#i just got to a scene that made me really happy. i love urianger so much. ]

[tenebriism]

// Listen. It's not cheating if your husband, @hyaciiintho , ALSO has his biases, whom he would also lovingly embrace, and whose chest he would happily stuff his face into, WITH the wedding ring on still. It's a very healthy, balanced relationship.

[sebastard69]

Post-Endwalker Thoughts

I finished the msq, I took a nap, I am ready to put my thoughts into words.

- Hythlodaeus and Hades are in love, and like that's not just me being shippy. Objectively, they are very much in love. Their demeanor with each other on Elpis alone said as much, but the fact that they both narrated your arrival on Ultima Thule? The fact they're both summoned? The fact when Hythlodaeus said he hoped you met again in another life, Hades only said he wouldn't be happy about it not that he wouldn't also be there? Just. Yeah. And it all kind of drives home the fact that Hades was trying to do the Rejoining just so he could see Hythlodaeus again. I am so glad they're reunited at last, I'm so happy they can drift through the aetherial sea together finally. It might not be how Hades wanted to be reunited, but at least they're together.

- Speaking of, though, I suppose you could argue that the person Hades loved was Azem - and while I have no doubt that he did love Azem, it wasn't romantic, and Azem certainly was not who he worked so hard for. The goal was to have Zodiark resurrect all those who had given their lives to bring him forth, and Azem was not among them, proven simply by the fact we possess a sundered fragment of Azem's soul. Did Hades love Azem? Of course, he loved all his friends and all his people, and wanted to bring back the world they knew because he loved them, but it wasn't his main driving force imo. Hades was friends with Hythlodaeus, Azem, Venat, and Hermes, and of those four, only one of them is a possible love interest given that information. Azem and Hermes were sundered, and Venat became Hydaelyn, ergo the person Hades loved was- IS -Hythlodaeus.

- I'm glad Meteion didn't die. Like I was really worried that was going to be the only option, that we'd have to find a way to completely and permanently end her, and that wasn't what she deserved. She was as much a victim as anyone else, completely powerless against the sheer magnitude of sorrow and resignation from the stars she visited. I'm happy she's able to live on, and I kind of hope she's in future content or at least talked about. Don't forget her! Remember her, like you remember the ancients.

- Hydaelyn's fight was really cool, I enjoyed it, and it showed me that I was RIGHT about trials being able to be done with a Trust, so @ squenix trust trials when???? The cutscene after was incredibly emotional, of course, and I am so, so, SO happy Venat finally gets to rest. Also like, what is it with people crying when the WoL says their name? First G'raha, then Venat. Oof ouch ow my heart.

- the Aitiascope mcfucked me up I did NOT expect those ghost weapons and also the buff Haurchefant gives you is called "together forever"??? OW??? Gasped so sharply my partner thought I'd hurt myself, nearly died in the boss fight cuz I cried.

- ok I know the scene with Asahi is not meant to be funny but I could not stop laughing because literally the reason he's so pissed off at Amon is because Amon betrayed Zenos. THAT'S IT!! Like yeah the body possession irked him, but the fact Amon used his body to betray Zenos is what made Asahi homicidal and that's so fucking funny to me idk

- I knew the Scions were going to be ok, especially after Y'shtola mentioned Azem's creation magicks, but the entire sequence through Ultima Thule was fucking painful and I spent the entire time sobbing my fucking eyes out.

- Glad to see Fourchenault stopped being an insufferable asshole

- The quest where you go around and spend time with all your friends before setting off for Ultima Thule was really pleasant and soft I liked that. Plus, Urianger got drunk.

- So Emmanellain and Sicard are totally a thing right? Like they're totally a thing. 100% a thing. Good for them.

I'm sure there's more somewhere in my head but I'm still drained and also only managed to get 3 hours of sleep so this is all I got for right now. This expansion was so good in every aspect, and I really enjoyed it. I'm excited to play the patches when they drop, and even more excited to see the direction Yoshi P takes 7.0!

[porta-decumana]

5.55 spoilers below:

The MSQ was good.  I’ve been pretty critical of the MSQ since 5.0 (it’s pacing has left a bit to be desired imo except for 5.3) and 5.5 did not feel like the hype train it needed to be but 5.55 rectified it somewhat.  I still feel as though most of my hype is from the 6.0 trailers/info from Fanfest, not from how the story is presenting the next expac.  But I still enjoyed it overall and thought it was def above passable.  Just lacking a certain ‘oomph’ aspect I feel would’ve made it better.  Definitely an A- in my book.

