#like I really want to get to Dawntrail but Garlemald keeps making me have to take breaks

[valeechtine]

Its such a toil to get through some of these post EW quests when you actively dislike Garlemald, plesse god I just want to be in DT already

[ungrateful-cyborg-moved]

Enough time has passed that I can share my opinion about Dawntrail now. It's a potentially unpopular point of view at times so uh... beware? Idk, people have very strong feelings about stuff sometimes xD

At the very least, beware of spoilers.

Overall I liked the story. Liked it a lot more that Endwalker despite a few things that bothered me. The first half is the most solid to me, because the second half has too much incoherent stuff going on for my taste.

But first thing first. I'm really happy with how well they made us care for all those new people and this giant country. Once or twice, I wished they wouldn't insist on how diverse it is I must say, because while it's nice as a marketing point, it gets old after a while. I have eyes and ears, after all. I can see that for myself.

Wuk Lamat left me cold when we first met her. I was a bit worried about accompanying her at first because she's a character archetype I don't like that much, but she quickly grew on me through the expansion, and I love her now. I do think, however, that the voice acting didn't always match the energy of the scenes (in English. According to friends who use the French dub, it's not an issue in French). Since it also happened once or twice with Koana, I'm gonna assume it's due to how they were directed, but it took me out of the story on occasions.

I really really wish they'd stop with the world threatening shit though. They did it for Endwalker. Fine. Logic even, it was the end of a 10 years old story. Then they did it again with the patches, when really saving the dragon should have been motivation enough. Then they had to do it once more in the second half of Dawntrail, this time threatening the Source AND the reflections. Frankly, it feels cheap and unimaginative, I'm a bit disappointed and worried about what comes in future expansions if they can't find other reasons for us to fight. For a game that keeps insisting that doing the right thing is what matters, they certainly don't like making it our main reason to fight.

The Mamool Ja story bothers me. They survived for centuries on eating bananas apparently and there's no sign of deficiencies so clearly they're adapted to their environment? And if not, nothing stopped them from cutting down trees to make space for the sun? Idk the fact that they spent centuries down there but need a foreigner to teach them how to live well rubs me wrong.

Solution 9 looks dope, though. Loved meeting Otis and Gulool Ja. For Sphene, I understand why they kept Wuk Lamat as the focus, but it felt like a missed occasion to teach her that wanting the happiness of her people and actually bringing it are two different things. Instead, it felt like listening to a teenager telling you that fixing the world is easy when they have no idea what's even wrong with it. In character, perhaps, but frustrating when you have so much more practical experience.

Not to mention that Sphene's issues with the weight of expectations echoe nicely with the weight of the WoL's mantle, and we didn't even get to pipe in to try to connect with her. Or with Zoraal Ja, for that matter.

The twins were entirely unnecessary. Them joining us felt forced and nothing in the expansion made me change my mind. They have nothing to do here except stealing potential lines from the WoL to say out loud the most obvious thing like it's deep. I love them both, but they should have stayed in Garlemald. It's not like the Garleans give a fuck about how the rest of the world deal with their shit anyway, and they visited enough places already. Tural gave them nothing they weren't already aware of.

Erenville got many hugs from my WoL, idc that the MSQ won't make it canon.

I'm still indifferent to Krile, but the Scions didn't grow on me before ShB so I'm giving her time. Still, I would've liked it better if instead of the twins, we'd had her and G'raha with us instead. You know, the guy with actual ruling experience of people from diverse backgrounds.

Slightly disappointed we didn't get to fight Thancred and Urianger tbh. That would have been fun XD

The whole time shenanigans hurt my brain in the second part. Like, if 30 years passed in just a few days for us then they shouldn't have had time to prepare Tuliyollal's defense. The dragons intervening was cool but there were better ways to make it happen without mysteriously forgetting that time flows differently inside the dome. Unless I missed something to explain why very conveniently it aligns now?

I liked the last zone. Gpose bait lmao I found it sadder that Ultima Thule tbh. Though, uh... we were in a hurry. Now wasn't the time to talk to every dead people we met.

