#eruplays ffxiv | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mariyekos · 6 months

Text

Oh yeah! I cleared TOP about a week ago. I'm really proud of us, it took a lot of work and it was so nice to see it paid off. Thoughts and clear video below!

My original group ended up disbanding after 5 months of 3 days, 3hr/day schedule which was a big disappointment but for the best. We lost one person and had to get a new one, but after that I think people's hearts weren't really in it. The way things were going I think it would've taken another 3 months to clear if we could even get it, because our prog point was technically P5 Sigma, but we were only getting there a handful of times a night so we were hardly making any progress at all. So we decided to disband to save our sanity, time, and friendship.

Fast forward to two months ago when I decided I wanted to give it another shot. I ended up inviting 4 of the original crew members, 1 member of my savage static who'd cleared but wanted reclears, and put out recruitment messages for 2 more- one tank and one melee. I only got 2 responses- one from a tank, one from a melee. They were at Delta prog rather than Sigma prog, but I talked with the group and they were cool with giving them a shot. As you can probably guess...it worked out! They did great and those of us who hadn't been in the fight in 5 months deducted pretty quickly.

I originally did the fight on AST. In the oicture uo above, I'm on SCH (4th from the left, between the DRG and BRD). That's because with the reformed group we would've had 2 casters (OG caster and my savage static member), so I asked the savage member if he could heal and he said he would if he could WHM. I love AST and I spent 5 months of my life doing the fight on AST so that's where all my muscle memory was, but I thought it would be worth it to switch.

The hardest parts of this fight are the mechanics after all. The healing isn't easy per se, but adjusting to a different healer wasn't too bad overall. ...Other than getting used to how delayed all of SCH's heals are, and how much more setup it requires. With AST, my heals were pretty instant. I'd press neutral one GCD, then my heal would come out the next. Quick and easy and practical to do last second. For P2 Flares, that was it for me. On SCH, oh boy did I learn the hard way from many not-spread-in-time Spreadlo's! On SCH it's Broil into Recitation, Broil into Protraction, Biolysis into Summon Seraph (+ Lucid sometimes), Adlo with no oGCD because no time, Broil into Deployment Tactics, Broil into Fey Illumination, Broil into Consolation, Broil into Sacred Soil, a Broil or two as filler (+ Whispering Dawn if I felt like it), Broil into Consolation, done. Where AST was just Malefic into Neutral Sect, Aspected Helios, done. It was a big change! I had to watch my recordings over and over to figure out the GCD to start things on so I could 1) get everything out in time, and 2) not have anything fall off before I wanted it to.

I love the quick thinking of cards with AST, and the adjustment needed for every pull depending on how long the initial CD is, as well as the ability for single target heals and shields given by the 2 charges of Essential Dignity and Celestial Intersection. Every pull is a little different! And I have the ability to do some quick thinking heals on the spot without losing anything. On SCH I still have to be able to perform complex actions/thinking in order to set up heals to maximum effect and that's a lot of fun, but it's more consistent than AST. It also takes longer to set up, as shown above. Unfortunately I lost a lot of the quick thinking heals, since the only thing SCH really has is lustrate, which I either can't use because I don't have charges, or don't want to use either because I want to DPS, or because I need it for a Soil later on. It made me pretty nervous at first! I'm so used to having Essential Dignity as an instant heal, so when someone got low and I had to adlo I was internally screaming as I prayed the heal would get out in time given the long cast.

Having Ruin 2 in P6 was a godsend. Thankfully our comp was just about the best comp possible for P6, so as long as everyone was hitting their buttons we weren't worried about the DPS check at all. As in, our DPS was so good that one run we made it to 0.1% enrage when our RDM forgot to pot! Which hurt my soul because that was the first time we made it past meteors and we were so close...and our RDM didn't pot...Well anyway we've got 7 clears now so it's okay!

Other than that...this new group took 5 weeks to clear, also 3 days a week. I'm not counting our trial day since that was derust/trial and we immediately took 2 weeks off. The 0.1% enrage was on Week 5 Day 1, and our first clear was on Week 5 Day 3. We raid Fri/Sat/Sun, and this past week (yesterday, today is Monday) we got 2 clears per day. This week is going to be our last week together before we go our separate ways. ...for now, at least.

