#ffxiv 5.5

[keicordelle]

The Daily Inconveniences of an Au Ra: Family Ties

The Dotharl don't have parents, as such. Of course Keshet technically had a mother who'd birthed him, and he supposed that one of the older men was technically his father, but it was unlikely even the woman who'd given birth to him knew who it was. "Family" in their tribe just didn't work that way.

Keshet had once overheard someone in Limsa say that "it takes a village to raise a child", but he suspected they didn't mean it quite as literally as his people did. Dotharli children were raised communally, with no stronger ties to their birth parents than to anyone else in the tribe. Keshet didn't even know who his "mother" was, and he didn't particularly care. When you were reborn amongst the same people over and over, tracking those sorts of ties was tedious at best and uncomfortable at worst. When you gave birth to the spirit of your own mother or your mate, you didn't necessarily want any sort of parental tie to be at the forefront of everyone's minds for this incarnation. Family ties within the Dotharl, if you were to try to chart them the way Eorzeans did, were messy and complicated, and the tribe was perfectly content to ignore them altogether. So everyone had a hand in raising any children born to their tribe, and it was the soul deep bonds that took precedence over the flesh-driven ones.

Though certainly the Dotharl's rebirth made them unique, they were hardly the only ones to raise their children in such a fashion. Every tribe on the Steppe had their own values and traditions when it came to family. Plenty of them did follow the same customs as Eorzea, where parental lineage dictated how and by whom a child was raised. But more still had their own definitions of family, utterly different from one to the next, as was so common on the Steppe. The Borlaaq raised only their female children, and left the males behind after they were a year old - a heartless practice, even by Keshet's rather callous standards - and their devotion to matrilineal ties was absolute. The Iriq took in any discarded male children, and raised them as a group not entirely unlike the Dotharl, if somewhat less complicated for the lack of an intricate webbing of bonds. Ties of blood mattered little and less to them, and near as Keshet could tell they all treated each other as one large, rowdy group of siblings.

Which was not to say that all of Eorzea was so beholden to the idea of mother and father and child making a family. Just most of it. (Certainly there was more nuance to it than that, since even the very family-focused nobility of Ishgard had slightly broader definitions of family than that, what with their branches and offshoots and bastard children -- and wasn't that a concept that boggled Keshet's mind.) He could certainly see hints of his own upbringing in Eorzea's Miqo'te tribes, though the entire concept of a Nuhn puzzled him. Why should mating rights belong to a sole person? Keshet supposed that, rather unlike the Dotharl solution of simply not knowing who your parents were, it ensured that everyone was very well aware of their relation to one another. It certainly did seem that everywhere he looked outside the Steppe, people valued parental ties far more than he ever could. The communal family of the Dotharl suited him just fine.

So no, Keshet really didn't understand the intense bond that seemed to link parent and child. But he could certainly see the hurt in Alphinaud and Alisaie's eyes as their father turned from them, not a hint of a quaver in his voice as he announced, "Alphinaud, Alisaie. As of this moment, you shall no longer bear the name of Leveilleur. How you choose to live your lives is no longer my concern. If you wish to walk the path of ruin, I will not stand in your way."

Keshet could feel the jolt that went through the twins like levin shot through his own heart, his nails biting into his palm with how hard his fist clenched. The only thing that held him in place was the grief pooling in Alisaie's eyes and the faint tremble to Alphinaud's shoulders.

Perhaps he did not understand the bond between father and child, but he certainly knew what it meant to be family, and this wasn't it. But fine. If Fourchenault wanted to abandon his children, Keshet would be there for them instead. His "family" always had room for two more members, and to hell with the ties of blood. In truth, Alphinaud and Alisaie had been siblings of his long since they'd been stripped of their own family name. And if Fourchenault didn't like that, he could suck eggs.

-

Read the rest of the series on Ao3!

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[wildstar25]

Having many Alphinaud feelings after finishing 5.50... he absolutely deserved some headpats!!!

[deckitout]

wow i love ardbert

[neanmoins-que]

Recent Felis since I resubbed to ffxiv

I dislike him with a passion

[viiioca]

day 5: fire

From the journal of Estelle de Laussienne, 3rd of the 5th Astral Moon, 5 7A.E. As we work on bringing the various tribes of Eorzea back into the fold – and stamping out Fandaniel's many fires – it has been enticing to imagine Ascian fingerprints on every misfortune that's ever befallen us. It's an understandable leap of logic, even, given that two or three of them have skittered out from under nearly every rock the Scions have picked up since the Calamity. It does make sense, doesn't it? The strategy was clear enough: Drive a wedge between the peoples of Eorzea, create a state of desperation in the various oppressed populations, teach them how to weaponize their own deliverance, and let the situation escalate on its impressive momentum. It all comes together with a neat little bow, tied expertly. How could we have avoided it? We were being manipulated from the start. And yet I know for a fact that the average Ul'dahn Monaterist has already considered some manner of betrayal, monopolization, or war profiteering before the breakfast kettle even whistles. When they voted to break the alliance with the Amalj'aa and eject the tribes out of Ul'dah, there was no deft hand necessary there. I doubt Elidibus ever needed to take time out of his busy schedule to convince the Syndicate to have the sultan and his wife murdered to protect their future profits. When the Ascians came to sow their seeds in the Amalj'aa, had we not already made the fields plenty fertile? Even now, Fandaniel reaps the benefits of mistakes we were all too happy to make on our own. Now that the Unsundered are gone, we are going to spend the rest of our lives – and some lives beyond these – cleaning up the mess they've left us. But even absent their influence, I have a feeling we're going to be perfectly capable of making brand new messes all by ourselves.

