#Wedge is “will” and Tataru is “won't”

[kootiepatra]

#FFxivWrite2024 - Day 3: Tempest [in a Mark XIV Thermocoil Boilmaster]

(inspired simultaneously way too literally and way too loosely by the idiom, "tempest in a teapot")

“You would give me instructions?” Tataru Taru’s incredulous laughter rang throughout the hall. “I assure you, Wedge, this receptionist has brewed more than a few pots of tea in her time.”

Wedge’s face went red as he feared she had taken offense. “N-no, that’s not it at all… it is just…”

“Now, now, no need for all that. Why don’t you have yourself a seat and I’ll just pop this over the fire.”

“NO!” he cried out suddenly, in a strength of tone few had ever heard from the anxious engineer. The bustling activity in the Rising Stones’ common room ground to a halt, startled at his outburst. Everyone turned to look at him. One could have heard the drop of a pin.

The crimson in Wedge’s face deepened.

Tataru took it seriously. She stopped. She gave him a confused glance. Wedge offered a shy little wave to the rest of the Scions, hoping to encourage them to return to their own business. Thankfully, they did.

“It is not ornamental, is it?” Tataru asked him, as the room went back to normal.

Wedge sighed a breath of relief. “No. It is not ornamental—it is magitek.”

“Is it indeed? Fancy that! But… Magitek? In a kettle?”

“I call it the Mark XIV Thermocoil Boilmaster,” he replied, puffing out his chest.

“Oh, so it is of your own design then? Most impressive!” Tataru exclaimed, her smile purposefully concealing her ongoing confusion at what the point of it was. “And… you can’t put it over the fire?”

“Er. No. Not for very long, anyway. Not if you want it to function again.”

“I see…”

“But that’s just the thing!” he continued. “With the Mark XIV Thermocoil Boilmaster, you don’t even need the fire.”

“...It brews the tea cold?”

“What? No. It brews it hot. That is what the magitek is for. See here? This mechanism draws on the aether of a fire shard, which then travels through these coils along the bottom of the kettle. The whole thing will set to boiling in only a minute or two, with no need for open flames or leaning over a hot stove! That means it is portable, and convenient—just fill it with water, flick this switch, and off it goes! All you’ll have to do is replace the fire shard every half-dozen moons or so.”

Now Tataru was impressed. “Oh, really? And the tea tastes the same?”

“Better, I’ll wager!” Wedge beamed. “This gauge on the side shows you precisely how hot it is, giving you the utmost precision for your particular brew.”

Tataru smiled warmly. “Well, isn’t this lovely! Thank you so much.”

He returned his own smile—a bashful one. “It just seemed to me that, well, someone who… ah… works as tirelessly as you do… deserves a little luxury or two that might make your job a little easier.”

“It is a very kind gesture, Wedge. Thank you. I look forward to getting acquainted with it.” With a friendly pat on his arm, she hurried off to find the device a new home at the Scion’s shared bar.

—---------------------------------

And it was a kind gesture. It truly was. That Wedge was too sweet sometimes for his own good.

And Tataru reminded herself of that a few days later as she labored to get the blasted machine to go.

And again the next day, when the switch jammed.

And a week after that, when she tried to figure out how she’d managed to pour a cup of tepid water over a visiting dignitary’s tea leaves.

Tataru was far from averse to learning new skills. And the Mark XIV was simple enough. 

When it worked.

Which was, to be fair, on average, more often than not. 

She only had to call Wedge in once to help her troubleshoot it (and, as it turns out, that tepid water was from the canister with the fire shard having come slightly loose). …Which was one more such occurrence than she had ever required for her secondhand, decades-old copper kettle. Not to mention all the time she spent attempting to adjust the mechanisms herself, learning its more finicky quirks, alternating blessing it or cursing it in the name of Byregot in case either of those mantras made a difference.

When the Mark XIV worked, it was a dream. When it didn’t, she wondered why people ever bothered giving up on old, reliable fireplaces for anything at all. It was just to boil water, for the gods’ sakes.

