#listen to oblivion from ffxiv that is all

[adakechi]

These voices telling me let it go

I try and try but I can't say no

This endless nightmare has just begun

My heart is dragging me down into oblivion

[msviolacea]

why you should play elder scrolls online in 2023

Okay, I've been considering making posts about "why to play X game I love" but finally decided "what the hell, no time like the present." And since ESO is on my mind today, it gets first dibs!

What is ESO??

It's an MMO set in the Elder Scrolls universe - think Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, etc. It's the Elder Scrolls theme park in the same way that FFXIV is the Final Fantasy theme park. But, in the same way, it's not exclusively for people who have experience with the previous games - it's a fun, immersive fantasy world whether you know anything about previous lore or not.

You should play ESO if ...

You like immersive fantasy worldbuilding. Listen, if there's one thing the Elder Scrolls team can do, it's worldbuild like motherfuckers. Do you want a story that reaches back thousands of years and covers dozens of countries/empires/territories, where you can find lorebooks around every corner, and expansive essays on the internet about the briefest of details? ESO has you covered.

You love overland exploration. This is ESO's bread and butter. The explorable areas are expansive and varied and absolutely gorgeous, and the game is built for the player who just wants to travel and collect things and see the sights. Tamriel has pretty much every biome you can imagine - you want medieval Britain? Head for High Isle! You want an Arabic-style desert? Alik'r Desert is your place! Rugged arctic landscape? Listen, there are FOUR SEPARATE Skyrim areas for you. You're like "I just want weird fantasy things that don't look like anywhere on earth?" Vvardenfell and its surrounding areas have you covered. You can explore as you play the story, you can go on a hunt for the perfect screenshot location, you can find an RP location that fits your character exactly, you can make it your goal to complete every exploration achievement in the game ... you can do it all.

You want a game where exploration isn't gated behind your level. ESO made the switch to what they call "One Tamriel" fairly early in their development cycle - this means that all mobs and quests are synced to your level in the overworld, and you can start or go anywhere you want no matter how low level you are. You can play through the storyline in release order, or you can say "I want to start in the newest expansion," or you can go "listen I'm only here for vampires in Western Skyrim," all of these are valid and possible ways of playing. You don't have to go "man the new expansion looks great but I have to put in HOW many hours to get there??" It's all available to you from level 1!

You love decorating houses. Listen, if there is one thing ESO does better than any other MMO (at least the ones I've played), it's the housing system. You can own ALL THE HOUSES. SO MANY HOUSES. Small and large and every conceivable style! You can buy land with no house on it, and build your own structures! You can decorate without having to learn how to glitch or press six buttons at once! And housing feeds very well into the rest of the gameplay - you earn furnishing plans from pretty much every conceivable gameplay system, so it becomes an excellent reason to go do your daily stuff and explore. And the housing community in ESO is one of the most creative groups I've ever seen, I could watch their YouTube videos and streams forever.

You like MMOs that allow you to play mostly solo. None of the story progression is gated behind the need to group up. There is plenty of group content, but it's all optional. There are bosses across the landscape and in public dungeons that require multiple people to kill, but you'll always come across people who want to help kill them without having to group up. And with the last few expansions, you now have companions - NPCs you can unlock and have follow you around everywhere. They can be set and geared to perform any role - tank, healer, DPS - and the AI is good enough at any of those to get you through pretty much anything overland you want to do. (And as a side note, some of the companion quests are really good, and they've been getting really, really good voice actors for the companions themselves - see: Laura Bailey, Brandon Keener - and they have fun dialogue as you wander.)

A couple of caveats:

If you play for story, your mileage will vary. Don't get me wrong, ESO has some very, very good stories within it! But it's not a linear story a la FFXIV or single player MMOs - it has a main storyline for the base game zones, and each DLC/expansion has its own storyline that sometimes connects into what happened in the base game, but for the most part ESO's story is a fragmented experience, and you have to go searching for the stories that connect most with you. Can you find them? Yes, but be ready to put in the time to look. (My personal recommendations? The vampire story that starts in Rivenspire and continues in Western Skyrim and The Reach is my absolute favorite; Elsweyr is also very good, but is more of a direct continuation of the base game story than anything else, so would probably need that context going in. A good portion of the fanbase will cite the larger Morrowind-Summerset storyline as the best the game has, and it's very good, but didn't quite stick with me as much as the others mentioned.) ESO tends to be more about the story of the world at large than about the stories of individual characters.

And speaking of story, the game is absolute balls at directing you to places where starting the story would make the most sense. If you want to experience the story in a vaguely linear fashion, here's what to do when you create a character - immediately head to whatever city is your chosen faction's starting city (Daggerfall, Auridon, or Stonefalls), and wander around until you trigger the "Soul Shriven in Coldharbor" quest. That starts the base game main story, and is the best place to start as a brand new player. The other tip: the fancy striped quest markers are indicative of the "main" story quest in each zone, do those when at all possible.

