#chocobo express

[rottenpumpkin13]

Aerith and Zack try to prank Angeal by sending him an ultrasound. In how many ways that goes wrong?

*Sephiroth sits at Angeal's desk, calmly demonstrating something on the computer as Angeal watches, visibly lost*

Sephiroth: You need to press here and then—oh, you've got an email from Zack.

Angeal: What does it say?

Sephiroth: "Subject: New Beginnings. Hey, I hope this email finds you well. I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me—not just as a mentor but as a true role model. Your guidance has shaped me in ways I can't fully express. I've been thinking about the example you've set....which is why you've inspired me to do this." And there's an attachment.

Angeal: See, Sephiroth? The boy's maturing! He appreciates and respects me. What are you waiting for? Go ahead, open the attachment :)

*Sephiroth clicks the attachment*

Sephiroth: It's an ultrasound.

Angeal: CLOSE IT. CLOSE IT RIGHT NOW.

Sephiroth: Closing it won't change its contents.

Angeal, looking away: CLOSE THE DAMN FILE!

Sephiroth: Averting your eyes does nothing.

Angeal: All right, all right, don't panic. Maybe it's a—uh—a dog! Yeah, it's a dog ultrasound. He's getting a new puppy. That makes sense, right?

*Sephiroth looks at the image*

Sephiroth: That is unmistakably a human child.

Angeal: HE KNOCKED HER UP

Sephiroth: It's rather adorable. A healthy baby girl, from the looks of it. We should get them a gift. Perhaps a stuffed chocobo, or maybe a music box?

Angeal: Focus, Sephiroth! Zack isn't ready for this! He's practically a child himself! He barely remembers to eat without me reminding him, and now he's bringing a baby into this world?!

Sephiroth: I mean, he did say you inspired him to step up.

Angeal: Why would Zack say I've inspired him?! Does he expect me to raise this child?!

Sephiroth, re-reading: Ah. I see the confusion. It's not addressed to Angeal Hewley.

Angeal: Oh, thank Gaia.

Sephiroth: It's addressed to Grandpa Angeal.

*Angeal violently passes out*

Sephiroth: I'll order the stuffed chocobo.

[drabblesandimagines]

Portrait

Joshua Rosfield x (painter) female reader Commissioned piece, 4,600 words (minor end game spoilers) Thank you so much for the commissioner for commissioning me in the first place and for letting me share here with you all! x

“No, no, no.” You’d swear the woman before you should be stomping her foot along to her words, her mannerisms being similar to those of a petulant child not getting their way.

The Empress of Sanbreque is usually a picture of decorum – carefully composed expression, hands clasped, never a hair out of place nor a wrinkle in her gown – but her façade appears to have cracked for she is scowling at you with clenched fists by her side. “Did you not understand my directions?”

You open your mouth, and quickly shut it again. Your mind is blank on an answer, probably looking foolish as you do so. You look at the portrait you’d unveiled moments ago for her private viewing, trying to see what she’s taken umbrage with, though you’re sure you followed her instructions to the letter.

“Your Grace, I-”

She raises her hand, stopping you before you can even begin a defense.

“It is quite clear that you did not.” Olivier, her three-year-old son and the subject of the portrait, sits at her feet, disturbingly well-behaved for his age, even for one of noble blood and upbringing. His eyes almost seemed lifeless at times – unnervingly so – with a cruel smile that was beyond his years. You’d tried to soften it out, is that what had upset her so?

“His Grace has been most pleased with my previous works.” You’d been brought in under the Empreror’s service first – endless commissions of he and the crown prince to celebrate every momentous occasion over the last few years.   

“His Grace has, yes, but only of Prince Dion.” The way she pronounces Bahamut’s name is as if it leaves a foul taste on her tongue. “But these won’t do at all for my darling Olivier.” She pinches the bridge of her nose in exasperation as she casts her eyes over your work once more. You swallow your pride. After all, it is far better to keep in the Empress’ good books than make an enemy of. “I will start anew-” “No – I’ve seen enough. You are dismissed, without pay. Come, Olivier.”

He grabs her hand obediently, but not without throwing you one last cruel smile.

--

Although you knew it would be difficult to remain in the city, you hadn’t expected a group of soldiers to appear at your door that very evening – armed with swords and spears, one holding a scroll of decree and beginning to read to you the moment after your name was confirmed.

“By decree of Empress Anabella Lesage, you are hereby commanded to leave Orinflamme at once.”

“Leave?” You’d planned to move – you knew her handmaidens would make quick work of spreading the gossip of your dismissal, whispering in certain noble ears to make sure the word spread far and wide – but to be banished altogether?

“Leave.” The captain of the guard confirmed, no sign of emotion on his face. “Refusal to comply will be seen as treason, of which the punishment is execution. You are to be gone by sunrise.”

You look around your small abode, trying to work out what you could possibly pack up and take in such a small timeframe – could you scrape enough gil together to rent a chocobo for the travel?

“Furthermore, all of your possessions are now the property of Empire. You may, however, retain the clothes upon your person.” The way in which he says it makes you think that he believes that is being far too generous.

“Excuse me,” a familiar voice calls and the crowd of guards splits. Prince Dion Lesage, regaled in the armour of the Dragoons and spear at his side, walks forward with purpose.

“My prince, there is no need to trouble yourself with such matters as these.”

“The Emperor himself requested my presence to make sure the Empress’ wishes are fulfilled. If you will excuse us, I assure you I have it handled from here and you may return to your other duties.” He casts a scathing eye over the seven men. “I doubt this task required this many of you either.”

“Yes, my prince.” The captain replies, tersely, with only a slight bow of his head, but none of the men make to move quite yet.

Dion’s hand tightens around the hilt of his spear and you are rendered speechless as he grabs you by the crook of your elbow and pulls you forward, out of your home – not even a chance to glance around and bid it goodbye - past the assembled guards and starts to lead you towards the city gates in long strides.

“I am sorry, my lady,” Dion says, softly, trying to avoid prying ears. You have always been fond of the crown prince – he had always treated you kindly in your interactions during portrait sitting sessions over the last few years. “I tried to speak to the Emperor to overturn the Empress’ command as soon as word reached me, but he would not be swayed.”

Your eyes widen at the idea. “Prince Dion, you shouldn’t have. That is far more kindness than I deserve.”

“Nonsense,” he chides. “I just wish I could do more. I saw the portrait before the Empress commanded it destroyed. I cannot think what has offended her so – it was the spitting image of Olivier.” He drops your elbow at last and retrieves a pouch off his belt, holding it out to you. “It isn’t much – shamefully, I am not adept of carrying gil around on my person – but hopefully it will be enough to see you through your travel.”

“No, your highness,” you shake your head. “I couldn’t possibly accept.”

“You must,” he presses the pouch firmly in your hand. “Do not make me order it so. It will be a long journey ahead - my concern is Northflame is too close to be out of the Empress’ influence.”

“I’ll head to Port Isodole – enough nobles reside there for me to gain employment once more, I’m sure of it.”

--

It was tricky upon your arrival to Port Isodole. You wanted to remain positive that you’d be commissioned on reputation alone by some of the Imperial nobles who resided there. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the word had already wormed its way into eager ears, and those who sought the Empress Anabella’s favour wouldn’t dare to associate with someone she’d dismissed so blatantly and banished from the city itself.

You’d made do with work as a barmaid, part of your wages taking up with your food and board. Slowly, you’d built up your art supplies over the years and remained positive. Afterall, you could have had much worse luck in life than what you’d faced.

Finally, you decided to take a few of landscape pieces to market, hoping that surely enough time had passed - the Mothercrystal had been felled, Orinflamme abandoned in consequence, so why would the people of Port Isodole still hold such regard for the word of an Empress now stationed so far away?

“My dear, these are truly wonderful.” His voice is boomingly loud, surely drawing the attention of everyone in the vicinity. A tall, stocky, bearded man, dressed in finery looked in awe at your display and you so hoped pockets heavy with gil might be in store. “I feel as if I’m actually there, casting my eyes across the horizon once more.”

