#but I will probably go back and get all of the heavensward stuff I missed eventually

[r4make]

I need to make better glamours for my WOL soon. I left him off with the strangest, most haphazardly thrown together outfit possible and haven’t been able to play for a few weeks now ough

[ponett]

Bobby's 2023 Media Wrap-Up

So! Like I said before, this past year I kept a running list of everything I watched, every game I finished, every new album I listened to, etc., and wrote one-paragraph blurbs with my thoughts on every single one. Please enjoy this journey through everything I liked, or didn't like, in 2023, with my favorites of the year listed at the bottom.

(Yes! This is long!!)

Some notes:

I mainly only included things I finished. Exceptions are marked with an asterisk.

I included some YouTube stuff as "TV shows" - mostly particularly long, high effort video essays and documentaries.

I was a bit less adventurous than I'd like to have been this year. Part of this was just that I felt like I was constantly playing catch-up with Big Releases I felt obligated to check out, and part of this was just executive dysfunction from burnout. Wait until you see how long it took me to beat Mario Wonder lmao

Yes, I need to read more books. I don't read a lot of books these days. I need to get back to Discworld.

COLOR KEY

Video Games • TV / Web Video  •  Movies  •  Comics  •  Music

January

1/15: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (MSQ) - Very slow at times, the Primal shit is generally extremely lame to me outside of the boss fights themselves, but god if the quality of life improvements over WoW, the JRPG energy, and the fact that it Actually Has A Story carry it pretty hard.

1/18: Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island miniseries - One of the most creative and compelling uses of the Sonic IP… ever? Fantastic little self-contained arc about the struggles of Eggman’s abandoned creations that gracefully weaves between heartfelt optimism and moody horror with some of the best art ever seen in a Sonic comic.

1/18: Mega Man X4 - Glad I finally actually beat this after never even beating any of the Mavericks as a kid! I can see why it’s a lot of peoples’ favorites. The gameplay has very little of that X series bloat and is just fun, especially after getting X’s armor upgrades. (But the story really is a long series of missed opportunities.)

February

2/2: Donks - Felix Colgrave continues to be an exceptional artist. The sound design on this is fantastic and really sells this short as something unique. Had to go back and watch his older stuff again after this.

2/4: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (3.0 - 3.3 MSQ) - I get it now. I get why people say this is just a proper mainline Final Fantasy game built into the framework of an MMO. That shit ruled. Not even walking back the drama in Ul’Dah from the end of ARR can sour me on it because the main storyline was so strong.

2/8: Disneyland's Forgotten Sci-Fi Rock Band - Live From the Space Stage - A nice and honest tribute to a group of artists who could have easily been forgotten. In hindsight this feels like a precursor to Kevin’s Disney Channel jingle video, a tribute to the unsung artists pouring their hearts into “lesser” art for a megacorporation, art that was designed to be transient but sticks with people nonetheless.

2/9: Metroid Prime Remastered* - Not gonna finish because I just played through the Wii version in 2021, but still. Very, very pretty remaster.

2/16: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - It’s more Theatrhythm. What more could I want

2/17: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (anime) - Probably the best part of the anime so far (assuming they continue on to SBR). A near perfect mix of the more structured plot of part 5 with the goofiness of parts 3 and 4 that crescendos into a fantastic, bombastic, emotional, bittersweet ending. The use of footage from the original opening and the new ending set to Roundabout in the finale were perfect, and made me intensely nostalgic for the early days of my JoJo fandom between seasons 1 and 2 of the anime.

2/22: Aggretsuko Season 5 - I don’t really know what to make of this one. Once you get past the agonizing initial arc all about Haida where Retsuko has to be his overbearing mommy GF who flips out and starts spying on him when she’s left on read and chides him when he misbehaves, it feels like an improvement over the previous seasons. But I don’t know how much of that is due to the extremely low bar set by season 4. And then the ending is extremely rushed and anticlimactic. They got legally married and the only acknowledgement was a shot of them signing the paperwork in a montage partway through the final episode?????????

2/24: Double Fine PsychOdyssey - God, what a journey the making of this game was. I already loved 2 Player’s past efforts at documenting Double Fine’s process, but this takes it to a whole new level. This feels culturally significant. The depth and honesty with which they depict not just the nitty gritty of making a game, but also the inherent struggles of working on a collaborative creative work for years at a time, is astounding. Not to mention that they were there to capture the shift from office life to remote work as COVID hit. So much of this would have been nightmarishly stressful to watch if I didn’t already know how successful the game was, but that’s just because they really didn’t sugarcoat it. And yet even after all that, it leaves me feeling optimistic about video games as an art form in a way that the constant headlines about cynical live service games don’t. There are still people out there pouring their hearts into making real art, and this is their story. Everyone who plays video games should watch this.

2/25: Cracker Island (Gorillaz) - New Gorillaz albums feel like less of an event these days, but after Humanz it feels like they’re just more chill with the project and their ambitions with it. Every couple years we get some more laid back jams from Damon along with some fun new collabs. Hard to complain. Favorite track: New Gold

2/25: Pool Kids (Pool Kids) - I discovered this band because Derek knows them and was excited when they got a song added to Fortnite through the Bandcamp collab. Always down to find more cool indie rock bands I can vibe with. The mix of dreamy vocals and energetic riffs on some of the tracks here almost fill the Crying-shaped hole in my heart. Almost… Favorite track: Conscious Uncoupling

2/25: Insane in the Rain (insaneintherainmusic) - I thought it was really funny timing when Carlos announced that his first original project would be a jazz fusion album inspired by acts like T-Square and Casiopea right as I was getting into those two specific bands. The final product does not disappoint. Favorite track: Insane in the Rain

2/26: Get Up Sequences Part Two (The Go! Team) - I’ve never been one to believe that a band’s sound has to remain exactly the same forever, but it really does hit you hard that the first two tracks here sound like classic The Go! Team. Their more recent cleaner sound is still here too, though, for a nice mix of old and new. Favorite track: Divebomb

2/28: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury (Season 1) - Oh my god. Oh my god. I got distracted around the time I was finishing SLARPG, but finally catching up now, wow. My assumption that the seemingly lighter tone of the series compared to the prologue was there to lull us into a false sense of security before twisting the knife when war finally breaks out was spot on. This is peak Gundam.

March

3/4: Pizza Tower - One of the best platformers I’ve played in a long time. It transcends its blatant Wario Land inspirations with the sheer speed at which Peppino can move and the way things like the level design, his wall running, and even the hidden ability to do a second lap around the level reward getting into a flow state where you’re just constantly moving. This is the type of game that wants to turn you into a speedrunner. My only real complaint is a few iffy enemy designs that I wish would get patched.

3/6: Bloons TD 6 * - I bought this before bed one night on a nostalgic whim and then the next morning woke up and saw the Steam receipt email on my phone in one of the most “what did I do last night” moments of my life. I like when the monkeys pop the balloons.

3/7: The Book of Boba Fett - I put off finishing this show for a very long time but finally caved upon the release of The Mandalorian season 3. This show spends four episodes failing to make me give a shit about Boba Fett trying to be “the daimyo” and drive the drug trade off of Tatooine, then just gives up and becomes season 2.5 of Mando, which in turn feels like it undercuts the main series. It fails as both its own story and as a spinoff. I know that finishing this after Andor did it no favors, but WHOOF.

3/12: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Some interesting ideas in the first half hinting at a more introspective show, but it’s mostly swept aside in the back half so it can become a generic Star Wars adventure remixing things from A New Hope and Rebels (and apparently Jedi: Fallen Order). Action scenes have zero stakes because you know nothing can happen to any of the returning characters and none of the new ones are particularly interesting. Why there’s a second climax hinging on a Luke Skywalker death fakeout eludes me. Obi-Wan throwing the rocks at Vader is one of the funniest things in Star Wars history. But it was still better than Book of Boba Fett, I guess.

3/19: The King of Braves GaoGaiGar - Wow, cool robot indeed… GaoGaiGar isn’t going to blow anyone away with its writing, but sometimes you just need a really fun monster of the week mecha show with great action and lovably goofy characters. This is a show where like 20% of every episode consists of recycled transformation, combination, and signature attack sequences and I ate it up every time because they look fucking cool as hell. I don’t care. I’d watch Final Fusion another 49 times.

3/21: The Last of Us (HBO) * - Watched the first two episodes out of curiosity, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue because I don’t give a shit about The Last of Us. It’s definitely a well done adaptation, though, even if I know it’s inevitably going to devolve into miserable torture porn with questionable politics if they adapt Part II faithfully. The ending of episode 2 also lines up perfectly with where I stopped in the game in 2013 lmao

3/27: The Future is a Dead Mall - Decentraland and the Metaverse (Folding Ideas) - Another banger from Dan Olson. This time the premise inherently gives him more time to just show off a bunch of stupid ugly bullshit made by crypto guys, which is fun. My main complaint was that I wished he would’ve brought up Second Life more as a point of comparison (a thing I basically always want out of discussion of “the metaverse”), but he at least did touch on it in the last section.

3/31: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog - I can’t believe after years of begging for the supporting cast to get more and better material in a Sonic game I got my wish in the form of a freeware murder mystery VN released for April Fools. This kicked ass.

April

4/7: Berserk - Completed Miura’s run and caught up on the chapters that have been released posthumously. It’s hard to say anything that hasn’t been said about Berserk, universally agreed upon as one of the greats of manga and fantasy fiction as a whole. What begins in its first few volumes as a nihilistic and edgy action comic built to facilitate as much sex and gore as possible quickly evolves into something deeply human and vulnerable and beautiful, both figuratively and in terms of its lavish art. The world sucks and is immeasurably cruel, and you will see that cruelty illustrated in graphic, sickening detail repeatedly throughout the series. (Perhaps a little too often throughout the Golden Age, where it feels like Miura never misses an opportunity to threaten Casca with sexual assault mid-battle.) But the point isn’t to wallow in that misery. It’s the story of a victim of horrific abuse learning to slowly open up to others, having those people he cares about torn away from him in the worst night of his life, hardening himself into a cold killing machine, and then slowly learning to open back up again, even if it means leaving himself vulnerable to more hurt. Anyone who says that the series peaked with the eclipse and went downhill in the “Guts’ JRPG Party” era is missing the point. Guts needed to find new people in his life to care about, to begin to find happiness again. Because no matter what unspeakable things Guts has gone through, it’s still possible for him to heal and to be loved. It takes time, but eventually you stop and realize that life has moved on.

4/8: Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe - Skipped it upon release because I didn’t particularly care for the minigame in Triple Deluxe, and I didn’t miss much. It’s fine as a little distraction, but not as a standalone rhythm game with only seven songs. If you don’t bother with the hard modes or chase after high scores this game is 15 minutes long. Oh how I yearn for Kirby to get the Theatrhythm treatment.

4/10: The King of Braves: GaoGaiGar FINAL - Eh… It was okay. Lots of cool robot fights, but said fights are stitched together with a mediocre plot that tries too hard to be more “mature” than its unabashedly schlocky kids’ show predecessor. Not crazy about the ending, either, which tries to be a bittersweet farewell closing off the series once and for all while also teasing that maybe there’ll be ANOTHER sequel after the OVA series they literally called “FINAL.” Ah well.

4/11: The Owl House - Sad to see this one go, but it’s hard to imagine them doing a better finale than this, even if they had gotten the six seasons they deserved. I’m not as obsessed with The Owl House as I probably would’ve been had it come out when I was, like, 20, but it’s a really fantastic show for all the reasons people always say. Great characters, great world, great story. I love that this starry-eyed fantasy story about a teenager finding love and a place where she belongs is also set on the rotting corpse of a titan with Hieronymous Bosch-inspired scenery and freaky monsters everywhere. What a great mix. If anything, I just wish I would’ve watched the first season as it aired so I could’ve had more time with it.

4/29: Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue Version - FINALLY beat this via the new collection, 20 years after playing it as my first Mega Man game. (Technically my first was White, not Blue, but whatever.) There are more annoyances than I remember - lots of really really bad forced backtracking sections where you have to revisit every previous part of the internet, low chip drop rates, some really aggravating bosses like BubbleMan and KingMan, etc. But it’s still a great time overall. It’s Battle Network. In the back half the story gets surprisingly emotional, too. I was always under the assumption that the Hub stuff never came back up much in the story after 1, so I was pleasantly surprised with how relevant it was to the emotional arc of 3.

4/30: Mega Man Battle Network 4: Red Sun * - Yeah I’m not playing through the whole thing lmao. I just wanted to play the first couple hours for nostalgia’s sake, and as a baseline for how much better the rest are. Even before getting deep in the game and having to deal with all the shit gated between doing two new game+ playthroughs, it’s immediately obvious how much of a downgrade this one is. Tons of glaring errors and typos all over the script, blander music, a way more boring aesthetic for the internet, and a premise that mostly just recycles the tournament idea from 3.

May

5/14: The Venture Bros. - Glad I finally sat down and watched all of this with Anthony after having seen one (1) episode as a teenager and a bunch of random clips in the years since. Great show. Some jokes in the early seasons haven’t aged gracefully, but what the show grows into over time... man. Hank and Dean go from being the butt of the joke to being characters you actually sympathize with - while still also being funny little goofballs. And the journey Henchman 21 goes on throughout the show. Man. Amazing that a comedy like this could run for 20 years and maintain its level of quality. Can’t wait for the movie.

5/18: Future Me Hates Me (The Beths) - Okay yeah I’m now just discovering bands through Fortnite lmao. I can’t complain really, they pick some really great indie artists for the in-game radio stations. Anyway: It’s very easy to win me over with a combination of energetic power pop, catchy guitar riffs, and earnest lyrics like this. One of those albums where three or four tracks in I know I have to buy it. Favorite track: Not Running

5/18: Jump Rope Gazers (The Beths) - Ditto. Favorite track: Dying to Believe

5/18: Expert In A Dying Field (The Beths) - Another good album. (I’m listening to these in release order.) I’ve been a bit slower to warm up to this one, initially thinking it was a little too mellow overall, but it might be my favorite after a few listens. Some real high highs. Interestingly, the lead singer’s New Zealand accent is also coming out more in her singing? Favorite track: Your Side (or maybe Head in the Clouds)

5/19: The Super Mario Bros. Movie - As a Mario fan, I think I enjoyed it? As a movie, less so? It was decent, in spite of feeling like they came up with a list of fun action setpieces first and then wrote the absolute bare minimum possible for the story scenes tying it all together. Full thoughts here. (This is the first movie I’ve seen this year, huh? I really don’t watch a lot of movies.)

5/23: Don't Know What You're In Until You're Out (Gladie) - I feel like I don’t like Gladie as much as I should. Their style of noisy indie rock is very much in my wheelhouse, and I do enjoy listening to them, but I dunno. Maybe it’s that the particular style of vocals makes it more monotonous to me. A good album nonetheless, if not 100% my thing. Favorite track: Nothing

5/24: City Slicker (Ginger Root) - Yes I am still making my way through Bandcamp artists I heard on Fortnite don’t @ me. Any excuse to get me to listen to some cool city pop-inspired funk like this is a good excuse. Favorite track: Loretta

5/24: Rikki (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: Why Try

5/25: Spotlight People (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: The Classic

5/29: Succession - A good dramedy series that increasingly focuses more on the drama than the comedy as it progresses, but it’s hard to complain about that since the drama is so compellingly produced. I enjoyed it. That being said, I kind of rankle at the claims that it’s The Greatest TV Show Of All Time. It’s great, don’t get me wrong. Amazing performances all around. But the show LOVES to spin its wheels, to repeat itself, and to let most of its interesting dramatic developments fizzle out before anything really comes of them, almost as if the show is constantly getting bored with its own ideas. To some extent this is intentional - Logan Roy is the untouchable billionaire, his kids fail at everything (but will nonetheless remain billionaires), and in the long run none of them really give a shit about anything other than their own status. But it’s not like things tend to visibly impact anyone else, either, be they supporting characters or the world at large. Even the Big Scary Election, where the Roy siblings are directly responsible for plunging the nation into chaos, ultimately has zero impact on the finale a mere two episodes later. Certain Other Things do have an impact in the last season, though, allowing things to meaningfully change for the cast and for the show to sit with the ensuing drama, which has stopped me from souring on Succession more. There was finally a payoff for something. But it does still kind of feel like a show that goes in circles until it’s ready to call it quits, even if those circles did contain a lot of great acting and music along the way.

5/29: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts - I’d watched the first 12 episodes when they originally released, but I guess the Netflix binge release and the fact that all three “seasons” came out in one year led to me waiting until it finished… and then I just never got around to finishing it. Glad I fixed that! Really fun and stylish cartoon with an art style reminiscent of Teen Titans, a hip hop-filled soundtrack, dynamic fight scenes, and a colorful post-apocalyptic world filled with mutant (mostly anthropomorphic) animals. I’ll admit that at times I do kinda roll my eyes at Kipo’s unshakeable belief that everyone can be friends in a way that I don’t necessarily with similar shows like Steven Universe, and not every joke lands, but I dunno. It’s a kids’ show. That’s to be expected. It doesn’t detract from the overall package for me.

June

6/1: Craig of the Creek (Season 4) - It’s been years and I’m still processing the fact that kids can turn on Cartoon Network and hear Jeff Rosenstock. Anyway! Craig continues to be one of the best cartoons on TV, consistently funny and creative and way more engaging than a show about a bunch of kids LARPing in the woods has any right to be. This season turned into One Piece with the gang effectively hunting down the Poneglyphs in search of a legendary treasure. The kids think it’ll be magic. It isn't. An increasing number of cartoon logic gags aside, this show is firmly set in the real world. Does that make it any less interesting? Hell no. Season 3 turned a game of capture the flag into an all-out five episode war between the heroes and villains, filled with dramatic turnabouts and a climactic guest appearance from Del the Funky Homosapien. I’m sure however they wrap things up in the (sadly shortened) final season, it’ll be great. (Also? I would watch a whole show based on that “what if” episode that jumped forward to everyone’s 20s.)

6/6: Barry - Holy shit, what a show. I ended up binging it in less than a week in a cycle of “okay, just one more episode.” The way this show is able to swing between tones and genres while still feeling like a cohesive whole is truly masterful. It’s a layered character drama, a tragic crime thriller, a farcical comedy, an understated action series, a surrealist morality play, and a scathing satire of Hollywood, all in one. Even within the criminal underworld subplots the show ranges in tone from Breaking Bad to Paddington 2. And it works! While the show naturally gets bleaker over time as it confronts the repercussions of Barry’s murders, it never completely loses sight of its comedic roots. My favorite episode was easily season 2’s “ronny/lily,” a mostly self-contained episode that somehow manages to keep throwing the perfect curveballs to escalate its dark comedy.

