#theres no ascians in this au so

[ancientechos]

Omen of Beginning

Emet-Selch/Arianna ♡ 2714 words ♡ Revenant AU

This idyllic little town is so very boring...

But for the moment it suits Solus dus Galvus fine.

There’s little to do, he can even nap on the job...so long as Cyrus doesn’t see fit to nag him...

Next

“Say, Sol,” Speak of the devil, and he arrives. “I think that girl might be a revenant.”

A sharp exhale leaves the Garlean soldier’s nose as he levels an unimpressed stare at his supposed best friend.

“And which girl might you be referring to?” They’re standing in the middle of a mostly crowded marketplace...aside from the obvious berth most of the residents give them. “There are many here, as I’m sure you can see...and none of them have any obvious traits.”

“That one.” Cyrus jerks his head slightly. “The girl with the black hair, and the basket. She might be hiding a tail or something underneath that skirt of hers, you never know...”

Another sigh.

Unfortunately, this time Orphus sees fit to interrupt their conversation.

“You should check.” He claps Solus on the shoulder, and he has to resist the urge to shake the hand off. Annoyance bridles in his stomach.

“Why don’t you do it?” he snaps with a thinly veiled glare. The other man shrugs.

“You’re supposed to be good at that revenant finding stuff. Even Cyrus says so...right?”

“Indeed! So I think you should take the chance, old friend, let us know what you find.”

“There’s no reason for me -- “

Just as he begins speaking, some sort of commotion rises up. It’s from the direction Cyrus had pointed in the first place.

Someone appears to be heckling the dark-haired woman for something; a second later, it becomes clear. Someone is attempting to pull something out of her grasp.

When neither Orphus nor Cyrus make a move, Solus sighs yet again, rolling his shoulders as he pushes himself away from the wall. One hand goes to his gunblade as he strides forth. The crowd disperses almost immediately, but the scruffy-looking girl grappling at the woman’s -- belongings? -- does not.

“Some sort of problem here?” Solus asks boredly. It’s almost comical how quickly the red-haired girl halts. She turns slowly -- one eye is obscured by an eyepatch. The remaining one glowers at him until she spies the blade.

Then she runs off and down an alley.

He doesn’t bother making chase, instead looking to the dark-haired woman. The one Cyrus had said might be a revenant. Up close, she certainly doesn’t look it. How on earth had he come to that conclusion?

“Are you all right?” he supposes he should ask, if only because she stares at that -- ahh, it’s a book. Dimly, he wonders why a brigand would want to steal something like that.

The woman gives a short nod, her gaze meeting his as she clutches the book close to her chest. Something feels odd, so he prompts her again.

“What’s your name?”

Instead of responding to him, she opens her book. Again, Solus cannot help the sense of wrongness -- why does she not simply speak?

A moment later, after an apologetic glance up with furrowed brows, the dark-haired woman holds the book up to face him. He squints at the words written neatly there. 

My name is Arianna Rowen.

One of his brows lifts.

“A mute...?” So that was the reason for the lack of verbal acknowledgment? Well, he supposes it matters little, assuming it does not hinder her ability to work. Certainly does not make her someone especially abnormal. “And what do you do?”

There’s no prefix by her name. Likely she’s missed one of the tribunus’ announcements...or, rather, all of them. Perhaps she’s merely a traveller...though she doesn’t exactly wear the garb of one.

He shifts his weight to one leg as he awaits her response, watching her scribble in that book of hers. His golden gaze flicks away a moment to watch the other passersby, until she holds up the tome again. Of course neither Cyrus nor Orphus are anywhere to be found.

I am an herbalist. I make poultices and teas at home.

“And you live here?”

Yes.

Arianna...

The murmurs of his colleagues reverberates in his ears. If she has anything to hide, she should deny him his request.

“Say, miss Rowen, I’m afraid I’m awfully thirsty. Would you mind if I joined you for a cup of one of those teas of yours? I’d pay you, of course.” He makes a vague gesture toward his coin pouch at his belt. He watches her watch him, as her green eyes flick from his face to the gunblade strapped at his back.