And speaking of factions, those only matter if you want to play PvP - and only Cyrodiil and Imperial City PvP at that. Otherwise, it's just flavor these days.

In conclusion:

ESO is my comfort "explore and collect" game - I find it very chill to just wander around, level new characters, dig up antiquities (ANTIQUITIES, my favorite side system, seriously I could look for leads and dig things up forever), collect materials to sell in my guild trader, and vaguely achievement hunt while listening to music or YouTube. The scenery is beautiful, the character creation is robust and turns out very cool looking characters, and the combat system is simple enough that I easily remember how to do things even if I've been away for a little while. And it is free-to-play, after buying the game; you don't need a subscription to access anything you've purchased, you just miss out on a few good quality of life features. (The craft bag, I could not live without my craft bag, seriously.)

Some version of ESO will be free on the Epic Game store starting tomorrow - my assumption is that it will be the version that contains all DLC/expansions except the Necrom chapter, which was just released last month. I highly recommend picking it up if you play on PC, just to check it out, if anything above sounds appealing to you! (And if you want to splurge, I can very highly recommend Necrom - the new class it introduces is maybe my favorite class to play yet, the two companions it introduces are fantastic, and Apocrypha is a fascinating area to explore if you like creepy eldritch horror type stuff.)

If you want to know more about ESO, just give me a shout! And if you're a mutual who decides to try it, hit me up, I have many gifts to give people!

[starrysnowdrop]

Spell Your URL 🎵🎶

Spell out your URL using song titles that can describe your muse, then tag as many people as there are letters in your URL!

All songs will be from Hali’s playlist! Here we go:

S - “Someday the Dream Will End” - Nobuo Uematsu, FFX [Listen]

T - “Take My Breath Away” - Berlin [Listen]

A - “Another Night” - Real McCoy [Listen]

R - “Return to Oblivion” - Masayoshi Soken, FFXIV [Listen]

R - “Run to You” - Whitney Houston [Listen]

Y - “Yuna’s Ballad” - FFX-2 [Listen]

S - “The Sunleth Waterscape” - Masashi Hamauzu, FFXIII [Listen]

N - “‘Neath Dark Waters (Scions & Sinners)” - Masayoshi Soken, FFXIV [Listen]

O - “Ordinary Day” - Vanessa Carlton [Listen]

W - “Written In the Stars” - Leann Rimes & Elton John [Listen]

D - “Drops of Jupiter” - Train [Listen]

R - “Real Emotion” - Sweetbox, FFX-2 Eng [Listen]

O - “Once Upon a Dream” - Lana Del Rey [Listen]

P - “The Planets: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” - Gustav Holst [Listen]

~**~

Tagged by: @disciple-of-frost and @gatheredfates Thank you both so much for thinking of me!! 🥰

Tagging: @meepsthemiqo @traveler-of-light @reikatsukihana @faerieearthangel @otherworldseekers @sasslett @ainyan @airis-ray @bnuuywol @pangolinheart @irisopranta @floweramongstthecold @mimble-sparklepudding @scholarlostintime and anyone else who wants to do this! It took me a while to link all the songs, but this was fun to do! 💖

[spellscarred]

5 Favourite Characters Poll (Tag Game)

I was tagged by @lealdog + @astrangedoor 💛

Rules: make a poll with five of your all time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite.

Tagging @dear-indies @imagine-eragons @oopsydaisyjohnson @svejarph @crimsonphoenix0

Edward Kenway

My man is equal parts charming and whiny, particularly in the first part, and what can I say? I like a little whiny cunt in a charming, competent man. I also like his character arc from opportunistic self-serving lil bitch to solid morals and thinking about others before his own gain.

Morrigan

She's a competent caster, does what she has to do to survive in a world that would rather see her dead, and she's funny to boot (in a kinda mean way lbr, but). I also really love her arc throughout the series, from resentful i-hate-you-and-i'll-let-you-know to abused daughter turned loving mother who genuinely cares for other people, but none above her son. Like talk about healing for your child and breaking the cycle of abuse.

G'raha Tia

Listen, he's my little boy and also my husband, okay? Meeting him over and over and over (basically) was honestly an emotional rollercoaster. He's also the character that made me giddy about hearing Jonathan Bailey in anything else, bc that's Raha 💛 For anyone who hasn't played FFXIV but still wants to, I'm not gonna spoil, but for anyone who has played past Endwalker, if you know you know. I love him.

Handsome Jack

Funny, shitty, and completely unhinged. He made Borderlands 2, and Borderlands honestly isn't interesting to me without Handsome Jack. What, you want me to shoot people and get loot without an unhinged asshole continuously taunting me in the most mind-boggling of ways? I can do that in any game. Any time he contacts you in BL2 is a delight and an absolute mindfuck that leaves you in tears for different reasons.

