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Posts by Beckerite

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6 days ago 3097 1049 6 2
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commission for a friend

6 days ago 1109 458 24 0

You and 7 clowns band together to clear an ultimate and eventually realize that there are, in fact, 9 clowns.

5 days ago 1411 817 4 0

You're so valid

1 week ago 1 0 1 0
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Deep Dark DPS... Boss ♂ of ♂ this ♂ Tier...

Mine excitement for the next tier can hardly be held.
#FFXIVmemes #FFXIVvideos #Arcadion

5 months ago 312 147 11 3

feo ul shouldve been your pendants aesthetician. you dont pay any money but theres a % they give you the wrong haircut

1 week ago 416 198 7 0

Time to knit fish motif sweaters (many such cases)

1 week ago 1 0 0 0
Red bucket bag with two strap handles, white drawstring top, and golden notions. BlÄhaj back pillow is in the background.

Red bucket bag with two strap handles, white drawstring top, and golden notions. BlÄhaj back pillow is in the background.

Finished sewing my knitting/crafts project bag while I'm gathering the strength to draw again. I'll be back soon aaaaaaaaaa. If anyone knows any cool little keychains shipping from EU lmk, I now have the perfect little spot for them :V #canvasap

1 week ago 12 3 3 0

in honor of he is risen making the rounds again here is a thread of XIV tumblr heritage posts

2 weeks ago 243 140 1 1

I've been having a really horrible no-good time these past weeks. I want to draw and I know that it would make me happy, but I just don't have the juice to get started or show up for an A/P/.

2 weeks ago 0 0 1 0
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"Shout out to big women who are also rays of sunshine, gotta be one of my favorite genders"

Wuk lamat FFXIV
Moenbryda FFXIV
Ellie Borderlands
Noi Dorohedoro
Karlach Baldurs Gate 3
Frankie Knights of Guinevere

"Shout out to big women who are also rays of sunshine, gotta be one of my favorite genders" Wuk lamat FFXIV Moenbryda FFXIV Ellie Borderlands Noi Dorohedoro Karlach Baldurs Gate 3 Frankie Knights of Guinevere

2 weeks ago 8733 2051 123 84
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drowning
#ff14 #meteion

1 year ago 1481 850 2 2

thinking about how the msq never really addresses Krile's feelings on being captured and experimented on by Garlemald to give Zenos the Resonant but when he showed up in Sharlayan she still took one look at him, read him instantly, and sent him after the WoL trusting it was the right thing to do

2 weeks ago 123 39 3 0
A monochrome illustration featuring Phos from the manga Houseki no Kuni by Haruko Ichikawa. They are in their white final form, drawn with six arms and a large halo, in the center of a field against a not yet risen sun. The central panel is flanked with various drawings from nature, with a small series of drawings representing Phos's different stages underneath from right to left. The bottom panels show the markings on Phos's face, as well as a series of hand gestures, again read right to left.

A monochrome illustration featuring Phos from the manga Houseki no Kuni by Haruko Ichikawa. They are in their white final form, drawn with six arms and a large halo, in the center of a field against a not yet risen sun. The central panel is flanked with various drawings from nature, with a small series of drawings representing Phos's different stages underneath from right to left. The bottom panels show the markings on Phos's face, as well as a series of hand gestures, again read right to left.

Dawn #hnk #housekinokuni #ćźçŸłăźć›œ

5 months ago 253 80 0 0
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happy tdov alphinaud

3 weeks ago 174 81 12 1
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Bust-up comm for @1-800-hero.bsky.social â˜„ïžđŸ± thank you đŸ„ș!
[ #vgencomm #ffxivart #ffxiv #art ]

3 weeks ago 176 53 3 0
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feel

#ff14 #ffxiv

3 weeks ago 221 121 8 1
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a drawing of Shamani Lohmani, a character from FFXIV. he is a blind lalafell vintner who is pale with light blonde hair and wearing black round glasses, a blue shirt and black apron. he's holding a bottle and a glass of wine in either hand.

a drawing of Shamani Lohmani, a character from FFXIV. he is a blind lalafell vintner who is pale with light blonde hair and wearing black round glasses, a blue shirt and black apron. he's holding a bottle and a glass of wine in either hand.

