FFXIV hell

We made it!

The Dome Works is delighted to present to you: A Life to Dream — A free Verstave Visual Novel. Explore an alternate reality where Verso decides differently at the Stone Wave Cliffs and Gustave survives to see Expedition 33 through to the end.

The visual novel features 11 story acts, multiple routes and endings (some featuring NSFW content, which is why the visual novel is rated 18+), gorgeous art created by our wonderful artists, music and environmental audio, and of course, a list of future updates with more content that is already in the works.

All 23 members of the Dome Works crew wish Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a belated happy first birthday, and we thank Sandfall for creating such a brilliant game that has touched our hearts and inspired us to create this fan project. We thank you with all our hearts ❤️❤️❤️

ALL AT ONCE

In the artbook, the first 47 pages are dedicated to giving a full history on Sandfall with interview snippets from various members of the team where they go into some detail on We Lost.

The first plot summary is from around the time of the original technical demo and this trailer, but still before Jennifer Svedberg-Yen joined the team:

“Returning to his homeland after a long exile, Frey finds the population afflicted with a mysterious virus that corrupts souls and transforms the faces of its carriers into impenetrable white masks. Maelle, Frey's sister, is also affected by this phenomenon and wanders like a ghost, unable to speak. Nevertheless, the account mentions a few survivors who retreated to the continent, like Lune, who was among the heroes that failed in their rescue mission. The first demo of We Lost invited the player to find Lune and explore the edges of the world alongside her. Not to save what cannot be saved, but to retrace events, understand the origins of the evil, and heal wounds. The notion of grief was already rooted in the game's first storyline, although handled differently, as was the idea of ‘following those who came before us.’”

(thank you to @asaara-writes and @liulyam for helping with the translations!)

Renoir was already a painter before meeting Aline and had a habit of staying in canvases for too long due to his creative passion, described explicitly as a tendency towards self-destruction.

Aline came from a more noble family than Renoir.

Alicia was the main victim of the writer's plot and Verso died in the fire while trying to rescue her.

Aline is consumed by guilt for failing to protect her children and Alicia's state after the fire haunts her mind for her inability to help her youngest.

Before the fire, Aline is described as dreamy, charming, passionate, and a little stubborn. She exudes a natural aura of leadership and confidence, interspersed with deep sadness and a cold determination.

Aline painted Verso first, and then Renoir. Lumière was created to give the Painted family a sense of normality and to give Verso a "beautiful and healthy living environment."

There is a cardinal rule for Painters in the real world where creating a copy of a real person, especially without their knowledge or consent, is considered an ethical violation.

the eorzean alliance suffered a moral failure in not acting on ala mhigos liberation until forced to own a terrorist attack and finangle something from there. strategically eorzea made the right call in the end, as very cold comfort that would be ilberd and the rest of ala mhigo. the simple reality of the matter is that no one in eorzea had the force disposition necessary to do anything about the ala mhigan situation but play defensively. during its initial fall the eorzean alliance didn't even exist, you think gridania on its own could counter invade and push back the garlean forces entirely on its own? they couldn't even stop baelsars wall being built on their own. even when the alliance did invade, the campaign had to play exceedingly defensively during the initial invasion. so as coldhearted as it is, the monetarists do have a fairly sound reason for shooting down any attempt at starting the liberation of ala mhigo until everyones hands were quite literally forced.

now as to whether ilberd won. i'd say he won inspite of himself. dude was definitely clever mind, but thematically its probably quite important to consider how the le epic primal summoned from the wrath and rage of dead ala mhigans towards the empire, was immediately hijacked by the empire and its chief asshole nepo baby zenos as a weapon to use against literally bloody everyone. hell, zenos completely dominates shinryu by the time of endwalker, by all accounts ilberds special weapon was a complete failure at what he wanted it to do. though it did end up saving the universe.

like i'd say a big theme in stormblood is in anger and using it constructively. lyse has a lot of unresolved anger towards a whole heap of things, and an important part of her story is in learning how to use and direct that anger productively. and she succeeds in that task, eventually becoming the leader/face of the rebellion with a clear vision in mind for ala mhigos future.

and thats contrasted by the opponents lyse has to engage with and the directionless destructive anger that envelopes them. fordola has a bone to pick with the world in general, yotsuyu turned her entire governance of doma into a revenge shit list. about the only one without the anger defining them is zenos, and thats mostly because zenos is the antithesis of directionless destructive anger: directionless destructive apathy.

