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Tsukuyomi
-Even now, with Yotsuyu desiring to retake her tyrannical control of Doma, I feel kind of bad for her. Asahi baited her into this.
I also believe this isn’t the end of Yotsuyu’s story. There’s some final turn coming if she sees Gosetsu.
-The first phase is pretty standard stuff. The second phase… is not. Her consciousness fades and we fade with it, into her mind/spirit.
-First off, the music in the second phase of this fight is INCREDIBLE! It’s a melancholy, haunting piano-centric piece. Easily up there with my favorite music in all of FFXIV.
-In her mind, we see Yotsuyu huddled on the ground. We have to protect her, fending off specters of her past.
Specters of her parents berate her as a “worthless excuse for a daughter.”
Specters of both her homeland and the Empire. The empire berates her as an unworthy savage, the homeland as a traitor.
A specter of Asahi, teasing her – “You don’t want to disappoint me…”
And then a specter of Zenos steps in to finish her off. The Zenos specter knocks us all back, stunning us. We can’t help. She’s pretty much given up, resigned to Zenos destroying her spirit.
…WHEN THE SPECTER OF GOSETSU STEPS IN TO PROTECT HER!
YOTSUYU: “Why…? You have no place here.”
SPECTER OF GOSETSU: “You must survive, Tsuyu! The kami spared us, and we cannot repay that boon in death. Tsuyu… must survive.”
YOTSUYU: “Perhaps… but it is too late for me. There can be no redemption.”
-There’s a “Suffering” meter throughout this second phase. If we took too long killing the adds and the meter got too high, her attack after the phase transition would likely kill us.
-The third phase of the fight transforms the metal castrum into a blazing autumn night in Doma.
-There’s an awesome mechanic in the third phase where she splits the ground into black and white.
Standing in any one section gives you a stacking debuff. Five stacks kills you. You reset the debuff by moving to the other colored section, so gotta do a bit of a dance.
-We baaarely pulled the fight out. The healer limit break – a mass resurrect – saved the day.
GOD THAT WAS AMAZING! They used the trial for some great storytelling and character insight. That’s better than any mechanic any day of the week.
-Her primal form defeated, her clothes and hair turn to pure white.
-She’s nearly dead on the ground. AND FUCKING ASAHI COMES AND FINISHES THE JOB WITH A GUN.
ASAHI: “My, my, such hostility! These beings are the sworn enemies of the Empire – I merely did my duty as an imperial officer.” Fuck allll the way off.
-He asks if I’m willing to slay “an anointed emissary” to avenge a fallen foe? The answer should be HELL YES. What is the empire gonna do that it’s not already doing?
“The power he bestowed upon her… I should have been the one to govern Doma! I would have repaid his faith! No one alive loves him more than I”
-I start to see what’s behind Asahi’s plan. It’s not about maneuvering the Empire on the geopolitical stage. Rather, it’s about maneuvering himself within the Empire, about his own jealous of Yotsuyu for being Zenos’ chosen.
-He starts STOMPING HER CORPSE, berating her with some pretty gross misogyny. "Juber," "Jbeguyrff uneybg," rgp.
-This (imo) queer-codes Asahi as in love with Zenos and jealous of his sister. Doesn’t have to be read that way, but it’s how I interpret it. It’s… not great, to say the least.
WHAT I DO LOVE IS THAT YOTSUYU IS NOT DEAD! She lifts Asahi telekinetically and slams her twin Tsukuyomi swords into him. EAT IT DUDE
YOTSUYU: “These people… our people… they ignore the corruption which festers beneath the surface. Cast aside that which is dirty and broken. Speak not of things which would disrupt their dreary little lives.
“Like you, Asahi… always pretending not to see. You were the first I swore to kill.”
Asahi was always present in their childhood, the preferred and privileged son. Smiling in the background of each torment their parents inflicted on her.
-She finishes him off with her swords.
YOTSUYU: “Ahhh… such bliss. I had thought my hunger insatiable… but now… now I am satisfied.”
-Yotsuyu sees me through blurry eyes. Ququshu does not look happy.
“What’s the matter? The witch of Doma will soon be dead. I wonder… was the fruit as sweet as he remembered?”
Her dying words think of Gosetsu and I’m done. I’m tearing up.
She was a horrific, vile human who started out dealt a horrific, vile hand. She was never “redeemed.” True to herself through the end. She regained her memories and went along with the Empire, immediately attempted to harm innocents of Doma.
But it’s a tragic tale nonetheless. How different would Yotsuyu have been if she found Gosetsu from the start instead of an abusive family that showed her nothing but despair, control, and suffering?
It makes me happy that she got a bit of that near the end. That she got to be Tsuyu briefly, and got to experience that relationship with Gosetsu and his kindness, however temporary and illusory.
-The fading Asahi calls out to Lord Zenos and I get an Echo flashback.
-We see Zenos ordering Asahi to do what we saw. Sue for peace, locate Yotsuyu, have her summon a primal. They needed Yotsuyu because she believed in the local gods as a child. Only she among them could summon Tsukuyomi.
-Asahi asks Zenos the same thing I wondered. Won’t the Warrior of Light – me – make short work of a single eikon?
ZENOS: “The eikon is merely a message. The pacifist teachings of the Populares spread through this city like a plague, and I would remind the people of the threat we face.”
!!!!!!! This is FASCINATING! I thought the “Populares” – a more diplomatic, peaceful faction within the Empire – was merely Asahi’s ruse to get in with Hien. But no – they’re a legitimate internal threat to the Empire’s status quo.
