I just really like how words look in this script

YOU CAN JUMP OUT AND PARACHUTE DOWN LIKE A BATTLE ROYALE ANYWHERE!

VINCENT AND CID LOOK INSANE! DRAGOON AND MONSTER STYLE!

THE COMBAT SYSTEM LOOKS RIDICULOUSLY GOOD!

IT HAS A JOB-LIKE SYSTEM!!!!!

It occurs to me with the Backrooms movie that Mary doesn’t have a proper ending. As in, yeah she survives, but in the end she kinda just ends up just stuck in a clinical room. Wating. She doesn’t really get to process her trauma, she doesn’t really get to be free of the Backrooms, she doesn’t really get an ending to her story. She’s just stuck in transition. There’s no proper ‘ending’ to the film either. The film itself was stopped right at the threshold of something greater. It’s making you wait.

Mary is in a permanent stage of liminality, always at the threshold but never able to move on.

Clark was at that stage- which is why he was able to live so long in the Backrooms. He was unable to take that step, he was in the same state as Mary until she helped him. He ‘made the next step,’ (or in this case, stepped back) he was not longer in a state of transition, he made a choice and stuck with it. Which is why Still Life Clark killed him right after. He no longer belonged there.

It’s why the scientists and ASYNC are so obsessed too. They’re now looking to make the next step in human history, believing this to be the greatest discover in history, but they’re unable to at the moment because they don’t understand it. They’re stuck wating too.

The Backrooms is the Threshold of reality, one where you can’t make that next step. Because around that corner is going to be that same yellow wallpaper, on and on, forever.

The Backrooms movie is fantastic! It will however- I guarantee it, run into the exact problem that Iron Lung had in that it is a movie that savors the scene. It is not interested in rushing (except when it does!) and quite willing to spend minutes just taking in the sheer vastness of the Backrooms and let you drink the scene in it's entirety.

Liminal Horror is a byproduct of Cosmic Horror pretty much, the vast unknown sprinkled with the idea that something might be there. Instead of concepts beyond us, it's concepts so familiar to us. Just an unendingness that goes on forever and ever, never knowing what's around the corner but also knowing exactly what is going to be.

To have hope in a seemingly hopeless world that's pit against you. Despite the level of cynicism and bitterness in it, I do feel like there is a sense of just, people who don't know how to exactly make the world better, wanting to make the world better.

It's why I do like Taylor, because at her core she just really wanted to help people.

Or, as my favorite quote from it puts it-

We’re s- so very small, in the end. 

I kinda want a point in the future expansions to have a moment where our Job Stones item description change (though I recognize from a technical standpoint that might never happen) from-

"Upon the surface of this multi-aspected crystal are carved the myriad deeds of heroes from eras past."

and,

"Unlike other soul crystals, the surface of this multi-aspected stone has yet to be carved with the record of past deeds."

To something like,

"Upon the surface of this multi-aspect crystal are the carved records of your deeds for those who will come after."

Just to show that we have basically taken each of the Jobs that are in FFXIV to pretty much the absolute apex they can be strength and versatility-wise. We started creating new techniques back in HEAVENSWARDS!

Really the WoL has created so many new techniques for future users of our Soul Crystal to use that it's impressive. Dragoons will get to utilize Nidhogg's power for good, Dark Knights slice blades of pure shadow with Shadowbringer, Black Mage created a new type of Flare, Flare Star. Flare is already in lore is a army killer. Scholars can BECOME SERAPHIMS! We might even be one of the last Summoners since we're so good at our job. For Blue Mage and Machinist we are the makers basically. (Soul crystal wise at least, really hope we meet the Whalaqee one day)

My favorite is that as an Astrologian, since we derive power from the Stars we managed to resonate with Etheirys itself since it's a 'Star' and therefore that's why we can remain in each sect and call upon the stars indefinitely without needing to see them/cut off from them. The quest NPC mentions that's impossible but we did it anyway.

I've seen a theory popping up that the WoL will become Azem and the whole story is a time loop. It's gotten a lot popular with 7.5 it seems and I gotta say I don't like dismissing theories, but my fellow warriors of light-

That literally goes against the entire themes of the previous expansions.

Hydaelyn entrusted the protection of the star to US- the fractured pieces of man.

Emet was proved wrong by those 'shades that are not truly alive' and left the legacy of the Ancients to those 'shades.'

Elidibus was inspired to shoulder the burden of carrying the hopes and dreams of his people by a sundered soul.

We defied fate to prove them wrong, that we are capable of being more and saving our home. For it all to be a plot by Azem and us, who secretly knew how everything would happen, would BE chaining us to fate. We'd be retreading a path we've already taken- and not breaking new grounds like Azem would want.

The reason why Azem is so similar to us is because Azem believed in people- not a mission, not a creed, a goal, or destiny. They looked to gather people in their travels to help them reach their full potential- to walk their own paths, find meaning in their own self, they shepherded people on their own path of life. The sun you look to to keep going and the stars to know your way. It's been shown in so many xpacs that really everyone is the same. They all have hopes, dreams, and sorrows. Be they ancients, mortal, or even aliens.

