#so does Lyse

[redwayfarers]

nika & romance

thinking abt that alia + romance thing @lavampira did and as it would seem that today is nika romance day (since it's all i can think about) so i'm taking inspo, i hope you don't mind <3

silvairre

minor crush back when he was in gridania. nothing truly exceptional. they're not really in contact anymore, although they bump shoulders sometimes.

minfilia

first love. when nika first joined the scions, he was largely aimless, aside from wanting new materials for his songs; minfilia gave him a sense of purpose, even if the key part - part where he too deeply cares for eorzea and does this out of selflessness - didn't really show up. they became friends, and eventually nika fell in love, though minfilia never really returned his feelings. instead, he was glad to simply serve wherever she sent him, and that was enough. her happiness was enough. unfortunately, by the end, nika started feeling used, yet nurtured his love for her for long enough to swallow his feelings on the matter.

his feelings may have even become more intense simply because he knew, deep down, that he had no chances with her. he never tried anything, never bothered her about it, it just floated unresolved for years before her death. she's still a sore spot, and he isn't really sure whether he will ever entirely finish grieving for her, even if he allows himself some measure of anger she left behind. but hey, what is grief if not love persevering? there is no world in which nika does not love minfilia, in whatever capacity.

lyse

a small crush that would have been if there wasn't artoirel. a love that would've gone very sour, very quickly. best left at a single hookup.

artoirel

another case of nika catching feelings for someone he can't, initially, have. nika's equal in a lot of respects; honest to a fault, not very nice, competent yet reserved. nika doesn't begrudge artoirel for trying to get him killed at first. there's a lot of ease in accepting each other, faults and good qualities, between them. artoirel, thus, began to feel like a certain safety. they bonded greatly over their shared love of music and their shared grief for haurchefant. artoirel doesn't ask anything of nika the same way minfilia did, nor does nika himself look for a superior, even though artoirel outranks him by far. to him, artoirel's rank isn't something that matters all that much, just as nika's status as the warrior of light doesn't matter to artoirel after a while.

instead, what they end up being for each other is a partner and an equal, because brothers doesn't quite cut it. it's the one place in this star where nika doesn't have to be the warrior of light, where he can simply be himself, and vice versa, where artoirel isn't the count de fortemps. they're just two guys of equal yet opposite vibes, and at some point, they allied to try and make sense of their respective lots in life. sense is nowhere in sight, but they're too bound together to undo that alliance now. at least they have each other's company on the road.

#nero plays ffxiv #nika perseis #nika x minfilia #nika x artoirel #wolship #wol x minfilia #wol x artoirel #minfilia warde #artoirel de fortemps #not commenting on lyse and silvairre bc they're simply in passing. reverie. envy. 'do i wanna be him or fuck him.' #but they should be mentioned #would've mentioned estinien but that's for a nika & friendship post #there are no romantic feelings between nika and estinien #and a lot of interesting contrasts between his relationships with thancred and estinien respectively #how he idolizes thancred in his youth and then accepts estinien as he is when he's a little older #and how all three of them are angry jaded and bitter #gahhh i love nika's relationships with people. esp other men. they're fun to write about #bc he gets along with women just fine as a general statement. if said woman is one of the rare few PEOPLE he likes #but men are a whole other ballgame bc well nika does have a lot of toxic masculinity and one of his major themes is masculinity so

[elizabethrobertajones]

I stan Alphy's character development. Me too, lil buddy.

#this is very much the Girls Night expansion with Lyse and Alisaie but Alphy should still get a nod for this :P #learning not to trust capitalists my baby <3 #tbh the Hancock intro speech talking about a shadow war with capitalism links right into the most recent patch's economy stuff #and the fact R-a-H is very much a part of this trade circle #*plus Carv is probably raiding Vrtra's ships for the spices HE trades #does remind you that all these players have been on the board so long #(I mean the HW alc quests teach you R-a-H alchemists can make human homunculi which sure is a detail to keep in mind) #endwalker spoilers #ffxiv #anyway I remain constantly fascinated by the portrayal of global capitalism in this game #especially since it's somewhere between 1700s trade routes and next day delivery #and like... medieval situations #garlean magitek is there too #alas I just listen to podcasts about the current world real news I don't know any real economic theory

[practicingbushiho]

Fashion Report Weekly

Dress like slutty gyaru punks for great justice; it will bring World Peace -nodnod-

#ffxiv art #hien rijin #lyse hext #ffxiv stormblood #magazine cover #magazine parody #the masked rose #hien with tongue piercing tho? #Lyse with ONE FISHNET THIGH HIGH DOES IT FOR ME OKAY #gyaru lyse in general is just so damn based #snix art

[seaseren]

I just. I really need to know if Yda was as dumb as Lyse pretended she was. I want to know if that whole act was like. a sick dunk on her dead sister for no reason. Lyse why do you make the choices you do rest of the Scions why do you enable her

#ffxiv #Lyse's story could have been so good! the pieces were all nearly there! #and then they just! don't fully follow through! #LYSE CHANGE OUT OF YOUR SISTERS CLOTHES 2024 #P L E A S E #my dearest wish is that she comes with us to Tural I know it aint happening but I can dream #she needs to go on a backpacking trip #get in touch with herself #figure out what she wants to do now that ala mhigo is more stable- does she really want to be a career politician???? #like honestly my ideal position for her would be like #the head of the ala mhigan chapter of the adventurer's guild #I will take leader of a new ala mhigan gc tho #but idk. miss u girl want u back ono

[heart-of-the-party]

.