Not exactly what he’d wanted, but still —

Arianna gives a small nod of assent.

Solus’ brow quirks again, though he makes no comment. Perhaps she really does have nothing to hide. He is...relieved? The prickly sensation fades.

When she makes note that she still has some shopping to do, he bids her to go on her way.

“There’s no need for me to escort you, I assume...unless you’re worried about a repeat of this incident.”

No, thank you. It is all right.

He hasn’t asked if it was all right, and frankly he doesn’t think he cares. He’s simply curious.

Will she try to slip away? Surely that’s what a revenant might do. Use the opportunity to escape to whatever little hole she might have for herself...

Maybe he’s daring her to do so.

He leans lightly against the brick wall, eyes hawklike as he scans the crowd. There are other exit points to the market, of course, but he is ever so intrigued. If she’ll simply try to leave.

The minutes feel too long. The sense of unease returns, burdening him with its weight. He wants to snap his teeth at a nonexistent bit -- he has no idea why he’s this annoyed --

And suddenly she is there, coming to a nervous halt in front of him. Her basket is full of various plants and small cloths, wrapping...something. One of her hands lifts to run a hand through her hair as she fidgets.

“...Oh.” He can’t tell whether he’s disappointingly surprised or surprisingly disappointed. “I didn’t think you’d come back.”

He doesn’t miss the confused glances the other residents send his way, and doesn’t miss the way she tenses beneath their heavy stares.

“All done, then? Shall we go?”

________

The prickly unease returns as they walk. Not only does she not take him to any of the surrounding homes, as he’d assumed she would...

She leads him outside the town, into the surrounding woods.

Her footsteps are weary as she glances back at him every few moments. He doesn’t expect her to speak, and he doesn’t attempt to make conversation. Instead, he glances between the trees, trying to discern just why he feels so uncomfortable.

There is always a catch.

If she truly thinks she might be able to overpower him here...he snorts at the very thought. She doesn’t say anything, of course.

Perhaps she has friends, waiting in ambush.

Before long, they’ve turned off the main road onto a well-trodden path. She has to push some of the branches back as she walks, thoughtfully holding them just a moment longer for him. Charming, but unnecessary. The way opens up to show him a small quaint cottage. As the woman’s strides grow more confident, he knows without having to ask that this is her home.

The smell of the woods gives way to the scent of various herbs as they approach. Some are vaguely recognisable, others he has no idea of. She leads him into the wooden home; the slats are dark, the room feels small, yet somehow it feels oddly warm.

Arianna bids him with a gentle gesture to sit at the table in her kitchen. He reclines in his seat, glancing about. Charming.

“What a nice place.” He can’t see anything especially out of the ordinary, either. “I like it.” She reddens slightly at the compliment, setting her basket down.

Thank you, sir...

He stares at the formality for a moment.

“Oh, I didn’t introduce myself, did I? How terribly rude of me. My apologies. My name is Solus dus Galvus. No need for sir.” He takes one last look around the oddly comforting space. “You should introduce yourself as Arianna bas Rowen. I don’t suppose you have any Garlean licenses...?”

Her blank stare speaks volumes. He waves a hand carelessly. Understandable. He’s beginning to get a hang of her situation. He sympathises; why go anywhere when you can simply stay somewhere safe and warm?

“I’ll have someone send them over. Now, about that tea...” The subject finished, his smile is easy and light as he prompts her. With a start, she quickly begins to prepare a cup of drink for him as water heats on a modest flame.

There is nothing here. There’s no reason to even begin to suspect her. Simply a quiet herbalist making ends meet in her little home in the woods...

Nothing fantastical or otherworldly about her. She is normal.

The tea is warm, sweet; he asks on a whim whether she has any blends for sleep, and she promises to give him some. The longer he stays, the more she relaxes, whatever apparent misgivings she’d had to his presence disappearing. Just as his of hers.

