Tales from the Storm Discussion

[ZhaneX]

Was a cute read.

I want to go have lemonade with Lyse in Limsa now.
Lemonade with Lyse in Limsa.
Try saying that three times fast.

[LineageRazor]

So, the girls of FFXIV drink tea and talk about boys. There goes our Bechdel rating!

Still, was a cute enough story, though I personally prefer the stories that actually reveal stuff about the characters that we don't already know.
- Y'shtola is a very private person. (We knew this.)
- Lyse can be a bit dim at times. Most times, really. (We knew this.)
- Aphinaud greatly admires Estinien. (We knew this.)
- Allisae greatly admires the WoL. (We knew this.)
- The WoL is a busy person. (Gods, do we know this.)

Pretty much the only thing this story accomplished was to torpedo the Lyse/Hien and Y'shtola/Thancred ships. And not even that, really; while Y'shtola's answer was cool enough that it's probably legit, Lyse's flustered response seems like the sort of, "Oh, no, he and I could never work out, and anyway there's someone else that likes him, not that I'm interested, really!" stuff that crops up in countless romcoms.

[Naria]

The story was cute, but honestly I when the invitation happed in the MSQ I hoped we would get a scene in game in a later patch.

[Cilia]

Ladies gossiping? Say it ain't so!

/sarcasm

It's nice to know that the characters try to have lives outside of work. Would have been nice to be an in-game event, but given the conversation was on a highly subjective topic and we can't exactly enter dialogue, I understand why they didn't make it so.

[Mysterysword]

So, the girls of FFXIV drink tea and talk about boys. There goes our Bechdel rating!

Damnit, you stole my words!

This story was... more like a response to shipping than an actual attempt at expanding on lore or fleshing out characters and telling us about events that we didn't witness.

What was the whole point of this one? It didn't exactly tell me anything I didn't already know, it didn't expand on any offscreen events or character development, it just... felt really out of place in the "Tales from" series.

And to add on the whole Lyse debate, I'm one of the many who didn't like the way she was handled either. My biggest issue with her is that she, and by extension the rest of the original Scions, spent a very long time lying to our face about her identity, for no adequately-explained reason. Back in 3.55, when I was given the dialogue options in reacting to her reveal, my choice was "Why didn't you ever tell me?", and her only response was, "I'm sorry. My name is Lyse," or something similar. I feel like this should've had more of an impact on the WoL's relationship with the rest of the Scions, at least, rather than having the story constantly try to tell us we're supposed to be friends with Lyse. Like... no, the WoL has had plenty of people lie to them, I don't think this is something that should be let go that easily.

Throughout SB, even as my character smiled and nodded at Lyse, I kept up a private roleplay of having all those smiles and nods be fake or sarcastic. Still can't stand her personally, even as I try to objectively analyse her journey through Stormblood as a character. It's funny to think that so far, I've enjoyed the gameplay and visuals of Stormblood, way more than the storyline and characters, which just felt ridiculously clunky.

Easiest example of that to bring up, is the way the twins were shunted in and out of the journey, with only the barest of handwaves to explain why. We're leaving Alphinaud behind in Kugane? Why? Because something something about he's better at record-keeping. 3-4 levels later, he turns up in Namai. And the reason why he decided to schlep over the Ruby Sea to join us is because...? Who cares. Castrum Abania: Whoops, Alisaie's been with us for too long and has been doing too much, better stab her and get her out of the story, lest she become important!

I guess I kind of understand why the focus would be taken away from the twins, but as someone who actively enjoys examining them and their relationship, watching them interact with each other throughout this expansion was so much more entertaining than watching the story try to peddle the crap that is the Lyse/WoL friendship.

[Theodric]

Yeah, I'm not terribly interested in 'shipping' specific characters together and all the drama that tends to come with such things due to how unhinged some people can be when it comes to their favourite pairings. It was nice to get a few hints about potential characters that we might meet in the future but there's many more pressing matters to be outlined, I feel. Clearly enough time has passed for Ala Mhigo's and Doma's liberation to have been cemented and if the Scions are taking a break in Limsa Lominsa then it suggests that there hasn't been a counterattack by Garlemald.

Which is great, since it ties into my theory - and hope - that Varis does not share the previous Emperor's desire for conquest and as such there will be room for diplomacy and mutually beneficial alliances later down the line. All the same, though, it feels a bit off for things to be so calm. Is Lyse truly going to be the face of Ala Mhigo? If so, is she going to go virtually unchallenged? Plenty of Ala Mhigans spent every day of their lives fighting for freedom, Lyse was off running about elsewhere and spent a very tiny portion of her life in the region. Surely there would be an element of bitterness if she literally just swoops in, rides largely on the coattails of the Warrior of Light and rises to prominence thanks to Conrad's demise, Meffrid's demise and her being the daughter of some prominent Resistance fighter.