…But if that Nero was going to march into her territory and dare to call their arrangements “primitive”, then, well. That man had another thing coming.

This was the finest kettle she had ever had the pleasure to own.

[bearfully]

Tataru/Wedge for the ship meme?

HMMM...this one really toes the line for me, but...

Why don’t you ship it?

Tataru's just so...wholly uninterested. It's not even in the realm of obliviousness; she's so focused on her work that I don't think romance even crosses her mind. Wedge, on the other hand, is just so lovestruck and caught up in his own affections that I don't think he really, seriously considers what might make her happiest.

What would have made you like it?

Wedge needs a bit more development beyond "he has a massive crush on her". It's cute to see him fluster and flounder, but he won't (and shouldn't) win her over with just that. If the writers plan to make it reciprocated, I want to see Wedge on even footing with Tataru.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I think Wedge's crush on her is tooth-rottingly sweet, and even if I don't ship it right now, I'm still rooting for him to win her and me over.

[graha-stan-account]

FFXIV Write Day 5: Cutting Corners

I was doing a lot of recap reading of Heavensward and post-Heavensward plot and holy shit it's like a primal fruit salad.

Anyway, this takes place immediately following The Aery, in which it becomes clear guildmasters expound on the importance of strong foundations and safety for good reason. Namely, Napha discovers Teraflare.

Cut corners: 1. Verb. To do something in the easiest or least expensive way.

---

All-consuming night.

Silence.

Stillness.

"Make way!" The sound from without split the solitude like a rusted axe. Drowned voices hidden behind clotted shadow. Her consciousness as though borne on the wind itself, dream-like. "Lordling, you! Send word--" It was as though her head went under again, warm depths filling in her ears. Friend or foe, the voice could not harm her, a formless smear of aether, rendered invisible.

Sometime later, turbulence.

"More chirurgeons!" A clatter of feet, a familiar timbre in the distance uttering... something.

A flicker. The smallest mote of light. There and gone.

"Lord Commander!"

"Lord Commander!"

"By the Fury..."

Building warmth, light the color of the sun from behind closed eyes, the gentle ebb of.. life, like a calm shore.

Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain!

The air was fire, veins blown dry from inside and a sudden rush like a current of boiling water.

A sound in her head. Someone was screaming.

A voice she only half-recognized: "Aid me! Hold her down!"

Silence again, the screams cut short.

J'napha's eyes fluttered open a moment, and the sound came too in a rush; the overly loud snapping of kindling in a hearth. Low chatter somewhere far off. Pain blossomed across her chest at the slightest of movement, so she focused instead on getting her eyes properly open. The room was dark, save for an orange glow just out of sight.

"Fancied a bit of a nap there, old girl?" It was Emmanellain Fortemps, suddenly in view. He ducked around to position himself squarely in her sight and proffered a smile, the kind a child might make while fussing over a baby chick. "I trust you find the accommodations satisfactory. Ah- I do hope you've suffered no bruises - two or three of the house guard had to hold you down for a moment!" He chuckled, a clearly practiced reaction. "But that is the way of the knight I suppose! When we feel we are needed, naught can keep us from getting to our feet."

Napha's eyes made circles as the incorrigible youth blathered on before he found the thread again.

"Don't go anywhere! Ah, I suppose you won't be running off for a while. Pray don't move a muscle. I must tell Father and the others!" He disappeared then, the clacking of his heels trailing him down the corridor.

Others? Napha returned her gaze to the ceiling. She imagined she had been confined to this bed for some time, but at the risk of splitting open any sutures, she remained still. She sniffled and instantly came a bolt of lightning across her face and eyes. Had she been knocked out? By whom? The Enterprise... could she have fallen?

She closed her eyes for but a moment. When she opened them again, there were no less than a dozen faces in her view.

Napha's first words were a choked mess. She made great effort to clear her throat. In a hoarse voice, she tried once more: "What happened?"

