This is not the Alisaie hangout time I was promised.
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STORMBLOOD series playlist! ► https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvFQJa1XAXzyHrbeyXrPMd3_Qg3TC4PF_
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0:00 – Introduction
0:22 – QUEST: “His Forgotten Home”
14:41 – QUEST: “A Guilty Conscience”
26:36 – QUEST: “Rise of a New Sun”
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Edited by Daniel Floyd
♫ “Pray Return” by Chris Logsdon
https://lnkfi.re/pray-return
#PlayFrame #FFXIV #FinalFantasyXIV #Stormblood
source
Hey there everyone, how was your weekend?
Yugiri is an au ra that cares that carry knives
She's very pointy
"Why does no one trust me with doors"
something something about interactable doors being a nightmare to implement
We’re so back lets gooo, nice to see durmin again
29:19 I heard in the back of my head, DBZA King Kai start screaming "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! …" when I first played through this.
The Asahi whisper scene was the one I saw the Lala cam struggle the most so far. He was emoting looking straight or even up sometimes, playing at a camera that was way above Durmin
The kneeling down and looking sideways at you make him look way more deranged about Zenos, I love it, they managed to sell it really well
There's a bunch of other scenes that I can't wait to see from a smol perspective
My immediate thought when the red Kojin showed up and Asahi rushed in to save the civilians was definitely "He somehow arranged for them to show up"
The height issue is especially funny on Roegadyn. He has to get right up and in your face and menace like an elementary school brat, as you just glare at him. There are two ways to play 14 max height roe, min height lala. Every scene is "Of course I am the warrior of light I am biggest" or "Of course I am the warrior of light, if you want to keep your shins."
The Asahi Whisper scene is so conflicting to me.
There is absolutely no reason strategically for Asahi to go mask off at this time. He gains nothing from it. In fact, he jeopardizes everything for nothing but to intimidate the WoL for no reason.
Narratively, the scene just throws away the possibility for discourse on his intentions to just have the writers look into the camera and be tell you directly "this is a bad guy. You should not trust him". This is especially egregious as the patch ends with us just knowing the trajectory of the coming story instead of the player left wondering.
But it is such a good scene in establishing who Asahi is as a person: just a petulant child. One that is manipulative and conniving, but one that is emotionally stunted, willing to give in to his desire for momentary satisfaction at the price of those machinations.
53:36 aaaaaaand this is the point that cemented my comparison of Zenos to Sephiroth in my head as I worked that into my headcanon for Gen lmfao. Too fighty to stay dead indeed.
Not to be dramatic, I would take a bullet for Durmin. The way Asahi got in his face made me physically angry. 😤
And here is where it all goes sideways. Lots of people to put the blame on today, so let's get started.
Hien, buddy, what are you doing here? He recognizes that 1) Yotsuyu was unspeakably evil in her interactions with the people of Doma, and 2) that having Tsuyu walking around will cause pain and suffering for the people of Doma. There is no problem with him keeping Tsuyu around for the purpose of the prisoner exchange, but there should not be any consideration of having her walk free in Doma at any point. For the sake of the people of Doma, if she must be kept alive, then Hien should consider sending her into exile. If she truly is completely mind-wiped (which is rare except in certain reaches of fiction), then having her in exile would let her continue to live in peace without causing Domans pain. If it turns out that she is not completely mind-wiped (which is far, far more likely to happen), then Yotsuyu is a threat if she ever recovers her memory and should not be put in a position that could result in the harming of Domans. Also, don't let the Imperial agent have unsupervised access to a potentially dangerous prisoner. Nothing good can come from that.
As for Asahi, he had everyone eating out of his hands. All he had to do was keep the cartoon villainy off his face until he was back on his ship. You had one job! Instead, he blows it all at the last minute and makes his job that much harder. Think of all he could have managed to do if he hadn't been so intent on telling us "I'll get you next time, Gadget!"
