I HATE "Flow" from Final Fantasy XIV 

if i recall correctly, i think Soken told Amanda to sing Flow how she wanted to sing it. also that she had to stop a few times because she started crying.

Soken learned to weaponize music. It's only going to get tougher on us from here.

It’s hard to even say the title is clickbait when everyone who’s experienced FFXIV immediately knew what he meant.

I can't listen to Eternal Wind, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, With Hearts Aligned or Flow without tearing up or straight up crying, but definitely *especially* Flow.

To me, the story of Endwalker and FFXIV is the ultimate response against nihilism. You're alive, out of all those who "walked before", whom death has passed their judgement. You mean something to the grand tapestry of life and to the world while we create the "answer" of life together. It's not easy but it's not hopeless.

The tears begin welling *just* before "Hush, love, close your eyes" and then makes me weep.

I lost my father right after Endwalker. Flow didn't hit me that hard during the actual game, but at his funeral, I remember thinking how I missed being there when he passed and how sad I was that he was going to sleep forever and I'd never see him again. Out of the blue, the line "know you will wake, on wings rise again, for this journey's end is but one step forward to tomorrow" suddenly came into me mind and it filled me with overwhelming joy and sadness all at once (I'm tearing up again typing this). It's just so powerful and Amanda, Keiko, and Soken will always hold a place in my heart because of it.

There are so many songs from this game that really get me like this. The moment Close in the Distance started after Graha's sacrifice, through the crystal walk with the twins, i was in tears. Then the scene with Hythlodaeus, Emet, and Meteion hits and we get Flow. This whole ending section of Ultima Thule pulled on me hard.

Behold, more than ten thousand years of self-sacrifice, seeking, striving, strife and pain - all portrayed by one beautiful, haunting, bittersweet song. It's not just these characters at the center of the events of the game, it's every soul past and present. It's everyone that has struggled, despaired and fallen - only to rise again, in another life, to struggle, strive and seek again. And each time, you are greeted by the selfless love of the Ancients - that great, undying love for their world and fellow man that ultimately is at the root of their actions. Whether following the path of Light or Dark, each and every soul fervently believes that what they do is for the good of all. It took me many months to be able to listen to this song without crying, because really, it expresses divine love like nothing else. It is gentle, it is comforting, but it ultimately tells you to keep going, through all the hardship before you - because that is how you shall become stronger. Hear, feel, think - and never forget who you are, deep inside. Reconnect with that divine spark within and walk forward.

I can't listen to Flow without straight-up crying for a second. It reminds me as you said, grief is always with us, but it's also what lets us celebrate life and the life of those who have already passed. Grief is the aspect of love we hate, yet necessary at the same time.

The madness of FF14's story is after the long journey, and the embrace of Flow. Answers seems more impactful now. It has all looped back on itself to the first big song to make it even better after all these years.

Something I realized listening to this is that the lower piano and the more stacatto plucked strings during "Sinking deeper and deeper" echo other tracks in the game which invoke a feeling of being underwater. It reminds me of Neath Dark Waters, for example. The game's music up to this point has trained our ear to associate those subtle choices with the feeling of a calm depth, and thats beautiful

For me, it's Answers. I wasn't around for the Fall of Dalamud, but it always makes me emotional. I know the history and have read stories from people who were there, so I know the significance of it. The music and the voice carries so much weight to it.

Flow is truly a beautiful, bitersweet lullaby. But if any song can make me cry as soon as the very first note plays, is Dynamis. Dynamis is like that return to vulnerability and knowing that it is okay to not be okay, yet, having the certainty that there is hope and that things do get better despite it all, y'know?

FF14 fans! Assemble! P.S. Was it two years ago already...? And my onions are still cutting themselves..

Flow doesn't do that to me, but Close in the Distance? That turns me into a blubbering wreck...

My mom died on Dec 1 2021, days before the EW early release, and like you with your dad, this song hit me like a ton of bricks over my grief with her. I'm so sorry for your loss, Marco.