6/12: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) - Y’all heard of this movie? Pretty good, it turns out. (I’d seen the theatrical cut before, but this was my first time watching the extended edition. I’ve also only seen parts of the other two movies, so it’s time I finally watch all the extended cuts. The Gollum game pushed me to this.)

6/13: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition) - give it to us RAW and WRIGGLING

6/17: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Extended Edition) - I’m not crying YOU’RE crying

6/22: Clone High (Season 2) - While the first episode being about “cancel culture” (or, more accurately, a teenager from 2003 being transported to 2023 and putting his foot in his mouth a lot) put a lot of people off, I ended up enjoying the new season of Clone High. The new clones grew on me as the season went on and their roles in the web of teen romance melodrama crystalized, and it made me laugh a lot, and Cleo/Frida is galaxy brained. Also they played one of my favorite Antarctigo Vespucci songs like a minute into the first episode. I don’t think I could really ask for much more.

6/28: The Mandalorian (Season 3) - I'd been watching this weekly but put off the last episode for no real reason. Responses to this season have been all over the place, but my blistering hot take is… it was fine. Is it as good as the first season? Probably not. But Mando no longer needs to carry the whole franchise on its shoulders and set the bar for how good the live action Disney Star Wars shows can be, because Andor exists, and it’s never gonna top Andor. The Mandalorian is free to just be a pulpy space adventure show where Giancarlo Esposito plays a scenery-chewing cartoon villain and a little puppet does wire stunts. These are things Andor cannot and should not do, but that’s Star Wars, baby. It’s delightful. I could watch Grogu get underhand tossed like a sack of flour all day.

July

7/2: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (Season 2) - LOVE WINS. (More nuanced take from way later: It definitely feels like a lot of the more messy political conflicts in this show got swept aside by the big final battle where some more easily resolved family conflicts take center stage. I’m not sure the ending is the most satisfying. But also this show only got half the episode count that damn near every other Gundam show ever made got, so that might be a factor here. Idk. Still one of my favorite Gundams.)

7/4: Final Fantasy XVI (watched Anthony play) - I had to write my longest Medium article ever about this one because I was so frustrated

7/10: Home Movies - “Things I like that I’ve never seen in full” has certainly been a recurring theme this year. Home Movies remains an all-time classic of animated comedy that went out on a high note before things got stale or the characters became parodies of themselves. While it’s mostly known for its funny improvised banter, throughout the last season you can really see the arc where Brendon no longer enjoys making movies, yet he feels obligated to keep using them to escape from the real world. In that light, the ending where the nature of their dysfunctional makeshift family is cemented, Brendon’s camera suddenly breaks, and life moves on really does feel like the perfect note to end on. Truly one of the best to ever do it.

7/15: The Legend of Zelda - Tears of the Kingdom - Wow. Just… wow. I had serious doubts about TotK in the months leading up to release due to how close Nintendo was playing their cards to their chest. I didn’t want this to be a Saints Row IV, where the game is fun enough but the recycled map makes it feel like a rehash. Instead, I found a game that made me look at BotW’s map in a whole new light, brimming with so many more things to do and people to meet. Add on a better, more versatile set of tools, more varied dungeons and bosses, and a story that I felt was told somewhat better and we’ve got a real contender for my new favorite Zelda game. It was hard to tear myself away, but as this list shows, it’s been basically the only game I’ve played since it came out.

7/16: Sonic Prime (Season 2) - I liked the parts with Shadow and Chaos Sonic, but I’ve come to the sad conclusion that most of this show is just mediocre. More thoughts here.

7/18: We ♥ Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie - “I’m a dog, but I love Katamari Damacy.” Truer words have never been spoken.

7/19: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - Pretty good! It didn’t blow me away, but after how bad the Bay movies got I’m just thankful to have a decently cohesive Transformers movie where the human story is okay and I like the bots (although half of them needed more screen time), even if it is just another Hollywood blockbuster about two sides fighting over a macguffin that devolves into a big CGI battle against an army of nameless monsters in the third act. This is basically a mid-tier MCU movie but with Transformers, which won’t do much for most people, but again: the bar was underground.

7/22: The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart - God DAMN. A phenomenal ending for the series. While I would have loved to see a full final season to get some more one-off episodes in there, this doesn’t feel creatively compromised in any way–either due to the time constraints, or due to a desire to make it more marketable as a movie. It really does feel like they just took their outlines for the canceled final season and gently massaged them into the shape of an 84-minute movie, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s completely on par with the previous seasons. A hilarious and fitting sendoff for one of the greats of adult animation.

7/23: Beautiful Katamari - This was one of my first Xbox 360 games, but a frustrating temperature-based level made me put it down for 16 years. “Maybe it won’t be as bad now that I’ve beaten the first two games and am better at Katamari,” I thought. Nope! Still an absolutely dogshit level. But also, turns out the whole game is only like two hours long lmao. It’s still Katamari, so it’s still fun - the final level in particular, which seamlessly takes you from ground level all the way to space, feels like a logical endpoint for the series - but beyond that it just doesn't have the same soul without Keita Takahashi's input.

August

8/4: Doom Singer (Chris Farren) - I’ve been waiting so long for Chris and Jeff to do another Antarctigo Vespucci album, but god damn. This is the best of Chris’s solo work, and a contender for his best record, period. Every track’s a banger, with more energy than some of his previous solo work but also a good deal of variety. Favorite tracks: First Place, Cosmic Leash

8/4: Transformers Earthspark (Season 1) - This show had a bit of an uneven start, unsure if it wanted to have the emotional maturity of a more serious action cartoon or a preschool cartoon where the characters have little kid mood swings and outbursts and learn basic lessons. It also felt like it was speedrunning its Wholesome Found Family Dynamic with characters who just met, which didn’t feel earned. While these problems never completely go away (see: the cheap and corny way the otherwise very dark season finale suddenly resolves), the show improves quickly, and the positives outweigh the negatives. It’s so great to have a Transformers cartoon that feels fresh, giving us a post-war setting with a bunch of new characters and new dynamics between the Cybertronians and the humans. The returning characters are also uniformly great as the old veterans overseeing the new generation. (Reformed Megatron! Danny Pudi as Bumblebee! Steve Blum returning as Starscream! Keith David as Grimlock!!!) And those super dynamic action scenes! I can nitpick, but Earthspark’s a ton of fun, and easily the best new Transformers cartoon since Prime and Animated.

8/5: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (remaster) - Everyone who told me this game was a masterpiece was right. I had played the first chapter when it dropped as the demo for the iOS version years ago, but never went further than that until now. What a game. Absolutely incredible through and through. Great story, great twists, great characters, great puzzles, great art direction. Everything comes together so perfectly to form a totally unique, unforgettable package, a top tier video game murder mystery. Everyone should play this, preferably going in as blind as possible.

8/15: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 16) - Wow! Recent seasons of Sunny have been kind of up and down, with some interesting experiments (Mac Finds His Pride, the Ireland arc, etc.) paired with some comedic duds. Most of this latest season is standard fare for the series with fewer big creative swings, but it’s just hit after hit in terms of comedy. Not a single dud, whether we’re seeing Mac and Dennis try to start a rental business for inflatable furniture or watching the gang meet Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, believing the entire time that the latter is Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle. Even the attempts at topical comedy landed better. Easily the funniest season in years.

8/16: One Piece Film Gold - It’s easy to see why this one has kind of been forgotten in the wake of Stampede and Film Red, which revolve around established fan favorite characters, but this was still pretty fun. Perhaps a little too long, but it’s fun to see the Straw Hats fool around in a giant casino and do a heist. They definitely cranked the fanservice up even more than usual in this one, though, as I probably should have expected for a movie made alongside the anime’s adaptation of Dressrosa.

8/17: One Piece: Stampede - This one goes for a different kind of fanservice. While most One Piece movies are isolated from the ongoing plot and its expanded cast of characters, Stampede instead asks “What if we just put damn near every active character on the same island and had them fight?” The answer: a fun time! It would get old if all of the movies were like this, but after a bunch of movies that are just like “the Straw Hats are gonna land on another new island and fight some more weird guys” it’s fun to see characters like Law and Buggy and Smoker get in on the fun. It’s also nice to get a movie with the Wano era art style, and Usopp surprisingly gets some really good character moments in here.

8/18: One Piece Film Red - This really is the best of the One Piece movies, huh? (Baron Omatsuri is a close second.) It really feels like a change of pace after the last four with the most interesting and emotionally engaging story out of any of them. And even if the events of these movies are never canon, it still feels significant in my understanding of Shanks as a character as we move into the final phase of the manga.

8/21: Pikmin 4 - The opening hour of the game made me really question if they’d changed too much, with all the focus on your new dog unit over your Pikmin and the extremely dull, drawn out dialogue scenes with your new companions back at the base. But once I got into the swing of things I had a blast. This is probably my new favorite Pikmin game. There’s a great mix of activities here to keep things fresh. I also really ended up liking Oatchi’s role as basically your second captain who can also serve as your tank or a rideable mount. The Dandori stuff and nighttime missions in particular show off how useful Oatchi is for your multitasking without necessarily overshadowing the Pikmin.

8/22: Never Get Tired: The Bomb the Music Industry! Story - I literally backed this on Kickstarter eight years ago (my name is in the credits!) and then never got around to watching it for no reason. It’s on YouTube now, and Jeff’s got a new album out next week, so now feels like the perfect time to watch it. And man… what a great documentary. Obviously I’m just a fan of the band, but this also really spoke to me as an artist. Jeff wanting to stick to his principles and give out his music for free and play cheap all ages shows, his discomfort over the idea of selling merch, and the struggles that come with not playing the game like that… It's hard. They readily admit that Jeff is an idealist, that people fight him on this stuff, that he’s missed out on some big opportunities because of these stances, and that he’s had to compromise a bit on some of these things over time. But that incredible climax with their final show, including a full opening performance of the slowly building “Campaign for a Better Next Weekend” and the closing performance of “Future 86” where the whole audience is singing along as the members of the band are hugging and crying… it’s beautiful. This may have been a band where the members had to go back to their shitty day jobs after every tour because they weren’t selling out arenas, but their art meant something to people, and that makes it all worth it.

8/25: Nimona - I haven’t read the original comic (yet), so I can’t compare them too much, but it’s nonetheless pretty apparent that some things were softened and easy kids’ movie jokes were added by the studio to squeeze this graphic novel for teens into a PG animated movie. Regardless, the emotional throughline hits REALLY hard, particularly the very blatant trans allegory and the climax. (It’s no wonder Disney was afraid of this movie seeing the light of day lmao.) The animation is also very squishy and fun to watch throughout. Great movie.

8/26: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Spider-Verse really has done so much for animation, huh? This one was as good as everyone said. Beautiful use of stylized color and lighting throughout, and every time this movie very conspicuously shifted to different framerates for a flashy fight scene it owned. Very cute and heartwarming story, too, which thankfully gave its second act plenty of time to explore the cast and let them go on their journey, unlike a certain plumber movie that came out a few months later. Also I would let Death [redacted]

8/28: Holocure: Save the Fans! - This isn't really something I can beat, but I've been addicted to Holocure lately. I don't even watch VTubers aside from maybe seeing a funny Korone animation every now and then, this is just a really, really good freeware Vampire Survivors clone with a huge roster of varied characters to pick from.

8/31: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock) - A new album from Jeff is always a major event for me. If there were any worries that he was starting to go soft at 40 (because one of the three singles off this album was a gentle acoustic piece), the frantic opening of this album put those worries to rest. The first two tracks are Jeff screaming out for help as he’s pulled in a million directions by the chaotic state of the world, a theme that becomes the thesis of the album. I’d say it lags slightly in the middle, but overall this is another extremely well-rounded record full of bangers that’s unapologetically Jeff, with possibly my favorite closing track he’s ever done. Favorite tracks: I WANNA BE WRONG, 3 SUMMERS

September

9/3: One Piece (live action, Season 1) - They did it. I can’t believe it, but they did it. While I have my nitpicks (Usopp and Sanji don’t get enough big moments to shine), this is an extremely solid and faithful adaptation of the first few arcs of One Piece with a great cast. For the most part the changes feel smart and logical, and the big emotional beats of the story are all there and executed very well. I doubted it a little in episodes 2-4, where the Orange Town and Syrup Village arcs saw some major changes to shift the action indoors, and the increased focus on the drama in favor of repeating every gag and battle from the manga 1:1 took a bit of getting used to, but by the end I was having a blast. It’s a different take on One Piece, but it still feels like One Piece. Genuinely very excited for season 2.

9/4: Pseudoregalia - A great little N64-style 3D Metroidvania focused on platforming and very satisfying movement. I always love entries in the genre that are less prescriptive in what order you have to tackle areas in, a la Symphony of the Night or Hollow Knight, and this one’s great in that regard. While there are a number of new moves to find, most of the map is open to you very early in the game, and smart use of your moveset can allow you to “sequence break” without even realizing it. (You would not believe how long I went without getting the wall run.) I do wish it had a map, but that’s already being patched in.

9/6: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk * - Not a bad game at all, but I quickly remembered how bad I am at skating games, so like… eh? Not sure I have much desire to play past chapter 2. Also the soundtrack is sadly kinda hit or miss for me outside of the obvious Naganuma tunes.

9/9: The History of the Minnesota Vikings (Dorktown) - Jon Bois never misses. Even as someone who doesn’t actively follow sports, Jon Bois is a master storyteller, using graphs and statistics and funny anecdotes to explore these deeply human stories. He can convey why people care so much about these teams, these people, and sports in general, and how our popular sports reflect on American culture. He could tell the story of just about any team or player in any sport and I just know I’ll come out the other side a misty-eyed fan. And what a fascinating cast of characters we have this time, with origin stories for everything from the Hail Mary pass to a Minnesota state supreme court judge to the Griddy. Nine hours well spent.

9/10: Timespinner - A fun and highly polished Metroidvania that maybe doesn’t quite have enough of its own identity in its quest to replicate Symphony of the Night…but also, like, this was pitched as a Symphony throwback on KickStarter in a pre-Bloodstained, pre-Hollow Knight world, so I can’t really blame ‘em! Stopping time to avoid boss attacks is fun, the pixel art is gorgeous, and I liked the dark science fantasy story about warring empires and meddling with time a lot more than I thought I would - lore journal text dumps and all.

9/14: The Decay of Sam & Cat (Quinton Reviews) - All the stuff at the end with Matt Bennett (the actor who played Robbie on Victorious and Sam & Cat) in this was really good and sweet. It’s that kind of thing that makes these videos feel like they’re still worthwhile on some level. But the padding and the things Quinton chooses to spend the colossal runtime on does drive me more and more insane with each passing Nick sitcom video. I don’t know how much longer he can keep this schtick up. I hope he’s able to move on to other things before too terribly long instead of continuing to extend this “miniseries.”

9/19: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales - AKA Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 1.5. It’s fun for the same reasons Peter’s first game was fun. I had a good time swinging around New York again in preparation for the sequel, and there’s a lot of cute stuff with Miles becoming Harlem’s neighborhood hero, but WOW did the Underground v. Roxxon conflict fall flat for me.

9/20: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson - I understand so many posts now.

9/25: Spider-Man (2002) (rewatch) - It’s you who’s out, Gobby! OUT OF YOUR MIND!

9/25: Futurama (Season 8) - I was ready to be a hater, recalling the fact that Futurama has already had three “perfect endings” with the show getting a little weaker with every revival. Then I watched the first new episode on a whim and thought it wasn’t bad, so I was like, eh, sure, I’ll watch the rest. Overall Hulurama is hit or miss. There are chuckles to be had, and it sure as hell beats modern Simpsons, but almost every episode is either a belated take on an overplayed Topical Issue (the pandemic, Amazon, cancel culture, etc.) or a direct sequel to an old episode people liked. Or both! It’s also really noticeable that certain voice actors sound way older - Billy West is struggling with the Fry voice in particular, and it hurts his comedic timing. But just when all hope seemed lost after the nigh-incomprehensible toy-themed anthology episode, possibly the worst episode of the entire series… the last episode, where the Planet Express crew explores whether or not the universe could be a simulation, was really, really solid. Great note to end on to make me not regret my time with this season as a whole.

9/26: Spider-Man 2 (2004) (rewatch) - Once the GOAT, always the GOAT.

9/27: Spider-Man 3 (rewatch) - Revisiting this movie for the first time since I saw it in theaters… it’s not bad. It’s fine! It continues to have the heart and sincerity that make the first two movies work. It’s just not as concise with three villains vying for the spotlight, but I also wouldn’t cut any of them, necessarily. I guess Eddie/Venom would be the easiest, but Peter getting the black suit and giving in to his resentment feels too central to cut. (Yes, even with Emo Peter becoming a meme.)

9/28: Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake - I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this one, especially since I was never really a fan of the genderbend episodes in the original show. (At the time they mostly just felt like an excuse to crank up the teen romance stuff to 11.) But MAN. This was a fantastic coda to the original series. It made me care about Fionna and Cake and their friends as their own characters separate from their original counterparts, it gave the Simon/Betty arc a much more satisfying (if no less bittersweet) resolution than the original finale had time to do, and it even managed to be a multiverse story that didn’t make me roll my eyes in 2023. A+ all around. Makes me wanna rewatch the original show again. [spoiler: I did]

9/29: Meanwhile (aivi & surasshu) - It’s been a whole decade–they were busy with, you know, all the music in Steven Universe, among other things–but we finally have a new aivi & surasshu album! Their chiptune/piano fusion style is familiar, but they’ve definitely grown as composers in subtle ways. Favorite track: Time Travel

October

10/1: This is Financial Advice (Folding Ideas) - A lot of the nitty gritty finance law stuff turned into white noise for me, but still, great video. I had no idea that the GameStop stock craze devolved into this bizarre cult that thinks they’re going to crash the global economy and rise from the ashes as the new kings with the value of their GME stocks. Glad this video exists to try and balance out the narrative.

10/5: Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon DLC - Good ideas, absurdly frustrating and tedious execution. Full thoughts here.

10/10: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (rewatch) - I didn’t plan this, but very fitting that I would end up rewatching this on 10/10.

