#ariane x minfilia

[arianeoftheglade]

'Tis a strange feeling. So many times have I watched you depart, my heart filled with worry, and ever did you return to me in triumph. Someday, when I have found a way to free this star from her sorrow, I promise you I shall repay the favor.

[anneapocalypse]

Minfilia! Optionally also F'lhaminn!

Oh, how Ariane loved Minfilia. She was the first real friend Ariane had made since the Calamity, also also Ariane developed a massive unrequited crush on her very early. I mean, she assumed it was unrequited, but she never found the courage to confess her feelings... so we'll never know, will we. She's never quite forgiven herself for living Minfilia behind in the watercourse, even knowing it was truly Hydaelyn's will... a part of her will always wonder what would have happened had she just put her foot down and said, "No, I won't leave you."

F'lhaminn asking how she could have lost Minfilia in the aftermath... well, Ariane understands, but it certainly didn't help, and that shame at failing to protect her friend lingers whenever she's in F'lhaminn's presence, and for a long time she's not sure if F'lhaminn's really forgiven her. (She may well have, this is just something that still haunts Ariane.) This is somewhat mitigated by learning about F'lhaminn's role in the death of Minfilia's father, and also by helping her solve the mystery of Niellefresne's body. It's difficult telling F'lhaminn what happened in the First, but it's also the beginning of both of them accepting Minfilia's loss and starting to heal from it. I'm not sure they'll ever be close, but by this point I don't think either of them harbor ill feelings toward one another.

Minfilia tied into a lot of Ariane's complicated feelings about Hydaelyn, and her feelings that the price of being her chosen was apparently to have everyone she loved taken from her over and over again. She started to make peace with that after Minfilia goes to the First, as she begins to understand it was her choice to accept Hydaelyn's call. Seeing her one last time in the First gives Ariane some closure. The romantic feelings have mostly faded by then; she just misses her friend, and wishes it could have been different, but she can let her go to a well-deserved rest.

[anneapocalypse]

Ariane isn't really "strictly" anything; she's only been in monogamous relationships and that's probably the way she's most inclined, but she'd be open to polyamory under the right circumstances. After Haurchefant's death she finds out that Aymeric has feelings for her and she's too deep in her grief to accept them and has to let him down, but had things been different and Haurchefant lived, I think both she and he would have been 100% on board with Aymeric simply joining them; unfortunately due to circumstances it just didn't work out that way. Also somewhere there's an AU I'll never write where Minfilia lives and returns to her mortal life and is in a throuple with Ariane and Urianger. But in her canon storyline, as of now, she's monogamous.

Is your WoL polyamorous or strictly monogamous? Or are they simply uninterested in the whole thing?

[arianeoftheglade]

We are the Word of the Mother. We who were once called "Minfilia." We speak now with one Voice. One Will. Unto thee we bequeath the most precious of gifts: the truth which lieth at the heart of this world.

[anneapocalypse]

9, 24, 33, 34 for Ariane + Minfilia?

Thank you for the question! (For this ask meme.)

9. What do they think about commitment? Is a long-term partnership the goal? Are they thinking about building a life with their partner, or are they focused on the present?

I think a long-term committed relationship has always been what Ariane's wanted, and had she ever had the courage to take her shot with Minfilia, that certainly would have been what she was looking for. I think had Minfilia returned her feelings, she would have wanted the same. (Whether Minfilia ever had feelings for Ariane, I prefer to leave ambiguous, though there's no doubt in my mind that she cared for her.)

24. What would their partner do that would really turn them on, perhaps unintentionally?

Hypothetically speaking, I think if Ariane had ever gotten to see Minfilia wield a pickaxe? Total panty-dropper.

33. Under what circumstances would they feel jealous?

Upon the painful realization that Minfilia would always have chosen Hydaelyn over her. :')

34. Under what circumstances would they feel protective?

I think Ariane always felt protective of Minfilia to a degree especially after the like... multiple kidnappings. She really did not want to leave Minfilia when they fled from the banquet and probably would not have if Minfilia hadn't dug her heels in the way she did. She still feels like she failed her, and has never quite forgiven herself for it.

