#EMET IS SO DRAMATIC I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

[noxtivagus]

emet-selchhdajlfkanfjsn

[orinviasjournal]

Hmm, i had an awful scenario where hades thinks that ori and hythlodaeus were together at some point, and he also still doesn't want to admit that he does feels jealous of their relationship, like the two of them get along so well unlike him and ori so it makes sense for them to be together, he thought. Meanwhile the two of them are just friends.

Or I could make it even more dramatic in one au where ori was together with hythlodaeus

I sound like i love hurting emet selch, I, infact, do. But also like it just makes so much sense

Maybe there should be one scenario where hythlodaeus and ascian orinvia did get together and hades was just like "...oh. Great, now the two of you are together *trying to sound sarcastic*...congratulations.*sincerely*"

And he still doesn't freaking understand that he had feelings for her. He is happy that his two bestfriend are together--or that's what he's been convincing himself to believe

Wait gosh, sucks to be him, his crush that he didn't know was his crush ends up with his best friend and later, according to him, betrayed him as she left the 14 convocation sheesh

[tenuuchlegch]

Okay, to start off what I especially love about Odtsetseg's and Estinien's dynamic, is mainly how it developed in the HW expansion. You see, my wol is no melee dps thus she did not go through the lancer/dragoon quest line like others did. Rather the post-ARR scene is where they were first introduced to one another, and from that point they kind of unintentionally helped with breaking some biases they had towards the other's culture or people. Both parties came from worlds/settings that were historically at odds after all. From the moment he stepped in that door though, xaela found herself intrigued by this seemingly aloof fighter. It was not love at first sight mind you, but she did feel he was more skilled than others so there was a near instant respect there.

Then they traveled to end the Dragonsong war, while au ra felt she could do nothing with that situation involving the eye, there were some attempts made to take his mind off it and enjoy the simple moments. They may have been brief or some even unsuccessful, but auri woman figured it would be better than to have his mind be so clouded all the time.

Then he info-dumped his whole tragic backstory to all of them and Odtsetseg was shocked. Despite all her past experiences, xaela never once considered that she would encounter an Eorzean who... at least had a very solid idea of her pain. It was a revelation that kept her up late that night, playing the morin khuur in a mournful tune. I'd like to think that Estinien approached her as well and she actually started talking about the fall of her tribe for the first time with him. This was such a big step for her, because up until that point she never really talked about it or her past in general. There was just so much pain behind it, she did not know where to begin.

I would like to think it was at this moment that there partnership/friendship truly cemented, as they became a 'ride or die' duo would go through hell and back in order so they may not face further tragedy. Odtsetseg even cracked a jest when she saw the dragoon's face for the first time. Gasping dramatically, before saying "Estinien, you are beautiful!"

Now for Stormblood. While the two did not canonically have direct contact with one another, I do think Estinien may have been encouraged by Odtsetseg's friendship to check out the steppes more. The dragoon also frequently preoccupied former Hotgo member's thoughts, though she did not think much of it at the time.

As for post-ShB, when I tell you Odtsetseg was both surprised and relieved to see the dragoon again. She was just dealing with so much stress, with Elidibus shenanigans, the scions' safety and the whole debacle with Emet Selch weighing heavily on her mind, it was a lot. So seeing such a familiar and friendly face made her overjoyed. She even tackled-hugged the elezen before he exited Mor Dhona, in happiness. Naturally, she was completely onboard with him becoming a Scion and was really impressed with how he handled Tiamat.

Then there came EW and OH BOY- did those feelings hit her like a truck. Even if he was fairly new to the Scions' whole situation, his perspective was such a nice change of pace for her compared to all the trauma/chaos ensuing. That particular night in the Baldesion annex is when she finally realized 'oh crap. I have a thing for him' and it only got worse from there. She was devastated, when Estinien disappeared at Ultima Thule. However she could not let despair overtake her, so au ra merely shed silent tears as she squeezed Alphinaud's hand. Luckily, things worked out in the end.

It was during the whole void arc post-EW that Odtsetseg got into the mindset of "I need to ask this man out once, or I WILL die." Even if he says no, Odtsetseg figures it's better than to let these... feelings she developed fester.

[neriyon]

top 5 npcs! :3

Starting with the hardest one right off the bat haha

Hilda Had to think about this one for so long since there were so many options (twins, multiple elf men, certain bnnnuy..) but I decided to go with Hilda because she's the first "best girl" in the game for me. I don't even have proper propaganda on why I like her, just that I saw her during HW and immediately went heart eyes at her. ^^' Poor girl doesn't get enough love, being mostly sidelined by the story, but every time she appears (as art on dash or in a quest) my day is a little better.

Emet-Selch I kinda debated on putting him as 3rd but eh, he'll get to be 4th. I originally did not care for the rat man too much, which in hindsight is hilarious - when have I not liked an overly dramatic antagonist whose so tired and done™ but still keeps doing things like he's on a theatre stage at all times? Emotional hurt (both from him and us) was a delicious bonus.

Zenos People are really divided on him, but I ended up liking him a lot. Strong enough to beat WoL twice? Like thrice the size of my min height catboy? Only has eyes for WoL and keeps spouting poetic (and weirdly romantic) lines about how much he wants you two to fight? Good stuff.

G'raha Tia Beloved catted boy... Goofy nerd who means well and is just happy to help. His bratty attitude was fun, but it was the gap moe Exarch who eventually sold his character to me. Cool and mysterious leader first, only to clearly blush under his hood the second he gets to talk to you? Cuuuute~ Also the whole "if fate takes you away I'll figure out how to change it" thing, I'm very weak to those.

Hythlodaeus I actually really liked him back on ShB already. Somehow his ween woon voice and gentle demeanor just clicked right away. My new old friend.. Then they did the whole face reveal and he has lived rent free in my head since then. And that talk about Azem and Emet? He deserves to spend eternity happy with them.

(edit: hey guess what tumblr randomly reversed the numbers! hilda is supposed to be 5 and hyth 1, but apparently numbered list in reverse is too much for our beloved hellsite)

[missingmywing]

Okay: here's a few! Emet, ANY of the Foretellers, and Sephiroth.

Okay, take my essays on each of them XD

Emet, Foretellers, Sephiroth

First impression

Emet: Well I was a bit biased from the beginning because I had a pair of certain someones talking him up and blowing him air kisses, but even without that I adored him instantly. He’s was and is my favorite type of character - insanely complex and hiding it behind snarky over dramatic dramatic bastard. His entire scene with Varis was just me cackling gleefully because “holy shit he’s so fun”. Very Ardyn vibes, but with a much better written ending.

Aced: Okay you said any so you get all the Foretellers. My initial impression of Aced? “Oh he’s an ass, I hate him. Talk about an inflated ego and bad attitude.” KHX/UX did not give him any brownie points. Aaaand then Back Cover came out. But he had a very bad first impression and was the character I definitely considered to be the main antagonist of KHX/Chi.

Gula: I loved him. I didn’t trust him, but I loved him. Snarky sneaky catboi my beloved. He was doing his best, but I could already see that he was too smart for his own good and that it would get him in trouble (and I was right). But the sneaky ones running rings around everyone else to pull their strings are my favorite characters, so Gula had my heart almost immediately.

Invi: “Oh she seems cool, reminds me of Aqua.” And… that’s about it. She’s a lot like Aqua, and X/UX/BC did not change that impression in the least.

Ira: “Oh I’m going to like him, I mean he’s automatically my chosen Foreteller bc of the unicorn that matches Etheria’s lore too well, and he’s the type of stoic serious character I tend to like.” X/UX/BC didn’t really add much to that. There was a little, but not a ton.

Ava: “She’s adorable, and seems sweet. I wonder if she’s going to die or turn evil later.” My opinion didn’t really change much until UX started dropping its bombs, and then I got increasingly concerned about what exactly had happened to her - especially the KH3 epilogue.

Sephiroth: Okay so the thing is. My first FFVII experience was Crisis Core, bc I found it through Kingdom Hearts (technically my first impression was in KH2 but that was just WHY DID THEY PUT AN IMPOSSIBLE BOSS IN THIS GAME D: so it doesn’t count.) So my first impression of Sephiroth was “oh this is so unfair, he’s being so screwed over. I love him, he’s doing his best to help his friends despite being stuck in an impossible situation.” So he was a really tragic character right off the bat for me, since I didn’t have the impression of him starting out as an enemy in the OG game.