[roevember 2023 prompt by boreal tempest & roe fizzlebeef]

[kagurajinbaffxiv]

So to break from the norm of not posting, I have a short story about Mikoto that I've been working on for a bit. I wanted to write something like the 'Tales from...' released during the Rising events.

Hope you like it.

~~~~

Mikoto’s steps echoed around her, the silence around her making everything sound louder then it should have been. Mikoto thought back to why she was here, she always knew how this journey will end.

The bustling around Gangos never slowed down since they retook the Dalriada and today was nothing different. Bajsaljen was talking to her but she wasn’t really listening.

“Mikoto, stop”, Bajsaljen grabbed her before she stepped in front of a cart moving the supplies from the stockpile to the boats headed back to Bozja. “Mikoto, you’ve been not here for the past few days, has the echo given you another vision?” he said with the slightest hint of concern behind the admonishment

Mikoto looked at him, her mind finally back in the camp and knowing she had to leave “There’s something I need to go take care of, and I don’t expect to be back for a while”

“You are not one of my soldiers, you don’t need to seek permission from me, nor do you need to return, we can build back our home without your help” Bajsaljen said to her, she would be missed but he knew there was so much a young scholar needed to do that could not be achieved in his camp.

“No, but an old friend would have wanted me to help and see this through till the end, but I think this journey has to happen now”

Mikoto’s foot slipped on a loose stone that slipped and she tripped forward bringing her back to the present. The pain of the rocks on the path cutting into her as she used her hands to stop herself slamming her face into the ground. She let out a sigh, “I made it through a battlefield with less difficulty than this, what am I doing?”, asking no one but herself.

She got back up, and noticed a small graze on her knee, the blood welling up and staining her stockings.

She brushed off the dust and rocks then the glow of aether enveloped her knee as she used her magic to take care of herself, this wasn’t quite how she saw this trips finale happening, so maybe what she knew was going to happen would not occur.

The sound of the stones crunching underneath her feet started again as she started moving forward towards her destination again and thought of how she even got here.

The wind was blowing through her hair, the sea spray was still on the air this far away from the shore. She had made it from Gangos to Sharlayan with less fuss than she thought, and with the gleaners running around bringing in stock to deliver it it felt like she had not gone anywhere.

Mikoto knew where she was going, but where on a map it actually was she had no idea. In Sharlayan she would be able to find people who know where her destination actually was. The Scions were her best chance of finding her destination, and she knew Krile would know where they are to point her in the right direction and she was sitting outside the Students of Baldesion’s quarters, looking out at her second home.

She had not been back to Sharlayan in years, but it was still the same as when she was at the Studium, the bench where she had lunch with Moen almost daily was still there like nothing had changed in the years since then.

She could still remember the push Moen had given her to seek more than what was on that island once she get her Archon mark, and now she had seen so much more than either of them expected, she had been in the Dalriada when Diablo Armament had broken free and Misja had sacrificed herself to save the people she had betrayed and Mikoto had been saved from herself, she had seen what Auracite could do to people and been there when the Warrior of Light had defeated Ultima and learnt of the secret history that Ramza was involved in.

Mikoto was nothing like she was when she left, but her home had not changed. Mikoto knew she would be even more different when she returned again, would she feel at home in Sharlayan or would she feel like a stranger in where she had called home for so long.

A soft voice called out from the building behind her “Miss Jinba”, Krile was waving trying to get Mikoto’s attention. “I don’t know exactly where it is, but if you visit Mor Dhona you’ll find the Scions who will know where it is”, and with that Mikoto’s journey continued.

Mikoto was almost to the crest of the hill, the final steps until what she knew was going to happen will happen. She knew the echo could be misleading, but what she knew was going to happen could not be avoided, and she had to be here eventually and that could not be avoided.

She stopped for a second thinking back on the Warrior of Lights face when they took a map out and circled her destination.

“Are you sure you don’t want someone there with you?” their strained voice gave away that their echo had given away what Mikoto was about to do to herself.

“No, you know I have to do this, and I want to be alone for it” Mikoto softly replied.

“Fine” the Warrior replied clearly frustrated with her “but you will be back here after this is done right?”

“Yes, I will be back, can I ask to borrow a room from the Scions once I get back?”

