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aotopmha · 10 months

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Some more FFXIV thoughts with 6.45 out (and a little bit of FFXVI sprinkled in there):

Spoilers!

So, Endwalker Hildibrand has been fantastic.

The issue with earlier Hildibrand was something A Realm Reborn and Heavensward shared in general (and now turns out FF16 does, too).

There just randomly were lulls where none of the fun wierd stuff was happening and everything screeched to a halt to simply "get there".

ARR had that horrible wine quest, Heavensward the Moogle quest and FF16 the ship quest.

And none of them needed to be as long as they were.

And not like Stormblood, Shadowbringers and especially Endwalker didn't have any of that, but at least the moments there either didn't last that long or were punctuated with much more compelling story.

But those three also had stuff like Ruby Sea (in fact some would argue SB had it worse than any of the expansions, having an entire zone of bore, HW and ARR just had some slow quests), the lead-up to Vauthry and the final Labyrinthos stretch.

(And to be fair, the Moogle quest did preceed some very good reveals.)

Yeah, about a decade in and the narrative pacing still went backwards in quality from Shadowbringers to Endwalker.

But the side stuff absolutely has seen massive improvements.

Some fantastic tribe quests, especially stuff like the Omicron and Loporrit quests in Endwalker, and just simple side quests adding much more to the main narrative than they often did in earlier expansions.

(Amaurot and Elpis in particular come to mind here. But also quests like the Tataru and Omega ones that have much more effort put in them than pretty much any others.)

I would argue the Alliance Raid in Endwalker is the first time an Alliance Raid story is relevant in just the right way, not minimal setup like Crystal Tower, but interesting story that is important, but not *too* important to the point where you can't experience the main story without it.

And to finally come to 6.45, Hildbrand has been part of that, as well, I think. Just so much better pacing between the zany and the mundane.

This latest Hildi quest was just a fantastic parody of the alien origin trope. I was laughing the entire way through the "reveal" sequence. So stupid. So wonderful.

Brandihild is also an absolute stroke of genius.

This entire questline is a great vehicle for the space theme of Endwalker.

But going back to more general talk, I really hope they just seriously work on the general pacing of the main expansions from this point on.

It doesn't need to be the longest story with the most content, all parts just need to flow together really well and be really well written.

The fact that 16 couldn't learn from ShB makes me sad, too. You can really tell it started development right after Heavensward because I think it basically shares pretty much all of the writing issues with ARR and HW in particular.

And maybe some of it isn't as bad as it seems if you put it into perspective, but it sure often *feels* longer than it should be. That's all because of it being written in a specific way.

Shadowbringers got the narrative structure and pacing *almost* perfect. I'd personally at most remove bits of Ill Mheg, Rak'tika, some of the lead-up to Malikah's Well and of course a step or two from the lead up to Vauthry as mentioned above.

(The latter bit and the Labyrinthos would actually already be improved by just giving them better variation in music.)

But I think ShB and EW mostly need trimming rather than complete removal or rewrites of sections.

I really think ARR, Heavensward and Stormblood especially really need (further) cuts, though. Some of it really doesn't add anything to the world and works better as a brief joke or detour than a prolonged bit.

People will stick around if the content is good. Padding keeps people around in the worst way possible.

I hoped 16 being a "new" story compared to 14 being inherited would not have as big of an issue with it and it would get the chance to learn from 14, but now I really hope they listen in regards of the pacing and take away the right lessons from the criticism directed at the side quests in 16: less fetch quests with nobodies, more character focus with the cast we care about, incorporating world building into the story via them and really looking at pacing stopgaps, how to slow down and when to (and not to) slow down because I really think it is the biggest narrative issue these games face.

I feel like 7.0 would be the perfect place to combine all of these lessons in storytelling, being "a new beginning" and I feel like the 6.x have been doing pretty well in that sense because patches tend to have pretty wild variations in pacing (5.1 vs 5.3).

Having concise prose, knowing when to speed up and slow down in the story and keeping it all compelling and exciting all the way through in long form while also making a good game around it all really feels extremely tough if you lay it out in the most simple terms like this.

But I'm very curious what they will and won't learn from all of this.

#Final Fantasy XIV #Final Fantasy 14 #FFXIV #FF14 #FF #Final Fantasy #Final Fantasy XVI #Final Fantasy 16 #FF16 #FFXVI

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diazboys · 3 years

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i like watching the days go by with you | 2k words | buddie | pre-relationship, domestic fluff | ao3

written for Eddie Diaz Week 2021 | Day 2: “This is nice.” + soft

A quiet but persistent buzzing noise coming from somewhere behind his head is what startles Eddie awake. He peaks one eye open but his vision is still fuzzy from sleep so he almost knocks over the lamp as he tries to locate his phone. Eventually, he manages to silence the alarm. With a sigh, he falls back onto the pillow, blinking and waiting until he feels awake enough to roll out of bed. The curtains are slightly parted and the already bright L.A. sun is creeping up the floorboards, painting a narrow path across the bed and widening up on the wall behind Eddie. He smiles to himself.