When I formed the group I had a hard cutoff date for the end of this year. The only exception was if we were on enrage- and I mean having seen enrage on enrage, not "basically at the end of the phase." We ended up almost beating it by the end of November! And got it the first week of December instead. After our first clear I proposed we do 2 weeks of reclears, mostly because I was worried I'd have another TEA situation where we couldn't get reclears for a few days. When I remade the group my hope was for an absolute minimum 3 clears, with 5 being what would satisfy me. After we got our first clear I told the group I wanted to do 2 weeks and that we could re-evaluate after 1 if we got enough reclears, but when I asked yesterday if anyone felt strongly about wanting to be done no one felt like disbanding yet, so we're doing 1 more week which is great. I don't know what weapons I'll even get with my totems tbh. I got SCH first, then AST after our 3rd clear. I'll probably get MCH and maybe WAR or DRK, but after that? Actually scratch that- I'll get WHM and SGE. So 1) SCH, 2) AST, 3) SGE, 4) WHM, 5) MCH, 6/7) DRK WAR? And then after that who knows. ...Though the BRD bow does look really cool. I don't play BRD ever but maybe this is my sign to use it more! Hopefully we'll get at least 2 clears per day this next week, to leave us with 13 total. If we get 4 a day- which is definitely possible since we raid for 3hrs and the fight is only 20min, which would mean 2 clears per hour with some time for failure- we'd get the 12 total clears needed for weapons for every job. I'm not super pressed about it though. Like I said, my original hope was 3-5. Everything beyond that is a fun bonus.

...okay that's long and rambling, so I'll cut it off here! I have more I could probably share, but I also have a lot to do so I need to get going. Last thing though- our BRD ran off around the arena after the clear and I totally missed him in our GPOSE and didn't notice until after we left for the day which frustrated me. He'd gotten his clear in PF after we disbanded the first time so it wasn't his first clear but it made me sad :( OK ramble over for real!

If you've read this far, cool! If not, hey this is 90% for me because I like keeping records of things so cool anyway. Clear video below!

youtube

#ffxiv #erurandomness #eruplays ffxiv #eruxiv #eruffxiv #Youtube

1 note · View note

mariyekos · 9 months

Text

We decided to dress up for prog today :) We one-shot P9S, P10S, and P12S p1, plus for P11S in two, so it was pretty good! We ended up beating P12S with an hour to spare too, so that was nice. Still only in blue territory but hopefully we'll clean things up enough next week for me to get a purple 🤞

#eruplays ffxiv #erurandomness

1 note · View note

mariyekos · 10 months

Text

In other news, I made it to the top of the Moonfire Faire Tower! 3 times as it turns out, but after no successes last year it was super exciting to get it in 2 or 3 days this year.

The first time I made it to the top in this glam. Then my static decided we were going to use the event glam for raid, so I felt like I had to make it back up in my glam for that. I technically had the outfit in my inventory on my first ascent, but it wasn't dyed yet so I had to leave, go to a marketboard for the dye, and make it back up.

My third ascent was to help out a static member who was having trouble with one of the last jumps. I wasn't sure how to describe my strategy so I hopped back down and then recorded myself working my way up the final stretch so he could see how it was done.

Cut here, since I'm going to ramble about climbing Kugane Tower (and the mini puzzle in Rhalgr's Reach) and post a bunch of pictures that I don't want clogging up people's dashboards.

Moonfire Faire First Ascent

(Had to take some photos with my main glam too! I ascended as MCH though, since I used Peloton for a handful of jumps, and wanted to show off my summer glam.)

And here's the extra platform you can reach by jumping off at the end. TBH, I hadn't even realized it was there until I landed on it. I just blind jumped off the top of the tower for fun once I finished it and then surprised myself by landing here. Had to go for some exertion/piece of cake photos xD.

Moonfire Faire Second Ascent

In between my first and second ascent, I went to the mogstation and got myself the new Ascent emote. It was the first time I bought an emote off the mogstation, since I generally avoid spending real money on things in games I've already bought, but it was on sale and I was given some extra (unexpected) money for helping someone out, so I decided to treat myself. I think the emote goes well with the outfit.

Kugane Tower First Ascent

I'd never climbed Kugane Tower before finishing the Moonfire Faire tower. I'd never even tried. But with that victory accomplished I decided to try my hand at Kugane Tower...and was honestly disappointed with how easy it was. I think it took me 2 hours max. Maybe <1.5. Counting my efforts last year, I am CERTAIN the Moonfire Faire Tower took me double digits.