[arianeoftheglade]

Saving Minfilia

[anneapocalypse]

Oh boy I sense Minfilia Resolution on the horizon and I think I know how it's gonna go.

Ariane has always loved Minfilia so this will be hard, but at the same time it's like... I've already grieved you like three times, I love you and miss you but it's time to let go.

[anneapocalypse]

The Ariane Shipping Wall!

Ships I have for my FFXIV Warrior of Light, Ariane Clairière. Includes some that are serious and long-term, some that are casual, some that are unrequited or don't go anywhere, and some that may happen in the future! Ariane is a Wildwood Elezen, a healer main, and a bisexual woman. She's currently in the middle of Stormblood; updates will be made as she progresses!

Pre-Game. Ariane had a pretty isolated childhood for various reasons especially in her teen years, and as such her romantic explorations in her youth were limited. There were a couple of teenage entanglements, which were very passionate in her young heart but none of which lasted into adulthood. At 22 when the Calamity struck, Ariane was 22 and single, still living with her parents, with most of her attentions focused on soothing her increasingly anxious and paranoid mother.

Minfilia. Her kindness and earnestness quickly stole Ariane's heart, and Ariane was smitten with her from pretty early on. While she hung on Minfilia's every word, she never voiced her feelings, out of fear of ruining their friendship or making their working relationship awkward or any number of other excuses she told herself. Whether Minfilia ever returned Ariane's feelings, or ever would have, she may never know, as her dear friend insisted that Ariane go on without her after the disastrous banquet. Only Minfilia's absolute certainty persuaded Ariane to leave her, and not without profound guilt and regret. Learning what had become of her was deeply painful, and exacerbated a lot of Ariane's growing doubts and resentments of Hydaelyn and her gifts.

Hildibrand. Ariane always greatly enjoyed her wacky adventures with the gentleman inspector, and they became great friends. While they were never seriously involved, Ariane had a casual friends-with-benefits situation going with Hildy in the wake of Minfilia and the other Scions' disappearance--not least in an attempt to bury her feelings as she began to search for answers in Ishgard. They had fun together, but Ariane ultimately broke things off when she realized she had real feelings for someone else. Hildy was disappointed, but ever a gentleman. They remain good friends.

Haurchefant. As Haurchefant grew from friend to protector, cheerleader, and confidant for Ariane, so her feelings for him grew as well. On the trek into Dravania with Ysayle and Estinien and Alphinaud, she found herself constantly wishing that he was there, and by the time they returned, she had made up her mind: this time, she had to be brave and say something. She broke off her casual thing with Hildibrand and flew out to Camp Dragonhead. Haurchefant's response was extremely enthusiastic. They had a whirlwind romance, enjoying as much of one another's company as they possibly could as they sought an end to the Dragonsong War.

Then he died, and it absolutely crushed Ariane. In a last desperate attempt to save him, she tried to cast raise when her magical reserves were nearly expended, nearly killing herself in the process, and had to be carried back to Fortemps Manor unconscious. The days that followed were a particularly dark period of her life, as she was overwhelmed by grief and anger and bitterness. There was a lot of private screaming at Hydaelyn that if this was the price of the blessing of Light--to keep losing everyone she loved--then she didn't want it. It was mainly for Alphinaud's sake that she struggled on, throwing her energies into the restoration efforts in Ishgard, keeping busy with her hands, while she looked for a reason to keep living. It would be a long time before she could think of falling in love again.

Aymeric. After the war's end, Ariane could not help noticing Aymeric being particularly sweet toward her, especially when he invited her over for dinner. Sensing he might have developed feelings for her, she gently but firmly shut it down. Had things been different--were Haurchefant still alive, and the two of them amenable to it, she could easily have loved them both. But as it was, her heart was too broken to give to someone else. Aymeric bowed out gracefully and promised never to raise the subject again. They remain good friends. (Later, he gets together with Estinien, and Ariane's very happy for them both.)