Impression now

Emet: He has remained one of my favorite characters and I still adore him, but I can really appreciate his depth now. Elpis gave me a lot of feelings because we got to see him before he had to endure the tragedy of technically being the only ancient to truly survive the Final Days/Sundering untouched - Lahabrea was half of himself even before that point, and Elidibus was… more of a primal than a person by that point, from what I can tell. So Emet-Selch was the sole remaining whole Ancient for twelve millenia, on top of having to deal with the world being reset back to the pre-stone age era. He’s tragic, and one of the most relatable and emotional characters in the whole game despite his attempts at convincing everyone that he has a solid arm’s length of distance between himself and the world at large. He absolutely does not, he’s just a tsundere. I can understand why did what he did - from the beginning to the end, I definitely understand his perspective

Aced: He’s probably my favorite now, thanks to Back Cover and the character analyses I’ve done on him. Because oh. look. he’s just scared and desperate and doing his best to save the world, despite everyone else making fun of him or accusing him of things. (The fact that he’s clearly spent his life as the too-serious one of the group who doesn’t quite get the jokes the others are making about him and just getting upset only to get made fun of more or told to chill out in a relatable way definitely has nothing to do with that. Definitely not.) His relationship with my main Keykid is honestly fascinating to me, because they kind of hate each other and it’s on sight, but that’s because they consider each other a threat to the world/her health, and they highly respect each other’s perspectives/intentions. They just don’t trust each other and would sooner stab each other than compromise to work together at the time of the Keyblade War.

Gula: Look he did his best and I will stand by that. He was a an idiot who got himself in over his head by his own designs, but he’s self aware enough to know and acknowledge that in canon to our Keykid, and he feels incredibly guilty about it. I’m excited to see where they’re going with him in future games and how he’ll grow, as well as what’s going to happen with Ava because he’s clearly worried about her.

Invi: My initial impression of "she's basically Aqua" has not changed, except Aqua has had character growth and Invi is still… “I believe in MoM, and believe he has the best of intentions and will do all I can to uphold his teachings.” Maybe (hopefully!) that’ll change in KH4 and beyond, but as of the end of X/UX my impression of her hasn’t changed.

Ira: I - Look. He’s still my chosen Foreteller, I’ve never switched from Unicornis, and Etheria still respects him, but. He’s… honestly kind of boring? His “rivalry” with Aced is the most characterization he gets, and while he does save our ass and acknowledges us, he’s more distant than anyone but Invi. I’m hoping we get more characterization for him because right now my impression is “*Shrug.* He’s there. I respect his attempts but they failed and he didn’t make me sympathize with him.”

Ava: I. I have so many questions. I’m so torn. I like her a lot, she’s sweet, but man oh man I don’t trust anything about her situation. While I don’t think she’s turned evil, I do think she’s become extremely complicated and whatever is going on with her is going to be a twist of some sort. My current theory is that she’s somehow tied to Namine. Not sure how, but questions and convenient hints are beginning to line up between them somehow.

Sephiroth: His dedication to chasing Cloud across the whole universe and every single game he’s in and now TIME TRAVEL LIKE THE MANY FICS I’VE READ is hilarious and that’s always going to be his defining feature to me now. I still find him incredibly tragic because his insanity was cultivated and purposeful by Hojo and Jenova, so if the situation in Nibelheim - and Genesis’ own insanity making him be an ass - hadn’t happened as it had, things wouldn’t have snowballed as they did. The whole thing could have been avoided if he’d had proper support and a bit of interference from someone who wasn’t as cut out of the loop as Zack.

Favorite moment

Emet: “Do no squander it, the legacy I leave you.” Honestly all of Elpis was gold and one joy after the next, but that line is what really really stuck with me. His little monologue at the end of Ultima Thule also got to me, the list of places left to visit and then his final “I certainly did.” was just- *chef’s kiss* I also loved him throughout SHB, all his sarcastic drama was amazing and I loved it all. Amaurot tore me apart as was intended. Every time this man smiles That Smile at us I die of pain and joy.

Aced: His moment of vulnerability with Ira in Back Cover was wonderful, and was the moment that made him click for me. His tired resignation, from his posture to his words were “I did my best. I did all I could, and everything I did was to protect the world and stop this war. If I failed then I will accept my end.” AND IF THAT’S NOT A CHARACTER TYPE THAT INSTANTLY WINS MY HEART. One scene made me go from disliking him to taking him on as one of my favorites.

Gula: His scene with the Master, probably, because it - more than anything else - was what set the tone for both Back Cover and the entirety of KHUX. THAT was the moment when it clicked exactly what kind of story this was, and exactly what kind of long game MoM was playing. The complete breakdown of Gula’s role combined with MoM’s sudden personality switch was top tier, and made all of Gula’s actions make complete sense - tragic and stupidly reckless though they were.

Invi: Hmm probably that fight with Aced? She had some good moments there, and they were the most definitive of her character across the whole series so far. Although her scene in the Keyblade War to the Player was pretty good too.

Ira: His scene with Aced in Back Cover was great - his response of “No I’m not going to kill you, we need everyone we can and I still trust you and believe that you were trying to help.” was FANTASTIC and exactly what I love in a character, and validated me for choosing him as my leader. He may be among the least interesting/utilized, but he has his moments.

Ava: Hmmm it’s hard to pick one, but probably either the scene where she gave Brain the book and keyblade or the fountain scene where she was talking to Ephemera. I enjoyed the complexity of the first, and the genuine warmth and sweetness of the second.

Sephiroth: He’s so tragic. Nibelheim could have been avoided so easily if he’d just BEEN GIVEN SUPPORT. AND HIS TWO BEST FRIENDS NOT ABANDONED HIM AND THEN ONE OF THEM SHOWED UP AND CALLED HIM A MONSTER THEN DEMANDED HIS HELP. I like Genesis and his potential but the blame for Nibelheim and everything after is at least 20% on his shoulders. The other 80% is divided between Hojo and Jenova. I love him, I love his potential, and I think his insanity was something cultivated and triggered purposefully and could have been avoided.

Idea for a story

Emet: I have fucking lists. One of my current favorites is either Etheria (my WoL) being trapped back in time and Emet having to vouch for her/work with her, or Elpis!Emet being dragged forward with a couple of others and having to deal with modern Etheirys and just reacting to everything. Otherwise though give me young Solus, show me Emet building up the Garlean empire with Gaius and the others, and what that looked like from the Garlean side.

Foretellers: Combining all of these into one, I want to write an au “nothing goes wrong, the war never breaks out” story series, consisting purely of Daybreak Town shenanigans and the Foretellers dealing with the would-be main Dandelion group causing trouble. Aced says if Ephemera, Skuld, and Etheria break into the tower one more time he’s locking their Keyblades away and trapping them in Agrabah. MoM and Luxu are too busy laughing and enabling them to offer the Foretellers any help. Lauriam and Brain are trying to act as the group brain cells and keep them out of trouble. Poor Strel, Elrena, and Ven have no idea how they got here but they’re stuck within the madness now.

Sephiroth: Time Travel is and will always be my favorite story trope, give me the good old FFVII classic fic of Seph and Cloud travelling back in time to when Cloud was a cadet and both of them just completely dismantling ShinRa.

Unpopular opinion

Emet: Hmmm not sure I’m familiar enough with fandom opinion to give an unpopular one? I know I’ve seen some people say he’s overrated, which I strongly disagree with but can understand for the people who don’t like him. Hmm, probably the closest I can give is that I disagree with the idea that he hates/resents the WoL for not being Azem and didn’t care at all about Garlemald - what he says and what he does are two very different things, and he offered WoL too much support to hate them (and that smile is a story of its own), plus he was beloved in Garlemald and canonically considered a kind and caring leader for a reason (until his son died maybe, but that’s a whole analysis of its own).

Aced: He’s not an idiot, he doesn’t try to kill our Keykid for the lulz, and despite what he says in UX I don’t actually think he ever wanted to “rule the world” - he was scared and desperate and trying to save the world from something that he’d been told and convinced was an inevitability so he got angry and frustrated and lashed out. Something he (and the others) was manipulated into by MoM, so… he handle the situation badly - exactly how he was supposed to. Tragically.

Gula: Same with above - he had good reasons for doing what he did, and he was scared and angry and not thinking clearly. It was planned, and he did exactly what he was supposed to. Maybe it was stupid, but given the situation he didn’t believe he had other options.

Invi: Despite what I said above, Invi is not a blind follower. She makes comments that perhaps MoM wasn’t correct, or wasn’t the right path. Her faith in him wasn’t blind - it was a choice, one she thought through and acknowledged. It’s very possible that she’ll set aside that faith when she learns the whole story.

Ira: The same as above, though I haven’t really seen much fandom opinion on him. He… really doesn’t have much.