I was a little disappointed it was night because I don't think the photos look quite as good, but it was still nice to GPOSE. Also MAN Kugane Tower is a lot harder to climb at night. The shadows on this one are killer.

The view from behind is much cooler than the one from in front. It's really cool to see the theatre ship in the background though! Whose name is escaping me. It's not one of the standard FF ones is it? Enterprise is taken, I think the Invincible is also taken...what could it be, hm. Oh. I looked it up and it's the Prima Vista, duh! FFIX reference in the midst of all the Tactics and XII.

Rhalgr's Reach....Second Ascent technically but ehhh

The Jump Puzzle in Rhalgr's Reach is kind of a joke. Baby's first jump puzzle. I tried it way back when and made it to the top, and I remember spending a good chunk of time running around trying to find where the rest of it was because I thought that couldn't possibly be it. But as far as I can tell, that is. So uh. Ta-da. You can see the entire jump puzzle in this screenshot. Khad's up there at the top.

Now I just need to find the one in Empyreum. But that's for another day- I've rambled on enough, and I do need some sleep. If you've read this far, thanks for checking this out!

#erurandomness #eruplays ffxiv #erugpose #khadagan avagnar faerie

1 note · View note

mariyekos · 9 months

Text

As Azure Fades Analysis, Part 1

Azure Dragoons: Aging and the Impact of the Eyes

@scrollsfromarebornrealm made an EXCELLENT analysis post about the newest short story from the official FFXIV sidestory website, and in my attempt to respond to it I ended up with something so long it probably won't fit in a single post. So, I decided to split it up before i hit the image/text limit.

And yeah, in case you didn't know there's a new official FFXIV short story out relating to Estinien and Haldrath. Go check it out, because it is AMAZING.

First things first, as is typical of me: I will be discussing both canon and headcanon here. I will do my best to make it very clear when I am discussing something explicitly stated or heavily implied in canon, and when I am discussing headcanon. Some of this will come from the new short story, but I will also make references to the whole game, so get ready for sources galore!

Introductory Sources:

(Above: from the new story)

(Above: from the quest Heart of Ice)

(Above: from the sidequest Thar be Dragons)

Hraesvelgr's Line, and the Lifespan of Elezen

Alright with my sources out of the way, I actually interpreted the new story and Hraesvelgr lines differently! First, when I read Hraesvelgr's line, I took it as him saying that Estinien would be old and unable to effectively fight by age 50, rather than that Estinien would be dead by then.

Elezen live to be 100-120, but Edmont and Charlemald use old face models by age 56 I believe, so it's not like they stay spring chickens forever. I'm taking the fact that Haldrath and Aureniquart have young faces as the devs wanting them to be recognizable, or maybe aging a little more gracefully. It's been 20 years, so I would put them at mid 40s, maaaaybe mid 50s since Estinien and Aymeric are 32 in HW, which means 32 is a perfectly good age to still be fighting. If elezen live to 100-120, then 45-55 could definitely fit for "a brawny man well into his middle years."

In canon, it is heavily implied if not outright confirmed that transformed heretics can live for centuries (see: Thar be Dragons). In my long-established headcanon, Estinien ends up aging slower because of Nidhogg's power. In that HC, Hraesvelgr doesn't necessarily know of the impact that Nidhogg's Eye had on Haldrath, since Hraesvelgr basically peaced out after handing Nidhogg his own Eye. This new story is making me re-evaluate that HC... In Canon, the actual Eyes of Nidhogg are gone at this point, but Estinien spent some time a few days according to Lucia, but it's months/patch time in my HC again possessed by Nidhogg with the Eyes in his flesh, and there's no denying there have been lasting effects. Going purely on canon, Estinien can do the clone thing now, and is a huge powerhouse. The dragons recognize the bit of Nidhogg that resides within him too. Stuff like scales is pure HC that I happily accept but acknowledge isn't canon as far as anything we've seen. But imo that could partly the modelers being lazy since that would require excess effort .