“Thank you, sir. Is there anything you’re looking for in particular?” “Mayhaps - do you dabble in portraiture?” “I do… or I did. It’s been a little while.”

“And who is your patron?”

“My… patron?” You hesitate, wary now that this is where Anabella’s tarnishing of your name would lead to your undoing.

“With a talent such as this, you must have one.”

“Well, I-“

“Lord Byron”, a man interrupts, looking scornfully at you and keeping his distance. A beautiful woman is hanging off his arm and looking mortified by the whole thing. “I’d be wary of her. Empress Anabella dismissed her from her services.”

“Oh… Oh, my.” He sets his face in a solemn expression and your heart sinks. “Thank you, my good man.” Byron nods his head, giving the man a hearty pat on the back and begins to walk away with the couple. You feel as if you may cry. Maybe coming here was a mistake, but it was as far as you could’ve gone with the gil Dion had kindly given you. Is Anabella’s scorn going to follow you round forever?

You try and steel your resolve for other potential customers – who would want to purchase anything from a tearful merchant? - though many pass without giving your wares so much as a second glance. A cloaked man strides past, hand scuffing your table as he does. At first you think he meant to swipe something from it, but there is only an addition in the form of a letter.

You lean over the table and pick it up, breaking the wax seal.

My sincerest apologies for how we parted. If you would be so kind, please attend the manor this evening and dine with me. I wish to discuss your talent further and, if I may, commission you, the Empress Anabella be damned. – Lord Byron Rosfield.

--

Lord Byron had heard tale of your portraits, it had turned out, but he still wished to see your work first hand before he would tell you what he truly wanted. A workroom was set up for your disposal, a plethora of supplies that made your eyes water at the potential cost, but he had waved it off, declaring himself a lover of the arts. He’d marveled at your portrait of him and bid you come the next day to see the project in full he wished to discuss. As you entered the workroom, the large table had been covered in rolls of what you thought were parchment, but instead turned out to be precious segments of his dear brother’s portrait – the former Archduke of Rosaria, Elwin.

“I fear it is far beyond repair – I was lucky to salvage enough as I did - but I wondered if you would be up for the challenge of a recreation.”

“I can certainly try. There’s definitely enough of his face to base from. And I have your likeness, my lord, to assist.”

--

“Oh, Uncle,” Clive has tears in his eyes as he beholds the new addition to Byron’s parlor. “It is just as I remembered – he is just as I remembered. How did you even get hold of this? I thought everything destroyed after the siege.”

“The original was beyond saving, torn and burnt in places, yes. This, my dear boy, I had it commissioned, using parts of the original as a guide. You see, I have taken into my patronage a very talented artist – allow me to fetch her.”

Joshua’s breath had been stolen when he saw the painting of his father. He could swear if he stared long enough, the eyes would blink in return, that he would see his father’s chest rise with breath once more. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be proud of the man he’d grown to be, if he had done the Phoenix proud before the Eikons were stripped from the world.

A warm palm rests on his shoulder. “It is like he is the room once more, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, brother. Quite remarkable. I… I worried I had forgotten his face, after all this time, but this…”

Clive squeezes his shoulder then, no more words needed.

The silence is soon interrupted by the heavy footsteps of their uncle as the door is thrown open.

“Lord Bryon,” you protest, trying to step back but his hand on your back remains firm, “My apologies, but I really am in no state to-”

“Nonsense, my girl!” It is too late for you are pushed in front of two of the most handsome men you think you have seen.

You curtsy, clumsily, and Joshua can’t help but grin. He said you were to meet his nephews and, as he was a lord, they deserved the same respect, however Bryon hadn’t even given you chance to wash your hands, nor check your face in the mirror for errant paint streaks before he’d ushered you to the parlor.

“My dearest nephews, allow me to introduce the talented painter behind this masterpiece.”  

Your cheeks feel hot, a little flustered in the way which Byron had pulled you in front of his nephews with no preparation. Joshua thanks the Founder that he was stood where he was, meaning that he gets to make your acquaintance first. Byron introduces you by name and turns to the blonde first, beaming.

“This is my youngest nephew – Joshua.” You offer out your hand but also curtsy again, forgetting yourself in the fluster. The Empress Anabella would not have stood for it. Before you can retreat your hand with an apology, Joshua takes it in his hand and drops to his knee, pressing a kiss across the back of it.

“It is a pleasure to meet the talented woman behind the masterpiece.”

“Oh,” your eyes light up and Joshua delights in it, already thinking of how he can achieve the same rush. “Thank you – that’s very kind. I admired Archduke Elwin very much – it was an honour to pay tribute to his memory.” Joshua slowly gets to his feet and relinquishes your hand.

“I… I served under your mother – the Empress Anabella - for a time.”

“Yes, before she was exiled for a portrait of Oliver Lesage not meeting her standards.”

“Ah. I pray you do not hold that against us.” Clive interrupts.

“Of course she doesn’t, my boy!” Byron booms once more. “This is my eldest nephew, Clive. Quite the rogue.”

“Uncle,” Clive gently admonishes. “I cannot see why our mother would be displeased with your work. This is… I feel like I can reach out and touch him. You’ve captured him remarkably well.”

You duck your head down in embarrassment, not used to receiving such amounts of praise. The Emperor would nod his approval, make no comment on style or substance, so to have the three sing your praises is a little overwhelming.

“Thank you.” You nod at Clive, a small smile across your lips and Joshua feels a twang in his chest at the sight of it – odd.

“And now this one is complete, I dare say we mu-“

The parlor door is swung open with a bang. Gav stands there, panting, hands on his knees to try and catch his breath. “Sorry, like, but we gotta scram. Imperial soldiers heading this way – caught wind of Cid the Outlaw sniffing about.”

Joshua did not see you for another year.

Regrettably, other matters had taken precedence. Ultima at first, a period of recovery for both him and Clive – Dion lost in the fight, and then focus had turned to helping nations adapt to a crystal-free life and the rebuilding of Grand Duchy of Rosaria. Parts of the castle were still under construction, but the capital itself had been rebuilt and ready to usher in the new Archduke.

“Your grace,” a servant called, diverting his attention from the latest pile of missives left at his desk, “Lord Byron Rosfield has arrived.”

“Uncle!” Joshua beamed, descending the stairs from the castle into the courtyard where Byron was emerging from a carriage. “We were not expecting you quite yet.”

“My dear boy,” he pulled his nephew into a firm hug. “I’m afraid I was far too keen to give you your gift to wait any longer.”

“A gift, Uncle? You shouldn’t have.”

His eyes widen as you emerge from the carriage, a hesitant smile on your face as you nod your head in greeting.

“Nonsense! The Archduke needs a portrait to mark this historical day.”

“Your grace.” You begin, cautiously. “I’m not sure you remember me, but-“

“My lady,” he begins, slyly taking your hand and pressing a kiss against your knuckles in greeting. “Of course I do. I assure you I could not forget one of such talent, nor of such beautiful visage.”

“You are too kind, your grace.”

“Joshua – I insist.”

“Joshua.” The word feels precious on your tongue. “Lord Byron is quite keen for me to paint a portrait of you and your brother, though I’m aware that this is probably quite a busy time for you to have long sittings.”

“Nonsense. You are welcome to my time whenever you wish, my lady.”

--

Joshua would never openly admit to it, but he had been somewhat jealous of Clive in their childhood. Not of the distain his mother had shown towards her first-born son, no, but of the freedom that maternal neglect had permitted him. Though Clive had taken the burden of being the First Shield upon his shoulders without a word of complaint, it was not as if Joshua had asked to be the Dominant of the Phoenix, nor that he had a choice in the matter at all. So many people were relying on him, championing him on, but when he was laid up in bed, downing elixirs and tonics made by the castle healers, he didn’t feel as strong as he needed to be.

Clive could go out wherever he wanted, do whatever he wanted without the watchful eye of Anabella or the gaggle of her handmaidens. He could wear whatever he pleased too, practical things, even. Joshua instead had been draped in the finest fabrics, shipped in from Dhalkmekia that he would be scolded over for dirtying even slightly.