Answers is my favorite piece of music ever, and it too is sung by Hydaelyn. Flow is also one of my favorites for that same reason. I love how the story begins with tragedy as Hydaelyn speak to us through Answers, and ends with calmness as She then speak to us through Flow. Old Sharlayan's night theme is one I listen to often. The guitar is sublime in it

"My brave little spark." I can hear the start of the song and be fine. As soon as crystal mom finishes that line I get a giant frog in my throat. Every, damn, time. By the end I have tears stuck in my eyes that only drop when I blink.

Sir, how dare you put this up and make me tear up during my lunch break at work. HOW VERY DARE.

When heard “Flow” first time, I just started crying, I put my controller down, leaned over my desk, put my head down into my arms and just cried. It hit me really hard after I started processing the lyrics. ❤\(T^T)/❤

I take it as Hydaelyn is our mother, the one who created us. and as a warrior, exhausted from battle and staying strong for our allies and friends for almost 10 years, we finally meet our mother who has guided us and helped us with her voice, we finally can rest and let it all go, even though we have to go on a little longer, in this moment we are at peace and embraced by our mother. which made her testing us in a battle to the death even worse when we realize we are the ones who end her life so she can be sure we are strong enuff to defeat meteion

"You have played like 500 hours" - Yes... yes I have... and those were the best 10 years I have spent.

Thank you for showing such strong emotions in this video. Your bravery to show such a vulnerable side of you helps remind me/us that it is ok to feel and you don't need to hide your emotions.

I know how you feel. When doing the walk to the end, my friend asked "how is it?" and I had to say "I HATE this game!" because I was struggling to maintain my calm. I stand by the statement that both Zenos and Hydaelyn were often talking to the player, not our WoL character. And the questions were relevant.

Close in the Distance does the same to me as Flow does. Even the Primals version still makes me tear up because of my story behind the songs. The memories it brings up and all the hardships, pain, and grief that come along with any of the lyrical versions for me just make me listen to the words being sung.

My favorite part of Flow, that just makes me swell with emotion, and why it does so is this: "Sinking deeper and deeper, in calm embrace, Loving tides sweep in and bear you down Should you meet a soul rising surface-ways With your unbeating heart wish them well." To me, this shows that death/ending shouldn't be something to fear/hate. Of course it can be sad, but it can also be beautiful, it can be peaceful, it can be hope, it can be a new beginning. Death is as much a part of life as everything else. And what do we learn from Answers? "Thy life is a riddle, to bear rapture and sorrow / To listen, to suffer to ENTRUST UNTO TOMORROW". "In one FLEETING moment, from the land doth life FLOW (death) / Yet in one FLEETING moment, for anew it doth grow (life/hope) / In the same FLEETING moment, thou must LIVE, DIE and KNOW." Our lives are but a moment in the grand scheme of things, so what else can we do than just enjoy it and help others too. We should be thankful for those who have left or "Look to those who walked before, to lead those who walk after." And when our time comes, as we are "Sinking deeper and deeper, in calm embrace", and to the next generations we must, "With our unbeating hearts, WISH THEM WELL." In my opinion, Answers & Flow are true masterpieces of massive cultural importance to us as a species. They represent peak human artistry, and deserve to be recognized as much as possible.

Geez, ouch. My heart. EW did something for me that I never thought would happen: it allowed me to grieve. Like full-on send, breaking down, emotionally distraught sobbing in a dark room at like 3am in the morning. Doing so allowed me to move forward. It kinda crazy. It seems intentional considering what a majority of us went through the last 10 years. Thanks to Soken and team, we were given a safe space to weep, which I believe we all need once in a while. Still can't sing through it fully without crying xD.

There are a couple songs in XIV that just hit so hard. Flow is absolutely one of them. I cant hear it without tearing up. I lost my grandma back in November 2023, and Flow came up on my next played. I had been holding the loss in for about a week at that point and i just lost it. It was so freeing to just, let go of that pain with a beautiful song, and Flow will always be special to me. Amanda Achen did such a great job, unparalleled.