(Above: Estinien making clones, à la Nidstinien. Source, with video)

Haldrath, Estinien, and How They Age

Now, Estinien's lifespan might not be impacted at all by what happened with Nidhogg. But since heretics can live centuries, and we know Estinien has been impacted somewhat...I think it's possible Hraesvelgr's assessment about Estinien being spent by 50 was wrong. Especially if we go with the idea that in his isolation he didn't know what happened to Haldrath beyond just that Haldrath had the Eyes (general had, no knowledge of the merge). Plus, his "spent" assessment came before Estinien ended up melding with the Eyes. If we go with the assumption that Hraesvelgr does know about what the Eye did to Haldrath, it could also be that Hraesvelgr told Estinien he would be old and infirm by 50 because he assumed Estinien would get rid of the Eye before it had any lasting effects on him, like all the other Azure Dragoons. By getting rid of it, he'd get old too.

(Above: from the new story).

Haldrath was still able to slay dragons during his middle years, after all. He collapsed because of Nidhogg's growing influence. Which admittedly could've been better-able to get him because maybe in aging he was growing weaker, but I think you could say it was more prolonged exposure to Nidhogg making him vulnerable than aging-induced-weakness.

(Above: Thordan upon revealing Haldrath in the quest Heavensward)

In the new story, Estinien mentions Haldrath's aging corpse. In the quest Heavensward, Archbishop Thordan VII makes reference to the body's lack of decay. This preservation is why I HC that maybe Estinien would end up aging slower- maybe the aether would be enough to maintain him as he is, just as Haldrath was. Now we didn't take of Haldrath's armor so who knows what lies beneath, but what I find interesting is that his corpse apparently did not change. He most definitely didn't turn into a full-on dragon. He's still an elezen (albeit with an eye in his chest, which is notably smaller than the Eyes bound to Estinien! I really wonder if there is meant to be a lore reason, like the Eyes tunneling deeper into the flesh over time, or if that was just a visual thing to make possessed!Estinien seem creepier). It could be that Haldrath neither decayed nor transformed because Nidhogg's power could only transform living beings, not dead ones. Haldrath's body never rose on its own to return to Nidhogg, after all.

Dragon Eyes and Consciousness/Control

Which brings into question how much consciousness is afforded to the Eyes... Vrtra can operate Varshahn and his true body separately, but given the scene when he freezes as Varshahn while he calls to Azdaja with his true body, maybe Dragons can only instill consciousness in one Eye-containing vessel at once. Haldrath kept both Eyes, even if only one merged to him (and why only one...? just to make sure the story could happen, or maybe because Nidhogg was weakened by the attack and only one could...?). Estinien had both Eyes when possessed too. When Nidhogg speaks through the Eye to Estinien in the lv50 DRG quest, we don't see his true body (with Hraesvelgr's Eye) and whatever that's doing. Maybe Nidhogg can only keep his consciousness in one place/with one Eye (so it's rendered moot when both Eyes are together).

Maybe dragons can only use their Eyes operate living beings (Varshahn is made by alchemists, so he's special). Maybe there was some sort of seal on Haldrath's dead body that kept Nidhogg from making it rise and deliver the other Eye unto him, even after Berteline/the next Azure Dragoon(s) held the Left one. Maybe he just didn't feel like going through the trouble to reclaim it because he could wage his war perfectly well with Hraesvelgr's Eye and wasn't going for extermination/didn't need full power until HW. Maybe the writers just needed an Eye in Haldrath's body and let the reason for Nidhogg not reclaiming it slide to make an awesome story moment.

(Above: comparison of Eye sizes. Also Estinien's Eyes move)

Summary on Aging, HC and Canon

In any case! Back to canon: 1) Transformed heretics can live for centuries. 2) Haldrath's body ceased to age and did not decay after the Eye merged to him. 3) The Eye was able to remain in Haldrath's body for a thousand years and was still functional when it merged to Estinien (it wiggles in the CSs).

HCs from this: maybe Estinien will age slower and be able to maintain his form. Maybe he will gradually be transformed into a dragon or more draconic being over time. Even a drop of dragon's blood- supposedly- is enough to transform an Ishgardian, and Estinien got fully blasted with Dragon Essence upon possession. We even see a middle form during the Nidstinien fight! Nidhogg's shade (dragon form) might just be an aetheric projection rather than flesh. But back to HC, I interpret that as Nidhogg attempting to actually warp flesh, before going to his Shade and then returning to the form that his body- Estinien's body- recognizes best as its own.

