#baatu ardakium

[briar-ffxiv]

FFXIV Write #02 - Horizon

FFXIV Write 2024 Master Post

Prompt #2 - Horizon

Briar looked at the plate before him, struggling to keep the uncertainty off his face. Baatu was beaming at him, the tip of his tail flicking back and forth gently. What was on the plate was quite pretty and Briar wouldn't deny that, but he was more than a touch puzzled by what he was being offered.

The rice was familiar, although it was short white grains when he was more used to brown or wild rice. He was fairly certain that the slices of meat were fish, although the colour of one hinted at eel. However, one pinkish meat was unrecognizable to the half-Elezen. He wasn't sure what to make of the dark green covering some of the food had wrapped around it. Briar watched as a humming Baatu set down several little bowls in front of him that seemed to hold sauces: two thin brown sauces, one of a green paste, and the last was creamy and orange. It was artistic and lovely against the black plates, but Briar could only stare with puzzled anxiety.

Biting his lip, he looked up at the tall half-Elezen, half-Xaela and nervously smiled. "I, ah, um… W-what is it, Baatu?"

"Sushi!" Baatu said, booming voice echoing a bit in Briar's ears. "I just made you some simple ones since I didn't think you had it before. Still, you've liked to try things and broaden your horizons so…" He took a moment to point to each one. "This is nigiri with salmon and prawn. This is tuna sashimi. And maki rolls with eel, bream, and more salmon!"

Briar was relieved he'd been correct about the eel and knew what salmon was. He hadn't had prawn before and frowned a bit. "What is prawn?"

"Um, sort of like a shrimp…or a crayfish."

Briar nodded and gestured to the small bowls. "And these?"

"Dipping sauces! It's traditional to dip sushi into sauces, although you don't have to. Soy sauce, ponzu sauce, wasabi and that's spicy mayo." Baatu gave a deep, bone-rumbling laugh. "Spicy mayo is a bit more western, but popular in Kugane."

"Oh," Briar said again, relaxing a bit. While it was different, at least he had an idea of what to expect and could draw at least parallels to foods he was used to. "Thank you, Baatu. I do like to try new things."

"Here." Baatu passed him what Briar knew to be training chopsticks. Briar had been fascinated the first time he'd seen the big man use a pair and Baatu had indulged him. Still, between the scars on Briar's hands and not being used to them, he was a little clumsy still. So he was happy to use the training ones if only so as not to waste food.

Murmuring a thanks, Briar accepted them and eyed the plate, trying to pick which one was the 'safest'. He decided on the tuna sashimi, popping the bite-sized piece in his mouth. The texture of it, being uncooked, was a little odd but the flavour was mild.

Baatu chuckled. "Try some with one of the sauces. It's a bit plain without."

Briar nodded, picking up a salmon nigiri, he considered the sauces and dipped sushi into the green one. The one Baatu called wasabi.

"Oh! Briar, wait, that's--" Baatu made a little face as he warned the redhead too late. He watched with a hint of worry as Briar chewed.

"Hmm, that's--" Briar froze, eyes widen and cheeks flushing. He gave a muffled squeak and looked around, dropping the chopsticks in surprise.

"Here, here!" Baatu said, trying not to laugh as he slid the poor Shroudborn a glass of water. He bit his lip to keep from chuckling as Briar drained most of it. "That's wasabi, Briar," he repeated. "It's rather spicy so a little might be best."

Briar wheezed as he set down the nearly empty glass, blinking and reaching for a napkin to wipe his face, half-sweat and half-dripped water. Not to mention he was blushing rather hard. "I…noticed."

Baatu gave a sympathetic noise, still swallowing a chuckle. "Maybe try the ponzu sauce next? It's a little tangy and sweet and a bit salty, but not spicy."

Briar swallowed and took a deep breath. "That…might be better," he managed, bravely reaching for his chopsticks to take another sushi from the plate. This time most definitely with ponzu sauce.

Baatu belongs to @shadesofblades!

[midnightmagicks]

FFXIV 30 Day Writing Challenge Day 13: Butte (Makeup Day)

Butte: An isolated hill or mountain with steep or precipitous sides usually having a smaller summit area than a mesa

“Baatu….it’s pronounced butte.”

“Mally, that is for sure butt. It’s jus’ trying to be fancy with the e.”

“Why, pray tell, would a tome about ecological landmarks refer to this–”

A finger landed aggressively on the page, pointed directly at the artistic rendition of a flat topped hill. E’mal’s ears were laid flat against his head and his face was scrunched in annoyance. 

“--as a butt. Or a fancy butt, as you claim.”

Baatu’s booming laugh reverberated around the apartment as he doubled over in pure childish amusement. His tail flipped wildly, knocking ungracefully into….everything. The big man seemed to not notice. 

“I dunno! You tell me! It’s your fancy butt book!”