Lucien Lachance

I was thinking about who my fifth could be, and then I remembered Lucien. Look, I played Oblivion when I was like 14 or 15, and if I remember nothing about the game and the story, I'll still remember the Dark Brotherhood, specifically because of Lucien Lachance. That questline and that character made that game for me. It's why I was excited about the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim, only to be thoroughly disappointed (though the chance to be able to summon Lucien as a spooky follower was a little bit of a balm). He's been in my heart forever, and if I ever play Oblivion again, it'll be only and singularly for the Dark Brotherhood storyline.

[sangrefae]

FFXIV WRITE 2023: DAY 4 [OFF THE HOOK]

link to the ao3 post for my entries | day one | day two | day three

off the hook - [slang] out of danger; free from obligation or guilt. - wol & guydelot & sanson, set after the heavensward bard questline capstone. 1489 words.

The airship ride back to Gridania is peculiarly bittersweet. Sanson is more than relieved that Guydelot returned, just in the nick of time to aid in defeating the siren's deadly song, and it's as if he's deemed it Guydelot's fair punishment to talk his ear off; any other time he would tease the lancer mercilessly for his rambling, and yet there's still a sense of guilt in the back of his mind that keeps his mouth shut. 

Well, that, and the way that Elinor won't so much as look at him. 

Guydelot figures that he's gotten to know Elinor well enough to read him. He's still got a hells of a poker face, he'll give him that, but a few bells spent in the viera’s presence was all it took for Guydelot to learn his tells—those ears of his are just as expressive as they are big, and even the smallest movement can indicate a change of his mood nearly as accurately as the skywatcher's weather predictions. 

Now, however, Guydelot wonders if it was all deliberately overexaggerated for the ease of everyone else around him. 

Elinor is listening to Sanson's tirade, face just as politely impassive as ever, though now with his ears tucked back. He gives a small smile when Sanson laughs, a pensive frown when his tone lowers—notably, however, none of the expressions seem to quite reach his eyes. If it weren't for the way his eyes dart to glance in Guydelot's direction every so often, the bard'd easily assume he was just exhausted from their adventure. 

But no. It's nothing more than a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind, but Guydelot is certain that the viera is avoiding him. 

For some reason. 

Though he desperately wants to get to the bottom of this conundrum, Guydelot also knows that doing anything in front of Sanson is a poor idea. The situation will surely become something bigger than either of them want, and that would make it exponentially harder for him to understand why Elinor's avoiding him. (Seemingly.) No, it's much easier for the three of them if he simply leans back, listens, and waits.

Which is exactly what he does for the rest of the airship ride. 

The journey is pleasant enough, or at least as pleasant as it can be with one hyur running his mouth about anything and everything he can think of—at some point, any guilt Guydelot previously felt is entirely talked away and he asks the hyur if the Ballad of Oblivion consists of whatever he's jabbering on about. That earns them a few precious moments of silence, Guydelot determined not to look at Sanson with his kicked-puppy expression, only for Elinor to ask a quiet question Guydelot can't hear some time later and set him off again. 

Honestly, if the rest of his previous behavior hadn't already tipped Guydelot off, that would've surely been the kicker. He knows exactly how much the viera values silence and being left to his thoughts; outright baiting Sanson with a leading question is so out of character that Guydelot's (somewhat) surprised that the lancer hasn't caught on simply from that. 

Though it's just as likely that the pompous prat likes the sound of his own voice too much, but Guydelot's working on seeing the better side of his stiff companion, after all. 

As soon as the landing in the Carline Canopy appears in their view, Elinor not-so-subtly stiffens. Finally, Sanson notices the movement and comments on it, asks if everything's alright as the ship is lashed to the supports on the landing—the viera opens his mouth, seemingly to placate Sanson, until his eyes flicker over to Guydelot once more and he falters. 

"Just tired, is all." The bard faintly hears his reassurance from across the space of the ship, annoyance panging sharply in Guydelot's chest at the deflection. Sanson drops it at that, the polite bastard; patting Elinor's shoulder once in commiseration before leading the way off the airship, Guydelot lengthens his stride to catch up with both of them.

Given that he's a few fulms taller than both of them, it only takes a second or two for him to be able to reach forward and grab the same shoulder that'd been patted beforehand. Elinor freezes—Sanson pauses a few steps after, noting how abruptly the viera had stopped and looking to both of them with concern overtaking his face. Damn it.

"Is everything well?" he asks Guydelot. 

"Yep," Guydelot answers quickly, pasting on a grin he hopes is off-putting enough for Sanson to drop it. "All good. Just have to ask Elinor something about music, y'know, bard to bard. We'll catch up to ya."

Much to his chagrin, the quick dismissal only leads Sanson to narrow his eyes at him, distrust creeping into his expression. Swiving hells, when did he become so perceptive?