He thought he was old enough to no longer experience such a childish notion as jealousy – he could wear what he wanted, go where he wanted, no longer burdened by Ultima in his chest or the Phoenix in his being… But the foul feeling is getting harder to ignore when he is forced to sit there as you grip Clive’s bicep, moving his arm a fraction of an inch to the left, or the way in which you shyly adjust his shirt, claiming it’s important to have the outfit the exact same in order for the shading, but you never show him the same courtesy. He had hoped for more private sittings, to have your company to himself – perhaps sitting shoulder to shoulder with Clive’s muscular form was doing him no favours - but Byron had requested the two men together in a portrait, so the sessions had been arranged for when they were both free so you could at least get the outlines down, as well as some initial colouring.

You tug Clive’s shirt down a little to try and get it to lay flat – face burning with how your hand ghosted across his muscular chest - it had ridden a little and bunched when he sat. Clive stared straight ahead, hands clasped, ever the gentleman, and Joshua found himself shuffling in position, hoping his shirt might misbehave.

The Founder does not bless him so, as you return back behind the canvas.

--

Joshua arrives for his sitting in a good mood for two reasons – one, it is just to be him as Clive is away in Eastpool for a day or so, and two, he had a plan.

He did have a morning and early afternoon of meetings and reports to get through, but he had promised the late afternoon and as much as the evening for his sitting to take place, and that is certainly enough time to put said plan into action.

“Hello,” You smile brightly as he enters, taking his usual position on the chair.  Joshua has his pose down to a fine art, whereas Clive needed more co-ercing to settle. “Are you sure you have time for this today? It might be a rather long one, I’m afraid I have a lot to get through as Lord Byron is keen for it to be ready for the day.”

“As I said, I am all yours for as long as you can stand me, my lady.”

You nod, stepping behind the canvas and pick up from where you left off. He doesn’t make his move for a good while, watching carefully as your eyes flick between the canvas and him and you begin to mix up paints once more, trial and error as usual as you worked diligently to find the right shade.

He makes his move when you turn back to the table to grab a clean brush, tugging the knot on the laces of his shirt clear and then shrugging his shoulder, revealing a little more of his chest than was previously on display.

You turn back round and your gaze flick between Joshua and the canvas once more… only for you to doubletake. He bites back a grin in celebration. It must be the candlelight playing tricks on your eyes because you could’ve sworn Joshua’s shirt laces were most definitely tied a moment ago. Mayhaps you should open a door – are the paint fumes going a little too much to your head after being sequestered in here all day long?

“Is everything all right?”

“Your, erm…” You put down the paint brush. “Your shirt laces have come undone.”

“Oh, have they?” He shrugs again, his top slipping down his shoulder a little more. “Oh, the shading, of course. My apologies.”

“That’s all right.” You wipe your hands clean on a rag, wondering how it had come quite so undone, before walking over to your subject. “May I?”

“By all means.”

You pull his shirt up his shoulder, lining it up with his ear -  a good reference point - and pull the laces taught to tie off once more. You step back, cock your head this way and that, and then forward again to adjust it once more.

“There.”

“Wonderful.”

You return back to the canvas and begin to paint, brow furrowed in concentration, whilst Joshua feels absolutely giddy that his plan had been somewhat successful in achieving your touch.

So much so, that he cannot resist a tug at the laces once more the very next time he sees you turn your back – this time to take a deep drink of water - shrugging his shoulder once more, so it reveals more of his collarbone. He composes his features, he can’t give the game away by grinning like a child.

You turn back after a few moments and this time notice immediately, opening your mouth to say something but not quite knowing what to say. You’re sure you tied the knot firmly enough to stay put.

“What is it, my lady?” He tilts his head in intrigue.

“Your… Your shirt, it’s come undone. Again.”

“No,” he feigns disbelief, looking down at his chest in surprise. “I only stretched, I assure you.”

“Of course – mayhaps I didn’t tie it tight enough.” You wipe your hands clean again on the rag and stride over, a little less cautious this time as you tug his shirt back up, now standing between his spread legs – when did that happen? - lining it up with his ear once again and tighten the laces before securing it in a knot. You nod, more to yourself, as you check over your handiwork and go to step back.

“Thank you.” Joshua catches your hand as you do so, stilling your retreat. “It is very admirable how dedicated you are to your work.”

“I think it is how I get them to seem as realistic as you say they are – the shading is everything.” Your heart is pounding in your chest by how close you are, stood between his thighs. “I should…”

“Of course,” he releases your hand and by the time you’re back behind the canvas, his legs are crossed once more.

You work in silence for a while, getting fully into the flow now that Joshua’s shirt appears to be behaving. He enjoys watching you work – the way sometimes you stick your tongue out when you are concentrating particularly hard on a certain element, how your brow furrows, how tiny smatters of paint begin to decorate your cheeks and your hair as you dab the brush onto the canvas.

As the time passes, he cannot refuse to chase the thrill of your touch one more time this evening. Clive returns tomorrow and maybe this will be his last chance for a while – he couldn’t so boldly unlace his shirt with his brother sat by his side. He waits for another opportune moment for your back to be turned, and tugs at the knot.

It holds firm.

Your back is still turned, so he tugs again.

Nothing.

He raises his other hand to try and help undo the knot, before leaning up in his chair slightly to see if he can see what you’re doing, how much longer you may be as he continues fighting the knot. He thinks you’re having another drink of water, so he risks looking down, finally pulling the knot free and frantically shrugs his shoulders – a little more vigorously than before as he feels his shirt slip down on both.

He looks up in relief, only to see you have turned back whilst he was looking down, your head tilted as you stare at him in confusion.

Joshua feels his face burn as red as his old cowl at being caught in the act.

You walk over to him again, trying to hold in a smile that is rapidly creeping across your face and feeling as bold as brass. “Although I would like to paint you sans shirt, Joshua, I don’t think your uncle would be best pleased.”

“You would?” His voice lilts before he shakes his head, embarrassment and shame overcoming him. “No, I beg your forgiveness, my lady.” He mumbles, tugging his shirt back up on his shoulders. “I have let feelings of jealousy drive my actions and it is most unbecoming of a future Archduke.”

“Jealousy?”

“I… desired your touch, but I understand that Clive is…”

“He’s…?”

“A finer specimen.” He feels entirely foolish and somewhat pathetic for even saying it aloud – his brother’s body had come from years of enforced labor, for Founder’s sake! “Please, my lady, I beg you for-“

You press your lips against his in a chaste kiss, before pulling back with a shy smile, heart pounding, hoping you’ve read the signs and heard him correctly.

“I assure you, Clive is not the one I desire.”

He lifts a hand to caress your cheek for a moment before pulling you back in between his thighs, a steadying hand on your back as your lips meet again once more – a succession of frantic kisses, as if you are both trying to squeeze in as many as you can before the moment is over.

The two of you begin to slow your rhythm as you nestle yourself upon his thigh, feel his tongue swipe across your lips, seeking entrance. You part them slightly and he is quick to divulge with a moan that makes you tingle.

You have to retreat to catch your breath at one point – never in your wildest dreams had you pictured the session ending with you sat on the future Archduke’s lap, his shirt now hanging open around his shoulders again.

“Please do not say you have to get back to the portrait, darling one.” He murmurs into your throat before pressing kisses across your jaw.

“No. Your complexion is too flush for me to continue,” you tease.

“Good. For I have something else in mind for the evening.”

“Oh?”

“A private showing, if you will.” He takes your hand and places it flat against the exposed part of his chest – you can feel his heart pounding through your fingertips.  

“Where would that be?”

“My bed chambers.”

--

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Commissions/Ko-Fi

Comments, follows, likes and reblogs make my day!

(The tags aren't working for this one - sigh...)