the same drawing but only black and white inks

the same drawing but only black and white inks

Shamani Lohmani for those who care

3 weeks ago 681 360 8 1
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3 weeks ago 9677 2556 13 118
Merchant’s Tale from FFXIV, Part 1

Credit where credit is due. FFXIV’s latest Variant Dungeon, Merchant’s Tale, came out this week in Patch 7.45. There’s been a lot of well-deserved criticism levied towards it already, because some of the most prominently marketed aspects of this new release - the gear, some of the bosses, etc. – have been Orientalist caricatures that are demeaning, racist, and frankly rather disappointing. It’s obvious why this is (sex sells and Disney’s Aladdin sells; hence the “exotic” belly dancer gear, the blue genie of the lamp, the flying carpets, etc.), and I won’t rehash those points here because that isn’t the focus of this post.

The point is this: there’s been some actual research & work that’s gone into Merchant’s Tale, and those facets should be recognized and praised and discussed, even as we are justly and rightfully denouncing the aforementioned Orientalism. I’m an Iranian-American; I may not be the best person to speak on this on account of how I am diaspora, but my grasp of Farsi/Persian and my cultural upbringing gives me enough background to recognize the work that Creative Unit 3 did put into this latest release. It’s my personal belief that we should be encouraging more and better representation, not less and worse, and until matters & industries & reach improve enough that we can enjoy homegrown representation developed in the countries best suited to represent themselves, we ought to give companies feedback to encourage them to do better (hire natives and first language speakers, do their research, understand what not to do, etc.) rather than to become entirely avoidant (“why bother with representing this culture when we’ll only get slammed for it”) or, worse, to start disregarding our feedback entirely in favor of what sells best. There’s enough good representation in Merchant’s Tale that it’s worth not losing sight of it, and I’m going to be covering all of those things in this post.

Merchant’s Tale from FFXIV, Part 1 Credit where credit is due. FFXIV’s latest Variant Dungeon, Merchant’s Tale, came out this week in Patch 7.45. There’s been a lot of well-deserved criticism levied towards it already, because some of the most prominently marketed aspects of this new release - the gear, some of the bosses, etc. – have been Orientalist caricatures that are demeaning, racist, and frankly rather disappointing. It’s obvious why this is (sex sells and Disney’s Aladdin sells; hence the “exotic” belly dancer gear, the blue genie of the lamp, the flying carpets, etc.), and I won’t rehash those points here because that isn’t the focus of this post. The point is this: there’s been some actual research & work that’s gone into Merchant’s Tale, and those facets should be recognized and praised and discussed, even as we are justly and rightfully denouncing the aforementioned Orientalism. I’m an Iranian-American; I may not be the best person to speak on this on account of how I am diaspora, but my grasp of Farsi/Persian and my cultural upbringing gives me enough background to recognize the work that Creative Unit 3 did put into this latest release. It’s my personal belief that we should be encouraging more and better representation, not less and worse, and until matters & industries & reach improve enough that we can enjoy homegrown representation developed in the countries best suited to represent themselves, we ought to give companies feedback to encourage them to do better (hire natives and first language speakers, do their research, understand what not to do, etc.) rather than to become entirely avoidant (“why bother with representing this culture when we’ll only get slammed for it”) or, worse, to start disregarding our feedback entirely in favor of what sells best. There’s enough good representation in Merchant’s Tale that it’s worth not losing sight of it, and I’m going to be covering all of those things in this post.

Be warned: spoilers await you.

Finally, before we start: please pray for the people of Iran.
The Framework

The first thing about Merchant’s Tale to reckon with is that it isn’t current-day Corvos, which is to say that it isn’t FFXIV’s closest analogue to the Middle East. It’s Corvos as depicted by a fictional collection of stories. Sound familiar?
Several textboxes from Y'nazqha follow:
If you have no objections, I would start right away. Now, will you journey into the pages of ancient folklore with me?
It is a beautifully illuminated manuscript that bears a treacherous enchantment: it can draw the reader's very mind into its pages. Needless to say, such a rare tome is notorious among collectors of unique and dangerous documents. Now, I hope you understand the reason I requested your company. Might you keep me safe while I explore this world of fiction? Yes, er...I am...very thorough. But enough about me- surely you're curious about the book! It's entitled The Merchant's Tale, and it is a well-known fable passed down in Corvos, located in southern Ilsabard. The protagonist is a shrewd young merchant, and the story describes his journey to find the perfect gift to win the heart of a young maiden.