I really hope Hien's story doesn't involve Cirina fawning over him or vice versa.

There's only going to be four stories in total. There's so many characters that we could catch up with or be given a look at their perspective. A story of Varis' mourning of Regula would be a great way to get further insight to his character. It could even go deeper into exploring his thoughts upon his son and heir. Heck, there could even be a story from Elidibus' perspective to give his thoughts on the matter of the Warriors of Darkness and Ilberd. What does he feel as a result of their actions? Does he consider them failures or successes?

[Belhi]

/snip

I think the idea was to have a story which is just a scene of characters we know just relaxing and being friends. In a way it makes them more normal and human which is something we rarely get to have presented in game. Not every story has to have a big reveal of vital information. That is what I liked about this. It was just a story of friends who do extraordinary things coming together for a moment of relaxation and normality.

For the WoL, Lyse's name reveal wouldn't have been a major thing. It's like if you had a friend you had known and worked with for a while who said "actually, my name is George.". It might be weird for them to have lied about it but it didn't change anything about who they were. We have never known Yda. Ever. Even those who played 1.X would have been dealing with Lyse outside the Echo visions. If the WoL was a friend of 'Yda' then they would be a friend of Lyse. At least Lyse's reasons made some sense even if they were a little foolish.

Honestly I think you missed several details. Alisaie needed Alphinaud's help to add the Domans organising their resistance push as well as repairing their Aetheryte. She couldn't do it on her own. Plus Alphinaud is the planner. He stayed behind before because Alphinaud is better at diplomacy and logistics and Kugane was our only potential source of additional resources and info. Lyse took up her sister's name and mask, in a sense out of grief after her sister had died as a way to try and keep her dream alive and partially because she felt insufficient to do it herself as Lyse. She is often shown feeling like she isn't up to her sister or her father's level.

Its worth pointing out on the Garlemald front, one of the reasons Garlemald has been slow to react is because Doma and Ala Mhigo's liberation has sparked resurgent activity and talk in other provinces and the leadership is hesitant to move troops out of regions that might be at risk of an uprising to mobilise against Doma or Ala Mhigo. Its unlikely Varis would ignore it completely as it would likely hurt him politically to allow provinces to rebel without any response. This is be basis for Hein's current defensive strategy and Doma's shinobi are actively encouraging such unrest in other provinces.

[Mysterysword]

Honestly I think you missed several details. Alisaie needed Alphinaud's help to add the Domans organising their resistance push as well as repairing their Aetheryte. She couldn't do it on her own. Plus Alphinaud is the planner. He stayed behind before because Alphinaud is better at diplomacy and logistics and Kugane was our only potential source of additional resources and info.

I'm not wondering why the writers decided to shunt Alphinaud right into Namai for whatever he ended up doing, I'm wondering what in-story catalyst drove Alphinaud out of Kugane to Namai. Nobody mentions anything about contacting him, and whatever he ended up doing in Kugane while we were going swimming, none of it ever affected the plot after that, or was even mentioned.

I also don't really care about Lyse's reasons for taking up her sister's name, I'm just saying that having her lie to us for any reason whatsoever, especially about something as important as her identity, and then having the story try to sell us as friends, is a little incongruous in my opinion.

[Belhi]

Alisaie literally argues with Alphinaud on why he should stay in Kugane in the MSQ. As for why he comes to Namei, Alisaie comments on it if you talk to her when you first visit the Doman Revolutionary Front. Alphinaud is an organiser and planner. Once we had established contact his skills became necessary.

Seemed like a pretty unimportant lie, particularly since she gives her reasons for it. Are you saying the WoL wasn't a friend of 'Yda' prior to the reveal? Its the same person. Its not like she suddenly became someone else.

[Theodric]

The thing is, 'Yda' spent far less time with the Warrior of Light than the other major Scions, barring Papalymo. I recall there being a dialogue option that pointed out the lie in question but it's a rather bizarre thing to do and the fact that the rest of the Scions went along with it is a bit worrying. Even assuming that the Warrior of Light and Lyse are good friends, realistically lies are often what lead to even strong friendships being destroyed.

I'm not sure I'd count pretending to be one's dead sibling as an 'unimportant lie', though.