#I don't wanna get into discourse #But isn't estinien brown?? #Or does the game make him paler in endwalker #I'm playing shb and he still looks pretty obviously darker skinned than say alphinaud or lyse #But i see a lot of fanart where he's quite light skinned #New to the fandom so idk if this is controversial or no

[lesenbyan]

Anyway, I know I don't talk about race/racism well bc of many reasons so I'm not sure the clarification on the Lyse post made sense and i'm not wholly sure posts i make in the future on it will make much more sense.

But like disclaimer that i'm Just One Guy and also Just Some Guy so i'm by no means declaring myself sole arbiter of anything. But I am a person of color with a lot of thoughts on Lyse and how her arc was handled so i'm not gonna shut up about it.

#critique: Lyse Hext; #<- new tag for her specifically bc i have a lot to say on her #critique: ffxiv 4.0/x; #personal; #like i've not experienced a lot of blatant racism in my life but i can tell you what makes me uncomfortable #either as a poc or as a mixed race person #and i FOUND a lot of those trigger bc of SB #esp bc SB is when i had to rewrite Eve's story and Eve has always had my issues with not belonging baked in #so she ends up playing opposite Lyse on a lot of things bc Eve was ALSO born in Gyr Abania and left as a Baby #and she does identify as Ala Mhigan in a weird way tho she doesn't bring it up OFTEN #(she identifies as Xalea more than Ala Mhigan but she doesn’t mention that either bc then she'll have to explain bc miqo) #but like yeah! i have a lot of very personally nuanced ideas i don't say well #and i distract myself from my own point constantly

[plounce]

scions ranked by most likely to eat a rat

thancred (duh. eat what you can eat. just cook it to make it safer, no big, and if you can get a couple herbs to season it, even better. definitely ate a rat or two out in the dravanian hinterlands. nutkin is lucky it got away without a bite taken out of it)

estinien (doesn't see anything wrong with it. would eat it raw)

ryne (thancred tried to find them more substantial, palatable food, but sometimes when you're living on the run… rat meat. she doesn't have a ton of hangups about it - literally any food besides prison rations is novel and exciting to her - but it's not the tastiest, and anyway she's found she likes sweet foods more)

y'shtola (the night's blessed probably threw some rats in the cookpot every so often. girl's gotta eat when she's living in a benign forest cult. has not eaten rats before or since)

alisaie (extremely easily dared into almost anything including eating a rat. plus would see alphinaud being squeamish about it and make a point to go MMMMM-MM SOOOO YUMMY even if she didn't like it)

g'raha (wouldn't think to eat a rat on his own, but extremely susceptible to "if everyone else is doing it, i want to be part of the group!" or if you threatened him with "someone else will have to eat this rat if you don't!!" he'll shove the rat in his mouth so fast.)

lyse (similar to alisaie in that she's easily dared, but she has no sibling (anymore) to engage in rat-eating rivalry with)

minfilia (the sort of person to go along with a lot of stuff in the name of being friendly. if someone sincerely offered her a cooked rat she wouldn't have it in her to turn it down and would take a polite bite)

alphinaud (the little lordling does Not want to eat a rat! foul! no! but if estinien was like "hey want a bite" then it is much more likely that alphinaud will try to look cool in front of his pseudo-big-brother and sample the rat)

tataru (no no no! no, absolutely not! she will NOT be eating a rat. this is why she stays AWAY from the front. but also she could whip up something scrumptious with some rat meat if she must)

urianger (this is not one of his safe foods. he doesn't wanna. he doesn't wanna. you can't make him. he's gonna find an excuse to mysteriously vanish)

krile (if you try to make her eat a rat she's gonna disappear like the isle of val.)

#chirps #ffxiv #scions of the seventh dawn

[lightparty-fullparty]

Oh, would you look at the time? It's me having thoughts about Zenos O'clock.

This time, I want to break down what I think the central concept of who and what Zenos is. And why he lives in my brain rent free.

At his core, Zenos is a character who does not understand, nor is himself understood by other people. I don't think that's a very controversial or even new thing to say. It's repeared and reinforced at several points during the narrative, across multiple expansions. Lyse does not understand him at the Royal Menagire, Varis does not understand him at Garlemald, Jullus does not understand him at Camp Broken Glass.

They do not understand who Zenos is as a person. What he values, or what he cares about.

Zenos is shaped by absence. An absence of purpose, motivation, drive. An absence of connections, friendships, love.

Let's break it down.

The Absence of Purpose:

This is his boredom. What fuels his need to find a challenge. That spark of something, anything, to break through the utter tedium of his daily life. The short story claims that he has always been incredibly gifted. Learning and absorbing information with little effort and incredible speed. Before his new swordsmanship instructor, Zenos has never found anything difficult to do. He has not been sufficently challenged. Nothing has managed to retain his interest because he has mastered it too easily. He is a child, and he is tired of his life.