E’mal slapped a hand against Baatu’s shoulder, causing the large man to laugh harder. The Rava huffed. He just wanted to explain their job. 

“You are a child, Baatu. We’re never going to accomplish anything if you keep laughing while I’m trying to give you directions.”

Baatu calmed enough to look at E’mal, an idea very clearly springing to his head as a playful grin crossed his face. A rare occasion that his single brain cell fired off. Barely containing the laughter, he choked out,

“E’mal! I don’t need directions to your butt! I’m married!”

Throwing his hands up in defeat, E’mal simply turned away with a groan. This man was so irritating, sometimes. He marched his way towards the door, abandoning the tome on Baatu’s counter.

“I hope you get lost! I’m not helping you out if you get eaten by a sand worm!”

“W-Wait, Mally! Hang on! Come back!!”

In which @shadesofblades Baatu is dumb and teases E'mal is is Also dumb

[placesyoucallhome]

ffwrite #1- Steer

“Alright, this button, Baatu fer fuck’s sake lower it so I can see it?” 

“Huh? Oh!” 

Ruhka adjusted the the elezen baby on his hip, Haruki chewing on a handful of his white hair, as Baatu leaned down yet again, Zansei leaning in too with a concerned stare at the strange device in the half au ra’s hands, Hoshiko making what he assumed that she assumed an airship noise was. 

“This button is a hard return, it’ll do it’s best to pathfind around obstacles, stopping at a hover about five fulms from you.” The airship-maker continued, absentmindedly pulling what strands he could out of Haruki’s tight little fist, “It’ll keep to the child proofing speed locks, but it might go a little higher if there’s walls between you and it.” He’d put all the safety measures he could possibly think of in the thing, a sleek little parody of a full airship, little canopies overhead made to look like balloons, small fins on the side that moved with the turns, but a wind crystal powered little engine, not terribly powerful, but he wouldn’t start them on anything more. There was just a little more room than for the two of them, for longer use, but only Hoshiko was strapped in the seat for now. 

Haruki, who was now bouncing up and down in the little ship yelling ‘Make it gooooo!’ and ‘I wanna fly!’, only momentarily distracted by how the little vessel bobbed as she did so with a squeal. 

“These two sticks are controls, they move up and down, left and right. That one will push the nose up or down, so to go up you push down, and to go down it’s up-- ah hah, I know, don’t give me that look.” He started off on the controls offering a lopsided smile and a chuckle at the confused looks he got from both dads, “Turning left or right is just left or right, but be sure to pull it back to the middle, and know that it’s not left or right from where you are, but how the ship is oriented, alright? Will be best to just walk behind it while you get the hang of it.” 

“The other stick left and right will roll the ship from one side to the other, which will make it drift the way you push, but best be gentle on it because while it does have a stabilizer to keep it upright, a strong wind could roll it over.” He could see Zansei pale a shade, which Ruhka expected sure, and he expected Baatu’s excited quiet ‘oooh!’ thumbs already hovering over the two joysticks too. It was as much a toy for him and Zansei after all. “Now the up and down on this one is straightforward, down will back up slowly, and up will--” 

“EEEEEEHEHEEHEHEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” 

All three heads shot up with wide eyes and a very quiet “Oops?” from Baatu as the little ship sped away. 

“Give me that!” Zansei panicked, grabbing the controller only to look at it unsurely. 

“Here,” Ruhka reached up to press the return button, as the ship ambled back across sand and lapping sea, with a clearly frustrated five year old. This is why he chose a relatively open beach for this. “You go check on the little terror Big Guy,” Ruhka patted Baatu off to the ship as it slid close, turning to Zansei as he continued on, “It’ll auto stop if it gets too far away, don’t worry. Now how far you push it is how fast it goes, so just touch it a little and it’ll go slowly, so now let’s turn it with that one, yes just like that, and a touch forward on that one, aye there we go!” And so they started down the beach at an easy walk, this was all they needed to start with. 

“And don’t worry, I wrote a whole manual and had Wicks translate it into hingan too.” He assured the understandably tired Zansei, finger now in a tiny, sharp baby nailed fist, knuckle being gummed at. “And we’re always only a call away.” 

(gratefully stolen @shadesofblades Baatu and @midnightmagicks Zansei, And kiddos! )

[avampyone]

Junelezen Day 25: Old Friend

Baatu Ardakium is one of Hemlocke's few childhood friends. They met as boys when young Hemi sneaked out of the manor and found Baatu down by the river, insisting on teaching him how to fish(Not that Hemi knew how to very well at the time..). They still meet when time permits to fish and drink to this day, recalling old times!

@shadesofblades is Baatu!

[aces-and-kings]

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 - Do they have any siblings?

"Hmm." Thor has a sea wolf sister out there somewhere, but he hasn't seen her since he was a kid and they were never particularly close to begin with. Honestly he can't even remember her name on account of how difficult most sea wolf names are to remember short term.