Urianger. With where Ariane currently is in MSQ, this one is a strong future maybe! They didn't really become close until after the end of the Dragonsong War, when the Scions could move freely in Eorzea once again. Having heard about the loss of Lord Haurchefant from Alphinaud, Urianger offered his condolences, and Ariane realized at once that he out of anyone understood her grief, as he was very much still grieving Moenbryda, his own first love. They shared a drink and some reminiscences one night in the Waking Sands, which turned into a bit of a moment, and it was Urianger who sort of pulled back on it. He was completely right that neither of them were ready for anything to happen, but also unbeknownst to Ariane at the time, he was in the midst of his involvement with the Warriors of Darkness. It was because of that night that Ariane had a brief glimpse of his eyes when he adjusted his goggles, and for that she recognized him among the Warriors of Darkness. She said nothing, believing that he must have a reason. When all was revealed, Urianger expected Ariane's anger, especially as he was aware of her feelings for Minfilia. He was surprised when Ariane offered him forgiveness, and insisted he did not deserve it.

In the present, as Ariane travels the far east seeking the liberation of Doma and Ala Mhigo, she teleports back to Thanalan when she can, and drops in at the Waking Sands. She suspects Urianger really may not be okay after everything that happened, and she won't push him to talk about it, but she checks in, sometimes bringing a gift of a book of Far Eastern poetry or a tea for them to share before she departs again.

If anything romantic happens between them it'll be a long slow burn, but we'll see where they go from here. :)

Bhratbylda. In Ariane's Adventurer!verse (where she's not the Warrior of Light but just another adventurer) she's in a relationship with a Roegadyn Sea Wolf named Bhratbylda Askbaensyn (Mr. Apocalypse's character). Bhratbylda is a man of few words and a big axe, who left behind a life at sea for adventuring after mutinying and killing his cruel bastard of a captain--his own father, Askbaen. Ariane met him in Sastasha, where she (who had never seen the sea before arriving in Limsa) was utterly dazzled, while Bhratbylda was nonplussed, and amused by her reactions. They grew friendly, and found that they made a great healer/tank team.

[arianeoftheglade]

Nothing, I'm just in love with you and I don't know how to tell you.

[arianeoftheglade]

Please, you must go on! You are the Warrior of Light! You are hope--for the Scions, and for all the realm!

Don't make me leave you...

[arianeoftheglade]

You are my pillar of strength, and I shall have need of your steadfast presence in the days to come...

[arianeoftheglade]

Words cannot well express how glad I am to see you returned to us hale and whole.

[arianeoftheglade]

The way she looks at me...

[arianeoftheglade]

❤️

[arianeoftheglade]

Meeting the Scions, and the woman to whom she never confessed her love.

[anneapocalypse]

Ariane loved her.

She was kind, beautiful, and more than anyone else she made Ariane feel welcome and a part of something after her years of solitary wandering. It wasn't long before Ariane developed a crush on her, and she was smitten with her for a long time, but never found the courage to tell her. What if it ruined their friendship? What if it made things weird with the Scions? Every time she thought of it she drowned in the anxious what ifs, and so instead she simply admired and yearned silently, thinking, maybe one day.

And then the banquet happened.

Ariane may never quite forgive herself for agreeing to go on without her. No matter that Hydaelyn taking her ultimately led to the salvation of the First, no matter that it was what Minfilia herself wanted. I left you, she thinks, and it's why she can't really blame Urianger for what happened later. If she had never left Minfilia, none of it would have happened as it did. Maybe she can't truly regret how things turned out, but she will always carry the weight of having left her friend at Hydaelyn's mercy. Her faith in the Mothercrystal takes its first big blow with Haurchefant's death (Haurchefant whom she also loved, and actually told and had a relationship with), and when she later learns what became of Minfilia, she can only think bitterly, Ah. Of course. You took her, too.

Minfilia leaving for the First is something of a turning point for Ariane, as it's where she begins to come to terms with her grief and anger. She accepts that even if she had confessed her feelings, Minfilia would probably always have chosen Hydaelyn over her. She accepts that her friend did make a choice, even if it was a painful one. And she holds Minfilia's promise to one day return to her in her heart.

The passage of time in the First complicates things, and yet to Ariane, Minfilia did keep her promise. She managed to stick around long enough to see Ariane one last time, and say goodbye, and there Ariane finally lets go and makes peace with her loss. The romantic feelings are a bittersweet memory by that point, but Minfilia will forever be a dear friend to her who gave everything she had to make two worlds better.

How did your WoL feel about Minfillia?