The encounter he had with the Corvosi tutor/assassin was the first instance where Zenos failed to achieve something immediately. Where he had to exert mental and physical effort. Where he developed a desire to overcome repeated instances of failing.

This is why he is desperate to recreate that feeling of challenge. Why he thinks that combat is the only available source he has. Because nothing, absolutely nothing else up to this moment, has done what his instructor did. Made him fail. Made him feel.

What this does to his outlook is narrow Zenos' world view. It gives him a single desire to recreate the feeling of motivation and drive he had towards finally besting his instructor. This is why I think Zenos was content to go along with the Empire's conquest of Eorzea and the rest of Hydalyn. Because it gave him the opportunity to battle. To test himself against other warriors who maybe, just maybe, would give him the same feeling his instructor did.

Nothing else mattered because nothing else made Zenos feel much of anything. It was all the same. Tedious. Bording. Easy.

To Zenos, the pursuit of a person's goal doesn't require any greater justification other than "It's what I want to do." You do things because they serve your greater purpose. You eat to keep yourself alive so you can train, so you can be strong enough for combat. That's it. There is no enjoyment, no pleasure, to be found in the daily living of life. The only moment of catharsis is finally reaching the end.

Zenos does not care about why the Empire is conquering the world. The Emporer simply wants to, that's it. To Zenos, all of the reasoning of "making the world better" of "spreading the glory of Garlemald" does. Not. Matter. Because it does not change the core belief that people do things because they want to.

Jullus asks him why? Zenos asks him why that even matters. People do things because they want to or because it allows them to achieve the thing they want. That's it. That's all. There is never a greater meaning than that. No dressing it up in philosophy or politics. It won't change the outcome of the actions. It doesn't affect anything at all. The dead are still dead. Zenos still wants his fight. Garlemald still wants its glory.

Jullus here is confronted by Zenos' nihilism. The realization that there is no justification. No meaning. Not for Zenos. Not for Garlemald. Not for anything. The reason is meaningless because the reason doesn't change a single damn thing.

And yet. How can we say that the reason never matters? Never changes things? How can we look at FFXIV as a story and say that this is right?

Reason is everywhere. Reason gives context and produces empathy. Understanding. Of course, you resent the outcome less when you understand that the problem was caused by someone trying to help. To make something positive. That it was a simple mistake instead of a purposeful act of harm.

This is where the second absence comes into play. This is where tragedy lies.

The Absence of Connection:

Zenos has no friends. No family bonds. No companionship. No understanding of other people. He sees people only in terms of his own goal. Weak and boring. Or strong and interesting. His emotional range is severely restricted. Fluctuating between bored or frustrated. Anything else only comes to the front after his encounter with the Warrior of Light. Where a faint hope is sparked that this person might just be the one to challenge him. This blazes to life at the Royal Menagire, and Zenos spends the rest of the game chasing that fading comet.

The short story shows us a bleak view of Zenos' life as a child. His mother is dead, and he has no memory of her. His father is absent, dismisive, and uncaring.

The servants and staff around are mere robots to Zenos. Implying they have little to no personal interaction with him. Or are so chained by the rules of Garlean High Society that they can not interact with him or risk punishment. On top of this, I believe that Zenos was also being taught due to the war propaganda, that these servants (possoble taken from conquered nations) were lesser. Were not people. Were to not be seen and not be spoken to.

His tutors were boring. Since lessons were easy and rote. Other children held no interest because Zenos was so far beyond them mentally. I imagine that given his genius that the average child his age must have seemed like a toddler to him. Zenos has never had a peer. Someone of equal standing. Someone he could connect with or was able to empathize with. I highly doubt that anyone else around him found lessons and training to be so easy. Who found living itself to be dull.

Zenos IS an island. Zenos IS alone. And this affected him deeply. He has never learned what a healthy connection with someone else is. His emotional development was so utterly stunted and warped that it left him unable to empathise. To Zenos, his life has been so empty of warmth and care for him that he is unable to feel that towards other. Due to this, he can not understand motivations outside of his own narrow scope. To Zenos, life has never had any meaning, outside of his pursuit of challenge. Whereas others around him, who struggle, who fail, have always had this deep rooted purpose of striving to improve and succeed. Their dreams and goals pushing them forwards because it doesn't come easy. So here we have this isolated, empty, genius. Who has never struggled, has never managed to connect with anyone. Chasing desperatedly after the one, singular person in his life who managed to change that. it's so important that he called the Warrior of Light his 'First Friend'. The first person Zenos has been challenged by, who has sparked insterest. Who he has connected to. I do believe that, as least for the 'cannon events' of FFXIV, the Meteor Survivor Box Art timeline, the Warrior of Light does have things in common with Zenos. The enjoyment of a good fight. A want to face tough opponents, to seek greater and greater challenge. Zenos sees this, and for the first time in his life, he is able to in part understand someone else. He is only able to return this gift of purpose and connection in the same way he recieved it. By throwing himself at the WoL in combat. To try and recreat that spark he felt. This is also the reason, I think, that Zenos didn't change his approach after he resurected into EleZenos. I don't think he ment to come back. It was an accidently biproduct of the Resonant. Zenos was suddenly faced with the possiblity that he was now immortal, and I think the implication that his life of utter tediom would never end drove him to chase the WoL all the harder. He needed something to give him meaning and purpose, or be faced with a bleak eternaty forevermore.