Rambling under the cut.

Verso in the ending:

Noble - Save his sister, save his mother, stop the cycle.

Selfish - Wants his own death.

Maellicia in the ending:

Noble - Save the canvas residents and Gustave, save Verso’s only work of soul art.

Selfish - Have a playground to escape into without pain, where she is loved and no one challenges her.

You can even go into earlier decisions...

Maellicia gommaging Painted Alicia:

Noble - Give Alicia peace, honor her wishes.

Selfish - Erase the reminder of Maellicia's own pain and the life she rejects, maybe jealously since Verso only needs one Alicia to roleplay as his sister.

Verso letting Gustave die:

Noble - Best odds to get his mother out of the canvas and save her.

Selfish - Convenience, and maybe jealousy that Alicia was so close to a painted older brother.

Clair Obscur is packed with examples of narrative duality, the most dramatic of which are embodied by Verso and Maelle. Over and over again, they trace the same patterns as mirrors of each other. As protagonists they both selfish and self-sacrificing. How you calculate that ratio may differ depending on how sympathetically or critically you interpret their motivations. Yet what's incredible to me about the story is how it gives us the honorable and the dishonorable reasons for why characters make the choices they do.

The noble reason makes them sympathetic and admirable, but the selfish reason makes them feel human and realistic.

And importantly: both are true.

/CONTEXT: A local fortune teller vaguely describes Kay's past and offers to tell her fate if she can gather some ingredients to help her connect to the "threads of fate"./

KAY: So you can read fortunes, huh? What can you tell me about mine?

FORTUNE TELLER: Yes, weary traveler, I have the ability to sift through the layers of the galaxy and see what is mapped in the stars for you.

KAY: I hear a 'but'.

FORTUNE TELLER: But traveling the threads of fate is very draining. I could muster the strength if I was given an appropriate offering in return.

/GAMEPLAY: Scene triggers on interact. MQ100 has not been completed./

KAY: Here. So what can you tell me about my destiny?

FORTUNE TELLER: Let me see. I am now untangling the threads of the cosmos. I see ice. Snow. A world frozen between the clashing of two dark forces. And you, an outsider, will have to decide.

KAY: Decide what?

FORTUNE TELLER: A queen. And the fate of a civilization.

KAY: Sounds fake. I knew this was a waste of time.

/GAMEPLAY: Scene triggers on interact. MQ140 has not been completed./

KAY: So, what does my destiny have in store for me?

FORTUNE TELLER: Perfect, let me just see into your threads. I see danger. Sand. You are trapped in a prison with a dark force, hunger and teeth, chasing you. But you are not alone.

KAY: Not alone? Who's with me?

FORTUNE TELLER: An enemy. A rival. A hunter who has marked you for death. But in this prison, I see that you must work together...or you will never escape.

KAY: Wow. Big words of wisdom, well, thanks. For nothing, I guess.

/GAMEPLAY: Scene triggers on interact. MQ170 has not been completed./

KAY: I'm paid up. Can you read my fortune now?

FORTUNE TELLER: It should not take me more than a moment...for me to read your fate...I see an ocean. Of trees.

KAY: Wow...so, a forest. Actually, that kinda sounds like Akiva.

FORTUNE TELLER: I see a great conflict. A sacrifice, being made in the heart of the trees. You are there, to play an unexpected role and decide its fate.

KAY: Spooky. But vague. I guess, I shouldn't have expected more from a fortune reading.

/GAMEPLAY: Scene triggers on interact. MQ190 has not been completed./

KAY: This better be worth the credits.

FORTUNE TELLER: Good, now let me see. My strength is renewed and I see the threads of the universe and I see someone from your past. You are hurtling towards an encounter with someone you have been running away from your entire life.

KAY: I'm not running from anything.

