#FFXIV Lahabrea

[dirty-ffxiv-confessions]

Confession: IVE WABTED TO FUCK LAHABREA SINCE 2019 !!!!!! EVERYONE TELLING ME IM CRAZY BC HIS DATAMINE MODEL IS UGLY CAN SUCK !!! IT!!!!! BC IN THE END IM RIGHT HES LIKE MADE IN A LAB FOR THIRSTY TUMBLR PPL THAT LOVE AN EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED OLDER FATHER IDK. PLEASE GIVE ME A CHANCE MR LAHABREA.

[gelly-pop]

i've never posted this, aside from cult of the lamb, i also love love final fantasy 14 ! i'm excited for dawntrail and i love these two who will never appear in this game ever again

[headphonetrash]

When I say I love him I mean it, I think these were the doodles that helped break my art block quite a few months back; live laugh lahabrea 2k23

[sunbunnio]

Ancients NPCs with glasses part 2 of 2

[cafe-melanion]

Saw this on Twitter this morning and I'm not sure I'll ever recover:

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

copying anon over here because i went to save the ask to my drafts and tumblr sent it directly to the shadow realm, welp:

I dug through your rambles about Hermes, so I'm looking forward to thoughts on Erich with the ancient world's everything lol ~

ahhhh thank you, i'm glad you've enjoyed my rambles so far!! i've been taking the second half of the pandaemonium arc more slowly, partly because i'm been Out of It the last few days and partly because the direction the plotline with erich and lahabrea has taken a turn for has been leaving a really bad taste in my mouth. i've been making my way through it, though, and percolating Deeply on the He and how he and pandaemonium as a whole fit into all this. spoiler alert i love him even more now

(on the one hand, it finally helped me articulate some points that imo make or break an 'abusive parent sees the error of their ways and apologizes up and down and swears to do better, and both that and the context in which the abuse happened leave their victim feeling conflicted about it' arc. so there's that! on the other hand it, uh. it did so by very much being the goofus here lmao, and erich deserved better.)

(the way the whole thing is played off is also just, deeply deeply misogynistic. athena is top-tier nastywoman and i love her for it, and 'mothers--in particular white women, especially to their children of color--can be shitty and predatory and abusive and are accountable for it full stop,' is great abuse rep but fucking WOWZERS)

(which like, i will say that the overtones are not at all lost on me that athena repeatedly goes out of her way to prey on, abuse, and violate not just men of color but black men; dehumanizes them and treats them and their bodies as her property; and is strongly implied to have sexually abused erich in particular. and how the one who gets the brunt of it is her biracial, very VERY not white-passing son, who she isolated from the black side of his family to do whatever she wanted with. it is insanely fucking refreshing to see that shit not cushioned at ALL, and it really sucks that that had to come bundled in with the abuse apologia and misogyny.)

(i am also realizing that this is one of the reasons erich whitewashing, and how common it is in the fandom as well as official art, bothers me so much beyond the obvious. while it's uncertain how much of it was intentional, his narrative evokes not just real-world racism but colorism, and a specific brand of it and how it intersects with abuse. even if just on a doylist level erich was abused for being as dark-skinned as he is, and erasing that is even shittier than your run-of-the-mill whitewashing.)

(anyway. ANYWAY. anyway. all that is a post of its own and i haven't even gotten to the parts about ancient society yet. you see what i mean by having a lot of thoughts about him lmao)

i'm hoping to finish the last leg of the questline tonight so i can start fully putting my thoughts together because god there is SO MUCH, and i'm excited even if i foresee having to grit my teeth through the rest of the moments between him and lahabrea lmao

[vogelspinne]

[riceballgremlin]

[tirabeesu]

folklore au where the au is that theyre brids bc i love wings and hesperos's weird not-knight dynamic is now a proper delusions knight dynamic god bless

[galaxiabunny]

her dream

[pacificovertures]

happy pride to lahabrea

[dirty-ffxiv-confessions]

Confesssion: Hephaistos in the front, Lahabrea in the back, and me in between spinning around like a rotisserie chicken.

[tallbluelady]

the rumor mill's already started.

Hythlodaeus sighed at the concept in front of him and set it on top of the other crystals. You'll need more revisions yet, little one.

He started the kettle he kept in his office and watched the rain patter on his window. Some found it strange to use devices to perform such trivial tasks, but Hythlodaeus found that taking the time to wait for water to boil let him think on projects he wasn't actively working on. It was this sort of strategy that found him as Chief of the Bureau, or so his predecessor had claimed. On top of that, he had the first of his many meetings of the day soon and couldn't afford to get caught up in the minutiae of any one project.