Ava: I don’t think she’s evil, but neither do I think she’s a pure cinnamon role who can do no wrong. She made mistakes as well, she had her moments of panic (see the fight with Luxu triggering the Keyblade War) and the jury’s out on how her switch of the BoP and Master’s Defender will play out - we still don’t know if that was planned as well (probably) or if she managed to pull one over on MoM. I don’t think she’ll turn out to be evil and malicious, though. She has the best intentions, I think - but then so do the others.

Sephiroth: He hasn’t been an irredeemable madman his whole life, and what happened at Nibelheim wasn’t some inevitable end for him. I don’t know if he can be pulled back at this point - as of ACC and who even knows what’s going on with Remake/Rebirth - but he wasn’t always a madman just waiting for the moment to snap.

Favorite relationship

Emet: Hythlodaeus and Azem for sure, but his relationship with various WoLs is always fascinating, and I really want to see how he interacts with the rest of the Convocation more. I also think it would have been interesting to see his relationship with his family in Garlemald, before Lucius died and everything started falling apart.

Aced: Probably his relationship with Ira - it’s so nuanced. There’s respect and resentment in equal measure, and that’s always fun to play around with. Second is with the Player because complicated doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Gula: Hmm probably Ava? Either that or the Keykids, bc he has some very interesting dynamic moments with the Player.

Invi: I have to say MoM? We don’t see her a lot, but that’s the relationship that has the most potential to be interesting.

Ira: Aced, for the same as above. Aced is the only one who can get him riled up, so it’s interesting to see them bounce off of each other.

Ava: Either Ephemera or Brain, because there’s so much there. I’m actually going to have to say Brain? Because there’s a story there that we don’t know, especially how much she trusts him and how he seems reserved about trusting her. Ephemera trusts her more than Brain, and I want to know why Brain is so important and how they know each other. There’s nuance and complication there, much more so than Ava and Ephemera.

Sephiroth: Cloud. We’ve established that I like complicated relationships, and you can’t get much more complicated than this. There’s so much there, whether in canon or what-if aus, and it’s always fascinating to analyze and explore.

Favorite headcanon

Emet: WoL is not the first time in which Emet has taken a major role in the life of Azem’s shard - they’ve been at the center of every major conflict in history in one form or another, and Emet is very used to both fighting against them and alongside them. My WoL’s previous life was actually as a half-Dalmascan Garlean assassin who helped create Garlemald’s alchemist division during the very early days of Solus building his reign, and was his (secret) lover for a time - until she found out just a little too much about the Ascians and he killed her before she could become a threat (and she would have). There have been multiple times throughout history that he’s sought a shard out, though it always ends with them enemies and he’s never given any of them Azem’s crystal.

Aced: He loves his Union, and is really protective of his kids (unless Player is one of them. In which case oops). He bluffs and blusters loudly, but he’s a softy if you trick him into admitting it, and if an upset kid asks genuinely for help he’ll cave immediately.

Gula: He kind of hates himself for the specific role he plays in the Keyblade War, even once he finds out it was inevitable. His Union is the first to begin falling to darkness and is the most aggressive about the war, and he hates what it's done to them and that he has only himself to blame.

Invi: I… don’t really have any? I think she has a bit of a mischievous streak of her own, she just hides it really well. Make her angry though, and - well, you’ll never be able to prove it.

Ira: His attitude and “uptightness” is a very purposeful thing he projects and cultivates, because he thinks he has to. He was named leader, but even before that he… basically he and Invi the result of gifted child syndrome, and I’m sure MoM encouraged that. He has do be perfect and make the right choice every time, mistakes aren’t allowed. And when he can’t match it… well, he copes the best he can while bottling anything negative up because he can’t afford to think about it now.

Ava: She’s a prankster who’s the most vicious of all for Foretellers, and has very little respect for rules unless she can see a clear reason for them (if it’s not dangerous or potentially hurting anyone then it’s fine to break it). She’s really close to all her Union kids, and is perfectly willing to befriend kids from other Unions.

Sephiroth: He has a strong respect for Wutai’s culture, and believes that ShinRa’s actions were extreme and pointless and is a little resentful over them. He followed orders because… well, they were orders and it wasn’t until Angeal and Genesis deserted that he even realized that leaving was an option (although it really wasn’t, but he could’ve taken anything ShinRa threw at him). So he followed orders and fought, but he did it as cleanly as possible and earned at least some measure of respect from Wutai in turn.

[rose-from-ashes]

[via bleedinghearth] For Beaft: 🌸 (Solus/Emet/Hades, Urianger (if he's on this blog), and Vaishant)

Solus:

"I'll start with the obvious: Teddy is convenient. There is nothing quite so useful for shutting up an irritating noble as a massive dragon staring them down. Under this falls the sense of dramatics he lends- I have always loved theatre, and he takes to it wonderfully.

Next is the matter of his sense of humor. Ah, he makes it difficult to stay in character sometimes, but the variety he brings to this dreary life is more than worth it. And it's always fun to make him laugh in turn, when no one is listening to me too closely.

And last... His perspective on life is... Refreshing. Do I agree with it? Not particularly. But it's a nice thought to indulge in at times, his optimism and love for life, even that of these sundered mortals... It is pleasant."

Urianger, who IS on this blog!:

"My love is... Kind, to me. T'was this which first caught my attention, back in the Waking Sands, when he approached me time and time again, unfaltering, and... Was kind. Perhaps my struggles with noise were plain, for he spotted them without a word, but if that is so, then it brings the question why he was the only one to accomodate. And if my needs are more difficult to predict, then this only serves to further demonstrate this aspect of his person, for he endured the work it took to learn before any other. This is my first and most vital trait which I shall name: Teddy's kind nature.

Perhaps equally important is the fact that Teddy is fierce. His kindness is no mere afterthought but an active choice, a choice to love the world and to fight for it. Many mistakenly conflate a kind nature with a meek one, but this is in every way inaccurate and inadequate, as Teddy so readily demonstrates- he will not tolerate cruelty nor allow the suffering to fall to the wayside under any circumstance. He will care for them under any circumstance or hardship, and he will stand against those who cause their pain.

Lastly there is the matter of his understanding. I am not a man skilled in the matter of communication, and my words have a way of failing me utterly and entirely too often. It is because of this that I am so verbose and thorough, to ensure that my meaning cannot possibly be misunderstood, and yet this fails me nearly as often as my silence does. And yet despite my struggles, oddities, and flaws... Teddy makes the effort to understand. In a twist of irony, this means more to me than I could possibly communicate, even to him."

Vaishant:

"You know, it's funny. I write songs all the time, but when it comes to him, I struggle to piece together three clear concepts. I just love him too much for words. But I'll try, and start simple: he laughs with me. I love the sound of it. I love when he joins in on the joke. I like seeing how hard I can make him lose it. And I love it when he returns the favor.

Next is his spontaneity. He really just... Decided to let me, a random guy, travel the world with him, just because. I never know what each day is going to be with him around, and I love that.

And last... I guess I like that he doesn't mind that I'm weird, or that I get caught up on some random thing and talk about it for days, or that I forget how old I am. He's always there, and he loves me. And I feel safe knowing that he's not going to stop or disappear because of some random thing. He's sticking with me, and I'm sticking with him."

[selchwife]

there's so much that makes me crazy about eury and emet and pfeil that there's not really any room to explore narratively so it's just this kind of like dramatic irony hanging over me like a pall.

i think the Most part is that eurydice was not a very good member of his society, despite being azem (i tend to think of it as a position frequently held by oddballs given venat, so probably the only sort of acceptable role someone like him could aspire to). emet remembers all this through such a haze of nostalgia and grief that he's practically forgotten, but eury HATED a lot of the rhetoric around uniformity and equality because he didn't have the ability to use creation magic unlike everyone else around him and was expected to pretend that he was not different and was not treated differently even though he totally was. he was very disillusioned and often became very passionate about what he saw as flaws in the rules, which is part of why he was constantly getting censured and doing risky nonsense.

this kills me because even when he was alive i think emet sort of brushed over that. he really did not care that azem was disabled because he was so stupidly in love with him ever since they were dumb grubby little kids, but he's so...Emet (follow the rules! be the model citizen! that sort of thing) that eury always felt his disapproval very strongly and believed emet disliked him. they argued a lot and emet never expressed this adequately but emet always held a VERY high opinion of him and continued to feel this way after eurydice died. and in a way this was kind of fucked up because he and eury couldn't see eye to eye on what was most important to him, like emet kind of felt like "of course you're not different than anyone else (because i don't regard you as lesser)" and that made eury really angry because he wanted emet to understand that different doesn't mean lesser in the first place.

pfeil like after emet dies and everything eventually cottons on to the fact that there was someone Before Him who emet loved and clearly regarded as this paragon of virtue and beauty, and pfeil being pfeil he compares himself to this theoretical person with an intensely self-critical bent and feels frustrated that he could clearly never live up to whoever this azem guy was even if he IS part of azem himself. and he has no idea that eurydice was actually just like him in that he was someone with serious challenges and issues who felt outcast from his society even as he held serious responsibilities within it, because he was an undesirable sort of person outside of his position on the convocation. emet thought of him as perfect and secretly judged pfeil against him all the time even though they were both in many respects total wrecks (eury just hid it better) in a way that was unfair to all three of them, and he DID come to love pfeil simply for pfeil, but it was too little and too late in the sense that like. they were doomed from the beginning.