This is what Alisiae is able to see. Past all of Zenos' outward neutrality and boredom, she saw that desire in him to keep that connection with the WoL. That's why she called him out on it, becuase Zenos did not understand himself and his emotions enough to idenitfy what it was he really wanted. A friend.

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #zenos yae galvus #ghostly rambles #I am obsessed with him #I love him so much as a character #he is my blorbo #blorbo from my game

[elliewiltarwyn]

Elilgeim "Ellie" Wiltarwyn

B A S I C S

Name: Elilgeim Wiltarwyn

Nicknames: 'Geim by childhood friends; Ellie by Mia at the end of ARR and by everyone (or at least those she knows) halfway through HW; El by her partners

Age: 24 in ARR, hc'ing that it's four years to the end of 6.0 and then another year or so to 6.55 -- so at present, 29ish

Nameday: 9th Sun of the Sixth Umbral Moon

Race: Sea Wolf Roegadyn

Gender: (trans) female

Orientation: Lesbian

Profession: Conjurers' Guild member, then Warrior of Light; would probably still be a conjurer, or scholar or even a writer in non-WoL AUs

P H Y S I C A L     A S P E C  T S

Hair: Red, usually shoulder-length when down, but in a ponytail most of the time. She usually brushes it until it's silky and clean, but recently somebody *coughdefinitelynot@oneiroycough* mussed it into a really messy kinda-butch look and she's found herself really liking it :V

Eyes: sort of the same slightly-cool blue as the tumblr dashboard you're probably reading this on >.>

Skin: Seafoam green-ish

Tattoos/scars: Slightly-pale red streak across her cheekbones and nose. Plenty of scars, one light one over her eye from Pearl Lane and more all over her torso; Zenos gave her the two biggest ones, one on her side at Rhalgr's Reach and one directly in the middle of her chest in Ultima Thule.

F A M I L Y

Parents: Father was Wiltitar, a retired Storm Captain, most well-known for retiring from and renouncing piracy and throwing his support behind Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn's Galadion Accord; met an untimely end in an alleyway mugging. (This does mean her surname should be Wiltitarwyn, and there's no good in-universe reason it's not. >.>) Mother is Keltbryda, a renowned and well-loved physician who mysteriously vanished, thought dead. Near the end of EW... Ellie discovers she was actually summoned to Sharlayan to lend her skills to the ark project. They definitely have a very normal conversation about this.

Siblings: None by blood, but she does have a childhood friend from school that she considers a sister this friend does not exist yet beyond that concept

Grandparents: A little too far back for me to think about >.>

In-laws and Other: None, really, because...by the time she marries her partners, none of their blood families are in their lives anymore either >.> (technically I think Lily's family is still alive, mom and nunh and two younger sisters, but she hasn't seen them in years)

Pets: Fat Cat is definitely canon, although I haven't figured out its name yet. also debating whether Rudy photobombing their holiday photos and stealing her nameday cake is canon and he just lives with them now.

S K I L L S

Abilities: Surprisingly in tune with the elementals of Gridania (though not enough to be necessarily okay with them) and thus fairly skilled at white magic/conjury. After a Very Certain Event in HW, she picks up a claymore and learns how to swing a greatsword and becomes even more in tune with her inner darkness. She picks up the reaper arts for EW, then post-EW drops them and learns martial arts from Lyse and her contacts in the Fists of Rhalgr.

Hobbies: Reading and studying, training, picks up sailing and fishing after EW.

T R A I T S

Most Positive Trait: An extremely strong and confident sense of justice/conviction of what's right and wrong.

Most Negative Trait: Gets tunnel vision frequently and is quick to leap to the most direct solution, no matter how unfeasible or unwise.

L I K E S

Colors: Red red red red red almost all the way up and down lol, and black for accents. Blue's a close runner-up, though.

Smells: the coast of Vylbrand, the steel of bloodied armor, coffee

Textures: Aetherwoven robes and corrugated steel; calloused hands and rough skin; surprisingly soft almost-silky hair

Drinks: Coffee, either pitch black or very specifically a spoonful of milk and one sugar cube

O T H E R    D E T A I L S

Smokes: She did occasionally during the period of her life she spent on Pearl Lane, and will maybe take one if offered in the present, but she doesn't of her own accord anymore.

Drinks: Nope, even before the events of MSQ she did not have a great tolerance; after the multiple attempted poisonings (and as the one who was specifically blamed at the bloody banquet) she swears it off entirely.

Drugs: Not of her own accord again, but she will if offered recreationally.

Mount Issuance: Her red chocobo named Typhoon; she also uses the Garlond GL-II on loan from the Ironworks as long as she doesn't crash it. She's come close a couple of times.

Been Arrested: Likely a few times when in Pearl Lane, then less so as she got better about avoiding them, but not since becoming a conjurer.