And all the better for it.

Once it’s eventually time to take his leave, he stands from her presence and fishes open his coin pouch.

“Here you are, for the tea and...the other tea, I suppose. Thank you.”

That anxious sensation returns, and he’s reminded once more --

There is always a catch...

But there is none this time. She merely smiles serenely at him and sends him on his way with a small bag of dried herbs. A different sort to the one she’d used in her tea for him. It serves him well, up until he scrapes the bottom of the bag with his spoon and has to tip the remainders of the leaves out. Never has he slept so well as when he brews a cup of this before bed.

________

When she approaches him this day, she seems almost pleased to see him. Solus tries not to allow such a fact to cloud his ego.

A difficult thing, all things considered.

She holds out a greeting for him, asking how he is today.

“I’m quite exhausted.” His head tilts slightly as he observes her. “I suppose you wouldn’t mind if I snuck to your bed for a nap...?”

Her reaction has the corner of his mouth curving in amusement. Almost immediately, her entire face reddens as she stares at him with wide eyes. Before she can fumble to reply, he continues.

“I was just joking.” He sighs quietly. “Though I suppose I wouldn’t really turn down a chance to sleep. I likely shouldn’t.”

Arianna regards him, her expression strangely resolute. She turns to a new page in her book.

I could bring you tea. Not for sleeping, for staying awake.

Solus blinks at the paper for a moment.

“Would you? I’d appreciate it.” Did she have a drink for everything?

With a soft nod, she goes back the way she had come; when she returns, along with her basket, she holds a mug of hot tea.

Holding the cup in one hand, be brings it to up to inhale the steam. Already he can feel the weight on his eyelids lessening. Curious. And it tastes just as delicious as it smells. He thinks he can feel the remnants of sugar crystals on his tongue.

“Marvelous, thank you.” The soldier gives her a small smile, and makes to reach for his coin purse; she quickly shakes her head, reaching out a hand as if to stop him. She halts just short of touching his wrist.

“No money? Are you sure?” She nods. Unfortunately, he can’t resist the urge to prod at her again. “I know I’m your favourite customer, but preferential treatment is still a bit...I do hope no one is listening to us...”

He cannot help but laugh at her reaction as she gapes at him, then turns her face away.

________

It’s ridiculous for him to feel anxious of anyone finding him here. He’s merely enjoying a cup of tea on his break.

There’s nothing, no one to find.

So it vexes him that he can never shake off that sensation as he approaches the cottage. As if he’s doing something he shouldn’t.

It’s not as if he cares. he does what he wants. And if any of his colleagues have anything to say about it, it hasn’t been to his face.

So Solus doesn’t care.

The irritating feeling fades with every sip of warm, soothing tea.

________

There is something.

Something in the air. It nags and prickles against his skin, if only he could scratch it out. Then maybe he might feel some relief. But he knows not what it is, not even where it is, so there is nothing he can do but grit his teeth and bear with it.

Perhaps it is simply the poor weather striking at his nerves. It’s dark. It’s been raining for hours; he’s soaking wet and cold. Annoyed, mostly. He wants to go home, drink tea, sleep. But there’s no rest for the righteous; he’ll wait until his turn to leave. He glances at the chronometer on his wrist. It should be about time...

A sharp clicking of heels on pavement behind him catches his attention; the sound stifles and grows hesitant as their owner approaches. He turns.

It’s her. His previously tense muscles relax as he lets loose a sigh past his lips.

“Oh, the fine maiden from the woods.” Solus cocks a brow; her basket this time is covered in cloth, her head burdened by a large cap. Even her hands are covered now. The rain? Ah, she cannot write like this, can she —

“Going to the market?”

She gives a small nod.

“At a time like this? I assume it must be some sort of dire emergency.” He’s vaguely disappointed she can’t stay and chat. One curse of the rain is that there’s no one to even watch.

All he gets in response is another nod -- stiffer this time, but a new expression all on its own. “Well, I shan’t keep you. Go on.”  No sense in causing the woman undue stress, with whatever it is on her mind...

