The Sheperd's Notebook

[Vyrerus]

It's Lutefisk. They relate how the story events make them feel by telling us what seems to be rather personal information about themselves, though never in enough detail that we couldn't assume that it was all made up.

On the one hand, sometimes reading her posts makes my head hurt. Other times I get a good chuckle and a genuine curiosity, "Like, why are you telling us all about you, when you know most people won't relate?"

From this batch of posting, seems like she doesn't like G'raha Tia. Doesn't like the story or game... but is afraid to miss out? Refers to her younger siblings by number, much like Charlie Chan. Has a big family with intermarrying across continents? She likes Pokemon. Seems to have gone to elementary and middle school across Kentucky and Georgia perhaps? But I honestly couldn't place it.

Really likes to reference other fiction. I saw some Kill Bill 2 in there, among other things. It's hard to get all of the references, because it really seems like stream of consciousness writing to me, and I sure as hell don't really know what makes Lutefisk tick.

Killed about 45 minutes of this shift though, so there's that.

[Alleluia]

Lutefisk, every character has a blog available on the lodestone, you know. Your's is here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes.../4066171/blog/ You could keep a journal there instead of having to keep track of forum threads.

[Vidu]

...this is kinda disappointing - going from the thread title, I was hoping someone had found some lore-bits titled "The Sheperd's Notebook" (my mind placed it in a little hut in the Azim Steppe, maybe as a book of some sort) and wanted to discuss some sheep-lore now... Things like "How does a Karakul look after you shave it?" or "How much of a Karakul is fluffy wool?" (I reckon its at least 80% of the whole animal!)

[Anonymoose]

Clinical Diagnosis: Saint Allene's Fire

[Vidu]

Clinical Diagnosis: Saint Allene's Fire

Now, the question is: Could Saint Allene's Fire be contracted by eating sheep-meat after that sheep ate some tainted grains?

[RicaRuin]

I'm sure there was a cross-section of a sheep/Karakul in Lorebook II, but I don't have it at hand right now... very little skeleton from.what I remember.

[Vidu]

I'm sure there was a cross-section of a sheep/Karakul in Lorebook II, but I don't have it at hand right now... very little skeleton from.what I remember.

That was an excellent point! I just went to grab my lorebook and there are even drawings of the sheeps skeleton! The whole things is to be found on page 292/293, for anyone who cares to look it up themself, but to quote (in order to answer some of my own questions):

"As its shape with the wool attached would indicate, a shorn sheep remains round; however, its body is significantly smaller without the coat. Unlike their much leaner and more graceful ancestors, modern sheep are fairly plump owing to their being bred for food aswell as wool, but their skeleton provides a glimps of the elegant beast they once were"

aswell as this intresting bit:

"Sheep are raised in abundance in La Noscea and Coerthas. A near-identical breed, brought over at one time via Near Eastern trade routes, is also found in the Far East."

And from the first lorebook (page 275):

"Sheep were domesticated by the Highlanders during the Age of Endless Frost. They spent countless years breeding the beastkin in an effort to produce animals that yieled a greater quantity of wool. The result is a species which now seems more fleece than flesh. Wild sheep can be seen grazing the grassy regions of La Noscea and Coerthas."

So it seems my 80% fluff guess was a bit off, but not by to much!

[Lutefisk]

Let's Replay Shadowbringers: Episode 1

The Syrcus Trench

The DNC and GNB job quests were pretty fun and the prospect of hopping into another dimension to deal with the world-ending threat of the week felt like a welcome respite from all the awfulness of the latest developments in the MSQ. An entire expansion's worth of something else than this half-cooked gruel of... whatever Stormblood's story was supposed to be? Sign me up already! In short, when I started working my way through the 5.0 Main Scenario I was almost excited to see how the story would turn out. The reminder about the existence of that creature kind of soured my mood a bit but that unfortunate little detail aside I really liked the introduction to Shadowbrigers when I was playing through the story for the first time. On the second time through, when I could see where you lazy bums had stolen it from, it was much less impressive.

The first trip through the rift is made by picking up a round metallic object after a boat ride. As subtle as a sledgehammer.

The left side of the road that led to the door of the old house was lined with lilacs and on the right side that followed the northwestern wall of the house was a row of ferns.

A green stone loosening arrows in the shadow of a lighthouse. How many times have we done this song and dance already?

Companions. One of those words again. Seven years later I still have no idea what makes you think that the Scions are characters worth caring about.

The Crystarium's theme really ticks me off.

City of the First

Ah, the customary tour of the main hub city of the expansion, attune to the aetheryte and go take a look at all the important points of interest to get your bearings in this strange new land.

Apparently the Crystarium wasn't just built on top of the remnants of an old BETA hive, it's an active hive with an intact monument, the Sadogashima to Eulmore's Yokohama.

Travelers of Norvrandt

So you're telling me that the worst character in the entire game is going to die? That's the best news I've ever heard! Yuuko would have never tried to appeal to my ego like that nor tried to imply that I have anything in common with those disgusting creatures.

The words that poured from the mouth of that smirking... thing did not belong to a person who was trying to enlist the aid of a reputably selfless hero, they were the words of a cheap prostitute that was trying to coax an egotistical little manchild to eat their veggies. All those countless other people that are going to die? Spare no thought for them, they don't matter at all! We, the great wonderful people that the writers of this game have arbitrarily decided that you really, really, really care about, are only concerned about the lamest Mary Sue to ever exist.