Be warned: spoilers await you. Finally, before we start: please pray for the people of Iran. The Framework The first thing about Merchant’s Tale to reckon with is that it isn’t current-day Corvos, which is to say that it isn’t FFXIV’s closest analogue to the Middle East. It’s Corvos as depicted by a fictional collection of stories. Sound familiar? Several textboxes from Y'nazqha follow: If you have no objections, I would start right away. Now, will you journey into the pages of ancient folklore with me? It is a beautifully illuminated manuscript that bears a treacherous enchantment: it can draw the reader's very mind into its pages. Needless to say, such a rare tome is notorious among collectors of unique and dangerous documents. Now, I hope you understand the reason I requested your company. Might you keep me safe while I explore this world of fiction? Yes, er...I am...very thorough. But enough about me- surely you're curious about the book! It's entitled The Merchant's Tale, and it is a well-known fable passed down in Corvos, located in southern Ilsabard. The protagonist is a shrewd young merchant, and the story describes his journey to find the perfect gift to win the heart of a young maiden.

The tale in question also suffers from having countless versions:
Screenshot of a textbox from Y'nazqha again:
However, over generations, countless versions of the tale have been passed down and retold. I can't say for certain how this particular manuscript ends. 

One aspect of the story is about as traditional as it gets in folklore. A young man winning the heart and hand of a woman:
Another textbox from Y'nazqha:
The protagonist is a shrewd young merchant, and the story describes his journey to find the perfect gift to win the heart of a young maiden.

If there’s any doubt as to what’s happening here, the reward for unlocking all thirteen routes of Merchant’s Tale is an eye mask that looks like sleepwear. Something you’d wear to bed. 
A screenshot of the FFXIV facewear item "The Faces We Wear - Comfortable Eye Mask" which is a white eye mask with a black and yellow head strap.

The tale in question also suffers from having countless versions: Screenshot of a textbox from Y'nazqha again: However, over generations, countless versions of the tale have been passed down and retold. I can't say for certain how this particular manuscript ends. One aspect of the story is about as traditional as it gets in folklore. A young man winning the heart and hand of a woman: Another textbox from Y'nazqha: The protagonist is a shrewd young merchant, and the story describes his journey to find the perfect gift to win the heart of a young maiden. If there’s any doubt as to what’s happening here, the reward for unlocking all thirteen routes of Merchant’s Tale is an eye mask that looks like sleepwear. Something you’d wear to bed. A screenshot of the FFXIV facewear item "The Faces We Wear - Comfortable Eye Mask" which is a white eye mask with a black and yellow head strap.

And, of course, there’s both the genie and the flying carpet(s) which call to mind Disney’s Aladdin, based on Aladdin, a tale that originates in a certain collection of folktales. I’m not including the picture of the genie here, you’ve all seen it, but we will revisit the carpet later.

FFXIV’s Merchant’s Tale appears to be based on, or heavily influenced by, One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of mostly Middle Eastern stories. I say mostly because some are mostly inventions added to the collection at later times by Westerners. The prime example of this is Aladdin; look that up if you’d like more details.

The majority of stories found within One Thousand & One Nights aren’t very well known in the public zeitgeist, and we can probably attribute a great deal of that to vast gulfs in culture and sensibilities (old vs. modern). The most common and universal aspect of the collection, however, is the framing device: the stories contained in the collection are presented as stories told by Sahrzahd (commonly known as Scheherazade) to her husband the king starting on the night of their marriage. She regales him with these stories throughout the night, and ends mid-tale each time come sunrise; intrigued and possessed by the need to know how each story ends, the king always delays her execution (long story, you can look it up) until the next day.