He shifts away. Something about her motion is oddly clumsy this time as she makes to trot past him. The sensation grows and grows like a bubble threatening to burst.

Her foot stubs against the uneven pavement. He reaches to grasp her upper arm, but she flinches away and sprawls onto the ground. There’s indignation and confusion at her reaction --

Ah, there it is. Her dress.

The bubble swells and deflates all in a singular moment.

Where her feet should be are not heels, but hooves.

His mind goes blank. He can hear nothing but the rain and empty noise in his head.

Her...?

His tongue clicks sharply against his teeth. If this were a dream, it would be quite nice if he could wake up now...

Arianna’s fearful expression as she stares up at him tells him otherwise. Another soft sigh leaves him, and he reaches a hand to grasp at hers, pulling her to her feet.

It all makes sense. All of it. He almost feels dizzy.

All because he hadn’t wanted to...

One blessing of the rain is that there is no one else here to see.

Clenching his jaw, he gives her hand a squeeze -- not to bruise, nor to intimidate, but some vague reassurance. He isn’t mute, but he’s lost his words for the moment, and he doesn’t want her to run away.

Deep in thought, he pulls her in the direction of the woods, and she follows. They have a lot of talking to do, after all.

Next

[thevoilinauttheory]

[ i’m not one to really give my opinions on games in my tumblr

but i was replaying through 5.3 (and some thoughts visiting 5.0 again) on maximiloix to get him caught up and g o d do i just have... a little bit to say (funny, really) but there’s spoilers, and i know a couple people who follow me who haven’t done it yet - so i’mma put it under the cut for anyone interested in my rambles ]

[ so. like.

first. still sobbing about 5.3 and its build up, and don’t think i’ll ever get over it, especially after doing it a second time. knowing what’s going to happen, i think made it almost worse - it made all those conversations make sense and its just. hhhhh i love it so much.

next. the solo instance where elidibus takes you through amaurot fighting the people from your past adventures, the people you’ve grown to care about and love. g o d when i did that the first time, i think i literally cried. my heart hurt so much and i just wanted to refuse to fight.

but there’s a reason why maximiloix is in a group in the wol!au i have... because. if it were just him going through, just him as the wol. that part wouldn’t have hurt him. he probably would’ve responded with something like “i’m flattered you think i care” or like “i don’t think you know me as well as you think you do” and then just slaughter them all anyways with zero hesitation (honestly, if it came down to it, he probably would only hesitate with alphinaud, alisaie, or ryne - they’re kids! they didn’t ask for this! but, uh. that’s just hesitation. maybe like thirty seconds later he’d go “aw fuck it”). maximiloix would make the worst wol if he were traveling on his own with no one to keep him in check. i just found that so funny to me.

if it were just him, he honestly prolly wouldn’t be a wol. he would’ve sided with the ascians hands down without hesitation. if it wasn’t before, then it definitely would’ve been with amaurot - he probably would’ve dropped his weapon and go “yeah, that makes sense”... and then leave it be. and if he didn’t, whatever semblance of a heart he has left would have gone out to them as he learned more... even more so when he would realize that elidibus was just a child at the heart of it all. (that part really fucked me up for a bit)

--- HOKAY. THIS CUT IS TO TELL YOU THERES SOME THOUGHTS I HAVE ON THE 5.0 DRAMA TRAIN, AND I JUST WANT TO WARN YOU SO YOU CAN SKIP IT AND SCROLL PAST REAL FAST ---

obvs really late to the party here, mostly because severe anxiety and i don’t like getting caught up in shit like this

so. i saw a lot of posts going around at the time of 5.0 talking about “i hate emet-selch so much why would i want to fucking remember you” or “nope just gonna forget it cause fuck you” - i can understand peoples’ dislikes of emet-selch, as like, a person (as a character, damn. that’s some good writing and you can’t deny that) - yeah, he’s a fascist. he’s an absolute dick. there’s no atoning for shit like that irl but.

its like. my first thought reading all of that was.

