#The Thancred Anthology

[autumnslance]

The Thancred Anthology is Live! Free PDF!

The Thancred Anthology, a free PDF zine celebrating everything Thancred Waters, is now LIVE! Featuring 60 talented artists and writers, we hope you'll enjoy this exciting collection.

READ FOR FREE HERE.

(Image and text by the zine mods, I am just spreading the word!)

[cosmicseashanty]

My piece for The Thancred Anthology! It's a zine project featuring a TON of incredible art, writing, and cosplay. You can read it for free! Please do!

(I went full self indulgent and drew what my heart desired... Thancred in Garlemald...)

[rbillustration]

It's time to share my full piece for the Thancred Anthology!

I really wanted to show Thancred's dad side while he tried to figure out his new tomephone (shh I know they're not canon), and decided to challenge myself to draw the Crystarium!

[marzipanladyart]

!!! Can share the preview of the piece I've done for @sarellathesphinx's fic in the Thancred Anthology! My first zine EVER! WOOO! Follow them on twitter! \o/

[eevee-hime]

I can finally share a preview of my work for The Thancred Anthology zine! It was an absolute honor working also guide so many talented and lovely folks~

What’s got Thancred looking so out-of-sorts? Well, you’ll just have to wait for the full zine to find out!

[thescions]

We recently saw this Thancred-themed Zine on Twitter and wanted to share! Check out the talented artists and writers!!

[redbeersake]

Full piece I did for the Thancred Anthology (Thantology on twitter!)

I tried to put a lot of things that I thought represented him in this piece ;w;! Thank you for the opportunity to draw for the cover!

[artctrlcee]

My piece for the Thancred Anthology (@Thanthology on Twitter!).

It was a pleasure to work alongside so many amazing people on this project. The anthology is a collection of Thancred centric art and fanfiction, it's over 100 pages and can be enjoyed free as PDF or direct download! Please check it out! Free PDF Download

[ouella]

"To fight, to kill, and, if necessary, to die. The path you've chosen is paved with the dead. Walk it with your eyes open, or not at all."

My piece from The Thancred Anthology-- a free zine that you can read here.

[displacedarchon]

Today's the day! I can share the full piece I did for the Thancred zine! Y'all should go check out the full zine it's so much fun!

[myreia]

AO3 Year End Roundup 2024

Thank you for the tags, @anneapocalypse & @lilbittymonster!

Tagging: I'm not sure who has done this since I'm a little late to the party, but throwing tags the way of @thevikingwoman, @roguelioness, @galadae, @galadrieljones, @astrology-bf and @syrcus! 💕

—Words posted: 133,357

—Additional Words Written: A little over 30,704 from two long fics I started but then got distracted by other things. Hopefully I will be getting back to them this year!

—Grand total of words: 164,061

—Fandoms: FFXIV

Technically Dragon Age as well, but since these were reposts of fics from 2018/2019 I deleted a few years back, I’m not going to count them.

—Works: 10 (technically 39 but anthology publishing, y’know 😂)

—Highest Kudos: Since I posted my ffxivwrite fics as an anthology, I’ll count the next highest. Desiderium was published in August and is part of my (super belated) Wolcred week series. It’s currently sitting at 39.   

—Highest Hit One-shot: Most of my fics this year were multiparts, so this one goes to Anthesis (post-Endwalker Wolcred smut wooo). It’s currently sitting at 311.

—New Things I Tried: I wrote a bunch from different character POV’s! While I always enjoy writing from Aur’s POV, it is a lot of fun to explore different viewpoints and visit different characters’ perspectives. The whole structure of my (unfinished) wolcred week series is based on doing one fic from Thancred’s POV followed by one from Aur’s. I also touched on Alisaie, Fordola, Minfilia, Ryne, Rielle, Sidurgu, Aymeric, uh… so many. I was experimenting a lot with ffxivwrites, which was fun!

I am also being more adventurous with how I am incorporating sex scenes into my work. Apparently I did not one but two strip teases, one for Aureia and one for her Azem so. Hm. Maybe they are more alike than Aureia believes lmao. Also shout-out to Thancred’s moment of disassociation in Surrogate. I think I’m just being more adventurous in my approach to sexual situations in fic.

I am also much more grounded as a primarily longfic/multipart writer. This started last year with Divergence of the Heart, but most of my previous fanfics (especially in my Dragon Age era) were one shots or one shot collections. I’m really happy flitting about with novella-length stuff, it sits in a good place for me.