10/12: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - ha he! (Seriously though, that finale was a fucking masterpiece. The RTVS crew has an incredible knack for using the framing device of video game livestreams to blur the lines between comedy and horror, or ironic anti-humor and complete sincerity. I’ve never seen anything else like this.)

10/15: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Not sure how much I can say that hasn’t already been said. The most visually creative movie I’ve ever seen, grounded by some really excellent storytelling about Miles (and now Gwen) that’s probably better than his actual comics. But it also does feel like it’s about to end and then the movie just keeps going like ten times over lmao. Can’t wait to watch this a second time on a better TV.

10/20: Sonic Superstars - A mostly really solid and fun 2D Sonic game that’s unfortunately dragged down by an extremely hodgepodge soundtrack and some overly drawn out boss fights. I spent HOURS trying to beat the final boss of the bonus scenario (which is required for the true ending in this one) before giving up. Really a shame that that’s the note I’m leaving the game on, because I otherwise enjoyed it, but ah well. More thoughts here.

10/27: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - Another good Spider-Man game from Insomniac. Liked the story more than the one in Miles Morales, but maybe not as much as the first game. Extensive thoughts here.

10/28: Venom - Was in the mood for more Venom after the game. As expected this was not a very good movie, but the dynamic between Eddie and Venom made it a fun watch. Tom Hardy is constantly about to shit his pants in this movie. It’s great.

10/28: Venom: Let There Be Carnage - I had a way better time with this one. Is this a good movie? No. But it cranks the insanity of the first movie up to 11. Goofy as fuck in an extremely watchable way.

November

11/5: Pluto - An absolutely masterful series that anyone interested in sci-fi needs to watch. The anime adaptation was great, and I immediately understand why people who’ve read the manga speak so highly of it. Really makes me want to get into Astro Boy more, and also read some of Urasawa’s other works.

11/18: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - Wow, just wow. When news of a Scott Pilgrim anime broke I was cautiously curious to see if we’d get a more direct adaptation of the comics, and instead it veered off in the exact opposite direction in the best way possible. This is almost entirely a different story, one that’s in conversation with the previous versions (sometimes in very meta ways), and I think it’s really valuable to see O’Malley revisiting these characters with new things to say about them. The major story divergence gives us a chance to examine the characters from a new angle - particularly Ramona, who’s the real protagonist of this version, and the evil exes, who completely steal the show. This was a great reminder of why I fell in love with this series as a teenager. I now genuinely hope we get more Scott Pilgrim.

11/22: Void Rivals (Issues #1 - #6) - The first arc of the new Robert Kirkman series that kicked off Skybound’s new “Energon Universe” is now complete, and I’m left thinking Void Rivals is… okay? I thought the first issue was a decent (if not particularly original) sci-fi comic with an appealing art style, which just so happens to also briefly have a Transformer in it so there can be a Big Surprise. And the series still hasn’t quite shaken that feeling to me. It’s an okay sci-fi series that arbitrarily dedicates a couple of pages of every issue to something from Transformers, but I’m not really sure what the shared universe stuff adds to Void Rivals, or what Void Rivals adds to Transformers and GI Joe. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

11/22: Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History (Defunctland) - Yeah, gotta be honest, I only got halfway through this one. It seems like Kevin just 1) really wanted to push himself creatively and 2) make a love letter to Epcot, and while I respect that, I think it suffers as a historical documentary. It’s Fantasia but for the creation of Epcot. That might be very impressive on a technical level, but it feels more like a piece of Disney propaganda than prior Defunctland videos due to a lack of context and nuance. 

11/24: Aperture Desk Job - A short, sweet, and funny little tech demo for my new Steam Deck set in the Portal universe. More effort was definitely put into this than was strictly necessary.

11/26: ESCHATOS - I am not good at bullet hell games, but I enjoy them from time to time and I really love this one’s FM synth soundtrack, so I picked it up on a whim in the Steam sale. I only beat it on Easy, but still, I had a lot of fun with it! It’s straightforward but very flashy, with the camera dynamically zooming around from set piece to set piece at ridiculous speeds and each level segueing directly into the next. The lack of a powerup system on the main mode in favor of just needing to know when to use your different shot types makes it feel very approachable.

11/27: Lunistice - A great little 3D platformer with a good soundtrack that I had fun hunting down all the secrets in. This is an easy recommendation for fans of games like Kirby or Klonoa - whimsical games set in colorful dream worlds where the underlying story can get a bit more somber. (Although the story in this one is mostly told through mildly cryptic lore dumps, so your mileage there may vary.)

11/28: Spark the Electric Jester 2 - The leap from 2D to 3D here is impressive, but this is very clearly a rough draft for Spark 3. Very, very fun Sonic-style 3D platforming, but the combat is lacking and the storytelling is just kinda bad. More extensive thoughts on this and the above two games here.

December

12/2: Fortnite (Chapter 4) - This was my first full chapter of Fortnite, after having been roped into the game by the siren songs of Zero Build mode and Goku during Chapter 3. This means it’s harder for me to compare this chapter to previous ones, but still, Fortnite remains a genuinely very well made Battle Royale shooter that’s a blast with friends. If I have any complaint about this Chapter, it’s that they would regularly introduce zany ideas and then slowly reel them back in, whether it was the Augment system or the increasingly mundane movement items. It also felt like it was a little too easy to get the perfect loadout in every match, meaning the final showdown would almost always be against players with Slurp Juice and gold shotguns. And I missed the smaller mid-season map updates of Chapter 3. But overall I still had a really good time, and look forward to playing more for the foreseeable future.

12/4: Plagiarism and You(Tube) (HBomberguy) - This will get written off by many as “YouTuber drama,” but this really is an excellent video essay that feels like the kick in the pants that YouTube needs. If video essayists are gonna be a major source of information for so many, then they gotta have standards. I also think it does a good job of highlighting the people that have been plagiarized and trying to drive more attention their way in an attempt to right those wrongs.

12/6: Transformers (Skybound comic) - We only got the first three issues of this in 2023, but I just HAVE to say something about how incredible this series is here. Daniel Warren Johnson is knocking it out of the park. This is the new bar for Transformers. The hand-inked art is extremely dynamic and full of character, and the story is using the familiar beats of G1 Transformers but doing very new things with them. You can tell this from the very first page, but the emotional scene of Optimus accidentally crushing a deer in the forest and realizing how fragile life is on Earth sealed the deal for me. And yet in the very same comics Optimus can do suplexes and clotheslines and lord knows how many other wrestling moves on Decepticons, and it doesn’t feel like tonal whiplash? These comics just fucking rule, and anyone with even the slightest interest in Transformers should be reading them.

12/8: What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5) - [spoilers] WWDITS has very much settled into being a status quo show. Every season has its own little arc where one or two things change to keep things interesting, but then everything returns to normal by the end. Guillermo finally becoming a vampire, only to become a human again in the end, might just be the most egregious example of this yet. But also… the show’s still really funny? And I continue to be happy that Kristen Schaal has stuck around as a series regular as the Guide. So it’s hard to complain. I could see the show running out of steam over the next few seasons, but it’s still hitting for me right now.

12/12: Pony Island - Finally got around to this since the trailer for the sequel dropped. I feel like playing this years later in a post-Inscryption world where Pony Island is a known quantity kind of lessens its impact, but still, it’s a fun and funny puzzle game where you try to hack your way out of a possessed arcade machine. I’m not sure I found it particularly scary, but I’m not sure it’s supposed to be? The way the game messes with you during the Asmodeus “boss fight” was probably the highlight for me. I also like being able to say things like “The part where you have to not kill Jesus was so hard. I kept getting terrible butterfly patterns.”

12/16: Breaking Bad VR but the AI is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - As always, Wayne and co.’s commitment to the bit is unrivaled. This kind of got interpreted as just a way to troll HLVRAI fans, but so many moments in this genuinely made me laugh out loud.

12/18: Soul of Sovereignty Prelude - As someone who would list Cucumber Quest as a big creative influence, I was naturally very excited for this first chapter of GGDG’s new visual novel. Their mentality of both scaling things back in terms of labor while also going more shamelessly self-indulgent in terms of storytelling after burning out on making webcomics has really spoken to me, and WOW, the end result of that new process of theirs is shaping up to be something really special. The art and music are sparse but extremely evocative, giving you the rough sketch of the world and letting your mind fill in the rest. The story blends literary high fantasy vibes with the style of fantasy seen in ‘90s JRPGs (you can definitely tell this came from an idea for an RPG), but rather than constantly winking at the audience and making self-aware video game references it plays these storytelling ideas extremely sincerely, giving them real dramatic weight while still indulging in fun tropes to their fullest extent. While it’s a far cry from their most famous work with much more mature content, GGDG always excels at creating characters and worlds that immediately grab me. I can’t wait for the rest.

12/18: Barbie - I’m only… what, five months late for the whole Barbenheimer thing? Perfect timing. Anyway! On the one hand, I get the critiques saying that this movie is just a major corporation funding a self-aware feminist critique of their own product as a marketing ploy. And I kinda agree with that. And the movie is a little too long, and I don’t really know what to think of the way the Barbie/Ken conflict plays out. Anthony asked me to summarize what the story ended up being about, and I had no idea what to even say. But also… I did still like the movie? We don’t get a lot of cartoonish, absurdist, fourth wall breaking comedies like this anymore, and this is a good one of those. Also the whole cast is great, the set design is kind of stunning, and the cinematography is consistently appealing. I wouldn’t say it’s a revolutionary work of feminist filmmaking by any stretch, but it’s a good comedy movie.

12/21: Dr. Stone: New World - Man, Dr. Stone is great. I’ve said this many times, but I just love that this series uses all the trappings of shounen that would normally be used to hype up the protagonist learning a new move to instead hype up things like the protagonist building a loom or a hot air balloon. It’s shounen Bill Nye. I didn’t completely love everything about the Treasure Island arc this season, but it all built towards a really fun climax with a lot of satisfying turnabouts where the heroes use their ingenuity to just barely win.

12/23: The History of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out World Records (Summoning Salt) - Truly one of my favorite Summoning Salt videos ever, even with how repetitive Punch-Out can get to watch. It’s just so hard to beat “and that runner… was me.”

12/24: Super Mario Bros. Wonder - What more can be said that hasn’t already been said? It’s the best and most creative 2D Mario game since the ‘90s. The only real flaws are that it’s a little easy, the Search Party stages are annoying in singleplayer, and I wish that every boss prior to the final boss wasn’t just some form of Bowser Jr. fight. But those aren’t nearly enough to drag the whole experience down. It was a blast.

12/24: Do a Powerbomb! - Got this from Anthony as a birthday present. This is the previous series by the creative team currently doing the new Transformers comics I was gushing about a few entries ago. Even with the high bar set by those comics, Do a Powerbomb! exceeded my expectations. Holy shit. An absolutely entrancing fantasy wrestling miniseries full of dynamic, energetic action and tons of heart. These comics where a guy wrestles a giant talking orangutan almost made me cry. Twice. An instant favorite.

12/25: Adventure Time (rewatch) - We ended up finishing our rewatch of Adventure Time (the main series, anyway) on my 30th birthday, which feels appropriate. I already kinda knew this, but this rewatch has truly confirmed that Adventure Time is my favorite TV series of all time. The entire show is even better on a full series rewatch. In hindsight, even parts that annoyed me when they aired end up being important parts of the beautiful tapestry that is this series. The many low points of Finn’s adolescent love life are important stepping stones in his growth as a person, which leaves him in an extremely satisfying place by the end. Jake having kids didn’t get to be a huge status quo change because they grew up instantly, but then they did a bunch of fun episodes about Jake’s relationships with his adult children that deepened him as a character. And most of the big lore questions they kept teasing over the years (“Where’d the humans go?” “Who are Finn’s parents?” “When’s Finn gonna get a robot arm?” etc.) ended up getting satisfying and creative answers, because the show left itself the room to figure those things out later. This is a truly special, one-of-a-kind series, one that lasted nearly 300 episodes and yet still seems like it was over too soon. And yes, I did in fact cry during the final montage, like I knew I would. I will always cherish this show with all of my heart.

12/25: Olive the Other Reindeer (rewatch) - Haven’t seen this one since I was a kid! It was a favorite of mine back then, and while it might not be quite as funny as I remember it’s still very cute, with a 2D/3D hybrid art style that remains very unique and appealing. As an adult I can also appreciate the cast they got for this, with like half the cast of Futurama bolstered by guests like Michael Stipe from REM and The Sopranos’ Joe Pantoliano.

12/26: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio - Anthony and I capped off our Christmas with the most jolly and festive stop motion movie of all! Jokes aside, man, what a beautiful movie. The animation is immaculate, and we really just don’t get children’s animated films like this anymore. Ones that overtly feature real world politics and religion and so many other dark themes in a way that doesn’t talk down to kids or sugarcoat things. This one hits hard. We need more movies like this.

12/31: Oppenheimer - This was an interesting one. Despite being three hours, the way that first hour jumps around in time makes it feel like Oppenheimer is constantly being propelled forward through life at a breakneck pace, swept up by the rising tide of nationalism in spite of his personal left wing politics, never really reflecting on what he’s doing until it’s too late. Then when he’s no longer useful to the empire, he’s chewed up and spat out, only to eventually be honored as a national hero as a symbolic gesture. It’s a compelling story. However, I’m a little torn on how certain aspects of history were framed. Does the abstraction of the bombings detract from the true weight of those events, in favor of sympathizing with the man who built the bomb? Or is it clever a way to show how the realities of the war were compartmentalized away by people who were complicit in its most heinous acts of violence? One minute a bunch of physicists are talking theory, thousands of miles away from the theaters of war, and the next they’ve killed 200,000 people. So which is it? Eh, probably somewhere in the middle, I guess. But I liked it overall.

12/31: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe - I’ve been really surprised by how good this rerelease is. It kind of flew under the radar for me. I liked the original game, but at the time it also almost felt like the New Super Mario Bros. of Kirby. It was a straightforward throwback game where you went through a grass world, then a desert world, then a water world, etc., and also they added four player co-op. But returning to this one after the kinda mid Star Allies has made me appreciate just how solid RtDL is as a Kirby game. I really like the updated graphics, too - yes, even the new cel shaded outlines around the characters - even though I didn’t think it looked that great in screenshots. Also the two new copy abilities (Sand and Mecha) are fun, the minigame collection is shockingly fleshed out to the point that they could’ve sold it as a standalone eShop game, the collectible character masks are fun, and the new epilogue mode where you play as Magolor is one of the coolest bonus modes they’ve ever done. This is a top tier Kirby remake any fan of the series should check out.

Ongoing things I followed in 2023 that don't have a blurb:

Halo Infinite multiplayer

IDW Sonic the Hedgehog (main series + specials)

One Piece

Chainsaw Man

My Hero Academia (not caught up)

The JOJOlands (not caught up)

Things I started in 2023 that I still need to finish:

Freedom Planet 2

Hi-Fi Rush

Live A Live

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Picross 3D Round 2

Rhythm Heaven MegaMix

Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team ProtoMan

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Spark the Electric Jester 3

Sonic Dream Team

One Piece (Wano arc, anime)

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (I’ve already read the Shibuya arc already in the manga, though)

Astro Boy (2003 anime)

Futurama (original run rewatch)

One Piece (manga reread)

The Amazing Spider-Man (Lee/Ditko era)

Scott Pilgrim series (reread)

And finally... my favorites of 2023!!!

Overall favorite game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Favorite indie game: Pseudoregalia

Games remastered in 2023 that are now among my all-time faves: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, We Love Katamari

Most pleasant surprise in gaming: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

Favorite film: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Favorite live action show: Barry

Favorite anime: Pluto

Favorite anime written by a Canadian guy and an American guy based on the Canadian guy's old graphic novel series: Scott PIlgrim Takes Off

Favorite live action adaptation of an anime that I still can't believe they didn't fuck up: One Piece

Favorite Western cartoon: Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake

Favorite older cartoon I only got around to watching in its entirety this year: The Venture Bros.

Favorite documentary: Double Fine PsychOdyssey

Favorite semi-improvised semi-scripted absurdist comedy/horror/tragedy Twitch livestream performance art thing: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware finale (wayneradiotv)

Favorite manga: Chainsaw Man

Favorite older manga that I only read this year: Berserk

Favorite Western comic book: Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers

Favorite album: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock)

And that's a wrap!!!!! Happy new year, everyone! Here's to me maybe actually reading a goddamn book this year

[aotopmha]

I have finished Dawntrail!

I will have a spoiler-free post (this one) and a spoiler-y post (probably one of my following ones) of my very general thoughts.

If there's a wish to avoid even this kind of post, then the warning is here.

For spoiler-free impressions, I will say that I did notice a bigger inconsistency in terms of the voice work.

The final boss had straight-up flat delivery that didn't exist in most cutscenes for ALL voice actors.

Everyone is also mostly fine when talking normally, but when yelling or stronger feelings are needed, especially the newest actors feel strangely off.

Wuk sounded absolutely fine and consistent in 6.55, but there were points where she just sounded really flat in the actual expansion.

I'm also in the camp that the credits theme sounded off. The chorus was fine (and the same track was completely fine when used in a couple of other cutscenes), but the main vocalist sounded really off. It took me out of what was otherwise a very solid final stretch of story. And the singer has done some great stuff before!

It's all really odd and I didn't think I would have these complaints ever again after A Realm Reborn because the voice work since then has ranged from good to amazing.

I'm really curious about what's going on behind the scenes.

FF14's vocal tracks have been weak at points to me, but not once have I felt a vocalist sounded absolutely awful.

Otherwise this expansion is up there in terms of the soundtrack, might be my favourite so far. Incredibly strong all the way through aside from the vocalist in this single track.

The graphics update has done wonders to endear me to the world and this will be the first expansion I will absolutely max out the FATEs for perhaps even just this reason alone. It's a miracle how much more strongly you can sell a world with better lighting and just a little bit more object density.

The content itself is also absolutely fantastic - if the story really bores you, I at least recommend skipping through it to do the dungeons and trials and maybe go back for the story via New Game+. The encounter design is refreshing, from a whole bunch of new mechanics to more interesting fodder enemy usage.

The class changes, while feeling relatively minor have felt like really good smoothing out of awkward elements.

I especially feel this with Dragoon, and as much as I miss Plunge, Dark Knight's new ability animations alone go a long way to add to that smoother feel, as well.

i also adore Viper, which I think is my favourite melee out of the ones I've played. Simple, but speedy and satisfying to play.

