If The Shoebill Fits

In this, the hardest episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV lore podcast, Sean and Chadd try to take an extremely broad look at the IGN interview that has dominated Final Fantasy news for the past three days. This is, by definition, an evolving and sensitive situation, so don't be surprised if this episode ends up with a couple dozen addenda by the end of next week. Other topics include CO...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Chad, Sean, and Three-Time Returning Podcast Champion, Riko, discuss the Omicron Tribe Quests, Ultima Thule, and the nature of Family in FFXIV. Other topics include deadbeat dragons, Games for Four-Year-Olds, and the fascism of hope.  Need some help levelling gatherers to see these quests yourself? https://linktr.ee/shoebil...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Chad and Sean look at the Sil'Dihn Subterrane and its lore implications. Other topics include whether it's Istanbul or Constantinople, Metatextuality and comedy, and Nanamo's gormless naivete in the face of coma. Need a Sil'Dih buddy or three? https://linktr.ee/shoebillpod is the place to go.

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Chad and Sean take a look at one of the undergirding assumptions of the game, and, in fact, much of fantasy as a genre. Other topics include what job Carl Jung would play, the Paladin/Dark Knight dialectic, and why Chad was a sad cat with a big iron on his hip last expansion.  https://linktr.ee/shoebillpod  is where you wan...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV lore podcast, once more we have livestreams to review and hires to appraise for their loracratic magnificence. Other topics include the real definition of Bnnuy, the consequences of the Revue on western and eastern theater, and which of Sean's fanfics Yoshi-P has been said to support. Want to get these episodes when they drop? Follow us with:...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Chad and Sean dig into the Yoshida live stream for both lore details and the Behind the Movies facts about the genesis of all of our favorite game. Other topics include the sagacity of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the long-term appeal of The Craft (1996), and the canonization of several of our readings. Want to join the Shoebill...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Chad and Sean take on the most evil figure in the game: Rowena of the House of Splendors. Other topics include the history of Scrip in labor relations, Chad's least favorite song, and the imperial character of extractive economies and company towns.  Want to connect with us over the pains of regearing for crafting and...

In this episode of the premiere FFXIV lore podcast, Chadd and Sean go into one of the biggest questions in the history of the game: did Nomura's powerful imagination directly result in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn getting the money it needed to become the game we spend so much time on? Other topic include Firing All The QA (Again), Belt Cocoons, and the furious future of both Kingdom Hea...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn lore podcast, Chadd and Sean look at a huge question of the turnover to 2.0: did Phoenix resurrect people? Other topics include the most 9/11 movie imaginable, the anime precedent for Louisoix, and the scalability of mass casualty events to early modern populations.  Want someone to run you through The Binding Coils again so you can...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Sean and Chadd attack the most-recognizable point of the inside-baseball of A Realm Reborn's lore: the Time Bubble. Other topics include the similarity of English children and sea turtled, the applicability of design principles to narrative, and the diegesis of time. This episode also features Chadd going Ultra Instinc...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Chadd and Sean recap and analyze the narrative content added to the game in patch 6.2: Buried Memory. Other topics including hunting season, the powerful Dads of Endwalker, and the slippery slope to out-and-out colorism that games like Final Fantasy struggle with. Looking for a team to run Abyssos with? Maybe some coaching...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV lore podcast, Sean and Chadd look not only at the lore references of the FFXIV cookbook, but also at the lore implications, including a confirmation of a fact long suspected, but not confirmed by the community about a particularly ubiquitous character. Other topics include Game of Thrones' failed historicity, the average level of Gamer Cookboo...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Sean and Chadd look at the narrative of Emet-Selch in Shadowbringers in dialogue with with works of Susan Sontag. Along the way, they talk about disease, Camp, and the inexorable replacement and preservation of memory, and come to a surprisingly concrete conclusion about the nature of the text of FFXIV: Shadowbringers. Want...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV lore podcast, Chadd and Sean write down nearly their entire wishlist/speculation sheet for the next few expansions, including Seeking the Dao, And They Shall Know No Fear, and "Turn Back, %name, you ruined your lands and will do the same to ours!" Other topics include Chadd's anime preferences, the least likely cartoon network show t...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Chadd and Sean look at one of the least-examined pieces of content in the entire Final Fantasy XIV saga: the story of the Count Charlemend de Durendaire, and the game development origins of his narrative. Other topics include Twink Emperor Palpatine (Dark Empire Edition), Anti-Chameleon Spray, and more Theory that you can t...