—Fic I Spent the Most Time On: Desiderium, since it had a lot of different threads to pull on. I also spent a lot of time on a post-5.3 untitled ShB fic that has some of my favourite Wolcred moments in it to date, so I’m excited to return to it once I finish the series I’m currently working on.

—Fic I Spent the Least Time On Steer took no time at all, it just came and went like that. Which I suppose is the purpose of the exercise!

—Favourite Thing I Wrote A scene in the aforementioned post-5.3 untitled ShB fic which I can’t really say much about other than I am excited to share it whenever the whole fic is ready! From the published stuff:

I love Aureia and Yda’s dynamic in Castaway and Yda being the one to break through some of her walls in ARR

Aureia and Thancred’s balance between hope and concern when they first arrive in Old Sharlayan in Desiderium

the aftermath of Aureia’s red magic experiments to slow her light sickness in The Heart’s a Withered Fortress

Aureia and Sidurgu slowly growing closer and closer together, as seen from Rielle’s POV in Stable

Sally, a Rielle character study that made my heart hurt

Stamp, a Fordola character study

—Favorite Thing I Read: Eleos [General, rated Mature, 4,018 words] by @astrology-bf. It is an absolutely fascinating look at the WoL from the perspective of a Garlean soldier, and it raises many excellent questions about the nature of war, loyalty, purpose and mercy. Marius and Ifan’s conversation is such a fascinating moment, and I’ve been thinking about it since I read it on tumblr.  

—Something I Finished: Four out seven Wolcred week fics done! Maybe I’ll finish the series before the next wolcred week comes around ahahaha.

—Miscellaneous Highlights: I think ffxivwrites was a highlight for me. Since my fanfic preferences have turned towards multiparts it was nice to challenge myself to keeping things contained. I re-learned how to write one shots and I think I went in new directions I didn’t necessarily expect if I had had time to think and structure things out!

Another highlight are the two gift fics I wrote this past year which are very precious to me. Familiar Shores (WoL x Tansui) for @thevikingwoman and Seasons Passing (WoL x Y’mhitra, WoL x Aymeric, WoL x Yugiri, and WoL x Erenville) for @lilas! I adore both their WoLs, and it was so much fun writing them and exploring their relationships.

—Writing Goals for 2025: Finish the wolcred week series before June! The next three entries are all going to be some form of multipart, but I am excited for them since they explore much more than just Aureia and Thancred’s relationship, but their relationship within the context of other relationships and friendships. I am a bit nervous about what I have cooked up for Fic #6 since it is going in A Direction that may not be very popular, but it is very true to Aureia and I am excited about it nonetheless.

Other than that, I want to return to my two unfinished longfics, and then see where things take me. I have so many ideas, and I’m really enjoying fleshing out Aureia’s series and hitting all the different moments that are important to her from ARR-ENW. And I’m sure whenever I do get around to playing Dawntrail, I’ll have more ideas to add to the list!

Aaand maybe I will publish my 100th AO3 fic this year, who knows. 😈

—Final Thoughts: 2024 was such a fun year for fan fic writing. Since I write for a living, I’ve struggled for the past several years finding a balance between time for professional writing and hobby writing, and I think I finally found that balance. FFXIV is such a fun sandbox to play in, I’ll have many stories to tell and many ideas to dig into for a while.

I think sometimes I worry about not really being able to participate in the tumblr fandom properly because I'm unsubbed for an unknown amount of time (which means I’m missing out on the newest content, gposing, and everything that’s only possible with a regular sub). The nature of an MMO kind of leaves you with the feeling that you're not present if you're not continually active in game, but I don’t think this is really true. I can still do my thing and write and make stuff and be invested in the game and my character without playing regularly. There’s more than enough story for me to chew on from the stuff I have played, and with video game fandoms I enjoy taking a step back from the game and going on to play other things while I let the story and characters sit with me.

I’ve taken up digital art recently and I have some ideas for comics when I get more experience under my belt, so that’s something to look forward to, too!

[autumnslance]

We can finally share our works for The Thancred Anthology, the free pdf fanzine.

Here's my short story, of Thancred checking on the specter of Pandaemonium in the Aitiascope, and having an unexpected but perhaps due conversation with Fourchenault.

On Ao3 and under the cut for those who prefer Tumblr.