At the beginning of their group sleepover — or quarantine, if you wish — in Buck’s apartment Eddie made a small comment that getting blinded by the sun first thing in the morning wasn’t really his favourite thing to do. Since then, the curtains were kept shut every morning. Sometimes, when Eddie stirred awake as Buck was getting up, he saw his friend walk towards the window to peek outside. And every single time he parted the curtains just the tiniest bit, mindful of Eddie’s half-serious comment. The thoughtfulness made Eddie’s heart soar.

This whole living at Buck’s place thing has been… interesting so far. The sleeping arrangements seemed like a challenge at first but they’ve dealt with it pretty quickly. On the first day when they showed up on Buck’s doorstep, he had an argument with Hen about giving her the bed. Unsurprisingly, Buck lost and Hen happily took the couch. Chim, only slightly less happily took the mattress they've placed downstairs. There was a perfectly good mattress waiting for Eddie in the loft as well.

But the problem was that… he never really used it. That first night they were all tired after their shift, Chim and Hen already snoring quietly downstairs. Eddie moved over to the corner of the room, with every intention of crashing there for the night. But then Buck made a casual comment about the bed being big enough and that they could share if Eddie wanted.

And Eddie wanted. For a lot of reasons. Though the one that sounded the most reasonable at that moment was the fact that the bed was way more comfortable and required much less preparation than the mattress. And Eddie’s brain was too tired to tell him why sharing a bed with Buck was a dumb idea. ‘Having some kind of not-strictly-platonic feelings for Buck’ would definitely make it to the top of the list. But there was no list at the time, so Eddie just snuck under the covers on the left side of the bed that Buck left for him. They were both out within minutes.

And then Eddie just… didn’t bother with the mattress. Even though — or maybe because — on that first morning he woke up well rested and content, with Buck’s arm thrown loosely across his waist. It was nice. It took all of Eddie’s willpower not to roll over, closer into the warm embrace. Neither he, nor Buck commented on it and they let it be. Eddie was more than sure that Hen and Chim noticed — they noticed everything — but except a curious glance or five every now and then, they didn’t say anything. They kept up the whole thing even when Hen decided to go back home to Karen and the kids. Chim took the couch instead, his mattress had been put away. And Eddie stayed in Buck’s bed.

So here Eddie is now, sprawled on said bed with a stupid smile on his face, staring at the curtains like it’s the best thing ever. It certainly is great and lets him wake up without feeling like someone’s flashing a torch into his eyes. But it’s not directly responsible for the stupid smile, he must admit.

It takes him another minute before he finally wills his body to move. The right side of the bed is already vacant when he rolls over onto his stomach. He sends a glance downstairs. Buck is bustling around the kitchen, earphones in so he won’t disturb anyone. Eddie is pretty sure that he’s listening to this science slash comedy podcast he’s been obsessed with lately. He can’t really remember the name but he’s pretty sure there was a “fish” in it.

With one more content sigh, Eddie rolls out of bed and makes his way downstairs barefoot. As he walks closer, his brain recognises the scents coming from the kitchen. Coffee and something delicious that smells of tomatoes and fresh basil. His smile grows even bigger. He’s spent enough mornings here to hope that there’s a cup of freshly brewed coffee waiting for him as well.

Before Eddie can make a beeline for the coffee machine and check, Buck turns to take something from the kitchen island. His eyes skip to Eddie and his whole face lights up in a smile. Eddie’s breath hitches but he reciprocates the gesture. How can he not when Buck is looking like that, all happiness and soft curls? Eddie’s right hand twitches by his side. There’s a sudden need in him to run his fingers through Buck’s hair, to see if it’s as soft as it looks like. To stop himself from doing something stupid, Eddie grabs the barstool and sits down. He stuffs his hands under his tights, for good measure.

“Morning,” Buck greets, taking his earphones out and putting them in his pocket.

Before Eddie can say anything, a cup of coffee is placed right in front of him. He inhales the scent and lets out a happy little hum that makes Buck laugh.

“Hildy sends her regards,” Buck jokes, laughing even harder at the unimpressed look on Eddie’s face.

Really, it’s about time Buck let that go. It wasn’t Eddie’s fault that he had been startled, hearing a strange voice saying “Hello, Eddie” as he walked into the kitchen that first morning. And he already apologised for the mug he dropped. To Buck’s credit, he did disable the voice greetings after that. Now the cursed machine was just… quietly lurking from its place on the counter.

“Thanks, Buck,” he says sincerely after all, deciding to ignore the comment.