I will absolutely still remain a DRK main in a general sense, though.

Will be running dungeons to get everyone along all of the game.

Finally, I think the story came together really nicely by the end, with some interesting threads left behind.

It is much more simple than Shadowbringers and Endwalker, but I think it was still effective. As I've said in previous posts, it's just really thematically strong and followed that strength right to the end, even if I have varied opinions on all of the characters.

In terms of immediate impressions, content-wise (dungeons and trials in particular), as far as base expansions go, I'd place it above ARR, Heavensward and probably Endwalker (Endwalker's solo duties rocked and narrative and gameplay integration is still unmatched, but the encounter design itself isn't as distinct).

Story-wise I'd probably place it above A Realm Reborn and Stormblood because it has a similar spirit of exploration with much better pacing within its individual areas. Every time I felt the story started dragging in its own ecosystem, it moved on and the answers by the end were satisfying and made sense while ARR and StB actually didn't have that many mysteries to even think about, so had much less impetus to at least seek those out.

It had no Labyrinthos, Ruby Sea, Moogle quest or Mt. Gulg setup. But it wasn't as complex in terms of character writing as Endwalker, Shadowbringers and to some extent even Heavensward and Stormblood.

Though, as said, this is only speaking in terms of the base expansions, the only comparison I can make. Because the patch content did amazing narrative things for both Heavensward and Stormblood in particular in my eyes.

(I actually have no idea what to expect from the Dawntrail patches. Which is, once more, both super exciting and scary because the threads left behind are pretty much a complete mystery.)

So in a general sense, I'm an early Dawntrail defender. I enjoyed it a lot. It truly felt special as my very first on-content expansion, too.

Now on to the optional dungeons!

(Have heard some great impressons on them!)

[fisherrprince]

Oh hey! Welcome to stormblood :D! So, how are your overall opinions of Heavensward now that you're one the cusp of new expansion?

Hello hello! /bow

I liked it!! I liked it quite a lot I think, but I definitely think the best parts were about the dragons (the first half of base expansion with Ysayle and then 3.2-3 with Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr and Estinien) (I got sad when we left Ysayle :( ) — which, admittedly, is probably because I really love dragons. But it’s also I think structured more engagingly, I was really interested in what everyone had to say and react to. I think I stopped to talk to almost everyone anytime I could, and I really want to remember to look at item descriptions because they have TEXT in them and sometimes they’re FUNNY.. The dungeons got progressively cooler too :D

I wasn’t quite as interested in the allagans this time (or the pope I kept forgetting about him— to be honest the ishgardian half of the story was really interesting as it contributed to the whole of the story, I love how the writers are handling the complexity of human conflict and rage thus far, but I found that chasing down the pope at the end took quite a while because we also had the scions stuff in there too, which was more interesting, and I think the amount of interest just conflicted with the pacing. If I look at Heavensward without the post patch quests it has very odd pacing but with them it’s perfectly fine.) (but also the — what’sit the whale primal trial — I’ve heard is disliked but I found it really really fascinating when I did it for the first time! Maybe because it’s novel) (and also while I LOVE the hand that gives the rose, I cannot get behind unbending steel. I can’t tell if people are joking when they say it’s one of the best songs. I don’t… like it, it sounds goofy to me), but that’s also just because Azys Lla is, all offense to allag, butt ugly?? The Crystal Tower is so pretty how did you create this narsty place. Bring me back to G’raha. I also think the interjections with the Ul’dahn syndicate early on were hit or miss entirely, sometimes very satisfying and investing and sometimes I just… I don’t like the wizard lady or her wizard hat.

anyways, Hilda is my new friend, I like her. I, um, don’t think I got as attached to haurchefant as many others did, but I appreciate how well-written a good death scene is, I do. And I really felt like we got to see way more (and deeper and better-articulated) character personality and interaction than we did in arr! I liked that!!! We had little flavor text jokes everywhere! I like my friends tataru and alphinaud and although I will have to decline Aymeric’s request for a date, I would love to hang out. I will be going on a date with Vidofnir. I want to see more of where dragons actually, like, live.

also both the “final battles” were very very cool. Like immensely cool I think I legit cackled to myself a couple times (hraesvelgr’s eye being one of them) thank u dragons everyone say thank you dragons. Also everyone say thank you to soken and uematsu. And the cinematic animators. And the fight designers. And

and — I’m not sure where post-heavensward stops and pre-stormblood begins, but I assume it ends with nidhogg and starts with the warriors of darkness? in that case I’ll hold my opinions of pre-stormblood since I’m not done. bless it for having alisaie leveilleur. goodnight

[autumnslance]

Hi Autumn/Lyn! First things first, as someone who's embarrassingly into WoLcred stuff, I wanted to say that I love your writing and I'm a huge fan! Thanks for sharing your work with us!

I really relate to your WoL Aeryn (I too am Thavnairian irl Indian, in love with Thancred, love reading, main RDM, etc etc), which is super funny to me because I don't identify at all with my own WoL, who was originally meant as a self-insert, even (I didn't know what an "OC" was so I just made myself but in-game?), but then had her own ideas and went and became her own person (example: she has dyslexia and hates reading). No clue how this happened, and I still love my daughter OC dearly, but… you see why I also love your Aeryn. Lol.

I wanted to ask, did Aeryn inherit her grey eyes from her father? Or does the Thavnairian side of her family have a tendency towards grey eyes too? Does she have any relatives other than Zaine who have grey eyes?

I'm not sure why, but I got fixated on this one little thing because I've always loved grey eyes (especially described in literature) and the idea of a South Asian fantasy-equivalent with grey eyes fascinates me. Anyway, apologies in advance if this is too weird and/or offensive! Also sorry about how long this ask got! Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day!

Thank you so much, what a lovely ask to get! And funny how our WoL kids just do their own things, huh? Can't stop won't stop the WoL, not even their own writers. 😉

Aeryn did indeed get her eyes from her father (and it is mentioned most strongly, I think, in Bearing Sins of the Past), though there's probably some predisposition in her mother's side; her mom's eyes were very dark blue. I lean into the fantasy world's idea of "similar, inspired and influenced by, but not 100% the same" for the setting and characters, and am pleased Thavnair ended up labeled by the devs explicitly as a "melting pot" society (which makes sense for such a centrally located trade hub). Since I had Aeryn raised in Thavnair, with her reasons to return to Eorzea as an adult, but this was back in late Heavensward/early Stormblood before we had it in game, I had her mother's people be a more "recent" immigrant group (within the last couple hundred years) so they have mostly assimilated into Thavnairian culture, while maintaining some of their own traditions to give myself leeway, not knowing how the devs would go into the South Asian influences when we eventually got there.

Also I am very white, and know there's nuance I'd be missing, so while I wanted it to be a part of her character, and be respectful, I'm not trying to write about an Indian experience I have no inherent connection to, but a character whose upbringing includes similar influences to shape her. It's a weird and fine line when writing characters different from oneself.

There's also the meta where I based Aeryn's appearance roughly on the unused CGI Midlander woman model, though Aeryn's darker skinned (I'm still not sure if I want to adjust her facial features post-graphics upgrade or not, I might need to play around a bit). I wanted her to do some dragoon stuff for HW, but not just cuz "she's the WoL" so that got some of the backstory in there, which also worked with "she left as a kid and is now returning as an adult." And the idea that 1.0 WoL, based on Meteor (with some color shifts again), was her lost brother and it gave her a weird tie to Ardbert (before Shadowbringers even came out!).

Even the skintones for my FF14 characters are meta, as having played in earlier versions of World of Warcraft where the natural skin color options for humans/dwarves/gnomes/blood elves were "different shades of white", and my priest glowed like a lightbulb under Ashenvale's bloom lighting, seeing the sheer variety of the palettes in FF14 back in HW was a delight, and so Dark Autumn ended up brown cuz it wasn't an option at all in the other game (at that time). Even C'oretta's in the middle of the options for Seekers as my lightest OC...and Iyna being darkest Rava was playing in the Benchmark while annoyed at the examples shown by the devs at that FanFest.

What a character looks like, either in a visual video game or in a piece of writing, often comes early on to me, and in Aeryn's case, there was an appearance I wanted to adjust and build off of, and then went "OK, so what's the reasons for not only her looks, but also X and Y things I want to do with her story, and how would that work and shape her, and let's use the devs' trick of being a little vague here and there for now until the lore updates, and...."

I do fret sometimes, about how my characters look and how I portray them, especially with Thavnair having such a strong inspiring influence. But I mostly follow the game lore, fill in some gaps with light research, make up a few of my own things and remain consistent with them, and try to be true to the character and story I've written, and let the rest sort itself out. I can't and won't please everyone, but I'm always glad to hear from those who love my girls and their stories.

[public-trans-it-deactivated20240]

you mentioned your wol is cis(ish), what does that mean? (/gen)

(In relation to my WoL post) Sorry this took too long to respond to, distracted by stuff

Short answer:

Long answer under the cut, but probably not as interesting as you might be hoping. But also deeply personal. Mostly a recap of the stuff in that thread, with a bit more context from my personal life and my evolving feelings of gender involved.

But if you don't wanna read all that, its basically "She is a in-universe fantasia addict and has no real attachment to her physical body, and that includes her genitals."

Read More

Language is going to be a get tricky in this one, given we are talking about a setting that may not have the same views of gender as we do.

She is Cis(ish) simply because she is an afab woman who treats gender like just another part of her dresser. Were she educated on the topic, she would probably consider herself either genderfluid or agender. She is always a girl, but rarely 'just' a girl.

T'sraetn is my main. All of my characters are some reflection of myself, but as my main, T'sraetn is more myself than anyone. As such, many of her changes throughout the years are based on my own changes.

She started 1.x as just an afab miqo'te, because at the time, I was a trans woman and T'sraetn represented who I wanted to be, and remained that way through ARR. By the time Heavensward had launched, I had grown more comfortable with being trans, and fantasia'd T'sraetn into a trans Au Ra girl.

I know "Are fantasias canon?" is a very contested question in the fandom, but luckily I don't give a fuck about other people's opinions, so I don't have to care about that. And the fun thing about treating magic gender/race change juice as canon, is it vastly increases the number of options for gender presentation.

T'sraetn became an Au Ra cause she thought horns and scales were cool and wanted some. She stayed a girl cause she viewed herself as a girl and wanted to remain that way. She got a penis cause she wanted one. It was really that simple.

Just before Stormblood I... changed her back to Miqo'te. I didn't really do it cause I wanted to, I did it because I was in a really shitty relationship and the person I was with at the time wanted me to. Shortly after Stormblood launched, I stopped playing her as that person turned into a stalker, and started playing a new character, T'alia.

T'alia was kind of built on the loathing I had for T'sraetn at the time. How I felt she wasn't mine anymore, so I made a bastardized version of her that I justified as being her mom. I joined another FC, and got to start roleplaying as this character and fleshing her out more. I filled in the role they needed of a central antagonist, which fit in with the loathing I had built the character on. I built a few other characters to play as when we didn't need a central antagonist that week. But as Shadowbringers drew closer, I noticed a problem. In order to do any RP's in Shadowbringers areas, I'd have to do the expansion a second time in order to get there. I'd have to unlock flying, and do all that other bullshit.

I didn't want to, so I introduced a new character: T'alia. Or more accurately, a clone of her, which the FC affectionately named 'Tali' to tell the two apart. This new version of her rejected T'alias goals for her, and wanted to be her own person. Someone fighting along the FC. However, she had cybernetic enhancements that allowed T'alia to control her body and keep her from fighting back. Now I had an excuse to be on either side of a fight, without it being a question of "Why do you go missing every time we fight this one specific bad guy"

I made a central part of Tali's personality her crisis of identity. She didn't want to be the person everyone told her she was. I uh... I was not that subtle about it being a metaphor for my saltiness over that ex who's FC I was in. She was constantly modifying herself, trying to replace her cybernetics or alter the organics of her body. I only *actually* fantasia'd her twice, first time into a Viera, but I imagined she was changing up her body pretty regularly, trying to find the one that actually felt like "her".

Eventually, I got kinda fed up with the limitations of Viera in the game, specifically after one of the holiday events where Viera couldn't even wear the reward from it. So I decided I was going to fantasia her again when I had the chance, and worked it into the RP. I had worked a lot of frustrations about my own mother into the character of T'alia, and so I had known for a little bit before hand that Tali was actually T'sraetn, and had dropped a few hints in RP about it (mostly referencing past stuff with other FC members who came with when leaving that old FC). Stuff the players would go "We sure did that together, yep." while being subtle about the fact that my character absolutely should not remember that.

Eventually, I did the big reveal in RP, changed my characters name back to my old main, and reclaimed my old character. The ACTUAL old character became Gaelicat. That... is not canon to T'sraetn's story (unless... hm...) I decided to leave in the love for changing up her body she had acquired as Tali. She still had the cybernetics at this point, and it was a recurring joke in RP that her arms would fall off in every fight and she would have to find someone to fix them. Even once she had her cybernetics removed, she still retained the same attitude of having no attachment to her body. It could be changed and altered, maybe not easily, but it was certainly possible.

So she has no real attachment to her current form anymore. She looks that way just cause that's how she wants to look. She might see a pretty hrothgal and decide to be one of those for a bit. She might want to go for a (slightly. very slightly) bit more of a masculine look for a bit and become a male viera.

Ultimately it boils down to... it doesn't matter what configuration the parts of her body take, its just a fucking body, and it can and will be changed on a whim with this handy blue drink.

[noraechovixon]

Sorta a personal vent that’s related to my time in XIV

Final Fantasy XIV still remains one of the best games I’ve grown beside ever since I joined in heavensward.

In that amount of time I’ve grown to meet a plethora of wonderful and supportive friends as well find comfort in a game throughout my time playing. Tonight though I had that urge you get to relive old memories in game, going to places you used to explore, finding spots where you first met your friends and where it all began. While doing that I found my way to where my old friends would all talk late into the night together and felt a bit of sadness more then nostalgia. While I had a lot of good memories, most of my old friends have moved on from the game leaving me here. I still try to keep in contact outside of the game and anytime they do return it feels more like I’m just pestering them to come back. Keeping those I care about at a distance just waiting for the day they decide it’s time to return for more adventures together, it’s probably stupid to think that the moment I had with them all are some of my most treasured moments. Endwalkers really felt like my characters journey learning to deal with the ensuring despair and how they’ve overcome their obstacles along with their fellow scions. Even though all we’ve endured, we continue on our path look toward hope. I just really love my friends and miss them is what I’m getting at, I’ve been waiting for them ever since the end of stormblood and I’m sure once they’ve returned they’ll be happy with all the stuff they’ve missed and I’ll be there to support my friends yet again.

[aenaxes]

penitence

[howzer x gn!reader] doubt is a powerful seed in the mind. also known as howzer lets the kid go, and the first person he sees afterwards is you.

warnings: (spoilers for tbb e11) mild gun/blaster injury, hurt-comfort

w/c: 1.2k

a/n: just a little lunch break drabble to christen the new icon hehe

“Don’t tell me the Syndulla kid did that.”

Howzer drags his feet across the threshold, bucket cradled under one arm as he carelessly brings his hand over the door lock. Swept messily to one side as if crushed by a fall, his hair flutters with the whoosh of recycled air as the dark steel slides shut behind him.

You are quick to meet him where he stands, his holster empty and shoulders dropped low. With him he comes bearing the telltale ashy singe of a single blaster shot over the upper edge of his pauldron. It’s stray fire at best, but you can already envision the bruise purpling under his plastoid.

Lifting your hands to the mark, you struggle over the sudden swell in your tongue: anger, panic, fear, the bitter taste of resentment that someone (even if it was a kid) saw him as just another obstacle, another piece of blaster fodder, no matter what side he was on.

“Howzer?”

He mumbles something that doesn’t quite meet your ears as he trains his eyes on the floor at his feet. And when you call his name one more time, he simply shakes his head.

“She didn’t do it,” he rasps. “I did.”

—

“You shot yourself. To make it believable that a civ girl half your size disarmed you and got away,” you deadpan, bringing the roll of bandage under his armpit and cinching it snug.

It’s about the fourth time you’ve repeated it, in part to process the whole scenario but mostly to emphasize how ridiculously stupid it was to shoot himself at near point-blank range—even if it was to save the girl. You pass the roll of fabric to your other hand and sigh.

“Threw the blaster down the canyon, too,” he mirthlessly snorts. Sarcasm does not curl over his tone, playful and teasing, nor does his voice carry the increasingly common sting of cynicism.

He just sounds… tired.

“Do you think Rampart’s really going to believe you?”

He hisses when you pull the bandage a bit too tight. But before you can meet him with a frantic flurry of apologies, Howzer brings his arms around your waist and pulls you close, crowding you into his space with little mind to how your touch, no matter how comforting, still crushes up against the bruise of his shoulder.

“Howzer—” you protest, but he shakes his head, his nose digging into the skin over your sternum.

It’ll make the bruising worse, that much you know. But who are you to deny him—both of you, really—the simple comforts of intimacy that have become so rare under the Empire’s shadow?

Pulling away just enough to tuck the long, free end of the bandage under its previous wrapping, you pause before you trail your palms up from his shoulders to the prickly undercut at the base of his head.

For the first time tonight, Howzer lifts his eyes heavensward, resting his chin on your chest so he can turn his dark eyes to you in full. There, you find the softest kind of yearning, for you, for respite, for that elusive speck of light that he can hold close and proclaim high. No longer is there that boyish charm he had shared so freely with the men of his company those long months ago, men now unreachable and hardened under that single, cruel order.

You miss it.

Howzer offers you a weak smile, then presses his brow back against your chest. And without missing a beat, you dip your chin low and press your lips to the crown of his head.

“Rampart knows I’m soft,” the captain mumbles, tugging you closer.

With your head bowed over him, you breathe deep and feel him do the same. He smells like the Ryloth dusk, crisp air chasing the sunlight’s heels, hearkening back to better days when dawn felt like hope, when war had an end in sight, hazy as it might have been.

“Was probably going to decommission me anyway.”

“Don’t say that,” you whisper, your lips moving over the dust speckled through his dark hair. Word after word, your voice follows his lead, matching the low, weary timbre of his lungs rising and falling against your chest before finally slipping under the ambient hum of the base around you. “You’re not a droid.”

“Is it bad that most days I feel like one?” he asks.