---------

thanks for the tag @oneiroy!! I'm not sure who all's done this so uh forgive the double-tag if it is one, but I will tag... @eidingate @amons-hat-enthusiast @idalenn @starrysnowdrop @akirakirxaa, and of course you 🫵 if this strikes your fancy!

#tag games #wol questions #sorta lol #femroe #ffxiv gpose #ffxiv screenshots #onei i like your idea that there's no pressure if tagged just consider it an evil boop otherwise lol

[anneapocalypse]

I have joked before that Stormblood feels like the writers thought they maybe went too hard on Major Character Death™️in Heavensward and so almost nobody gets to die. But looking back over the arc of the Scions as a whole, I think Stormblood through Endwalker are really the Scions learning (if slowly) that Heroic Sacrifice is not always the answer, and also growing closer to one another as people as a result. Especially for those of us who didn't play 1.0, I think it's so easy to forget sometimes that these characters just survived an apocalypse--and lost the guy who was the glue holding them all together. I think a lot of what feels like the Scions being cavalier with their comrade's life in ARR is the fact that they are all waiting, consciously or unconsciously, for their own Louisoix Moment, and they're so deep in that mindset that they probably don't even realize how it feels to an outsider, that understanding that they're all ready to die. Because when that moment does come, they all take it. Moenbryda takes it, Minfilia takes it, Papalymo takes it... and the rest are left to pick up the pieces.

And what do they do with those pieces? After Moenbryda's death Urianger goes on a very long arc where he starts mired in isolation and self-flagellation, but ultimately comes to see that turning to his friends for help is better than suffering alone. Alphinaud faces down the arrogance that made him so easy to manipulate and becomes better at working with others and not over and around them. Alisaie comes to terms with her grandfather's death and pushes those around her to see alternatives to sacrifice. Lyse decides to stop hiding, to live as herself, and to fight for what she believes in, ultimately becoming a leader in her newly-freed homeland. Thancred learns to better respect the agency of the people he loves while still acting as a protector. Y'shtola begins--slowly, and haltingly, but she does begin--to share her struggles with her friends instead of keeping everything to herself. G'raha, after years of secrecy and preparing to sacrifice himself, finds himself given a second chance and a new life to share with the people he loves. Estinien finds deeply meaningful friendships with people he would have once considered his enemy, and lets go of a life of solitude in favor of joining the Scions.

There's a reason the Scions don't really feel like a family in ARR. There's a reason that, to me, they do feel like one by Endwalker. Sometimes media will try to force a found family dynamic between a group of characters who don't even necessarily like each other very much; FFXIV lets the cracks in the Scions show early and then shatters them, then brings them back together in a long journey of reforging those bonds and making them stronger than they ever were.

#endwalker spoilers #shadowbringers spoilers #stormblood spoilers #heavensward spoilers #arr spoilers #ffxiv #there's probably something to be said in here about what happens in ultima thule #but tbh i am still processing that #so maybe later #afk by the aetheryte #ffxiv stuff

[jaskierx]

guz khan was not fired for being pro-palestine. taika waititi is neither a zionist nor the showrunner. spreading misinformation and baseless antisemitic conspiracy theories is neither cool nor sexy

right. now we've got that out of the way. hello friends i am lyse 🌻

i mainly post about: ofmd, disco elysium, baldur's gate 3

i sometimes post about: the boys/gen v, the witcher, atla, dragon age, mass effect, ffxiv, breaking bad/better call saul

inbox and dm's are always open going to have to reword this bc folks started trying to sext me. so. inbox and dm's are always open (to mutuals and followers who want to talk about the things i post about in a way that does not involve their genitals)

my ao3 is SatsumaSegments 🍊

posts i've made are tagged lyse.jpg

header is by @bizarrelittlemew

if you have sent me an ask recently and i haven't replied it's because either you sent me boring anon hate or tumblr ate it or i am too sleepy. feel free to nudge me x

peace out lyse out ✌️

#pinned post #updated 19th apr 2024

[tainbocuailnge]

i tend to hone in on the dark knight questline when it comes to translation differences in ffxiv because it has perhaps the largest difference between languages in the game, at least as far as I've seen, and it's also one of the cases where the german script (generally known for sticking pretty close to jp) also does its own thing. I actually went over the entirety of both en and de versions of it again the other day because I'd been meaning to translate it for comparison and one thing I noticed this time is that en actually has more lines, as in, optional lines when you talk to characters after they gave you the next quest objective that in german would just repeat the last line they said, in english would say something different. the journal entries changing depending on whether you have the job crystal equipped or not is also unique to the english version.

it's interesting because to me it shows that they really felt incredibly strongly about their take on dark knight and put a lot of serious effort into pulling it off. it's actually improved my opinion of english drk a little because clearly someone really believed in what they were writing here and used absolutely everything they had available to try and make it work. but even with that extra text to work with I still think the german version delivered their concept better and had a clearer vision of what they wanted to say with these quests. because the english team are just not as good at writing as they seem to think they are.