The room buzzed, the brood of Fortemps exchanged looks, Alphinaud himself appeared alarmed.

"The Enterprise crew..." Cid, Biggs, Wedge and whoever else might have had the misfortune of remaining on board, "are they alright?"

"Even now she's worried about everyone else!" Tataru was there, too? Her voice was overtaken by sobs.

Napha inhaled as deeply as she could - which wasn't much. She winced, and when again she opened her eyes, a white haired man was at her side.

"I sent them away." Napha squinted. This face she didn't recognize. "Must be hard enough to breathe without all the on-lookers agape stealing all the air."

"Estinien?"

He looked down at her, his face showing he thought it an odd question.

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you might say so." He sat down then, in a chair that must have been placed at the bedside. "Nidhogg has been felled, in case you were wondering. In no small part due to whatever that was you did back there."

"You mean, I didn't... fall?"

"Oh you took a spill like a man soaked through in his drink. Right on your face." He pantomimed the movement with his hands. It looked... painful. "Not the fall that nearly killed you, though."

Napha fought to remember. Nidhogg, the eye, Estinien needed more time. Not enough time. Lesser dragons were advancing, covering the great wyrm as he steeled himself to destroy the trespassers. But Napha had been pacing herself, not expending more aether than she ought to in commanding her egis. Some might have called her a prodigy for how quickly she mastered summoning the arcane constructs. Not the Arcanist's Guild, though.

"I didn't have another choice," she said. Thubyrgeim saw right through to Napha's rote memorization of arcanima, her work-around of gorging an egi with aether to strengthen and entice it to obey. She agreed it would catch up and bite her, but the thought was less frightening than Garleans, primals and vengeful wyrms combined. "It was something I had never tried. I didn't know... if it would work."

"It certainly looked unrehearsed. I manifested the shield just in time. Comets seemed to fall from the sky. Blinding fire, as though plumes from the mouth of a wyrm. No work of a dragon, though. You yourself unfurled wings of aether as the hell rained down. Never saw such a thing. And then you fell flat on your face. Never saw a thing like that, either."

It had worked.

Unlike, Thubyrgeim, Y'mhitra was less likely to ask questions. That also meant she didn't have any suggestions when Napha failed to harness what remained of Bahamut. She had been trying to enter that so-called trance, and, failing that, tried to conjure whatever she could of the beast itself. The one that killed her brother and so, so many more.

"The chirurgeons said a drop less aether and you would have died."

"I..." Napha's vision went murky, her eyes flooded with tears which would not spill. "I did it."

"I'm sorry," Estinien leaned forward, irritated. "Are you gladdened or saddened by that news?"

Napha sniffled. "Yes."

[emetkoto]

how is Eme's relationship with the other scions? (besides Urianger obviously)

im glad you asked! :) Spoilers for basically every pack including ARR

Thancred

Eme likes Thancred...enough? She's always been at least a little bit frustrated with him for one reason or another, but she considers him a friend at the very least. In ARR it was his womanizer act, it was kind of off-putting and made her a bit uncomfortable tbh? HW and SB she just found him really hard to interact with since he was brooding all the time and didnt have any witty banter to offer anymore and in ShB she wanted to beat his ass for treating Ryne like that at first...by the end of it all he had his character development finally and she warmed up to him a bit more!

Y'shtola

Besties they are BESTIES they are. best friends :) Eme grew up surrounded by female miqote in her village so she's very comfortable around them and buddied up to Y'shtola super fast and they became regular ol gal pals <3 pre-Emeanger they definitely got drunk a few times and maybe kissed and maybe explored each other's bodies yknow, casually ;) but fr Y'shtola is probably the non-Urianger person Eme trusts most! She always confides in her and looks to her for advice and they just generally have fun together!

