#but Meteion always hits me right in the heart

[humblemooncat]

19 and 26 for the Get to know me XIV ask game please. :3

19. Favorite Villain?

Ooh, that's a tough one! This game has so many good villains to choose from tbh, all in their own flavor of villainy.

I think my favorite would have to be Meteion though. She hurt me in a special kind of way because of how they introduced her to us, then took that and said 'Oh, you love the bird girl? What a shame'

Endsinger will always be one of my favorites because while, yes she is the big bad, it feels like a mercy to all involved to defeat her. She deserved that last glimmer of hope and a second chance to see the world.

Thank you for sending this one in as well, @mimble-sparklepudding!

26. Favorite Mount

Of those I own: Ramuh

Not only did I finally get it as my first savage mount, thanks to mount farms with friends, but I adore how you ride him (*knowing eyebrow wiggle*)

It's such a cool change up from the usual sitting!

Of those I don't: Alte Roite

I WILL GET MY NOODLE YET, I SWEAR!

He looks so cool, and I've been wanting him forever. I just can't solo it because MANDATORY DOOM. orz

[starrysnowdrop]

Why Hermes?

So, some of you might have wondered why I decided to ship Hali’s Azem, Urania, with Hermes instead of your usual Emet, Hyth, or even Elidibus. As I have been asked this particular question before, I decided to write out my answer here for all that are curious to know. And what better opportunity to do so while celebrating #AppleSyrcus Week! This was supposed to be the entry for the Free Day, but I’m a bit late for that, so I apologize for the delay.

See below the cut for the full details.

I want to start by saying that it’s been difficult at times for me to talk about Hermes, for multiple reasons, but possibly the biggest reason is that so many in the fandom seem to hate him. I mean he is the one that is easy to point to and say that he caused the final days in the first place and that he’s to blame for literally everything that happened afterwards. I won’t get into a debate here about how much of it was Hermes to blame, or the Ancients’ society at large, but there’s no denying of his role in the Final Days, being the creator of the Meteia and letting Meteion escape after knowing what the Meteia planned to do. So I get it, I really do. But it also means that it makes me really anxious about even talking about him, let alone gpose or write about him. Over time it’s gotten easier, so I’m okay with writing this out now.

Here’s the thing. From the beginning, I was in the “love to hate him” camp about Fandaniel. I was intrigued with his character and wanted to know more, but I wasn’t exactly excited about his total nihilism, especially in the Pre-EW patches when we first got a taste of him. He got a bit more interesting after the Amon reveal right before Tower of Zot. As a fan of Allag stuff, I liked the reveal and all, but I still didn’t know at all what to expect next. When we got to Fandaniel’s death when he became the heart of Zodiark, I felt like he was an interesting villain, but not my favorite in FFXIV, and I thought that was that. I actually didn’t think we’d get anything more about Fandaniel, let alone his Unsundered self.

Then came Elpis, and the more I heard and saw, the more I realized that I was going to fall in love with this character, or should I say the Unsundered Fandaniel anyway. The reveal that his name was Hermes got me so damn giddy already because I have always loved Hermes from Greek Mythology. Then when Hermes first spoke in Elpis, I recognized Jeremy Ang Jones’ voice, as he was clearly Amon/Fandaniel, but he spoke so softly and it just hit me with the feels instantly. I have no idea why, but I find a great voice to be a huge turn on, and Hermes just did it for me. His beautiful green eyes also greatly help in the sexiness department for me.

Seriously though, the more I learned of Hermes, the more I felt for him. His caring nature and compassion for all of the creations that entered his care, his devotion and fatherly love for Meteion, and his kindness towards the WoL, who was just a particularly odd familiar to his knowledge, just made me love him so deeply. And he was so unique amongst the Ancients, with his love for all creatures, not just his fellow people.

Another major reason why I got attached to Hermes was that I saw a lot of myself in him with his depression, as I myself have chronic depression, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, and I am also neurodivergent. Hermes spoke to me in a way that not many of the other characters had before. Though he was this all powerful Ancient, an immortal being who had the power of creation, and held an important position in his world, he still was not happy, and he was disillusioned with Ancient society. Hermes feels so real to me, and I couldn't shake how much I felt for him.