[strangefellows]

Oberon, Emet, Ardyn, and Luxu :)

favorite thing about them

Oberon: He's incredible. His writing is insanely good. He's a little known Arthurian figure who happens to be my favorite. He's bitter and angry and hateful but he cares so, so much.

Emet: I like tired old men, he's so snarky and obnoxious and dramatic but he's so devoted.

Ardyn: See above, like Emet I like dramatic obnoxious tired immortals, he's so messed up but the tragedy of him is incredibly good and painful.

Luxu: THREE TIRED DRAMATIC OLD MEN! I love them for the same reason.

least favorite thing about them

Oberon: He's not in NA yet. :|

Emet: I really am still somewhat unsatisfied with his ending in EW, but I'm coping.

Ardyn: How BADLY he was handled after the base game came out and until the saving throw of Ep Ardyn but EVEN THEN UGH, I hate his finale in DOTF.

Luxu: All of the questions we still have, how he almost ruined 10 years of Braig headcanons XD

favorite line

Oberon: "A bottomless sky. An empty life. Joy will have its value decreased tomorrow, and suffering will be forgotten together with yesterday. Beautiful things can be awful under certain conditions, and awful things can be beautiful under certain conditions. …Hah, what a laughingstock. Do you really believe there's any substance to life? …Hey, let me know, Blanca. Did your tale go satisfactorily?"

Emet: Either the line about boring him or his speech in Amaurot.

Ardyn: Oh it's been so LONG but his sass is always good.

Luxu: His fucking pre-fight cutscene in KH2 YES I'M COUNTING THAT lives in my head rent free years later.

brOTP

Oberon: Him and Castoria, honestly.

Emet: Ooooh, that's hard. XD Lahabrea?

Ardyn: I have HC friends for him from before everything happened!

Luxu: Radiant Garden Squad!

OTP

Oberon: Him and my Master OC; ObeGuda hell yeah.

Emet: Hyth/Hades/Azem, of course!!!

Ardyn: I do have an OC I ship with him, but also Ardyn and Aera ;u;

Luxu: .....SS dinghy Braig/Even?

nOTP

Oberon: I don't really ship him and Merlin, but also Please do not ship him romantically with Castoria

Emet: Him and Elidibus

Ardyn: Him and Noctis, gah!

Luxu: I...don't really ship him with the other Foretellers? IDK what's a NOTP-- OH WAIT XIGDEM PLEASE NO MORE.

random headcanon

Oberon: Despite all his flirting and playboy behavior if it came down to it he's pretty sex-repulsed.

Emet: He's the youngest of the Emet-Hyth-Azem trio, and he's a bit flustered about it.

Ardyn: He's a very, very good storyteller! He likes telling stories to children, or he used to.

Luxu: Ava was his favorite and he spoiled her rotten; he used to call her Ava-cado as a teasing joke.

unpopular opinion

Oberon: I want more people to play with the Vortigern aspect of him, not the Oberon aspect.

Emet: Like I said above, I'm not the biggest fan of his send-off.

Ardyn: He's nowhere near as sadistic as some people tend to paint him.

Luxu: The "Braig" we knew was ALWAYS Luxu.

song i associate with them

Oberon: This song has HUGE Oberon vibes to me, I love it.

Emet: Honestly? This song and this song were ones I blasted pretty hard when I'd rerun Dying Gasp back in SHB.

Ardyn: This one holy shit this is so very Ardyn.

Luxu: Quite frankly? This one hits.

favorite picture of them

Oberon: Nothing like his fourth ascension, honestly.

Emet: There's so little official art of him :(

Ardyn: This art simultaneously is my favorite and my beloathed because of how they never followed through on it.

Luxu: Nomura's art is always a classic.

[c0rpseductor]

like i love emet-selch and i did mostly enjoy the way they "brought him back" in endwalker even though i feel like it disturbed my wol's sense of closure about his death. my ONLY real gripe about that was that i feel they didn't completely stick the landing with the goodbye in UT, but that's a very personal YMMV situation. and it was still good. i have zero complaints about that, i felt like it avoided the propensity this game sometimes has for unnecessary resurrections while still allowing some time with a character they'd killed off for a pretty good bout of organic fanservice that supported the narrative.

so. like. i SHOULD have faith that if they're doing more shit with emet it will be okay. but like……i want them to be done with him now. in particular i really do not want any more young emet content. it's not that i don't LIKE young emet, but i feel like softening and rehabilitating him through his past self is not the move, because what i liked about the character was the pathos that came from the conflict between his inherent empathetic nature and the horrible, horrible things he felt obligated to do.

also not to be that guy but young emet is significantly less, like. queercoded. kind of makes me feel icky if we're supposed to be like "oh thank god now we can finally be friends with nice, Less Faggy emet-selch." i liked him faggy, as a card-carrying fag myself.

idk im being a little dramatic and hysterical but i'm protective of my reading on this character and i soooo do not want them to just like overuse him to death when there is really no reason for him to show up pretty much ever again. i would much prefer letting him go now than seeing him dragged into the story over and over again unnecessarily, especially in the particular characterization that i do not prefer. like, once again, i like younger emet fine! but not as a regular character or the "real" emet; to me the "real" emet is him when he's older, and his younger self is just like….you know. the past.

also why the fuck would he have another name? maybe the datamine was for the true name of the emet-selch who came before him?? bc he's already got a true name….i hope that's the case. i'm really at the point where i'm like I LOVE YOU. I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR ASS IN THIS GAME AGAIN.

[emetkoto]

Hey Mimi… how did emetkoto meet/what were they like? I still haven’t finished post-shb so I don’t know a WHOLE lot about the lore pre all the worlds splitting but I’m curious about their early dynamic whether that’s during shb or back in the #old days

oh boy since you havent finished shb post patches and i assume endwalker i shall refrain from talking about A Certain Thing but I can still answer this just fine without it so <3

k'oto met emet-selch the same way every wol does during shb, thats one part of their story that stays the same lol, k'oto defeats titania and returns t othe crystarium and there he is to introduce himself and be a bastard as he is like to do! there was always a weir dtension between them, they were sorta drawn to each other for azem reasons and other reasons i cant talk about without spoiling endwalker but yeah even though they were kind of gently antagonizing each other they couldn't help but try and hear each other out..any dialogue option where the scions ask wol what they think about emet selch and the stuff hes saying k'oto is always "i believe him and/or trust him for some reason" even before they were like. full on in love <3 K'oto tried really hard to ignore that he was like gently crushing on him but emet-selch was always subtly flirting with him and making it really hard to like even before their first night together emet was always doing that thing where he touches k'oto in little subtle ways to get a reaction out of him and looking at and speaking to him in a very Certain Way that was impossible for k'oto to ignore and thats why it just kept building and building until that night emet saved y'shtola and k'oto just couldnt take it anymore and called himto his room <3 tldr enemies to hate fucking to lovers extremely quickly bc theyre soulmates :)

i honestly dont think too much about apollo bc i consider him and k'oto different characters…like yeah whatever theyre technically the same guy the only difference being sundering but WHATEVER….he and hades' story is pretty borning compared to emetkoto, they were just kinda childhood friends who met while attending whatever school ancient children went to who met when apollo decided he wanted to befriend the weird grumpy loner and started forcing himself into his life until it worked and htey became inseprable lol! somewhere along the line they met hythlodaeus and he joined hte group but it was always kinda hades/apollo and then also hyth. they werent a throuple really, hyth was a casual but otherwise uninvolved third who was happy watching his friends be in love :) apollo and hades were married after graduating and were soul bonded and all that until the final days when apollo peaced out for whatever reason idk (again i have trouble attaching to characters who have been dead and gone long before the story even starts so his story is prety ????) and they kinda broke up pretty dramatically!