Also I don't think it'll happen since he seems to have joined the guards, but I want Bakool Ja Ja to travel with us and Erenville for a while xD

Overall, I really liked it don't get me wrong. Aside from Thancred and Urianger, I don't think any Scion was truly useful however (not even Krile). This was my main problem with the time stuff, but I suppose they're not ready to let them go just yet.

And the graphical update makes me want to travel through all the areas and take screenshots until my hard drive can't take it anymore x)

[snow-system-wol]

A lazy morning and a casual chat (~1.5k)

(Pretty vague Dawntrail spoilers)

Ao3

It was always odd to wind down after these intense ordeals, with S'ria's body slowly readjusting his stress levels until it no longer was ready to fight for his life. He'd finally reached that point, though, and the excess lingering pain of overexertion had abated as well.

Being home helped so much, being able to finally have these quiet days again. He and G'raha had been put on “forced leave” – which is to say, being allowed to poke at paperwork if they were truly bored, but meant to mostly leave the Students of Baldesion work be for these few suns.

It suited S'ria well enough, for this short period of time. Lazy days, mild walks in the sunlight, dinners down by the docks… all very comfortable. He'd enjoyed these days before the journey, once he had healed enough to function, and having them back now was… reassuring, for something to be consistent. It was a touch hard to fully convince himself the world was safe, with how many unknown threats could possibly be lurking, but he did his best anyway.

And even if the world would end, it surely wouldn't be until the next moon came around, at the least?

As good as a break was, and as much as he missed home, S'ria didn't hate the idea of returning to Tuliyollal together for a while. There was a growing chill in the air that S'ria was none too pleased about – the biggest problem with Sharlayan. It would be a much nicer city if it were situated a bit less north.

Their room was generally warm enough, with S'ria keeping the heater running, but S'ria greedily leeched from G'raha all the same. He'd done so in Garlemald and on their visits to Coerthas, G'raha simply needed to accept his fate as a literal bed warmer.

(He was quite happy to do so, really.)

A few suns in to this quiet spell, S'ria woke slowly, content in the knowledge that there was no rush. No obligations would trouble him if he let his body take as long as it wished. That was the true beauty of being on vacation, really.

There was the slightest bite to the air and S'ria pulled the blankets up farther in response. It did little for his ears, but he didn't enjoy the suffocating feeling of having his face fully under blankets – and burrowed a bit deeper into the blankets to at least compensate for warmth. Still not quite satisfied with that, S'ria wiggled and rolled until he'd found a new position sprawled across G'raha's chest. Like a lizard with a basking rock in the sun, he simply stretched out and fell back asleep. 

S'ria was purring when he woke for the second time, contorting himself to nuzzle against his considerably shorter partner. G'raha slowly woke up with a disgruntled groan. 

“Mm… sorry, am I uncomfortable? If I'm heavy, I can move.”

G'raha chuckled. “Ria, you are too light – I would be more worried about getting stabbed by your elbows or knees, honestly.”

S'ria took a moment to take stock of his position, to make sure that he wasn't in danger of jabbing G'raha somewhere vulnerable with a stray movement. Luckily, all seemed well enough, and he could remain comfortably in place until G'raha felt the need to dislodge him. 

Maybe he could get in a tiny bit more of a nap once again, before G'raha wanted or needed freedom.

He did get to doze for another half bell, the room comfortably dim with the curtains down, until G'raha spoke up.

“Ria, could you let me up a moment?”

S'ria's response was not words so much as merely a tired hum and gently rolling off of G'raha to flop on his own back. He felt the mattress dip with G'raha shuffling out of bed and took the moment to fully starfish, stretching all of his limbs out with a satisfied sigh. 

G'raha returned but a handful of moments later – getting back into bed instead of running off to get lost in work. S'ria was quick to curl up and cuddle into his partner again. It really was the joy of having no obligations for a little – they could both have this. It was well on its way to midday and S'ria could trap G'raha in bed with no consequences or complaints.