This is a hot take but seeing people break apart on other video games music and not gotten though the FF14 MSQ and reached when FLOW hits know nothing about emotional breakdown. Played EW during its launch and at the peak of COVID, feeling distant from friends that I was with for 19 years because of how life, morals and beliefs changed i never felt more alone. This song... Hits me in the heart. Loving yourself is the hardest thing to do especially with how much shit the world has been for everyone. I broke down my hearth aching, tears flowing telling myself i need to love myself more, even if it means leaving my former friends that never cared about me. Moving forward is painful but we must forge ahead.

Since 2010 (1.0), I met my ex, worked my ass off, lost my ex, became disabled , lost friends and family members and so much more. This song completely broke my soul to the core when I first heard it. So beautiful yet so hard to hear.

I think its amazing how you related it to the feeling of a heavenly conversation, cause i felt the same way. I didnt really relate it to grief of losing a loved one, but moreso that an omnipotent God has been watching you go on this journey for YEARS, and been helping/ rooting for you from the sidelines for YEARS, and you only get to see them face to face for 30 minutes before they pass the torch on to you to finish the final job. It feels more like a reunion of friends who havent seen each other in person for a LONG time, and are excited to share stories they have only told eachother about in letters. This song made me bawl like a baby when i first heard it and still is one of my favorites from endwalker.

Theres a phrase from Revelations that sticks with me - Soft is the breeze that sets the petal free / Yet 'tis the storm that doth see the petal soar. Flow is that breeze, gentle and loving and comforting for the terror that is leaving behind our foundation for hardships ahead. But this is the only way we could fly higher.

You nailed it!!! I can’t listen to this song without crying!!! They really REALLY conveyed such a complex “flow” of emotions… something only music can do. Flow embodies a very complex experience - pairing the story, our experience, our own personal story- and the personal loss of a loved one - something everyone will eventually experience and understand. I’ve yet to hear a song that tackles the ‘flow’ of death and life in such a hopeful way leaving you feeling looking beyond its veil towards everyone’s next tomorrow!

The music in EW may have been some of the best in the game's history. I remember most of us could not go back to Ultima Thule without crying until we finally got used to it. Even now, sometimes Flow STILL makes me cry. Also, thank you for being brave enough to share your emotions on camera. I think we are moving away from those stereotypes with men, but it's great to see a man who is comfortable with his emotions, his sadness, and who isn't afraid to share it with the world.

I'm gonna go out of my way to be a bit overly personal here and say that I feel this hardcore especially after the loss of my best friend. These songs are powerful. There's no expansion that makes me cry instantly like Endwalker does. It was one of the last things me and him did together before his passing. Now when I hear Flow, Close in the distance, With Hearts Aligned Etc. I cannot stop myself from falling into absolute tears. These songs are powerful, and very personal to me at this point in my life. Though you aren't here with me anymore Mat, I will forge ahead. I miss you friend.

Althought the Dynamis theme speaks more to me, I feel you on Flow. I lost my father at the start of 2020 and, when I played through Endwalker, I had just put my life together again after going through all the implications of losing not only someone who's dear to me, but also the head of the household. Along with the grief, suddenly, all his responsibilities were mine, including the care for a wife who lost her almost 40 years partner. And soon after, I lost my job due to the Rona. So, after finally getting over it, I heard this song and I wondered how would he look at me then. It hits hard.

You're right Marco. for me, "FLOW" represents the totality of our journey when we reach the Mother crystal and begin to talk to Venat about our journey. The song recalls our journey from day one from our successes and failures, our hopes and those times when we despaired but in the end we go on... its amazing how in this song there is conversation with both of you and Venat. Thanks for breaking it down Marco.

