#the expac overall just REALLY works for me and maybe i'll follow it up with an actual 'highlights list' at a later point

[zeledonia]

misc slightly underbaked thoughts abt DT i have rn that are probably only gonna multiply once ive had time to let everything marinate in my brain:

- I enjoyed Gulool Ja Ja's role as the "WoL of Tural" lol. It's been really entertaining to me to travel the continent and hear about all the cool and all the wacky stuff him and his scions gang were up to, seeing everyone react with a mixture of awe and 'what do you MEAN he did that', and realize that this is just. This is what the WoL must look like to everyone who wasn't around for the action. We're experiencing the impact of a character much like the WoL, but from an outside perspective this time. - I thought the parts of the story dealing with accepting loss and grief as a part of life were very heartfelt, and some of them hit very close to home. I liked how well it tied in with what Venat told her people in Endwalker, about how she believes that people must not cling to the things they have lost and instead learn to take the loss into their hearts and move forward. There's smth to be said about the parallels between the supporters of the Zodiark plan, and the system powering the Endless. Being so set on the idea of cheating death and loss by bringing back/keeping around those that have been lost, at the cost of lives that have yet to be lived fully. - This is a small-ish thing but I thought it was a neat idea that the sidequests in Living Memory unlocked as you erased the areas, and them being your chance to help people 'finish their affairs', so to speak. Y'know, it kind of reminded me of the Aitiascope in a way - souls staying behind because they have unresolved issues that prevent them from moving on, and this time you get the chance to help. - Ok this one is deeply personal but everything about the various different relationships the promises had with Gulool Ja Ja, and the elements around legacy and exploring how the person who raised you lives on in you came at a pretty vulnerable part in my life and made me think. A lot. My family unexpectedly lost my father a little less than two years ago. Needless to say we've been grappling with the hole he left behind and the footsteps he left to fill. Watching the characters ponder over things like "what part lives on in me" and "how can I carry the responsibilities that used to be his" definitely hit me in some kinda way.