...All of this is a really long way to say that I don't think Estinien would necessarily be dead by 50. Well. Unless we take it with the idea that Nidhogg would have taken full control of him, and that the "youthful vigor" he would lose would be his ability to reject Nidhogg's influence before being lost as Haldrath was. For some reason that did not occur to me until this very moment, over an hour into writing this, despite the fact that that was probably what scrollsfromarebornrealm was implying... And/or that scrollsfromarebornrealm just meant that Estinien would probably get himself killed by 50 because yeahhhh, that man did NOT seem to care about himself enough to be safe and survive that long. Especially if aging meant he grew weak and then said weakness had him fall in battle (rather than Nidhogg's corruption straight up killing him by 50. Which is also an intriguing possibility).

"Becoming the Azure Dragoon is a death sentence."

The quote above comes directly from @scrollsfromarebornrealm's post. While I'm not looking at it as dragoons being too old/weak to fight by 50, I do wholeheartedly agree with the idea that (nearly) all Azure Dragoons die young. Partially because of the dangers of their job, partially because of the risk of Nidhogg's influence.

First, Alberic. Alberic retired 20 years ago and he's fine! But two things: 1) Alberic was 24 when he retired (don't feel like taking a picture, but in my Encyclopedia Eorzea it says he's 44, and it's been 20 years). 2) Alberic is a hyur. Haldrath held onto BOTH eyes of Nidhogg for 20 years before he could no longer handle it, and drank of Ratatoskr's aether. Most Azure Dragoons were probably Elezen given the racial distribution of Ishgard. Alberic, a hyur, does not bear elezen/dragon blood (as long as he's purely hyur, which I am assuming he is). In addition, he probably only had the Eye for a handful of years at most, since he was only 24 when he rejected it. It makes sense that he would walk away from Nidhogg with relatively few impacts. He didn't die in battle and he firmly rejected the Eye when it threatened to take control of him. I think retirement for an Azure Dragoon (followed by at least two decades of survival) is EXTREMELY uncommon in Ishgard's history.

(Above: from the new story)

A few things here. I'll start with the point I was trying to make: "While the Eye lent him strength, in harboring Nidhogg's undying malice, it was also slowly corrupting his being. Ere long it would finally consume him..." In other words, the Eye is most definitely a death sentence. It will kill Haldrath eventually. Possessing an Eye long term- at least as a part of one's own flesh, though since it seems possessing it long term binds it to the Azure Dragoon's flesh you could just shorten that to "long term" only- will corrupt the Azure Dragoon to the point of no return. The only options left at that point seem to be Getting Consumed And Becoming Nidhogg's Puppet (Estinien) or Being Killed As To Not Become A Puppet (Haldrath). It was too late to reject the Eye, which is what Alberic did to make his escape.

Back into HC territory, I now want to pick up an old fic of mine about a previous Azure Dragoon basically having to be put down upon being too far gone due to Nidhogg's Corruption. Not to the level that the Eye melded to their flesh as it did Haldrath and Estinien, but mental corruption, and maybe attacks like the one Haldrath has. Ishgard would be wary of another Azure Dragoon being claimed by the Eye not only because they don't want Nidhogg to have a new pawn, but also because they can't afford to lose the second Eye with the first still bound to Haldrath. They also probably wouldn't want news of the Azure Dragoon's corruption leaking to the public, since the Azure Dragoon is supposed to be a hero and that would be Not Good for the Azure Dragoon's image. So maybe Ishgard kills Azure Dragoons who are too far gone (whether they're actually too far or whether the people in power are paranoid about it).

A different HC I'm not sold on but thought of is that the stress of being Azure Dragoon could lead to an early grave. Yes Dragon blood does extend the lives of transformed heretic, but it could be that without the transformation, the stress of it all causes damage to the insides of Azure Dragoons in a way that prematurely ages them and/or just causes them to die young. Alberic at 44 has some white hair. Which 44 year old men can definitely have without anything bad happening, don't get me wrong! But that could be a fun HC interpretation of that.

So yeah. I HC that Azure Dragoons die young as based on 1) them potentially needing to be killed to avoid falling to Nidhogg, 2) their jobs being so dangerous they're killed in battle (and the Eye retrieved) or die from wounds, 3) the stress of the Eye causing irreparable damage that leads them to die young even after relinquishing the Eye. Plus, as @scrollsfromarebornrealm points out, Valeroyant died 2 years after fending off Nidhogg. We don't have many named Azure Dragoons so even one early death is suspect!

