[Coldsaturn]

There's still quite a bit of main story content that you're missing, and you'll realize just how much info is still behind myths, texts, and extra hidden references (for example all the philosophical/mythological/religious/literary links). Which I think is a good thing, the story is juicy and still has a lot to give!

Just remember to avoid going to the new section Death&Rebirth after you finish Homecoming Wings. You'll need to hop on to Caleb's standard myth Lucid Dream, then all the texts and the other myths.

---

I hope it doesn't feel too daunting to you because I'm vibrating waiting for your comments

[ChicletPrime]

i am undaunted, no question! fear not even, as it were. i am more worried that you're over there tapping your fingers, waiting for me to just catch up already :P

as mentioned somewhere 400 threads ago, i've played FFXIV for years so i am very much on the train of chewing on each revelation as it is introduced because honestly? you can only do it for the first time once and this story is just good enough (so good enough!) that it's worthy of decent levels of contemplation. when the warning comes up "several cutscenes will play in sequence, please allow sufficient time to view them in their entirety", i GROK that and my heart (and spleen!) are fortified and ready.

never play FFXIV, stick to your guns. the story will eat you alive at points and spit out your mangled bones. i have cried at so many points in the game, its nearly embarrassing.

but to sum up the CURRENT thing we're on, since i'm still at work and stuck for awhile longer:

-- Joseph The Traitor howled about how the chip in his brain made him do it
-- Caleb has a choke collar on his uniform and the Ever symbol is on its breast
-- The dude creates black holes; his control of his evol has to register off the charts, that's insane. SIDE NOTE: its never explained in the Anecdote how Caleb got himself home from being lost and adrift in Deepspace, but quite frankly the mind boggles with excitement at the obvious answer.
-- He is an accomplished and smooth liar and he appears to code switch in the blink of an eye
-- Ergo: He's playing "us" somehow. He's likely been given orders to lead us down a certain path, using his (potentially manufactured?) familial familiarity.
-- For the record, I don't believe Caleb's feelings are anything other than genuine; but I do think he's being instructed to use them in certain ways

EDIT: I started Caleb's Orbit fights this morning and woah, hey! WE LIFT UP IN THE AIR AND SHOOT TOGETHER for the Ardent Oath and my fucking god, that is so goddamned cool, i need more of it. I was so startled I didn't even try to get any screenshots, but the next time I'm in there, I am SOOO going to try and bag that for the hoard collection of Cool Moments In This Game.

[Coldsaturn]

I am a slowburn aficionado, so long as I know I'm moving forward with the plot, I don't care how long it takes. Do not worry about me waiting! And I totally get your point on being able to experience a story for the first time only once, it's not a total coincidence that I'm here enjoying vicariously your first trip down the line. Taste it and digest it at the correct pace for your mental digestive system.

I grew up on final fantasy games and still play them, I somehow resisted ffxiv because I absolutely know what it would do to me. And still, I know it's just a matter of time, a when instead of an if.

Your theory on Caleb is both right and wrong on the very same points, I love that.

I need to send you the ardent oath for colonel Caleb, I can't make you wait until you get his cards and unlock the companion. I'll send it as soon as I'm on my computer, I'm absolutely obsessed with it

[ChicletPrime]

Chapter 7: Unexpected 

• okay, so apparently in a previous chapter, Zayne and I came to the conclusion that the black crystal infection thing is not caused by an aether core in and of itself, but that "someone" is responsible for the disease.
  
• I vote Grandma.
  
• ooh, Zayne is silent on the other end of this whispered little phone conversation.  ah, William. poor William. at the end, i don't even think he could scream. 
  
• okay, so at Mt Eternal "we" (I'm guessing Zayne and the rest of his team) learned that under 'extremely special circumstances' a Wanderer's strike can cause energy crystals to grow in the area struck, corroding the body and encasing it in crystal. victims can lose their sanity in seconds and attack anyone near them.
  
• yas girlfriend, lets drag Dr Noah's research into it and Zayne's involvement with same.
  
• Zayne has to have some idea of how to treat it by this point, even if its not a cure. 
  
• okay, Operation: Extract Kevi To A Real Hospital Not This Skyhaven Bullshit engaged.
  
• yes Zayne, i will be super careful of any Ever agents lurking around the playground waiting to do me harm. thank you for your concern, it is warmly received.
  