(with the mic so close to my mouth it might as well be in it) but none of that matters bc emet-selch loves k'oto as he is right now this moment azem and everything aside and in bad end he goes out of his way to make sure k'oto doesnt return to being apollo when hes fully rejoined bc he wants K'OTO

[autumnslance]

Cinnamon Rolls: Ancients Edition

The inevitable sequel to Scion Cinnamon Rolls and Shadowbringer Cinnamon Rolls. For Endwalker 6.0 and the first tier of Pandaemonium: Asphodelos. I thought of waiting but...nah!

Beautiful Cinnamon Roll Too Good For This World, Too Pure:

Meteion - Little bluebird(s) of happiness literally meant to go to space in all her innocent trust and learn about other people. It went a tad awry along the way thanks to untrained empathy--and "our" Meteion fought so hard to not give in to her sisters' report and their despair. Despite it all, a sand grain of that sweet girl remained after many millennia, and in the end we were still her friend and shared our answer with her, fulfilling the promises her creator never could.

Looks like they could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll:

Erichthonios hasn't his formidable father's power, but still has skills and knowledge, even beyond his transformation. He loved his mother dearly and took up her work. Even in the throes of outside influence, his battle lines are about concern for his colleagues and their charges in Pandaemonium. He wants to save as many of the creations as he can too--for practical reasons, sure, but also because it's right to do so. He has a lot to prove, and his former mentor's harsh words nearly break him, but support from allies is seeing him through thus far.

Looks like a cinnamon roll but could actually kill you:

Themis - We have a strong suspicion as to his likely identity, but all we know for sure is this intelligent young man has quite a bit of magical power and skill, picking up interment magic and the ability to control Asphodelos in a very short time with minimal instruction, simply observing the others. He has friends in high places, given his own robes and references to Azem. Themis is not one to cross, as is clear by the end of the first wing of Pandaemonium.

Looks like a cinnamon roll and is actually a cinnamon roll:

Hythlodaeus - Honestly, he's far too humble and self-deprecating. It's unlikely he would have been approached for the role of Emet-Selch, or made Head of the Architect Bureau, if he was truly lackluster. Hyth compares himself to his exceptional friends and next to them, who wouldn't feel a little wanting? But he's not bitter about it; on the contrary, he sees his place as helpful and supporting to his friends, while being a laid back Sunshine Troll the whole time. We know he'll do anything to help, paving the way for others to be heroes. Good bow choice, it's definitely my favorite, and the class makes sense when you consider his bestie; Hyth's as much a drama queen as...

Looks like they could kill you and could actually kill you:

Emet-Selch - Yeah, he was on the Shadowbringers list as his modern Ascian self, but Ancient Emet-Selch is no less a delight in his eternal Rat Grandpa manner. Always a curmudgeon, always a hard-line traditionalist, and always caring about his duty and his people. Emet-Selch was a powerhouse even in the days of eld, though it took some cajoling to get him into shenanigans--even he couldn't resist Meteion's adorable request to help the charybdis (the pained sound he makes when he knows he's going to crack!). He can fight through Ktisis as either a Dark Knight or a Black Mage, and never needs to resort to transforming into his own battle form (even if he could, due to the suppression field). Emet never loses his dramatic flare, either, the old theater nerd. There's a cinnamon roll somewhere in here, but it's stale and hidden in the back of the cupboard out of stubborn principle.

Could kill you, but is still a cinnamon roll:

Venat has the kindly old mentor/mom friend routine down. She adores cute things; just look at Argos and the Loporrits. She genuinely loves her world and people, feeling she still has a duty to them even after stepping down as the previous Azem. She is also a woman who can fight in multiple different styles--Paladin, Dancer, White Mage--and has custom abilities to boot. Add her becoming the god of the star to the mix and she earns her ego as much as any old man wizard mentor in fantasy ever has. And she loves so much, she breaks the world to give mankind a fighting chance against the Final Days, holding onto a promise and painfully watching over her children through the millennia to meet WoL again and finally get our Answer.

Would kill for a cinnamon roll:

Hermes needed someone not his own creation to confide in. Surely they had therapists in ancient times? Hermes is a tragedy that unfolded because he felt isolated in his differences of thought, especially after so long as Elpis' administrator and seeing creations and death differently than the apparent accepted societal norm. His personal projects like Kairos became unofficial policy, and his lack of forethought on the greater scope of Meteion's mission lead to everything we've experienced--but Hermes still counted himself among men when given the choice. With his memory of those few key days erased, he worked as hard as anyone else in the Convocation to save his world. The weight on his soul never lifted however, and his sundered reincarnation that became the modern Fandaniel took Hermes's despair in a terrible direction.

Sinnamon roll:

Azem - Look, the fact we can glibly say "I'm Azem's familiar" and everyone just goes with whatever insanity follows should tell us all we need to know. Before even considering how they stole borrowed the Ifrita concept to fight a volcano to save an island of people (and their grapes). Throw in Venat as Azem's mentor and role model, and Emet's long-suffering commentary alongside Hyth's trollish delight, and it's pretty clear who the wild child of the Convocation is. But really, considering the Warrior of Light is their reincarnation/heir to their legacy, are we at all surprised?

[noxtivagus]

ffxiv really influenced my writing huh

[cinnabun-faerie]

FFXIV Reactions~ You ask them to be your Valentione

A/N: Happy Valentione's Day! Honestly feeling not that well & pretty tired today but I wanted to get this out. No pictures on this post today as there's gonna be a lot of characters.

"____ , Will you be my Valentione?"

Alisaie

She is a little surprised to hear you asking her to be your Valentione. It doesn't occur to her that the one you hold most dear to your heart was her. She figured you'd be off with one of the boys or Y'shtola. So she questions you. And when you answer with a confession of love, she's floored. You love her. Someone pinch her, she thinks she's dreaming. A dream or not, she has no intention to shut you down. She'll happily accept and spend the rest of the day with you.

Alphinaud

He was not expecting this. He was not in any way prepared. His mind is racing and time is wasting. The longer the silence from him, the further your heart sinks. But fret not as he soon takes your hand, spewing out a confession of his own. In turn for being your Valentione, he wants to be his.

Artoirel

He had thought you'd approach Haurchefant. No, he wasn't jealous. He knew of your closeness. He just thought that you had feelings. Please accept his assumption. He is glad that you have chosen him and he will be your Valentione. This year and for many years more. He won't lie, he had been waiting in the wings for an opportunity to approach you. But he thought he was too late to fight for your heart. He is but a fool. Your fool, if you'll have him.

Aymeric

He's slightly taken aback but nonetheless, he is a very happy man. His heart beats fast in his chest as your words repeat in his head. It such a simple thing yet it plagues his mind. You plague his mind. But he doesn't mind, for he is in love with you. Oh, did he say that out loud? Well, no going back now. Please accept his heart on this love filled holiday.

Emet-Selch

Dramatic as ever, he pretends that he doesn't care about Valentione's Day. He does. He might have let it slip to Hythlodaeus that he wanted to court you. But he never fell through with his thought. It had just slipped his mind. That's all. It's not that he was afraid that you would refuse his proposal. But since you're here confessing your heart's desires of love and affection, he will most certainly act on his own. So yes, Y/N. He will be your Valentione and your lover until the day that you no longer want him.

Emmanellain

By the Fury, your confession may be the best thing in his life to date. Wow. You want him to be your Valentione AND you see him in a romantic light? How lucky might he be? He was sure that you'd only seen him as a 'brother'. Oh you are full of surprises aren't you? Let him take you out on a nice date, will you? He wants to show you just how romantic he can be.

Erenville

From the moment you pull him aside, he just knows. And as much as he tries to contain his smile, he cannot. He is happy that your heart chose him in the end. There were many suitors who were competing for your heart. He thought that he did not have a chance. But alas, you are here with him instead of them. He doesn't hesitate to accept to be your Valentione or your feelings. Yes, Y/N. He too has shares your level of devotion. So you'd have no objection to being his love?

Estinien

Huh? This is sudden and came out of left field? Y/N, you like him? He had no idea. No! He's not rejecting you! He really likes you. Yes! He's been trying to subtly send you signals of his own feelings (thanks to Thancred's advice) for a long time, but he didn't think you noticed. But you did. Wow. How can he tell you how he feels now in this very moment? He was not prepared. To hell with it. Can he kiss you? Perhaps in that way he can show you just how he feels.

Fandaniel

I'm sorry, but did you truly just ask that? Honestly please say that again because he needs to hear it again. It's not that he wasn't listening the first time, he's just shocked. And dramatic. He's only been tap-dancing around Lord Zenos for ages annoying him with endless speeches about his deep desire for you to return his affections. And now here you were standing before him, asking him to be your Valentione, and no one else. He might have to go pay your dear Scions a visit later to gloat about it.