The solo instance was by far my favorite part of the MSQ and probably the best thing about 5.5.  I loved getting to swap between the characters and revisit spooky lunar versions of our old primal friends.  I was very excited to see Old Lord of Crowns back again when I got to play as Urianger.  I hope that’s a sign that they’re revising the cards again, at least to give AST something a bit more for DPS rather than Malefic, Gravity, Combust, and Earthly Star.  I really miss old Lord of Crowns.  Critting that felt good.

Poor G’raha was probably traumatized by my awful BLM play.

Aymeric with the “I beg your pardon” line had me actually chuckling irl.  I am glad we’re finally putting to rest the beast tribes as secondary, passive antagonists.  It feels like a plot point overdue in terms of needing to be wrapped up.

Estinien dodging Aymeric just to fail to dodge Aymeric = good shit.  I hope Estinien is also ready to have Nidhogg roar when he’s in my Trusts.  What is that Koji?  He wants to make sure he doesn’t go too hard and hurt us?  He didn’t seem to care during the Carteneau instance.  .__.

Fourchenault was very much what I expected.  I feel like he’s sus though for reasons the characters have stated.

I’m still waiting for Fandaniel and Zenos to do something that feels pertinent other than vague about things as they have for the past 3 patches.  It’s been nice and we did get a tidbit more with the roar from the tower but... I was wanting a bit more.  Just a smidge.  Also there’s no way that roar isn’t Anima.  Having just watched FFX footage, the roar sounds the same but louder in FFXIV.  Runner up thought: the roar is some primal embodiment of Garlemald which terrifies me more because what if that means a primal version of Solus?  Anima seems more likely though.

Venat being the person at Silvertear feels basically confirmed now with Hydaelyn-like dialogue to go along with it.  I question why nothing more is made of that scene.  The WoL at this point is probably seasoned enough to be like “hey guys... there’s some shit going down, I just saw a weird glowing lady over there that sounds like Hydaelyn” but I digress, maybe that’s me projecting a bit.

I’m not done with Bozja yet (gotta do the new instance) but some thoughts after hitting rank 25:

I’m ngl, once I would’ve been all for the Mikoto x Cid stuff but since I have a friend who ships her WoL with Cid, I’m just... hm.  It’s reaffirming the fact that I like having the NPCs having ambiguous love lives instead of having shipping in the actual quests.  I think Yoshi P has made good calls in the past about being as open with stuff like that as possible so people can headcanon whatever they want.  So seeing it up front... has me with mixed feelings.  

Where is Nero, where is my boy.  This entire experience would be improved if 1 Nero tol Scaeva was present.

Gaius getting namedropped was nice considering the entire Zadnor arc feels super ARR-esque.  Gabranth feels like a younger Gaius with less indoctrination and a different end goal.  Gabranth was my favorite character in XII and I’m excited to see more of him.

Oboro and Tsubame being in Zadnor were both pleasant surprises.  As well as the Nagxia lore from the field notes.

Overall, Zadnor being the exact same thing as Bozja is just... I mean, I expected this.  They told us this.  But that doesn’t make it any more palatable.  At least the level grind isn’t too awful (looking at you Eureka).  The first area was abysmally flat and uninteresting but the rest of the zone is okay.  I wish if we were gonna continue to get instances like that, they would be... less bland and flat?  It just makes the slog seem more sloggish imo.

SHEMHAZAI <3

Lilja is growing on me.  I wish her a happy be in more content in the future and a very live through all of it.

I continue to be conflicted about Misija.  I think if I resent her at all, it’s because she kicked my ass one too many times in DR.  I’m... intrigued about what will happen to her, I guess. 

Fran showing up again with the speeder and giving me big XII nostalgia.

Cid coming back for this arc of Bozja ALSO felt really good.  I was sad when he wasn’t around for the last few installments.  I’m glad he’s getting to resolve his feelings about the Bozja Incident.  

[fheythfully]

Putting all my thoughts on the 5.3 MSQ under the cut. Beware of course of spoilers! Overall I really enjoyed the patch. There were a lot of times where I sounded like an excited dinosaur.