The Warrior of light looked relieved, “Yes I will organise that now, take care until you get back, ok, it might be safer here than Bozja but don’t let your guard down”

*crunch crunch crunch*

The sound of her shoes stopped echoing all around her once her destination opened up before her, the crystalline tree standing over Thaliak’s mark, the place the scions had used to remember her lost friend.

Mikoto’s voice cracked as soon as she opened her mouth, she stopped to find the words she had to say.

“Hey Moen, there is so much I have seen that I want to tell you about”

Her tears started falling as Mikoto knew deep in her heart would happen as she said her goodbyes to her best friend.

[dizziiedaikon]

He said no 😭😭

[tavi-arts]

Okay Nanamo wins Best Face of 5.5

[frenchy-and-the-sea]

I can't pose in anam because I play on console, so I have to take the few crumbs that Yoshi-P gives me of Tritchet being in character around Estinien.

Cause seriously! Getting to see him again after a year without contact (thank you, time distortion on the First) made Tritchet really happy! Genuinely so! But did you know that if you give his name to the node in Azys Lla in 5.5, you also fold your arms and scowl to mimic him, and he stares at you for a solid ten seconds before telling you to knock it off?

Absolutely canon Tritchet interaction.

[bard-of-spiders]

*Continues dreaming of the concept of a DLC that didn't add any new story beyond ideally cleaning up the existing work but that shouldn't be add-on content

but simply an extended ruleset DLC, that pulls from the additional books that are even after 5.5, are seen as requirements it's sub-classes, races, and articifer, are so commonly used...Also dancer bard.*

[zaragear]

Juli is a delight, and take AMAZING photos. If you have cleared 5.5 in the FFXIV MSQ, check out these awesome Gpose shots she posted on Cohost.

[eriyu]

the way this is genuinely 100% plausible kills me

Estinien: I gather you are not as young as you look. G'raha Tia: Mayhap when our work here is done, we could trade tales over a pot of Tataru's famous tea? Estinien: And be indebted to her for the leaves and hot water? I think not. G'raha Tia: ...I see. Ahem! Returning swiftly to the task at hand, then...

i think the scions tell estinien about stuff that happened on the first, and about the crystal exarch, namely that he is a very impressive and powerful leader with a huge variety of skills and that although only the warrior of light really recognized who the crystal exarch really was at first, it's clear to estinien all the rest of the front-liner scions adore the exarch too and trust and admire him.

unfortunately because of botched introductions it just takes estinien half way through endwalker to fully realize that that's g'raha tia, the min height miqo'te twink fanboy that's been trying for moons now to convince either estinien or the wol (or both) to plow him upside the garden path already

some random guy hanging out with alphinaud alisae: "estinien wyrmblood! the azure dragoon!! he who felled the dark worm nidhogg!! to think that i would be in the presence of a living legend-"

estinien: ok warrior where are the cameras

cut to three months later, as he's leaning against a wall and hearing the wol describe going back to the first and then to elpis, and the new earth-shattering revelations housed therein

estinien, thinking to himself: holy shit the crystal exarch is g'raha tia

[noxtivagus]

i love love ffxiv sm fr (to the edge)

[chromorbid]

Schedule for this week!

Tomorrow at 5:30am EST - Me and @mossspores will be doing FFXIV Endwalker patch 5.5 early tomorrow morning if you wanna come watch us play or go alongside us in solidarity! you might get a chance to party up for dungeons if you sync with us >:3c

Thursday at 4:00p EST - Continuing with session 2 of Fate/Samurai Remnant! Last we left off, we'd met Musashi and her master, who helpfully explained to us the specifics of the Waxing Moon Ritual. Now, Saber wants to explore the beautiful and bustling red-light district at night... it's bound to be a wholesome and gay little jaunt, For Sure. Yup.

Saturday at 4:00p EST - Same as above--More F/SR!

See you then!!

[aetherotransformer]

12. How has their job affected whatever headcanon version is of the MSQ if any? 

i'm assuming this means ffxiv job instead of like. an actual career

ashen's biggest point of divergence jobwise is that he stopped his warrior training with curious gorge et al after 2.55 because they told him to come back later when he wasn't so emotionally riled up and he just fucked off forever. her axe is specially modified to channel lightning aether via aetherotransformer (w/ stephanivien's help) and flavorwise works more like gunbreaker than warrior

HOWEVER that has nothing to do with the msq. the only thing thats been influenced by her job is that she basically skipped 5.4-5.5 after returning to the source because she was this close to having a mental break and quitting adventuring forever. but since he trained with radovan during stormblood he went "how about you take a leave of absence and help the bozjan resistance isntead". and he did that

[melruu]

✦ YoRHa No. 2 Type B ✦

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Really old sketch from last year, made it for patch 5.5 of FFXIV since it was the final Automata alliance raid ^^

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