Maybe someday… in the future, when S'ria could step away from the role… maybe most days could be that way.

…S'ria remembered the thoughts he'd had but a handful of suns prior. If he focused, he could easily feel his ring touching the adjacent fingers and the tug of the bond to its corresponding counterpart on G'raha.

“Remember that couple we met, in the canal district?”

G'raha made a quiet mrrp in response, and S'ria felt him nod.

“Should we get married, do you think?”

That very much woke G'raha back up, with him making a surprised noise and gently pushing S'ria into a viewable distance. “Ah, that's a bit, er – where did that come from? You seemed not particularly interested in the past.”

S'ria sighed. “Well, those two got me thinking about it. They get their second chance and his first thought is to solidify their bond in something a bit more… ceremonial and binding. I've been wondering about why, I guess.” S'ria's expression became concerned. “I realize I never asked your opinion. Is that how you feel about it too?”

G'raha's gaze lowered away from looking directly at S'ria. “Ah, ‘tis something I have thought about at times, but… Well, with my upbringing, I knew I would not be living a Tia’s life – and yet doubted I would end up with a long-term partner regardless. Not for lack of interest, but – oh, do not look at me like that, I have a bit more self-regard now.”

S'ria gave a chagrined smile. “Just don't want you putting yourself down is all.”

“I… I know.” G'raha cleared his throat. “To actually answer – mayhaps ‘tis borne of my old insecurities regardless, but I do favor the idea. There are locations where there are legal benefits – such as Sharlayan, for one – but there is simply… a solace in having a bond you are confident enough in to commit to it in that way.”

S'ria blinked. “Oh, I... I believe I understand now.” His expression softened. “If, to you, a marriage is a promise that I will not leave you, then I'd happily swear that oath.”

G'raha's voice stuttered on several clicks on his throat, before he managed words. “Ria, I – are you truly proposing to me? While lazing in bed on a Lightsday morning?”

“Do you want me to kneel instead? Might hurt my knee a bit, but I can offer you that ring if you take it off first.”

G'raha burst into laughter. “No, no – you need not move, do not kneel on my account. This is perfect, really. It, er, it reminds me of my first kiss, actually.” He cleared his throat. “I had been so stuck in my head about romantic outings and the correct time, and you just… kissed me as a good morning and went to make coffee. I was so much less anxious that way, really.”

S'ria bit his lip anxiously. “I didn't realize that was your… um, are you really okay that it was so casual?”

“Yes. I am perfectly happy that it was so natural. ‘Twas not without meaning, but simply… comfortable – and I feel the same about what is happening right now.”

“So, to confirm, that is a…?”

“Yes.” G'raha grinned and held S'ria's face in his hand. “You needn't have asked.” He pulled S'ria into a brief kiss, separating such a scant amount that their lips nearly touched as G'raha spoke. “If you would have me, yes.”

S'ria gently cleared his throat. “I don’t mean this exact moment, I would like some more time to check in on our friends and give aid. I hope that's not a disappointment.”

“We need not do things too fast – I have waited this long. Take your time.” He paused in thought, absentmindedly tracing the scars on S'ria's back. “If I may ask, though, have you given any thought to the how?”

“Hm?”

“Er – the ceremony, that is?”

A small grimace slid onto S'ria's face. “I do not cherish that degree of… attention, I've had quite enough of that by now.” He sighed. “The ceremonial aspects of it have an appeal, but having a holy officiant who can't stop being weird about performing a wedding for the Warrior of Light… would be kinda awful.”

G'raha's eyes lit up. “Wait, I may have an idea. Deryk.”

S'ria made a soft hum of intrigue.”Deryk?”

“Yes – if anyone is qualified to perform rites on behalf of the Twelve, it would be him. He surely is as valid as any priest. He also knows us quite well enough for it to be comfortable. A friend doing the ceremony would be nice."