I saw my HUD customization post was useful to some people, so I figure that I'd show the second thing you really want to play with when it comes to FFXIV and what will really help you play multiple Jobs like I do.

Hotbar and Keybinds are pretty important for playing the game, since you really need muscle memory to quickly pull off moves like a quick Elusive Jump to avoid and AOE or a Rescue to pull some out from certain death.

My normal keybinds are shown and explained in the picture below. As you'll see I make liberal use of 1-5, Q, R, and E. That's because they're where my hands are usually. (Funnily enough I don't use base Q and E lol)

Standard 1-5: My base combo, the bread and butter you'll be using every single fight.

Alt + 1-5: My AOE attacks, and in this Job my Fang and Claw combo right above their triggers.

Shift + 1-5: My buffs, I keep this the same across all jobs. If modifies damage, healing, or defense on a 60s or 120s timer, it goes there (with exceptions of course).

Shift + R, Shift + E, and Shift + Alt + E: For DPS Jobs, it's my Role Actions, for Tank it's DPS buffs, healers is AOE shields and critical healing actions etc. I change it up often.

Alt + Shift + 1-5: Special Job actions normally, like whatever effects the Job Gauge or uses those resourves. It's Jumps for Dragoon as you can see, and Fell Cleave or Blood Lily, etc for others.

Alt + Shift + Q, Alt + R, Shift + Q, Alt + Q, Shift + M3, CTRL + M3: This is my most dynamic keybind set, it pretty much changes every single Job, but I try to keep it for the big dps actions, stuns, interrupts, Rescue etc. I try to keep Alt + Shift + Q for movement across all classes though, but as you can see it's not the case here. Whatever works for you.

Me :D

Now I reccomend heavily that you do try to keep Role Actions in the same place. I try to keep Second Wind for DPS in Shift + Alt + E, Stun in Shift + M3, and True North in Shift + E. For Tanks, as you can see below, and Rescue is always in CTRL + M3 for Healers.

I keep Provoke in the same spot for all Tanks for muscle memory, Rampart, Tank Stance, the emergency invulnerability, and so on. But I do change it up! Paladin for example has Stun in my Alt + 1-5 bar and i even have Interrupt two times on Warrior just so it lines up and I don't have an empty space.

It's half vibes! I don't adhere to the order I use 100% of the time, I change it up on how I like it and what works for the Job. I normally try to keep Melee DPS's one ranged attack to Standard 5, but for my Dragoon I have it at Alt + R, just cuz I'm used to it now. Change it up how YOU like!

Now where can you change these keybinds?

Keybind menu of course!

Specially, the Hotbar menu for when you want a keybind bound to a certain hotbar slot. I split Hotbars half and half as you can see above, so it changes around 6 at all the hotbars. But also

You can use it for non-combat stuff!

Middle Mouse Button 5 (I have one of those mouses that have two buttons on the side of the mouse, I don't actually like MMO mouses really, but wow if you have those) is Limit Break so I can always access it quickly, END is whatever I want to, CTRL + ALT + M3 is my Chocobo mount, Alt + M3 is my HUD switch to my Job hub (see my last post on HUD!), and my most used button in the entire game, Alt + E, my sprint button.

Whatever Hotbar you use is where you want to bind the keybind too, there's 10 hotbars you get, and a Cross Hotbar with an additional 8.

I'm not even using keybinds to their fullest potential, you get so many to play with. It's good to play around with!

AND LIKE MY LAST POST SAID- THIS IS ALL SYSTEM SIDE- IT IS NOT SAVED SERVER, YOU NEED TO BACK IT UP TO THE SERVER! CLICK THE GEAR, THEN UPLOAD CLIENT DATA! DO IT, IT WILL SAVE YOU ONE DAY!!!!!!!! IT HAS SAVED ME MULTIPLE TIMES!

Since a lot of people seem to be getting into FFXIV with the new trial, I figure I should take the time to say above all else, play with your HUD settings and learn how to use them. FFXIV has such a good HUD system that you can customize to your absolute liking. It looks more daunting than it is, but it's pretty simple and forgivable since you get FOUR HUDS to play with, so you can just decide to experiment with one of the others while keeping you main one.

I'll give a crash course in it, just to show what it's capable of.

For example, this is my default HUD for most stuff I do or HUD 1 as it's saved under-

I've marked it up to show my thought process on why I put stuff where they are.

Basic info like server, time and MSQ progress.

Chat window that's adjustable, 'E' is 'Events' or NPC dialogue and actions, while 'P' is a tab dedicated to party chat. Quick and easy.

My buffs on the left and debuffs on the right.

Hotbars with a buncha hotkeys (also, abuse hotkeys as much as you can). I find three are enough for all the actions of pretty much all Jobs. I even have extra spaces for future actions.

My health, mana bar, XP bar, and 'permanent buffs' like mounts, foods, status, special buffs etc.