[nshi-ao3]

Joker finally gets himself a Chocobo in the latest chapter, hooray! :D

(Becky fits the same naming conventions as Maggie and Gilly and whatever else Wedge would care to adopt, it sounds a lot like Boco -- the original Chocobo! Plus I get to reference Kawakami's hilarious facial expressions)

[rocketbirdie]

months ago i started writing a thing that involved comparing cloud to a silkie chicken chocobo whenever he gets rained on, and then you did an art at some point that had a silkie chicken chocobo, which, DELIGHTFUL!! i still think about it a lot. then today i was editing that thing i wrote which had me circling back around to rotate silkie chicken chocobo in my mind again. do you think they're like. mostly for show or kept as pets and not used in racing or farming? do you think some varieties of chocobo tend to be super good at, idk, agility courses in the same way as border collies? do you think that carnivorous chocobos exist?

...what do you think they call a 'ponytail' in ff7 since ponies don't exist? although, i guess they sorta do - eligor and odin both have "horses", i guess, but that's still not ponies.

oh FOR SURE

if we're drawing comparisons to real life silkies then they're definitely just for show and as pets. and since they're usually pretty friendly around people they might make good training chocobos for little kids learning to ride! i would love to see other breeds that are specifically bred for technical skills like obstacle courses and sports.

I absolutely believe that chocobos are omnivores. look at those talons and that hooked beak. they'll eat just about anything (including small rocks to aid with digestion LOL).

I am on the fence about the existence of horses in the ffvii universe. the phrase "hold your horses" gets used more than once to my knowledge; and between eligor and odin, as well as the implications of the TEXAS sign in tifa's bar in the OG, I propose the following theory:

In the FFVII universe, Texas is a fairytale land full of mythical four legged creatures called "horses" (and their comically smaller versions, "ponies") which people ride like chocobos. Maybe the idea of Texas was popularized by a children's book or movie? And now it's just a cultural thing, like the Little Mermaid. And some expressions like "ponytail" have wormed their way into common vocabulary.

[peachie-kittie]

GROUP AU

I cannot stop thinking about TPTM. So, in honor of that, I made those old fandom like - flow charts with the colored lines. 9 images, I'll be explaining below the cut

So! Quick run down on what the lines mean:

Pink: crushing. Explains itself, romantic attraction.

Yellow: close friends. Also explains itself, they consider themselves close confidants.

Cyan: like/friends. Not super close, but they'd hang around each other outside the group in big groups or every so often one-on-one.

Gray: neutral-friendly. Probably wouldn't hang out outside the group, but there's respect there and they usually get on fine.

Purple: calibers personal MOM line lmao. Not biologically obvs but she sees these girls as smth akin to her kids/nieces.

Got it? Sick.

-----

Disposable Girl (Jordyn-Mae Thomas):

Notes (in order for each girl):

-It and Irreverent have a cordial relationship but aren't close. They're personalities just don't really click.

-cluster b mfs who don't wash their hair stick together!! You can't tell me disposable doesn't drag splitter to the skate park after dark where they fuck around and eat stolen gas station snacks.

-wants to be closer to fainéant but doesn't wanna bother them. They're so sleepy all the time and also a smidge intimidating with how sarcastic they can be. Faineant finds Disposable girl really funny though and relates to the feeling of being sidelined.

-Looks up to Caliber as a cool aunt kinda figure but is too shy to ever express it. Caliber worries about Disposable hurting itself while skateboarding and enjoys talking Pokémon with it.

-Do I even need to say it. The Instagram story bro. Chocobo and Diaposable are GAY.

-Similar case to Irreverent with the added bonus of being slightly intimidated. I mean, Taxidermy's cool as fuck - wearing leather and other kink gear pretty openly. But also she's pretty stoic AND 21 and it makes Disposable self aware. Taxidermy, on the other hand, has a thing with anyone under 20 - that being, he thinks of them as BABIES (/silly). Aka he doesn't want to make them feel weird at all, mixed with the canonical shyness, makes her very reserved around Diaposable.

-originally it was pretty intimidated by chemical bc she's strong and atheletic as fuck but then chemical complimented Disposables outfit ONCE and it WOULD NOT let chemical go. They ended up bonding over shit like music tastes, anime, and even exercise a bit! Turns out disposable has a talent for ddr.

-it's admiration from disposable that makes her line blue and ignorance on refractions end. Disposable doesn't approach them often so they are clueless to the fact disposable finds her very ethereal and very cool.

------

Irreverent Girl (Kairi Herring):

Notes:

-Irreverent thinks Splitter is clever and brave but a little too reckless for co's tastes. One is aware of the fact, however, that Splitter thinks she looks cool and certainly doesn't mind the little debates they occasionally get into.

-Faineant and Irreverent are laid back buds who love to chill together. One is more than happy to just spend time in silence with Faineant and send each other memes. When faineant has the energy, they like to go online shopping together and discuss things like what happens post-mortem. Also, Irreverent is thankful that Faineant doesn't mind the flat affect of her tone.

-Appreciates Caliber's concern, but is fine with the casualty of their friendship. They don't have much in common anyway, but appreciates knowing another person in the group also struggles with emotional suppression the way co does.

-I said it in my headcanon post and I'll say it here; UNLIKELY DUO OF CHOCOBO AND IRREVERENT!! I love love love the idea that chocobo forced himself in irreverent's life and actually ended up bonding well with one!! It caught Irreverent off guard, too, but she realized that Chocobo's willingness to engage with many topics and do anything as long as the person he's with is genuinely happy was not only pleasant, but something co admires. It's also just funny to imagine Irreverent with her flat affect ass and Chocobo explaining how excited it's friend is, that's just co's face. Also they share accessories every so often bc Irreverent has more than just the cute bunny hood.

-Irreverent and Taxidermy are both flat affect motherfuckers. I'm not wrong. The only reason taxidermy's line isn't yellow is because Irreverent is 19. But once co turns 20, Taxidermy will probably be more willing to hang out around her.

-I don't have as many thoughts here; I see this as a slightly similar-ish situation to Splitter though. Chemical is really gentle and generally friendly, but not so affectionate that she'll just cling to people like Chocobo. And since friendship with Irreverent often requires initiation from the other party, they just never really bonded. Co has no qualms being around Chemical, though, and they've had a few fun interactions.

-Refraction's talk of metamorphosis and life after death intrigued Irreverent. She doesn't feel like many of the others would be as okay with such dark topics (save for Faineant, who deals with severe medical issue already), so she finds it nice to have someone co can talk to freely with. They don't talk much in person, however - lots of texting. They've probably gotten stoned together tbh.

-----

Splitter Girl (Tahira Rashid):

-Something I've read that I kinda wanna incorporate is this thing that some people with NPD experience is thinking you're closer to someone than you actually are.

-I say this bc it's her relation to faineant jdjdbsnsn splitter thinks they're besties and faineant is like "yeh she's cool but very loud n I'm gonna need her to tone it down before we consistently hang out." Splitter is trying her best to do so, she's just VERY hyperactive. They're working on it, essentially.

-Now, with Caliber, this is the closest pairing out of every single one that is at risk for conflict; and even then, it's not likely. It's because Splitter has like - issues with authority, prone to some envy, and seeing Caliber complain about things like how stressed she is from working her job and balancing all the (admittedly impressive) aspects of her life occasionally causes Splitter anger-jealousy. Caliber does their best to be patient with it and understand Splitter's side, and Splitter (while she'll never probably consider herself a friend to Caliber), is willing to see her a mentor of sorts.

-Chocobo and Splitter get along well! They know each other thru Disposable and while they don't hang out as much one-on-one, they have a very fun trio energy whenever they're around each other. Main issue is that Splitter can be a bit violent, gory, generally abrasive for Chocobo's tastes - Disposable mediates and the two are working on cooling it with the sensitive topics (Splitter) and getting a bit thicker skin to handle them (chocobo).

-SPLITTER THINKS TAXIDERMY IS METAL AS FUCK. She wishes Taxidermy was less worried about the teenager thing, but considering Splitter is the BABYEST-BABY of the group, it applies to her. However, Taxidermy has complimented her before, so she believes that once she's 20 it'll be fine and she'll TRULY get to impress this metal as fuck deer person. She also experiences mild envy towards Chemical and Irreverent for being exceptions lmao.