“Raha – that's brilliant.” S'ria bit back a chuckle at watching G'raha predictably flush at the praise. “I can't think of anyone better. And to be honest, I miss him a bit – it'd be nice to see him. Mind you, we do have to find the man, but I doubt he'd say no when we do.”

A small smile, slightly mischievous, snuck onto G'raha's face. “I am told that Tataru and Krile were quite effective at locating Estinien and convincing him to aid us.”

S'ria snorted and gently smacked G'raha's shoulder. “Noo, don't do that to him. We'll find him ourselves when we're ready.”

[aotopmha]

It's been a year since I made my FFXIV account.

This might just be the one subscription service I got the most value out of ever outside of basic utilities.

This game has offered me hours upon hours of fun.

And I still have so much left to do a year in.

For example, I've only leveled 6 of the 22 classes (also haven't touched Blue Mage).

I haven't touched Savages and Ultimates at all (this one's on shaky ground in general because of the necessary time commitment).

I haven't touched Deep Dungeons at all.

I haven't even completed all Extremes.

I'm still working on my first relic weapon, as well.

And every expansion still has countless side quests to do.

And the only things holding me back are other games that I love and exhaustion; in general, time, really.

While I was doing my dailies today, I had a realisation that I love the game on so many levels, it'd be difficult to make it so bad I would quit.

I've seen a bunch of people feel alienated from the game because of Dawntrail's story, but even if I have my issues with it, I still think it came together nicely by the end (and 7.1 is a nice continuation of it), but above all, I just really love other aspects of DT, as well.

I love going around the zones, I love the battle encounters, I love the graphics update.

I suppose making an expansion which has both bad story and bad gameplay would be closest to get me to stop playing; there is a possible scenario where they fumble both encounter design and story so bad I wouldn't be able to find anything good in them.

You never know.

But I think every time this team has had the foundation set, they've made gold.

The slower ARR is followed by HW.

The slower StB is followed by ShB/EW.

There is a set-up/pay-off pattern I see within the complete picture that I often see other people bring up as well.

The foundation set by ARR, HW and StB is part of what made ShB and EW so good.

Not all parts were great (in fact, as much as I am painting HW in a positive light, I think it in particular was much more flawed than people usually view it as), but the complete whole is one of my favourite fantasy stories ever because it did what mattered the most so well.

I mean, I suppose another way to "ruin" the story would be to irrevocably destroy what came before with new reveals, but once again, they just earned my trust so well with ShB and EW, I really do have faith they'll do another story (and game) rivaling them once all of the pieces are in place.

I really do think they have an interesting seed in place they can expand into something truly great.

But above all, I never thought an MMO would become one of my favourite games ever.

But it did.

I never thought I would like a battle system nor encounter design within an MMO as much as I do in this one.

Even after beating many of the Extremes on min ilvl, I still want to go back and do them again to teach and help people get through them.

Now, do I think it should not have any of those low points at all?

Yes, that definitely would be the ideal.

I could've done without the several detours before facing Titan or a lot of the Ruby Sea story or a good chunk of Labyrinthos and Bestways Burrow or the terrible retcon for the end of ARR in HW.

But I'm happy that for every bit of bad pacing or any irrelevant detour, we get long-term plot points like saving Gabu, the mystery of the Ascians, the liberation of Ala Mhigo, Omega, the dragons, the Reflections, the evolving story of Garlemald or even Niddhog's eyes and the journey those go through.

So, I think we're truly in trouble with the game's story when the long-term set up isn't paid off properly.

And we're truly in trouble with the game's gameplay when the team can no longer make content that is extremely replayable and fun to master.

Or probably if they at any point decide to go the path of least resistence and start making timesink mechanics like mandatory dailies.

It's the elements relating to player freedom that keep it going, I think.

[sheyshen]

ok finished the 6.55 stuff. so vague thoughts some spoilers ahead:

MSQ: -I love wuk lamat already and i'm for sure curious how things will go for dawntrail, though i am not about raya possibly having to go against thancred oh no. -only complaint that i had was raha's voice acting felt off, like he was distracted while recording and wasn't "in character" all the time (voice was too low in spots and delivery felt wrong for the situation and animation, and a few times it felt like it was the first time he was reading the lines) -did i mention i love wuk? because i do.