Haldrath and the Two Eyes

(Above: from the new story)

Yes, one of these is a repeat of the one above. But I really want to empahsize something in this because my eyes (haha) are SO wide at this. Haldrath refers to an Eye, singular, being what is corrupting him. Not the Eyes plural. And only one of the eyes has fused to his body, which matches what we know. At first I thought that maybe he only had one or something. Yet he tells Berteline that he will "entrust [Nidhogg's] eyes" plural to her.

So this is odd. Haldrath only mentions drawing on a singular Eye, and only a singular Eye has fused to his body. But he entrusts both to Berteline. My thought here is that maybe he stopped drawing on the power of the second one once the first fused to him, unwilling to give up the strength afforded by the first, but wary of drawing on the second lest it fuse to him too. I do wonder if he thought Bertiline would be able to pry Nidhogg's Right Eye from his corpse (in addition to presumably taking the Left Eye from him, which is the one Estinien has), or if when he said he was entrusting the eye to her he meant he was entrusting his dead body (containing the Eye) to her to...keep away from Nidhogg, or something. In the Echo Flashback to Haldrath following the events of The Aery, we can see Haldrath holding both Eyes and then storing them. It's heavily implied (if not outright stated) that Haldrath never met with any of the Knights Twelve again, save Aureniquart on his deathbed, so I assume Haldrath would've also had the Left Eye on him at his death even if only the Right had fused to him.

But yeah. Haldrath says he's been corrupted by One Singular Eye. It could be that the second just isn't mentioned here because it hasn't fused to him, and maybe I'm reading too far into this (see: me going feral over Estinien saying "Then you and Alphinaud threw my eyes off a bridge, and I’ve never known peace since."). Yet he must possess two to entrust both to Bertiline. Interesting.

I do wonder if anyone ever attempted to pry the Eye from Haldrath's body. It is possible they thought he was a Holy Object and didn't want to disturb him so never tried. It's possible that those who knew of him were worried they might also be corrupted if they touched the Eye, so they didn't want to try. It's possible they tried and failed. Who knows. But it seems like the Eye remained undisturbed within Haldrath's ageless corpse until Thordan used Primal Powers to fuel his ascendance to a God-King.

End Note

I honestly don't know what to say anymore other than Wow.

This one short story has blasted my mind open. I'm not sure how many words this giant essay is, but it's been about 3 hours so I think i should stop for now, despite the fact that I've hardly even begun to talk about some of the most intriguing parts of the short story! (See: Estinien being able to see Haldrath's memories and attributing it to Nidhogg, a more in-depth analysis of corruption, being able to hear Nidhogg and him sounding like the wind (hey remember that dragoon helmets are designed to make the sound of the wind going through it seem like a dragon scream, thank you levequest), whatever the hell was in that drink (I think it would be fascinating to explore it being an intentional flashback on the part of the Alchemists, using the blood they took from him...maybe fic worthy hmmmm), the parallels between Haldrath and Estinien losing their burning passion to fight, Aureniquart and the pain of being told to kill your liege-lord plus potential backstory there and some lines about loyalty...needless to say there's a lot more to talk about!)

So for now I am going to stop here. There's a lot to think about. Haldrath did not die in battle as I'd assumed, but due to the Eye's corruption. He entrusted the Eye to a successor, as Nidhogg had already begun to call out to others. He asked to be killed. This has big repercussions.

If you've read this whole thing, thank you! I hope my rambling was somewhat interesting. If you want to discuss anything here, reblog or reply and I would love to talk xD. I don't have every lore piece memorized, and I've definitely forgotten some things, so if I'm missing some crucial information I would be happy to know!!

#FFXIV #Estinien Wyrmblood #Estinien Varlineau #Nidhogg #Nidhogg FFXIV #Nidhogg (FFXIV)#ERURANDOMNESS #eruplays xiv #meta #lore #ffxiv lore #what tags do i even use jeez #ffxiv endwalker #ffxiv hw #bc it's hw related but does spoil more but hw is my personal tag for dragon stuff #ffxiv dragons

21 notes · View notes