#time for Dawntrail!

[nolanel-corbeaux]

The day has come!

Nolanel and Styr on their way to Tural! Hope to see you there!!

[deathflare]

the eorzean mind cannot comprehend the vastness of xak tural

[warlordfelwinter]

one of the things i love most about erenville is how utterly casual he is about the wol. he knows exactly who we are and what we're capable of and clearly has complete faith in us but with the overwhelming vibe that he just could not care less. anytime we get to do wol stuff he's just like "what do you want a medal" and goes on about his day. king

[nuclearanomaly]

He didn't get the memo...

[sunnythanalan]

One of the best

I have been thinking about Erenville a lot and how the narrative allows us to really get to know him through the quiet moments. Through action rather than spoken words.

His mother calls him a fussy little bunbun, which is funny to begin with as we know him so far to be a taciturn and practical man. But while we travel with him we discover that he has suffered abandonment all throughout his life; first by his mother leaving him in care of others as she traveled herself, then by sending him away on his own travels, then further upon his return when there is a literal screen between them. The symbolism here is unmistakable. 

Then, as we progress, it becomes quite clear that Erenville suspects that there’s something wrong with his mother. Instantly he’s on the defensive, citing that her whimsy and overwhelming personality always overshadow his own wishes, and that he struggles to understand her, also to trust her. His quiet stoicism isn’t that funny anymore. 

In an ironic twist we discover that she has left him one last time, to the land of Living Memory. Even if it was never her intention to leave him in such a way, it must be hard to overcome that sense of continuous abandonment - and this time he has to say goodbye forever. That he draws away from everyone else to grieve and come to terms with this in solitude speaks volumes. It really indicates that he dealt with difficult emotions alone a lot while growing up, and in such a way he never learned how to rely on others. In the end, when finally pressed to the breaking point, Erenville lashes out in anger as the tools he made for himself fails him in processing all of his grief and fear alone. He has to find the courage to trust his mother with his emotions and that just as she's leaving him one last time.

Wuk Lamat is always right there in your face going through her emotions and leaning upon others for support, on the other side is Erenville, who draws back with his pain. We learn to know him just as deeply as Wuk Lamat, but through everything that isn’t said, rather than what is said. In fear of sounding effusive, even their appearance symbolises this: they're golden dawn and darkening dusk. Two sides of the same coin.

Honestly, personally to me, Erenville is one of the best written characters in this story so far. I love him deeply. I cried so hard for him.

PS. His love for his mother becomes so clear in the love he pours into the fauna that she mentored him in. While working as a gleaner, he's probably as close to her as he can be when she's physically not there. In the moments we see him care for animals his entire countenance changes, he becomes soft and caring, even exuberant and joyful.

[valka]

relaxing koana :>

[hamletisintown]

If ZJ didn't have a regulator... 🥲

And then, somewhere in the aetherial sea...

(Zoraal Ja gets the lecture of his fucking life after that. And then, a proper hug or 2. God knows he deserved both.)

[dxhn]

lamaty'i 🌟🌟

[elizabethrobertajones]

Is anyone else obsessed with a vignette of a scene about Erenville and Koana walking past each other in the Studium and just completely ignoring each other because Erenville is practicing intense personal compartmentalisation and can't see Koana if he doesn't want to, and then Koana is just not making eye contact with anyone and thinking about machines.

This probably happened four times a day in whatever time they overlapped geographically.

[amememightywarrior]

Food in Dawntrail

Gonna go ahead and share my thoughts on it as posted on twitter, excuse the format!

I found the prevalence of food in DT's MSQ very interesting. In a lot of cultures, food and food-sharing are acts of love both familial and neighborly. It also symbolized a desire to reach out and understand one another, from xibruq pibil to tacos to ice cream to weird grapes.

Our first encounter with food in DT is when Wuk Lamat wants to give us some tacos, but then BJJ smashes them carelessly, a sign that he is rejecting sharing and love

During the lay of repast, which is ALL about food, we learn a lot about the symbolism of meals and food and culture. It's great. 

Zoraal Ja and Bakool Ja Ja are teamed up and shown to not understand or care about food and sharing despite the BLATANT emphasis on it in the trial.

More subtle stuff that isn't called out is the way food is raised - like the Crystarium, where wandering around can reveal the importance, if you wander around DT you can find an example of what's called the three sisters method of farming.

For those unfamiliar with this system, it's actually a very culturally important method of farming in the americas where 3 staple crops, maize, squash, and beans, are grown together in a harmonious fashion. and i mean TOGETHER.

The maize, which grows tall and strong, provides support for the beanstalks which curl around it and provide stabilization both physically and nutritionally. At their feet grows the ground-covering squash which shades the soil, keeping it moist and preventing weeds.

The next major time we learn of food and agriculture is in heritage found, where we see people preserving real food as an act of culture more than anything else, showing the resilience of culture and the spirit of sharing in even the most lightning riddled situations.

After that it gets interesting. The concept of food in S9 is abstracted into the absurd (the grapes??? help), but they still share the food. More than that, it's a SPECTATOR sport, seeing WoL and Wuk Lamat eat. If you've ever been to a dinner with a family of a different culture, you will know the experience of tasting a new cuisine for the first time, and people asking you what you think of it. They share their culture with you and hope you approve. It's the sharing of joy, and it's the same as when you eat in S9.