-Again!! Cluster b friends stick together! Not as close as she is with Disposable, but that's just because they vastly different interests so it's hard for them to find hobbies they can mutually enjoy. BUT!! They enjoy playing ddr together (despite splitters two left feet) and gush about figmas, gundhams, and garage kits together. And on days where Chemical is willing to stay in, anime binge days. Another thing is, again, Chemical is more gentle than Splitter - and her severe moods can influence Chemical's bpd poorly. They've both agreed to try and get closer as they manage their symptoms, though.

-Just not fond of Refraction, and it's mutual. Not in an antagonistic way, they're just kinda...parallel. Though Splitter will always admit it's pretty sick how openly Refraction is willing to talk about death, and Refraction will admit Splitters antics can be pretty funny.

-----

Fainéant Girl (Freyja Maria Mendoza):

Notes:

-You know I didn't intend to make Faineant one of the top three most social fucking girls but here we are. Idk why I just see her as getting on with everyone pretty well bc she's chill as shit and willing to do literally anything bc she likes going out (when they have energy!) But also know how to enjoy themselves inside so it's like. They ball dude.

-ANYWAY the rlly appreciate Caliber bc they care and express a lot of worry but sometimes she feels a tinge smothered. Caliber ofc does her best to avoid doing it bur Caliber is a perfectionist and sometimes not overdoing it feels like failure to help. But as a highly independent woman herself, Caliber respects Fainéant's deep need for independence.

-Similar to above with Chocobo. Chocobo is sweet and usually is good with not infantilizing Faineant, but can occasionally overdo it EMOTIONALLY. A lot of the time Faineant needs a little extra time to process their emotions bc of daily brain fog and sometimes Chocobo can go overboard in trying to help. Not to mention, Chocobo isn't really one for staying in unless it's a party, baking, or crafting - but they're still on pretty good terms!

-Taxidermy and Faineant are parallel but like. Not in the disinterest way. They're very much the type of duo to parallel play and send each other memes over discord. They also do girl talk about sex, honestly - talking about weird body shit, they're favorite sex toys (not in a flirty way!) and their gripes about it. But bc they're both quiet and Taxidermy is more reserved than Faineant, they aren't besties.

-Chemical girl!! Helps!! They met online in a forum where Faineant was asking about exercising when extremely disabled and although Chemical herself isn't she works in a gym and has helped people like her!! So she responded, they did a video call, and now Chemical is her personal trainer. The funniest part is that I imagine that happened before the hospital incident so just. I'm imagining a scene of them leaving the hospital at the same time and they run into each other and they're just pogging at each other. Then a few weeks later Faineant rolls into the first group session and just

"Why is my workout buddy at my therapy session???"

-And as for Refraction, they share similar struggles and have similar personalities; sarcastic, a little fatigued all the time, friendly, maybe a lil pessimistic on their outlooks in life. Faineant feels a huge sisterly bond with Refraction and they keep each other motivated to stay alive.

-----

Caliber Girl (Nora Qu):

Notes:

-MOM??

-anyway Chocobo adores Caliber!! Caliber was a little surprised at first, but ended up really appreciating Chocobo in a rich aunt-loving niece kinda way. They go out shopping together, Caliber gives her advice about red flags in people, and they honestly love gossiping (harmlessly!!) together. Caliber is the first significantly older person in Chocobo's life (other than his parents) he actually trusts again, feeling like Caliber is a mentor, aunt, and sister all in one. Also chocobo makes SURE caliber eats. Oh also before group therapy Caliber actually knew Chocobo through a coffee shop it worked at so when Caliber first saw him she thought the coffee shop was catering. No your favorite batista is just severely mentally ill sorry Caliber.

-Taxidermy is vvv shy and while she thinks Caliber looks sick ("the leather boots...where did you got those, ma'am" -taxidermy) he feels a little bit intimidated by Caliber's impressive record and social grace. Caliber is friendly nonetheless, and is trying to slowly get Taxidermy to open up.

-If chocobo is making sure Caliber is eating right then Chemical is making sure she isn't overworking herself! I hc'd they went to the same gym and I stand by it!! Before Chemical would just be on her ass for drinking water but now that she's heard her struggles with anorexia Chemical keeps a closer eye on Caliber. Also, similar aunt-niece relationship. Honestly, since I made all three close I've decided the three will go out and have shopping days. They're interests are all different but they've got alternative fashion and high energy to spare so it's chill.

-Refraction and Caliber have a similar dynamic to Rafraction and Splitter; parallel but in the way where they just don't touch. They look out for each other in therapy and occasionally talk, but nothing too close. They are fine like this.

-----

Chocobo Girl (Morgan Moretti):

-If Caliber wasn't required to have purple lines and I didn't need to indicate the crushes Chocobo would have 5 best friends. There are no gray lines. Everyone likes it.

-Anyway!! Just like with Irreverent it might seem unlikely but they have a nat 20 charisma stat and roll 15+ on 8/10 rolls for charisma so yeah. Taxidermy is shy and a bit aphasic BUT Chocobo is so patient and better at explaining their feelings once given a thread. They help Taxidermy open up and...being serious for a second. They did bond over sexual trauma. A lot of the girls have little bits of sexual trauma interspersed (Disposable not seeing itself as sexy, Irreverents line about being sinful, Caliber experiencing societal pressures) but these two are the most effected by sexuality related traumas.

-Anyway...moving on. Chemical girl and Chocobo both love going out. They're also both extremely gentle so they're very nice and fragile with each other. And like I said with the disposable + splitter combo: CLUSTER B BADDIES STICK TOGETHER!! They both experience rage-sadness a lot and know what the other needs to calm down; Chemical often does exercise and vents. Chocobo also vents BUT can get stuck in a thought loop so it's also helpful to have him watching Disney movies. Chocobo AGE REGERESSES and it's THERAPEUTIC for it be NICE.

-Receaction enjoys Chocobo's company! But similar to Faineant, he can be...a lot. It takes a lot of restraint on Chocobo's end not to try and force Refraction to "cheer up" - she's still getting used to not just jumping in to help. On the upside, Refraction is starting to sew more positives even with the chronic depression - and Chocobo is getting better at sitting with negative feelings :)

-----

Taxidermy Girl (Mayra Tikuna)

-Okay so after going through the faux-medixal records I realized Irreverent, Faineant, and Taxidermy all deal with schizospec disorders. With that said - these three hang out in silence texting each other and talking about literally anything. It's a great time.

-Anyway, Taxidermy and Chemical are decently close! Taxidermy appreciates how gentle Chemical is and they both have similar tastes in music. But, just like with Irreverent, Chemical isn't 20 yet so Taxidermy does her best not to interact much. Chemical is chill about it and is currently planning to invite Taxidermy to her 20th birthday. The other thing is that sometimes her mood swings prove to be too much for the gentle Taxidermy, and then need time away from each other.

-Quiet, reflective, and unintrusive? Great friend! Taxidermy and Refraction don't even talk much. They just really enjoy each other's vibes mutually.

-----

Chemical Girl (Joy Sinclair):

-Last pairing! Chemical and Rafractiom are friendly with each other, and get along well in groups. However, one-on-one, they don't have much in common. Still though, Refraction is like an anchor for Chemical, and gives good advice in regards to emotional regulation.

-----

Refraction Girl (Nataana Nchoko):

And that's my hcs for the au! I know it's a lot but I am genuinely so in love with this series it's unreal. Anyway.

I'll probably be back with more but I worked on this entire project in one day for at least 3 hours so. Yeah. Bye.

[gatheredfates]

Hi all! I managed to jinx myself by saying there wasn't a lot to add to the Compendium this week... and then I found a tonne of resources. I can't say I'm complaining about looking like a fool, though! 🪸

A lot of these resources were shamelessly sourced by xiv.sleepyshiba's masterlist! While I tend to endeavour to provide general / creative resources, their master list does contain a lot of discords / guides you can check out around raiding, combat guides, PVP etc. I might have missed. Send them a coffee if you want, for their kit is pretty comprehensive!