"It's alright, Sanson," a quiet voice pipes in, coming from somewhere around his waist; looking down, Guydelot sees Elinor nod slightly to the hyur. "We won't be long. See you at the Nest."

Sanson stares at both of them for a terrifying moment more, then finally nods before turning away—Guydelot counts to ten in his mind, to make sure he's fully gone. On ten he tightens his grip on Elinor's shoulder and quickly walks both of them away from the airship landing and ticket counter, swinging behind the steps that lead up to the Roost. Bending down to look Elinor directly in the eye, he decides that the best course of action is to just cut to the chase. 

"You're avoiding me. Why?" 

"I don't like how you hid from Sanson, or how you were willing to leave him all alone."

The reply comes so quickly that Guydelot stands for a moment with his mouth open, rebuttals he'd prepared in his mind beforehand suddenly rendered obsolete. Elinor stares back at him, face utterly unreadable.

"Well, that clears it up," Guydelot responds weakly, after a good long pause.

"Yep." Elinor shrugs, then tries to push past him. The elezen reacts instinctively before his mind can catch up, grabbing Elinor once more and dragging him back to where he'd stood. Only once he notices the alarm in his eyes does he let him go, letting out a sigh. 

"Hey—don't go running off! I didn't mean to upset ya," he laments, straightening up and running a hand through his choppy hair. "Though, I gotta say that I don't really understand. It wasn't like I also left yooo..."

Guydelot trails off as his brain finally connects the pieces together, eyes widening in realization. Elinor's ears flatten against his head.

"Whatever you're thinking is wrong—I couldn't be with him for all of the time you were gone, anyway, but—that, that's not the point! You let him think that you had abandoned him and refused to reveal yourself and the truth because of your own ego, and I don't..."

Elinor's face colors a bit as he talks, tail whipping back and forth in agitation. He's faced away from him now, refusing to meet his eye; Guydelot makes a low hum to signal for him to continue, past the sudden lump in his throat. 

"... I don't trust that you won't... do it again. To me, or to Sanson, o-or anyone. I won't let it happen again, I can't deal with it again, so... I'm avoiding what caused it," Elinor finishes, voice barely audible by the end. 

Guilt rises in Guydelot's throat until he feels he might be sick from it, crossing his arms defensively. Sanson really was a polite bastard—he'd been kind enough to mince his words when telling Guydelot how broken up he'd been by him leaving, before focusing on how sorry he was for hurting him with his words. Elinor isn't giving him that courtesy, and for good reason. 

His brutal honesty seems to bring some relief, anyway, leaving Guydelot feeling surer with his next words.

"Well. For what it's worth, I'm not planning on doing it again, and not just because I hate how pathetic I acted," he replies. Elinor still won't look at him, but he can tell he's listening by the angle of his long ears. "I don't blame you for being cautious, but I'm not lying when I say you're someone I wanna have stick around. If me runnin' off like that means that you don't want to stick around, then I won't. Or, at least, I'll let ya know before I do."

Silence fills the space between them, Elinor's gaze fixed on the floor as anxiety swells to meet with the guilt in Guydelot's throat. Finally, the viera's eyes flick to look in his direction, posture relaxing infinitesimally. 

"You were very pathetic, yes," he replies, a hint of a tease in his tone. Guydelot beams.

"I've heard that before, once or twice," he responds, trying not to betray how his body thrums with relief at his friend's unspoken forgiveness.

[leejafythe]

Dear Diary

FFXIV Write 2022 Entry Prompt: Veracity Word Count: 1773 CW: None AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42166449

Dear Diary

Growing up, I had been told repeatedly to tell the truth. “The truth will set you free” I had been told. It was something that I believed and I stuck to those words. 

Then I left for Eorzea. 

My time in Eorzea showed me that the statement the truth shall set you free was nothing but a lie. I had been lied to by various people, those I thought I could trust, those who were apparently doing it for my benefit. Though it wasn’t his own fault or his own doing Thancred had lied to me about being fine, though it was Lahabrea. 

Then there was the Bloody Banquet. When Ilberd and the corrupted Crystal Braves had framed me for regicide and told the realm lies about the Scions. I never forgave him or those who followed his lead. The anger still simmered away. 

Urianger had lied to all the Scions regarding Minfilia. He was doing it for the all the right reasons, sure, I understood but I couldn’t stop being angry. When they returned to the Rising Stones from Thanalan, I walked away and went to my room in silence. I struggled to regain my trust in him again.

When I was in the First the Exarch was he next to lie to me. Directly to my face about his true identity and his true plans for me, the star and himself. He had roped Urianger into his plans and as a result, I nearly became a Light Warden because everything was hidden and the truth had been shrouded in darkness. When G’raha revealed himself, I struggled to forgive both him and Urianger. 

Now, I was stood at the edge of creation with the two men who had both nearly caused my demise. For what though?  

“Aye, this place should serve.”