Even way after I had finished 6.0, I still couldn’t shake him from my mind. Though I had no intention on shipping my Azem with him for the longest time, since it took me nearly 2 years to do so, he had stolen my heart, just as Aymeric, G’raha, Cid, etc. had done before. When I created and developed Hali, I actually got some inspiration to flesh out her Azem, as I didn't do anything with Yume's, but I soon created Urania. And when I was writing out my ideas, my heart knew what the right choice was. I knew that Urania would love Hermes, but it ultimately is a tragic love story since it doesnt work out, as they are broken up before the summonings of Zodiark and Hydaelyn and the Sundering. Unlike how I had written Yume, Hali's Unsundered self would be the kind-hearted, compassionate, and understanding person that would be perfect to see Hermes for who he is and fall in love with him, even though Hermes will ultimately sabotage the relationship and push Urania away over and over again.

Lastly, I wanted to point out that my love is very much for Hermes, and not as much for Fandaniel as the sundered ascian. I very much see Hermes, Amon, and Ascian Fandaniel as all separate characters, even though they all share the same soul whose trauma can be first attributed to the suffering that Hermes experienced. Though I still sympathize with Fandaniel to a point, I certainly do not ship Hali with Fandaniel, nor Hermes even. This is because Hali's heart belongs to Aymeric, and although she recognizes that she has some feelings for Hermes when she meets him in Elpis, Hali ultimately attributes that to Urania's feelings and not her own.

As of right now, I am still figuring out not only a canon timeline, especially with the newest short story coming in and wrecking a few things that I had planned, but I also have a few headcanons for the Modern AU with Urania x Hermes. So for now, I’ll give you a handful of headcanons for the Modern AU.

Hermes is a single father who adopted Meteion when she was a few months old, and she is obviously not a familiar in this modern setting but a little girl who wants her papa to find love. He is in graduate school working towards his master’s and eventually his PhD in Astronomy, but he still doesn’t earn enough to support himself and his daughter, so he is a barista at the local coffee shop. It is at the coffee shop where he meets Urania, who is a regular customer. They then bump into each other at the university and realize that they are in the same Astronomy graduate program. Some other hobbies that Hermes has include cooking, bird watching, and stargazing, along with spending his free time with Meteion as much as he can. I’m still figuring out how I want the romance to develop, but I’m very excited about this AU because it can just be a sweet love story and no big bad stuff happening like the Final Days.

That's about it for why I love Hermes as a character, and ultimately why I decided to ship my Azem with him. Please feel free to send me an ask or a message if you have any further questions or comments.

[cinnabun-faerie]

FFXIV Reactions: Unconscious WOL teleporting back to the ship(Part 2)

A/N: Urianger's hit me the hardest. Estinien's actually gave me a peace of mind.

Warning: Angst. THIS IS HEAVY SPOILER TERRITORY! If you have not finished expansions, please advert your eyes, fellow adventures!

General FFXIV Masterlist ↳ here

You can find the first part ↳ here !

Estinien

He was calm in waiting. At least on the outside. Truly he was a nervous wreck. He had promised to fight at your side. Yet here he was, back on the ship, waiting for your return. He had tried to leave to find you, but was stopped by the twins and Thancred. When Meteion appeared, he was thankful to hear that you were on your way shortly.

But you had not come shortly. The Scions had waited a long time for your arrival. And many times had he tried to go to find you, but was stopped every time. He was getting more restless the more time passed.

And finally had you appeared before them. He had let out a sigh of relief, ready to scold you. But that would be when he saw your crumpled form. It was he who would pick you up and carry you to sick bay. He would refuse to leave your side as you were being healed. He was worried about you, but he knew that you would pull through. It would be unlike you to die so soon when you had so much more good that you had to do.

When he felt you squeeze his hand, he would smile down at you. And there he would see your pretty eyes open and stare up at him. All was right with the world now that you were back in it.