So first things first, the way the patch started with the kids was so cute. I was expecting more with the Ardbert-esque kid, especially when he said he wanted to adventure with friends because he felt like he was missing something... but then they didn’t? I’m not sure what the point of that line of his was then. Ardbert’s soul is inside ours, and also has been shown to have moved on, but I wonder if some fragment of it--the part that is bound to the specific world’s Lifestream--can be reborn? Anyway. A bit bummed we didn’t get more with that train of thought but it was cute nevertheless. Also, apothecary. I was going “IS THIS A HINT?” the moment the kiddo said she wanted to be one as a WoL.

Also, I am totally writing a shortfic of the twins, Satella and Ryne hanging out in the Crystarium library with Moren bringing them books of interest while they sneak in tea and snacks. Ryne falls asleep and is eventually found by Thancred. Alisaie teases him for being a doting father. When everyone leaves, Satella is left cozily snuggled up as the evening turns feeling almost like home at the Arcanist’s Guild.

I really liked the bit where Alisaie’s desire to surpass the WoL and competitive nature is shown, and that some part of it is due to insecurity. I love the character depth and growth SE gives her over the patches. I just about had a heart attack when she started getting woozy with a noise in her head.

Elidibus feeling summoned by the WoL and seeing an Amaurotine in their stead gave me feelings, because it means we are whole enough now to form some sort of connection to the Ascians. Only sundered ones are left now though, so I wonder if that will still stay true.

I did have a heart attack at hearing Thancred collapsed. I was not expecting him to be okay when we got back to see him. Dawn’s Respite scene was very sobering and set me up for something entirely different than the ending we got (thank god).

Alisaie being stubborn and sullen with the Exarch made me wonder if she’s seeing the past with Louisoux in him, and Alphinaud’s comment about how she handled their grandfather leaving all that well all but confirmed it. That’s very sweet.

I made a very loud note as I was playing at the fact that a Rejoining soul must recognize its part on the Source as itself. Not sure if that was just for the Exarch’s case (though there are comments about how we and Ardbert fused very easily too) but I have Filed This Away.

Seeing Shtola collapsed gave me another heart attack but she’s definitely possessed of nine lives. The duty with Elidibus was fantastic, though the lack of voice acting caught me off guard (covid? are duties never voiced?). Fighting the baby Scions made me full of glee and then it got even better from there. Answers playing over the city, and then the HW theme, and then SB--fantastic. I especially paused when it started snowing. I appreciate a lot what Elidibus was doing, which was trying to show to us that the people who seem so ancient and recreated only as puppets had once meant something to him and his own. The fight was a lot of fun. I took a screenshot of berserk-Ardbert for kicks.

Also, the bit where he calls you by your name, and the name is switched from Elidibus to Ardbert. My heart. I have a lot of notes about this for future writing.

Elidibus as Zodiark’s heart and primal weren’t a big surprise as it’s been confirmed before (I think?) BUT he’s basically the primal for the idea of the Warrior of Light and I think that is magnificent. I still don’t have a full grasp on Elidibus as shown in this patch: his memories are fractured, whether by age or Zodiark; he’s driven both by his own ambition and Zodiark’s influence. He’s all over the place and I’m going to have to take better measure of him as I replay everything in NG+.

I have a note that says, “Ella why are you picking up random things off the ground that your enemies have dropped???” but it all turned out even better than okay. I don’t understand how he could have dropped all those Convocation crystals other than as a plot point but whatever. It was a great sequence. “All that remains is to pray. To pray that we will one day meet again, beneath a blue sky.” Made me tear up. The twisting of the Convocation from the gentle, kind Amaurotines to what they are today is brutally heart breaking.

I made a note of how the trees in Amaurot are starting to wither--I am not sure if we’ve always had that? But if not, definitely a small sign of Hades’ magic fading?