FORTUNE TELLER: I sense pain. Abandonment. Unanswered questions.

KAY: Half the galaxy wants me dead, this isn't anything new.

FORTUNE TELLER: But this is someone who has hurt you the most. Who you love...

KAY: We're done here. I knew this was all a scam. I don't need to hear anymore.

/GAMEPLAY: Scene triggers on interact. All main quests has been completed./

KAY: Read my fortune, please!

FORTUNE TELLER: Yes, yes, give it a moment to start working.. Ah, I see that you have walked quite an adventurous path already. One being in the universe, yet you have touched the lives of many. Set great events into motion. Stopped many catastrophes that you might not even know.

KAY: Whoa. Sounds cool. I am pretty awesome.

FORTUNE TELLER: Your journey is not done yet. I see another grand adventure ahead of you, one that will shape the world you come from. You, the pilot of many destinies, many future outcomes.

KAY: I can't wait.

--

I can't figure out what the Akiva prophecy is supposed to be about. I played through the Akiva quest not that long ago and don't remember any sacrifices? Maybe it didn't make it into the game.

It is the week of me writing little one-shots, it seems! I finally posted something for Kay and ND-5 though, so yay! 🥳

Chapters: 1/1 Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: ND-5 the Commando Droid & Kay Vess

SPOILER WARNING

I'm only talking about the intended story progress and not when you get caught because of your utter lack of gaming skills, like me 😅

In the game ND claims the bolt is absolute, insisting that he can't fight it or Jaylen's orders several times.

But at the same time there are several occasions in the game were he shows at least some level of resistance when he's supposed to hurt Kay. He hesitates to blast her and only does after Jaylen causes him physical pain (he doesn't hesitate to shoot Asara in comparison).

And he keeps talking to Kay while chasing her with the obvious intention of giving her a chance to save herself, which Kay rightfully points out as ND fighting against the bolt.

(He also seems to miss good shots, which storywise feels almost like on purpose, like he's messing with with his aim because he doesn't really want to shoot her)

So here comes my theory:

Not sure how much of it is backed up by other canon, but imo the efficiency of the restraining bolt is influenced by the degree of sentience and experience (personality/free will or what you want to call it) a droid has developed.

Lore established that most droids get frequently memory wiped to delete confidential data but also in order to prevent them from developing too much personality and independence. I imagine it's easier for the bolt to control a mostly "empty" vessel with less code instead of a droid with years of experiences, advance and growth beyond the original programming - too much complex data to suppress and overwrite if you will.

And that’s the crux with ND-5.

He seems to still remember much of his time in the Clone Wars and his mission for Sliro which hints at him having not been memory wiped in a long time (at least he never says otherwise in the game I think) and by that he's been able to develop such a strong personality and sense of self-awareness that he even wears clothes, setting him apart from pretty much every other droid.

I don't think restraining bolts are built to face that much swagger, I mean it's probably not easy to deal with that load of complex data and the bolt has shown difficulties dealing with ND's old battle droid programming when he malfunctions as well, so there's clearly limitations to the working/mechanics of the bolt.

I think it's possible that ND's fear of turning back into being nothing but a battle droid without the bolt, gave the restraining bolt more power over him than the device necessarily had per se, and ND only believed in the bolt being absolute because he never had a reason to put it to the test before meeting Kay.

ND says in the game he likes to have a purpose and being Jaylen’s enforcer gave him such purpose, so that’s probably also a major reason why ND went along with it and didn’t try to fight the bolt before. He didn't know there's another way of living possible for him.

I'm also sure Jaylen never missed a chance throughout his years of service to remind ND that he's nothing but a ruthless killing machine without the bolt, to keep him chained to his side and keep him depended.

But then Kay comes along to challenge everything he believed in with the way she's the first to see and treat him like a real person and not just a servant, tool or weapon and before he knows it she's stolen his poor little metal heart.

So in conclusion, my headcanon is that he wouldn't have killed her. He's close, obviously when he holds her and says he's sorry, but would have managed to defy the restraining bolt last minute and is one step away from ripping that restraining bolt of his chest plating himself when Kay blasts it off.