children (just wants to give Zhloe and Khloe so many hugs oh my god those two girls Synnove is sobbing about it right now), and tonberries

yes the fact that tonberries could stab her face off makes them cuter look she inherited some of the weirder stereotypical Ala Mhigan traits

so fucking thirsty for Aymeric de Borel like it’s not even funny

so. fucking. thirsty.

has a thing for people who are taller than her

intelligence is a legit turn on

(being an asshole about your intelligence is not and let’s just say A Certain Jerk at A Certain Meeting Of Important People got punched in the face multiple times throughout said meeting and no one stopped her, honestly Cid probably would have gotten popcorn if there’d been time)

probably once caused a couple of people in Ishgard to have spontaneous nosebleeds because she likes to wear the Expeditioner’s Thighboots and Pantalettes (aka sexy skin-tight boots with booty shorts and bonus garters) as part of her usual outfit

leather. jackets.

so many leather jackets

so many boots, especially thighboots

(she knows her legs are some of her sexiest assets, and she exploits this)

salty as fuck

worked in Limsa Lominsa too long, has vocabulary of a sailor

totally dating Aymeric in personal canon (as opposed to RP canon)

should probably take a nap because she’s likely been up for more than twenty-four hours straight again

…this turned a little more irreverent than I originally intended

[spinneryesteryear]

Spinner plays FFXIV Stormblood

Finished FFXIV 4.0 MSQ over the weekend (DRK to 70, WHM to 77), hoo boy. I know I've got the 4.x patches to go but I did wind up liking Stormblood more than I thought. Spoilers ahoy!

Highlights:

- started the SB questline right about the same time as everyone else started ShB *sobs* It did mean I landed in the midst of some good FATE-grinding parties, however, at little as that matters

- I liked the Baelsar’s Wall but those last twin bosses can go die in a fire

- couldn’t get really sad over Papalymo because he barely contributed anything to the story except to snark at Yda. I like him better in DFFOO, where he is an excellent black mage. So, like, the exact opposite of my feelings regarding Thancred.

- Shinryu, Omega, and Cid all disappeared for the majority of the Stormblood questline and tbh it suffered for their absences. At least Estinien, of all people, was tracking the first two down.

- thankfully the WHM quests were all in the first zone I got access to and I already had it at 70 so I just zipped through them

----- me: *fails repeatedly at WHM lvl 70 quest*

----- me: *returns w/gear 10 lvls higher* Time for my vengeance.

----- (Yes, I know I should always keep my gear up to date and to be fair I always keep it at the appropriate level or better when other people are involved. This, however, was single-player duty and my lack of better gear didn’t matter since I didn’t even have the lvl 61 dungeon unlocked yet.)

- never cared at all for Zenos. Nope. Not at all. He and his golf club bag of swords can go fall off Shinryu's platforms. (I also had 0% trouble w/his solo fights on DRK? Maybe it was the new flat damage reduction baked into all tanks, idk, or maybe it was having Aug Shire/at lvl gear for each instance. I kept my health up just fine and had to be wiped out via his insta-kill move for the duty to end. But honestly it felt like good DRK job fantasy, taking on this insurmountable foe and clawing my way past death to defend my fallen comrades.) Also my character literally viewed him as a troubled teen taking out his issues on everyone around him via murder and wasn't impressed w/him in the least. But anyway.

- I came to tolerate Lyse but that's it. Hot-blooded people who rush off and act w/o thinking irritate me greatly IRL and it's no different in virtual life. Plus, she's almost literally an anime version of me who traded book smarts for punching ability. Even her name is a mere one letter from mine. It's kinda weird. She’s my mirror universe self. Ugh.

- it’s really disappointing Square Enix gives me so few options in killing myself. Let me jump off cliffs to my messy death already, dang it. Skyrim let me do it within the first 2 minutes of ever playing, haha.

- the sharks fly. the bears fly. the goobues fly. why not.

- ah, yes, gyuki. Skyrim prepared me for unreasonably bloodthirsty walruses. And for the unreasonably powerful and murderous mammoths.