Job gauges, and I have a hidden hotbar there for other actions like summoning carbuncles, fairies, hide for ninja etc.

Where my 'Duty Notification' pops up, money, and menu. Out of the way, but accessible.

My two hotbars dedicated to random buttons I want, and for the hotkeys I use to manipulate my HUD further. As you can see I heavily use keybinds. They are your friend. Alt+E is a godsend for Sprint as I've found. You can change keybinds in your Keybinds menu and whatever hotbars you chose to use.

Minimap and Duty List, simple and out of the way.

Me :D

Now this is what I've settled on after years of tinkering, it's what suits me. You can add or change stuff very easily, and get this, you get FOUR sets of HUD to play around with that you can switch to on the fly, and is what I use for something very important.

As you can see, I don't have any Job stones up there or keybinds for them. Now I don't go to gearsets every time I want to change it no- I've used one of those four HUDS you get as a 'Job and Duty hub'-

The little blue crystal with the Keybind Alt+ M3 (Mouse Scoll Wheel)

Which brings you to this! HUD 4 for me!

As you can see, all of my Jobs, battle or crafting, and some emotes I use often! Clicking on any of those Jobstones switches me automatically to that Job, while also taking me back to HUD 1. Basically letting me switch on the fly quickly and having a neat AFK screen if I want. I learned this in a video I sadly can not find anymore, but I'll pass on that knowledge!

Now this also requires a minimum of two hotbars that are not 'Shared', now this is a setting that looks more scary than it is. It's located in 'Character Configuration' under 'Hotbar Settings'

This is the first tab and as you can see, you can change the orientation of the hotbars from horizontal, bunched up, or vertical, just standard look. It's the next tab that' important, 'Sharing'

Basically this tab controls if your buttons change when you switch Jobs. Checked boxes means that it's shared across all Jobs, like #8 in the picture at the start is the same for both my Dragoon, Monk, Fisher etc. While the unchecked boxes change with it, see #4 and 6 in the picture at the start that have my Job actions on it.

Hotbar 5 and 7 are what I use for those (I dunno why I just chose those) and as you can see they're shared across all Jobs. Now this is because when they are shared, it means you can't change move something on on Job, without all Jobs having it moved. I.e I move my Teleport button in #8 (the mini person) as a Dragoon and it will also be moved on my Monk. So it limits you unlike the hotbars that aren't shared, which change and won't affect other jobs.

Now Cross Hotbar is the same, but it's for people who use controller. I don't really use it so I'm not really experienced with it, but I do use it as an extra Hotbar to use for my Crafter Jobs, it's the Hotbar that looks like a D-Pad in the third picture.

That's the Hotbars settings I use, which is honestly the most complicated part. The last part is the macros which are really easy.

This is the macro I use to change to HUD 4, very simple and it's keybinded to Alt+ Middle Mouse Button for speed.

Once I'm at HUD 4, The macro I use is the same for all of them, just change "Soul of the Dragoon" to whatever jobstone you need like "Soul of the White Mage" to change the Icon, then whatever gearset you have that Job saved to, (Lancer was my starting class) and then the most important thing, /hudlayout 1 which is what will take you back to to the default HUD 1 I have up at the start. Very quick and simple.

Now if you accidently switch HUDS and can't or don't want to switch Jobs, you can just click Dragoon again and it will switch you back with the little swap animation.

This is purely QoL for me, but if you don't like switching and seeing 'glamour assigned' every time you switch Jobs, you can just make a mini macro to switch back.

This, I just use the Auto Attack Icon since I like the way it looks. But you can see it in my HUD 4. It's purely just for me. All the icons I use are just what I liked, you can look them up and change them to your preference.

And that's about it! I figured I just put it out to show that you can customize the HUD layout to your preference as much as you want. The sky is the limit and you get four HUD set's to use. I don't even use my HUD 3 and HUD 2 is just on that's minimalist for when I do raid and need to see the screen better.

ALSO TO ADD: Hotbars are HUD wide changing a hotbar button on HUD 4 will change it for HUD 1 if it’s shared!

IMPORTANT EXTRA TIDBIT TOO! HUD IS SYSTEM SIDE! NOT SERVER SIDE! IF YOU CHANGE COMPUTERS OR CONSOLES YOU WILL LOSE HUD SETTINGS UNLESS YOU BACK IT UP!

YOU CAN BACK IT UP TO DOWNLOAD ON OTHER SYSTEMS ON THE CHARACTER START SCREEN!

Click the gears, then 'Upload' and it will save it to the servers.

To add more, the official Square Enix FFXIV website has a whole guide on HUD layout. Check it out!

You know, thinking about it in hindsight, it really is insane that back in Heavensward the Warrior of Light did in fact canonically fight all The Knights of the Round at the same time while they were powered by both eyes of Nidhogg, thousands of years of prayer, and having just drained the aether of a Unsundered Ascian and didn't just win, but mopped the floor with them so bad that Thordan freaked out and saw us as Azem.

Really should not have killed one of their closest confidants.