And, of course, there’s both the genie and the flying carpet(s) which call to mind Disney’s Aladdin, based on Aladdin, a tale that originates in a certain collection of folktales. I’m not including the picture of the genie here, you’ve all seen it, but we will revisit the carpet later. FFXIV’s Merchant’s Tale appears to be based on, or heavily influenced by, One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of mostly Middle Eastern stories. I say mostly because some are mostly inventions added to the collection at later times by Westerners. The prime example of this is Aladdin; look that up if you’d like more details. The majority of stories found within One Thousand & One Nights aren’t very well known in the public zeitgeist, and we can probably attribute a great deal of that to vast gulfs in culture and sensibilities (old vs. modern). The most common and universal aspect of the collection, however, is the framing device: the stories contained in the collection are presented as stories told by Sahrzahd (commonly known as Scheherazade) to her husband the king starting on the night of their marriage. She regales him with these stories throughout the night, and ends mid-tale each time come sunrise; intrigued and possessed by the need to know how each story ends, the king always delays her execution (long story, you can look it up) until the next day.

A few weeks ago, when The Merchant's Tale dropped in FF14, a GREAT Tumblr post was made about the stuff that the content does RIGHT, and the things that are just Orientalist slop. Some ppl requested the post in image form and so I reached out to the OP to get permission to do just that!
Spoilers!
đŸ§”

3 weeks ago 608 359 6 7
Illustration of Grace Ashcroft and Leon S Kennedy from Resident Evil Requiem. They are mostly desaturated, standing back to back in front of orange computer monitors depicting scenes and characters from RE9.

Illustration of Grace Ashcroft and Leon S Kennedy from Resident Evil Requiem. They are mostly desaturated, standing back to back in front of orange computer monitors depicting scenes and characters from RE9.

Requiem for the dead. Nightmare for the living.

3 weeks ago 577 186 1 0
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first of all i love hurchefant but also-- 😂

3 weeks ago 34 8 1 1
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y'shtola my beloved

#ffxiv #art

2 years ago 313 182 3 0

constantly i think abt alisaie the profoundly lonely child with no friends outside of her family/familial associates who grows up to forge deep powerful bonds and alphinaud the extremely popular child who is the biggest fish in his small pond & gets betrayed by the people he presumed the loyalty of

3 weeks ago 299 93 3 0
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[ffxiv]

convocation of fourteen (fears)

1 year ago 623 501 4 2
digital art. a crying cat in the center. the cat is surrounded by 2 arrows and text. left arrow points to "i wake up". right arrow points to everything happens

digital art. a crying cat in the center. the cat is surrounded by 2 arrows and text. left arrow points to "i wake up". right arrow points to everything happens

cat

4 weeks ago 2609 903 8 12
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digital illustration. it features the minimap UI element from ffxiv, cut in half right under the east and west signs. inside of it is a scene from within the rising stones instead of a map. the scene depicts a warrior of light standing before the door beside tataru's desk, back to the viewer, shoulders hunched. tataru is in the foreground, locked quest icon above her head. below the minimap and the scene is a long strip containing dalamud as it appeared in game during version 1.0. text reads: "the sun sets and rises, and i remain suspended. my journey incomplete. what if i never see to it?"

digital illustration. it features the minimap UI element from ffxiv, cut in half right under the east and west signs. inside of it is a scene from within the rising stones instead of a map. the scene depicts a warrior of light standing before the door beside tataru's desk, back to the viewer, shoulders hunched. tataru is in the foreground, locked quest icon above her head. below the minimap and the scene is a long strip containing dalamud as it appeared in game during version 1.0. text reads: "the sun sets and rises, and i remain suspended. my journey incomplete. what if i never see to it?"

#wol

4 weeks ago 217 103 3 0
On the left is Rath Games stream thumbnail with the stream title "THe Worst Day of my Life" -- On the right is Fruity Snack's stream thumbnail with the stream title of "The Best Day of my Life"

On the left is Rath Games stream thumbnail with the stream title "THe Worst Day of my Life" -- On the right is Fruity Snack's stream thumbnail with the stream title of "The Best Day of my Life"

A tale of two #FFXIV Fishers

1 month ago 551 238 3 3
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tyrant driving beautiful princess pomb around before raid reset nothing to see here

#thetyrant #arcadion

2 months ago 719 405 6 0

I'm so excited to finally show what I've been drawing for the past year lol

2 months ago 317 161 10 2