“ Is it the spring that you wished to investigate?” G’raha looked at Urianger while Leeja swallowed hard. She was already struggling with the loss of Thancred and Estinien.

“Pray forgive me, my friends...but there is naught to investigate. 'Twas but a pretense to speak in private” she felt the air leave her lungs.

“Don’t do this, Urianger. You’ve both lied to me many times, I can’t do this to Alphinaud and Alisaie” her hands closed into fists as tears stung at her eyes. “It’s bad enough I’ve lost two people I love dearly, I refuse to be part of a lie to those I have left” she began to tremble from head to toe. G’raha hugged her tightly.

“You have our undivided attention” G’raha wasn’t happy about what would come next, yet they both stood and listened. She’d probably hate herself later but she had no choice.

“As we have established, here in Ultima Thule, those denizens of ruined stars are recreated in their twilight days. Yet one question doth arise in my mind. So faithfully formed are the simulacra, they believe themselves yet amongst the living. How dost thou suppose this is possible?” They both thought for a moment and Leeja was the first to speak up.

“Oh… Meteion made contact with them while they still lived” she clung to G’raha, feeling exhausted.

“Of course! She must have visited the stars of the dragons and the Ea before either race perished in their entirety. Thus could she make their emotions her own, and with them create more faithful simulacra than had she relied on any historical account” G’raha looked at them both. Urianger nodded before continuing. Leeja listened but didn’t respond, allowing them to continue theorising. 

“Therefore, should you struggle to find the way forward, pray ask yourselves this: in the place where you stand, whose is the soul that yearneth most desperately for oblivion?” G’raha tensed a little and Leeja could feel it. 

“Why do you tell us this now?” G’raha could feel her trembling worsen and tried to reassure her.

“Keep in mind, Urianger that if it is a secret you wish to keep… I don’t think I can. Not from the twins. I love them too much to lie and I won’t have them question the veracity of anything I tell them. I have never lied to them and I never will” Leeja hiccupped a little and looked at the elezen who gave her a gentle smile.

“Ne'er again would I betray your trust. This pledge I did make to my comrades. In bringing thee into my confidence, I would remain true to my word” he gave her a gentle smile and she let go of G’raha and hugged Urianger tightly.

“Please don’t go… Not you. Not you as well” she sniffled and gripped onto him in a desperate hope not to lose anyone else. He froze for a moment before finally hugging her back and looking at G’raha.

“As for thee... Let us consider it my fitting reward for the secrets I harboured for the Crystal Exarch. I once placed my faith in thy chosen path, walking at thy side full knowing that we were bound for thy demise. I ask now that thou returnest the favour, and abide in faith as I fulfil mine own destiny”. G’raha’s hands tensed and he finally looked up.

“If you say my debt has come due, how am I to refuse?” He sounded defeated. This wasn’t something either of them wanted to hear. Yet, Urianger continued.

“'Tis indelicate of me, I know full well, and I can but beg thy forgiveness. Yet even if I must needs go to such lengths, I cannot well feign ignorance of the answer I have found within… The answer to the question: in what moment might I stand strongest?”

It was the painful truth and both miqo’te hated it. G’raha struggled to speak his words and Leeja had none as she clung onto Urianger for dear life “After all that we've been through, I will say only this. Do what you must. Do what you must, and see your conviction through.”

“I shall, my friend. I shall. Without further ado, then, let us go to join our comrades” Leeja stepped back and turned her back to them, unable to encourage him. 

“Leeja?” they both approached her carefully.

“Don’t… just… I’ll catch up…”  G’raha stepped back and walked away. Meanwhile, Urianger stayed and listened as she cried quietly to herself.

“Leeja?” she wiped her eyes quickly and turned to look at him.

“Why must you do this? Without sounding selfish but I’m losing everyone. If you go…” she swallowed hard. He just hugged her tightly as she cried quietly. “‘M sorry… Let’s go and catch up everyone” they walked off and caught up with everyone.

The Ea were mid-conversation with Y’shtola when they returned. It was regarding the state of the universe, a truth they had discovered. They didn’t bother with all the scientific details, claiming it was too complex for them to grasp and went on with the story of what happened to their kind and their star. Meteion had visited and it changed everything, but it just before that when their tale began, claiming the same phenomenon that was affecting Etheirys had also affected their star, Deneb III. Yet they continued on, telling them that the universe is destined to fall into an eternal ice age. “Why strive for anything when decimation is assured? When our wealth of wisdom, accumulated since the dawning of our kind, would be forever lost?” 

The Ea weren’t lying. Leeja couldn’t sense a hint of lies in their words. Yet she noticed Y’shtola’s body language change, ever so slightly. “No…” her voice was ever so quiet and barely picked up by G’raha. She closed her eyes and looked down, not wanting to see what was next as Y’shtola sighed and began her answer to the Ea. The same wind that took Estinien away picked up around her and Leeja’s ears and her tail lay flat against her. “Keep calm, and listen well. Though my body will soon dissipate, there may be a way to restore it” that made Leeja look up. Y’shtola had a plan? Why did she not say a word? “Azem’s magick. So long as our souls remain, you can use it to summon us back.”