“do people have reading comprehension? like. at all?”

he wasn’t saying “remember me”, he was saying “remember us” , y’know. remember that there were people before you. remember that our people suffered greatly because you are our legacy. remember not to repeat the mistakes of the past. remember all of these people that gave their lives to give you yours.

“history is learned, not lived”

literally from the game itself. this whole game is littered with gems like that. absolutely full of relatable lines, whether they be comedic or serious. this game is filled with so much that can be applied to our own lives.

“to take action is to hope. to believe-- to choose to believe, is to take the first step towards a brighter future.” “but if i may give voice to a personal desire... i rather you lived.” “the time left to you is precious” “if it is folly to hope, i am content to die a fool” “but come, turn your gaze to the window, my friend. the rains have ceased and we have been graced with another beautiful day”

“remember us. remember that we once lived.”

and so many more!! even the lyrics of some of the songs are so beautifully written and full of raw emotion that at some point, we can resonate with them.

there’s a post going around... talking about how, as people, we are desperate to be remembered. we write in diaries, we keep receipts of complaints from customers when they diss you about your poor-quality copper, we make etchings on walls of the days passed and our heights as we grow, we leave behind memoirs of times lost to us. so many of us strive for greatness... because we want to be remembered. we want to be learned. we want to be heard. we want our names to be remembered, our stories and our voices... and none of us will see that in the end. sure. family will be there - your pictures will be hung for the next few decades... but after it all? no one’s going to remember who you were in fifty, eighty, a hundred, a thousand, a million years from now. so the best we can do is to preserve what we have. to immortalize the tiny pieces of ourselves. the shitty artwork you drew when you were five, the remains of torn books and libraries, dirty figurines, hell - even the stains left in the walls and carpets of your old home. we make time capsules for a reason. all of us, collectively, are screaming out: “i lived! remember me, please! i was here, i lived, i learned, i loved! i cried, i got embarrassed, i got angry - but i was here! please remember me - remember us!”

is that not the same of what he’s saying? he doesn’t care if you remember him specifically. (would it matter to him? maybe? he’s a fictional character y’all, i can’t speak for his writers) but the message isn’t to remember him and all the things he did in his life. it was to remember that they were people. they tried their best. they failed, but they tried. and they existed. they loved. they cried. they grew. they mourned. they made mistakes.

it really peeves- maybe not in a “makes me angry sense”, but kinda annoys- me, even now, that people would throw away such an amazing message... simply because a fictional character did bad things in a fictional world, or just didn’t like them, said it.  it really is a beautiful and terrifyingly sad message that people didn’t seem to get because they were focused on who said it. this is a sentiment everyone has shared, even if they didn’t know it. 

for me, it really spoke. shadowbringers is, and was, one of the best expansions, i’ll say it. not just for the story but for the overall message of it. it’s fantastic. and i really hope that the people who made those comments - they won’t read this, i don’t think - but... i hope the rest of the expansion after that moment gave them that realization.

sorry for that huge vent/rant y’all. i just, that had been burning in my head for so long now and i finally got the words to say it. if you read through it all, thank you! and please don’t spread negativity on this subject. if you want to say something negative, just move on, please. it’s not worth my nor your time. you can make your own post about it, just don’t leave it on mine.

but seriously, thank you for going through all this. and trust me, it may not matter now - but i’ll remember you. i will. i’ll remember the wonderful people here in the small ways i do. ]

[yoshi-p]

everyone and their dog is doing it and everyone is absolutely allowed to share their opinions so i want a turn but first let me clarify:

hello im yase, been around since 1.0. I am of turkish and nogai descent and i can speak fluently in tatar, turkish but my english doesn’t hold 100% so i will be all over the place.