"You gave me quite the scare, Y/N."

"Us." Thancred corrected, only to receive a glare from Y'shtola.

"Are you hurt, Estinien?"

He let out a chuckle as you carefully sat up and began to check him over. It was just like you to think of others first. Commendable, really.

"I'm fine. But you should worry about yourself. You barely escaped death."

"I don't care. You are what matters most to me."

"Why did I fall in love with such a person like you?"

"What was that, Estinien?"

"What was what?"

You smirked while he stared at you in conclusion. Surely you did not hear his thought, had you? He hadn't really said it out loud, right?

"You said you fell in love with me. I must be dreaming. Estinien Varlineau is in love with me. What a time to be alive. Lucky for you, I feel the same."

"Are you done-wait, what did you just say?"

Sighing, Thancred leaned against the wall and watched on. Finally he was seeing his two oblivious friends realize the love for each other.

"Will you two just kiss already?"

Urianger

His heart was full with worry. Was this déjà vu? Once had he been unable to help someone dear to him. And the result had been her death. And now you had saved the Scions only to no send them safety while you face danger alone. How on earth could he ever recover if he lost you? He was so in his head that he did not notice your unconscious body appear. It was only when Alisaie screamed did he break from his thoughts.

If only he hadn't.

Ever so calm and reserved was Urianger Augurelt, yet in this moment, he crumbled. His face paled. His breath caught in his throat and his body started to shake. He could not move forward as he was frozen on the spot. His heart beat was loud in his ears and he couldn't hear anything else around him. He felt disoriented and dizzy. His life lay on the floor and he didn't know if they were dead or alive. You had always been by his side. You who forgave him when he had betrayed your trust. You had been the one he turned to, finally revealing his true feelings after holding them in for so long. Yet he had so much more to say to you.

He was too late.

He was too late.

"Urianger! Urianger! They can yet be saved. We require your assistance."

"Assistance? What can I do?"

"You're the Astrologian! Heal them."

You were still alive? That little bit of hope that grew like a flower in his heart, fueling him to stumble forward despite them feeling like jelly. He dare not look down at your face as he proceeded to do what he could to save you. He feared that seeing the expression of his dearest love on the brink of death would truly break him.

When they couldn't do anything more, waiting was cruel. It let him drift back into his thoughts. What if you didn't wake? What if, despite healing you, it was not enough? He was nervous-pacing, worry and dread spreading from him to the others.

Before Thancred or Y'shtola could tell him to stop, your fingers moved. And then your eyes opened, seeing the Scions around you. Urianger was the first to your side, taking your hand in his. Tears stained his cheek as he cupped your own. Your eyes filled with life searched his pained ones. It was if the heaviest of weights had been lifted from his chest. You were alive, you were safe. You were here with him. He wasn't going to let you go again. He couldn't.

You'd never seen him so touchy and affectionate like this. But it was lovely. You were happy to be alive. Even happier were you to be with him in this moment.

He was on autopilot as he leaned in and kissed your lips, resting his forehead on yours. He needed to tell you. He couldn't lock it away in his heart any longer. You needed to know.

"Urianger?"

"It's about time." Thancred said with a smirk, Y'shtola smacking him lightly.

"I have stolen a kiss from thine lips and lay my heart bare for thee."

"If I were to also steal a kiss, would my answer be clear?"

With a single nod, you pressed your lips against his. When you'd pull away, you were all smiles. As was he. For once in your lives, you could move forward together without fear.

[starrysnowdrop]

Okay like...I'm not a huge Hermes fan because of what happens later with him but..I can tell you are very excited about him and your stuff involving him and you're afraid no one will like or ask about it. I like to encourage people to chase what they love and inspires them so...

I am asking. Lay it on me! Give me all the Hermes stuff that makes you excited! (If you're comfortable doing it.) Headcannons, thoughts, um..I don't AO3 but if you have links to stories with him...whatever you want to share! Go for it!

First of all, can I give you the biggest virtual hug?!?