Look, the player character hates tome farming too, just like all the smelly nerds and sweaty neckbeards who play this game! Please laugh at this incredibly self-aware and super funny joke!

Making a pact with a pixie is a bit more creative metaphor for blindness than the ones you usually see.

Actually, I have an old hardcover copy of The History of Macondo lying around somewhere but I haven't had the time to read it just yet.

In Search of Alphinaud

Staving off the inevitable Alisaie shilling for even a short while is the lesser of two evils. To Sand Island!

I took my horsebird's name from a med school textbook with a grey and red cover, I figured it would be a good fit for a pocket healer.

A Still Tide

Let's turn back thyme a bit. Those dream flowers were just Althyk lavenders.

Rats aren't furniture, they're rats.

Alphinaud isn't that bad when he's not trying to wax philosophical. I just don't understand why I'm supposed to care about him.

My personal beef with the ongoing war with Garlemald is that there's no satisfying Watsonian explanation for why it started. The Doylist reason is that without the war breaking out and Black Rose triggering the next calamity the ”bad future” timeline wouldn't exist but... I don't get what the casus belli is supposed to be. Or perhaps it would be better to say that the one that the story provided doesn't make a lick of sense to me.

Open Arms, Closed Gate

Fish and earthly bread. Cannibalism and rebellious children. Small bombs. What a lovely family dinner that was.

A Fickle Existence

I've been to the house of the von Wrights once on a field trip, but whether it took place when I was in fifth or sixth grade I can't say for sure.

Shoebill! But where in the world are and Ptarmigan, Hornbill and Stork? Still on the way to Farbanti?

Alphinaud might not be able to draw a bow but he certainly knows how to make use of an artist's arrows.

City of Final Pleasures

I hadn't made it to the champagne bottles yet when I took a break from reading.

The paperwork is another repetition of checking in at the Adventurer's Guild for the first time but the pesticide shower is a new addition.

Credit where it's due, the Chais feel like actual people.

Free to Sightsee

Yellow Thirteen's body vanished into the blue skies, never to return to the earth.

A Taste of Honey

A hive where you have to prove that you can beat the odds in a game of chance. When you really think about it, Vauthry is a 00 Unit too after a fashion.

Do you know why all those people were applauding? They were thanking you for spreading your legs.

[Lutefisk]

Let's Replay Shadowbringers: Episode 2

Emergent Splendor

Alphinaud, stop bullying Richard and go bugger yourself with a rusty pipe.

In Search of Alisaie

Amh Araeng's daytime theme is a really chill tune, it wouldn't sound out of place in New Eden.

City of the Mord

When in Mord Souq do as the Mord do. I could probably take a bite or two but I don't think I could eat an entire jar of wrigglers.

Working Off the Meal

Let's see what's on the shopping list... a cactus flower, an iron stone and an antique hairpin.

Following in Her Footprints

Alisaie is a total noncharacter to me. Gating character development and potentially important story beats behind content that isn't accessible to casual players is not a very smart thing to do.

A Purchase of Fruit

Do dragon eyes taste like nectarines?

The Time Left to Us

When I got to the part in Alternative where Takeru and the Valkyries help out Mrs. Kyozuka I wanted to scream. The quest near the end of 2.0 where you prepare some soup at Camp Bluefog, the one that all the manchildren always complain about, is a reference to that scene, isn't it?

Holminster Switch - The Final Overture to a New War

Unpopular opinion: Ace Combat 7 has a better final boss theme than Ace Combat Zero.

The Oracle of Light - Stier Castle, 1611hrs.

Imho the Crystarium uniform looks better without the pauldrons, I was pretty bummed to find out that you don't get to use the pauldronless version for glamming.

I don't mind Thancred.

[Lutefisk]

Let's Replay Shadowbringers: Episode 3

Il Mheg, the Faerie Kingdom - The Land of Illusion

What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen beaver?

The walls of the old house were painted yellow and there was a pretty sizeable garden on its backyard. In the northern corner were redcurrants and gooseberries and in the eastern corner were rhubarbs, artichokes and some leafy green herbs. In the middle, next to the pelargoniums, was a small wooden patio and a garden swing and on the southeastern edge of the plot was a bird cherry tree with a good branch layout for climbing.

Unto the Truth

Like the Bookman's Shelves the cottage was also located on the western shore of a lake, the front door and porch facing east. Besides the mosquitoes the only wildlife of note around those parts were the Siberian jays.

Urianger is a plot device.

Does it count as pulling a Belka if you're not using nukes?

The Key to the Castle

Fuath are good civilization.

A Visit to the Nu Mou

Flying pigs and dogs, how charming!

A Resounding Roar

All three options are equally awful.

Memento of a Friend

Von Braun would have been able to retrieve the medallion on his own.

The Wheel Turns

Seldom the moon shines in a cloudless sky,
And days of brightness all too soon pass by.
Just knowing one half of the solution is more than enough to crack a riddle this easy.

Another entitled creep who thinks that I'm obligated to like him because he bought me a drink with his dad's money? Miss me with that. It would have been easier to throw the sandwiches out of the window if they had turned back to stones first.

Into the Dark - To Kashgar and Back

What do you do when that certain someone finds out about your tabletop gaming hobby? You own up to it like an adult.

Y'shtola is a waifubait plot device.

A Helping Hand

These plants are a bit too green to be fairy flowers.

Lost but Not Forgotten

Why traverse countless mountains,
Searching for your friend?
Follow me and laugh to see
Your journey at an end!