A friend of mine said that "Flow" didn't remind her so much of real life; but, her journey through FFXIV and inspires her to be a better player in FFXIV. When I asked her what she meant she said: "When I first started playing FFXIV, I was a very angry and mean individual due to real life circumstances. However, it was the friends and 'new family' I made that changed me: allowed me to face my demons and stood by me in game and even in real life that got me through the darkest time of my life. 'Flow' (especially the ending) says two things: as now a seasoned veteran player.... Help new players just as I was once helped by the community. However, my journey as the Warrior of Light isn't over. Tomorrow brings a new adventure and now with Dawntrail approaching a new saga to experience that will allow me to once again see FFXIV with the newness and excitement of a day one sprout. My goal in FFXIV is to help as many that will allow me to: experience all FFXUV can be and maybe more." While her response made sense: I find myself saddened that there aren't more players like her. But, more than that.... What other sublime messages does "Flow" convey?

"Flow", along with a few other FFXIV songs, are listed for my end of life playlist. As players in EW, we are given hints of Flow along the way until the 2 major points, and when we could hear it clearly were heartbreakingly satisfying.

Man my dad died almost 18yrs ago and playing through EW towards the end I was a wreck, especially during Flow and the scene with the flowers. Choked me up a ton and made all those memories flood back. Loved the overall message of loss and that part of living is the loss and heartache and turmoil and suffering we experience.

I lost my father ten years ago now. And yes, I still grieve for him. I still miss him. And yes, I hope that perhaps one day we will meet again. When I heard Flow I wept because it is a song of a parent who had to leave - for one reason or another - but still loves you. No matter where or how. Love is eternal.

I lost my mom 3 months after endwalker came out I went from absolutely loving this song to not being able to listen to it without breaking down. It's been 2 years, and it's still tough...great video and great description of the emotion within this song.

at first I was mad at the title. then I listened and then I brokedown, when you talked through the lyrics. damnit Soken!

When The Primals performed Nautilus Knoweth live, it gave me a picture of a group of friends chill-jamming around a campfire.

*hugs Marco* Thanks for explaining this divinely maternal comforting sensation I get while listening to this song. I'm glad we could share it.

My son was born a few months after I completed 6.0... the song I sang to lull him to sleep was Flow. This is an incredibly special song

When it comes to the ff songs that make me cry. Flow is the mid-boss. It chokes me up every time. Dynamis is the final boss. The song affects me so much that the opening part hits me like a truck when it shows up on any of my playlists.

This song absolutely kills me, moreso once finishing EW. "should you meet with a soul rising surfaceways, with your unbeating heart, wish them well." The idea of passing on and giving your well wishes to the people who come after you (something the Asians struggled to do!) ugh. So beautiful.

everytime i hear dragonsong i have the fallen hraesvelgr before my inner eyes and i want to shout and cry

As a big fan of the loop hero ost id love for u to react to it

Here is me opening this video, at work, to hear a reaction to this beautiful song... Just to end up balling my eyes out when you talk about missing someone that has left us... A father/mother we deeply miss. This game has connected with so many of us on so many levels... And now I also will think of my dad, who I miss deeply, everytime I hear this song that already makes me cry... ❤

That moment from 12:00 to 12:10 somehow activates the tearducts every single time.

Flow always makes me emotional, it comes from the PoV of a loving mother to the most adventurous kid and I'm that adventerous kid. That loving mother that tells me to keep going through rain or shine

The game, and the music especially from Shadowbringers on has taken a whole different level and meaning to me. The end of 2022 when I basically was wrapping up shadowbringers and heading to endwalker, my grandfather passed away the day after Christmas. Last October, as I was in post Endwalker and heading to the current end I lost my grandmother. Beginning of this year my beloved cat who had weathered the storm with me for not even eight years I lost to cancer. The game has kept my sanity, and kept me going. Now with Dawntrail the "new beginning" a Dawn of a new era is not lost on me as I'm starting my life over from almost eight years of being a caretaker. My life, my story now. I started the game as a means to cope with the stresses of being a caretaker. Now? It's forging my own way. I get it, the game touched many, some of us just at the times when we've lost loved ones. It in a sense kind of gives us strength to just keep pushing on. Our answers while unspoken are given.