“Why did you not tell me this sooner?!” she went to pull the stone from her pocket.

“But you mustn't, for it would mean losing our way forward. This, I only reveal so that you can promise not to invoke the magick.”

“Y’shtola–”

“Promise me you will not use it!” she snapped back. Leeja flinched and pulled her hand away.

“I-I won’t use it…” she felt the familiar burning sensation as the tears built up once again. She was losing her family and it hurt . 

“We came here knowing what victory may cost, so press on. Press on, and do not look back.”

Every word felt like a dagger in her chest. She wished she hadn’t been told, that for once Y’shtola would lie about the fact she could bring them back. Every part of her mine screamed to invoke the magick, yet she made a promise. A promise that she loathed. A promise made worse when Urianger left with Y’shtola. A promise made worse when she lost G’raha, when she lost Alphinaud and Alisaie.

A promise made worse when she was alone.

So you see, Diary, sometimes it’s kinder to lie to the ones you love. So they don’t feel the heartache of knowing you can save them when it’s better not to do so. Though I got them back, the pain of losing them and knowing I could lose them all over again is a pain that is going to sit there for a while. I’m not angry, just hurt. Hurt that they could find it so easy to just… sacrifice themselves. I’ve nearly lost them all before after the banquet. I lost Minfilia completely to Hydaelyn, Papalymo gave his life to bind Shinryu. Gosestu gave his life so we could escape Doma castle - even if he did survive. On the First Thancred gave Ryne and I a means of escape when he took on Ran’jit alone and he nearly succumbed to his injuries. G’raha was going to sacrifice himself to save the First and my life until Emet stepped in. Then, well you know what happened in Ultima Thule. I suppose I’ve gotten my revenge on them, given that I never followed Meteion back to the ship and stayed behind to fight Zenos. I nearly died for it and I nearly never made it back to them. 

There’s a time and a place for lying, you just need to know when it is.

[noxtivagus]

RETURN TO OBLIVION FFXIV HSDJFAJKSLDFDKSJL

[squeaky-potat]

My heart is dragging me down into oblivion.

Was listening to Oblivion (let it go ver) from FFXIV and this is what came out. Promise the next digital upload won’t be a quickie like these last 2, just needing to get all my ideas out 💭

[abyssalmermaiden]

15 and 24 for the ask meme, please!

15. Favorite mount?

Boreas because you get to listen to Oblivion on repeat <3

Runners up include Ellh Tou because she's delightful and the big shell because of the way it scuttles around.

But the mount I actually use the most is the true griffin

24. The next seasonal event provides you with a dating sim like experience, who would you pursue? (Assume all character deaths/disappearances are negated so you may pick from anyone and everyone)

Thancred. (to no one's surprise)

but if its the sort of thing like other seasonal events where you can go back and play through all the options I'd go back for Haurchefant and Ysayle. (and probably others *cough*Emet-Selch*cough cough* out of sheer curiosity)

FFXIV questions

[prancingmoogle]

The Prancing Moogle Newsletter would like to bring you our FANFEST DAY ONE HIGHLIGHTS

2021 Fanfest was a very well orchestrated and entertaining event overall. For those who missed it, or maybe only skimmed over the later half, we highly recommend watching some of the panels here on Youtube. Either way, here is our digest written by Fordaux Llane from the perspective of the Prancing Moogle Cafe Watch Party we hosted. Sit back, pull up some coffee as I dive into Day 1 of this wonderful event.

Already kicking us off in the keynote address was our lead game director, Yoshi-P, in a full costume of what would be the new melee class of Endwalker, Reaper. We were treated to a full trailer of the class and so far it looks absolutely incredible. Most of our watch party either made Bloodeborne jokes or Kingdom Hearts jokes. 

After which, we got to see the new hub city of Old Sharlayan as well as some of the new zones for Endwalker. But, unlike Shadowbringers, we didn’t get much in the way of an explanation for much of these. Old Sharlayan and Rad-at-Han have always played a pivotal role in the conflicts and politics of Eorzea. So much so that it was revealed they originally intended to have SIX city-states instead of the three we were given at launch. But as we all know, schedules change and deadlines come about.

The panel continued to go over some of the previously mentioned points. The removal of belts, the Sage class, and the fact that this was going to be the final chapter in the Hydaelyn vs Zodiark storyline. It had seemed things were about to wrap up until they mentioned they had forgotten one very important reveal. 

Male Viera had OFFICIALLY been announced. If you are interested in why the community is losing their mind over this, just watch the trailer here. This key note address was a non-stop thrill ride from beginning to end and a perfect way to begin what would be, a very memorable night. 

