The Celestia Citizen (“Summer Costume Edition”)

Hello, fellow Celestians! Welcome to another edition of the Celestia Citizen newsletter! This month’s newsletter will focus on the usual round of content that will encompass the last month, as well as what is to come in the upcoming month.

For this month’s theme, to commemorate the coming of the summer season, I wanted to look toward a theme that tied into it and could have some comedy tied to it. That is when I decided on the Summer Costume. Within gachas, as well as some MMOs, seasonal themes are sometimes pursued and promoted with special costumes or glamours. Imagine bikinis, swimsuits, swim trunks, or any other tasteful summer outfits such as sundresses, and then imagine certain favorite characters wearing those outfits. Sometimes, these turn into additional profits for those games, and some players do enjoy the aesthetic. This is not exclusive to summer, either, as all the other seasons also feature some variations and ideas on that front. Summer, in particular, happens to be very popular.

In Final Fantasy XIV’s case, the release of Moonfire Faire with each year, combined with its expansion into modern (real world attire), has allowed for numerous summer glamours to be done. Here are a few examples:

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Final Fantasy XIV News

Patch 6.4 released on May 23rd. The linked article here details all changes: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/7533e7a9b6b72d8e5aad3c1e7c4247967b3ee196

Per the special site being offered for Patch 6.4, we are due to have the next Variant & Criterion Dungeons release, the next Blue Mage Update (which will raise the Level Cap to 80 and introduce more spells, gear, and quests), the next set of Hildibrand quests, the next tier of Manderville Weapons, Splendorous Tools, and other changes yet to be announced: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/endwalker/patch_6_4/

On the PvP front, Series 4 has begun and will run from the start of Patch 6.4 to the start of Patch 6.5. Details here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/b96046d597ae0cddabc99ab351d3ffdf28ad0aed

Automatic demolition is due to begin on Chaos/Light Data Centers on June 21st. This was originally halted in February in 2023. Details here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/7715b16b8d29729c0715dc7dc35c4adc58c5b73a

And lastly, this year commemorates the 10th Anniversary of A Realm Reborn! From May 14th to May 27th, and from the 14th to a TBD date in following months (June, July, and August), there is a Twitter campaign going on across the English, French, and German Twitter accounts for FFXIV (@FF_XIV_EN, @FF_XIV_FR, @FF_XIV_DE). For those who login to Twitter, follow the account, retweet the announcement when it is live, post a reply that contains your full in-game character & Home World & the hashtag #FFXIV10thSweepstakes, you may be one of 2,800 people each month that can win an Original Fat Chocobo whistle!!! Details to the campaign are here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/c22ca02b2befd1c04898ce967d95b9d1b702fef5

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Free Company Updates and Social Events

We are continuing to take Officer applications at our respective Discord server for:

Raid Officer (24-Man Raid events every Tuesday)

Administration (documentation, such as meeting agendas/notes, spreadsheets, and announcements)

Primal Farming (Farming current expansion content for items)

PvP (hosting PvP content, such as Rival Wings, The Feast, Crystalline Conflict, etc)

Applications may be accepted in the FC Discord server under the #officer-directory channel.

On Saturday, May 27th, Blackhawk Slater hosted our special Costume Party event at the FC house! This event focused on highlighting the tasteful, creative, and bold costume choices that our participants had in mind under the specified themes. For this event, the themes are:

Spring theme

Cosplay – General, any medium

These two categories were entered into a contest where the winners were voted on by the FC’s members from the 27th to the 3rd. Here are the winners, as decided by the FC community:

1st Place, Spring Theme, Prize: One Glamour Item valued up to 1 Million Gil:

Elhana Greenwood

1st Place, Cosplay Theme, Prize: One Glamour Item valued up to 1 Million Gil:

Simera Yeep

2nd Place, Spring Theme, Prize: 250,000 Gil:

Tall-drink O’water

2nd Place, Cosplay Theme, Prize: 250,000 Gil:

Junno Highwind

Congratulations to our winners, and to our participants!

For upcoming events, the FC will be hosting its annual-ish Hide & Seek event on Saturday, June 17th! Be sure to sign up in the #social-events channel on the FC Discord server, and look forward to more details!

And lastly, here is a promotion from our Celestia Artisan group, helmed by our Officer, Simera Yeep!

With 6.4 came new i640 crafted battle gear. In case you were unaware, our Celestia Artisans can make any of this gear for you in guaranteed HQ, if you bring them the mats — let us help you get into all the content you want to do! Additionally, if you are interested in becoming an Artisan, please reach out to Simera Yeep or review the requirements in our ⁠⚒-crafting-requests channel in Discord.

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Beyond the Light

For our next Beyond the Light interview, our winner of this month’s draw is Wingod Revancroft! Before we go any further, please participate in our Beyond the Light interview and tell us about yourselves so you have a chance at being featured here for the Free Company newsletter! Details are on the Discord server and in our #announcements channel (or you may message me directly at Scarlette Valanorr in the FC Discord for a copy)!

What is your in-game character’s name?: Wingod Revancroft

What race are you currently in-game?: Elezen

What drew you into your current choice of race?: I have always liked elves for their looks, for their regal and royal personalities, and for their various powers and abilities. They build wonderful cities and have a great and beautiful language across multiple depictions. Also, being a very tall person in real life, elves usually fit that criteria better than human races in games.