I have tried to include sources I can see have been actively maintained but I can't promise all are 100% accurate or up to date. If in doubt, send me a DM.

Additionally, due to the fact I am slowly increasing my collection, the Compendium has expanded its sections from four to five! We now have a dedicated lore section for anyone who wants to learn more about the game. 📖 I'm hoping this will encourage people to write and submit their lore compilations knowing that people will see them.

However, without further adieu, as of 05/11, the following resources have been added (in no particular order) to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives!

LARGE SCALE

Eorzea Collection — A one-stop shop for everything gear and glamour related! Browse through gear sets, fashion accessories or individual pieces of gear; view player-made glamorous for any job, race, etc; view chocobo sets and more!

A Master Beginners Guide to FFXIV — A comprehensive document of useful information for anyone looking to get into FFXIV. While accurate only up to Shadowbringers, it includes basic how-to's and general information relevant for people brand new to the game.

FFXIV Venues — A repository of various player-submitted venues open to the public and times of their events!

Aether Roleplay Hub — A discord focusing on roleplay and the roleplayers of the Aether data centre.

Tales From — Every expansion, the Final Fantasy XIV Dev Team releases a series of short stories about the various peoples’, tribes, factions and key characters called Tales From the ___.

Mirapri — Functionally similar to Eorzea Collection, this site accepts player-submitted glamorous for ideas and inspiration. Appears to be predominately used by the Japanese player base.

Akhmorning — A collection of XIV resources containing things one might find the miscellaneous section such as A Comfy Guide for Sprouts and Raiding Fundamentals; Bozja guides including Southern Front, Castrum Lacus Litore, Delubrum Reginae and more; PVP guides including, but not limited to Introduction to Frontlines and Beginners Guide to Feast; and Job guides.

Heavenswhere — Having trouble finding just where your treasure map is located? This tool will help you narrow down the search!

Fashion Reporter — Official Discord server of Kaiyoko and the Fashion Reporter discord bot. Also contains links to access the Fashion Report each week and the How to Make MGP guide.

FFXIV Clock — A tool to track the spawn timers of timed gathering nodes.

LORE

Ishgardian Forms of Address — A document that explores the honorifics, and forms of address used in the in-game setting of Ishgard and by Ishgardian characters using using in-game dialogue, quest text, levequest text and information from the second printing of the English-language lore book, Encyclopedia Eorzea. Maintained by @hasty-touch!

Final Fantasy XIV Lore: Ishgard — also written by @hasty-touch, this document contains lore relating to Ishgard and Coerthas.

Ascian Reference Pile — An up-to-date reference on FFXIV's Convocation of Fourteen, in appearance and lore. Maintained by Igeyorhm on Twitter.

Eorzea Time — The measurement and expression of time in Eorzea, like the real world, is governed by a fundamental set of rules. To understand them, users on Gamer Escape have put together a handy guide for people to follow.

FFXIV Meals Catalogue & Compendium — Have you ever wanted to know all foods currently contained in XIV? This document has a record of all consumable meal items obtained up to 5.4 and the ingredients used to make them. Maintained by vashiane on Twitter.

MISC

Detailed XIV World Map — Have you ever wondered where locations sit in relation to the entirety of Etheirys (and beyond)? This detailed world map provides accurate locals and information for you!

XIV SleepyShiba — Maintained by Udra Virias, this website is a repository of all their resources including, but not limited to; The Detailed XIV World Map, 6x. Paladin Resources, hotbar builders and BiS/gear trackers for raiding, and their own XIV Resources Masterlist!

FFXIV — Hairstyles — Having trouble remembering what Modern Aesthetic style is which? Struggling to find that one hairstyle you saw in game but you don’t know where it’s from? This guide has you covered!

Obscura's consolidation of Helpful links for Roleplay — A collection of tips, tricks and guides to assist people looking into getting into FFXIV RP — or just roleplay in general! Contained within are resources around character creation, relationships, roleplay tips, how to write villains and more.

FFXIV Reference Sheets by Ren — Maintained by @renofmanyalts, these reference sheets currently contain a sortable Roegadyn dictionary and height chart for all the race/clan combinations currently in game.

FFXIV Armoury Collection — exactly what it says on the tin — a collection of every single gear set currently available in FFXIV sorted by things such as patches, class, jobs and raids.

How to Craft like a Machine — This document covers the crafting formulae and other related aspects of crafting in Final Fantasy XIV.

MakePlace — A stand alone tool to preview, edit and share housing layouts.

FFXIV Chocobo Racing — a blog that’s designed to be a comprehensive guide to the Chocobo Racing minigame.

Lord of Verminion — A comprehensive website for everything to do with the Gold Saucer minigame Lord of Verminion.

The Easy Win Lord of Verminion Guide — An easy way to maximise your MGP using the Lord of Verminion.

FFXIV Housing Grade by Plot — A rubric to assist people in understanding the pricing of FFXIV houses.

Housing NPC Images — Not sure what housing NPC looks like? This guide may be able to help you!

FFXIV Fishing Guides — A Final Fantasy XIV Fisher creating guides on how to fish all the fish of The Source and The First, in quick, goldfish sized videos. Making FFXIV fishing easier to do and understand.

Pigeon's Guide to XIV Screenshots — A guide created by @ahollowgrave detailing their screenshot process for FFXIV.

REMOVALS

The following communities have been removed from the Compendium as their sites/tumblrs no longer exist. If new links exist, please get in touch with me and I will re-add them.

The Glitter Hall

Story Hall

CHANGELOG

The Compendium has been updated for compatibility with Google Doc's built-in document outline! This should hopefully assist with accessibility issues. ✨ You can find it by clicking the button below on the left-hand side of the document. No one had made a comment about this, I'm just pedantic.

I have also added definition around the Lore category as well as some general sentence structure and definition in other sections.

Have I missed something? Probably, this update was huge. I'm going to take a break DFKGJHSDF.

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here, send me an ask with the relevant information contained on the Compendium, or join my Discord at SEAFLOOR (21+ only)!

[hazelkjt]

A followup to this post

----------

Quite the unceremonious way to meet again, running literally head first into one another. Emmanellain rubs his forehead where he collided, wincing in pain still. "Agh, my apologies...oh, Hazel!" His pain soon turns to anxiety as he locks eyes on the Au Ra woman. Butterflies begin to fly in his stomach as she glances back at him. Rays of the sunset catch on her scales and horns, glistening like polished onyx contrasting with her white as snow skin…

White skin that shifts quickly to a faint pink as the woman straightens her posture, averting her gaze just as fast as she made eye contact to begin with. “Emm!? I, uh…mmmm…” Hazel stammers, fidgeting with the sleeve of her jacket as her tail begins to wrap around her lower body. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, biting her lip and revealing a hint of her fangs as she does. The Auri woman clearly didn’t anticipate running into Emmanellain today, becoming so flustered she didn’t even register that Honoroit was there as well.

In fairness though, Honoroit did take a step back to give Emmanellain and Hazel some space. The young Elezen boy did, however, give Emmanellain a tap on the heel with his foot. Emm straightens up in response and clears his throat, his mind still racing as fast as a racing Chocobo to get his thoughts in order. “Ah, just who I wanted to see!” He forced his best genuine looking smile onto his face and extended his arms in welcome. His deep blue eyes lock their sights on Hazel’s visible eye, her ruby red gaze bordered by her bright blue limbal ring. For the first time, Emm noted in his head how Hazel’s eyes mirrored how she styles her hair: light blue with the ends dyed red, like a clear sky embracing the coming of the sun in the morning.

Another kick to the back of the leg from Honoroit pulls Emmanellain out of his own head again. Hazel is avoiding direct eye contact but keeps glancing towards the man. She keeps opening her mouth as if to talk, but the words appear to catch in her throat. Emm lets go of the breath he wasn’t aware he was holding and continues. “Ah, so…Hazel. About, well, about earlier this month. A-and what you had said-” Emm’s thoughts were cut off by Hazel speaking up over him. “You can just ignore what I said that day, it’s fine.” She was still avoiding looking directly at Emmanellain, but even she could still make out his shocked expression.