Unfortunately this will all be word of mouth and may be taken as vague posting, but I have experienced issues since the release of 4.0 and would like to give my opinions. I want to let this all off my chest this is just a huge vent basically so i guarantee my english will be terrible.

the most important point: NEVER EVER SPEAK FOR ANOTHER CULTURE. NEVER EVER SPEAK ABOUT A CULTURE YOU DON’T KNOW. YOU HAVE SPREAD FALSE INFORMATION AND I AM SO HURT.

another point is ITS A VIDEO GAME GUYS (does not apply to everything but some people really need to take a step back because people are concerned.)

Here’s the hot topic I’ll talk of first: garleans. I personally do not play one as I prefer to play characters that would never be involved in a sense with the political agenda because in real life im too stupid to comprehend anything like that so i wouldn’t even know how my character would behave with the hot topics. I really do think people need to take a step back and see that everyone who is putting in their input is making solid points but personally I would never compare them to nazi germany though I see why people are generalising. I always saw it as tsardom of russia with the use of roman influence as well, something obvious in naming conventions and the way the ranks/monarchy(?) works but it’s not so clear what the main influences of most places in this game if you have a look at the bigger picture. Without like full on spoiling, its weird to have this view to me with the knowledge that ascians are behind this. Are you implying anyone who plays or was influenced by ascians is also under this umbrella? 

Also why THE HELL WOULD YOU TAG SOMETHING KNOWING IT WOULD GET A LOT OF TRACTION AND RESPONSE THEN BE LIKE “you guys misunderstood, I was expressing my feelings” lol no. “ I don’t understand where this is coming from, and at this point, I don’t really want to.” then why did you even fucking bother do it in private dont tag it.

You are COMPLETELY valid to feeling uncomfortable, it is fine because with how much of this world we have there will be aspects some of us don’t like. You are not inclined to involve yourself with someone if they roleplay as a garlean but you do not need to start publicising it in a way that will paint the community in black and white when its truly a wider spectrum.

YOU CHOOSE WHO YOU INVOLVE YOURSELF WITH AND WHO YOU PLAY WITH, PLEASE GET AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO GIVE YOU NEGATIVE FEELINGS OR YOU’LL SPREAD IT TO OTHERS.

from that initial and very brief tagged post there popped up many others and new discourse is arising, opening discussions about many things which is better then being blind to it all. but if you have personal grievances with someone and you state its over, let it be over. It’s not healthy behaviour. it’s also troubling to see someone complain a lot about the game and continue to play, no one is forcing you or holding a gun to your head. take breaks if you need to and play less frequently. like, real life is so much more important and there are people in this community that prioritise relationships with players etc.

Also, please stop fucking talking about mongolian/turkic/turkish culture like you know things. 99% of the big mouths in this community are americans. like majority are white americans. 

over the course of this expansion i have had many people of varied backgrounds share with me some terrible experiences and i myself have seen some truly stupid shit. 

WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU LEARN OF OUR CULTURE AND WHERE TO CONTINUE DOING SO. DO NOT INTERPRET MEDIA AS ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF CULTURE.

it is absolutely not hard to tag a post and ask around, someone will pop up. I’ve been doing my very best to let everyone i know that i can help with learning about my culture or to find someone who would be more then happy to explain and share with other cultures. But when you go off of a documentary you saw of Genghis khan or only know of the tourist white people scenes of istanbul you as a community say some TRULY dumb shit.

I like to try and be patient because i myself when approaching someone of a culture i admire and am curious about i want that in turn. But if you say to me things like “Ainu aren’t real” or “Tatar people have nothing in common with tribes from the Altai mountains” its hard to do so.

FFXIV regions are not just “Germany” “Turkey” “Mongolia”. If you think this, it’s clear to me you don’t know shit and are too lazy to explore, further just google shit its not that hard. I had someone tell me that my people could never be in this game since its “Straight up mongolia” fucks sake NO ITS NOT. The designs vary and i can see the differences in simple things like words because i actually bother to do research even coming from a turkic culture. There were some beautiful little things dropped that linked to not only my people but others like Uyghur and Altai. The only place in FFXIV i think could only have a singular influence is Kugane, because from a foreigner’s perspective that’s already interesting enough. Many people have grievances and real issues with how SE has handled Doma’s influences and no one ever talks about that. Representation for asia in media has turned into this mess of specific east asian countries, the trio that even then gets categorized into China/Japan with brief mentions of Korean culture. 