When did you first start playing FFXIV?: June 2011

What drew you to pick up and play FFXIV?: I was a Final Fantasy 11 player from the day it was released on Playstation 2 all the way up until the end of Treasures of Aht Urgan. After a few years of having to stop playing, there was a time that I had longed to play another Final Fantasy MMORPG. Then one day, I saw the first trailer for Final Fantasy 14, and I nearly cried with joy. I had made many friends and had many good experiences on Final Fantasy 11, and I missed those terribly. At Final Fantasy 14’s announcement, it made my heart soar, and gave me hope and excitement for all new great experiences and friends. However, the problem that came next was my potato of a PC, at the time. I thought it would not be able to handle it. Knowing this still, I wanted to support the game, so I bought the physical limited edition copy of it. Knowing that one day, I would get the power to play it eventually. It sat in my room for nearly a year. One day, I came across a YouTuber named Sambonz. He was a player of this game. I watched him play everyday for many months. Then one day, I said “fuck it,” and put the game in my PC. It could barely handle it, but I was able to play the game. I came into the game just after 1.18 when they added the Job system. The YouTuber I watched had a linkshell then, and so, I joined it. Distant World was what it was called. I was there for many years. When A Realm Reborn came out, I left the PC version and went to the console version, and have been here ever since.

How far have you gotten into the MSQ (Main Story Questline) of FFXIV?: I have beaten the entirety of it.

What was your first (job? class? role?) when you started?: Thaumaturge-Black Mage-DPS. I was there shortly after the job system was added.

What motivated you to pick that first (job? class? role?)?: When it comes to MMORPGs, in general, I almost always pick a magic class first. It is rare that a non magic class grabs my attention enough to chose it first, but I have generally always gravitated to caster classes. After that, it is usually caster classes that are damage dealers as opposed to healers. I do like healers, but the healer to grab my attention first, would need some fantastic abilities and I have only met one healer class in one MMO that managed to do that, and that is a game called Rohan. Given that Black Mage satisfied my original criteria, it was the obvious choice

To date, what favorite jobs/roles/classes do you have?: Unlike what most people would consider having a single “main,” I have three mains: Black Mage, Sage, and Dark Knight. One for each role. I am always open to these changing, however.

What kind of content do you enjoy?: MSQ, Duty Content, Side Quests, Collectible Gathering

What would you say is your favorite content type from above to do? And why?: Tough answer here, but I would say the main quests, followed by the side quests. The main quests have it all, of course, but the side quests can surprise you with amazing stories, and you can grab some decent exp to boot.

What is one thing you like about FFXIV that distinguishes them from other MMOs?: The production value is the main thing. The amount of story, music, and events they shell out boggles the mind. This game makes you “feel.” That is the best thing a game can do. Secondly, you can be any job you have unlocked at virtually any time. No having to switch between accounts or characters. No loss of progress. This game has spoiled me from most other MMORPGs for this alone.

If you could make at least 1 change to FFXIV based on personal preference, what would you pick and why?: I understand that this is in the works, already, but I would change it so you can visit any world, any data center, no matter what, for free. That is all.

What is your most memorable/favorite moment in FFXIV?: Playing the game for the first time would be my favorite and personal moment. Remember, I had sat with the game for a long time, wishing my potato of a PC could play it, until I simply put in the disc and tried. Playing it was a dream that I had finally got to realize.

Do you have any favorite visuals of your character you want to share with the FC for the newsletter?: N/A

When did you join Celestia?: April 2018

What drew you to join Celestia? Was it a person, an advertisement, etc?: Well, I had stumbled on Celestia running out a housing area. The FC I was with had become silent as the grave for many months, and I was needing a bit of interaction. When I stumbled upon Celestia, the first thing I noticed was that there were a ton of its members around talking. Magic on it own, let me tell you. So, I left my old FC and asked to join and had been here ever since.

What do you like about Celestia as a Free Company?: That it is active. Simple as that.

What is your favorite weekly event to participate in with Celestia?: While I may not participate weekly, I do like participating in weekly raid runs. Even though I was just a spectator, I also found Lala-ball entertaining.

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Z’attania’s House Tours

And hot off of the presses, and back to give us more insight into our domicile decorating coverage is Z’attania Tsu with her next entry!

NOOK AND CRANNY

A House Tour with Z

Kitty Cat’s house

Address: Lavender Beds Ward 15, plot 50

Kitty Cat’s house proves that it doesn’t take 200 items to create a beautiful living space. The design is lovely and simple — a living area on the top floor, and a den with lofted sleeping area in the basement. The colors are primarily cool blue with splashes of pink and green, and the wood finishes tie everything in together.

What the homeowner is proudest of: The eastern accents. From the furniture to the choice of plants, there are hints of Hingashi in every room.

What Z especially liked: The cool, clean elegance of using just a few items that fit a theme and look good together. Kitty Cat didn’t use any tricks or glitches to acheive this design; just good taste!

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Conclusion

We are closer to summer now than we are winter, and for many of our hot weather enthusiasts, they may be looking forward to more than just warm temperatures and cool drinks to balance out with. Final Fantasy’s FanFest is on the way and due to begin in a few weeks!

Did you also know that we are also offering a special Discord role for Fan Fest? It can be requested on the Discord server with request through an officer! We are also offering Celestia themed merchandise at #celestia-merch in the FC Discord server! One of our special items is a special team jersey!

As we bid another spring farewell, remember that things will always get better even when they look at their lowest. Sometimes, if things do not happen to get better for you, then pursue the betterment for your sake. Reach out, grasp for your dreams and desires, and make them real. Please look forward to the next newsletter around this time in July. And as always, see you Space Warriors of Light! 🙂