Another Final Fantasy song that goes beyond the context of the game I think is "Choosing Hope" by Nobuo Uematsu and sung by Emiko Suzuki. It was the main song composed for FFXVs multiplayer DLC "Comrades". I think its heavily underrated and one of the best FF songs with and without the context of FFXV. Love that game.

As someone dealing with a profound depression, and grieving a lot of stuff in my life, this song resonates so much. This one and Answers feels heavy in my soul, I love them so much. Thanks for this breakdown.

I made a mistake... I watched this at work. Thankfully nobody has walked in on me sobbing.

I never really cried with the songs, but when you take that walk and hear the old voices to keep going, hearing Haurchefaunt, make me weep. and the ultima thule voice track kicks in, I got emotional, but not because of flow or the other.

This is how I feel about Dynamis, Meteion's theme. Mine isn't a specific loss, and is more generalized than your connection, but it hits me so strong from the very first notes. No lyrics, but instruments are lyric enough in some songs.

I’ve thought of Flow a lot at what it means to me and why it makes me feel the way it does. Your video summarizes perfectly. It feels like you returning home, tired and at your end, and your mom is comforting you, asking you how you’re doing how you been. As you said, everyone’s connection to XIV is different and I’ve been through a lot of personal ups and downs during my time playing. When Flow started playing it just really hit me because it made me reflect on my personal journey. Hit me hard.

I plan to use both versions at my funeral if I get that much control. Long slow version for the start, rock version for the dinner/wake at the end. My area is a rain to mountain water cycle, so that idea of being water returning to the sea then rising again into cloud to start a new journey resonates so much.

Marco...how did you even manage to make this vid?? Well done 💕

I just watched through this and was immediately recommended your video with Amanda Achen. The two of you singing together would be incredible

Marco jubated me with the title, was like there is no way someone can hate this song. great video btw, keep them coming, love it when I see a new video from you pop up.

I'd love to have you analyse the Garlemald Radio Theme "Home Beyond the Horizon". I feel that one is one of the more impactful songs that get too little credit overall!

I adore your videos. Thank you for the heartfelt, genuine critique of these amazing musical masterpieces.

playing this game during the Pandemic made so many things hit so differently. To The Edge was a defiant scream against our fate. While Answers roared through our veins, bookending our journey and all of it finally making sense as it rose in a choir of hope... Flow... reminded us, me, that someone saw it all and cared. I was not alone even as I sat at my computer in another room hoping not to give my partner something that could send him to the hospital. Every little step, side quest, week long crafting binge, Housing Savage 2020... canon, in character or not she was always there. Even when we had no name besides the one over our head and our Warrior of Light was just a hero with a name no one used. She was waiting for us, watching out for us, proud of us all those centuries. Even as we stand before her ready for the next unknown step. We stood as a person made up of those we met along the way and the deeds we did. We were just us and we were hers and she loved us. Our WoL, we, are loved. There are people in life like that for us all. In the depths of the pandemic it was very hard to feel that way. Someone loves us out there - here or gone - and nothing can take that from us. What we have done is worth it. We are worth it. We are enough and that is why the tears Flow

Bravo Mr. Marco you break down the music so well. The instrumental that tells a story but yet Convey with such a Deep emotion with the Singer is such a Magical piece. Final fantasy truly have some of the best music that will hit our soul

Great video, my (possibly contraversial) take is that I prefer "Flow Together", the band version that plays at a key point in the story and the ending. Its the same composition with, as far as I can tell, a seperate vocal recording by Amanda Achen, quite similar to Flow but with some subtle differences. Both are great but I think I may just have a preference for rock instrumentation. That final chorus is just incredible in every version, theres an amazing bit in "The Ewer Brimmeth" (day Sharlayan theme) at about 2:35 between the two chorus parts where the instrumentation swells to a crecendo, then calms for the 2nd chorus with some gorgeous sounding cellos (I think). I make sure to catch that part every time I'm there in game during the day.

