It's (at least currently) called Side Quest Bookclub, where my friend Mara and I dive deep into a single optional questline in FFXIV, discussing everything about its story, themes, gameplay, our responses to it, and anything else that occurs to us.
Our inaugural, 'in retrospect we shouldn't have done all three questlines in one recording' episode is on perhaps the elephant in the room when it comes to FFXIV side-stories: the fandom darling, Dark Knight. So come hear about how Myste is a gifted child, how cut content from Heavensward influences a surprising part of a later story, Mara's favorite Gundam MILF, and how one of the most beloved single storylines in the game... happens to be my least favorite.
You can find the podcast here, or on other podcast platforms and places! (There's also a Youtube mirror!)
I'm currently a little under the weather, which is stopping me from writing any further thoughts I have on it, but I'll probably spend a bit of time later on writing about some thoughts on the story that didn't find their way into the discussion.
But here's a picture of what Fray looks like without his helmet or custom skin tone, if you want your image of him either ruined or perfected forever, depending on who you are!
Do you want to hear us talk about the most yuri of FFXIV job classes for a long time? Now you can! We choose violence gladly and subject the story to our personal lens of critique! I’m biased but I think it’s very good.
Yeah I'm sharing this again because I am heedlessly self-indulgent, and because I'm getting close to finishing my research for our next episode (I had to level a whole job for it but I'm on the end stage, honest) and honestly just because I can
Take an listen