“Droids don’t whine when I can’t sleep next to them,” you counter with a soft laugh. Warmth spreads over the base of your ribs as Howzer huffs through his nose. Soft and quiet as it is, it is laughter. “Droids don’t laugh at their own awful jokes. Or wake up extra early to spend fifteen minutes putting pomade in their hair. Or get into the habit of sneaking up on me to stuff their cold hands down my collar, which by the way gives me palpitations, which—”

At that, the low-simmering tension finally breaks.

“Okay, okay,” Howzer concedes. His laughter rumbles against your skin.

And you take your invitation, playfully mussing your fingers through his hair as his laughter rises.

A rosy glow floods through you, swelling in your chest and creeping high to the top of your head as Howzer lifts his good arm and tugs you down to meet him. It’s an awkward angle, but it is no less sweet when you feel his dry, chapped lips press soft against yours. He murmurs unintelligible motions of affection, gratitude, that deep and indescribable loyalty that brings you close and binds you together. And you smile into his kiss.

For a while, you stay that way, your neck craned low as you cradle the base of his head and share slow, bated breaths over your tongues. You bear the ache in your shoulders a moment longer, then you press a slow trail of kisses rising from the crest of his upper lip, over the tip of his nose, higher, higher, until your lips meet his brow for one last, lingering touch.

Breathing as one, a comfortable silence settles between you.

Somewhere outside, you hear the birds croon their night song.

“Do you miss it?” Howzer asks at last, his voice little more than a whisper breathed over your skin. “Being the good guys?”

“We’re still the good guys,” you respond. “You and me.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

When Howzer lifts his head again, you find it—that single blinking light of days past when his only concerns had been keeping his men safe and making it back home, to you—hope.

“You’re not just buttering me up so you can be romantic?” His voice rises light above the murky waters choked around his neck. But the doubt is there all the same, always, clawed into his shoulders as only he seems aware of the stark divide between duty and obedience.

As you card your fingers through his hair, you feel his hands tighten around your waist.

He will bruise; his shoulder will ache; he’ll roll out of bed tomorrow morning and pop his shoulder, only to fall back onto your sleeping form and wake you with a dramatic sigh as you flail under him.

But he will heal.

“I can make your bruise worse, you know,” you playfully narrow your eyes. But you can’t help the smile that curves over your lips when you catch the crinkle at his temples as his brows slope soft and find solace in you.

“You think so?” he teases.

“I know so.”

[orime-stories]

Hey there~ I'm curious about The Truth, At Her Bedside, and Epilogue Bits - The Missing People!

Thank you! <3 Asks here. I’ll pop the little excerpts of what I’ve got under the cut so this doesn’t get too long.

‘The Truth’ is Aurelle and Aymeric having a conversation about some spoilers that you’re not allowed yet. Stuff about the overall Heavensward story as well as about his own personal situation. But it ends with some nice kisses that I’ll share below.

‘At Her Bedside’ is Aymeric coming to visit Aurelle after she’s been battered about by some more spoilers. They have been trying to keep their relationship secret so as not to complicate all the wider stuff that’s going on, but people are starting to catch on and Aurelle’s worried that might mean Aymeric will want to put an end to things.

‘Epilogue Bits - The Missing People’ is all the fragments I have about Seluna missing the gang once everyone scatters at the end of the first game. I usually retcon when games do that, but in this case I was enjoying the dynamic of them all coming back together after so long apart at the beginning of Deadfire, so I’ve figured out my reasonings for making that work. As if the end of that game wasn’t giving my girl enough angst already...

-

The Truth

They were drawing closer again, caught in that current far stronger than they would ever be. Breaths deepening, noses brushing together semi-consciously at first and then nuzzling against each other with intent. Were they drawing the moment out on purpose? Her heart was going to burst from wanting.

She wasn’t sure who crumbled first. She wasn’t sure it mattered. But she was sure, at least, that the man kissing her so sweetly was a good one who had deserved better.

-

At her Bedside

Lucia ushered the others from the room and Aymeric stood there a moment more, his face still. “I think she knows. Not from me, but still…”

“Thancred’s worked it out too.”

“Perhaps we are not as good at keeping secrets as we think we are.”

“Perhaps not.” She paused, swallowing. “Should we… stop?” Her tone making clear that she meant their romance, not the secrets.

The Lord Commander didn’t move, and nor did his measured gaze upon her.

She exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, understanding if not accepting. It wasn’t fair. It hurt and it wasn’t fair. But at least he was alive, and the city saved. Maybe that would be enough. It would have to be enough. “It’s okay,” she reassured them both. “It’s okay.”

He crossed the room at last, kneeling down beside her bed. “No, ‘tis not,” he murmured, leaning over to kiss her forehead. “I could have lost you today.”

-

Epilogue Bits - The Missing People

Seluna woke, frowning. She’d had a nightmare. Probably nothing to worry about — everyone gets nightmares sometimes. It doesn’t mean she’s getting bad again. It doesn’t mean that.

She rolled over to grab the towel she still habitually kept by her bedside. She wasn’t covered in sweat like she used to be, but she clenched it in her fists and breathed until the panic had faded a little.

“You’re okay,” she whispered to herself. “It was just a dream.”

The emptiness of her large bed ached. Gods she wished they were here. Edér would ground her with one of his hugs and joke about how nostalgic it was. Aloth would soothe her with his calm rationalisations.

She wished they were here.

[mintdrop]

Mint is ADORABLE! How did she and Estinien get together? :)

aejisfiusdfsdidgj thank you!!!!! ;_;

i actually have this saved from an old ask that i got back when mint was a new character and i was new to wol/npc shipping! i’ll put it under a readmore because it’s super long

mint/estinien kind of started off as a continuation ship I had of my old character Amira (a purple bookwormy lalafell SCH) but it has turned into it’s own thing and it’s like 40% cuter imo.

since I’ve only ever actively played one character, WoL!Mint has all the memories of her adventures from from 2.x to now, ignoring all the fantasias I’ve gone through. She started off just absolutely despising him during the final 2.x dragoon quests and, going into Heavensward, refused to trust him. Refused to acknowledge him unless absolutely forced to, would usually reply in one or two words at best, and occasionally she’d catch herself thinking “but what if.. I “missed” a heal on him during this fight….” but in the end would rather physically remove all of her teeth by hand than sabotage a battle and sacrifice someone’s safety for her petty high-school-level drama. after all, even if she didn’t trust him, the others clearly did.

she only started to trust him, and inevitably start falling for him, after the incident at the Vault. she went mute for a length of time, didn’t give any input to anything and accepted all requests/orders without so much as a nod of her head; she’d just go, do it, show back up with some kind of proof of whatever was required and leave again. everyone tried to get her to go back to how she was before, or at least get her to speak again, but it was like reasoning with a brick wall to move.

at one point, Alphinaud needed Mint to scout the area surrounding the Gubal Library, but he couldn’t find her. she wasn’t in her inn room in Idyllshire, and there were no sightings of her around the Hinterlands; he contacted Aymeric through a linkshell, but none of the guards at any of the gates had so much as seen a glance at her. worried for his friend’s safety more than anything, he enlisted Estinien’s help in finding her, simply because he could cover more ground than most others. estinien already had a fairly good idea of where she was, though, and his hunch wasn’t wrong; she was, once again, at Haurchefant’s grave.

it had been lightly dusting snow at the time, but Mint was covered in what looked like several hours worth from simply sitting there, unmoving. frustrated with it all, Estinien stomped over and picked her up by the fuzzy collar of her top, lifting her to eye level with his visor. “You are needed, Totomi.” she gave a blink of acknowledgement and a small nod, expecting to be put down and given a location. instead the visor on estinien’s mask rose and he was glaring daggers. “You misunderstand. You are needed. Not this fragment of despair that is here right now.”

I used to have this whole scenario written out but it looks like it got lost when I moved computers. Basically he shook her to her senses (both mentally and physically, just wiggling his hand to try and get her to wake up) and it ended with Mint turning into this miserable faucet of tears and hiccups as she babbled out what you’d expect; how he shouldn’t have been the one who die for her poor judgement, that she was a bloody fool and wasn’t worthy of being the warrior of light, etc. Despite being incredibly blunt and calling her a dumbass, Estinien managed to calm her down and make her realize that it wasn’t her fault, and that if time were to rewind and Haurchefant was told what was going to happen, he’d still take the spear for her.

Heavensward goes on as is until the peace trial between Ishgard and Vidofnir, which results in Mint getting fucking pissed and swears to bring Estinien back or kill him to free him of Nidhogg’s possession, because she’s learned that he would prefer to die than let Nidhogg use his body to ruin Ishgard and get revenge. Luckily, it doesn’t come to that thanks to Ysayle and Haurchefant. Mint refuses to leave Estinien’s room after he’s brought to the chirurgin, going so far as to veil a threat or two under a very cheerful demeanor if she’s forced to leave. When he wakes up and notices her, the first thing he gets is a slap to the face followed by copious amounts of swears that would make a Limsan sailor gasp.

After a full recovery, unless the situation calls for either of them to do something, you’d always be able to find Mint basically glued to Estinien’s hip, although he would refer to her as a thorn in his side, “but not one that really needs to be removed.” The story progresses into Stormblood and Mint considers confessing, until the war between Garlemald and Ala Mhigo begins and she realizes “hey, maybe I’ll wait until after this is said and done.” That time doesn’t come, though, due to Zenos being Zenos and the threats from Garlemald still looming in their faces. Nothing really happens during Stormblood because of how busy Mint ends up being.

while it isn’t canon to the opening of shadowbringers, in this ship, Estinien was at the ravine with Biggs/Wedge/Tataru/Mint while they were investigating, and despite his attempt, isn’t able to stop Mint from being pulled to the First. After convincing both Tataru and himself that she’ll be fine because she’s Mint, he goes and fulfills his investigation into the black rose for the scions, using his end of the bargain as an excuse to keep himself busy.

When he returns to inform Tataru of what happened and that he’s done, he’s met by a bombshell of a Lalafell running at him at full speed, launching herself into a hug whether he likes it or not. Even though it was only a few days? weeks? maybe like a month idk the timeline too well to him, it felt like much, much longer to Mint because of how the time passes between worlds, and she once again ends up as a babbling mess. Krile and Tataru give them a few minutes alone because they feel like Mint probably doesn’t want to be seen like this, and she takes the time to confess before he can even open his mouth to welcome her back, “because I didn’t know how long I’d be gone and I missed you and I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to come back and”

after that is some REALLY GUSHY stuff that makes me grin just thinking about because it makes my heart fluffy. Mint now spends all of her time on the Source with Estinien because she’ll be damned if she doesn’t get to make up for the time it felt like she was gone for. Her usual spot is on his shoulder, kind of carried like a sack of potatoes “because it’s comfy.”

[ask-shaofisha]

Ok so, story time. Gods knows how long ago, when I was still sorta dumb and had only a laptop, I once saw Final Fantasy XIV ARR on the shelf of a Best Buy and I thought “ooo, this looks fun” and tried to give it a shot. Little did I know my laptop wasn’t exactly the best thing to run video games. Like at all. With that and having to pay a subscription (which I had no idea how to do or pay for) I ultimately forgot about XIV and left it behind as I continued to find and play games and went on with my life. Never truely knowing or giving the game a proper chance and missing out on, well, everything. To when everyone probably first experienced the Bloody Banquet, when everyone first saw Heavensward, when everyone first got to see then conclusion to the dragonsong war, I missed quite a lot. But, fast forward to about some months ago, a friend of mine got some of my other buddies to look into the game. To which I remembered I actually had an account and whatnot and looked into recovering it (as to not pay for the whole enchilada again). So I got my old account back and with a paying job got to set up a subscription and actually give XIV a shot. Oh, how I began to enjoy the hell out of it! From making the little shy and adventurous cat boi we all know as Shaohao to enjoying the class system of the game to some of the characters I freaking fell in love with as I went on with the story. Needless to say when I bought the other expansions and got into those, it was amazing. It’s how I got into making Shaohao who he is now really from his shy as hell crush and love for Y’shtola to his adaptive and powerful skill in arms. I got to make Shaohao’s story as I experienced it. Now as I was playing through the expansions I set myself up for a preorder to Shadowbringers so I was ready to kick it into the next bit of that story. Beat that around when it came out and stuff, man was it freaking fun going into gunbreaker and kicking sin eater butt. To which brings us to now. I’ve beaten ShB so far and my boi is taking a much needed rest to train and get ready for the next big thing. To think he’s gone through so much in just a bunch of months. So I’ll just up and say what I’ve been meaning to say, I am happy I got to join this community and I look forward to seeing where it goes to next with all of you fellow adventurers

For now here’s a picture of Shaohao with a gift he got that he loves a lot

Have a good one - The mun, Xav

[raven-moon33]

concept

In Journey to the West, nearly every time Sanzang gets captured by demons, it is due to him wholeheartedly believing the half-baked sob stories disguised demons give him while simultaneously ignoring Wukong’s warnings on what these demons really are. (Despite the fact it’s been proven time and again over the course of nearly two decades that Wukong has Sanzang’s back and no reason to lie about demons-in-disguise).

I think (and correct me if I’m wrong here) that it can generally be agreed that even the most gullible and stubborn amongst us would quickly grow to trust Wukong’s judgement on these things by the third or fourth could’ve-easily-been-avoided encounters with bloodthirsty demons.

Now, keeping this in mind, we must also remember that, in order to attain Buddhahood, Sanzang had to undergo 81 tribulations. In fact, many of the group’s misadventures were the direct results of celestial interference in order to ensure Sanzang faced the neccessary number of trials.

Taking both of these facts into account, I would now like to submit before the jury that a conversation along these lines likely occured between Sanzang and the Bodhisattva Guanyin either before or very early on in the journey:

(Guanyin)G: What’s that you’re packing?

(Sanzang)S: This? It’s my long staff. My elders have trained me in the art of self defense so I will be sufficiently prepared for any dangers I may encounter on the long journey ahead of me.

G: Oh, you won’t be needing that. I have arranged it so that you’ll be getting four powerful disciples who will protect you on your journey.

S: That’s very kind of you Bodhisattva, but shouldn’t I be able to defend myself in case I get captured by demons or rogues? I don’t want to be helpless after all.

G: Yeah, about that...You remember that the journey to enlightenment involves overcoming obstacles?

S: ...Yes...?

G: Well, in your case it’s going to take 81 life-or-death type trials, so it’ll make things easier if you just let things happen y’know? So no weapons or self defense for you mister.

S: That...that seems a tad...excessive...must I really undergo 81 trials involving such danger? Is that a prerequisite for all monks looking to become Buddhas?

G: Well no, typically you just have to relinquish all worldly attachments and strive to do good in all things to become a Buddha, but see, I’m looking to redeem a few spirits- your future disciples fyi- and one of them in particular is going to have to save you A LOT in order to redeem himself for his past crimes. :)

S: ??! And who have you chosen to be my disciples exactly??

And, in no particular order, a few more similar conversations/events throughout the journey west:

S: There’s no way in heck I’m eating this chick’s food. She’s clearly a demon and that rice is definitely poison. I better yell for Wukong before Wuneng chokes on his own saliva or Wujing and Bailong try her food-

G: (Speaking directly into his mind) No wait! This is a perfect opportunity!

S: For what??

G: For one of your trials! We have to squeeze a lot of them in, so might as well start early. And this one wasn’t even planned!

S: But Bodhisattva, I’m pretty sure she’s trying to eat me.

G: That’s the idea.

S: ...Are you really trying to help me or were we enemies in a past life?

G: Great just like that. Okay now tell him you want him gone and to never both you or your disciples again.

S: But he’s only trying to protect me!

G: Oh don’t worry, he’ll ‘convince’ you to let him stay. It’ll take at least two more times before he actually leaves.

S: Don’t we need him to stay on the journey??

G: Well of course we do silly! We’ll just give him a few days to realize how he misses you lot and once you, Wujing, and Bailong get captured or immobolized by a demon we’ll send Wuneng back to get him. Wukong learns the power of friendship and Wuneng gets knocked down a peg. Win-win!

S: Is this demon really powerful enough to capture the three of us and make Wuneng desperate enough to beg Wukong for help?

G: Oh not a chance. I’m talking about the other one up the road.

S: WHAT-

S: Oh yeah, random child tied to a tree, supposedly for days yet showing no sign of dehydration or bodily damage. That’s not suspicious or anything.

G: Now Sanzang-

S: I know, I know. 81 tribulations yadda yadda yadda.

G: Atta’ boy! Oh, before I forget, it might be hard tied up and stuff, but could you try to make sure Wukong doesn’t do too much damage to this one? I’m liking the looks of him and think I might want to make him my disciple.

S: ...why- I don’t- WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?

(Wukong)W: Master they’re demons! If you go with them they’ll eat you!

S: (Cringing internally) Now Wukong, how could you say this slander about such honest, hard-working souls?

(Wuneng/Pigsy)P: Yes yes, such kind souls! You should listen to Master, eldest brother. Never could such fine-featured ladies harbor any sinister intentions!

W: But Master they’re tricking you! 

S: (Internal pained sigh) Enough Wukong. I won’t listen to such stories. Go, get us fruit or rice before we leave for today’s travel.

W: But-

P: You heard Master! Go get some food for him!

S: Why do you do this Wuneng? I am THIS CLOSE to whacking you upside the head. This is difficult enough without you antagonizing him, so get your head out of your OH FOR THE LOVE OF BUDDHA QUIT DROOLING! JOURNEY OR NO JOURNEY I WILL SMACK YOU.

S: (Fighting the urge to bang his head into the nearest wall) Wukong how could this elderly woman possibly be a demon?

W: SHE HAS FANGS MASTER! FANGS!

S: She’s already explained about her family’s curse-

W: WHY DO YOU NEVER BELIEVE ME?!

S: Trust me Wukong, this hurts me WAY more than it hurts you.

S: They didn’t even tie the bonds properly. If I wiggle my wrists in a certain way I can probably get them off with no trouble-

G: No Sanzang stay where you are. Wukong’s going to be there soon. 

S: They are debating whether to bake or boil me and escape is literally RIGHT THERE-

G: But I have a thing planned! It’s going to be awesome!

S: (Screams in frustration)

S: (Tied up and hanging from the ceiling with his disciples in similar positions) (Deadpan) Oh wow. They turned out to be demons. Who could’ve possibly seen this coming?

G: Stop it! Do you want your disciples to catch on?