The Auri woman clasped her gloved hands together and began running her one thumb overtop the other. “It’s probably…probably for the best anyway, if you forget. I mean, you…” her words begin to trail off, lowering in volume to barely a whisper. Emmanellain had to strain his ears to even catch a pet of what she said next. “…better…me…” was all he could glean from Hazel’s whispering. Better her? What did she mean by better her? Hazel suddenly began walking past the stunned Emmanellain at a quick rate, the end of her tail flicking back and forth sporadically.

“I…have training with Lady Amelune in the morning so I-I should be going!” The Auri woman was practically jogging up the stairs behind him, halfway up them before Emm regained his senses and turned around. “But-wait! What about-!” His cry out to Hazel was once again cut off by the woman talking over him, louder. “Just forget it! Please!” She turned around to face him one last time, her face a deeper shade of red than before, one that doesn’t come from just feeling cold like she usually does.

Hazel began to run off towards the Amelune estate, leaving Emmanellain and Honoroit speechless where they stood. The Elezen man’s shoulders drooped as he turned to his young paige. “What…what did I say? Where did I go wrong there!?” Before waiting for an answer, Emm raced back up the stairs himself, hoping to somehow still be able to fix this. But as he reached the top all he saw of Hazel was her bright red jacket getting more and more distant. He lets out a sigh of defeat. “What did I do wrong…”

[prudentfolly]

Prudence Dubois -- [ B A S I C S ]

B A S I C S

Name: Prudence Dubois

Nicknames: No. 

Age: Late Twenties

Nameday: 32nd Sun of the Umbral Moon

Race: Hyur

Gender: Cis Female

Orientation: Bisexual

Profession: Retainer & Machinist

P H Y S I C A L     A S P E C T S

Hair: Dark brown hair is worn practically. Short with a hacked at fringe. She doesn’t do much with it, thinking of it as more of a hindrance than a tool to express herself with.

Eyes: Watchful, hooded, hawklike. Like burning coals with none of the heat.

Skin: Pale white, covered in freckles.

Tattoos/scars: No tattoos. A gnarly scar at her left collarbone, and follows through on her back. A smattering of other, less important scars. 

F A M I L Y

Parents: Her father is deceased, aided by gravity. She does not speak of nor to her mother who still lives in the Brume. Their names are unimportant.

Siblings: N/A. 

Grandparents: Long dead, likely insufferable judging by how their children turned out.  

In-laws and Other: No In-laws to speak of. She has many romantic entanglements that usually end messily. So far, her relationship with Ibant is the only one to have stuck.

She and Gerry, one of her Lady’s wards, have an on-again-off-again toxic yuri relationship that will eventually settle into a steady friendship or explode in an awesome and destructive display.

She respects and, to some degree, loves her Lady.

A’vyra is the nearest thing to a friend she has outside the House. Not that Prudence would ever utter such a thing aloud.

The rest of the House’s odd assortment of characters are kept at a distance. Prudence is fully aware of her prickly personality and the strength of her bite. These things serve her well; she will not dull them to appease others, so she does not let others in. For their own good, of course.

Pets: No. Prudence technically owns a Chocobo, a gift from her Lady, but Bird is not a pet. Bird is a stalwart companion.

S K I L L S

Abilities: Prudence is a capable young woman. A skilled machinist with a sharp eye it is rare for her to miss.  She knows her carbine better than the skin of her hands, knows the bark of it as her voice.

Her duties as a retainer have sent Prudence to the far corners of many maps. She’s resourceful for all the traveling, with a genuine willingness to embrace local customs. She can chameleon her way through social situations; smoothing the barbs of her generally terrible personality and avoiding unnecessary conflict on the road. 

Hobbies: Tinkering, fishing, painting. 

T R A I T S

Most Positive Trait: She’s so cool. 

Most Negative Trait: Everything else. 

L I K E S

Colors: Deep greens, browns and blacks and greys, a very particular shade of blue. 

Smells: Coffee, warm bread, turpentine. 

Textures: Canvas stretched taut, the cool side of the pillow, the crunch of snow beneath her boots. 

Drinks: Coffee, black. Wine, she’s not picky. 

O T H E R    D E T A I L S

Smokes: Almost constantly.

Drinks: Heavily. She’s a functioning alcoholic.

Drugs: Yes. Mostly for fun. 

Mount Issuance: Prudence is only insured because Bird was gifted to her via legal means. Is he the only thing she trusts enough to ride. Otherwise, she would be walking everywhere and hitching rides where she could.

Been Arrested: Several times! No charges seem to stick, even the most dangerous of heresy. 

][Tagged by:][ @this-is-ris @iron-sparrow @cindernet-explorer!][ Thank you all so much! ][

][ Tagging: ][ @ibant-gleacame & @cindernet-explorer (You have alts!) & You (: ][

[keirawantstocry]

hi tis i 💋anon. Im running out of ways to convey my love for your writing. Just kissing you is no longer enough, I need you to kill me- Youll still get kisses ofc but- AHHHH. anyways

So ive been having Thoughts about current tubbo. I think he needs to snap and be Covered in blood. Remember day 1 that he was back? where he Immediately threatened the Chocobos cause they were noisy, yeah just snaps and kills all of em. Then just, goes about his day after, not bothering to clean anythin. I feel fit would maybe have a moment of 'WHO DID HE KILL- oh okay', maybe quietly fawning after idk, camera cut to pac. jaw on the Floor, unable to get himself together, Bright Fuckin Red.

I Dont Know i just need more of Pac (and fit lets be honest) being obsessed with men that could(and would) kill them. I also just want Tubbo covered in blood. Thats also my agenda now.

Hope youre having a good day :> (srry that these Keep Gettin Longer)

darling I need you to know that I think ab this ask every day. kisses aren't enough, you need me to kill you?? that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard in my life. I get flustered everytime I read it. gah anyway enough about me you're here for the freaks (affectionate) also never apologize for how long they are i love it

Fit's first emotion when he spotted Tubbo was concern. The second was something deep in his gut that felt eerily similar to the feeling he got seeing Pac kill people in Purgatory. Which sort of made sense considering Tubbo was currently covered in blood. 

Tubbo met his eyes with a strangely empty look. “Hey Fit.” 

“Why are you covered in blood?” And why did his voice sound so strained when he asked?

Tubbo blinked at him slowly with eyes full of emotion that contradicted his emotionless face. “I got annoyed.” 

“At?” 

“Chocobos.” 

The deep feeling in his gut overtook the concern when he realized that Tubbo hadn't hurt an islander or child. “And you haven't cleaned the blood off why?” 

Tubbo's eyebrows dipped down. “I don't know.” 

Fit took a step forward and put his hand on the least bloody part of Tubbo's shoulder. “Why don't you come home with me and let me clean you off, yeah?” 

Tubbo nodded slowly. “Yeah okay.” 

-

Fit had forgotten one tiny detail. The tiny detail in question was standing in the doorway of Fit’s house with an open jaw and wide eyes. 

“Pac,” Tubbo said with a stupid grin before pushing past him into the house. Fit and Pac both watched as he walked straight over to the bathroom and slammed the door. 

Pac grinned with a stupid expression that Fit knew was the one he made at the men he liked. “Who did he kill? Did you watch? Do you think he’ll let me lick the blood off his face?” 

Fit choked on air. “Excuse me?” 

“C’mon,” Pac said in a whine. “He’s strong.” 

“Are you attracted to that?” Fit asked in half disbelief. 

“You’re saying you aren’t?” Pac asked. 

Fit froze. Took a long moment to consider it. It made a lot of sense. The way he couldn’t keep his eyes off him. The intensity of the feeling in his gut that seemed to grow with every second. “Holy shit.” 

Pac laughed wildly. “You spent all that time in the wasteland and you’re telling me you never got a boner for some guy covered in blood?”

Fit spluttered turning bright red but before he could respond, the door to the bathroom was swinging open again. 