After your analysis, i had to stop working and take a few minutes break to weep. Thank you for this video and for being vulnerable throughout it.Flow always had an impact of me, it's like a gut punch filled with catharsis. The Nautilus Knoweth feels melancholic, but refreshing.

Hi Marco! Its Anis here, the astro that healed you in an FFXIV alliance raid the other day! I couldnt just watch and not comment on this one. Your remark about the beginning lyrics of "well come and well met my brave little spark..." feeling extra emotional if someone lost a loved one is so on point. I've recently lost my mother and, sadly, some other loved ones in a really short spam of time so the feeling of wanting to hear those kinds words from them - especially from my mom - is very, very real and on point. Its why songs in this game like Flow can indeed be so personal to the player, much like Close in the Distance as well. Wonderful analysys as always!! Much love, friend!

I hate this vídeo cuz i love this song and i didnt even have finished ARR AND I CANT SEE MORE THAN 30 SECONDS OF THE VIDEO 😢😢😢😭😭😥😢 love your work, past days i was searching your flow reaction, and when you did it, was not just a reaction but a dedicated to. Simply incredible loved it, will definitively see when i finish endwalker🙏

Thank you, Marco, this is...perfect. Yesterday was the anniversary of losing my mother, and having heard your interpretation....I hope she says to me when I see her again 'Welcome and well met, my loving son.'

Exactly my thoughts, my friend! A lot of things on Endwalker feels more like the characters are talking to US, not just the protagonist character. There are several dialogues that I felt deeply in my heart, and I couldn't help but cry. And songs like Flow are just like that too. A lot of things feel so personal and profound. One of the many reasons I love this game.

Thank you for this video full of feels. I would like to suggest watching "The Nautilus Knoweth - by John Oeth guitar" It is one of my favourite covers from the Old Sharlayan theme.

I'm just here to say I'm glad I didn't see this video at work because...yeah.... Anyway, this song makes me feel like getting a tender hug after holding on for so long. It also has a more personal impact to me especially hearing this song during that scene with hydaelyn and it genuinely reminded me of my mom and how we had just reconciled some weeks after a long constant fighting-- I was just glad I was alone because I was crying for five minutes straight long after the scene had finished.

I actually lost my mother the same year Endwalker came out, and now this song always kinda hits me different

This piece just breaks me every time. I'm already sobbing. It hurts, so so deeply. But it also heals me, because it means so much to me in my journey in life and the fact that I have finally found myself ❤

I was listening to the Endwalker soundtrack when I found out a colleague of mine had suddenly passed away over the weekend a few weeks ago, and Flow came on immediately after the news. I couldn't help but tear up. Flow is such a powerful piece and it really does talk about meeting the end as a friend rather than an enemy or an adversary. Isn't that how everyone should meet their end, or, I would hope so, anyways.

The Nautilus Knoweth is one of those songs that just makes me feel. It leaves quite a bit of room for reflection, while also giving a lot of itself to the listener.

I've always afk in Old Sharlayan ever since Endwalker expansion launches just for this 15:15 part haha Seeing Marco's enthusiasm, I would like to see your interview with Amanda someday~

i've avoided this video for a while because i knew i'd cry. i lost my dad the same year, just a few months before this xpac came out and i don't think i ever cried this hard at the game because having Flow play at the end evoked many of the same emotions you talked about in the beginning are some i also feel. playing it out til the end (heh) was incredibly cathartic for me. i still can't listen to it without starting the waterworks on the beginning notes. saw it at fanfest, i don't think there was a dry eye in the venue when it was played as the encore.