• onto the real problem: how to keep all of this from Caleb. 
  
• we... we just don't tell him? 
  
• the skies turn dark and gloomy, and thunder rolls. Oh my god, Rafayel, did you burn the spaghetti again? 
  
• "my phone has several unread texts from Caleb."   oops.
  
• aaand he poked me and tried to call me too. 
  
• i am a terrible, terrible sister. 
  
• aaaand now it starts to rain. apparently the tomato sauce is also unrecoverable. Raf, just order out!
  
• huddling under the overpass, i am approached by A Mysterious Stranger named "?"
  
• woah, explosion! A Wanderer Appears! 
  
• the mystery man isn't it though, he's still here and ... nice. "forked tongue and white slit pupils". what the hell? 
  
• are they... shit, is Ever making STABLE hybrid human-Wanderers? 
  
• eek, his fingers change to blades and he swipe at my cheek. then he whirls and goes for my throat.
  
• CALEB! NOW WOULD BE GOOD TIME TO SHOW UP.
  
• hang on, do i have my guns? a "borrowed" knife from Sylus, even? 
  
• oooh. "I pistol whip him, narrowly avoiding the silver blades."  nasty, girlfriend, i approve.
  
• what, huh? he was a robot? construct? cyborg-thing?!  well, damn, i was definitely not expecting THAT. i guess shearing off some plate metal isn't really that much of a handicap.
  
• and the metaflux chooses this moment to surge and there's now several -weird- Wanderers around.
  
• "my hand moves behind my waist." (searching for a knife? i have such a knife fetish.) "amidst the dirt and rain, a bright red flash materializes." a Wanderer goes flying several meters and...
  
• (an apple?)
  
• oh wow. gravity assisted fruit projectile to my rescue! HIII CALEB!
  
• honestly, Magneto would have nothing on this guy, eeeee. 
  
• "Cradling his phone between his ear and shoulder, Caleb grabs an apple from the paper bag he's holding. He throws it up and catches it in his right hand."
  
•  * swoon * 
  
• "I raise my gun and swiftly position myself beside him."  Battle Couple, Best Couple.
  
• oh man. Level 15 cards. on the plus side, I love Caleb's armaments. those really look like hand cannons all right.
  

[ChicletPrime]

Chapter 9: Blindfold

• okay, that's an ominous chapter title.
  
• awww. Caleb's first thing to do after flattening the last Wanderer into a smudge of itself is to lean in and brush the  hair out of my eyes. "Are you hurt?"  Only my ego, but its okay, it's an inflatable rubber toy and will be back to operational condition in no time flat.
  
• The bad guy is getting away! no problem, Caleb just reaches out and everything not nailed down chases after the fleeing figure.
  
• okay, honestly. this is so hot. Completely Appropriate Displays Of Evol really, REALLY do it for me. 
  
• i am now in charge of the bag of apples, with instructions to help myself, and over the railing he goes disappearing into the rain. 
  
• oh. hey. good question girlfriend. how did Caleb get here so quickly? 
  
• .... he was probably trailing us from a block and a half away the entire time, duh. 
  
• Snake Eyed Boy is upset about a "a perfect vessel, my ass" and he called himself an "unfinished product". is he talking about me or.. Caleb, or... wut? gotta be talking about me. i guess i did not measure up somehow? 
  
• oh, his name is Viper.  and the half a street of debris just caught up with him and knocked him on his actual ass.
  
• "A powerful force slams him into the ground which instantly destroys the other half of his face."  Caleb, you are pushing all of my buttons here.
  
• oh, you two are acquainted?  /popcorn, swivels head back and forth
  
• "Caleb increases the weight. Immediately the crisp sound of something cracking reverberates."  i am just going to quote this whole damned chapter at this point.  the evol mixed with the rain is a nice effect it has to be said. "A white prosthetic eye floats into Caleb's hand and is crushed in an instant."  
  
• just, wow. ruthless.
  
• "Who gave you the right to approach her?"  /swivels to Viper
  
• "The Professor said... not the time to go after her... I was just playing around! There are less than 72 hours before the Final Clean Up. If you can't retrieve the protocore fragments, you're done for!"  /swivels to Caleb
  
• Who seems to care less. "Which hand did you touch her with? ... This one?" /swivels back to Viper
  
• ooooh. owwww. that... that had to hurt a LOT. 
  
