iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Words cannot describe how much I’m looking forward to the Cruel Angel‘s Thesis x FF Main Theme remix.

Reposted by K‘leo Midani

mizBun @mizbun.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

A few weeks ago, when The Merchant's Tale dropped in FF14, a GREAT Tumblr post was made about the stuff that the content does RIGHT, and the things that are just Orientalist slop. Some ppl requested the post in image form and so I reached out to the OP to get permission to do just that! Spoilers! 🧵

Merchant’s Tale from FFXIV, Part 1

Credit where credit is due. FFXIV’s latest Variant Dungeon, Merchant’s Tale, came out this week in Patch 7.45. There’s been a lot of well-deserved criticism levied towards it already, because some of the most prominently marketed aspects of this new release - the gear, some of the bosses, etc. – have been Orientalist caricatures that are demeaning, racist, and frankly rather disappointing. It’s obvious why this is (sex sells and Disney’s Aladdin sells; hence the “exotic” belly dancer gear, the blue genie of the lamp, the flying carpets, etc.), and I won’t rehash those points here because that isn’t the focus of this post.

The point is this: there’s been some actual research & work that’s gone into Merchant’s Tale, and those facets should be recognized and praised and discussed, even as we are justly and rightfully denouncing the aforementioned Orientalism. I’m an Iranian-American; I may not be the best person to speak on this on account of how I am diaspora, but my grasp of Farsi/Persian and my cultural upbringing gives me enough background to recognize the work that Creative Unit 3 did put into this latest release. It’s my personal belief that we should be encouraging more and better representation, not less and worse, and until matters & industries & reach improve enough that we can enjoy homegrown representation developed in the countries best suited to represent themselves, we ought to give companies feedback to encourage them to do better (hire natives and first language speakers, do their research, understand what not to do, etc.) rather than to become entirely avoidant (“why bother with representing this culture when we’ll only get slammed for it”) or, worse, to start disregarding our feedback entirely in favor of what sells best. There’s enough good representation in Merchant’s Tale that it’s worth not losing sight of it, and I’m going to be covering all of those things in this post.

Be warned: spoilers await you.

Finally, before we start: please pray for the people of Iran.
The Framework

The first thing about Merchant’s Tale to reckon with is that it isn’t current-day Corvos, which is to say that it isn’t FFXIV’s closest analogue to the Middle East. It’s Corvos as depicted by a fictional collection of stories. Sound familiar?
Several textboxes from Y'nazqha follow:
If you have no objections, I would start right away. Now, will you journey into the pages of ancient folklore with me?
It is a beautifully illuminated manuscript that bears a treacherous enchantment: it can draw the reader's very mind into its pages. Needless to say, such a rare tome is notorious among collectors of unique and dangerous documents. Now, I hope you understand the reason I requested your company. Might you keep me safe while I explore this world of fiction? Yes, er...I am...very thorough. But enough about me- surely you're curious about the book! It's entitled The Merchant's Tale, and it is a well-known fable passed down in Corvos, located in southern Ilsabard. The protagonist is a shrewd young merchant, and the story describes his journey to find the perfect gift to win the heart of a young maiden.

The tale in question also suffers from having countless versions:
Screenshot of a textbox from Y'nazqha again:
However, over generations, countless versions of the tale have been passed down and retold. I can't say for certain how this particular manuscript ends.

One aspect of the story is about as traditional as it gets in folklore. A young man winning the heart and hand of a woman:
Another textbox from Y'nazqha:
The protagonist is a shrewd young merchant, and the story describes his journey to find the perfect gift to win the heart of a young maiden.

If there’s any doubt as to what’s happening here, the reward for unlocking all thirteen routes of Merchant’s Tale is an eye mask that looks like sleepwear. Something you’d wear to bed.
A screenshot of the FFXIV facewear item "The Faces We Wear - Comfortable Eye Mask" which is a white eye mask with a black and yellow head strap.

And, of course, there’s both the genie and the flying carpet(s) which call to mind Disney’s Aladdin, based on Aladdin, a tale that originates in a certain collection of folktales. I’m not including the picture of the genie here, you’ve all seen it, but we will revisit the carpet later.

FFXIV’s Merchant’s Tale appears to be based on, or heavily influenced by, One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of mostly Middle Eastern stories. I say mostly because some are mostly inventions added to the collection at later times by Westerners. The prime example of this is Aladdin; look that up if you’d like more details.

The majority of stories found within One Thousand & One Nights aren’t very well known in the public zeitgeist, and we can probably attribute a great deal of that to vast gulfs in culture and sensibilities (old vs. modern). The most common and universal aspect of the collection, however, is the framing device: the stories contained in the collection are presented as stories told by Sahrzahd (commonly known as Scheherazade) to her husband the king starting on the night of their marriage. She regales him with these stories throughout the night, and ends mid-tale each time come sunrise; intrigued and possessed by the need to know how each story ends, the king always delays her execution (long story, you can look it up) until the next day.