Gosetsu can be understood a little bit, but even he should have been more cautious around Tsuyu. He knows what she did. He was ready to cut her down in Doma Castle. He suffered torment under her heel in order to spare the lives of villagers. She shot him. If he wants to believe that their survival is "the will of the kami", then he is welcome to, but he shouldn't put the rest of his countrymen in danger as a result. Yotsuyu was not remorseful, even in what should have been her death. If she gets her memory back, she's not going to be reformed. She was the way she was due to her past – once she recalls that past, it will drive her the same way.
21:45 this is honestly an underrated scene. A scene I forgot about.
Hien is not actually looking to take Tsuyu's life here. It is a test. For both Tsuyu and Gosetsu.
The test for Tsuyu is simple of course: is this an act? While Hein never gets definitive proof that it isn't, it does become more convincing.
As for Gosetsu, it is a test of his current convictions and allegiance. Would he draw his sword to defend Tsuyu's life? Or would he accept his master's brutal judgement, one that would not only be cruel to have done without due process but also to jeopardize the return of Doman prisoners?
Gosetsu responds in a way that satisfied Hien: not to forget his loyalties to Doma, but to not sit idle at injustice.
Gosetsu sees what he cannot be in Tsuyu. She is wiped clean of her sin, able to live a life blissfully unaware of the suffering she has caused. Gosetsu, meanwhile, knows that there are other lands where he has fought under the empire's banner where he would be seen as just as much of a monster as Yotsuyu is in his home. Yet his sins do not get to be cleansed and the kami see fit that he cannot rest yet either.
Given that, how can he not protect Tsuyu? How can he not stand up for her? By doing so, by believing there might be a redeemable person in a monster, he is clinging to any hope he has for himself.
35:40 This is the moment when Asahi cements his position as the most
[spoiler space]
disappointing villain in Stormblood, a position for which there is stiff competition. From his introduction, through the encounter with the Red Kojin and the talks with Hien, he got my hopes up–not that he was a good guy, but that he was, at last, a subtle villain. He had a reasonably clever plan–a rational diplomatic appeal, a staged confrontation to make himself look good, a personal stake in a prisoner to explain his apparent sympathy. He executed well on it (and the VA and scene direction conveyed his effectiveness beautifully).
Then all that build-up gets thrown away because, once again, the writers couldn't resist crashing a truck into the scene and screaming, "He's a VILLAIN!" at us. Again. All subtlety gone. If he'd just said a slightly cryptic farewell, and we'd gotten the Echo vision as he departed, it would have accomplished the reveal. (If a "reveal" was even necessary–it's not like we didn't already have cause for suspicion, though it did provide a segue for the "meanwhile" scene.)
But no. He couldn't refrain from chewing the scenery for just one more minute, because he's a Stormblood VILLAIN, and the writers would not trust us to realize that without flashing lights and blaring sirens. I dislike Zenos and Yotsuyu's characterizations; I find them flat as week-old soda. Asahi's, though, is worse, because everything was in place to make him 3-dimensional. He could have been so much better a villain, if they hadn't felt compelled to make him yet another pantomime figure.
🎶Teenage Lalafel Ninja Durmin
🎶Teenage Lalafel Ninja Durmin
🎶Hero in a half-size, Durmin power!
Playfriends, the Desert Bus is well on its way! Carrie even got to compete in Coffee Pong today! But we're here for some FFXIV, so this is your spoiler free lore comment.
1:10 – He forgot Snack Mage. I think Asahi only knows the propaganda. But someone looking at their old stomping grounds isn't that weird. Well, a little weird to want to look around after a rebellion against the state you pledge yourself to.
3:10 – Dan guesses correctly, those are local crystalline structures. Northern Yanxia is rich in aether, which is evident in these crystals, and also influences the local fauna and flora. Which results in monsters and some unusual beasts.
5:05 – Magatsu means 'calamity', but Daneebound's FF6 knowledge has saved me! These enemies are indeed from FF6! Called "Face", these enemies appear in the Phoenix Cave. The versions here in FFXIV are really terrifying, their maws open up with lots of teeth and the ears flap like wings.
6:20 – This player is dressed in the Casual Jacket, which is only obtainable through the Ishgard Resotoration's Scratch Ticket lotto, the Kupo of Fortune. That means this player has conducted a lot of crafting or gathering to have a chance to get this attire.