Bear with me now but I CAN’T STOP SCREAMING ABOUT AZEM. I of course didn’t get the title right (my 14th is Altima), but I got the duty/job so almost right. My Altima is the Shepherd, though to the souls on the planet living and departing to create and live alongside the Lifestream. The entire scene with Hyth had me shaking in my chair with excitement over how perfectly it described my headcanon 14th--down to her wandering the planet when she wasn’t in the city. Granted it fits with all our WoLs and is specifically made to be so, but I am so excited. Not sure what I’ll do with this when I write, whether I will alter my canon to fit the game or plow on ahead, but we’ll see. I’m just so excited. And the new TITLE fits my OCs to a T. God, thank you, SE. I also love that we are the “sun” and can’t wait for the future connections and theories about the 14th and Azeyma and Azim.

“After all, I cannot say whether I act of my own volition or by the will of my recreator!” Made me laugh-cry.

Scions confirmed that seeing Amaurot awoke a great grief in them, which was then supported by the random Eulmore NPC crying at the sight of it. So, it’s not even reliant on how whole your soul is: everyone who sees it feels something, a soul-genetic memory, maybe? I can’t wait to use this. Also makes me wonder if this is why in the patch the Scions are more wont to encourage you to talk things out with Elidibus, as in SHB they were pretty set against Emet-Selch.

The new dungeon was okay. I need to replay it again and look around more (is there a hint of Hildibrand there??). The Necromancer and Berserker class, though the latter may be Warrior same way Arcanists are called Ink Mage, made me pout a little. I want Necromancer. Also, THIER White Mages get Protect? Pffft.

I didn’t take any notes for the trial but. It was brilliant. The run through Crystal Tower with the Exarch was a wonderful callback (there were so many callbacks, it was great) and then when he told us to go ahead I was like, you better mean it that you don’t plan to play your trump card unless we’re present! The trial itself was breathtaking. When the Amaurotine first showed up I thought it was Azem, then when they snapped their fingers I was like cool we can do that too, and then they did the Emet-Selch wave and I lost it. HOW!? Shtola has a theory that even she admits is far fetched but. Wow. I am wondering which one it may be: Emet-Selch truly somehow having his soul live (we were just in the space where Ascians’ souls go between bodies) and assisted us; or was he called by Azem’s crystal as a memory; or was it a memory entirely? Just. That cameo. I miss you, Emet-Selch. For yours is the seat of the fourteenth broke me also and I’m just all over the place. Elidibus as the Warrior of Light was great.

I don’t understand why he went Baby in the end there. I can’t imagine the Convocation recruited and sacrificed a child. My headcanon is that it’s just meant to represent his childlike devotion and drive to his goals. He wanted to help his brothers and sisters so badly he detached himself from Zodiark. Seeing him sitting there cradling the crystals and talking about how it’s a beautiful day and they’re not there to see it was heartbreaking. The Amaurotines lost so, so much--and there’s no way to bring any of it back. I am glad the Unsundered have finally a chance to rest.

The goodbye scene with Ryne was a little lacking to me. I wanted Thancred to hug her, damn it. At least he told her he’s proud of her. She’s so brave with how she tries not to cry before them. She’s coming into her own, with her own ideals, but also so like Minfilia’s that it made my heart full. I will act as her post moogle to Thancred any time, kupo.

Also the one line she has in Twine about how Gaia is her friend who will be there for her is sweet and I laugh at the idea of Gaia’s reaction.

Okay, so, the ending. Probably the thing I did not expect at all. I expected death. No one died. The animations were beautiful, and Alisaie was such a joy to watch. Just. I don’t have words for it. I was so overcome with happiness at how perfect they all were: Alisaie sinking into her chain in a sulk, the Archons fondling their weapons, Alphinaud with tea and a book. Alisaie jumping off to go find a fight and Alphinaud’s brotherly exasperation. The banter between Urianger and Y’Shtola. My heart is so, so full.

On to the topic of the Exarch, which I did not expect to have this many feelings on: first of all, I expected him to die. We all did. How can one man survive SO many death flags!? When our WoL ran out of the Stones like a wound up mammet I was there with her, heart pounding praying for it to have worked. I am bummed that we didn’t get to experience him actually waking, but that means I can write about it... which I already did, actually. Because: I came out of this with a very unexpected, slowly unfurling Ella/G’raha ship. This was a surprise because ARR G’raha was not someone I even remembered all that well, as I played CT when it came out, but I remember thinking he was a bit too immature for romantic ships; and the Exarch always felt too distant and too much. I was fond of him in SHB but in a passing way, also because I was a little bitter that he put the Scions in such danger in the first place (though I understand all the good that’s come as a result, like uncovering the true Ascian plots). Seeing him at the end there, as a fusion of G’raha and the Exarch, somehow turned my view of him on its head and in that moment, I could easily see Ella and him running off and having proper adventures together. The driving attraction to all my ships is a form of shared experience, or at least understanding of what it’s like to bear a heavy burden on your shoulders. The Exarch was again, too much in his role, and I couldn’t see Ella feeling comfortable being close with him. But now, with this ending? Watching the two of them run off together? Oh, I am excited.