He was deep in thought when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in; tea should be ready if you want any," he said from his chair.

Who came in his office was a surprise to him - two members of the Convocation, masks of red immediately catching Hythlodaeus' eye.

"Emet-Selch, Lahabrea! If I knew how important this meeting was, then I would have prepared a much more impressive spread." He stood and gave a small bow to the both of them.

"We wanted to keep this meeting off of any official record. Not that it'll do us much good..." Lahabrea said dismissively.

But Emet-Selch smiled warmly. "This will do Hythlodaeus, thank you."

Tea poured and Convocation members seated, Hythlodaeus took a sip before asking what it was the Bureau of the Architect could do for the Convocation.

Emet-Selch turned to Lahabrea, uncharacteristically taciturn in the moment.

"The rumor mill's already started, Emet-Selch. You may as well get it out while the words are yet yours." Lahabrea sipped his tea.

"Ah, very well..." Emet-Selch set his tea cup down and steepled his fingers. "Hythlodaeus, it is not the Bureau that I seek aid from, it is from yourself. If what Lahabrea says is true, you may have heard that... that I am concluding my term as Emet-Selch."

"Oh, congratulations." Hythlodaeus felt his mouth go dry as he tried to say more. Is he...?

He felt the world spin as Emet-Selch removed his mask. His eyes shone a brassy color as he spoke. "There remains one task that I must complete ere I return to the Star. I must name my successor. Hythlodaeus, I would ask that you take up the mantle of Emet-Selch as I leave this mortal coil."

"I... I can't." It was all Hythlodaeus could say with how tight his throat had gotten.

Lahabrea's mouth formed a thin line, but he said nothing else.

"It is in part of your humility that I ask you this," Emet-Selch continued. "If there is naught else but your estimation of your own skills to dissuade you, then I would ask that you trust in my estimation of them. But I will respect your reasons as to why you're refusing."

Quietly sipping his tea, Hythlodaeus took a few moments to regain his composure. Many had complimented him on his unflappability, but this was far too much for him.

"I must thank you for the compliment of the offer, Emet-Selch, if nothing else," Hythlodaeus started. "I just don't feel that I am suited to such a position of power that the Convocation holds. Working alongside - guiding individuals to a proper concept, yes. But to lay laws and hold others accountable, not just in Amaurot, but the entire Star... no. No, that is far beyond my powers and limitations. I often have problems expressing authority to those who work beside me, and I would have to do so for all of Etheirys. I'm sorry, but I must refuse the seat, Emet-Selch."

Emet-Selch nodded gravely. There was a bit of a sigh as he watched his hands and mask. "And nothing I can say will change your mind?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

Turning the mask, Emet-Selch still spoke with his face bared. "Then may I ask you for your opinions on the other candidates? I believe you know both of them quite well."

"Both?" Hythlodaeus cocked his head. "I do know Hades rather well, but I fear I cannot think of another who would suit the role quite as well as he would."

Lahabrea tilted his head to Emet-Selch in a I-told-you-so type of manner, but the other Convocation member was unperturbed.

"Yes, of course Hades is the obvious candidate, given his studies into the Underworld alongside me. But even if he does not take the Third Seat, I am confident his life's work would still be in that realm. He is confident in his abilities, often brushing into arrogance. I had hoped that he would learn from your humility if you took the Seat, but he may still learn it from the responsibility of the Seat. Or from the other candidate, Minthe."

Hythlodaeus blinked behind his mask. "Minthe? I would more likely suggest her for Emmerololth due to her interest in toxicology... She pointedly avoids any work with the Underworld. And not just to avoid Hades, either."

"Do you know why that is?" Emet-Selch asked. Something told Hythlodaeus he knew the answer, and it was for a different reason than Hythlodaeus would give.

"She told me once that it was loud enough that she could hear it standing to an aetheryte. To a soul as sensitive as hers, I imagine that the Underworld would be overwhelming."

"The only reason she is so attuned to it is because she visited it as a child. Minthe and Hades found a well to the Underworld as children; that is how we all became acquainted in the first place. Hades understood the power of the place, but Minthe understood the depth and nuance. It frightened her as a child, but I had hoped she had grown past that... Despite her sensitivity, she is quite the powerful mage, correct?"

Hythlodaeus put a hand to his chin. "Not powerful in the same way that Hades is. Hades... it's akin to being adrift in the ocean during a storm. But he's in control the whole time, like an orchestra conductor. Minthe... she channels aether through the eye of a needle at times. All it takes is one mote of aether to take a compound from a poison to a medicine and she can switch it without batting an eye."

"If only she would commit to making concepts herself..." Lahabrea muttered into his teacup.