12:45 – This defense of Doman civilians against brigands does make Asahi look like a reasonable man, who wishes to avoid the deaths of innocents. His overtures of peace sound genuine, showing that the Empire is multifaceted. While one group (Yotsuyu) desires to inflict agony on others, another group (Asahi) desires coexistence and peace. And Asahi isn't wrong, for the Empire to change, there will need to be an internal force for reform, rather an external upheaval.
But Alisaie did ask a question during the fight, why would all these Red Kojin go after two villagers? What would they gain from slaying them? And when it became apparent that they had defenders, why press the attack? And finally, why venture so far into Yanxia? Yotsuyu is no longer in charge why venture far from the Ruby Sea?
15:55 – Honestly, I think this is Hakuro's job. He's the Lupin who is effectively the head guard for the Doman Enclave, and has seen the Garlean apparatus firsthand during his conscription. I don't think he has a high opinion of the Garlean Peace mission.
19:45 – Sometimes you can know somethings is a trap, or disingenuous, but you still have to go for it. Maybe the bait is just too important. Maybe not giving it a chance fundamentally damages your stated cause and your reputation, as Lyse recently experienced. But just being on your guard and looking for the angles will provide some defense against any tricks.
20:55 – Bunchin's Blue Kojin weren't a force to counterbalance their Red cousins in the MSQ, but their tribe questline changes all of that. One of the Blue Kojin, Kabuto, has taken up the blade, unlike his more mercantile brethren. Possessed of singular determination, Kabuto seeks new treasures to establish a vault in Tamamizu. He is advised by the Warrior of Light and a tiny, living puppet, Tsukumo, and eventually establishes an Adventurers Guild for the Kojin. This provides Tamamizu with a fighting force capable of going toe to toe with the Red Kojin.
22:45 – Is your memory what you are? If you have no recollection of an event, are you culpable of it? Is Tsuyu a different person than Yotsuyu? Is burdening Tsuyu with her past self's sins justice?
35:46 – Oookay, time for the crazy eyes. While Fordola is a Ala Mhigan who served the Garlean occupiers, she was mostly kept at a distance from Garlean authority. She wanted a stronger Ala Mhigo under the Empire, and has now been afforded a kind of second chance under the new Ala Mhigan republic. Asahi took to Garlean power like a fish to water, and was not captured in the revolution. And so we have a Zenos groupie.
40:10 – Okay, the shot blocking is doing heavy lifting, but it's obvious that Asahi's sightline is designed for someone his own height, and not a lalafell. Even when he comes in close, it looks almost comical that he's bending down so far.
41:05 – Asahi's plan here… isn't great. If he was dong this to someone who would never be believed, that would be one thing, but Durmin? Durmin doesn't have to strike him down in the moment. He can just tell everyone that Asahi is disingenuous in his dealings. Now, Doma is prepared for Asahi's inevitable double cross. Sometimes baddies just decide to gloat when they should really keep their traps shut.
52:10 – What a beautiful little mirror. But is the intent to push Tsuyu's memories to the forefront?
53:10 – ZENOS LIVES. But how!? The Ala Mhigans put him in the ground!
Next time: Durmin's on the spot to balance the Scions's books. Or maybe it's more MSQ.
💙
34:48 Asahi is really not matching Hien's energy in this scene and I find that hilarious whether that's intentional or just a voice acting mishap.
– i assume Durmin is the kind of person that confuses Pull & Push embarrassingly often
– yup, nothing fishy about those Red Kojin being malms apart from their treasures in a village devoid of monetary value, yup… perfectly legitimateRed Kojin behavior
– oh yeah the animation systems implemented to account for Lalas & Roes being equally playable is
– Asahi is so evil that him being honest makes me trust him less; you know that outburst was 100% bait, yet he's actually resentful
– I'm starting to think the Scions taught Moenbryda death is permanent on purpose…
Today on Playframe: Our new "friend" reveals his true identity as Worst Boy. There's a lot of characters who could be FFXIV's Best Boy or Best Girl, but I still hold Asahi as the untoppled champion of Worst Boy. AND on top of everything else, he's a simp. For Zenos, of all characters. God I hate him so much.