S: OH WELL NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT-

And such is our favorite monk’s life throughout the journey west. :)

BONUS:

(Wujing, Bailong, and Wuneng are currently captured by demons while Sanzang and Wukong are figuring out a plan to rescue them)

W: Master, my brothers’ lives are in danger. I know that you don’t trust me, but-

S: Alright you know what? No. That is it. I’m done with this.

W: Wh-

S: GUANYIN GET DOWN HERE!

W: ...Master, Guanyin is a holy Bodhisattva, you can’t just-

G: (Appears) Sanzang-

S: Oh no, don’t you ‘Sanzang’ me! I’ve been doing this for 13 Buddha-forsaken years! No more!

G: You know how much planning I’ve put into this?

S: I don’t care! I’m sick of playing the idiot!

G: But this was going to produce the perfect amount of angst and character development!

S: Angst?! CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT?! Are you serious?!

G: This story is going to become legend and be passed down for hundreds of generations, we might as well throw in some drama for the younger demographic!

S: YOU’RE PUTTING MY DISCIPLES THROUGH THIS FOR ENTERTAINMENT VALUE??

W: What are you-

S&G, in unison: NOT NOW WUKONG!

(Wukong sits quietly and watches the continuing argument in a mixture of growing confusion, amusement, and anger)

S: I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS MY DISCIPLES ARE IN DANGER!

G: Is that any different than usual?

S: YES because my first disciple THINKS I DON’T TRUST HIM!!

W: Wait, you trust me?

S: Of course I do! I trust you with my life!

W: (With a gobsmacked expression) ...Oh.

S: (Distressed noises) (Gestures frantically at Wukong) Do you see Guanyin?! Do you see what I’ve done to him?!

G: (Relunctantly) Yes but, be that as it may-

S: No! We’re telling him! If you don’t want me to tell the others fine, but he at least deserves to know!

G: Sanzang we can’t just-

W: (Now a little less shell-shock at all the plot twists suddenly developing) Actually...(casually twirling staff with a sharp-toothed grin)...I think you’ll find you can tell me whatever it is you’re hiding. Wouldn’t want me to get bored of this argument and go looking for entertainment elsewhere- (significant glance heavensward) -would we?

G: (Nervous sweat) Well y-yes but your crown-

S: Which can now only be controlled by me. (Raises eyebrow and gives Guanyin a deadpan look) Correct?

G: ...

W: Wait, so you’ve really known right from the start when we’re dealing with a demon? Every single time?

S: It’s not as if any of them even TRIED to be halfway convincing. At least you’ll get into character; most of the demons we’ve encountered don’t even prepare their cover stories before they try fooling us! Quite frankly it’s insulting, even when I’m playing the idiot.

W: So when you take the pig’s word over mine...?

S: DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT TROUBLEMAKING LECHER-

When several days later (after Wukong has rescued the other disciples of course) they come across a beautiful young woman who’s been robbed by a group of bandits, Sanzang is at least able to take comfort in the quick look he shares with Wukong before they listen to her flimsy rambling tale. (And quietly laugh together in the moments they go unnoticed by the others over her very obvious tail).

[draginhikari]

Final Fantasy XIV: Azure and Crimson Section 2: Kari Azuresol, Light Reborn Chapter 6: Rejection and Acceptance, The Path to Heavensward

Once Kari had fully recovered from her injures she began her journey once again.  This time heading towards the snowy lands of Coerthas in the northern lands of Eorzea.  This landscape, held by the Holy See of Ishgard, was transformed by Calamity from a mountainous forest region to a realm of endless ice and snow.  It was in this land where Kari intended to once again meet with the Doman Shinobi, Yugiri Mistwalker.  This time their meeting was less business and more of a personal matter for Kari.  Kari had arranged this get together to accept Yugiri’s previous offer to learn about the Au Ra and her homeland.   Meeting at the Observatorium, in the southeastern corner of the Coerthas Central Highlands, Kari and Yugiri enjoyed a little respite from their individual missions as Yugiri took the time to explain to Kari about the Au Ra people, the land they came from, and the differences between the two clans.  Yugiri brought a map of the east to provide to Kari, which featured both regions of Othard and Hingashi, as well as some eastern tea for Kari to try.   After a rather enjoyable and casual conversation between the two Auri.  Kari decided it was time for her to take the next step forward on her mission.

Kari smiled as she finished her tea as they sat at a table near the stove keeping the room warm, “This stuff is pretty good.  Thank you Yugiri.   Someday, I would like to see it for myself, but for now it’s at least comforting to know where I come from.” Yugiri smiled and nodded to Kari, “Tis a pleasure Kari, I understand that this must all be perplexing for you.   Tis a difficult thing to not know who you are and where you come from for so many years.  Still, I find certain things in your story hard to believe.   I had no idea that Ala Mhigian refugees had made their home on a southern island that is so close to home.”

Kari chuckled, “There isn’t much else to really say about them.  It’s enough to know that the view that Shadros’ people held of me was not the reality.   Spending a lot of years only knowing yourself as a…” Kari paused a moment before continuing, “freak.  It was definitely hard but I feel better about myself these days and that’s all that matters.”  

Yugiri sipped her tea before speaking, “If I may inquire Kari, that blue mark across your eyes? Have you always had it?” Kari ran her hand over part of the face marking for a moment, “Yes, for as long as I could remember.  Why do you ask?” Yugiri thought for a second before she shook her head, “Tis just a curiosity think pray me none.  What course of action will you take now?”

Kari went quiet for a few moments before she said, “I think it’s time I made my presence known to Alphinaud and Tataru.  I had to be certain of my path before I met with them which is why I wanted to talk to you about all this before I went ahead and did so.” Yugiri put her hand to her chest looking down for a moment before looking back at Kari, “If it is your wish.  I have business but if you can wait a time I could accompany you. Would be a simple task to vouch for your words.” Kari chuckled, “I appreciate that, but I’ve already taken up enough of your time so I will do my best to try to convince them on my own.” Yugiri nodded, “If that is your desire, I will return amidst the night and see how you have fare regardless as I worry of them as well.  Till then take care, Kari.”

Kari would part ways with the Doman Ninja glancing northward, “Camp Dragonhead.  Shadros, I’ve finally made it here.  After all this time and after all this struggling, I’m ready to stand with them like you did.”  Kari took a deep breath before she began up the path towards Camp Dragonhead. Fortunately Camp Dragonhead wasn’t all that far away from where she had been staying at the Observatorium.   Kari let her eyes wander some as she arrived at the camp.  So much of Coerthas had such a different feel from the rest of Eorzea.   The realm seemed bleak and desolate not helped by the number of weapons aimed for the sky in preparation for more conflict with the Draconian hordes of Nidhogg.   Kari only knew the basic history surrounding the Dragonsong War, a conflict going for over a millennium between the Holy See and the dragons, but she figured there would be more time to address that at a later date.   Kari found herself standing before the Camp’s headquarters.  Kari glanced inside the headquarters as she made her way inside, “Let’s see if my memory serves, Lord Haurchefant works somewhere in here.  He was the one sheltering them so he probably know where to find them.  I just hope Shadros’ letter is enough to convince him.” Kari would spy the silver haired Elezen working from his desk towards the back of the headquarters.  Haurchefant looked up as Kari approached, though he did a bit of a double take when glancing at Kari’s attire.  Haurchefant regained his composure quickly to greet her. “Welcome to Camp Dragonhead. Please, warm yourself by our hearth.  By the fury, your appearance gave me a bit of a shock, I had been expecting return of a friend who wears a familiar garb not all that different from your own.  Tell me, are a follower of the Warrior of Light? Tis a worthy role model to have in this current day and age.”  Haurchefant said as he stood up gesturing his arms out in a welcoming expression before bring them back down.   Kari chuckled finding something about the man interesting, she could only image how annoyed Shadros must have gotten at the man’s antics.

Kari would raise her hand in greeting “My name is Kari Azuresol and I suppose I am in a manner of speaking, I am a… student… of Shadros Hiku and am here on his behalf.” Haurchefant put his hand to his chin, “A student you claim?  He didn’t seem like the type to keep students.   I must admit curiosity.  Why would he send you when he has no reason not to come himself?” Kari nods and reached into her bag pulling out a letter addressed to Haurchefant specifically, “A lot has happened and it’s a bit complicated.  It might save you some time if I just give you this to read.” Haurchefant would take the letter and look at the outside, “Ah yes, tis definitely Shadros’… unique handwriting.” Kari had to hold back a snort as even Haurchefant seemed to struggle to find nice things to say about Shadros’ penmanship.   Haurchefant began to read over the letter slowly.  Kari saw his expression shift a few different times as he read through the letter as if trying to process what was being said.   Haurchefant rubbed his eyes for a moment as if to collect himself and went silent much to the confusion of some of the other knights.   After about ten minutes or so Haurchefant finally stood back up again with a more serious expression on his face, “I must ask you this Miss Azuresol.  Do you plan on continuing to follow the path that your close friend did?” Kari wasn’t sure why Haurchefant was asking her this, but Kari responded with total honesty, “Yes, absolutely.   It’s exactly what I want to do.” Haurchefant chuckled and extended his arms some, “Splendid!  Tis what I needed to hear from you,” Kari was taken aback by Haurchefant forwardness, “Wait?   That’s all you needed from me?   You aren’t the least bit curious about anything else?” Haurchefant chuckled, “Why would I?   The amount of passion and faith my friend had for you in his letter displayed I hath no reason to do otherwise.   Though I am saddened to hear of the loss of such a noble soul and a dear friend, this is not a time for mourning loss.  Would be disrespectful for me to put my feelings over his noble wishes and see you forward from here as he wished of me.”  

Kari blinked some, “Then you’ll…” Haurchefant replied before she finished her sentence, “Yes, I will permit you to visit with the Scions that are currently here.   I am still waiting to grant them access to Ishgard so this would be a good time to convince them of your case.” Kari bowed, “Thank you, Lord Haurchefant.” Haurchefant chuckled, “Think nothing of it.   Shadros was a dear friend, I consider it my duty to support my friends and those they call friends.  Especially one such as you, who is a sister to him? As such I must consider you the same.” Kari was a little surprised to hear him say that.   Kari could only wonder how different that letter must have been from the others for the knight to reach that particular conclusion.  Haurchefant would leave his desk and escort Kari the ‘Falling Snow’ as he called it where Alphinaud and Tataru were currently residing while they await word from Ishgard.   Haurchefant and Kari would go inside.   Tataru was the first to catch site of them, who was taken aback by Kari’s appearance.  Soon, Alphinaud also turned once his thoughts were broken equally taken aback by the situation.

Alphinaud looked at Haurchefant, “Is something amidst Lord Haurchefant?   Why is this woman dressed up like Shadros?  Is this some unusual Ishgardian custom that I’ve not heard of?” Haurchefant gestured to Kari, “Nay Alphinaud. This is Kari Azuresol, someone who knows Shadros quite well, and she has something of the essence to speak with you about.  I believe it best to hear it from the young lady herself.” Haurchefant would gesture to Kari before he step out of room leaving the three to their privacy.  An awkward silence would pass between the three as if none of them knew what exactly to say.   Kari finally took a deep breath deciding she had to come out clean with the two and explain what really happened.  Her lie of being Shadros’ apprentice was not going to fool someone like Alphinaud anyway.   Kari would start to tell her story beginning with how Shadros had been seeking the Hymn Venom order, the visions, his battle with the Hymn Venom order, and his very fate.

Tataru looked mortified by what she heard, “Shadro is gone too!?  No, we can’t have lost another one.  Not him too.” Alphinaud clutched his fists and glared at Kari, “You think this twisted jest is humorous!?  You expect me to believe such rubbish?   Shadros would not have kept these kind of secrets from his allies like this!” Alphinaud voice escalated and became angrier as he raised his tone, “After all we’ve be through you dare come here and speak such lies?   We have been harmed enough by deception and I won’t be deceived by you here!” Kari looked stunned trying to find her words, “But I’m…. not lying… I’ve got Shadros’…” Alphinaud knocked a glass off the table causing it to shatter which stunned Tataru as such an outburst was unlike him, “Enough, I do not know wherever you came from or what kind of game you are playing at but you have no friends here.   Be gone from our sight, Kari Azuresol, and never show yourself before us again!”  Kari froze for a moment before closing her eyes some, this wasn’t how she expected this to go.   Even if she provided Shadros’ letter now, it wasn’t likely Alphinaud would believe it.   Kari turned around and left the two alone.  

Kari returned back to cafeteria at the headquarters sitting down at one of the tables putting her head down as grumbled to herself, “This is not how this was supposed to go at all.”

Haurchefant sat across from her after a short time, “I take it that things did not go accordingly with Master Alphinaud?” Kari groaned, “No, it was an utter disaster. He wouldn’t listen to anything I said.” Haurchefant put his arms on the table looking at Kari, “Do not distress my lady, you must forgive Master Alphinaud and be relentless in your pursue.   He has been through many difficulties since the fall of the Crystal Braves and learning of Shadros’ fate liken to worsen such things.   I am certain you will convince him in due time once he given himself some time to calm.”  Before Kari could answer him as a knight of the camp approached Haurchefant and he was force to raise a hand to Kari to give him a moment, “Speak, you seem to be in distress.”

The knight said, “My Lord, the tower just spotted an attack by dragons on a supply caravan heading here from the city!  It’s utter chaos!” Haurchefant stood up, “Gather whatever units that are not currently off duty, we shall make haste!”   Haurchefant turned to Kari, “Forgive me Kari, I must see to this situation but perhaps may we talk more once this dire situation has passed. Try to keep your spirits up, Kari.” Haurchefant would go at this point.  Kari simply remained silent and put her head back down.   She wondered for a moment if she should have offered to help but she really wasn’t in the mood at the moment.   Kari simply dozed off for a short time.   Kari would snap awake when she hear a woman scream outside of the Headquarters.   Kari quickly ran outside as she heard people screaming something about dragons. Once outside, Kari caught sight of a Wyvern that was attacking the base with a small group of minor dragons. Kari glanced around, “The caravan attack must have been a diversion with the bulk of Haurchefant’s forces out the rest decided to strike at the base!”  The remaining guards were doing the best they could and other adventurers that were in the area also provided back-up to the camp.  Kari turned as the Wyvern dove down towards a few children had fallen in the snow while attempting to flee.  Kari quickly ran forward drawing the Aegis Shield to block the razor sharp talons of the Wyvern. The children looked up, fearful and stunned at Kari.  Kari shouted at them, “Don’t just sit there like a lump get to safety!”  The children would run away as the Wyvern shrieked at Kari and gritted her teeth as the wyvern swooped down at her.   Kari managed to get a slash on the wyvern wing as she moved out of the way.  Though not with enough damage to knock it out of the air.   The swoop was nothing more than a distraction by the Wyvern as several lower dragons, known as Dragonflies, descended upon Kari forcing her to content with them first.   The biting and scratching of the lower dragons were little direct threat to Kari’s heavy armor but her focus on them meant she couldn’t watch the Wyvern very closely as it slammed into Kari throwing her into the wall. Kari let out a gasp as she made contact with the wall.

Alphinaud’s Amber Carbuncle took down another dragonfly that were attacking the anti-dragon weaponry on the upper levels of the base, “Another one down, there appears to be no end to this.   Hm?” Alphinaud turned to see the Wyvern approaching Kari on the lower wall, “What in the name of the gods is she doing?  Watch out!” Kari snapped back to focus as she thrust the shield to smack the Wyvern in the face when it got too close to her with its jaws, “I’m far from done arsehole!” The Wyvern stumbled back taking to the air, lurching its head back, and released a burst of fire in Kari general direction. Kari gritted her teeth in frustration, her anger reaching a peak as she shouted, “I’m not done!  Not by a long shot!”  A spark shot through the Excalibur and Aegis as she went to defend with her shield.   Alphinaud thought Kari had snapped and completely lost her mind.   However, the flames seem to spread around her rather than going through her as Alphinaud expected as another light formed within the fiery spread.   When the wyvern’s attack dispersed, Kari stood back up slowly.   The Excalibur and Aegis were now glowing with a new energy, for the first time since Kari had taken hold of Shadros’ weapon she had finally tapped into the true power of the Zodiac Braves and unleashed their full power that Shadros had originally obtained. Alphinaud was taken aback by what he just saw, “That sword and light pattern, Shadros’ sword had the same effect.  Then that weapon isn’t a replica at all!  It’s a real Zodiac Brave!?”   Kari walk slowly towards the wyvern with a serious glare on her face.  She was entirely focused, she was not hesitating, and she was entirely in control of the power flowing through her.   The wyvern shrieked and attempted to charge Kari again but she moved to the side slashed through a chuck of the wyvern’s wing this time when it passed by her.    Causing the Wyvern to clumsily stumble out of sky and crash into the wall a complete reversal of the situation from a few moments ago.  The Wyvern roared angrily and began release balls of fire in Kari direction.   Kari began to run towards the Wyvern strafing from side to side dodging the fireballs as she moved forward as if she were able to see the path of the attacks a second before they were coming towards her.   Alphinaud continued to watch the scene play out, not believing what he was seeing, “These movements they seem similar to the manifestation of the Echo that Shadros used.  Is it possible?   Was Kari speaking truth?”   Kari reached the wyvern shouting some as the Wyvern lunged towards Kari. Kari dodged to the side growling, “Spirits Within!” The light around the Excalibur intensified as Kari thrusted the blade through the side of the Wyvern’s head.   For a moment, Alphinaud swore he saw Shadros. It wasn’t the case it was just her stance, her attack method, and her power seemed extremely similar to Shadros’ own, too much to be a coincidence.  The wyvern’s eyes widen for a split second before the wyvern flopped down to the ground.  Kari drew her sword from the Wyvern’s head panting heavily as she recover from the sudden adrenaline rush.   Kari glanced down at her sword, “I did it, the Zodiac Brave’s power has finally awoken for me.   Shadros, I did it…” Kari groaned as she slid to the ground, “I hope it’s not always going to be this draining to do.” With the Wyvern down the lesser dragons would begin to scatter or were easily taken down by the knights still at the base.

Haurchefant returned to the base with his men to wrap the situation up.   Haurchefant personally defending Kari from a few stranglers going after her.  Afterward, Haurchefant turned his gaze to Kari and the Wyvern, “Ah, my friend it seems I left you to clean up an unintended mess, my apologies.”