in my recent replay of stormblood in german there were so many scenes that made me think "you know what, maybe stormblood isn't as bad as I remembered it being", and then when I went to double check the english version of that scene it actually was as stupid as i remember it being. and often the thing that makes it stupid is like, lyse displaying confidence and competence in de but talking herself down in en, or yotsuyu pointing out the systematic failures that brought her where she is in de but indulging in personal sadistic tendencies in en. and making your antagonists dumber and more evil is one thing but the fact that they also made lyse sound so insecure and incompetent at so many points when she's the main character of the expansion, it's just so baffling to me. are we supposed to believe she can lead the resistance movement or not?

so knowing that de will generally be closer to jp than en is but does occasionally have major deviations of its own, and seeing all these stormblood scenes where one of the big glaring differences between en and de is that en keeps dumbing down and vilifying (female) characters that have more nuance and with it more thematic consistency in de, that leaves basically two options. either the japanese script had that nuance and the english translators were so full of misogyny that they decided to remove it, or the japanese script didn't have it either and it's the german translators that decided to not hate women actually. and while i don't know enough japanese to be sure, listening to the jp voicelines does give me reason to believe that the jp script is harsher to yotsuyu than de at various points, so it's probably a bit of both.

so, yknow, I can't make a sweeping statement of being against major script changes in localisation in general without being a hypocrite because the de script has at multiple times done its own thing in a way that i consider either an improvement or at least an interesting alternative of roughly equivalent quality. but that's also exactly what my problem with ffxiv localisation is, that when the en script has major deviations it's almost always some stupid shit like adding gendered slurs (they love calling a woman a bitch or a whore in english it gets really glaring when you start putting individual lines next to each other) and transphobia (matoya does not make fun of alphinaud looking like a girl in german) and removing instances of characters openly saying they care about something (thancred calling ryne his daughter in every language but english) and generally destroying all character voice, and when de changes things it's like, well written and makes sense even if it's different. so the en team looking down on the script theyre translating and changing it is hubristic overconfidence but when the de team does it they actually have the writing chops to back it up

#efksiv

[thevikingwoman]

15 Lines of Dialogue Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

Thank you for the tag @coldshrugs and @impossible-rat-babies!

tagging: @myreia @roguelioness @janzoo @consulaaris @scionshtola

@ubejamjar @gatheredfates @bearlytolerant @gefiltefished and everyone else who wants to!

(sorry for the many paragraphs attempting to working around tumblr's new limit)

These are all Meryta / ffxiv, from published fics and WIPs, you also get a peak at my awful wip naming (contrasted with my struggles with fic naming 😂). This was more picking lines I liked and it's good to see your OCs voice? Actually helpful!

“I should have foreseen the danger. The beastmen, the Primal... those are not simple problems.” She can hardly forget it, leaping through the sky. She does not want to think of it, but if the time comes, she will deal with it. She folds her hand in his and reaches to kiss him. “I doubt your father expected you to deal with a Primal, Emmanellain.” - Reprieve

 Here we go again, she thinks, do you really want to do this again? “You should invite him to dinner,” she says out loud instead. - Distance

“Sorry, that was unjust of me. I’m just very worried about my friend. I spend a long time worried about where she was and if she even was alive and now – now I worry more.” - Wrong

“Emmanellain. You're handsome enough on your own. Stop it.” - The Perils of Ishgard Publishing

“You’re injured,” she murmurs. - Under Familiar Stars

“I wouldn’t say no to a game,” she says, tilting her head towards the cardplayers, and winks. “Here I thought I could offer your something better, in ways of entertainment.” “And what may that be, Tansui?” - Passing Through

“I wish I could stay,” she says, when she’s done with the second portion, “but – and I should help with cleanup,” she continues as she puts her dish in the sink, and he waves her off. - Solace and Breakfast

“I wanted to write this letter, but – words are eluding me.” “A letter? For whom?” [Alisaie asks] “It’s not important.” - Letters and Longing

“Yes. No. I am not.” - wip (relationship talk)

“I want – Tansui.” He bucks his hips into her hand and sucks [er nipple]. His hand on her hip, holding her in a bruising grip. She sinks her nails into his shoulders. “I can’t wait. I need you.” - wip (relationship talk)

“Come,” she says and grabs both Yugiri’s and Lyse’s arms. “We should have time enough to taste some food, and we can ask the trader all the same. If he doesn’t know him, we can spilt up after.” - wip (the steppe)

“I know how babies are made, if that is what you ask, Alphinaud.” - wip (after roadtrip)

“I am. What are you going to do about it?” - wip (another Tansui tryst)

“It was – “ meant for me, but she can’t voice it. Not now, and perhaps never. “—heroic,” she settles on. “He saved us all.” - wip (emmy grief)

“Maybe I’m not telling.” Tansui chuckles. “Well, if you’re so stuck on pirates, perhaps a handsome pirate has rescued a beautiful princess.” “And what will the pirate ask for in return for such a dashing rescue?” - wip (tansui roleplay) good bye we're never talking about this wip again

#this was a great meme #thanks for the tags! #very fun #let's never talk about how many wips I have #ffxiv #meryta khatin

[viiioca]

day 14 - training

From the journal of Estelle de Laussienne, 8th of the 3rd Umbral Moon, 3 7A.E. After so many losses, I think it must have terrified Lyse on some level that the Champion of Eorzea could be brought low by a warrior with naught but his size, his skill, and a comical amount of swords on hand. It does little good to tell her that this primal-slaying business is a rather specialized skillset; if I can kill the divine, she reasons, I ought to be able to kill the mundane. It's simple common sense. I would complain, but if I'm to be fully honest: she was not the only one. And so I find myself – lacking athleticism to a degree that might be worrying if I didn't have Urianger and Alphinaud for comparison – learning how to throw a punch. At the very least, Lyse seems in fantastically good spirits to be able to repeatedly kick my legs out from under me for an hour or two at a time. One of life's simple pleasures, I suppose.