How Do You Like Hydaelyn?

Are you a lore nerd of FFXIV? Maybe you’re just getting into the story and wondering what all the fuss is about with Old Sharlayan? Well, Ryoji Takeda, Gunisaka, and Banri Oda had us covered with this segment! A stage event where they had logged into the world of FFXIV, surrounded by hundreds of whale mounted players, and talked about the significance of Sharlayan as well as magic in Hydaelyn. If you are looking to catch up on lore or felt you missed something, we highly recommend listening in on this panel. 

The Dreaded Hancock Advertisement

No need to go further. 

The Piano Performance

And finally, we’ll talk about the piano performance. This was a spectacle performed by Keiko and later in the night, Soken himself. Keiko performed many well known FFXIV tracks along with livestreams of Amanda Achen Keenan. Tomorrow and Tomorrow, What Angel Wakes Me, and Return to Oblivion were just a few of the songs performed this night. But that wasn’t all, as Soken appeared on stage with his unique instrument for the night. We cannot well express the intensity of this so we recommend you check it out here. After some brief words between the two wonderful artists, they continued to serenade us throughout the morning. Even ending on a wonderful encore that featured a duet of A Long Fall with Keiko and Soken.

That is all we will cover for Day 1! The Prancing Moogle Community had also added it’s own flair in places throughout the Fanfest, including the making of the Eorzea Cafe Desserts (which can be seen at the top). We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we highly recommend you check out at LEAST the highlights we’ve brought to you today. We will be going over Day 2 in a future article. Thank you for tuning in to our Newsletter! - Fordaux Llane

[nerdgirlhelpsyou]

Nombres de Temas: Ideas I

Conozco muchos que no saben bien que poner de nombres para temas y yo voy a hacer una lista de nombres para temas que podéis usar a gusto si no sabéis a la larga como ponerlos o qué hacer. Esta es la primera lista de varias que acabaré haciendo algún día. Estas están en inglés. Si no sabéis qué dicen, pues a traducir con Google. 

Estas están basadas en canciones del FFXIV (principalmete de Koji Fox)

The soul yearns for honour

Look to those who walked before

Still deaf to our cries

Our souls have been torn

Bearing sins of the past

Words without sound

Mired by a plague of doubt

To listen, to suffer, to entrust

In one fleeting moment

Lost here inside my own hell

Superne videt praeteritum (From on high, he marks the past)

Res evertuntur repente (A revolution is upon us)

Into the dark of an endless night

There's no salvation for the sons of man

Soul without a name

Thunder shall roll on

Lying naked while the snow falls all around me

we are taught to fear the Reaper

My heart is dragging me down into oblivion

This time I'm screaming back

I'll find no peace, no sweet release

Wake up in sweat, full of regret

Beneath the gazing stars

Ever ring outs our song

Children of the land, do you hear?

Echoes of truths that once rang clear

Memories dimmed by shadowed hearts.

To those who fight for naught.

Seeking solace in the abyss.

Seeking the peace of reason

Sheep in a peaceless season

Reason to keep believing

Waken the beast who's sleeping

Fragments in one direction

Your world's a fantasy, you've failed the test

The edge is calling tonight

You walk the path laid before you

Say my name

Better to serve in a waking nightmare

Where the serpent lies

The kiss of the salt-sweet breeze

A heartbeat without harmony

An empty hearth down by the sea.

The heart seeketh equilibrium

In time you shall follow

Hereby free to ever slumber

Give in to the hunger

Flower waiting to be plucked

Wayward daughter, step into the night

Sanctuary of the moon

[fluffysstorytimeblog]

4 Games that I believe have a Strong Story

Before reading this I just wanna say that I am not the kind of person that focuses on the Story in a game and I focus on the gameplay and art.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

This game's story focuses on the player's character, in the game's story known as the Dragonborn on a quest to defeat a dragon named Alduin that is prophesied to destroy the world. This is set 200 years after the events of Oblivion and takes place in Skyrim.

I believe this is a pretty strong story if you pay attention to it as you play the game and I thought it was pretty cool when I played it but I mostly focused on the gameplay and doing other things than listening to the story.

Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV features multiple story arcs but since the game is an MMORPG it starts with the player as an adventurer who experiences their home nations story before the arcs converge into one. And these stories are usually along the lines of saving a place or a world.

My time in FFXIV was fun and I quite enjoyed the story even though I am not a person who focuses on game stories and the reason this is because the game has many cutscenes and dialogue which gets the player to focus on the dialogue and cutscenes.

Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter world's story focuses on this New World full of different Monsters and Creatures that must be defeated for the sake of research and survival.

Even though my description of the game's story might sound very basic and dull this game's story is actually quite interesting when you play the game and I have hundreds of hours put into this game defeating monsters and enjoying the story.