For as long as you let it live, you can always count on an imp to be dishonest. Also, I know this was no great mystery but, called it. My unwavering mistrust and prejudice against imps is vindicated yet again..
Hein oversteps once more bearing his blade to an innocent and nobody puts him in his place, instead he is treated as if in the right absolved by trite justifications. Doma's future is dark indeed with that thug at its head.
Why effort to inflict Yotsuyu's miserable life of relentless evils on innocent Tsuyu? To stir such a thing is beyond cruel. Then measures of cruelty differ between people and imps.
I'm sure that the Kojin attack was planned. It's certainly not unusual for a villain trying to fake being good to save someone from an attack, thus proving they aren't the enemy. If Asahi could have "saved" Hien himself he probably would have set them up.
As far as Ysuyu, I hope she builds up enough positive memories of her time to counter Yotsuyu should she be awakened.
asahiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
1:54 Fewer threats to your life if Durmin is around, I suppose.
5:24 Same, Alisaie. Maybe to further insult his sister?
6:06 He's definitely one of those "the longer he talks, the more I want to stab him" type of characters…
8:14 Side note: it's weird seeing Durmin wield what look like shrunken gladii, and Yugiri with full on wakizashi.
12:27 Easy to say when you got a top-tier Imperial education while your sister was literally sold off.
12:37 Long wait for a train don't come. I won't even believe it when I see it.
15:53 Y'know, I never watched the SImpsons, and have no plans to, but somehow I know exactly what you mean. Closest analogue I've got is C-3PO, which is workable with magitek and mammets, but a FF14 3PO would probably grate on a lot of people.
17:13 It's not trust, it's protocol. Alphinaud could probably explain it.
18:57 He was very quick, and I'm just realising that Maximus was missing at the start of the episode… I think.
21:09 I have gone from squinting and scowling to just irritated scowl.
22:23 I don't disagree in principle. While I make plain my distaste for traitors, everyone who is capable of it deserves a second chance.
23:05 Yotsuyu does bear some responsibility for her actions, as do her superiors, as do the soldiers beneath her at the time. The sins left unaccounted for, imo, are the ones that set the stage for Yotsuyu to become what she did. The ones that broke her dozens of times over, and lit the fire of vengeance in her chest.
28:58 DREADFUL?! You really are Garlean.
29:27 This guy makes me sick. I'm almost willing to bet he's planning on killing her, despite the pretense. Especially considering what we saw in Yotsuyu's Echo-dream.
30:25 He deserves no such thing.
33:58 Love Yugiri's pose here.
40:27 if it was my choice, you'd never have made it this far.
40:45 Your lord is dead, best get over it. Then again, that wouldn't be very Garlean of you, would it? It would mean saying a "savage" was stronger than your prince.
42:37 I'd love to see how comical it would look if you were a Roegadyn. Him being all psycho and having to crane his neck to look you in the face.
45:57 I suspect it was as he said. He was hoping to goad Durmin into attacking, thus proving his "point" and reigniting the conflict. He's like one of those bullies that pushes on someone who could beat the shit out of them, just to cry to teachers when they get theirs, and get off scot free while the bullied gets all the flak for retaliating.
53:15 Fack.
Yes mister Zeno-simp, make it clear to the people you were trying to fool that you are up to no good, I am sure putting them on guard will in no way come back to bite you in the rear. I bet when he heard Zeno-Senpai say "This one has potential" about the blade, he thought Zeno was talking about him.
Regicide can solve quite a few problems.
The Magatsu are definitely an enemy design from FFVI. They definitely look way more upsetting in 3D.
Welcome to the Catgedral of Shadows, where DEMONS gather!
It's really hitting me just how close we are to Shadowbringers.
Like, we have a LOT of side content to go through (specially given how much of it Dan seems determined to tackle), but we're also done the raids, done about a third of the patch MSQ, and almost got the Doman Adventurer Guild questline done.
We're making headway!
15:37 got me to physically wheeze in laughter. I don't think there's a better take of this situation.