• "Your need to protect her borders obsess...!" 
  
• Raindrops are suddenly suspended in the air. Countless silver needles ready to pierce.
  
• /hides face in hands oh my god this is everything i've ever wanted in an older brother i am never playing another otome game ever again without comparing it unfavorably to this one i am almost afraid to advance this 
  
• "Caleb crouches down. Meeting Viper's gaze, he smiles slightly." 
  
• pretty sure he means that threat Viper buddy, might wanna skip town for a bit or lose your other hand too, along with whatever remains of your spine.
  
• Meanwhile, Our Heroine Is Communing With The Produce Selection Under The Overpass Because Rafayel Is Still Upset Somewhere
  
• yeah, they knew you had an aether core, sweet thing. it hasn't been a secret to anybody since about two main segments ago, mostly because you keep talking about it out loud. 
  
• gege has returned, with umbrella. awwww.
  
• you big fat liar, you did not lose track of him. he'll be leaking bolts and springs for the next several blocks at minimum.
  
• and we rush to check his hand for bruises or cuts, because nobody better dare land a finger on him that isn't us.
  
• (love that the umbrella casts a shadow over his eyes. intentional? mayyybe).
  
• "he takes off his coat and drapes it over my head. with his arm around my shoulders, his warmth quickly envelops me."  at home i am hustled into a hot shower and given soft loungewear. awwww. a hot bowl of ginger soup appears on the coffee table for me. i am chastised for not drying my hair.
  
• wow, he's going  to rub my hair dry FOR ME? 
  
• i don't care if he betrays me later, this is worth its weight in gold. god, i wish i could draw.
  
• i cannot wait to check out the chinese version after this. also, that zipper on his sweater makes no sense at all. who dressed this guy? 
  
• (oh god he's so pretty. i love that the boys are handsome without being caricatures.)
  
• hey, we came up with good questions. what ABOUT the DAA? and his involvement with the Fleet? what about his friends? 
  
• oooh THAT'S INTERESTING. per Caleb, the DAA does NOT know anything about his Fleet activities and he wants to keep it that way. "They aren't required to know everything about me anyway."   That is a stunning revelation. he.. he never told them he was alive? he just moved into the Fleet and left his pilot career behind without saying anything?!
  
• and now we suddenly have the very, very late but finally dawning thought that if Caleb's messed up in Fleet business, and the sibling(s) are being closely monitored by the Fleet, that maybe, just maybe, Caleb knows more than he's saying.
  
• fantastic. choices. ask "Are Kevi's parents important?" or "(I don't want to doubt him.)
  
• i.. oh man. i am not sure how to answer - as the girlfriend or as me. 
  
• fuck it, the girlfriend has given Caleb a sweeping pass on every sketchy thing he's done so far right in front of her, we are not going to yuck her yum now.
  
• oh, now she feels guilty about not saying anything. 
  

[Coldsaturn]

"so at Mt Eternal "we" (I'm guessing Zayne and the rest of his team) learned that under 'extremely special circumstances' a Wanderer's strike can cause energy crystals to grow in the area struck"
Yes, this is about his anecdotes and world underneath related texts.

"how to keep all of this from Caleb.
we... we just don't tell him?"
Hilarious if only it could work

"Oh my god, Rafayel, did you burn the spaghetti again?"
I love this running meme of Raf being responsible for the weather because it is absolutely canon despite never explicitly spelled out, and now he looks like some mythological greek god who inconveniences humans because he woke up moody that day

"are they... shit, is Ever making STABLE hybrid human-Wanderers?"
:D

omg Caleb and your MC look so innocent and cute in that screenshot. I'm sure they weren't trying to look so pouty and squishable but look at them <3

"okay, honestly. this is so hot."
You thought you could be immune to Caleb's sinisterly boyish bro charm? Think again.

"A powerful force slams him into the ground which instantly destroys the other half of his face."
I remember the noises I made when I played this chapter the first time. They weren't dignified.

"The Professor said... not the time to go after her... I was just playing around! There are less than 72 hours before the Final Clean Up. If you can't retrieve the protocore fragments, you're done for!"
Important person, important time references, important things, pin everything!