I even wrote four pages of fluff on how he got those bobby pins in his hair and I never write fluff. Please look forward to it being posted soon.

Lastly: Ardbert. If you’ve been around my blog long enough, you’ll know that I’ve been an Ardbert shipper since HW. SHB was so good to me in that regard. Personally, I got closure regarding him in the scene of him offering us his axe and was happy with it. I was overjoyed to see him get closure with Seto now, too. I’m not happy with Elidibus using his body and then tearing it apart as he did, but: it made for great angst and sometimes that’s actually okay with me. The confirmation that he can talk to and through us is interesting and I imagine that he does so rarely, as his soul is finally at rest with his friends--where it truly belongs. He lets us live our life, and a part of him is always with us, now. I imagine him and Ella at one point having a conversation about her burgeoning feelings for G’raha, as in my canon she’s never felt quite a strong enough connection or level of comfort with anyone but Ardbert, and him giving her his “blessing” and encouraging her that it’s okay to chase after the comfort and happiness G’raha can bring her. Especially since all of SHB she was in a very very bad place and this ending we got gives me such a sense of respite, no matter how fleeting.

Speaking of fleeting: Zenos and Asahi/Fandaniel. I am still hoping Zenos gets more interesting because I just can’t bring myself to like him, and seeing him destroy the Garlean empire before we even step foot into it is making me a little pouty. Fandaniel is interesting on a few accounts: he’s a sundered Ascians, so what will that mean? Clearly he’s been unhappy with the Unsundereds’ plans. He’s also pretty crazy for “the bringer of order”, if we follow the FF12 Espers. We didn’t get a lot so I am hesitantly interested. But also, Asahi? I hate that kid...

My last thoughts on this are: the Ascian storyline was meant to come to an end with this patch, but clearly we’re still getting content. So I am hoping that was for the Unsundered Ascians and we’ll find out more about the summon of Hydaelyn and all that. I... have exhausted myself typing all this. Wow.

BUT I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THIS PATCH AND WILL REPLAY THAT HAPPY ENDING MANY TIMES. I can’t wait for the future.

[thebratcat]

I’m awake again and back on the computer so let’s have some patch talk under the cut!

I spent so much of this patch in Fear, dear lord.

FFXIV is the kind of game that can hurt me but in a way that doesn’t make me loose hope and quit. And I think this expansion shows why that is, because this is a series based around hope. It’s not afraid to go to some very dark places, but it will always take your hand and tell you it’s going to be ok, you’re not alone.

I spent a lot of time in tears but I think what got to me that stuck with me as a nice, quiet moment was meeting Hythlodaeus again. We learn more about our previous life more about The Convocation (also dude, you did that to a child wtf? no wonder he mentored Unukalhai, he saw himself in him). But also that our past self travelled around helping people much as the WoL does now.

I have my own personal reading of relationships repeating with the Amarot Gang and now. We have the 14th, Emet and Hythlodaeus in the past. Then in the present they come together again only as the WoL, Emet and G’raha and this time it’s WoL and G’raha are fighting on the same side while Emet is seeing shades from his past of his best friends/lovers. Something about Hyth just really reads as G’raha to me in that soft, loves-you-for-you, wants you to be happy and live your life way. But the three of them through time tug on my heart strings like you wouldn’t believe. Emet... EMEEEEET why do you do this to me.

so, end of MSQ patch part coming up:

look at this, look at these dumb magic cats. I don’t need to tell you, there was a lot of crying. Also queue me clapping at the scions like “Chop chop, wrap it up, come on your bodies need your souls back” Like I couldn’t relax not knowing if the writers were going to be cruel or not. (Even though Seto and Ardbert made me start bawling again)

But they weren’t, they were kind

this whole scene killed me, Urianger you giant nerd I love you

And this. I could go on for hours about this.Misto’s blue and G’raha’s red, and Y’shtola, lovely, snarky Y’shtola. It’s like Misto’s finally got a little miqo’te family here after being so apart from other miqo’te for most of his life.