Kari groaned some, “Can’t talk… recovering…” Haurchefant chuckled some, “Of course my friend, as I suspected you have just much spirit as Shadros did and the ferocity to boot to take a Wyvern that large single handedly.  Thank you, my friend, you likely saved a few lives by choosing to get involved like you did.”  

“I must admit my impression as well,” Kari turned to see Alphinaud approaching the two, “I assumed you merely a charlatan but based on your actions just now it appears my initial judgments may have been on the… hastily side.”  Kari just looked at Alphinaud unable to speak much yet.   Alphinaud looked to her, “When you are ready.  Come back to room, I will here you out again.   I want to understand fully what has happened with an open mind.  You’ve earn that much today.” Alphinaud would return to the chambers at this point.   Kari just seemed kind of surprised as she stood back up putting her sword and shield back in their place.

Haurchefant chuckled some, “Well, my friend, it seems you now have a second chance to make your case.   Alphinaud seemed to be in a better mood now so I wouldn’t waste your opportunity here.” Kari nodded, “Right.”

Kari would return to the chamber with Alphinaud and Tataru.  She would retell her story and fill in some of the gaps she left out in the story earlier. Once Kari had finished her story she reached into her bag and revealed the final letter from Shadros and provided it to Alphinaud who would sit down and read through the letter carefully.

Alphinaud and Tataru,

If you are reading this letter it means that my personal mission to end the Hymn Venom Order has failed and I have fallen.  

I owe you all an apology.   It was never my intention to hide so many secrets from the Scions but I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt in my private matters.  In the end I was not strong enough it seems to fulfill the role I was given.  The truth is the power I held was not originally mine to wield in the first place but rather was a combination of circumstance and my close friendship of the young woman who has likely handed you this letter.  The manifestation of the Echo I wielded was Kari’s soul united for a time as a result of a horrible tragedy.   Kari gave me an extension on my life and with her help I would become the Warrior of Light that you would know me as, together we became unstoppable.   However, it was simply not meant to be. Whatever boundaries we broke, the power of the echo needed to be properly restored.

Please, do not blame Kari for what has happened to me.   She tried to stop me from pursing her but I would not listen. I could not ignore the guilt I had for allowing all this to transpire and followed what my heart was telling me to do.   Whether successful or not I had to try to resolve this issue with my own hands.  This was greatly selfish of me and I do it knowing so.   However, I did not do so recklessly and believe Kari will want to continue where I left off.   Kari is young and inexperienced, this much is true.   However, Kari possess a potential that could easily surpass my own but only if she has the guidance to lead her down the right path.   I have left Kari my memories, my experiences, and my Zodiac Brave.   She has gone far and wide to seeking those that could help her learn and knowing her she has now come before you far different person then how I left her.   Yet still, she has much left to learn.

My final request of you, my friends.   Please accept Kari among you, let her grow, change, and become the person she always wanted to be.   She will be the Warrior of Light you all have been truly waiting for.  I truly believe that.

P.S. – Alphinaud please give my regards to your sister and… I am sorry that I failed to keep my promise to her too.  

Sincerely,

Shadros Hiku Alphinaud sat quietly for several minutes re-reading the letter from Shadros a few times.   Before he finally stood up again looking at Kari, “Tell me Miss Azuresol, what is it that you want to do?” Kari looked at Alphinaud answering him like she had earlier in the day to Haurchefant, “I wish to continue where my friend left off.   I want to help his friends, clear his name, and continue protect my new home here in any way I can.  I want the power to be able to do that.” Alphinaud tilted his head moving his hands to his chin in thought, “There is a certain sincerity in the words you speak but I am still uncertain on whether to believe them or not.”  Kari frowned but the door would open again and a voice would speak out as it did. “Perhaps my words, Master Alphinaud, would settle your doubts,” Yugiri stepped in along with, surprisingly Aya.

Alphinaud turned to Yugiri slightly stunned, “You know of this Lady Yugiri?” Yugiri nods, “I do.   This woman is Aya, she is a shinobi I recommended to Shadros when he was seeking help with his personal matters with the Hymn Venom Order.   Shadros had also spoken to me on the matter on a number of occasions.” Alphinaud said, “And you decided not to inform us on such matters?” Yugiri said, “It seemed unnecessary as though I did not understand what he meant and he requested me to stay silent on the matter.  After all Shadros had done, I feel he deserved at least that level of respect.   Though I not know to the extent of his plans.   He inquired of my race and his connection to a girl he had seen in his vision.  He descripted to me a young woman of Kari’s appearance.  He could list nearly every feature to me as if she were standing before me.   Shadros requested that if something went wrong that I could provide him a trinket to help me identify her if she escaped the order.  That is exactly what transpired and why I did not hesitate for a moment to help Kari find her way.  Aya has agreed to step forward and speak on the validity of the story and confirm the nature of Kari’s character”.  Kari was a little surprised by that, that Aya would stick her neck out for her so easily. Aya bowed slightly, “Master Alphinaud, I have been with Kari since she first appeared several weeks back and I was the one who worked with Shadros on his personal mission.   I found the information on the Hymn Venom Order, accompanied Shadros to investigate the information and was the last to see him before his disappearance where he gave me a key to his belongings to give to a girl matching Kari’s description when she appeared before me.  Whether you fully believe my story or not, Kari has already proven her worth on more than one occasion.   Not only has she progressed in power faster than anyone I’ve seen.   She unselfishly engaged in a battle she did not have to and saved a group of young women from abuse, manipulation, and assault. She even defeated a notorious criminal single handedly.  She’s still a little bit green around the gills that’s for sure, but she bravely stood against a criminal far more experienced and powerful then she was and still managed to come out on top.   I would trust Kari with my life at this point and there are about a dozen young women that could say the same.”  Aya handed Alphinaud small stack of papers.   Kari couldn’t tell what they were but with the different handwriting they appeared to be testimonials from different people.   The entire thing just surprised Kari even more.   Did Aya really do all this for her? Alphinaud listened and gestured to two shinobi, “I will take your council into consideration.”  Aya would bow again and prepared to leave giving Kari a wink and her usual smirk dropping her polite act for a moment before she left. �� Alphinaud was quiet for a few more minutes. Tataru looked at Kari then at Alphinaud, “Alphinaud, I think I’m more then convinced, I think we should give her a chance.” Alphinaud stated, “Given the circumstances of our current predicament to turn down willing help would be a perplexing choice for sure.” Alphinaud looked back at Kari, “Miss Azuresol, you do understand that we walk a difficult path and that there is no guarantee of success in any sense of the word.   Is that a risk you are willing to take?” Kari chuckled and gestured towards Alphinaud, “If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be putting myself through all this right now.   I need to live for both Shadros and myself now.   I don’t plan on giving up.” Alphinaud finally let a small smile show, “Very well, Miss Azuresol, then I will allow you to accompany us to Ishgard and will expect you to demonstrate your words on the trials ahead.   Understand, I am still hesitant to entirely trust you.  If your words are true however, I hope to be free of such hesitation soon enough.” Kari crossed her arms and nods, “That’s all I can ask and I prefer that anyway.   Though I do have one request.” Alphinaud seemed a bit surprised, “And that would be?” Kari squinted her nose in annoyance and stated, “No more of this Miss Azuresol stuff all right?   My name is Kari okay?  The formalities give me a headache.”

Alphinaud was taken aback as if he wasn’t expecting her to be so forward, “Yes, of course.   My apologies.  Very well, Kari.”

Tataru approached Kari and held out a linkpearl for her, “Welcome aboard, Kari.”  Kari would take the linkpearl with a slight smile.  Kari had actually done it, after so much work she was finally on the way to starting her mission.

Alphinaud stated, “We still awaiting official word from Lord Haurchefant on when we can enter Ishgard. Once that time arrives we will contact you on the linkpearl.   Once we contact, you please make haste as we will not be able to wait upon you for long.” Kari chuckled, “Very well, don’t worry you won’t be waiting up for me.”  Tataru would clap some and Yugiri would nod to Kari before she too left the scene.  Haurchefant provided Kari a bed in the barracks to stay for the night.   The following morning Kari rose and grumbled as she wrapped her arms around herself, “Sheesh, another cold morning.” She reached for the Paladin Soul Crystal to get her armor on as quickly as she could before she stood up and walked outside noticing that the weather was actually calm this morning.   Kari decided to take a walk and she made her way to the west from Camp Dragonhead.   Kari would stop as she turned towards the Gate of Judgement that lead towards the City-State of Ishgard stopping for a moment looking towards the magnificent and ancient city in the distance. There was something impressive about the city, yet she had a feeling of dread when she looked upon it for reasons she could not directly explain.   A burst of aetheric energy released as Midgardsormr suddenly appeared alongside her again.   Kari looked towards the ancient Wyrm for a moment before turning back to the city.   She didn’t even have to ask him why he was here.   Midgardsormr gave a monotonous chuckle as he spoke, “Heh Heh Heh.  Thou thinkest sanctuary lieth beyond?  Delusion. Despair.  Death.  Thou shalt find naught else here.”  Kari expression grimaced some as she heard Midgardsormr’s words.   She would normally have questioned the ramblings of the Wyrmking but for whatever reason she believed his words on that matter. Midgardsormr would soon disappear and Kari turned back to make her way to Camp Dragonhead.   Kari stopped a short distance from the camp looking towards some cliffs near the camp feeling like she was being watched for a moment but saw nothing.   Kari shrugged some wondering if she was just hearing things before she continued towards the camp.  Upon leaving a figure stepped forth, the Azure Dragoon of Ishgard, Estinien Wyrmblood.   Estinien glanced down at the Eye of Nidhogg he was carrying that seemed to have lead him to this place.

“The eye reacts to a third?   No, that is impossible.   This feeling is familiar, tis like the day Shadros Hiku first appeared before me.  That woman was dressed like him as well.”  Estinien looked down at the eye again, “What is the connection?  No matter.   I will find out one way or another.” Estinien leapt off up to a higher cliff as another snow storm masked his exit.  

Kari shielded her eyes as she glanced upward to the stormy skies when she arrived back at Camp Dragonhead, “This is only the beginning of my struggle… isn’t it Shadros?”  The Scion linkpearl would go off and Kari would take it out and look at it, “It’s time…” Kari would begin to make her way back to the room where Alphinaud and Tataru awaited her arrival.  Kari’s journey as the new Warrior of Light had just begun.

To preserve the dawn’s light the Heroes journeyed north.  Their hearts filled with hope and eyes fixed Heavensward!

End of Section 2: Kari Azuresol, Light Reborn

Section 2 - Chapter 5: Duty Commenced! Life or Death Dance upon the Silver Waves

Final Fantasy XIV: Azure and Crimson Complete  

Section 3 - Chapter 1: Azure Dragoon and Iceheart (Coming Soon)

[xmimiteh]

How to get your Yellow Gatherer’s Scrip easily

Again it seems like the easiest way to farm Yellow Gatherer’s Scrips in Stormblood is via fishing. This is something the amazing @nightmaze (Ilwe’s tumblr is always a place for awesome guides and stuff) told me back in Heavensward. And so after hitting level 70 I looked if there was a similar way and it seems like it is even easier with fishingthan in Heavensward!

I am not sure if this is the easiest or fastest way. But it worked for me quite well and it is the only way I farm Yellow Gatherer’s Scrips at the moment. By now I got my main weapon already replaced, my torso and my head slot.

So what is different this time? Spearfishing! This means you do not need any bait. So the only investment you have to make is into repairing your gear. Also there is no time window you need to be in. You can farm it in your own time and how you want it. So it is less stressful than being on a particular time schedule. This works really well for me.

I used my complete Ironworks Gatherer’s Gear (fully melded) from 60 and did not need to upgrade any of it for this approach. Sadly I am not sure about the exact minimum requirements for Gathering and Perception.

When I did this first my stats were:

Gathering: 741

Perception: 631

But you probably do not need this much to get. With a Perception of at least 505 you can activate some Swimming Shadows which are making your chances on higher quality (and thus higher collectables) better. So I think with around 505 Perception you should be safe getting Yellow Gatherer’s Scrips from this.

First you will get my “too long did not read” summary if you are in a hurry. But under the cut you will find my little step to step guide with some explanations and screenshots for your easy first Yellow Gatherer’s Scrip - with hopefully enough Gathering and Perception to have chance at it.

Hopefully you can understand my English. Keep in mind: I am no native speaker,

tl;dr summary:

Catch Thousandfang for Yellow Gatherer’s Scrips.

You find them in the Kobayashi Maru in the Ruby Sea (39, 6.5).

Remember to activate your “Collect” skill to gather Collectables.

Activate “Truth of the Oceans” to see the Swimming Shadows.

Change your Gig Head to small.

Gather 10 Bashful Batfishes in the Kobayashi Maru to spawn the Swimming Shadows.

Use “Veteran Trade” once after catching Sea Lamps to speed it up.

Swim to the Swimming Shadows and start Spearfishing. Here you are going to find the Thousandfangs.

Change your Gig Head to large.

Use “Veteran Trade” once after catching Mitsuriku Shark to speed it up.

Use “Calm Waters” to get additional attempts on Thousandfangs.

You need minimum a collectability of 837, but get the maxium out of it for 964 collectability.

Do not get disheartened when catching below 837. This happens. It is RNG. Next Swimming Shadows will probably be better. And you can spawn those on and on and on without any time window.

Tight lines! Or better ... tight gig heads ... or so.

So what fish is it we want to fish for Yellow Gatherer’s Scrip? 

Thousandfang! 

(click >link< for more information)

Why? Because of this:

If you get the lowest Collectability it seems like not so much. But it can get real high and I was able to catch in one Swimming Shadows up to five Thousandfangs which give me 38 Yellow Gatherer’s Scrips. That is a pretty good quota to me. Yes, sometimes you get a low collectability, but I also got a lot of the higher ones. I have been doing this for a little less than a week each evening and already replaced the three most expensive gear pieces.

So, where do we have to go to start?

The Ruby Sea!

More specifically the Kobayashi Maru.

(>click<)

Yes, that Kobayashi Maru in Eorzea - not the one from Star Trek, which would be weird anyway.

Do not forget to activate your collectable gathering skill:

It can be quite frustrating catching a fish which would have been a good collectable, but it is only HQ. So do not be me! You need “Collect” activated to gather the collectables!

Also you need to activate Truth of Oceans:

If you forget “Truth of Oceans” it is not the world’s end. But you need it in the end. It is obligatory to see the Swimming Shadows in which you are going to find the Thousandfang.

Before you can fish the Thousandfang you have to discover it’s fishing spot (it is called “Swimmig Shadows”!). This happens by gathering 10 Bashful Batfishes. After this the Swimming Shadows will appear (usually a little south of you).

So much for the background. Back to my step by step approach.

First you need to use the small gig for your spearfishing at the Teeming Waters and the Bashful Batfishes. This is done by activating this skill:

Then a window pops up and you select the left gig head. This is important as you catch other fishes this way and we need to get the range for the small Gig head! Why? I am going to explain it a little further down.

After this you dive into the Kobayashi Maru and head to a Teeming Waters and start spearfishing.

One recommendation for spearfishing in general: Though you use “Gig” when the bubbles spawn right after you click on the Teeming Waters some bubbles will spawn as well - and those do not work. Wait a moment and only after those first bubbles you can spearfish properly. I fall for those first bubbles some times when too sleepy or not paying attention.

This is the fish you want to see: Bashful Batfish. (>click<)

Not this: Sea Lamp.

But here comes the beauty of gathering for Thousandfangs: In this Teeming Waters you can only get these two fishes with the Small Gig Head! Why is this important? Because you have “Veteran Trade”.

If you use this skill the fish you gathered before that will not appear in this Teeming Waters. And since these are the only two fishes you can collect here, you will always gather a Bashful Batfish after that. So if you want to get to you Thousandfang Teeming Waters quicker you just need to use Veteran Trade. It will count for this complete Teeming Waters!

Usually I use it only, when I get the Sea Lamp in the first fishing attempt. If I miss the first fish or it is already a Bashful Batfish I do not use it at all and save the GP for later use. It is up to you and your usage of GP. Cordials help here of course.

As soon as you have collected 10 Bashful Batfishs a new fishing spot appears and Swimming Shadows (>click<) will spawn.

There are several messages which show your progress until you have reached this:

With the bashful batfish caught, you sense further movement in the shadows.

With the bashful batfish caught, the swimming shadows intensify.

With the bashful batfish caught, the swimming shadows begin to take shape!

The shadow of an elusive sea creature lurks somewhere nearby!

You recognize the new fishing spot by the slash underneath the fish.

Also a bonus point for the Thousandfang is that these Swimming Shadows are usually rather near. If you would have gone hunting for the Swimming Shadows in Yanxia the way is longer. But we are hunting Thousandfangs in the Ruby Sea, because we are lazy people!

So now we have to change our Gig Head to large. This is again important!

After that we swim to the new Swimming Shadows:

Here you just need to start spearfishing.

I recommend to wait for your GP being full again. If you do not want to wait, use a Cordial.

Once again in this fishing spot are only two fishes! 

So if you get this Mitsuriku Shark above, just use “Veteran Trade” again and you will always get a Thousandfang for this Swimming Shadows.

But keep in mind that you can turn in Mitsuriku Sharks also for Red Gatherer’s Scrips with a minimum collectability of 819. So if you want to collect Red Gatherer’s Scrips this is also a possibility.

Yet we are here for the Yellow Gatherer’s Scrips! So we want to get the Thousandfang.

But the minimum collectability for it is 837. Above 964 is perfect. So here the FF14 RNG again can hit you very hard. But I feel like it is way easier and less annoying than collecting as Botanist or Miner or fishing the conventional way.

Also another recommendation: If you have used “Veteran Trade” and will get only Thousandfangs in this Teeming Waters, you might consider using “Calm Waters” as this will grant you another attempt at catching a Thousandfang.

There are some Swimming Shadows which make your chance on catching higher quality better.

Here I strongly recommend using “Calm Waters” as I always get the maximum collectability for nearly every Thousandfang when fishing in these.

Now rinse and repeat or report back to Rhalgr’s Reach to turn those fishes in.

So this is it. I hope it was understandable and will help you to get your Yellow Gatherer’s Scrips easy and less frustrating.

If you got any questions or anything was unclear, just ask and I try to answer. Though keep in mind I am no theorycrafter and this is just something I learned with try and error myself. So there might not be much number crunching behind it. It was just a lucky of me to stumble upon this approach.

Also if you do not know how to spearfish, just say so. I assume everybody knows how to do it basically.

Tight lines!