This bit with Tsukuyomi and technicalities around Doma breaking the treaty was all to give the Empire’s ruling factions propaganda fodder.
ZENOS: “The salvation of this world will not be won through the signing of treaties.”
-Back to the present. The main players arrive. Hien, Yugiri, etc. Including Gosetsu.
He falls to his knees and weeps at her loss.
-A new person enters the room, not one I expected. It’s Maxima Pilus, Asahi’s bodyguard.
-Maxima confirms my vision. He saw Lord Zenos himself before departing on this mission. I wonder if Pilus Maxima is a legit member of the Populares.
-He’s going to head back to the capital… and Alphinaud wants to join him? Ah, because if Zenos was instructing Asahi on how to summon an eikon, Alphinaud suspects Ascian involvement.
That could explain Zenos #2. It could be Elidibus.
ALPHINAUD: “I have seen the Warrior of Light risk her life on countless occasions. Next to her, I am scarce more than a distraction on the battlefield.
“But in the meeting room or the audience chamber, there I can make a difference. I can strike bargains, forge ties, and change minds. And where better to do these things than in the home of our old enemy?”
-Hien wants to help. He suggests Alphinaud take this journey as an official emissary of Doma, so he has some measure of protection.
-Scene change back to Doma. The prisoner exchange concludes successfully, and we see many happy reunions between Domans conscripted to the Empire and their families.
-I still can’t believe the exchange happened. I was 100% sure it was a ruse, that the Empire didn’t even bring any Doman prisoners.
-Gosetsu arrives on scene. He shaved his head!
GOSETSU: “An old man who cannot raise his blade has no place in the service of a young lord. Thus did I decide to devote my remaining days to pilgrimage. I will walk this land, offering prayers of repose for all the souls who left this life in suffering.”
He’s leaving Doma in good hands with Lord Hien. I’m glad he may have some peace finally.
-Later, Hien tells me why he thinks Gosetsu treated Yotsuyu so kindly. His wife and daughter died in the invasion. Yotsuyu’s childlike reversion made him see “not a fallen tyrant, but the little girl lost to him.”
HIEN: “For a brief moment, a girl known as ‘Tsuyu’ lived among us, and she brought with her a whisper of respite for a grieving heart.”
jesus I’m so done. what a gut punch to wrap this storyline.
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Under the Moonlight
-We have to tell Lyse about Zenos. Poor Lyse.
-There are… problems with Zenos’ grave.
THANCRED: “Oh dear. We seem to be missing a corpse.”
-The camera pans out to someone watching us from afar. Idk who it is.
-It seems more and more likely that an Ascian possessed Zenos and is wearing him as a suit.
-Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace, we see a conversation between “Zenos” and the Emperor.
-The Emperor is a hardliner on eikons. He’s angry that “Zenos” had one summoned.
ZENOS: “My methods may seem extreme, but there is no cause for concerns. I work only to ensure the salvation of this star.” This is the last confirmation I needed that he’s an Ascian, almost definitely Elidibus.
-Scene change to some soldiers working on scrapped magitek. One is the person who spied on us at Zenos’ grave.
-One soldier questions the spy, and the spy slashes at the questioner.
KATANA-WIELDING SOLDIER: “I have lost many things, but my mind is yet my own.” Who is this?
“There upon the stage I stood, prepared to take my final bow, only to find that the finale was but an intermission. Shall I use this chance to repent for my sins? Embrace goodness and mediocrity? Nay, I think not. While the one I yearn to face yet lives, the hunt must go on.”
The game’s strongly hinting I should know who this is, but I don’t. I’m sure I’ll learn soon enough.
-The spy takes their repaired mek-copter and flies off.
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Emissary of the Dawn
-Maxima and Alphinaud are flying to the Garlean capital. They’re currently passing over “the Burn,” a wasteland bled dry of aether by a succession of eikon summonings.
-An attack rocks the ship. An attack by… magitek armor? We crash land.
-I’M PLAYING AS ALPHINAUD! I have a carbuncle pet and new abilities. This is really cool.
-This area is blindingly white. It’s weird that my goal is to help rescue and heal imperial troops.
-An imperial squadron attacks. I thought first that it was that lone mystery person who stole a magitek copter before, but no. This group is Prince Zenos’ guard.
-A mysterious gunblade-wielder steps in and saves our asses.
He’s listed as “Menacing Mercenary,” and his soldiers are “Storied Lancer” and “Storied Mage.”
-The Mercenary is a Garlean who recognizes Alphinaud. “I have some small… history with your order.”
-He tosses an Ascian mask our way. “The face of our prey.” Maybe he’s a loyal Garlean who knows his leadership is compromised.
-He calls himself “Shadowhunter” for now.
-Alphinaud and Maxima will join Shadowhunter for now. Even if they got to the capital, the Emperor would just kill them.
-HOLY SHIT, SHADOWHUNTER HAS A COLLECTION OF ASCIAN MASKS, LIKE TROPHIES!
We could barely kill one and this guy’s racking them up. Tell us your secrets!
-Most of the masks are black, a couple are red, and one is white. [Non-rhetorical question: Have we seen a white-masked Ascian yet?]
-Scene change back to Scion HQ. As Alphinaud makes his way to Garlemald from the east, Thancred will journey from the west, seeing what he can learn in the Empire’s western provinces.
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Next time: Pursuing Alphinaud into patch 4.4.