G'raha Tia

His cheeks are as red as his hair. He's surprised and he doesn't know what to do or what to stay. He's panicking on the inside. He didn't expect you to ask him to be your Valentione. Did you really mean it? Are you sure you have made the correct choice? There are so many others who are far better than he, at least in his mind. Oh, but you chose him. It made him very happy. Yeah, he'll be your Valentione. He's going to make sure you have the best day. And maybe more in the future, if you so want.

Haurchefant

You both were cute. You asked him to be your Valentione and he asked you to be his. Naturally, you both accepted. But it was much more deeper than that. He let you speak first, hearing you recount the moment you realized you were in love with him. He couldn't have felt happier. He loved you so much and would proceed to tell you so. If you'd have him, perhaps you could be more than his Valentione?

Hythlodaeus

With the warmest smile he will accept to be your Valentione. But he must confess that he had hoped to ask you first. In that case however, he would be the first to confess his undying love for you. He had been prepared to tell you soon, but this just seemed like the most appropriate and fitting moment.

Jullus

??? You wanted him to be your Valentione?! He's more than shocked. He really didn't think you'd want him. But here you were, asking him and admitting your feelings. After what you two had gone through, still, you feel the way that you do. He feels thankful. You had definately gave him a different perspective on life and on love. So he would be a fool not to accept you. Especially as he too had been harboring feelings for you.

Lucia

I don't think you've ever seen her blush like this before. She was sure that she hadn't let you see her blush. She definately hid it away. Especially as you two often worked together and you needed to be focused. Any matter of distractions can be fatal. But now was not one of those moments. You requested to meet her privately to confess. She could not have predicted such outcome. But she was glad as she could finally tell you of the feelings that she too had been harboring. She finally was allowing herself to find love because you and her both knew the implication and hardship of your job. Come what may, she'll be fighting for and with you until the very end. And she'll have your heart as you have hers.

Ryne

She is more than happy to accept! Yes! She will be your Valentione! She'd be so excited. Fun things that you could do together would be swirling around in her brain. Oh, but you might not be able to do that all this year. Wait, Y/N, will you be her Valentione next year as well?

Thancred

He had anticipated this. I mean, it was obvious that you felt this way. He totally noticed (Y'shtola may have mentioned it to him). Honestly this was great because he also had feelings for you. He just didn't know how to show them...and not to mention, he didn't want another person he loved dearly to be taken away from him. But he would risk a heartbreak once more for you, as you were truly worth it. So please, if you accept his heart, please don't let it slip through your fingers and fall.

Urianger

Ever the blushing fellow he is when you ask him. He has nothing to hide his face with either. His only hope is to turn his gaze from you and hope that you don't notice. Can you hear his heart beat as well? It is beating loudly in his ears. Oh, you did notice? Curses. Well, dearest Y/N, he will accept you. But under the condition that you don't tell Thancred of the state that he is currently in.

Venat

She excitedly accepts to be your Valentione. Maybe a bit too excited? Without warning, she drags you along with her, explaining that she'd been wanting an excuse to get you alone. You would be up for an adventure, wouldn't you? If you are, you're in luck because she has the best place in mind.

Y'shtola

She knew you'd ask her. She just had this feeling. And as you ask her and confess feelings for her, she remains quiet, letting the words sink in. You are quite the charmer aren't you? She could never resist you, although at one point in time she tried. In the end, she accepts. But she does suggest going somewhere a little more private so she can show you how she feels.

Ysayle

She can't contain her smile when you ask her. To Estinien, it was no secret that she had a thing for you. She was a bit too obvious. And while you certainly did notice her growing affections, you found it cute. And you liked her too, but you didn't reveal it to anyone until now. Upon taking your hand in hers, she would respond in kind to you with a kiss warm enough to thaw any heart.

Zenos

Smug fellow he is, simply smirks. He doesn't accept or reject you, but he does proceed to go on a bit of a spiel. Yes, he tells you that he's seen the way you look at him. He is not daft or blind, Y/N. No, there was no doubt in his mind that you were pining after him. And who would he be to dismiss the feelings of someone like you? You were so interesting, so alluring.

[elfyourmother]

Working on a little drabble thing and like..in a post 6.0 Elpis world, my Scion!Hades situation feels like it was the whole entire opposite of jossed the more I think about it, it actually makes an astounding amount of sense

as a reminder: Emet came back immediately following the events of 5.3, and  joined the Scions. Quoting another fic for simplicity’s sake:

To all the world outside the Rising Stones, he was Hades d’Amaurot, a Garlean aristocrat fallen upon hard times when his house—a distant branch of House Galvus—chose to back the wrong side in the civil war currently raging across the Empire, bitterly opposing Zenos. He’d fled to Eorzea as the sole survivor of his family’s massacre, so the dramatic tale went, defecting to join the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and offer up what valuable intelligence a high ranking imperial architect and military strategist might provide to the Alliance.

Only a very select, trusted few outside the Scions know that he is actually the Ascian Paragon Emet-Selch, the old Emperor Solus (pretty much just Aymeric). So this is how things stand going into EW. Hades goes to Sharlayan with all the rest, under this same cover story, only he’s masquerading as a scholar and historian retained by the Students of Baldesion as a consultant for his expertise in ancient Allagan lore. He remains with the Scion contingent in Sharlayan (Y’shtola, the twins, etc) so is present in Labyrinthos for the initial part of the story while the others go to Thavnair. Things pretty much proceed apace though obviously there is a ton of fic fodder when it comes to the Garlemald arc and I am still working out exactly how messy that got with him being there. 

When it comes to Elpis though: the stable time loop situation is pretty much the lynchpin as to why this works. As we know, people regain their memories once they return to the Aetherial Sea. Which means that when Hades returned after 5.3, he knew everything. Including what caused the Final Days. Which is why him being so adamant about joining the Scions makes even more sense in hindsight, after what we now know from EW. Because Hades knows that, at some point, the Final Days are going to come about in the present, sundered Source and that Gisele is going to go back in time looking for answers in the unsundered world. He also knows that Gisele’s actions in the past--revealing what would befall the Ancient world--were the catalyst for Venat’s own actions. And at this point, post-tempered Hades with that gap filled in his memory understands very well that Hydaelyn’s actions were necessary. He doesn’t like it, as an obvious and severe understatement, but he’s Team Crystal now, if for no other reason than what he says in the game on Ultima Thule: Venat is the last of their kind. And they both loved Azem, dearly.

The thing is, Hades doesn’t know when exactly this time travel will take place, or how. But he absolutely believed that Gisele did it, despite not believing it when  he met her thousands of years ago in Elpis and she told that wild story. Scion!Hades has seen the precedent after all, with the Crystal Tower on the First, and he’s also heard the stories about Alexander.

 (he sat out the 89 trial, btw. “this is not my battle, you are the ones she needs test”)

When the Final Days begin in Thavnair, he realizes that they’ve about reached the point when Gisele is probably going to go back in time. So when the Scions are lamenting that they just don’t know enough about the original Final Days, they ask Hades again what he knows, and he reiterates the basic facts and that the Ancients didn’t know anything more, because of his knowledge of the way events were meant to unfold. Knowing that Gisele was fated to go back in time to the precise moment--thinking about it in MCU terms, Hades needed to preserve the Sacred Timeline so to speak. Events had to unfold precisely the way they did in order for the star to be saved, and if he had spoken up in Thavnair telling them everything he did know--that the Final Days were caused by Hermes sending Meteion into space--there would have been no need for Gisele to go speak to Elidibus, and she wouldn’t have gone back in time as a result. So he was very careful with his words. It also very much fits his M.O. of never outright lying, only revealing the truth selectively. The Ancients really didn’t know anything more, because Hermes erased Emet and Hythlodaeus’ memories of the entire Elpis incident, and then got raised to Fandaniel’s seat with no one the wiser except Venat, who went rogue.

I admittedly go back and forth on whether or not Hades is the one that suggests Gisele goes to speak with Elidibus, to see if he can provide any insight on it that Hades hasn’t given that he was the Heart of Zodiark. On one hand it would tie that bow off really nicely in terms of the time loop--because it would also cement Hades’ return post 5.3 as being part of it, and thus necessary. But OTOH maybe it’s a little too neat. I can’t help feeling that it plays very much into the theme of Gisele’s capacity to love being the thing that ends up saving the universe though, because it was her love for Hades that brought him back.