Undertale

Undertale's story is set in the underground in a realm where monsters were banished when the war broke out with the humans. The human which is the player wonders this realm fighting monsters that can be either killed, be left alive or even befriend and eventually the human learn the cause of the war between humans and monsters.

I played this game for quite a long time and I enjoyed every bit of the game's story. Even though the gameplay wasn't something extraordinary I believe the story was pretty good.

The four games I have talked about all have different stories but the most similar ones that I can think of are Skyrim, FFXIV and Monster Hunter World. The reason I say this is because all three are focused on saving the world or a place or at some point in the game's story they will have to save the world or a place. The only one that stands out from all these is Undertale and this is because Undertale the story is to wonder do what you want and find out about why the war broke out between the monsters and humans and not about saving the world or a place.

Even though the stories of the games may be similar they are all unique in their own style and all of them are strong stories that make the games more enjoyable.

[northwest-cryptid]

Honestly no game’s soundtrack will ever compare to FFXIV’s I’m sorry, you can say whatever you want but have you heard FFXIV’s soundtrack? Here’s a few of the boss themes, Rise is a great one, Fiend is unlike anything I expected in Final Fantasy, let’s not forget Shiva’s Oblivion oh what’s that? You think it’s lacking that distinctly Final Fantasy vibe? Alright fair let’s take a step back and listen to Heroes Never Die, or how about one of my favorite themes, Freefall. You want to get fucking chills? Here’s Answers and in case that’s not enough to give you chills, here’s Dragonsong. But you know what? That’s not even all the primals, Titan’s theme has 5 stages to it, the last of which Under The Weight is fucking hardcore and really does a great job of telling you that you’re in the final phase of the fight. What about Leviathan’s Through the Maelstrom. You know, I’m not leaving out the best song in the OST, how could we leave out everyone’s favorite song from Alexander, Exponential Entropy! Even if you don’t play this game you should REALLY listen to the soundtrack, but I assure you, I can guarantee you that if you DO play through this game, the OST will be that much better. There’s nothing that makes “Heroes Never Die” as good as knowing WHY it’s called “Heroes Never Die” there’s nothing quite like hearing “Freefall” after getting far enough in the storyline to really feel the emotion in it. Nothing makes “Answers” nearly as chills inducing as when you and your friends have managed to get to Bahamut and are rewarded with possibly the most amazing soundtrack to accompany your battle. 

[arty-ffxiv]

Tag 10 people you want to get to know better

Favourite Anime/ Manga: Uhh I don’t actually watch or read anime or manga now (it reminds me of my awful weeb phase from High School that I’d really rather forget), but when I was younger I really liked Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, Kuroshitsuji, Pandora Hearts and Karneval manga. Anime-wise, I didn’t watch much but I liked Gundam 00 and SEED. Tbh I don’t remember the rest but nowadays I watch Steven Universe, Gravity Falls and Voltron while trying to avoid the toxic af fandoms.

Favourite Video Games: FFXIV, Dragon Age Series, The Witcher 3, Journey, Xenoblade Chronicles and Oblivion. I can’t really choose one as I adore them all so, so much.

Favourite Books: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver (❤❤❤), anything written by Rick Riordan, The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore and The Rangers’ Apprentice Series by John Flanagan. All of these as series I’ve grown up reading, so they’re aimed at younger people. Each of them are very dear to me, and I hope one day my kids will enjoy reading them too!

Favourite TV Show: I also don’t watch a lot of TV, but I do like House Hunters and Brooklyn 99.

Last Song I listened to: The Ocean by Mike Perry feat. Shy Martin ❤

First Language: English

Tagged By: @robotprinzess (thanks fro tagging me! 💕)

Tagging: @opo-opos, @lavenderrpurr, @cinnamon-suncat, @zevet-xiv, @keelime-pies, @zeiyth, @manawalls, @sylbrael, @crystalarcanist, @dayst-ffxiv, @cynicaldjinn and @sonataofsteel, as well as anyone else who’d like to do this! (I know this is OOC and completely understand if you’re not comfortable answering- just ignore if that’s the case.)

[lucunius]

– one / name / alias.  alice / bun – two /  birthday.  3rd july – three / zodiac sign.   cancer – four /  height.  5′3″ – five  /  hobbies.  roleplaying, doodling, video games   – six /  favourite colors.  pale pink – seven / favourite books. n/a – eight  /  last song listened to. thefatrat - oblivion (feat. lola blanc) – nine  /  last film watched.  idk, probably jurassic world fallen kingdom – ten  /  inspiration for muse. for lucia’s behaviour and mannerisms i kinda draw from another muse of mine who is fairly similar. she’s the only one in ffxiv i feel like i can comfortably write without being paranoid about being ignored in favour of other portrayals,, plus i just love her – eleven  / dream job.  don’t have one – twelve  / meaning behind your url.  lucia + junius put together. i had no idea what to use and it’s all i could think of lol.