[roevember 2023 prompt by wintertitania]

#ffxiv #my wol: estelle #femroe #roegadyn #roevember #roevemberxiv #roevember 2023 #my writing #the entirety of stormblood is estelle being surrounded by skilled physical fighters looking at her in abject confusion #“it's nice that god won't let you die but maybe you should learn how to avoid taking hits” #estelle is the healer who eats mechs because she just put a crit adlo shield on herself

[kicktwine]

ffxiv does— (thinking.) sometimes the things or means ffxiv uses to get somewhere are strange or feel unthought through, like, the things they seem to be leading to seem odd. But they always END UP in the right place. I’m like— I’m talking about like, especially in matters of heads of state. Lyse is an odd choice for a leader, so she isn’t! Raubahn is. Chai-Nuzz seems very unfitting as a politician, so he isn’t! He’s not even mayor permanently. And other such things like that. Fordola isn’t meant to be blanket redeemed so she isn’t. Characters act like themselves. It always ends up in a place that feels right and i really commend it for doing so

#strong characters is what I’ll pin that on #but I’ll also give a lot of credit to the writers for being able to end a story #ending a story is SO HARD #play game #shadowbringers spoilers

[eorzeanflowers]

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 tags

Basic rules: choose 10 fandoms that you are part of/support, and choose a favorite character from each of those. Then, tag ten folks!

Tagged by: @miqojak Ty for the tag!!! Sorry it took a hot minute.

Tagging: Uhhhhh, @terminuspride, @fair-fae, @alannah-corvaine, @voidsentprinces, @healerstail, @ahollowgrave, @alicelufenia, @starrysnowdrop, @briar-ffxiv, @driftward

Now to the list! In no real particular order cause I really just drift from thing to thing.

Penny Polendina (RWBY)

I love my quirky little robot girl. She's the absolute best, a brilliant fighter and very emotionally intelligent. She is such a cheerful ideal, someone who tries to see the best in people. She knows when they've gone too far and isn't afraid to stand up for what she wants! Which is the whole core of her little arc. Being a weapon given a soul and all. It is a beautiful story of a little girl who cares so much and wishes to be able to just... be that cheerful little girl without the weight of the world. Its just so sweet.

Honorable mentions: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Oscar, Neo

2. Kafka (Star Rail)

In all honesty she's the reason I'm even playing Star Rail. She is such a mysterious character, with a voice to die for. Yes, Hoyoverse characters tend to be rather shallow (that's a gacha game for ya), but Kafka just hits everything I love in a character. Her character short when she was fully released is... *chef's kiss* just amazing. I will admit, every time she does her ult in game I join her in saying "Boom." ^_^;

Honorable Mentions: March 7th, Stelle (Trailblazer F), Seele, Bronya, Jingliu

3. Lyse (FFXIV)

Shocker, the leading lady of Stormblood is still my favorite? Honestly, all three of the ladies from Stormblood are the trifecta of favorites. (Lyse, Fordola and Yotsuyu) The various storylines that cause them to interact is such a delight. I wasn't too bothered by the whole "Yda was my sister" thing, cause well, Yda was barely in the game post ARR... And like, it was always Yda and Papalymo. Never just one or the other. So when Lyse got the chance to shine and actually take center stage, I was smitten. She's tough, gentle, sassy, collected, brilliant, a bit silly, and more. Such a well written character. I'm still upset she left the scions tbh. Could've added a little hair color diversity by a little bit. :P

Honorable mentions: Aymeric, Hilda, Erenville, Zero, Y'shtola, Thancred, Ryne, Gaia, Minfillia

4. Gideon Nav (The Locked Tomb)

Ok, seriously, this series grabbed me by the throat and would not let me go. Gideon is such a lovely first viewpoint (and I adore all the viewpoint characters). She takes no shit, talks a lotta shit, and can fight a whole heck more shit. The way she interacts with Harrow at first, then the other Necromancers and their Cavaliers is such a delight. Sure you hate Harrowhark so much Gideon, why are you obeying her command to not speak a single word to literally anyone else, hmmmmmmmmmmm?????? Also the gay panic that Gideon seems to have on the regular is just. Great. I don't want to speak too much more on Gideon, cause this series is just great and you should read it.

Honorable mentions: Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Nona, Camilla Hect, Ianthe Tridentarius, Coronabeth Tridentarius.