--

Being one of the saviors of the star had its perks in certain places. No one questioned Thancred’s presence in Thaumazein, nor his use of the Aitiascope’s elevator to reach the research platforms built in the shallows of the Aetherial Sea.

Researchers measured and recorded the current unusual phenomenon: the presence of the ancient research facility and prison called Pandaemonium. The creation and responsibility of the Convocation’s Speaker.

Lahabrea.

Thancred could mostly touch on the topic when it rarely came up. So long as he did not linger, anyroad. There were still rare moments, however, when the thought of that red mask made him break out in a sudden sweat.

Much had happened since that day he had walked out of Raubahn’s office, dejected and self-remonstrating, and on his way to the Sapphire Exchange had been distracted by strangeness in an alley…

And then a looming blank period; only a few terrible, hazy scenes flashing through that darkness, until waking in an Adder tent with the Elder Seedseer leaning over him. Sometimes it seemed he was still waking from the nightmare, that he would blink and find Kan-E’s sad green eyes and calm voice explaining all he had done.

It was difficult to take that first step from the elevator.

On the Ragnarok, when they reached Ultima Thule’s crushing non-weight of uninhabitable despair, he had managed to trudge forward to protect the others. There was no avatar of despair holding him back now, but also no one to protect, no reason to force his feet closer to that inimical ancient visage.

Yet he kept moving, until he ran out of platform.

Thancred stood at the edge and watched the swinging cages and flickering torches. The reports—and a late-into-the-night discussion—of Lahabrea’s involvement had given him insights into his recurring nightmare that he had not expected.

A stubborn man dedicated to the burdens of his great responsibilities. Who loved his child but held him at arms’ length, keeping important secrets, telling himself it was for the child’s own good, unable to see the hurt he caused because he was so wrapped up in his own situation.

From his pocket, Thancred drew out a pink ribbon wrapped around a letter, Ryne’s handwriting covering the folded pages.

“Horrifying, isn’t it?” A familiar deep voice said from behind him.

Thancred nodded. “It doesn’t match other Ancient architecture, as if purposefully twisted to match the terrors it kept inside.”

“If the reports are accurate,” Fourchenault said as he joined Thancred at the rail.

“Given who wrote them,” Thancred replied, tucking the letter back into a pocket. “They are.”

They stood in silence for a long while. They had always been awkward; Fourchenault had graduated from the Studium and was entering politics when his father brought home a Limsan orphan. Between the constant trips to and from the Motherland, and Thancred’s intense training, he and his foster brother had seen little of one another before Emporium was abandoned and Thancred sent to Ul’dah. Their differences in political opinions had not helped their bonds.

Now here they were a lifetime later, knowing only slightly better what had led each of them upon their respective paths.

“I’ve a question—unrelated to the current view,” Thancred said. Unrelated so far as Fourchenault was concerned. Thancred continued before losing his nerve. “Did parenting that pair of rapscallions highlight…well…the ways in which Louisoix…”

“Failed?” Fourchenault finished quietly. His blue eyes turned to the researchers engrossed in their duties.

“I wouldn’t put it quite so harshly, but…Yes, about the mistakes he made, I suppose. As a parent, specifically.”

“This is about the girl on the first reflection of Etheirys?”

“Naught gets left out of Alphinaud’s letters,” Thancred said dryly. “Yes; I found myself unexpectedly guardian to an adolescent. It was…” He suddenly floundered on how to explain.

“Enlightening,” Fourchenault said. “Terrifying, horrible…and wonderful.”

Thancred nodded.

Fourchenault sighed. “Yes, raising my children did highlight the matters I wished my father had handled…better. That I tried to handle better. At the same time, it showed me goals hopelessly out of my reach, my own shortcomings as a parent. You’re rather familiar with some of my failings already.”

“At one point, while in the First, Alisaie bluntly said I reminded her of you; in that instance, she did not mean it as a compliment.”

Fourchenault laughed, brief and a tad bitter. “Was she wrong?”

Thancred had to laugh sheepishly as well. “Not at all.”

“We did have a singular model,” Fourchenault said. “Much as we perhaps tried to fight against that image.”

“Or did not, at the time, understand what we had,” Thancred replied quietly.

“You were a stubborn little wharf rat,” Fourchenault said, with little of the sting of their youth. “That stubbornness at least has not changed, thank the Twelve.” Fourchenault smiled genuinely, reminiscent of Alphinaud—or perhaps the other way around. “But I do recall thinking you ungrateful for the opportunity Father had inexplicably granted you.”