I lost my dad while I was working through stormblood and shadowbringers, and when endwalker hit everything was still really raw. I think the hardest thing is wanting to share this game especially with him. He was a big wow nerd for a while, but tended to just run around questing and doing story stuff. I knew he would probably really have enjoyed ffxiv. Its really hard to want to share things with people who aren't around anymore.

The piano in the beginning, the quality of her voice, and the outreaching, embracing lyrics are all so *gentle* and precious and loving. The shimmer of the violins. The backing track at about 8:00 becoming so blended and warm. The strength of Hydaelyn's love and her voice glowing so strong by the end.

I DIDNT NEED your emotional damage anaylsis at 3 in the morning!!!! But I loved it. You put into words so much about how I, and I imagine many, feel about this song. People can say what they want about EW patch quests, but the music in EW hit so hard and the story and final culmination hit wayyyyyy too deep.

I remember my first time through P11, I could not see my screen because fleeting moment just hit me like a truck, and I spent the first half just crying.

I get what you mean. My mom faded fast from dementia, and I actually got to sing this to her at her deathbed. I cannot listen without crying but it gives so much hope as well.

When I first heard Flow it struck me how alike it was to Into the West, from Return of the King. A motherly figure singing to you at journeys end, welcoming you to heaven, embracing the beauty and peace in death. Both songs mean so much to me.

i have sleeper agent levels of emotional reactions to this song, along with Tomorrow and tomorrow, close in the distance, and a few others in ffxiv. we’ve all experienced loss, experienced trauma, and i feel the story of ffxiv is about coming to terms with that loss, that trauma, and finding the strength to carry on.

An entire section of the video titled "Breaking down the music" and it's Marco breaking down with the music :P

Marco what a beautiful video! ❤

it literally took me months to be able to hear flow without crying. it means something monumental to me. It fills a hole in me I'd been ignoring. It's an overwhelming feeling of parental love I never experienced, like an echo from another world where those feeling were available to me. it makes me feel more human and loved than any real personal relationship ever has. It's both beautiful and saddening.

The lyrics are so wonderful- the fact that it can stir up so many interpretations. It comes across as heavily Maternal to myself- because Hydaelyn- but even outside of FFXIV, the lyrics sound like a mother singing it to their child after anxiously anticipating them for a long time. Whether it a be a Reunion after loss or meeting your child for the first time- still moves me to tears.

Flow definitely feels like a song about a mother and her child's family. It feels so warm but so heart breaking....like even though back then things fell apart, things will be okay now.

It's nice knowing that I'm not the only one in the community who has an emotional attachment to this song beyond the context of the game. It's such a good song, and always makes me cry because I can hear my Mom in the lyrics.

... I never consciously noticed that the Radz-at-Han theme was the same melody as Flow. And now I can't unhear it

Grief comes in waves and Flow just really hits me. I’ve recently lost my grandfather and I was watching several streamers hit the post trial 2 of EW, and I was a wreck as this song plays as we say goodbye. I remember getting to that point during the heyday of EW and I was crying. That grief I felt of losing one of my grandparents when I was just 5 and the grief of losing my grandmother a year before EW, this song was the cathartic cry I needed (plus the Moenbryda parents’ scene)

I lost my mom 10 years ago, very suddenly and the aftermath of that has been very very hard. The whole Hydalyn arc and flow especially fucking murders me. But I smile through the tears.

IDK if Natsuko Ishikawa is a Buddhist. But the principal of this lyrics is aligned with two teaching of Buddhism. One is a thing I would simply summarize as "mortality mindfulness meditation" as we use our full consciousness to think about the inevitable which is death and what we can do about it and especially how inevitable it is. I think "Answer" is more aligned with this concept but it's present here too. Another is the analogy of waters which are used to teach another thing, the graciousness or to give both physical and mentally (forgive) conditionally which will eventually reach those who you care about "Just like water flows from canals and rivers will eventually reach the seas" is exactly analogy but use to describe a different thing. But not really much different.