iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Chorus!! (🎂10/23) @digichorus.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Rest in peace Dolly Parton, you were an icon above many

Chai @tentamenace.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

be as ungovernable as blackberry bushes in the pacific northwest: beautifully barbed, resilient as hell, and deliciously fruity

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nona @shadowswithal.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

cant even play the new fire emblem

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Chai @tentamenace.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

I got on the metro for #SDCC dressed as Ardyn and a woman across from me looked alarmed, got up, and moved across the train and I was like "wow, what an appropriate reaction, I'm doing a good job" #ffxv #cosplay

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Fiveonthe @fiveonthe.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

💙🌊🌸 Happy 25 years to FFX 🥹✨️ #ffx #finalfantasyx

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Sara in Gotham @radioinactivity.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

oh hey I drew that exact thing ages ago I've been meaning to do it again

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Stephanie Kollmann @slkollmann.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Yes. Using a computer now feels like this at all times.

Man yelling into bored woman's ear in nightclub meme captioned

I can summarize that for you

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ICARUS @mistericarus.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

SHAROOOON! THEY'VE TRAPPED ME FUCKIN SOUL IN A FUCKIN DIGITAL CONSTRUCT SHARON. IVE GOT NO FUCKIN FREE WILL SHARON. THEY WANT ME TO SING CRAZY TRAIN TILL THE HEAT DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE SHARON. FUCKIN HELL. SHAROOOON!

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Bizarro∙Ren @blockmind.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

A mischief-maker meets his match, kupo? Happy Birthday to the one and only Ardyn! 🖤 #HBDArdyn #FFXV

Ardyn Lucis Caelum (Izunia) from Final Fantasy XV, sans coat and surrounded by curious moogles that have stolen his hat.

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Luiza H. | 玉云 (Yu Yun) | eiko @eikomakimachi.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I TOLD YA I WAS GOING TO FINISH IN TIME FOR HIS BDAY!!! This illustration is based on a scene from chapter 58 of this FFXV fanfic I've been reading: archiveofourown.org/works/485675... #art #fanart #hbdardyn #ffxv

Drawing of Ardyn Izunia from Final Fantasy 15 sitting crouched down hugging a giant cactuar plushie and resting his head over it. He is surrounded by other plushies that look like chocobos, moogles and a tonberry

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Deb [COMMS OPEN] @alotlikeawesome.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Happy Birthday Ardyn! Still one of my favorite FF villains. Charismatic as heck and with the strangest fashion sense. One day I may draw him again.

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Peggy Stuart @peggystuart.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

The Artemis II crew just gave us an 80's sitcom intro and it's absolutely hilarious! Freeze frames, cheesy grins, theme song energy. These are the four humans who are about to around the Moon. NASA said fun and we are here for it!

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Christopher Hale @christopherjhale.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV declares the Iran War is “unjust” and “is not resolving anything.” After suggesting Trump is committing war crimes by targeting civilian infrastructure, he called on Americans to contact Congress to help end the war.

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Chai @tentamenace.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

When I hoped I would live through major historical events, I was thinking like the colonization of Mars and not an unhinged man with a horrible spray tan committing war crimes

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Eric Haywood @erichaywood.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

The Moon: oh wow you guys decided to come back Artemis II crew: earth’s haunted

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Freya Holmér @freya.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

perfectionism is so often seen as a permissive ability to create or drive something towards perfection, but in reality, it's a crippling inability to let go of anything imperfect it's an obsession, it stagnates you, and gets you stuck on things you shouldn't be

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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Think about this one like once every 45 minutes

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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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vee ✿ @veetelier.com · 09/03/2026

I am addicted to this game… #Pokopia

Illustration of the Pokémon Drifloon and Ditto floating through the clouds

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Lydia/Lee @lydiajoypalmer.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

It's only thursday 😩 available as a sticker www.lydiajoypalmer.com #art #stickers #knight #adulting

A pink knight lying down dramatically with the text "how thine email finds me" below him.

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kit for now @uncannyvallie.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

OFFERING ** PET PORTRAITS ** rules & prices in following posts!

Gouache painting of a calico cat with a white face and belly standing on a rug.

Gouache painting of a dark gray cat lying on a striped bedsheet, front legs crossed.

Gouache painting of a cockapoo dog lying on a blue blanket in front of a red background.

Gouache painting of an orange cat sitting on some purple fabric, in front of a blue background with the suggestion of a window.

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Norin 🦈 🔜 Nycc 3679? @mahoukarp.com · 22/03/2026

ditto and drifloon ☁️🌠 #art #pokemon

illustration of ditto being carried by drifloon with a starry purple blue background

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Chai @tentamenace.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

[ #ffxv, #ardyn, #commissioned ] I may not be able to make my own art of the worst blorbo, but I at least have the funds to make sure there will be new art of him as long as I live. Look at that perfectly punchable face!!!

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Spencer Wan @spencerwan.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

This was the last trailer we made together at Studio Grackle. It never felt right to say it before the release, but I closed the studio a year ago. Thank you to @supergiantgames.bsky.social for always supporting us, and being the best creative partner I could’ve ever asked for. Credits below:

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Crimson Sun @crimsonsun.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

/Song within my bones, old as time Keep what you know The light must stay with you 'til the end of time Graves mark the end of the world with you/ #FFXV

FFXV child Noctis gazing with apprehension at the Lucian crystal while Ardyn hugs him from behind.

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Chai @tentamenace.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

[ #crossstitch ] Almost done (just need to do a small bit of backstitching) after nearly three months! Just in time for the weather to start warming up and work on the Spring pattern next.

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Chai @tentamenace.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

[ #watercolor ] One of my favorite things I saw on my road trip to AZ and back was this misspelled sign in some random field, so I painted it

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Chai @tentamenace.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

[ #ironlung ] Went to see it at a local theatre (one of the OGs to have it listed) and regret nothing. Solid cosmic horror film with amazing Event Horizon hopeless dread vibes. Also donated blood for the blood god, Markiplier, and a good cause.

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berrybooze🍓🥃MSQSG B31 @berrybooze.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Some Motivational Metems bc we all need someone yelling encouraging stuff dramatically at us sometimes #ffxiv #arcadion

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Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti. "Please get the truth out about our son."

Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti
Parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti

“We are heartbroken but also very angry.

Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact.

I do not throw around the ‘hero’ term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed.

Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.

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Luiza H. | 玉云 (Yu Yun) | eiko @eikomakimachi.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Chegaram outras coisinhas aqui mas ainda não sei se vai ter muito estoque pra venda em evento porque fiz mais de teste pra mim mesma. Já que aparentemente só tem eu e mais uns 5 fãs do Ardyn no Brasil, aí se eu quero coisa dele preciso fazer eu mesma :V #art #fanart #ffxv

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🌱 MK/RET @retquits.art · 24/01/2026

so don't get too comfortable. #art

A digital painting of an ice cube, followed by several hands closed over each other with water pouring from them. Bold text on the art reads: "ICE MELTS".

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GlacierClear @glacierclear.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

every so often i get the nostalgic urge to redraw the bittersweet candy bowl cats. was about overdue for it.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 24/01/2026

Minneapolis protester as he's being brutalized by feds: "You're gonna have to kill me! You're gonna have to kill me! I've done nothing wrong! My name is Matthew James! I'm a US citizen! You're gonna kill me! Is that what you want?" (You can hear his wife screaming)

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 24/01/2026

Protester in Minneapolis just before disappearing in gas: "Fuck you! Stop. Damn! I'm 70 years old and I'm fuckin' angry!"

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