Day 8: Formal

I deeply enjoy Fordola's story for three reasons: 1) Her actions and the grave harm they caused is not minimized, softened, glossed over, or forgotten. She did terrible things. She accepts she did terrible things - and her story hinges upon her accepting the consequences. 2) When the NPCs do not forgive her, the narrative does not portray them in a negative light. The most powerful line in 4.1 is an NPC saying "You are not forgiven. Not you. You I will never forgive.

But I will thank you."

The story makes it clear Fordola is not entitled to forgiveness or absolution simply because she wants to do the right thing now - and that's okay. When people harm us, they are not entitled to forgiveness just because they're sorry. Fordola accepts and understands that. 3) The NPCs moving on with their lives is not used as reason to magically absolve her of anything. She still accepts the consequences of her actions and is still trying to make right her wrongs even if she may never be forgiven - which a sign of someone who truly has changed. Doing the right thing shouldn't hinge upon whether or not you are forgiven in the end. It should be something you strive to do from that point on, because you want to change yourself for the better. Also, there are many stories about how people who have been harmed or abused need to forgive the people who hurt them in order to truly heal and it's simply not true. The path to healing varies. Sometimes it involves forgiving. Sometimes it involves embracing your anger. Forgiving someone when they haven't acknowledged or accepted their wrongdoings and aren't committed to consequences and change is dangerous. Forgiving someone when you don't feel ready and it is not an authentic representation of your truth can damage your path to healing. It has a lot of grounding in real-world issues and handles it in a way I don't often see (most stories just go with the "you're forgiven and everything is fine!" route) - which is really refreshing.

Haurchefant - Knight of Unicorn-

^was already a princess before the flower crowns

Morning Star by Federico Ferro.

Crow by Kayla Kowalyk

This artist on Instagram

VERENDAEL, Nicolaes van (1640-1691)

A still life of flowers, details oil on canvas, 50 × 38 cm Ed. Orig. (Ed. Lic.: CC0 1.0)

“Doma is come to pay her debts!”

{ heavensward }

Could you reblog if you're a FFXIV blog, please? We'd like to find new people to follow.

What DC/server you're on doesn't matter as long as your content is mainly about FFXIV.

Thank you!

Day 7: Raid

Timestamp: Post-Stormblood, partway through the Omega raids.

Cid and Nero were bickering. Again. Or was it still?

It was odd, but Amadeus had to admit that the sound of their arguments was comforting. Part of it was probably the arbitrary content thereof (the coffee machine being one of the more comprehensible and logical disagreements) and part of it was probably the absence of Biggs and Wedge, which the whole group felt acutely.

The whole situation was strange… but then Amadeus found themselves in what seemed impossible situations frequently, often before they had finished their early morning training sessions. Or run a brush through their unruly hair. Or had anything to eat.

To be fair, a lot of the time they just forgot that last bit, even though their allies were quick to scold them over it.

Anyroad, the situation was still pretty weird. Midgardsormr was traveling with them again, and even being relatively informative about Omega, though also predictably vague. Nero, too, was being fairly helpful, and was if nothing else somewhat amusing, since Amadeus was desensitized to the arrogant type. There was also the matter of Omega itself, of course, and Alpha’s odd connection to it.

And fighting ghost trains. That was pretty out there, even for them.

The adventurer jotted down a few notes in the margins of their latest report as they absentmindedly examined the area around them. In a strange way, it was really quite pretty, all aglow in blue and silver, though that gigantic glowing eye that seemed to be Omega’s core was disconcerting at best.

Well, as of now there was nothing much to be done but wait for the two engineers to finish their lively conversation so they could return to analyzing the data from Amadeus’ last battle.

Setting the paper down, they leaned back against one of the supply crates, allowing themselves to space out. As usually happened when they sat still for too long, they began to doze off. They snapped awake when a presence flopped down next to them.

Alpha was looking decidedly perplexed, and a little exhausted. Ruffling his feathers, he tried to settle down in a comfortable position while still leaving Amadeus with plenty of room to maneuver. His left wing was being pushed up against a corner of one of the boxes, complicating the matter somewhat.

He gave a surprised “kweh” when Amadeus lightly tapped him with one finger on the foot, appearing still more shocked when they gestured towards their lap.

An encouraging nod was enough to convince him of their sincerity, and he gingerly plopped onto them, settling into the thick fabric of their garments. Amadeus, silently grateful that they had decided against wearing heavy armor for this excursion, began to softly stroke the feathers on his head like they did with their chocobo companions. It seemed to have a similar effect on him, as he relaxed onto his stomach and began to drift off to sleep.

Another delicate moment of peace to treasure, they thought as they began to drift off once more. Perhaps this was the source of their strength, that which Omega failed to understand.