[fairasmorninglight]

Chooser of the Slain ----------------------------- Dietrich Dracht sighs. "We don't cheat people out of gil. We ask for donations to help those in need, and to help with peoples' souls." He sighs. "Anyroad. I /was/ asked to meet someone. Don't know them yet. Would you mind coming along?" Dietrich Dracht looks around when he's wandered into the center of the hostelry. "Hmm. Let's see. We're looking for a woman from Eorzea." Ciel Grayve: "You might find a few such women about, of late, sir," she smiles.  "Incidentally, I was waiting for someone." Dietrich Dracht was just about to elaborate: "Miss Gravy or so-" His head then turns and his expression shifts into a wide grin as he spreads his arms and speaks with an Ul'dahn accent: "You must be my letter-writing friend!" Dietrich Dracht: "Please permit me to introduce myself formally. Dietrich Dracht, Almoner of Ul'dah, second son of the Apothecary of the same name. And with me is my dearest Bex'li, scion to a powerful Alchemical Emporium of his own, though I believe he has modestly bode me to forgo a lengthy introduction." Ciel Grayve very lightly, gently, clears her throat, "Grayve... aye, that would be me.  My apologies for asking for one of your qualifications all the way out here, in this fascinating new land, but 'twas an afterthought on my part, I'm afraid."  She rises to bow to both gentlemen in greeting, "A pleasure to meet you both. Thank you for coming."

Bex'li Nelhah was eyeing the counter wondering if there was food to be had. Ciel Grayve, smiling at Bex'li: "I shall hopefully not take up too much of your time." Bex'li Nelhah looks back to Ciel suddenly. "Oh hello! Nice hat!" Dietrich Dracht smiles. "It is my pleasure. The spiritual well-being of the locals seems well tended to already by... faiths other than those involving the Twelve." He makes a pious gesture. "To serve one such as yourself would be... my duty and pleasure."

Ciel Grayve reaches up to pinch the brim of her hat delicately with the tips of her fingers, "Thank you! Another for my ever growing collection."  Her attention shifts back to Dietrich, "Very well.  I'm only here on a temporary basis, in part to assist the East Aldenard Trading Company, but I'll be returning to Eorzea within the next few suns to aid the Flames in Gyr Abania.  I had thought, just last morning, to assemble an appropriate tribute to bring with me.  I'd ask you to bless this thing for me." Bex'li Nelhah glances at DD for a moment then looks back to Ciel. Dietrich Dracht smiles. "Oh, I see. Well that explains how you got my contact information. I came here through contacts who know the local people here in the Company. Anyroad. I'll be happy to bless your trinket." He nods sagely. Ciel Grayve nods.  Without another word of explanation just yet, the lady picks up a full quiver of arrows from the bench upon which she had seated herself, wrapped in clean, soft cloth.  She unwraps the quiver, filled with twenty and four arrows, one of which she draws and holds out with both hands for Dietrich and Bex'li to examine if they wish to.  On the shaft is inscribed a name which may very well be Ala Mhigan. Dietrich Dracht looks the arrows over with a slight frown of concentration. Giving the impression at least that he had a notion of what he was looking at. Bex'li might know better. "These are fine arrows", he declares with an appreciative rumble. He looks at Bex'li to see if he had anything to add. Ciel Grayve: "Every arrow bears the name of an Ala Mhigan refugee who fled his or her home years ago, and never saw an opportunity to return home before passing into Thal's realm.  In this way, and with your blessing, I can carry them in spirit." Bex'li Nelhah looks to the arrows with a blank look til it was explained. He smiles at Ciel at the explanation. Dietrich Dracht looks a little skittish a moment before that smile papers over his expression again. "Very well. Would you like me to say prayers over them now? A premium blessing with the right regalia and blessed water would be better if you wish Divine Support in having these strike true." Ciel Grayve smiles in return, nodding, "I can wait for a proper blessing, it needn't be right this moment.  There is a price, I've no doubt, gil is no object." Bex'li Nelhah leaves Dietrich to his blessing and religious stuff, remaining quiet, just listening for the moment. Dietrich Dracht nods. "I'll go get my regalia from the room where I am staying momentarily. Though would it be alright if we had a bite to eat first? I saw Bex'li here looking over the fish - the sushi - with a longing glint." He smiles. "And there would be a religious donation involved. A sacrifice. As well as minor fees for the material components." Bex'li Nelhah smiles at Dietrich. "I can wait. It's fine." Dietrich Dracht looks at Bex'li. "Are you sure? Hmm." Ciel Grayve grins at the request for food, as well as the request for donations and materials, "Aye, take your time.  I can attest, the food here is well worth a try, you're bound to enjoy it.  Father," or whichever honorific Nald'thal priests go by, "pray let me know what you need of me, and I'll have it waiting when you're ready to proceed." Bex'li Nelhah nods. "Of course. I'm fine. Do your thing." He gestures vaguely. He looks to Ciel then. "I've tried it. I love the food here." Ciel Grayve: "...Though I must admit the wasabi is a little spicier than my palate but 'tis a fine experience." Dietrich Dracht nods. "From you, miss Grayve, I only need the gil and a quiet location. The hostelry might not be ideal for a foreign religious ceremony." He smiles, then hastily adds: "And of course, er, for your intentions to be true. Though I have little doubt of that." Ciel Grayve: "Then there is the Rakusei garden to the south, which is one of the quieter places I've found.  And I'm a devoted follower of the Twelve, you've no need to worry of my sincerity." Dietrich Dracht nods. "That would work well", he agrees. "Actually, Bex, might I, er, draft you into assisting me? I performed this ceremony before and there was a lot of hassle rummaging around in my bag. And you are a pious follower of the Twelve. Pious altar boy even." Bex'li Nelhah glances back to Dietrich quickly. "What? Oh..sure it's..um...it's been a while since I was an altar boy." He laughs. Dietrich Dracht nods. "Right! So this is what I propose. I will head back to my chamber to grab the requisite items and head to the Rakusei garden. Perhaps you could escort the lady there? And afterwards I'll buy you some dinner of your choosing. Fish." Ciel Grayve holds out a hand to reclaim the one arrow she gave them to look over, intent on returning it to the quiver with its kin.  "Ah, no need for an escort.  I'll wait for you both there." Dietrich Dracht nods. "Splendid." He hands the arrow back. Ciel Grayve: "Then I shall see you both shortly." Dietrich Dracht smiles. "Wonderful", he says. Then he heads out to change clothes! Ciel Grayve waves to Dietrich and Bex'li, "That was quick. Will this place serve?" Dietrich Dracht adjusts the cone so that it is standing up straight, then gestures subtly for Bex'li to go and stand beside Ciel, in front of him. "It will", he says. Bex'li Nelhah does so, carrying a large sack of...whatever Dietrich put in it. Dietrich Dracht smiles faintly. "Let us pray." Dietrich Dracht casts his eyes heavensward as he addresses Nald'thal: "Blessed Brothers. We beseech thee, let us earn our daily bread… and let us pay our debts, as we expect our debtors to pay us back in turn." He lifts up his right hand, an open palm facing towards the Heavens: "Grant us virtue and prosperity in our living years…" and then lifts up the open palm of his left hand, balancing his posture: "... and allow us to take our belongings from this world into the hereafter. And into the lives beyond." Dietrich Dracht returns his gaze to the people in front of him. Ciel Grayve had her head bowed during the prayer of course, and the hat removed. Upon conclusion of the prayer, she nods, opening her eyes, "In Nald'Thal's name, may it be so." Bex'li Nelhah closed his eyes and bowed his head for the prayer then reopened them at the end. Dietrich Dracht echoes those words. Then he asks of Bex'li: "May I have the book please?" It was one of the items he'd put in the sack, apparently.  The priest is quick to hold out his hand. Bex'li Nelhah opens the sack and digs around. After a moment he grabs the book and pulls it free, handing it over to Dietrich. Ciel Grayve has the quiver belt draped on her arm as well, waiting in case Dietrich wished to have each of the arrows removed. Dietrich Dracht takes a hold of the tome that is marked with the sign of a balance. He has to page through it a little bit, suggesting he might not know the text by heart. Finally he finds the passage he was looking for, though, and he begins to intone, "And the wise man said that courage is merely a special kind of knowledge. It is the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. The mightiest warrior may feel his heart pound as the fires of war draw closer. Even the healer’s hands may shake before they draw into flesh to cut away the rot. To have courage is not to be free of such things, but to find the wisdom in yourself to overcome them." Dietrich Dracht looks up. Apparently that was the entire reading! Bex'li might be used to him droning on for longer. Much longer! Bex'li Nelhah was probably glaring at the Garlean Embassy. his attention snaps back to Dietrich when he finished, blinking a little in surprise. Dietrich Dracht offers the book to Bex'li and asks: "May I have the blessed water, please?" As if this were a trade. Ciel Grayve nods slowly, finding the passage appropriate to the request.  The task before her, and many others would require courage, and it would be shared with those with whom she both carries, and those who walk with her. Bex'li Nelhah takes the book and struggles a bit with a sack and a book and to look for the water, so shoves the book under his arm and kneels down going through the sack. After a moment he finds a small container of water and holds it up to him. Dietrich Dracht smiles. "Thank you." He then looks over to Ciel: "Please present the bundled arrows and then join me in prayer, Miss." Ciel Grayve slips her arm through the loop on the quiver in such a way that she's able to remove the arrows contained therein, and presents them forward across both palms to Dietrich as though she's already holding something precious and sacred.  Another nods signals she is ready, and willing to participate in the prayer. Dietrich Dracht closes his eyes as he leads Ciel (and Bex'li?) in prayer, holding firm to the container but not opening it: "Oh Twelve, granted us the strength to overcome our enemies. Mercifully accept our humble prayer. Send your blessings upon these arrows." Bex'li Nelhah bows his head again. Ciel Grayve bows her head with eyes closed with the blessing proceeding, not so familiar as he or Bex'li with the right words, perhaps unsure of when to speak or add to it. Dietrich Dracht then opens his eyes and sprinkles blessed water on the arrows, intoning while he does so: "Oh Twelve, let your blessing come down on and remain upon these arrows and those who carry it, for the protection of your Truth. Give to them power and strength that it may protect the peoples of Eorzea, the poor and the widows, and your creation in this world. Make them horrible and terrible to any enemy, and grant victory to your people for your glory, for you are our strength and protection and unto you do we send up praise and glory." Ciel Grayve: "By the Light and Will of the Twelve, may it be so," she intones calmly, following the splash of holy water on the arrows which, in turn, graces her palms. Bex'li Nelhah quietly studies  Ciel for a moment. Dietrich Dracht smiles and closes the container of blessed water, offering it to Bex'li. "Would you like to receive a token of the personal protection of the Gods as well, for a small additional fee?" Bex'li Nelhah takes the water and puts it in the sack. Ciel Grayve gently returns the now blessed arrows to the quiver and wraps it to protect them until they're needed.  "Thank you both for your service," she smiles.  A small pause is given to think, though she does agree to the personal blessing, "I should like that very much." Dietrich Dracht smiles and appraises the quality of Ciel's clothes. They look expensive. "Please hand me the silver amulet, Bex'li. Not the bronze one." Bex'li Nelhah reaches into the bag again, again rummaging and having to kneel down to find it. He shakes it a few times then finally finding it holds it up to Dietrich.  "You need a smaller sack." Ciel Grayve grins warmly at Bex'li, "Ah, the duties we keep whilst traveling, there is no such thing as packing light." Dietrich Dracht chides, though he seems more amused than angry. "It is right and good to be prepared for all eventualities." He then takes the silver amulet which has symbols for Nald and Thal engraved. If Ciel had ever visited the Ossuary she'd have seen similar things before. He holds up the amulet with both hands, then gives the Elezen a /look/. A faint blush comes over his face. Bex'li Nelhah grins. "I'm a soldier. I'm used to travelling as light as possible." He says shrugging. Ciel Grayve cants her head curiously to the right at the look, "Is aught amiss?" Dietrich Dracht looks a little exasperated. "If .... if you would bow your head, miss." Ciel Grayve does exactly that, once more letting her eyes flutter closed. Dietrich Dracht is still blushing a bit when he finally reaches out to put the silver trinket over Ciel's head. He even makes a smooth motion of his hand by the side of her neck so that her long hair falls /over/ the necklace-y bit rather than being trapped by it. "Let this amulet remind you of the protection of the Gods. Be brave. Let your heart be stronger and.. hm.. .. ah...  win victory over your enemies, trusting in the Twelve." Ciel Grayve: "I accept and appreciate this gift of protection.  When all is done, I pray I can return to tell you the tale of the Twelves' grace upon the field." Dietrich Dracht makes a pious gesture of blessing as he responds: "Then may the virtue and prosperity of the Traders be with you, always." He takes off his cone, signalling that the ceremonial bits are over. He offers the cone to Bex'li. Bex'li Nelhah takes the cone. He considers putting it on but then realises that would be wrong and instead puts it in the sack. Dietrich Dracht looks relieved. Ciel Grayve: "And with you - both of you - wherever They lead you.  Thank you both for this."  She reaches for a pouch tucked within the long coat and holds it out to Dietrich.  A generous sum for services rendered. "Will this be enough?" Dietrich Dracht actually makes a bit of an attempt to weigh the pouch. He seems to decide that this covers both the ceremony and the amulet. "It is. I will pray for your continued virtue." He shows a little bit of a grin. Ciel Grayve smiles, and lifts her hat back onto her head now that the formalities have concluded.  "My faith is such that I believe my every step to be guided, Father.  As you do, yours.  And now I shouldn't delay you two overlong from your dinner, aye?  Thank you again." Dietrich Dracht smiles. "Thank you for understanding. And I hope that we'll meet again for those stories." He winks, then turns to Bex'li, ready to move off, or so it seems! Bex'li Nelhah looks to Dietrich then and smiles. "Are you ready to go?" With one last bow, Ciel bid the pair farewell and moved on, letting them have the rest of the evening to do with as they pleased.  Her own work was not yet done.  She had malms to go.

@dd-ffxiv, @bexli-nelhah thank you both! This was a lot of fun!

[issom-har]

Under cut for Stormblood talk and general personal rambling.

I don’t know what it was about Heavensward, but I logged in the night it went live, got as far as Ishgard, and then just...logged out. For about three months. I only logged back in as often as was necessary to make sure I still had my house. And then I played sporadically--sometimes not for months at a time--for something like a year.

I wanted to love Heavensward so badly, I was excited for it when it was first announced, and then something about it didn’t grab me. At all. I had to force myself not to skip dialogue and cutscenes. I never do that. I have never lost interest in something I loved like that under circumstances that were no fault of the game itself, and I was honestly pretty devastated. I lost all confidence in my ability to RP, because I was having such non-feelings toward the expac content that it manifested as total apathy toward my character. What could have caused it? Did I not have the attention span to read quest dialogue suddenly? Was I just utterly bored with my main? Had the pleasure and reward centers of my brain been infested by Depression Silverfish and finally destroyed? I had some theories, but none of them could fully explain it. 

Some of the things that might have contributed to my pile of blah:

Janvier had no personal stake in the storyline of HW at all. Canonically, he went to Ishgard at the start of the expansion exactly once, at which point he offered to let Saint dunk him off a cliff into the Sea of Clouds for being a lying sack of shit. Realistically, he would have immediately realized he couldn’t handle being that close to a war zone and gone home to get his head screwed on straight and refocus on his priorities. It really didn’t make sense for him to involve himself in a war before outright conflict with the Garleans became unavoidable.

The zone design immediately turned me off. Sea of Clouds was beautiful, but the story was so on rails that I felt like I was actually being punished for exploring before I was done with the MSQ. I was used to stopping and hanging out in places for a while before moving on with the story, but there was limited stuff to do in many places pre-flying. You were supposed to get that, then come back.

Crafting and gathering, my eternal relaxation activities, seemed to get way more complicated. Beyond the collectable system, node clusters were placed to encourage the use of flying mounts (and discourage gathering pre-flying). Lots more stuff on timed nodes. HW crafts were more complicated and required a lot of cross-class stuff, and even some basic mats (cured leather, thread, etc) took either timed resources or random amounts of pre-HW materials. 

It was difficult for me to be invested in the antagonists. The Heavens’ Ward themselves I mostly care about because my friends (one in particular) have fleshed them out in headcanons and fic, but in the story itself they’re basically exactly what they are in the end: extensions of Thordan. Thordan was interesting, but he himself was a personification of the attitudes that made Ishgard a hellhole more than a compelling person.

Ishgard was a hellhole, albeit a very pretty, snowy one. There were no places I wanted to sit and hang out, nothing that looked particularly inviting. Big monolith buildings and imposing wide walkways would have drawn me in if it had been a friendlier city, like Jeuno maybe? I could go to the Brume or the Foundations to see people in abject misery, or go up top to watch the nobility glide across beautiful, empty streets. All of it left me with the appropriate uncomfortable feeling, but I didn’t want to set a home point there, if you catch me.

There were a lot of missed opportunities everywhere. After a start in which it seemed like she’d get NPC main character status, Ysayle was criminally misused. The explosive end to the 2.x series--so important it was referenced in the CGI opening for HW--amounted to very little. Midgardsormr, also set up to be a major player, rarely appeared. Those amounted to most of the things I went in very interested in. The Churning Mists, a beautiful zone filled with mysterious ruins and evidence of human/dragon cooperation, is entirely taken up by a sprawling web of quests about running mundane chores for throw pillows with wings.  

Entirely on me: I created Janvier with RDM in mind for him and misjudged how difficult it would be to play him as something else for years and years. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense for him to travel as a conjurer. Having him go back to MNK felt slightly off, like negative character development. RDM hit and it was perfect for him and I instantly enjoyed playing him again. It was wild.

In the end I think the problem was that it discouraged playing with the things that usually keep me busy (exploring, crafting, and gathering) out of the gate, while just not appealing enough to me on a personal level to keep me interested. 

To say that I’m relieved by being blown away by Stormblood is putting it super mildly. I had to force myself to log off tonight. I’m really, really happy to have confirmation that it was a case of incompatibility with HW and not a 95% reduction in my ability to experience joy. That said, I feel pretty weird that I so firmly disliked an expac that most of my friends loved that I probably would have quit altogether if not for Palace of the Dead. Especially since there wasn’t anything wrong with HW! It was a good expansion! I actually quite liked the dungeon design, and exploring the zones once I had flying, Churning Mists in particular! I think it’s just me.