Alisaie

The little sister Eme never had <3 She loves her to death and likes to spar with her and have a good laugh at Alphinaud's expense every now and then but she does kinda worry about how hot-headed she is and how it might get her in trouble someday :( she also definitely sees that little bit of an inferiority complex she has going on and that worries her A Lot too </3 she just wants the best for her little elf sister

Alphinaud

Eme already had a younger brother but now she has an even younger one! Was very wary of him back in ARR, she just kind of did not trust him and thought he was kind of a stuck up prick (he was)....she definitely did not expect him to get humbled quite so aggressively tho and was there for him when he had his inevitable breakdown following the bloody banquet ;; since then she's grown to love him like a brother and wants to protect him and see him achieve his goals and be happy!! ofc that doesn't mean she won't pick on him every now and then with Alisaie :)

Tataru

Gossip besties, they are always sharing information about the goings-on in the realm and having a laugh at some of the things their friends have said or done! Tataru definitely manages Eme's personal finances bc she's no good at it and if she ever wants to buy something she brings Tataru to haggle for a bargain and it always works <3 Also Eme just thinks she is So Adorable and low-key tries to nudge her towards Wedge bc she just thinks they'd be so good together ok

G'raha Tia

Admires him but will never tell him that because he will break </3 she thinks very highly of him and all he did for the First and well, every other world! She could hardly believe that he was the same catboy she met all that time ago, he'd grown so much :pleading: she's working on getting to know him better and become closer friends with him, but there's a weird divide between them bc of his whole "you are amazing i am nothing compared to you" thing that makes it kind of hard to make any meaningful progress.....they're working on it slowly but surely! His one-sided familiarity with her is also smth they gotta overcome, Eme really didn't know him all that long at first but he's had hundreds of years to get to "know" her...god. its a parasocial relationship isnt it. Anyway they're friends but there's definitely some room for growth between them! Also G'raha please stop accidentally confessing your love to her she is literally married

Estinien

Honestly at first Eme thought he was kind of a dick and was not eager to work with him during HW but as the story went on she began to realize he wasn't a bad guy, he was just a bit misguided and socially inept! That didn't make getting to know him any easier obviously the man has the strongest walls possible up and Eme can only begin to peek over them but thankfully over time he lets her in a little more bc obviously she saves his life a ton and deserves that trust shes fucking EARNED it buddy....she definitely wishes he would stop by more often or at least write letters :( makes her feel like he doesn't even like her when he doesn't show up for months at a time lol. All in all a good pal, 10/10 loves his dynamic with Alphinaud, maybe could have gone without seeing him walking around covered in dragon's blood for half an expansion tho

Lyse

Besties...2! During her time as 'Yda' Eme was always very charmed by how silly and high-energy she was, it helped her stay enthusiastic about her duties at the time! Definitely 24/7 sparring partners, calling it canon that she's the one who taught Eme anything about pugilist forget that guildmaster its all Lyse babey! After Payalymo died and Lyse revealed who she really was Eme was....slightly hurt that she never told her bc she thought they were pretty damn close but ultimately she understood and didn't hold it against her! She was very proud of her growth during Stormblood and was obviously sad to see her leave the Scions but so happy for her that she was following her dreams and leading her country in recovery!

Papalymo

Eme didn't really get to know too much about Papalymo during their time as co-Scions but she enjoyed his company! He was pleasant to talk to and had a funny little voice she couldn't get enough of and she just thought it was so adorable how he and Lyse were a little team :sob: he often scolded her for encouraging Lyse but overall he saw her as a dependable teammate and respected her! His death hit her pretty hard because it was another case of...She put off getting to really know him, and then he was gone :(

Minfillia

Eme loved Minfillia honestly she thought she was so sweet and a strong dependable leader to the Scions...she looked upto her as a picture of what a hero should be! The feeling was mutual really, kind of a "omg youre so cool" "nooo you" type of thing! They chatted a lot on off-hours and Eme even picked up some mining tips from her <3 When she realized Minfillia wouldn't be coming back she was pretty upset, but ultimately came to accept that this was just how things had to be for the best ending for everyone......so needless to say she was very angry with Thancred during ShB for basically just trying to throw a whole child's life away to undo her brave sacrifice and rightfully put him in his place a few times