- I liked M'naago, wished she had been the lead instead

- genuinely loved Gosetsu (Conrad who?) and was upset at his 'death'. I'm at once glad he survived and annoyed at another death fake-out. *Drak voice* Kill more! Kill 'em all!

- Hien is an adorable badass and I wish to adopt him and take him home with me. Doma 4 lyfe

---- me: *interiorly grumbles every time I hear the words ‘Ala Mhigo’

---- also me: *cheers for Doma & the Steppes*

- I just... really don’t understand why Highlanders live in a desert nation and have geographic and cultural neighbors based off of India and yet they have Old English/OHG names. Why???

- also why is Lyse blindingly white (and Minfilia, for that matter) in stark contrast to other Highlanders???

---- me: So, Lyse, if you’re from Gyr Abania then why are you white?

---- Alphinaud: Oh my god, Spinner, you can’t just ask someone why they’re white.

- once again, I'm probably the only person who loved the WHM quests (all SB job quests seem to return to their 1 - 30 [or 30 - 50?] roots and I don't mind). Did lots of screaming over DRK 60 - 70. I saved them all up and did them right away when I hit 70; they flow much better w/no interruptions

- explored/quested/ground FATE's on DRK but ran new dungeons on WHM as that's my comfort job. Failed twice on the mechanics of Bardam's Mettle 2nd boss but no wipes so we're good. So many overconfident gunbreaker tanks, though. T__T *I* did a better job tanking/killing a pack of like 12 mobs as WHM in Sirensong Sea than one bunbreaker, smh.

- I found Magnai to be entirely too amusing. I also want his moves on WAR. 

- somehow missed Shisui entirely? Still haven't got all aether currents in the Ruby Sea RIP me

------ (2 month later addendum: finally unlocked it and got my aether currents. Now, to never return to that area ever again.)

- no underwater mobs is so disappointing. Let me throw fireballs and Holys and swing a greatsword underwater already. Let me tell you, nothing is as exciting as going diving in Morrowind with only a 22% chance to successfully cast Waterbreathing and this Kojin blessing is such an OP cheat.

- enjoying my Grani mount tbh. I have no idea if it's lore-relevant for ShB; I just saw the name lifted straight from Norse myth and was like, "Want." It's more of a horse-shaped reptile, however, with 'paws' that become increasingly creepy the more you stare at them. I wonder if it eats meat like the thestrals in HP.

- shooting minigames? Okay. Platforming minigames? AW HECK NO I THOUGHT I WAS DONE W/THIS WHEN I LEFT LEGO GAMES TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME PLATFORMING IS MY GREATEST ENEMY

- I was derping around in Kugane and accidentally started doing the tower jumping puzzle. As soon as I figured out what I was doing I had to run away immediately to save my sanity.

- throwing on tank stance and rushing in to save someone from a mob or a FATE is still as heady a feeling as ever (except when they then run off and leave you to die, like, no why please). Or raising people out in the wild. I particularly love that cyclops boss FATE near Whitebrim bc I can go stand on the edges as a powerful WHM and raise people 10x as the bodies keep hitting the floor. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s still so great.

- I do enjoy the Morrowind feel of walking through a new zone and taking in the scenery but I'd like it more if all the wildlife wasn't super powerful and aggro'ing on me every 10 ft. It feels less like an ecosystem and more like generic monster land when there are no longer any non-aggressive mobs like there were in ARR. The Gyr Abanian landscapes are slowly growing on me, however.

- me, flying through Porta Praetoria/Lochs: Those wooden bonfires must be awfully expensive, if wood is as scarce in Gyr Abania as I think....

- loved the Azim Steppe - atmosphere, music, lore, everything. Waiting for someone to call me out on this bc I just really love Xaela (and may make a male Xaela alt one day).

- had minor moral qualms over fighting in the Naadam for the Mol bc I wanted to claim victory for the Orl

- I do really like those moments in Heavensward and Stormblood when the game recreates the epic moments from the trailers (the WoL walking through the soldiers to fight the dragon; the WoL and Lyse sparring, etc.). 

- I was singing, “I don’t care, I don’t care,” to the tune of Let It Go during the Ala Mhigo cutscenes but the resistance singing their anthem really got to me nevertheless. Many voices united and uplifted and song always hits me hard emotionally.