I’m not sure where the story is going to go from here. This is going to be hard to top, but I guess we’ll see.

[ladyramora]

Together again

Shadowbringers spoilers.

Submitted by: @lolzwaitwhat

Ramora and Y'shtola walked deeper into Rak'tika Greatwood,  following a path of bright blue flowers that glowed in the shadows of the trees towards Yx'Maja, the taller of the duo scanning the area while the shorter stroked at the medallion that was to help them gain safe passage, her eyes searching for a people who had cut off all contact to the outside world centuries ago.

Thancred, Minfillia and Urianger hung farther back, their eyes searching through the wood as well, although as to what they were keeping their eyes open for, Ramora could only guess.

Since coming to this world, she had found that the one who had brought her here hadn’t realized they had pulled another warrior of light through and had no idea where she was. He knew where everyone else had popped up, as he had many people looking out for them as well as letting the Scions here know if one of their friends had slipped into the world as well and could look for them, but he had no idea where Lolz was. 

She and the others had been searching for her while killing the light wardens that plagued these lands, but had not seen her anywhere. Y'shtola assured her that those who entered this part of the forest without permission or proof that they were trustworthy were often killed on sight, so it would be highly unlikely that Lolz would have stayed, even if this had been where she had arrived, but Ramora had a feeling deep in her gut that the last of her lost companions was close as they continued forward.

Suddenly they heard arrows and she and the nimble Miqo'te leapt backwards to avoid them, the heavy heads landing with powerful thuds into the ground where they had just been.

“‘twould seem we have found them.” Y'shtola purred, pleased that they had found the group they had been looking for, her head held high to look up at three armed vii wearing a sort of uniform armor. The one in the middle held a bow, most likely the one who had given them their warm welcome, the one on her right had a staff and the one on her left welded a spear.

“You tresspass on sacred grounds.” The one in the middle said, her tone powerful with a hint of an accent that made Ramora perk up a bit, a bit enamored as the vii ordered them to “Begone!” As she unleashed a volley of arrows into the air.

Ramora didn’t even have the time to be impressed with her ability to shoot so many arrows at once when she felt her stomach tense at the sight of so many arrows falling towards them and quickly grabbed at her weapon.

Only to watch as something pink flew towards the arrows from behind them and knocked them away before standing, revealing a female with a short stature, pink hair and a lack of bunny ears stand between their group and the vii, wearing the same armor as the bunny girls in the tree, a fan in each hand and no staff to be seen.

“Is-is that?” Thancred began.

“Lolz?” Ramora murmured, stiff with shock.

The figured turned and then gave them a sweet smile, “You’re fucking late again, Rammy."Lolz told her.

"TRAITOR!” The one with the spear bellowed at their savior, “THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US AFTER WE TOOK YOU IN AS OUR SISTER?!”

“Well, to be fair.” Lolz said as she lowered her stance, “These guys became like family to me before you guys did.”

the one with the spear let out a roar before leaping to the ground before charging at them.

“Wait, we did not come to-!” Y'shtola began, only for the Vii to knock her off of her feet and for Lolz to began to fight her one on one, fans verses spear.

“I never thought I’d see the day that Lolz fights with anything other than magic!” Thancred laughed as he used his sword to stop more incoming arrows from striking him or Minfillia.

“Indeed.” Urianger agreed, his tone light and somewhat amused, “If I recall, you have often said that in a battle, you prefer magic over might.”

“that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to fight without magic!” she blurted, somewhat annoyed at their shock as she fought, “I just like magic better!”

Y'shtola looked up at the two other Vii still standing in the tree, “Please, we mean you no harm!” And then held up the medallion to them.

The vii with the spear stop mid strike and stared at it in awe as Y'shtola told them that they were allied with the kingdom of Ronka and that they carried the seal of the emperor.

The vii on the ground began dashing around her squinting at it at all angles.

“For the love of-” Lolz groaned, “Just ask her if you can take a closer look already!" 

The vii stiffened at the command before sheepishly motioning to the medallion, Y'shtola handed it to her and she began doing a proper inspection.