5. Raiden Ei (Genshin Impact)

Last time it was Eula, now it is Raiden Ei. It is always a toss up between them, if I'm being honest. Ei is just... such a sad puppy? XD Its the best way to describe her. So trapped in her own past and trying to do what would best preserve her sister's memory... She's just SAD guys. Yeah, she may not be the best governing force for her nation, and she indirectly killed a lotta people with her retreating away and leaving a puppet behind, but we the Traveler showed up and fixed things! Also she gets two amazing boss fights, I honestly wish I could do the story one again but I ain't working through Mondstat and Liyue again. >.>;

Honorable mentions: Eula, Alhaithem, Deya, Kamisato Ayaka, Zhongli, Nahida, Navia, the Wanderer, Wriothsley

6. Karlach (Baldur's Gate 3)

KARLACH IS THE BEST AND SHE IS SO SWEET AND LOVELY AND SHOULD NOT HAVE TO GO BACK TO HELL OR DIE OR [redacted]. She is such a lovely goofball that even shows platonic love if you don't romance her and I really think that is great! Her arc tying into Gortash was delightful, bringing her much more into the story instead of just a bystander like a couple of them. (Like out of all the origin companions Astarion barely has any connection to any of the major players in the story, he's pretty self contained tbh.) Her sweetness, the way she says she's gonna eat dirt if you leave her camp, and her cheerful demeanor are just.... Amazing. I'm really running out of words for Karlach cause she is my favorite. I'm gonna have to start BG3 up again and actually play my romance run of her soon.

Honorable mentions: Shadowheart, Wyll, Astarion, Lae'zel, Dammon, Orin, Jaheira, Minthara, Isobel, Aylin

7. The Doctor (Doctor Who)

Ok, a bit of a cop out since, you know, they are the star of the show. BUT COME ON. The Doctor in their various iterations have been so enjoyable. My personal favorite is Tennet's 10, but Capaldi's 12 is a strong second. Its just a good show to binge at times. There are a lottta good episodes, a few really bad ones, but overall its a good time. The scene at the end of the special where they rescue Gallifrey is still one of my favorite scenes in the whole franchise. And hell, the Archeologist is based (loosely) on them, so how can I not include them?

Honorable mentions: DONNA NOBLE, Rose Tyler, Clara Oswald, Bill Potts, Me, Strax

8. Xion (Kingdom Hearts)

Have I mentioned I love tragic characters? Xion is literally the definition of tragedy, with all the problems with her just existing lol. Her presence in 358/2 Days really made the game for me. Roxas was kinda bland and having someone that was similar in age (like Sora, Riku and Kairi were) to interact with made it all that much better. AND SHE GETS THE HAPPY ENDING. Eventually. Boy is it a long road, but that's Kingdom Hearts for ya.

Honorable Mentions: Kairi, Namine, Riku, Sora, Aqua, Terra, Master Xehanort, Isa, Lea

8. Lucina (Fire Emblem)

I really wanna pick someone else in all honesty, but Fire Emblem has a worse problem than Hoyoverse games in their bit characters. :/ Lucina is a strong character that really delighted me when I played Awakening. She's such a surprise that it really helps make that Fire Emblem my favorite. She's got a good supporting cast too, with Robin and her dad Chrom, but Awakening was really her game. Chrom was kinda there just to be her dad lol

Honorable mentions: Robin, Chrom, Ike, Mist, Soren, Sumia, Erika, Marisa, Lyon, Elincia

9. Trevor Belmont (Castlevania)

Full disclosure, I have not played his game, in fact the only two castlevania's I have played both feature non Belmont's as the lead players (Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclasia). But the way Trevor is in the show, OH BOY. He is rough, he is blunt, he is smart, he is SOOOO dumb, he is loyal, he is a fighter, he never gives up, HE IS JUST GREAT. He's also one of my biggest Bi panics when he shows how much of a badass he is in episode, I think, 4 or 5 or later? Its been a hot minute since I watched that series. When he first uses the flail weapon that I forget the name of.

Honorable mentions: Shanoa, Jonathan Morris, Charlotte Aulin, Sypha Belnades, Alucard, Dracula

10. Aigis (Persona)

Aigis is a super cutie and I love her interactions with the female protagonist. I really wish P3 wasn't such a long game and Aigis actually showed up a little earlier. She's just a doll! I do need to try and find a copy (or emulate) FES to play the storyline with her as the lead singer. Its just so rough to get thru P3 I just lose motivation. T.T I've made it to the vacation part with the female lead, like, three times and no further cause my motivation tanks. WHICH IS WEIRD CAUSE THAT'S WHEN YOU MEET AIGIS. Its just too long for me I guess. XD

Honorable mentions: Teddie, Female lead P3, Male lead P4, Yukari Takeba, Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, Fuuka Yamagishi, Shinji Aragaki, Junpei Iori, Chidori Yoshino, Elizabeth, Theodore

Not gonna lie, kinda struggled to find a full 10 franchises to pull a character from. My mind just goes blank when asked my favorite character from X place. Names escape me and everything. XD But as you can see, I love robot girls, strong girls, mysterious girls, tragic girls, a fail man, and traveling weirdo.

#the rare leigh #oooooooof #this took like..... 2 hours lol #joking it was only like 1. #but still lol #ty for the tag Jak <3 #ty for the tag Mimble <3