Thank you so much @pinxli for your kindness, your encouragement, and your support for us all here!! You are an amazing friend and I’m so grateful. 🥹💖

Onto your actual ask, which is just a chance for me to blab about Hermes for a bit, which I know will end up way too long, so I’ll put it under a cut.

So, I want to start by saying that you are absolutely right Inxli-mun in that it’s been difficult for me to talk about Hermes, for multiple reasons, but a big one is that so many in the fandom seem to hate him. I mean he is the one that is easy to point to and say that he caused the final days in the first place and that he’s to blame for literally everything that happened afterwards. So I get it, I really do. But it also means that it makes me really anxious about even talking about him, let alone gpose or write about him. So hopefully this will help me in doing so in the future.

Here’s the thing. From the beginning, I was in the “love to hate him” camp about Fandaniel. I was intrigued with his character and wanted to know more, but I wasn’t exactly excited about his total nihilism, especially in the Pre-EW patches when we first got a taste of him. He got a bit more interesting after the Amon reveal right before Tower of Zot. As a fan of Allag stuff, I liked the reveal and all, but I still didn’t know at all what to expect next. When we got to Fandaniel’s death when he became the heart of Zodiark, I felt like he was an interesting villain, but not my favorite in FFXIV, and I thought that was that. I didn’t think we’d get anything more about Fandaniel, let alone his Unsundered self.

Then came Elpis, and the more I heard and saw, the more I realized that I was going to fall in love with this character, or should I say the Unsundered Fandaniel anyway. The reveal that his name was Hermes got me so damn giddy already because I have always loved Hermes from Greek Mythology. Then when Hermes first spoke in Elpis, I recognized Jeremy Ang Jones’ voice, as he was clearly Amon/Fandaniel, but he spoke so softly and it just hit me with the feels instantly. I have no idea why, but I find a great voice to be a huge turn on, and Hermes just did it for me. His beautiful green eyes also greatly help in the sexiness department for me.

Seriously though, the more I learned of Hermes, the more I felt for him. His caring nature and compassion for all of the creations, his devotion and fatherly love for Meteion, and his kindness towards the WoL just made me love him so deeply. And he was so unique amongst the Ancients, with his love for all creatures, not just his fellow people, and not to mention that I saw a lot of myself in him with his depression, as I myself have chronic depression and anxiety. It all spoke to me, and way after I had finished 6.0, I still couldn’t shake him from my mind. Though I had no intention on shipping with him for the longest time, since it took me nearly 2 years to do so, he had stolen my heart, just as Aymeric, G’raha, Cid, etc. had done before.

So I don’t want this to turn into a full blown essay on him, even though I have already written so much already, but I wanted to talk a bit about why I love him, and that my love is very much for Hermes, and not as much for Fandaniel as the sundered ascian. I very much see Hermes, Amon, and Ascian Fandaniel as all separate characters, even though they all share the same soul whose trauma can be first attributed to the suffering that Hermes experienced.

Though I am still figuring out not only a canon timeline, especially with the newest short story coming in and wrecking a few things that I had planned, but I also have a few headcanons for the Modern AU with Urania x Hermes, and I also I do want to do a Happy Ending AU for Hermes, but I am not entirely certain if I could pull that last one off. So for now, I’ll give you a handful of headcanons for the Modern AU.

Hermes is a single father who adopted Meteion when she was a few months old, and she is obviously not a familiar in this modern setting but a little girl who wants her papa to find love. He is in graduate school working towards his master’s and eventually his PhD in Astronomy, but he still doesn’t earn enough to support himself and his daughter, so he is a barista at the local coffee shop. It is at the coffee shop where he meets Urania, who is a regular customer. They then bump into each other at the university and realize that they are in the same Astronomy graduate program. Some other hobbies that Hermes has is bird watching and cooking, along with spending his free time with Meteion as much as he can. I’m still figuring out how I want the romance to develop, but I’m very excited about this AU because it can just be a sweet love story and no big bad stuff happening like the Final Days.

With that, I think I’ll shut up for now. But thank you so much for this ask Inxli-mun!! I very much appreciate the opportunity to blab about this man who I adore very much. 🥰💖