By-request-ish, which is to say, I convinced them to allow me to indulge their pining for a birthday present, this FFXIV pose presents Emet-Selch in a red coerul-skin beach wrap, bunny-Hythlodaeus in matching lavender coeurl-skin briefs, Largo Canzondolore in his red floral beach shirt and tan shorts, Roxanne Coldwyn in a green floral shirt and cutoff jean shorts, and her friend whose name I sadly did not capture during Summer Bash, in a green "summer's flame" shirt and bikini-top combo with jean shorts. The tableau depicts everyone sitting at a bar in Costa del Sol. Largo is shaking a drink mixer behind the bar. Bunny-Hyth is sitting on a stool at left, saying something while looking over his shoulder at Emet, who is standing just behind him, arms crossed and sulking, looking down at him. Roxy is sitting on a stool at right, laughing at whatever is being discussed. This is an imaginary follow-up to an actual meetup at Feristal J's 2025 FFXIV Summer Bash, which also included (at times) RPers of Amelliance Leveilleur and a miqo'te Urianger. I sadly didn't think to capture everyone's models and glams while the event was going on, but I did take a few screenshots, which allowed me to piece together most of what the characters looked like at the time. Unfortunately I didn't get a good shot of faux-Emet's face, so that's an actual Emet-Selch model, which, interestingly, is wildwood Elezen behind the scenes. I bet you thought I forgot about this, Vivi, but no, I just procrastinated. Hopefully I didn't miss your actual birthday. Please enjoy. ^_^ ♥

Happy birth-month, @vivipixels.bsky.social! 🎂🍹🏖️
#FFXIVSummerBash #MoreInAltText

An excerpt from a screenshot from Final Fantasy XIV. We stand in Revenant's Toll, a thriving crossroads metropolis in Mor Dhona, built from stone blocks mined by the hands of brave settlers and adventurers. In the market square is a man in adventuring gear — or, at least, a tough-looking cloth shirt and leather vest, with thick leather gloves. He wears a possibly unique hat, reminiscent of the one worn by Paul Hogan in the movie Crocodile Dundee. The man's face and blonde moustache are likewise styled similarly to the real-life actor. In his right hand, he proudly displays an ornately embellished... a fishing rod. A dialogue bubble over his head proclaims, "You call that a knife? Now, *this* here's a knife." This is *another* reference to the film — one of Crocodile Dundee's most famous lines, from a scene in which he scares away two hoodlums armed with switchblades by brandishing his enormous hunting knife. And yet, to all who can see it, it is very plainly and obviously, a fishing rod. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was released in 2014. It is now, at the time of this writing, 2025. There have been a multitude of expansions and patches. The Rogue and Ninja classes have ushered in a wide array of actual knives, many similar to Crocodile Dundee's bigass hunting knife. And yet here this nameless NPC still stands, in the heart of one of the busiest hubs in the game, proudly brandishing a fishing rod, and proclaiming its knifeness for all who will listen.

Eleven years and countless Rogue/Ninja gear upgrade releases later, and this Paul Hogan ripoff madman is still standing in Revenant's Toll swearing that his *fishing rod* is a *knife*. *What are you smoking, sir.*
#FFXIV #MoreInAltText

My cat, who is white with orange freckles and very fluffy, has tucked herself under the sewing desk between the side wall and a long drape of tablecloth-in-progress. She has one paw extended across the fabric, which has a black background and pink-and-yellow banksia flowers.

Here is my cat for those who need her. #Caturday #moreinalttext