#which honestly i wish they'd showed more hints of it earlier so it would feel a little less like they ran out of time

[kingsandbastardz]

JLQ was supposedly hoping against having to attic wife DFS but she fully had Biqiu prepare an iron shielded room just to cage DFS in. (And who knows what else was in that room?) It takes time to design, plan, source and build something like that. Like... months in advance. It had like... spring loaded and extremely THICK chains meant to capture strong ppl with. So he even planned for someone with actual power levels trying to escape or fight. There were arrays and traps surrounding the entire building, both facing outward for attackers and facing the building for escapees. Which means they were prepared for possible rescuers.

Yun Biqiu designed and built that for her. I honestly wonder what he was thinking or how he managed his character portrayal in front of her. Where he's supposed to be enthralled by her and yet he's building a cage for her obsession. Did he have to fake jealousy and reconciliation to be believable?

We can hear DFS pounding on the walls from within when he gets trapped in there. (And how specific a placement it is to be on top of the wedding/bedroom chambers?) Did Biqiu deliberately mess up the creation of that room like he did with the traps outside? Or does he actually hold any residual feelings for JLQ? Or does he see an opportunity to act out his resentment for being in this situation to begin with?

How easy would it be for this one location to be the one spot that's a true trap? Did he ever think even for a moment that he can rig it so when JLQ enters, the room locks down and entombs her?

DFS, who literally everyone saw is now powerless, would be a dead man anyway. He's just another villian to be taken down as collateral damage. Depending on the situation, Biqiu feasibly could walk away without anyone ever knowing there is anyone up there.

[miqo-tales]

Dawntrail characters, fields, role quests

More thoughts on DT.

Again, spoilers!

Fields

Overall, very pretty!

I think Yak T'el might be my favorite, particularly the lower area. But, I don't like the music for Yak'tel. I don't know why though.

Shaaloani is a really close second.

Solution 9 is cool. Though I saw someone mention they wish the music there was more techno, or rave? I forget exactly, but I kinda agree? I like the music there, but I do wish it was faster, had more energy to it. I suspect Arcadion might have something like that though.

Living Memory was also pretty interesting, and I imagine for FF9 fans it's even more so. But man, I'm bummed we had to shut some of that stuff off. Like the rainbow pools, for one.

Characters

Krile

Krile's background is fascinating, but simultaneously kinda silly. I like it though.

Her getting to talk to her parents was great though. And I liked how they made it a genuinely awkward thing.

Koana

I'm glad he got over the "Sharlayan is SO COOL and we should industrialize like RIGHT NOW" thing. Though I was expecting some more discussion/arguing about it between him and Wuk Lamat. Or at least with Thancred and Urianger.

Bakool Ja Ja

I don't mind his character arc, but I wish they'd hinted at his motivation/trauma some a bit earlier.

But also, I don't get why he wasn't booted from the competition after he released the ancient super snake-bird of calamity?

Like ok, the contest is clearly a bit fair game, but I'd like to think even FIFA would disqualify a team if they released an ancient evil on the world in order to prevent their opponents from showing up to a match. (I mean, maybe they wouldn't. It is FIFA.)

Zarool Ja

Honestly, kind of a weird antagonist for me. His goal of "fuck the world so that it appreciates peace" was looking like an interesting angle, but then it pretty much went straight into "I'm better than my father". Which is fine, but like with Bakool, I'd have liked some more development of that earlier on.

Sphene

So I have to admit, they had me guessing with her a bit. When she first showed up (to talk, not her brief appearance before that), I figured she was evil. Or at the least, being really dishonest.

Later on, I started to think that maybe it's just a "hostage in her own kingdom" sort of thing. But then, y'know, "sorry, I'm gonna commit genocide to save my people" kinda put a pin in all that.

Also, little funny thing, it keeps throwing me off that her VA sounds like Krile. Or Meteion. I keep going back and forth on that. I know it's a different VA from either of them, but I just kept hearing hints of their voices in hers while playing through the MSQ.

Role Quests

By this point I've done all of the role quests storylines. They're ok! Mostly silly, but still some cute bits, and a nice way to include (slash remind you they exist) the Eorzean nations. And I'm looking forward to the eventual sixth one that finishes them up.

The only things I'd note:

Tank - I feel like they don't really do anything with the power of the artifact. I was expecting some mechanic in the final fight regarding it, buuuut, not really? It's also weird that they're requesting a tank to help when the guy trying to find the thing is also a tank?

Healer - Probably the only one where the job role is genuinely relevant. Also maybe my favorite one?

Melee - Might be tied for my favorite with healer, dunno. Final fight was fun.

Ranged Physical - I feel like this should have been the tank one? Again, I don't know why they specifically needed a ranged specialist. I was really expecting there would be some ranged need because of the "the barrier can explode at close range" thing, but nope.

Ranged Magical - This one is fine? I think it might be the weakest one of the five though. The artifact's power is not that interesting.