Then we're REALLY challenged. We enter living memory and find the inhabitants feasting on the mere idea of food. They share with us as well, giving us popcorn. Did you lie and say it was great? Did you speak the truth of your tastebuds and reject the popcorn?

The food in living memory is tasteless to us, the only real ones in the place. But the act of sharing, that was the real important part. And so perhaps if WoL lied, it was not to spare feelings, but to show that yes, they were sharing in joy and culture.

Thus introduced, we are hit with that ice cream. We know it tastes of nothing, but we give it to Krile and her parents to share. Krile knows it doesn't taste like anything, and she struggles. But G'raha zips in with his own, to make her laugh and help her understand the joy.

The way each character reacts to food within DT is symbolic and shows a bit of their own perspectives. Someone who's very out on the edges, Estinien, is also someone who has embraced food very heavily after being freed from Nidhogg. He runs around eating everything in sight now.

And of course we also have the cornservant, who wants to feed everyone. I haven't actually done that quest line yet but I can already tell you what's at the heart of it XD

A lot of this we all know, I'm just calling it out specifically because it was beautifully done in DT.

Oh, before I forget: Otis and Gulool Ja

Otis, despite being, er...mechanical, has been feeding Gulool Ja. It is a familial act, feeding and helping this child grow despite zero relation.

is it just another fetch quest? Another shared meal of many shared meals in the field? Or is it asking us to look at this meal in the context of all that came before it?

What does it mean to love and care for one another? Otis shows it by being there and feeding Gulool Ja.

It contrasts with two other parties: Cahciuna's group, and Zoraal Ja.

Zoraal Ja does nothing. He does not feed his child. Abandoned him outright. ZJ rejects family, love, and sharing.

Cahciuna's group is trying really hard to take care of him, and he does allow it because they keep finding and taking him home. But why does he run away to eat with Otis? Cahciuna's response to realizing he WANTS to leave is to allow it instead of insisting.

I find that rather mysterious but I think it shows Gulool Ja prefers organic sharing, not S9 where everything is simply handed to him. Hopefully we see more of him in the future so we can learn wtf is up with this little blue-scaled cutie.

Food takes a background role in a lot of stories but DT took it, explained it, and then challenged our understanding by taking away the most talked about component, stripping away flavor to ask us what the point of food-sharing really is and how it reflects ourselves & our culture.

We've seen a lot of these themes before - ARR used to have a whole thing about feeding the soldiers before the assault on the garlean strongholds, SHB had the infamous rhon ron food stand scene, etc

we just got it called out repeatedly and the concept gently deconstructed for us in DT. 

So. what does the act of food-sharing mean to you? What does it mean to your WoL? How did you see the Lay of Repast? What did you think of the popcorn?

[flourish-of-steel]

12th Sun - Sweaty Wet

[nagunkgunk]

HROTHGAR KITY SNOUT RESTORED plus material fuckery

[gatheredfates]

Also known as 'Sea had a shower thought and SEAFLOOR validated me.'

Hi all! Would you like something fun to do in the lead up to Dawntrail? This is my extremely laid back (Count)Down To Dawntrail challenge, hosted predominately through SEAFLOOR, but open to anyone who might be interested in participating.

Submissions open June 21, 2am PDT and consist of the following:

DAY ONE, JUNE 21, ARR: Create a gpose or fic around the word realm or reborn, or set somewhere in ARR.

DAY TWO, JUNE 22, HW: Create a gpose or fic for the world heaven or ward, or set somewhere in HW.

DAY THREE, JUNE 23, SB: Create a gpose or fic for the word storm or blood, or set somewhere in SB.

DAY FOUR, JUNE 24, SHB: Create a gpose or fic for the word shadow or bringer, or set somewhere in SHB.

DAY FIVE, JUNE 25, EW: Create a gpose or fic for the word end or walker, or set somewhere in EW.

DAY SIX, JUNE 26, DT: Create a gpose or fic for the world dawn or trail, or shows your character getting ready for a new adventure!

DAY SEVEN, JUNE 27, FREE DAY: Create a gpose or fic that encompasses your love for the game/your character's love for the world around them OR talk about how the game and the people you have met have made an impact on your life. Tag your friends and loved ones!

DAY EIGHT, JUNE 28, EARLY ACCESS! Go forth, be free, have fun!

I'm going to copy/paste the exact FAQ I have on my server but you're welcome to send me an ask if you have any further questions!

How many days do I need to participate?

As few or as little as you want! If the prompt for Endwalker is the only one that interests you or you just want to take the free day to gush about your friends, that's fine!

What counts as a submission?

Anything creative! There's no minimum requirement provided you have fun with it.

What happens if I miss a day?

Devastation. Absolutely nothing. All I ask is that you don't post the prompt early (if you can help it). You can plan and prepare for it now but I'd like for works to go live each day rather than randomly or all at once!

Is there a prize at the end?

Not at this stage! People in my server get a fancy role for participating but there's no 'prize' as such. However, if you want to volunteer one, feel free to reach out to me!

Did you make this FAQ on the fly?

Absolutely. I'll probably add to it. DFKGJHFSD.

If you end up participating, I'd love if you tagged your works with #(count)down to dawntrail. That way I can see and reblog them!

[nuclearanomaly]

She didn't Surecast...

[drkcatt]

MY WIFE SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL

[mythandral]

An opportunity not to be passed up.

(part 2 of this)