- my character still looking at Zenos with 0% thirst (negative amounts of thirst, tbh) like, “Who is this sassy lost child?”

- then again my character is like 31 yrs old here with a backstory summed up as ‘angry single mom goes to check on friend, ends up killing a god and getting recruited to save the world’

- Pipin is best Lalafell; I will defend him with my life but he has Tizona now and doesn't need me. The absolute shortest guy around is calling the shots in this military campaign and I love it. At least his dad gave him a box to stand on so he could see over the table during the important strategic military discussions.

- the siege of Ala Mhigo taught us that thaumaturges/black mages are the living equivalent of heavy artillery, nice nice nice

- got lucky and had a competent crew in DF to fight Shinryu

- tbh my character would probably kick Asahi’s dad while he was down and cave in his ribs, just finishing him off. It’s no wonder Asahi turned out as bad as he did, with parents as horrifically self-centered as THAT.

- I humbly submit ‘Higwit’ as a fan-name for that elezen following Asahi around - an acronym for ‘Hien Is Great - Who Is That?!’ based on an old LOTR fan meme. Who else here remembers Figwit before he became Lindir?

- I liked the Tsukuyomi fight but I can’t remember anything specific about it now, not even the mechs. 

- I did spend a lot of time screenshotting Hien because he is an awesome bro and I would endure Ala Mhigo all over again for him

[hellsbovnd-archive]

player questionnaire

yoinked off my dashboard last night, forgot to post it! happy early access!

Favorite dungeon? ARR - Pharos Sirius HW - Saint Mocianne's Arboretum, The Lost City of Amdapor (Hard), or Sohr Khai... (HW had a LOT of good dungeons) SB - The Ghimlyt Dark

Favorite beast tribe? I actually really liked the Moogles, even if they're furry little assholes, kupo.

How long have you been playing? Since a few months before 3.1! I got the game for my birthday that year, since I met a friend through RPing Kain Highwind who was into FFXIV and I decided I wanted to try it out :3c

Have you ever changed servers? Only once; originally I rolled on Malboro to play with my friend!! I spent a lot of time there and even raided there. I made Leon as an alt in July 2016 and he became my main after my static fell apart in 3.4 and took my FC with it. I kept my first main, Percival, on Malboro until 4.4 because I didn't wanna lose my houses, but I bit the bullet and transferred her over in 4.4 because she was just sitting on like 30mil and lots of airship parts in a solo fc and I had more use for them on Balmung, where I now lead my own FC, which is a very cool group filled with very cool people and we are going to do very cool things in Shadowbringers so shameless plug. @alizarinefc 

Ebonguard is also a cool group filled with cool people and we are going to do cool things in Shadowbringers. @ebonguardls  

Ever used a fantasia? I've only ever used fantasias for very minor character appearance, birth date/patron, or voice tweaks, with the exception of my Hingan alt who I fanta'd from Raen to Hyur because I couldn't design a good Raen.

Percival I blew her free fantasias on trying Elezen out before I even came to Balmung, but I switched back to Hyur within the day.

Wren I tweaked the appearance of twice, once to establish her character design (because I rolled her default initially when Balmung was unlocked at 4.4 cuz I didn't want the server to close!) and then again to make her slightly darker, but I need another fantasia because she's supposed to be even darker now that I settled on a backstory for her. (She's half-Thavnairian.)

All my other characters have one or both free fantasias remaining.

Do you play with a controller? I tried to play with a controller briefly when I sprained my wrist last year, but I hated the controls so I just suffered through using my keyboard by loosening my brace and applying lots of ice. So nah, I play with a mouse and keyboard on my potato laptop.

My old potato laptop actually broke a few weeks ago so I had to get a new one. While this one only gets slightly less frames and is otherwise a very nice laptop, not having a numpad is a little bit disorienting and I keep forgetting to rebind some keys. 

I want to save up for a Zephyrus, but I need to pay my credit card ($1200+ is on it because my dumb school didn’t refund my credit card and issued us cash instead, and my mom POCKETED over HALF of it... .... :/), refinance my student loans, and see about employment once the summer ends. ;-;