"/hides face in hands oh my god this is everything i've ever wanted in an older brother i am never playing another otome game ever again without comparing it unfavorably to this one i am almost afraid to advance this"
I wrote this telepathically

"he's going  to rub my hair dry FOR ME?"
If he could have his way, MC would not raise her hands ever again if not to put them on him

"i love that the boys are handsome without being caricatures"
SO TRUE. I have this issue with many of the other otome games where I can't really take the drawn LIs too seriously because of how too far out there they are. And I get that it's a matter of style, but LaDS did something so smart with their looks. Some fans (who must need glasses) even consider some of them ugly (no comment), that's how real some of their features look.

"oh, now she feels guilty about not saying anything"
Great choice on your part, very close to her canon version with this LI. Constantly in conflict between the little sister who should obey her gege, and the adult woman who might just have to investigate her former-brother-now-situationship for his involvement in murder and kidnapping a child or two.

[ChicletPrime]

I did not make any dignified noises either. So. Fucking. Hawt. i love me a good service top, but Caleb ... you know, I don't even think its an alternate ego, I think our boy is just Like That. Absolutely sweet and devoted to the girlfriend, absolute hell on wheels to anybody else and he just moves from one to the other without blinking.

I scrubbed backwards in this thread because back in the N109 storyline, the little robot unit in the shady alleyway had something to say about this. I recorded:

okay, Mr Lieutenant ran for it in the chaos, trips over a robot who then chimes in that 67 days remain before the end of the project and the greatest discovery in the world. 

So whatever the project is, we are now down to 3 days remaining which means from the N109 to now was two months. We have most of the Spatium aether core at the Hunter Association (minus Kevi's piece) which either creates realities, controls them, or overlaps them or some combination of all of those things. 

So we have a project leader now (The Professor). Ever + The Fleet are either deeply in bed with each other or are just two branches of the same hydra. Caleb is part of the Fleet and part of The Project ("the perfect vessel" perhaps) which means he's also a part of the hydra (willingly or otherwise) and may very well be the catalyst for it, hence the need for the whole Spatium core since gravity + reality manipulation (+ resonance?) might yield a truly unholy weld. 

The 'greatest discovery in the world' could fucking mean anything. A stable ticket through the Tunnel, traversing time (Caleb has already proven that he can pull his ship through the shifting morass that is the Tunnel without guidance or markers). The answer to immortality (the Fountain of Atei, mentioned once and never again). Near limitless power for Linkon, through the protocores of the Wanderers, merged into one massive aether core enough to power the entire planet (hello, Philos!). Or something I am just not seeing because I haven't read all the cards yet :P

---

There's somebody out there (who DEFINITELY needs glasses for sure) who thinks any of the guys are not up to snuff in the looks department? Really? Like, if you say so I believe it but for josh's sake, four out of the five are classically and painfully good looking by western standards, individual biases aside.  The only one breaking the standard mold with his too long face and too wide mouth and jawline is Sylus and he's just fucking striking to look at because of those deviations from the general mold.

[Coldsaturn]

Yes, absolutely. Whatever Caleb you're seeing, there's only so much you can try to rationalize by saying that it's Ever's fault, or the Fleet's fault, or his own trauma's fault. Dude is just wired like that, and I deeply respect him for it.

These are all good puzzle pieces and connected in the right order too!

I could write poems about Sylus' face and all the little "dissonant" (allow me the term) features he has, which just make him so much more jaw-dropping gorgeous. Fortunately we're not the only ones noticing, Sylus' lovers notoriously have a fetish for his bumpy nose. Which, totally understandable. I personally can't deal with the shape of his lips, but his nose is a close second.
My only single complaint about the rendering of our men is that out of all the lads, Zayne is the one I believe changes the most from his cinematic trailer to the actual face he has in game. Hell, even in some of his cards he has slightly different features. Just get a grip, infold! Stop changing his face!
Oh and also, let Raf's eyes smile with his mouth! You've already proved you can do it beautifully with Xav and Caleb, let my fishie do the same /sigh

[ChicletPrime]

Xavier's trying to stop this. He's trying to keep Philos from being reborn, isn't he? Because it killed the girl he loved, the girl we will eventually be, and he doesn't want it to live.

EDIT

/BIG FUCKING EYES

Is Xavier the heart of Philos?!?

no, no, i've got to be on glue, never trust your brain after 9pm. but what if.

[Coldsaturn]

Now, that's a very good deduction (the first part). After all, "a planet that uses...to survive...doesn't deserve to be saved."
I won't say anything about the second part.