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

I‘m happy I decided against fanfest before, and I’m very sorry for everyone who didn’t get tickets. But man, the drama unfolding because of tickets is just such a shit show. Let me hold your hand while I tell you my hottest take: friendships breaking apart over who gets tickets is not worth it.

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Reposted by K‘leo Midani

💖gail 💖 🔜 GATEway 🔜 MC ATL @notgodzilla.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

ffxiv raiders be like yeah it's easy just look for The Pixel

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Hahah ja das stimmt xD aber wenn du ewig nicht weiterkommt, weil ein kleiner Fehler alle killt, ist das auch zäh 😭 (hat trotzdem viel Spaß gemacht!)

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Dankeee 🥲 die letzten Mechaniken haben uns echt lange auf Trab gehalten. 😩

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Okay, two weeks later, I still like the fight. We‘re struggling with the split arena, but it feels way less than a wall than m6 😭🙌

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Died so often to this bad guy in pilgrim’s traverse that I had to get one as a mount. 😌

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Reposted by K‘leo Midani

るどみんと-peppermint jet- @peppermintjet.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

にゅふふ＃FF14イラスト

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Danke 🥺 ich find das Oberteil eher meh, aber wenn es alle tragen, macht es das besser 🤣

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Reposted by K‘leo Midani

Morgan Aleghieri Art @morganaleghieri.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

I was inspired by the hot new Summer Jam™️ 🏄🏖️ #ffxiv #dawntrail #arcadion #patch7.4 #thextremes

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

b-job Brothers prog glam, because what do you mean we‘re all wearing matching tops?

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Danke dir! Mit weniger upsis wären wir schon Donnerstag durch gewesen, aber so konnten wir die zweite Hälfte vom Kampf nochmal öfter üben 🙏🏻

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Oh hi, I just noticed we were in the same blind prog party! It was a lot of fun 🙏🏻

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Ok, m9s is a great first fight, but damn, m10s is so much fun to prog!! I love it (ask me again in a week how I feel about it)

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Der past farblich richtig gut, oder?! Hab mich richtig gefreut 🥹

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Finished our 10 pilgrim‘s traverse runs just in time for the savage tier to start 😌

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Got some really cool in-action shots by @shinawa.bsky.social & @rikocreatix.bsky.social during our doomtrain newby run 🩷

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Reposted by K‘leo Midani

Radoge🍇🍋 @radoge14.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Remember…

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Cutest Xmas gift from @calypsosky.bsky.social was this amazing artwork of K‘leo 🥺 love everything about it 🩷🩷🩷

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Reposted by K‘leo Midani

Yuyuka is a lalesbian 🌈 @strixthings.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Sharing my Great Serpent Of Ronka strategy board with the class

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Also… wholesome PF? In this economy??? It‘s so refreshing people are not leaving pro parties, gives me hope for this savage tier

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Das Set ist auch einfach zu schön 😭

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

The new extrial is so much fun! It‘s just the level of chaotic I enjoy. 🥹

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Yesyes 🥹 ich bin so froh, dass wir jetzt gear von anderen Rollen nutzen können, das caster Oberteil aus dem Set ist… nicht so meins xD

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Reposted by K‘leo Midani

Hina ⛩️ @rasenkaikyo.etheirys.social · 19/12/2025

thank you for your contribution

a herd of (level 1 unnamed antelopes) in a snowy coerthas, with the text:
GIRLS NIGHT
GIRLS NIGHT

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Reposted by K‘leo Midani

ackwell @ackwell.au · 18/12/2025

screenshot of a strategy board in xiv, titled "only strat you need"
the contents read

THERE ARE
LINES
ON THE
FLOOR

where (most of) "LINES" is written with line objects, and "FLOOR" is written with variously coloured attack objects

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Reposted by K‘leo Midani

juni/ico @aetherflo.ws · 17/12/2025

they hooked him up like a labubu on a birkin

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Reposted by K‘leo Midani

nao is so tired (gwf soon) @elidibus.amaurot.social · 17/12/2025

stealing memes from my static idk this is good tho

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Now let us pray PF will be kinder this time 🥲

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Accidentally finished all normal raids yesterday (we originally planned to do only two) and had so much fun! Can’t wait for this savage tier 🙏🏻

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Oh ja, bei pvp sowieso xD da spiel ich warrior auch eher nach dem Prinzip: Push the shiny buttons

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K‘leo Midani @ofthetrueautumn.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Ja, oder? XD ich… bin gespannt wie sich das spielt.

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