As far as UT goes...I don’t think much necessarily has to change. Hades would likely vamoose with the twins. Hythlodaeus obviously gets summoned alone, but the biggest thing is I don’t believe for a second that in a universe where Hades is alive and fighting alongside Gisele that Hyth would just return to the Aetherial Sea after that. I think he absolutely comes back after that, the same way Hades did post 5.3. It just goes back to what he said in Elpis, about his profound love for his partners and his purpose in life; no way can he go to his rest idly waiting to reincarnate knowing Hades and Aphrodite’s sundered reincarnation are still fighting to save the star he gave his life for. I see Hyth taking up his bow and lending his aid to the Scions and I 100% see him praying on the Ragnarok with the rest of them while Gisele and Zenos face the Endsinger.

What happens after that, when the Scions return to Eitherys and “disband”...still deciding on that. Maybe they chill for a little while in Radz-at-Han with Gisele and the Ishgardians. Maybe they even go to Garlemald to help the Ilsabard Contingent’s relief efforts there. 

(Also...not for nothing but UT just proves that Gisele summoning Hades post 5.3 was 100% possible by the way the Azem crystal works.)

[saanphoenix]

“Why do so many old-school FFVII fans think that Cloud took Zack’s memories?”

Alright, so first things first. We gotta start from the beginning. We gotta start with Jenova.

Jenova is the name given to the alien entity known as the Calamity. “Heaven’s dark harbinger.” This being, assumed to be female because of the body she was in at the Crater, was basically godlike in her natural abilities. Historically, she was able to shapeshift. She was telepathic. She had a nigh indomitable will. And she used her abilities to infect the race of human(oid)s that happened upon her crash site--the Cetra.

Now, Ifalna, within the English translation of the OG, states that Jenova turned the Cetra into monsters, nearly wiping them all out, and that the wee few that remained basically had to be sacrificed to seal Jenova away before she could do anymore damage to all life on the planet. The notes Sephiroth finds within the Shinra Mansion seem to corroborate this version of events, as he tells Zack that the Cetra chose to fight the Calamity while the other humans “hid”, thus being spared Jenova’s shenanigans, allowing them to become the dominant race on the planet, but ultimately being cowards unworthy to be the shepherds of any star, to quote Emet-Selch from FFXIV. Stay with me now.

We also know that the notes Sephiroth reads within the Shinra Mansion do not, in any way, call Jenova the Calamity. They still refer to her as a Cetra. Meaning that those notes are outdated, before the discovery of a living Cetra, a Cetra who is 2000 years removed from her own people’s history. Right? So.

(’Ah, but what about Genesis point-blank telling Sephiroth the truth? He knew what was up!’ Yes, because Hollander and Hojo found out from Gast’s recordings, and Ifalna herself, what Jenova actually was, and then Hollander told Genesis, who then said some stupid ass shit to trigger Sephiroth into looking into the wrong information, and now Nibelheim is not Nibelheim anymore and Cloud is missing one more family member than he was when he joined Shinra. Also, fuck Genesis. Anyway.)

HOJO, yeah? Hojo, in two separate novels written by Nojima himself, states to Aerith and Tseng separately that Jenova 1) will inevitably infect all life on the planet with her “cells” because of the very nature of the Lifestream and 2) turned the Cetra against each other via subtle manipulation and illusions of their loved ones, dead or alive, conceived from their own memories. She didn’t show up looking like the Eldritch horror with the eyeball nipple, she showed up looking like a run-of-the-mill Cetra. And she would further disguise herself as people a Cetra knew in order to gain their trust. And then, after she had gained that trust, she would say shit like, “Hey. Your friend over there hates you,” or, “Hey. Your friend over there wants to kill you.” And thus the Cetra, at the very least morally but probably also physically, became monsters and tore themselves apart.

You ever wonder why everything the Cetra had was booby-trapped and hidden behind riddles and self-sacrificial bullshit like their Temple? My guess is because Jenova made it so they couldn’t trust anyone, even themselves.

“Why did I read all that? What does that have to do with Cloud voring Zack’s memories?”

Because we gotta understand the mechanics of this bitch first so that we know what to look out for.

Now, we have an alien in stasis--presumed dead but definitely not--and a buncha scientists who really want a coveted spot sucking President Shinra’s dick as head of the Science Dept. who all think that taking the genetic material of a Cetra and splicing it into a modern-day human’s DNA will give them a Geiger counter to the Promised Land. Which they want to use as fuel because only some of them really understand what mako is and the others are just fucking stupid. Anyway, my guess is that they archeology their way to Jenova’s still-kinda-alive corpse and do some DNA testing and go, “Ah! We’ve found a Cetra. It has to be one! She’s by the crater, after all, and that’s where some of them were nuked by a Meteor! :) We’re geniuses!” And Jenova, in the Lifestream, went, “GOTCHA, BITCH!”

And through the power of dino DNA, out pops a lot of nonviable lifeforms, some monsters, and, eventually, a relatively normal kid with a flare for the dramatic who will become wholly obsessed with apples and very boring literature that he will insist on repeating every five goddamn seconds. As he was no Geiger counter to the Promised Land, out pops another relatively normal kid who will grow up to have dreams, and honor, and steal food from his neighbors because he was so damn honorable that he just could not ask for a handout.

With Hollander and Gillian’s experiments not producing anything of note other than children that need love and support, Hojo and Lucrecia decide to take a slightly different sample of Jenova’s cells and just start sticking them everywhere. They’re in Lucrecia. They’re in Lucrecia’s fetus. And...something strange starts to happen.

Lucrecia starts to feel the effects of Jenova. Lucrecia’s mind and body start to kind of deteriorate. Not the way that Genesis’ and Angeal’s do later on, but she is plagued by shit like severe depression and fatigue. She falls out on the floor multiple times. Her bodyguard is a little late on pulling the trigger of the gun aimed at her husband and, instead of doing anything productive about her husband proving he’s an amoral murderous fuckhead, she just decides to play doll with her kinda undead bodyguard, get even sicker, and then, finally, pops out a very strange looking baby. In fact, he looks a little alien.

“No, seriously, what does this have to do with anything?”

Genetics. How Jenova cells work. Whatever clump of cells they injected into Lucrecia, clearly different from those used in Project G, seemed to focus more on the mental fuckery aspect of Jenova than the physical, shapeshifting aspect of Jenova. I would also argue that one of the reasons Lucrecia was so adversely affected by the cells and Gillian was not is their mental well-being. Gillian, even when we meet her, seems very upbeat and doing pretty okay despite her husband having died from exhaustion a coupla years back. Lucrecia was depressed and very subservient even before she married Hojo. Losing her mentor--Vincent’s father--probably exacerbated that. And, later in Advent Children, that sort of mentality--hopelessness and despair--is what Sephiroth’s Geostigma feeds off of. That and thoughts of death/dying. But that is more speculation than anything.

So, Sephiroth’s cells are different from Genesis’ and Angeal’s, and they were all three bred differently, but they’re all kinda chimeras of Jenova’s. And once Genesis learns about his origins, it’s like the lightbulb goes off. This guy’s creating clones by infecting his 2nd and 3rd Class SOLDIERs with his own cells. And when he does that, their physical appearance becomes his own. As does their will. Whatever Genesis wants, the clones also want. And then he just grows a wing for shits and giggles. Once he tells his BFF Angeal the sitch, behold! He’s got monster clones--maybe because he realizes how fucked up overwriting a human being with yourself is--and wings, too. ...Why?

The power to do all of this shit was always there. It was genetically always there. They just had to be made aware of it, to have the puzzle piece put into place. When Sephiroth dies, that puzzle piece is put into place. And then he starts fuckin’ with shit. And turns into monstrous angels. And then dies again. And then comes back and finally grows himself his own wing. He did it, fellas. He’s a big boy now.

But we’re not here to talk about Sephiroth--ignore how much I talked about Sephiroth and his mommies previously--we’re here to talk about ZACK and CLOUD.

“What’s up with Zack and Cloud?”

First, what we must realize is that even though Hojo says that both Zack and Cloud are failed clones because they 1) didn’t take on any physical characteristics of Sephiroth, 2) didn’t seem controlled by Jenova (or Sephiroth) and, 3) didn’t exhibit the other signs of a Reunion impulse like the other clones in Nibelheim that does not mean that Sephiroth’s cells, Jenova’s cells, are not working on them.

As we’ve observed in other 1sts, abilities do not always manifest immediately or even noticeably. Clearly, Sephiroth’s physical appearance is a bit of a hint, but Genesis and Angeal look pretty damn normal and, if it weren’t for their mako injections, they probably wouldn’t be showing that much of an increase in physical capabilities. Theoretically. Maybe 10-year-old Angeal had biceps the size of a man’s head. I mean. Pff.

Zack’s tolerance to Jenova was strong due to his previous exposure in the SOLDIER program. Cloud’s mind broke pretty early on. Neither of these results matter to the fact that they both now have Sephiroth’s cells within them--just as Genesis’ and Angeal’s clones had theirs--and that their very wills are now going to be affected by Sephiroth’s. But they are also going to be a little bit like him in terms of power.