Hildi: -UFO UFO UFO -no notes, it felt like a hildi chain and i'd been hoping i'd get the UFO as a mount since it first showed up -Asura trial was interesting, went in blind so sorry to my group i was learning on the fly (tho i mean it's day 2 we all are)

Island sanctuary: -JULLUSSSSSS!!! -he was such a cutie and so bad at taking a break i loved the whole quest so much -especially the bit that it sounded like emm and sicard had been planning on how to smuggle him outta garlemald since they visited -only disappointing this was he was the last! ahhhh i wish we could invite npcs to visit, doesn't have to be anything involved just to let them be there on the island for a bit. -thanks for the HQ cheese -also, i dig whatever vibe jullus and manius had going. and was nice to have a mention of the little quest with alpha and omega

Allied Tribal quest: -I loved it, the race was so much fun and i'm glad we get to keep the trophy as a deco. and the dance is so fun (though rip the WoL's knees) -will need to have a whole lineup of people doing the dance sometime, it'd look great if we can time it right -only one singular complaint -where. was. nhaza'a???? they mention him on the radio after the quest is over but he didn't show up at all and i'm disappointed. -btw the radio has like four or five different 'news' blurbs it cycles through if you click on it.

Tataru's Grand Endeavor wrap up: -oh man made me tear up -and the flashback ahhhhh -I really loved getting to see everyone from the sharlayan deliveries for it, though it does make me curios if those aren't finished will you only get the ones that you have? or different comments? -editting on: I like that there's a comment that the people who helped restore/create the necklace for tataru checked in to see if she liked it but i kinda wished we could've gotten a comment from them if we visited them (hancock still says his "i don't want to see you in an early grave" lines for the post variant dungeon and gaius still has his comments about working with the resistance and getting werlyt on it's feet so i assume leofard's are also the same too) might be too much to request but woulda been nice touch lol

all in all i loved so much of it and makes me look forward to what's planned going forward! next is wow, though i have been digging through cutscenes so i have an idea of what happens but i wanna play through it myself >:3

[the-wardens-torch]

So, FFXIVwrite2023, huh?

About that... I said I'd be happy with 10 entries, so I just stopped there. Quite possibly because I started Baldur's Gate 3, but that's just a small piece of the problem. The main piece is that... I'm not enjoying FFXIV all that much anymore.

I decided to put this under a cut after I finished because it... mostly just turned into me complaining.

I have to be fully honest here. Endwalker really disappointed me from almost every angle. I love some of the characters and character growth moments (Alisaie's speech to Zenos, Jullus and the Garlemald arc come to mind,) and the environments and music are perfect and gorgeous as always. However, there are several buts, and they are stinky and hairy and flatulent buts indeed.

First of all, (and you probably saw this coming) my main class of 8 fucking years got gutted, and I can't seem to find another that I can both enjoy AND be good at. I play DNC now just because its easy and I can do it without burdening my party or unduly stressing myself out. Secondly, the story really lost me - the time travel, the continuing uwu-ification of the ancients/the world unsundered, the "just trust us!" style retcons, the fact that a single conversation could have solved everything on numerous occasions, whatever the fuck dynamis is... etc.

I digress a bit here though. The point is that I have played some absolutely phenomenal games since starting FFXIV (Baldur's Gate 3, Spiritfarer, Disco Elysium, Hades, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Return of the Obra Dinn, The Forgotten City,) and they keep reminding me that I'm supposed to be having fun... all the time. And yes, I am aware that comparing a detective procedural to a platformer to a Roguelite to an MMO doesn't make any sense, but joy and engagement with a game are just that, no matter what genre.