In this episode of the premiere FFXIV lore podcast, Chadd and Sean look at one of the big questions of narrative design: what makes twists good? Other topics include roughly tousling Gaius van Baelsar's hair, Disney's underreliance on The Clone Wars, and the extremely common and understudied Ontological Twist. Do you want to talk to us about twists you think are coming up? Join the disco...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV lore podcast, Chadd and Sean look at the single largest concept in long-format games: Player Equity.  Other topics include surprisingly garbage subplots in the Godfather, the great flaw of Web 3.0 gaming, and the role of the passage of time, both in-game and out, in MMO storytelling.  You know what it is, link, with discord and socials!  https://li...

In this episode of the premiere (and self-correcting) Final Fantasy XIV lore podcast, Sean and Chadd look at the fundamentals and implications of the Hildibrand questline. Other topics include the invention of cutscenes in MMO's, the enduring influence of James Bond, and the nature of the relationship between a game's fandom and itself. Want to join a group to crush some relic quest cont...

In this episode of the premiere FF XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Chadd and Sean look at the Warring Triad and their successor trial series: what their implications are for future endwalker content, their narrative stakes as separate from the main story, and what the design decisions of this space say about the game and story as a whole. Other topics include "It's behind the warring triad,...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV lore podcast, Chadd and Sean look at the engineering problems endemic to the MMO's of the past and present, and how they create mechanical problems for players and designers.  Other topics include being really territorial around your gathering nodes, scope versus scale of MMO maps, and other topics that you %listenername:t /fix this shit later...

In this episode of the premiere Final Fantasy XIV lore podcast, Chadd and Sean look at primals, psuedo-primals, demiprimals, and culture heroes in dialogue with our favorite party animal, Susanoo. Other topics include combat-chicken JENOVA, the existential dread of being eaten by a Basilosaurus, and which Blue Mage spell is the very best.  Want to see the sweet mini's we've made of vario...

In this episode of the primiere Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker lore podcast, Chadd and Sean (With Gamingway!) break down the social and material economics of the Manderville Gold Saucer, bringing the HEAT with some of the crunchiest and most mind-blowing numbers you've ever heard. Other topics include the Little Mandervilles Orphan Engineers, "So, how much do you love fashion?", and h...

In this episode of the premier FFXIV: A Realm Reborn lore podcast, Sean and Chadd look at the cities of Shadowbringers, and what it means that they are 'lost'. Other topics include Vergil, Plato, and Walt Disney, taking the long view on the Mountains and Waters, and, we can't stress this enough, A Lot of Disney.  Want to tell us *Accalon* is the Knight of the Round Morgan seduced to...

In this episode, Chadd and Sean look at Miqo'te Seeker of the Sun society, sexuality, and the construction of family, clan, tribe, and nation in fiction. Other topics include Twi'lek, Myths About Wolf Socialization, and the pernicious value judgements lurking behind language (especially from anyone wearing a pith helmet).  Want to talk to us about your Nunh? Get in touch here: https://li...

In this episode of the premier FFXIV Podcast, Chadd and Sean look at some of the most overlooked content in A Realm Reborn: the Disciple of the Land class quests. Nationalism, Capitalism, Responsibility, and the futility of both war and opposing it are on immediate display, as well as some incredible nuance around personhood in Ul'Dah and Gridania. Other topics include the rarely-discussed F&...