Zack’s hair, when ingested by a Genesis clone, a clone of a Type-G SOLDIER, transforms that clone into a monster. Zack doesn’t even have to do anything. The Jenova/Sephiroth cells within his body can just Do That, cause that change in another life form, of their own accord. I’m honestly shocked that, whenever they gave Zack these S-cells, HE didn’t turn into a monster. But that’s neither here nor there. I wanna talk about Cloud.

Cloud has mako poisoning, which the Remake describes as his spirit/soul being stuck between his body and the Lifestream. Weird. Anyway, he’s not fully aware of his surroundings at all times, and he clearly can’t control his body that much. He somehow has the ability to kinda get his feet shuffling, and I’m going to go on a limb and say he can chew whatever food Zack gives him, but most of the time, he’s a puppet with cut strings.

But he is also still recovering from a mind break caused by Jenova cells. The same cells that are just chilling in his body, like they are in Zack’s. And all the months Zack is dragging his ass across a continent, an ocean, and another continent, they and Cloud are listening to whatever the fuck Zack is saying. Cloud is also constantly in physical contact with Zack.

In The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story, Kadaj has the power to not only read surface thoughts and memories just by being near someone, but he can also read deeper ones by making physical contact with someone. Because Jenova. And Sephiroth, whose cells Cloud and Zack have, in the OG demonstrates that he, too, can glean thoughts and memories from others. Because Jenova.

If this power is a genetic trait, as it is with Genesis and Angeal, then, sitting pretty underneath their skin, Zack and Cloud have this ability. Dormant. Snoozing. Kinda like the 1st Class Trio’s wings.

But Zack has a high tolerance and a high ignorance to Jenova and just what he might be capable of. Cloud’s mind is floating in and out at best. He’s not in control of himself. And when you have a situation like that, it is very, very easy to come to the conclusion that Cloud’s Jenova cells are passively absorbing the memories of Zack’s time in Nibelheim. That they are knitting these memories together with what little remain in Cloud’s head. That when Tifa comes across Cloud at the train station and calls him by name and remembers who he is that Cloud’s Jenova cells latch onto those memories in Tifa--as Sephiroth tells them they did--and they knit those memories with Zack’s and Cloud’s and the end result is the man we get at the beginning of the OG.

Because Cloud has visual memory of shit he never saw. It’s not just a visual medium telling a visual story. You wanna know how I know that for a fact? Because, in the Remake, Cloud remembers Sephiroth walking up to Jenova’s tank in the reactor from Sephiroth’s perspective. He is looking through Sephiroth’s eyes, through his memory, up at “Mother.” In that moment in the Remake, Cloud is Sephiroth. He’s not Cloud anymore.

Cloud sees Sephiroth delivering the speech of being an Ancient. Cloud wasn’t there. Cloud didn’t see that. Zack did. That is Zack’s memory.

The man writing the Remake is the same man who’s been at the head of MOST FFVII writing. He was on the OG, he wrote Advent Children, he wrote the novels, he wrote Crisis Core, he’s writing the Remake. He knows what these cells can do because he’s crafted this world-building for decades.

Cloud didn’t take all of Zack’s memories. He didn’t need to. Kadaj, in the novel, doesn’t glean everything from someone right off the bat. Because he doesn’t need to. Only when he needs to learn something else does he go digging. The same is probably true for what Cloud’s cells most likely did to be able to know what he knows. Hell! Kadaj gets punched in the novel and he ACCIDENTALLY picks up the emotions and memories of the guy who punched him. He didn’t want ‘em but he got ‘em!”

There is evidence within the OG, and even more within the Compilation, that lend weight to the theory that Cloud unintentionally read Zack’s mind when it came to the events of Nibelheim.

For years, people have wondered, “How the hell does Cloud know that if he wasn’t there?” For years, people have wondered, “How can he use the Buster Sword if he was just a little grunt that used a gun all the time?” The logical answer is, “Because of his Jenova cells. They can just do that shit.”

[yoiku]

Endwalker thoughts as well as some quite personal feelings about it under the cut. Do not read if you don’t want spoilers about the main scenario! It’s a wall of text too :’D

First off, what an expansion. Wauw. Slower start compared to ShB and some pacing hiccups here and there, but damn what a spectacle it was towards the end. Very different overall feeling from ShB too, instead of feeling like a very personal story of strife and triumph, Endwalker was about things much larger than you(the WoL). Very philosophical as well, especially from Elpis and onward. I feel like anyone who has ever experienced deep depression is going to get absolutely sliced and diced by many of the moments, lines and characters. Part of me thinks that the writer(s) have either experienced depression themselves or through someone close, or they’ve really done a deep dive into understanding how it feels. Now I’m not kidding when i say that most of the time I was doing msq I was crying, either because things were so sweet and wholesome, so fucking cool and/or nostalgic from earlier FF’s, or just cut so deep with the overall theme. Also I’ve discovered that I am just a big ol’ crybaby so it really doesn’t take much to get my eyes leaky.

I’m going to list things that got me the most, in no particular order:

- That scene with Urianger & Moenbryda’s parents.(as well as Urianger’s character development in general) Holy shit. I wasn’t expecting it to go the way it did, and when it did...I’m about to cry just thinking about it again. There’s a big personal factor about parental relationships for me there as well.

- Vrtra. Another thing I did not except was that he would be so different from the other middy kiddys we’ve met so far. So caring, calm, even sensitive in many ways. He also had a much larger role in the story than what I anticipated, and I really loved it! (fucking wept like an infant when they showed his bloodied sides from giving away so many scales) Also I love that he wasn’t modeled in a conventional way to represent his personality. It mad it feel that much more real with his worries about the people accepting him.

- The entire Elpis gang. Venat, Hythlo, Emet, Hermes, Meteion... Where to even begin. The moment we step out of the room into the Elpis map, I started crying. I did not expect to go there at all, even less so where it took the story. Venat, Hythlo and Emet I enjoy for obvious reasons, but Hermes really pulled the carpet under my feet, oof. I had difficulty understanding Meteion’s meaning and part in the story at first, but after googling terms new to me; like entelechy and dynamis, etc. things clicked into place. (more on this later)

- Hydaelyn’s send-off. Beautifully portrayed. I am so glad we got to know Venat so much better before the trial. The gravity and repercussions of her choice becoming hydaelyn told, finally showing the other side of the coin to the deity we knew mostly as “good” or “selfless”. ShB opened that a lot but Endwalker really told us things as they were and that was super satisfying. Also after all this time, they STILL managed to make ‘Answers’ give us more feels than it already did.

- Ultima Thule in it’s entirety. Again, did not expect us to go there at all. The entities we encountered and the way it was progressed through... Too many feels were had. I have always been curious about middy’s homeplanet and what happened there, so that one especially was a treaaaaat!

- How well they portrayed the feelings of hopelessness, fear, grief and overall what I would call deep depression. The portrayal of being emphathetic to all life and how much anguish it can bring. The feeling of not having any hope in your future, or the entire world’s future for that matter. Striving for perfection and realising that in the end, it has no meaning. Everything becomes meaningless, and the only wish that remains to you is that it would all just end. You lose your sense of self and become your dark thoughts. Not trying to be dramatic or to make anyone worry, but that’s all things I’ve felt and known having severe depression, and I still do. And I think most who have been in a dark place like that in their life felt it during Endwalker. Some lines in dialogues really cut deep.

- Character growth. Be it the Scions or other characters, there was a lot of it in Endwalker. Even Forchenault, who I absolutely despised for being such a stubborn piece of shit putting up a cold front for his goddamn kids. They really know how to make it and break it with characters. Even our boy Zenos finally got his first ounce of character growth, lol! (i don’t believe us rid of him yet, for better or worse) I really loved the (much needed) little breaks like having takeaway dinner with your friends in your dorm room. Getting to see the more vulnerable side of people. Getting to see the real dynamic between Emet and Hythlodaeus. (can’t wait for Pandaemonium and Lahabread lore!) And then for my biggest pet peeve about the expansion: Why was Anima just a dungeon boss ;_; The potential for a trial fight... (i guess they would’ve not shown it beforehand if it was a trial, but still!) I found the anima boss fight more interesting than the zodiark trial tbh, but I might be anima... -biased.

Overall I felt like they could’ve not given us a better conclusion to the story. If I was a little worried about how interested I would be in whatever comes next, now the curiosity has overthrown the worry. It’ll likely be another buildup to another grand storyline, but will they brave another 10-year long arc? I’d be quite alright with that, but not sure if it’s a smart business choice :’D