Buck only shrugs with a smile and turns back to whatever is sizzling on the pan. Eddie wraps his hands around the mug and takes a sip. Another content hum escapes his lips before he can stop it.

“This is nice,” Eddie says.

He’s not even sure what exactly he’s referring to. The coffee, the slow and calm atmosphere of the morning, the sight of Buck in a soft hoodie, pushing an omelette towards Eddie? The domesticity of it all that makes Eddie’s heart ache? It’s all of it and probably more. If only Christopher was around to join them in the kitchen right now, to ask for pancakes for breakfast and complain about his online classes or tell them about the dream he’s had. Then, Eddie would be completely and thoroughly happy.

And this is a thought that both excites and terrifies him at the same time.

But it’s a bit less scary when Buck is standing right in front of him, his big arms resting against the counter as he leans forward. He’s looking at Eddie with those soft eyes and a beautiful smile on his lips. The only thing Eddie can do is to stare back and hope that his face is better at controlling his emotions than his heart is.

It would be so easy to just lean forward a little and—

“God, you two make me miss Maddie even more,” Chimney says from somewhere behind Eddie’s back.

His sudden appearance startles Eddie enough that he pushes a fork off the counter. It falls to the floor with a loud clatter and he quickly ducks to retrieve it.

“I’ll start giving you plastic utensils at some point, I swear,” Buck says, shaking his head at Eddie. His eyes are laughing, though, so Eddie knows he’s not being serious.

“Oh fuck off, I apologised for that mug already. And it was just a fork this time, don’t be dramatic,” Eddie rolls his eyes at him but he’s smiling as well. Then he turns and adds, “Morning, Chim.”

Chimney is freshly showered and pours himself a cup of coffee. He’s also watching them with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile on his face. Eddie tries his best to ignore that, just like he ignored Chim’s comment.

“Um, so,” Eddie starts, wanting to steer the conversation onto a different track. “What facts did they have today?” he asks, pointing his chin at Buck’s phone laying on the counter. Just like he expected, there’s a paused episode of that No Such Thing as a Fish podcast.

“Oh, did you know that there is a type of pasta that only 3 women in the world can make?” Buck’s eyes light up in excitement. “It’s some fancy one they make in Sardinia and it’s called threads of God. The recipe has been passed from mother to daughter for ages.”

“What if they run out of daughters and have a son?” Eddie asks.

“It’s fine, cause the recipe isn’t even secret or anything,” Buck says, pointing the spatula at him. “It’s just a pain in the ass to make. They’ve been trying to teach people how to do it but it’s just hard enough that most of them just give up.”

Chimney chuckles at that around a mouthful of omelette. "You should totally try. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd manage to do it, out of sheer stubbornness."

And Buck — both because he's interested and because he rarely steps down from a challenge — reaches for his phone and starts googling for the recipe and reads out whatever he finds.

It sounds really interesting. And not only because Eddie has a soft spot for Buck and the little tidbits of information he gathers and then excitedly shares with everyone who wants to listen. Eddie always does. Some people just shrug or roll their eyes at Buck, but Eddie really admires his interest, the childlike curiosity about the world that Buck has. There are so many things Eddie admires about him.

All things considered, Eddie shouldn’t be surprised that somewhere along the way he has fallen in love with his best friend.

It catches him a bit off guard, being able to put a name to the feeling that has been blooming in his heart for so long. But it doesn’t make him panic, at least no more than having feelings for his best friend already did. It’s more of a relief, really. It all makes sense now.

Eddie doesn’t even realise that he’s been smiling and staring at the half-eaten omelette in front of him until his phone buzzes with a new text message. It shakes him out of his thoughts and he opens it to find a photo from Christopher.

"Everything okay, Eddie?" he hears Buck ask.

Raising his head, Eddie is met with a slightly worried gaze. He smiles, showing Buck the text he's just gotten.

"Yeah, Christopher's just complaining about his history assignment," he explains.

Buck chuckles at the photo of Chris' pouting face as he holds a history textbook and 'There's too many dates!' with a row of angry emojis written underneath. "We should FaceTime him later. I miss that little rascal."

Eddie doesn't point out that they've done that barely two days ago. Instead, his smile grows bigger as he agrees. He knows for a fact that Chris misses his Buck just as much and that the two of them have been texting a lot.

For some reason, Chimney sighs, rolls his eyes as Eddie glances at him, and leaves the kitchen with his coffee cup still in hand. Eddie's not sure what that was about. He doesn't have time to dwell on it though, because Buck drops on the barstool next to him with his own breakfast, their knees knocking together as he makes himself comfortable. Sipping the last of his coffee, Eddie bites the inside of his cheek to stop a smile.

He really could get used to spending all of his mornings like this.

#eddiediazweek2021 #eddieweek2021 #eddie diaz #evan buckley #buddie fic #buddie #my writing

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