Even among a bunch of pirates he was an outcast growing up, but she was a proud roegadyn sailor and the two just never really bonded. Once in a blue moon he might wonder what became of her, but in general he considers himself without siblings.

The closest he's got to family is Baatu, who's like a brother to him, and his partner Zansei. Thanks for asking @shadesofblades!

[coffeehands]

AF2022: @kokushibous (With my character Baatu)

[briar-ffxiv]

FFXIV Write #23 - On Cloud Nine

FFXIV Write 2024 Master Post

Prompt #23 - On Cloud Nine

Briar hummed softly to himself as he worked. Since the injury to his throat, he couldn't manage a 'typical' hum but instead a quiet trilling sound. E'mal thought it sounded rather like a bird's song. The Viera was sitting on Baatu's counter, ankles crossed and kicking gently as he watched the slim half-Elezen bustle around the borrowed kitchen.

Briar looked happy. His strawberry blond curls were up in a messy bun and he had flour smudged on his cheek. His hands were coated as well while he worked and kneaded a large mound of dough with surprisingly strong fingers. The half-Elezen looked up at E'mal and smiled at him, green eyes bright and cheerful as he trilled his little wordless song.

"So what are you making again?" E'mal asked, leaning a bit to see.

Briar paused in his kneading to point at a few bowls. One held a green vegetable chopped into fine bits. The other was some cheese. Curious, E'mal reached for a bit of the vegetable, pausing when Briar made a little huff. He made a little gesture, fingers near his mouth and wiggling them sharply.

"Oh, spicy?" E'mal said, eyeing the vegetables. "Are those peppers?" As he spoke, he gestured as well, hands making smooth motions.

Briar nodded, looking pleased. He nodded to the cheese and then the grater, looking at E'mal hopefully. The Viera chuckled. "All right, I can shred that," he chuckled, still speaking with his hands as well. Hopping down, he went to stand by Briar, working the cheese over the metal. He glanced down when Jack whined, tapping his leg with a white paw and grinning hopefully up at E'mal. Ignoring Briar's faux huff of disapproval, he tossed the sheepdog a bite of cheese.

"So spicy cheese bread?" E'mal hummed thoughtfully. "Zansei will be on cloud nine!"

Briar paused and gave a puzzled frown. He tapped his temple and made a whirling gesture with his hands. He added a questioning sound as he tipped his head at E'mal.

"Huh? What are you confused about? Oh!" E'mal laughed. "The saying. Um, on cloud nine means very happy. Zansei loves spicy food and who doesn't like cheese?" When Briar gestured again, E'mal giggled. " You know, I have no idea about the other eight clouds. And no idea why that is the saying. It just is."

Briar grunted and shook his head, starting to add the peppers and cheese into the mixture and working it. E'mal grinned at him, ears shooting up as the chronometer chimed. "Oh! That's the cranberry-orange bread, isn't it? I'll set that out to cool."

Hands busy, Briar mouthed a quick 'thank you' as he started to shape the second loaf he was making. Hopefully, between nice citrus-sweet and spicy-savoury choices, both Baatu and Zansei would indeed be on 'cloud nine' and glad they didn't have to worry about making dinner tonight. Considering they'd taken their children to the beach, they were likely to come back exhausted and Briar was quite pleased to help make homecoming less worrisome.

With any luck, he had time to get Baatu's beloved kitchen spotless before they arrived.

Baatu belongs to @shadesofblades

E'mal & Zansei belongs to @midnightmagicks

[placesyoucallhome]

Matsuri date for the husbands @shadesofblades Baatu and @midnightmagicks Zansei 💕🎆

[AF link]

[placesyoucallhome]

fsafdsaf This is perfect! Ruhka's expression is spot on 👌

Baatu's Tits ft. Ruhka @placesyoucallhome

[placesyoucallhome]

Baatu 2 Ruhka OR Yvet 3 Z (Prince of Nothing AU)

Both!

Baatu's probably like doubled over to reach the top of Ruhka's head u-u

[placesyoucallhome]

I would like to send you a pocky day but idk with who, so if you want you can just choose whoever :D happy 11/11!

Ruhka's gonna be a brat about it I guess, so here's lizord husbands to make up for it

[placesyoucallhome]

You know that 'penguin of the month' meme? That's been in my head all week @shadesofblades

[placesyoucallhome]

Baatu is 7'2" and Aoki is 5'11"!

He just needs a stepladder in general. Otherwise his neck will sprain, or he'll just have to resort to talking to bellybuttons.

[aces-and-kings]

Life takes you to unexpected places and you meet unexpected people, but it's love that brings you home. It's your family that embraces you, with all your failures too.

[shadesofblades]

<3

[shadesofblades]

(dont mess with the lizard husbands... Zansei is @midnightmagicks)