Hythlodeaus gave a small hum at that. Minthe was always creating concepts. He had seen many of them, and her self-driven projects were always novel. But that was the rub - they were novel, not immediately useful. She was creating solutions to non-existent problems... which ironically would lend herself to solving other's issues. He relayed that to the Convocation members, hoping it would help Emet-Selch with his decision.

"That is something I had yet to consider between the two..." Emet-Selch muttered. Then he shook his head. "But, ah, we must be overstaying our welcome by now - Lahabrea has finished his cup."

Lahabrea nodded and stood. Hythlodaeus followed suit, and the two of them waited for Emet-Selch to replace his mask.

"If you do change your mind, Hythlodaeus, please do let me know. I still feel strongly that you would do the Convocation proud." The Third Seat nodded, and he and Lahabrea exited the office.

The Chief Architect waited for a few moments before he slumped back into his seat. He picked up his docket, set it down, and canceled the rest of his meetings. He had done enough for one day.

Thanks for the prompt!

[wysteribun]

heres one way to use the pandae emotes sticker sheet: decorate your journal / calendar!

[risualto]

@hermeswol Made an Ancients friendship/relationship template, but I didn't want to derail the post I saw, so I made a new post. Blank template at the bottom, and anyone who sees this and plays FF14 (or daydreams about it enough to have a WoL/Azem) should add to this post or make their own and tag me :D

Anyway, this is how I see Inky's relationships with these characters post-6.55, post-Panda. Explanations under the cut ^_^

So, the easy ones:

Inky and Meteion mutually like each other very much and wish they could have been closer before Meteion became the Endsinger. If they'd had more time together, that might have developed into a sisterly relationship, but as it stands, they're just close friends who wish they had more time.

Inky and Hyth get on like a house on fire. Inky's resemblance to her version of Azem is tremendous, which obviously Hades also picked up on at various points, but where it infuriated and confused Hades, Hythlodaeus was willing to accept it and platonically enamored. The feeling is very mutual. The two of them definitely wish they could have spent more time together, but the caveat here is that Hyth is very tired and very ready to return to the star post-EW, so it's a nostalgic, passive desire on both ends.

All incarnations of Azem don't get along with Lahabrea. Full stop. Even despite Panda, Inky is unwilling to forgive Lahabrea for what he put Thancred through, and Lahabrea is unwilling to accept Inky's philosophies. There's a begrudging respect there, but no love lost whatsoever.

Now slightly more complex:

Inky and Venat are interesting in that they both see their relationship as familial, but not the same kind of familial. Inky sees them as sisters, but Venat sort of sees Inky as a daughter in a very matronly way, given what she ultimately learned about who Inky is and where she comes from. Still, there's no tension as a result of the difference. They both think of each other fondly.

Inky and Eric are definitely close friends and allies, from the moment they met to the moment Inky finished Panda. If they'd had a little more time together, this relationship could have gotten complicated, though, since I think Ericthonios may have been developing some feelings for Inky...which is a real issue because they never properly got into the specifics of what Inky is and what that means relative to the "personhood" as defined by an Ancient's worldview. It's possible they would have balanced out into the familial zone, but I think it's more likely they would have fractured apart a little under the stress. So it's probably a good thing Inky isn't going back to the World Unsundered any time soon.

Inky and Hermes were definitely friends for the brief time they knew each other in the World Unsundered, and I think Inky felt more pity than dislike for him by the end of Endwalker. Inky wishes she could have been closer to Hermes, especially because she recognizes how lonely he was and doesn't think anyone deserves that. In turn, Inky's kindness and empathy was so similar to Hermes's original way of thinking that it was comforting to him, but also a bit frightening given that Inky was "just" a familiar. Also, particularly as Fandaniel, he was definitely unnerved by her in the way that many people are unnerved by clowns.

Inky and Hades are definitely a relationship that's extremely shadowed by Azem, and they're both painfully aware of it. Inky thinks of herself and Hades as having been fairly close, but Hades is more hesitant because of Azem's lingering presence. There's no way in which he will ever be able to see her as just Inky rather than "a shard of his soulmate." Because of that, Hades was always a little more reticent with Inky, even if he would begrudgingly acknowledge her as at least a friend by the end of things. Inky thinks of Hades with more clarity, having come to accept him as someone very platonically important to her. She may only be part of Azem, but the core of what made Azem and Hades soulmates is still very present in Inky, and she's able to enjoy that bond with a much less angsty clouded mind. Probably because she doesn't have millennia of trauma about it or something...

