I love Shadowbringers. I think it is some top storytelling. I love the characters, the story, and I truly believe it to be one of the best video games I've ever played. I've watched many of the cutscenes over and over. To the Edge is my top played song on Spotify. I only started playing FFXIV because I watched my friend play large parts of Shadowbringers and I wanted to experience the story for myself.
So why is it that I keep gravitating to Endwalker? Why is it that Endwalker has such a hold on me that I get extremely emotional when I hear Close in the Distance (any version. Including when I'm just listening to it while I'm driving) or think about the scene post Endsinger fight? What is it about that expansion that means so much to me? There are flaws in the story, the pacing is extremely strange (I love you Loporrits, but twice you grind the narrative to a stop), and frankly I hate how Venat/Hydaelyn's actions were basically justified with a short monologue from Y'shtola. And yet, I have so many memories of playing through it, good and bad, that I wouldn't change for the world. Endwalker has some spectacular highs and instances of characterization I truly love (the gazebo scene with Krile, G'raha and Alisaie, truly one of my favs, and getting brunch drunk with the older scions), and In From the Cold has caused me to still get chills at that specific facial expression. I was in awe (and still am!) of how amazingly they translated Yoshitaka Amano's art of Hydaelyn into 3D. The soundscape changes in Ultima Thule as your progress the story were incredible. Endwalker isn't perfect, but clearly, I love it, flaws and all.
I have so many things I could say about FFXIV (check out my post on Metieon and the Endsinger as an example), maybe one day I'll get them all written down... For now I'll leave you with one of my favorite lyrics from Close in the Distance:
"Tales of loss and fire and faith
Every word on our hearts engraved
In the dark, you will not stray
Forge ahead till the end, we pray"
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Is it worth it to finish a draft just for the sake of finishing it when I’ve lost momentum and already know I need to go back and make a lot of changes?
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I'm gonna be honest, that aimsey response isn't enough for me. It comes off as deflecting rather than taking the responsibility of having a large platform requires. This rhetoric hurts real people, and as usual these days, trans people are always the center of it. I am very tired of pretending that this rhetoric has anything to do with lesbian spaces. It doesn't.
Who benefits from telling other people what they can or cannot identify as? Who benefits from explicit separation of communities? Who benefits from targeting and attacking fellow queer people?
Please think critically for a moment before regurgitating random opinions you find online. You do not know who made those posts.
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I have some Colin headcanons because it's 1am and apparently, this is what I'm thinking about tonight. Headcanons based solely on the show - Book!Colin is just a different animal.
Some time after the whole Marina incident, he and Anthony had a very uncomfortable conversation about how and where he can go get laid. Benedict found out about it, and finds it hilarious
He totally lost his virginity to the Contessa. Like - he DOES NOT shut up about her.
And she seduced him - because I just cannot imagine him ever having that much game. (Colin is not a liar, but he is kinda dumb and rather pretty, and I'm sure this woman knew what she was doing.)
She also is the one who taught him how to properly pleasure a woman (c'mon, he had to learn that from somewhere and I highly doubt /that/ was something Anthony or Benedict was going to go into-though that'd have been a hilarious convo.), plus, while the European Tour was definitely his slut era, I'm guessing 99% of that was at brothels.
(Though, I am amused by the idea of Colin asking so many questions at the brothels and the sex workers being like... okay, my dude, usually sex does not include this much talking.)
Also, slut era isn't as slutty as he lets on when he gets back. I mean, he only keeps telling the ONE story. And sure, discovering sex is fun, but as he writes in his journal, doesn't stop loneliness or provide genuine connection.
How many times did he end up at a brothel after he wrote to Pen and thought about the fact that he's been hearing nothing back from her?
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maybe im just too autistic for this but i genuinely don't understand the massive cultural taboo against nudity in america. like why is it such a big fucking deal
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can't word this properly and it's kind of severely fucked up but lately i've been thinking about how my unconscious first reaction to seeing any cis man express having just a tiny littlest bit of empathy is utter genuine surprise
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"I’m always hearin’ about people likin’, and I am so sorry to say this, slutty little waists. But like, my waist isn’t that? So what do I do?"
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