I feel like I should add the caveat that I still have a lot of fun raiding/partying with my friends, but schedules and other obligations and timezones and whatnot (aka through no fault of my dear friends) mean I'm solo/pugging a good 85% of the time and not having fun so much as filling quotas. I'm not quitting as of now or anything, (at the very least since I walked right into SE's subscription trap by getting a house) but I think I'm gonna be pretty light on logging in for at least a little while.

...

Holy shit, I was supposed to be talking about FFXIVwrite but that all just poured out of me.

About that FFXIVwrite though - I met a modest goal, and this was probably my last FFXIVwrite unless Dawntrail really blows my mind. I do want to continue my project of getting all 100+ pieces of Fal writing strung into a single story on my Ao3 . (Actually, the main reason I haven't done anything with it lately is because I was expecting to get more done with FFXIVwrite2023 to fill in some blanks before I posted everything else.) As for why I want to continue... I just really love my FFXIV son.

[crossroadsdimension]

Today was a good day! I'm in the middle of Lv 92 quests for Dawntrail, and while I've picked up Picto and Viper, I'm not actively using them for the story at the moment. Plan to get them leveled later, but right now? I'm content using Black Mage as my main and having Bard absorb all the side quests I'm finding.

I've got a small handful of the sightseeing logs...and my current goal besides doing the MSQ is to clear the map of side quests and aether currents as I go. All things considered, I think I'm doing rather well!

As for where specifically in the plot I am (spoilers if you keep going obviously!) --

I just got done with the third task (the Moblins), and I have Thoughts about what's going on.

Galool Ja Ja knows who Krile is, and remarked that Galuf would be proud of the person she's become. Does that mean Galuf spoke to Galool about Krile, or that Krile is a Tural native by birth?

I'm pleased that Galool is aware that none of the claimants in his rite of succession are prepared for the throne, and that they all have their faults.

-there's the bigoted idiot who just thinks it's a contest to win and doesn't have any plans for what's next (like how to hold a nation tother);

-there's the blood-born son who thinks that by bringing everyone to war, he can achieve everlasting peace (which...I'm looking at Garlemald and wondering if he discarded any lessons they learned just because they were an enemy empire);

-there's the miqo who thinks that technology will make everything better and keeps recommending things that will take away Tural's culture and identity, turning them into a second Sharlayan;

-and then there's Wuk Lamat herself, who doesn't have the confidence or worldly experience just yet to be the kind of peaceful ruler the lands actually need. The fact that her only supporters are the older generation -- the people who know that war is a bad thing -- is really telling, too, since Lamat only wants to follow in her father's footsteps and currently has no actions of her own to speak for her.

It looks like Wuk Lamat, at least, is learning about where her faults like and what she needs to do in order to become more confident, more knowledgable. Koana's heart is in the right place, but he seems to be refusing to look at the lessons in front of him. He clings to his beloved technology too tightly, and Thancred and Urianger know this. (Thancred dropping the "hear, feel, think" during the camp scene made me cackle. Especially when Koana looked confused. Of course he doesn't know Hydaelyn's key phrase -- he never had the chance to hear it!) The two Mamool Ja, on the other hand...one doesn't think there are any lessons to learn, and the other one is learning all the wrong ones. His follower/advisor/seer definitely isn't helping matters. I would love to whack them both upside the head, but something tells me that's not gonna happen for a while.

Especially if Galool's son is planning something that could hurt his adopted siblings downtime line...and he doesn't care if they're the ones caught in the crossfire.

I'm only Lv 92. I've got 8 levels and 4-and-a-half zones to go. Not to mention all the role quests and other leveling I'm going to want to do.

Speaking of! The role quests!

The fools who stole artifacts without knowing how dangerous they actually art when misused (and overused). They're so dumb they've warped around to being somewhat confident in a bumbling way, which is incredibly alarming.

Granted, I've only started the magical (90-92) and ranged DPS (90) jobs, but the fact that they're doing things to disrupt the local area and claiming they're "saving" people is just...how hard were they hit in the head??

It's definitely making me curious. I want to see more of...everything. But after I logged off a thunderstorm started moving through, so I'm just...gonna wait until tomorrow morning, I think....