Its frustrating. There are people who are happy to teach you. Who are willing to show what is wrong with the picture.

I have read several posts about Turkey/istanbul/Antalya. Yall fuckin weird you guys seem to think its in U.A.E or some shit with how you act. It’s in the Mediterranean/Europe/Asia/Middle East and there is no such thing as a specific looking Turkish person. You claim everyone is specifically white/brown, HELL NO. It’s a mixed nation and that’s the history of the land, if you had ever fucking stepped in turkey and spoke to any person on the street they’ll say their heritage that lead them to there. People claim Ala mhigo’s influences are turkey but i have yet to see that. As someone who has lived there and has heritage there and is strongly connected to that culture, i dont see it. sure the ala mhigan gown had patternings but thats also present in my nogai culture too because parts of turkey’s society descended from the line of the Kayi tribe. Just fucking LEARN TO READ GUYS. None of you guys even know what the altai mountains mean and i could sit and explain over and over again if you let people SPEAK.

Look at Thavnairian items. We have outfits that are completely different, a full length dress and then a bustier. you can’t start generalising things in video games to be one culture you have to realise most places in this game have several influences. We don’t know a lot but everything we have been given has been varied enough to pin point it to ONLY one influence.

I don’t want to just keep going about this simply because im growing frustrated.

The thing with Viera complaints. I think some are valid but some are stupid. For one as I make this post it hasn’t even been confirmed so there is no reason for policing Viera to a severe extent. Considering all the Ivalice content in game has been an alternate universe kind of thing its dumb as shit. But feol viera being made without understanding the knowledge that people who have played rw picked up is quite frustrating. As a community, its important to help people when we have information that others may need that they cant understand the context of.

I know people are worried about them being fetishized, that is my legitimate fear too as a huge ivalice fan. But this is a repeated cycle especially when we consider generalizations like miqo’te especially seekers and belly dancing or when au ra arrived and people thought xaela were genghis khan basically. 

The game is not solid, there are so many holes in the lore and the plots and i know people hate that but we fill the gaps with our own opinions and theories. While I understand some people think we need to move forward in 2019 because “japan is xenophobic”, its a very difficult thing to do. THEY DO HIRE PEOPLE FOR CULTURE ADVISING. THEY TRAVEL OFTEN AND DEVELOP WITH THIS. IT’S NOT LIKE THEY WENT ON GOOGLE AND SAID “yeah a japan land would be fun” they literally have people hired specifically for this stuff. however, at the end of the day its a company that has yet to show it can evolve with the times. Its becoming more and more evident with the recent patterns of main titles in FF and side projects having so many issues in story/lore/management. remember 1.0 basically died being absolute garbage and this is salvaged from that.

its really late and i had a terrible evening so i may not be making the most sense but theres more important things to worry about then to make this game a miserable experience when it could be a huge learning opportunity for everyone. There’s no need to generalise people into categories because of characters they choose to develop but its important to note with majority of people standing up higher on the pedestal are those speaking for the minorities groups that have direct influences in the game.

also lol if you fucking say ainu aren’t real to me one more time i will fucking throttle you

[shslivalice]

i finally have why. in godly au. its even this way.

self-defense from the planet, in a ff7 sort of way. the twelve reborn are meant to all perish in the calamity, to protect everybody, right? but they lived, so the planet and lifestream are certain that theres still a calamity coming.

so keeps trying to craft new twelve, keeps trying to bring more and more gods to life. using up Light, beginning to cause this shift to darkness. it turned ascian to spoken in order to make them gods, because that's how it works - spoken are destined to protect, and these beings have the markings to become new twelve... or other worshipped things.

also explains why concepts are reborn more then once - preventing somethibg that isnt happening