Ramora finally managed to take a few steps towards her no longer lost friend, "You’re-you’re okay…”

“It appears to be GENUINE!” The spear one cried happily.

Ramora heard muffled voices from above as she took another step closer, her eyes watering as she did so.

“Are you okay?” she asked, “Because Your eyes are all shiny and it’s not the happy 'I’m gonna ride tonight’ kinda shiny…” Ramora pulled her tiny friend into a big, tight hug before she could say anymore and started to cry.

Lolz looked towards the others, who seemed to mirror her shock before she sighed and rubbed her back, “Glad you guys are okay too-” she then paused and looked to the others, “Wait a bloody second here, aren’t you three supposed to be out for the count?!” she cried, her free hand moving to point at the three who, last she saw, had been souless husks in rooms back at their base.

But before anyone could answer, the archer of the trio called out, “We acknowledge your seal, but we must be certain of it’s authenticity! Follow the azure flowers to our village, there we will judge if you are friend or foe.” She then seemed to narrow her eyes on the non-vii wearing their armor, “That goes for you too, Lolz.”

“That’s fair.” She complied, “Need me to pick up any extra food for tonight on the way back?”

The archer let out a huff, “You seem confident that your deeds will be forgiven. Or are you trying to bribe us?”

“Confident.” She replied, “Vii aren’t the kind who can be swayed with bribes.”

The archer gave her a small smile before motioning for the other two to join her and then they left. The group waited a beat before Ramora finally let go of her friend and wiped at her face as she regained her composure.

“And how, dare I ask, do you know what kind of people the Vii are?” Y'shtola asked.

“Oh, the village elder back home is a Viera, she used to babysit me all the time when I was little. I used to make her all sorts of little accessories and stuff and she’d teach me about Viera culture and how to fight with fans and basic self defense.” Lolz explained, then rubbed at her shoulder, “She’s also the reason I prefer magic to might, harder to get your ass handed to you when you’re sending blasts of magic at your enemy from a distance.”

“Couldn’t an archer attack from a distance as well?” Minfilla asked her.

“Arrows and bullets can be sent back to the source if you know how to do it.” she mumbled, then motioned towards the path of glowing flowers, “come on, the village isn’t too far and I helped the little ones hunt for a bit this morning, so there should be plenty to eat when we get there, even if we don’t see anything on the way.”

“I must say, you must have quite a diverse culture on this island of yours.” Y'shtola chuckled.

“That’s a nice way of putting it.” She replied, making them chuckle.

Ramora watched in rapt attention as the last friend she’d lost led the way to the vii village, the words their group spoke seeming to be lost to the sounds of the forest and the glow of the flowers, her heart feeling light (no pun intended)

She would probably bombard Lolz with questions later and had no doubt she had questions of her own, but for now, it was just nice having all her friends back.

Lolz note: Yay! Rammy has all her friends back now! 

I kinda felt bad about how I made Ramora cry in alone and when I learned she had abandonment issues… so yeah, I kept trying to think of how I could have them reunite. Then while I was playing the main story of Shadowbringers I was watching the scene where we meet the vii, I was like, hmmm, yeah, Lolz would have the kind of luck where she’d get stuck with the antisocial bunny girls who try to kill anyone who ends up in their forest without any armor or weapons… or clothes for that matter.

Also, I headcanon that Lolz had no idea she was in an entirely different world until Y'shtola explains it to her.

Why is that? Well, she woke up naked and without her bag or weapons and figured the possessed Zenos stole all her stuff and stripped her and left her in some far off place to either die or to keep her busy enough to pull a Thancred so he could do as he pleased without her interfering and upseting Ramora in the process. When she saw Vii running around, she knew she was far away from where she had been, although not much else than that, and threw a shit fit about how she was going to fucking kill the next Ascian she saw for this, but she had no idea she was in the First and not the Source since Vii and Viera have such similar cultures. And as for the Lighteaters, she just figured they were just dangerous and unfortunately common place monsters in the area as her old Viera babysitter never told her about the local monsters she dealt with growing up.

Also, Lolz has another shit fit after finding out she’s been in another world this whole time and is pissed that she couldn’t have come into this world with at least some clothes. “I HAD TO MAKE CLOTHES OUT OF DEER SKIN AND POISON IVY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG A POISON IVY RASH LASTS, RAMMY?!”