“I had more than a few unkind thoughts of you myself. ‘Tis only recently that they have…adjusted. In some ways.”

“I find myself in a similar frame of mind,” Fourchenault said, a ghost of that smile still visible. He studied Pandaemonium. “Did you come to see what new trouble your colleague dredged onto our doorstep—or to face your specters?” he asked, voice soft and almost kind.

“I suppose the letters included that as well.” Thancred had the terrible urge to drink until just before that darkness swallowed him again. He bit it down.

“Not explicitly. In stories since, however, quite a few of the Scions’ adventures have been detailed.” Fourchenault paused. “The twins enjoy my discomfort almost as much as their mother does.”

Thancred couldn’t help huffing out another laugh. “Well, you do make quite the graceful picture when tripping out of a room lest you faint,” he noted. Some things blessedly never changed.

“Bah,” Fourchenault waved a dismissive hand. “Though the tales of your time under the Ascians’ thrall sounded particularly horrifying.”

“It was.” Thancred rubbed his eyes; he would have to speak to Alphinaud about what he shared, even with family. “Though from the reports now I wonder if Lahabrea influenced me more than I’d first thought. Or perhaps…sought a familiar resonance.” Hand in his pocket, he threaded the ribbon through his fingers.

“From what little I’ve heard, there seem to be some superficial similarities,” Fourchenault said. “But the same might be said for my own tale as a parent. Or even Father’s choices. We do what we think is best for our children, and don’t always realize when we’re truly making it easier on ourselves. One doesn’t need an Ascian’s influence to fall into that trap.”

“Hrmph. I know the twins told you what a hash I made of things.” Even now, recalling how close his girl had come to tragedy due to his own actions ran around his mind in darker hours, though she would hate to hear that; it was past.

“They also told me how you admitted your errors and strove to do better by the girl, your comrades, and yourself,” Fourchenault said. “Lessons I myself yet struggle with, after a lifetime of assurance that I knew best.” He smiled wryly. “Not the first time that you’ve outpaced me; nor I suspect the last.”

Thancred stared at Fourchenault. Louisoix’s actual son, born to privilege, beloved of the amazing Ameliance, national leader, brilliant sage…

“If you try to deny it, I shall tell your fellow Scions,” Fourchenault continued blithely.

“We’re disbanded,” Thancred reminded him.

Fourchenault did not quite roll his eyes. “I once asked Father why he was more…available for the twins than myself,” he continued. “Or even for you, off with your master for much of your time under our roof. I remember the…regret, I think, in Father’s smile, when he said he had learned better since our youths. He urged me not to make the same mistakes, and I swore I would not. Yet here we are.” He turned to Thancred. “I think Father would be proud of you. Not just for all you’ve done as a Scion, but for your girl, and the man you’ve become. I am, for as little as it counts from me.”

Thancred couldn’t manage to say that it meant more than he had imagined, so he settled for “Thank you. Though I feel there’s still much to learn about parenting.”

“There always is. Especially when they’re far away. But we’ve now the time. And if that ancient sorcerer could learn better, we certainly can,” Fourchenault gestured at the ghost facility.

Thancred laughed, squeezing Ryne’s letter. “We do have that singular example.”

Fourchenault nodded, then took a breath. “You should—I was thinking—Would you join us for dinner?” As Thancred raised a brow he hastily continued, “Ameliance would love to see you.”

“Of course,” Thancred replied. Learning how to be better fathers wasn’t the only thing he and Fourchenault needed to figure out. But as he had said, there was now time to make even a belated start.

[foodzorz]

Recently, the Thancred Anthology zine was released and I made a piece for it. \o/

Been itching to make a pink ribbon thing with Thancred and happy to finally get around to it :')

Check out the whole zine here, and the zine's Twitter!

[rbillustration]

I'm very excited to share a preview of my piece for the Thancred Anthology! What's got Thancred so confused? 👀

The zine is coming out next month, so check it out if you can - you can also see previews for all the other pieces on their Twitter!

[tsunael]

The Thancred Anthology is live!

I was humbled to share a space with some of my favorite artists and writers. 😭

Please take a look at it here! (It’s free!)

[fatenayuta]

'...Most wonderful gift is love and care from comrade and dearest...'

Now it's my Turn!!

This is preview of my piece for the Thancred Anthology

I'm really excited to work together with wonderful artist and writer! Pls Stay tuned and check it out!