#but i can't do any meaningful answers if i don't go hard into so-called spoilers

[reitziluz]

future!! i love hearing about peoples bad endings for their ocs

(here's the ask game post. i've gotten/done betrayal, desire, future, nightmare and secret so far.)

oh man. oh boy. 

disclaimer: with few exceptions, everyone taking part in the present of the story is at risk of becoming a part of a nightmarish flesh blob situation. or something along those lines. details might be subject to change. there's a corrupted world-eater lurking about. so, as much as possible, i’ll instead picture the worst futures if that wouldn't be a factor. 

future: What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility? 

kimon: i’ve alluded to ascension being a fate worse than death in most cases in this world. yeah. kimon is at huge risk of getting spiritually spaghettified. he is keenly aware of this, as he has met a predecessor of sorts who got stuck in one of the worst outcomes of this, and the fate/prophecy targeting him is linked to it too. he is not taking steps, he’s running at full tilt to get as far as possible from it. using his power to do specific kinds of healing is one part of that.

vaal: so vaal is kind of doomed to the world-eater scenario. specifically becoming sort of a reaper for it. e has absolutely no clue. at the point where e’s would be getting signs and eir alarms would start blaring, e wouldn't have time to even resist getting taken over. oops! 

arin: dying disgraced and destitute. a scorned failure. they occasionally catastrophize about it, but also realistically anticipate it as the end result if, for example, they were trying to take shortcuts and cheat to accomplish their goals. they're literally working to prevent it.

tess: having her spirit broken, never getting to control her own life, being unable to make a difference in the world. her relative getting away with their schemes while she gets disposed of. like arin, she's very aware of the possibility, and working hard to avoid it. she is very focused on making her relative to answer for their crimes and to gain her freedom. 

sam: her worst future would be one of loneliness after her community collapsed. she is consciously trying to prevent it by preventing or fixing potential root causes. people dying as their working and living conditions deteriorate, infighting tearing them apart, that kind of stuff. 

leskel: he, too, is doomed to the world-eater scenario. he would be subsumed and remade into an avatar of sorts. he knows he is connected to this fate, but doesn't know the details and has made some bold assumptions. he’s actively pursuing this future. 

[aotopmha]

Related to my previous post, since I can't go a day without talking or thinking about FFXIV these days, I saw some more interview material with Yoshi-P about Dawntrail and I'm worried because it feels like they're so strongly tied to fan feedback.

(Spoiler for all of 7.0 MSQ)

They always have been super receptive to feedback and used it to steer the story, but I also wonder where the limit to that lies.

He specifically talked about handling the cast going forward: about the "half-hearted" use of the Scions in Dawntrail vs using a new cast.

He brought up two extremes as an example: only focusing on the Scions or ommitting them entirely and bringing in an entirely new cast (since both perspectives exist), reaching the conclusion that they might simply be rotated in terms of focus.

And through all of this, I'm just thinking about the possibility of going with what the most "natural" solution for the purposes of the story would be. Which characters does it actually call for?

The option of all of the cast being given meaningful participation depending on what the story they want to tell asks for instead of what the fans ask for.

What do the writers themselves want to do?

I at least get the sense they have a stronger sense of direction in terms of story because of the feedback now, which I felt they were struggling with in DT because it took so long to get to the answers/get going with the story, but I hope they don't overcorrect (like they tend to do).

There is a place for gradual escalation and taking your time in stories.

I'm thinking about what the polar opposite of DT would be and I think it's a story where a lot of stuff happens and none of it has any time to breathe as opposed to taking a while to get where it wants to get.

The potential issue with that kind of story would be that none of the big turning points would have the weight behind them they need because you're going through them so quickly.

Downtime is also there to fill in character stories and if none of that is there along with lesser world building, you would just have an empty plot skeleton.

Or alternatively, the world wouldn't feel as alive and well-defined. Which generally isn't as bad of a price to pay, especially if the substance is still there, but instead being put in side quests as was also mentioned as an option for streamlining story pacing in one of the interviews I read.

So, a story focusing on select Scions with meaningful contributions (though they could just give all of them meaningful contributions that further the story; the black and white aspect of this is wierd), but an otherwise new cast that gets going somewhat faster actually does sound like quite a bit of an improvement over 7.0.

Say, hard focus on Krile, Y'Shtola and G'raha for now because of the Reflection and Interdimensional Key business to look into.

Thancred, Urianger, Estinien and the twins can chill for now.

Because Erenville has the general goal of exploration now, he can technically join any adventure. And to me these four feel like they have a bunch to explore as characters as far as current focus goes.

I think G'raha's connection to Corvos and the Reflection business, Krile's connection to the South Sea Isles/Preservation, Y'Shtola's lack of a truly substantial arc along with her wish to connect the Reflections to The Source and Erenville's new beginning all feel pretty worthwhile and substantial elements to explore next to the Azem/Key connection for the WoL, for example.

And further down the line, I think Meracydia with its connection to dragons would have more to do for Estinien and Garlemald's provinces for the twins.

Thancred and Urianger feel like the most complete characters to me that I can't think of anything specific to do with, but since Thancred has experience sneaking around the provinces, I think they would definitely fit there with the twins.

In terms of the unexplored world/world covered by clouds, I think only Hingashi doesn't have much of a Scion connection to play off of for more story opportunities; Tataru was most active in Kugane, which does count and we do also have some of the Stormblood crew as a possible anchor there, so it's not entirely without any, just not as possibly strong ties.

Above all, I definitely see the opportunity for 10 more years of story.

An expansion for Meracydia, an expansion for Garlemald's provinces and an expansion for even all of Hingashi are all 6 possible years alone.

But we also have a bunch of the reflections to discover, four of them, to be specific.

And each of them could also be an expansion, in addition to us not really being fully done with the 13th or 1st.

They have plenty of material to work with, which is one of the issues long-running series run into; having to come up with new stuff with no previous backing. Not an issue here.

I mean whatever they do, I ultimately hope it's good.

I didn't hate DT, so it's pretty low probability I'll hate whatever they put out next if the focus point is to address the general criticisms people have while still doing their own thing, especially now that they have some groundwork to lean on.