“I’m honestly more curious where you got the rash.”

“NONE OF YOUR BLOODY BUSINESS!!”

You don’t have to post this one, I just wanted to give you a follow up story that has a happy ending after making Ramora cry in Alone. sorry if it’s not as good as the last one but I really wanted to share this with you. 

[fandom-geek]

spoilers for the entirety of the current eden’s gate content and the 5th role quest (which i haven’t played but going off other ppl’s descriptions)

so first of all - holy shit those raids. they were incredibly fun and, with the exception of the first group i was with, all super nice and non-toxic. the fourth was particularly chaotic in a ridiculously fun way and i loved it

and on the story side of things - this felt like a family trip, and thancred and urianger’s absolutely adorable conversation abt what ryne got from each of them (i know!!! i wasn’t expecting that either!!!) was beyond sweet. you can tell thancred and ryne’s relationship is still changing, too, because he’s gone from “ryne no” in a very rude way to going “ok how are we going to do that” and it’s just wonderful

sidenote: the fact that neither thancred, ryne, nor urianger wanted to involve the wol unless it was absolutely necessary because the wol nearly died recently and they wanted to give them a break was also so sweet as well. that being said, istg if ryne’s picked up on the wol’s habit of overworking themselves i think there’s going to be a scion-wide intervention for both of them. also urianger mentioning moenbryda to ryne ripped my heart out, as did their entire discussion abt the fact that they will inevitably have to leave ryne behind

(which. i’m not too sold on that tbh, because if g’raha could summon us from the source, body and all, and he can create a portal to send us back to the source from the first.... he can probably find something for ryne, right? like atm he couldn’t come with us because he’s part of the tower, but ryne doesn’t have that limitation and i really don’t want to watch her be ripped away from both her parental figures, even if g’raha has done that before with lyna and could potentially step up in that role with ryne too, because ryne absolutely deserves to have a happy family with her dads)

i’m pretty interested in seeing where the story goes with this mysterious girl. first we have urianger’s vague “she might be in thrall to zodiark” when ryne says she reminds her of emet-selch, and then that crasher of a final scene

which is to say when urianger first said “don’t tell anyone abt this”, i was going “urianger istf” and rolling my eyes because if between the warriors of darkness, and both the wol and g’raha tia nearly dying bc of urianger being excessively secretive hasn’t convinced him to not be, then idk what will. not that i actually blame urianger for either of those events, but it’s pretty clear urianger does blame himself so just *shrugs* i kinda want give him a helpful throttle or smth

and in hindsight, that should have made him staying behind with thancred while ryne and the wol go ahead a real big red flag, but no. apparently the mysterious girl is the oracle of darkness (and damn do i have questions abt what exactly that means), which urianger presumably knows from his prior dealings with elidibus and unukalhai? and thancred is meant to keep this a secret from both ryne and the wol, which he agrees to (thancred why). and aside from thancred having a weird penchant for somehow ending up protecting various oracles or oracles to be, i still have questions.

namely, thancred’s the only one who’s seen her without her helmet - and she’s around the same age as ryne. so ignoring the part where we beat up a kid for one of the raids, that makes me wonder whether she knows unukalhai and cyvele (i think that’s how it’s spelt?). and since i went back to talk to unukalhai after i finished that raid (no new dialogue for him since 4.56 btw), he mentioned even the servants of darkness couldn’t stop the flood of darkness. which presumably refers to the ascians and this oracle of darkness?

and just, boy do i have questions abt the ascians’ involvement in this. the assumption from urianger that she reminds ryne of emet-selch bc zodiark’s tempering... doesn’t quite feel right to me. i mean, it might well be part of it, but i don’t think that’s the entirety of it. and the fact we could mention emet-selch in one of our dialogue choices, specifically regretting that we didn’t persuade him to at least lay down arms..... which aside from being very interesting since urianger in particular was determined to get emet-selch to stop fighting them

and tbh urianger’s empathy and connections to the asicans are something i’m always intrigued by, simply because we always see the end results but we don’t really know why he’s so focused on them in particular. maybe this raid series or the wider 5.x msq will give us some answers, since it does seem to be shaping up to focus on the void and the ascians. it’ll be interesting, to say the least