And finally, Inky and Themis. Inky thinks of Themis as a close friend after the events of Panda and what she learned about him in the World Unsundered. She and Themis and Eric are like The Bros, in her mind. She wishes they could have been closer because she genuinely enjoys Themis's personality and drive and subtle wit. He's still young enough when they met in Panda that Inky's lightheartedness wasn't totally lost on him, and she really enjoyed cultivating that friendship. That said, I think Themis is also a much more reserved person who probably really struggled with accepting unconditional friendship from someone older than him (and, at first, someone who wasn't entirely a person in his eyes). Gifted kid syndrome and all that--the advanced young protege with too much on his shoulders wasn't quite ready for the concept of someone wanting to be around him even if she didn't need him. And, I think in the end, Themis was a little resentful of the life Inky got to have. Some of that resentment stayed with him, all the way up to their final confrontation in Shadowbringers when he realized--despite her not knowing him at that point and therefore having no reason to care, again--Inky was just Like That.

[theaceslittleartcorner]

The second set of #AzemApril (I know it’s late). Didn’t finish all of it but will post the next set in a bit. 

Link to Original 

Set 1-10

Set 21-24

Day 11: Akademia 

Theia has known Hythlodaeus and Hades since childhood. They even attended school together.

Gonna do a Fun Fact thing for Theia starting today. So... Fun Fact: Theia's visions weren't as severe as a child and usually had them only in dreams. It got 'worse' as he grew older which eventually led to keeping his eyes closed. He got this ability from his grandmother.

Day 12: Creation

Ever since his first concept was caged away in Pandæmonium, Theia creates small, innocuous, and out of the way concepts. They are broad in design and function.

Fun Fact: Theia does not put credit on the concepts and thus, many are ignorant of his involvement in their creation. 

Day 13: Philia

Theia has a friend who only goes on adventures with him if he gives her gil. Their strange friendship is well known throughout Etheirys. Despite this, they are quite close, and Theia is seen hanging around her if Hades and Hythlodaeus aren't' available.

Fun Fact: Their shards, Prom (My Friend's Wol) and Batu (My Wol) still share the same relationship, with Batu paying Prom when he needs her help.

Day 14: Sheperd 

Theia's parents last words before they left for the star. They had believed that Theia is fully capable of raising baby Themis on his own. Although he managed, he forever remains bitter towards his parents for 'abandoning' their infant son.

Fun Fact: Theia, although bitter towards his parents, never spoke ill of them in front of Themis. He wanted Themis to form his own opinions of their parents without outside bias. Although he did tell him of their departure for the star.

Day 15: Free Day

The first meeting between Hyperion, his wife, and Theia! They were traveling together (I like to think that some people like to go with Azem) and they got into a fight where Theia's mask breaks. Hyperion compliments his face and Theia turns bashful.

Fun Fact: It took Theia a few decades to realize his feelings towards Hyperion and to make their relationship official. Fortunately, Hyperion is known for her patience.

Day 16: Primal 

Theia was asked to aid in the efforts for the summoning of Hydaelyn, but he wants nothing to do with it. He had lost his brother, friend, and two of his children to Zodiark. He wasn't willing to risk more. Theia partially transformed for them to relent.

Fun Fact: Theia knew of Venat's plan since the beginning but decided to do nothing. His reasoning? That nothing they do would 'change the future'.

Day 17: Favourite

The Booby is Theia's (and my) favorite bird. Hades is not amused.

Fun Fact: Theia mainly likes it because of their constant funny expression, not just the name.

Day 18: Ascian

A Witness to the sundering, Theia would be standing on the edge of delusion and lucidity. He has moments of clarity where he would do 'anything' to have his friends and family back but then would have moments where he would 'dream', where his family  and friends would be alive and well. Thus, while Themis would lose his memory, Theia is losing his mind. Fortunately, Themis and Hades are capable of reigning him in.

Fun Fact: Theia would keep his eyes open in a vain attempt to find 'faster' solutions for the Rejoining and thus, tend to answer questions before they asked and speak of events before they occurred when encountering the Scions. This makes him hard to read.

Day 19: Ludus

Like Hades, Theia has known Hythlodaeus since childhood and the two have a very open relationship. They also tend to get into all kinds of mischief together.

Fun Fact: When they were kids, Hythlodaeus and Theia were always wanted for Seeking games, thanks to their sight abilities.

Day 20: Chains

Despite knowing each other for centuries, Lahabrea doesn't trust Theia alone in the Pandæmonium. He knows them well enough that he will sneak off when he has the chance.

Fun Fact: Lahabrea also does this to keep track of him in the Pandæmonium. There are many researchers who would like to get their hands on Theia for his seer like abilities.

Edit: I forgot they don't allow masks in Pandæmonium but eh, too lazy to fix it lol