There stood Tubbo, shirtless, holding a damp cloth in his hand. “I can’t reach my back, can one of you-” 

“I’ll get it!” Pac interrupted, rushing over to take the wash cloth from Tubbo’s hand. Fit followed them both into the bathroom silently. 

Fit sat at the edge of the bathtub as Tubbo lifted himself up onto the counter. Pac’s mind was clearly out of it considering the long looks he was not subtly giving the man. And the fact he was cleaning blood off his chest and not his back like he had originally asked. But nobody was complaining. 

Fit had to admit there was truth to Pac’s line of thinking. There was something about the mess of blood on Tubbo’s chest that made his mind dizzy and his heart race. So yes. Nobody was complaining. 

Pac motioned for Tubbo to stand back up and he did so with a sigh, standing in front of Fit so Pac had room to work. Fit watched as Pac ran the washcloth under cold water again before wiping it quickly down the blood covering Tubbo’s back. He averted his gaze from his chest up to his face to see the slight pursing of his lips and the hiss at the evident chill of the water. 

“Fuck dude couldn’t made it any colder?” he bitched. 

Fit slapped him lightly on the arm and didn’t think about how warm his skin was. “Leave him alone. He’s helping you.” 

“And why aren’t you? If I remember correctly you said you would help clean me up. I was fine with being bloody, you're the one who insisted on this.” 

Pac paused and peeked at him over Tubbo’s shoulder. “Really?” 

Fit swallowed feeling dizzy and nodded. “Well, yeah.” 

“Then do it.” Tubbo was reaching behind him and taking the wash cloth from Pac’s hands. Fit saw it all in slow motion but with sharp vision. The washcloth was cold. The washcloth was in his hand. Tubbo was looking at him expectantly. 

“There’s no blood left on your chest,” Fit said stupidly, feeling incredibly out of his depth all of a sudden. 

Tubbo shrugged before taking a step forward and turning to sit himself down on Fit’s lap. Fit didn’t even know it was possible for his body to freeze up more but it did. Pac met his eyes, nervous trepidation meeting awestruck joy. Waving him on with one hand, Pac leaned back against the counter to watch them carefully. 

Slowly, Fit took a deep and careful breath. He brought the washcloth up every so gently to rub at the blood staining the skin at the top of Tubbo’s spine. The man’s shoulders slipped down as he relaxed and let the silence fill the room. With his non-metal hand, Fit held the curve of Tubbo’s bicep to keep both of them steady as he scrubbed at a particularly stubborn smudge of blood. The skin under his hand was so warm it was hard to focus on cleaning the blood off. Pac’s eyes were boring into him and the strangely soft lighting in the bathroom made this moment feel much more intimate than was to be expected. 

Simultaneously it felt as if it stretched on forever and also was over way too soon. 

Fit dropped his hand, letting the bloody washcloth fall to the floor. “There,” he said gently. 

“Thank you,” Tubbo said in an even quieter voice before he stood. “I’ll get out of your hair now.” Before either of them could protest, he was pulling his shirt back on and leaving. 

They both stared after him, feeling as if part of them was now missing. Pac giggled suddenly and Fit’s eyes darted over to him. “What are you laughing about?” 

“That was the most-” Pac laughed again. “That was just crazy. You two are something else.” 

“Shut up,” Fit grumbled. 

Pac just laughed once more before standing up to give Fit a quick kiss. “I’m going to go see what Richas is up to, okay?” 

Fit nodded, trying to clear his head. “Yeah, okay, I’ll see you later Pac.” 

“See ya, querido.” 

Fit’s head spun as he stood up. He had a lot to fucking think about.

[argentrenard]

Victor Gilbert (French, 1847-1935)

FFXIV Write 2024

Prompt #1: Steer

All he had to do was convince this woman to follow a certain path. The trouble was, she was proving stubborn.

Lady Bristole of House… come to think of it, her house was so minor it was nearly inconsequential… was sitting across from him in the smoking lounge of the Sparkling Sapphire, a well-to-do spot right off the Jewel Crozier district. He'd spent nearly the entire evening working to coerce her to part with a small chocobo ranch her family held that was slowly failing. All she needed to do was sell it to his contact, a man who had expressed a certain interest in the property, and that contact would owe Argent a favor. This favor would then allow him to get his foot in the door on his way to purloin a very priceless work of art from a noble house in Gridania.

Unfortunately, however, Argent Renard had never encountered a situation where his charming and attractive qualities would be a hindrance. Thus, instead of successfully steering the conversation to talks of how burdensome ranches could be, or what a gil-sink they were to her already dwindling estate reserves, all the old dowager was able to do was focus on how much she wanted to take him home.

He was dressed in somewhat shabby noble attire, as it was all he could procure on the short notice he had received that his target was here, and alone. She'd immediately latched onto his arm regardless and steered him to this little nook, and now that they sat across from each other on plush leather cushions, she kept complimenting his eyes. He'd asked her what businesses she owned, and she'd talked about getting down to some funny business in her boudoir. He'd asked her about chocobo raising and she mentioned she'd like to raise something of his.

She was infuriating. Did she think of nothing else? He grumbled inwardly.

Anyone who knew Argent would laugh at this line of thought.

"Now now, my dearest madame, how about-"

"Please, Handsome Sir, call me Penelope," she purred, fanning herself across from him, "And sit closer, I won't bite, unless you ASK me to," she chortled a laugh that made his eye twitch.

"Penelope, then," Argent said through clenched teeth, his instinct to act charming fighting against his fury at failure thus far. This was supposed to have been the easiest part of the plan. "…I wonder, what brings you to-"

"Oh sir, you have the most lovely voice," she cut in yet again, leaning towards him, "What I wouldn't do to hear it whispering in my ear tomorrow morning…"

Argent flashed her a grin, though his teeth were nearly grinding themselves to dust at the same time.

"Would that I did not have business that took me away tonight, Madame, otherwise I'd most assuredly take you up on that offer… but I was wondering…"

"Pink," she said, winking at him.

This caused even Argent to stop short as he stared blankly at her for a moment. "Pardon?" he managed eventually.

"They are pink, young man. My small clothes. What I'm sure you were wondering about."

Argent rubbed the bridge of his nose. No painting was worth this, surely. In truth, he wouldn't actually mind showing this old woman the best time of her entire life. The problem was he really did need her to agree to this now, as his window of opportunity closed tonight. For a moment, he closed his eyes and sighed. This sigh made her… choke? Was she choking on something? He glanced at her, mildly concerned (because he did still need something from her) if he needed to find a chirurgien… until he realized with dawning horror that she was trying to make… coquettish and flirtatious sounds at him. It sounded like she strangling a puppy. Her hand batted in his direction like a cat. A cat with no teeth who was blind in one eye, perhaps.

Then suddenly, in a flash, he saw the way to go.

"My lady," he said, lowering his voice in a hurry and moving closer to her, "I have a confession to make…"

"I knew it!" she practically squealed, accidentally spitting on him. He wiped it away hurriedly and moved on.

"I want you, I desire you, I need you! I knew it the moment I saw you…"

"Yes… yes… YES!?" she took his hands, breathlessly… probably due to her asthma.

"Will you leave with me to some secluded spot? I've… well, always had this fantasy of making love in a chocobo stables. On some secluded ranch, do you have one?"

She blinked once, and then said, "YES! I do! It's this old thing I was thinking of selling, but now…"

Suddenly he leaped at the chance, "Sell it, but you can't! You mustn't! Please, let me know where it is, then… meet me there, tonight! We will discover each other and cry out each others' names to the heavens!"

"Oh, oh my SIR!" she swooned, almost falling over due to her balance being perhaps a bit unsure.

And with that, he kissed the crinkled and papery thin skin on the back of her hand and stood. He bowed, leaving her swaying in her seat, her fan threatening to blow her wig off.

Argent Renard adjusted his cuffs as he hurried away. When he didn't show for their meeting tonight, surely she would be so fed up with the place and that memory of being stood up she'd want to sell it. He'd have to bank on that working, at least. He didn't have the time to work his skills at any other option. He headed for the airship landing as quickly as he could. He had to get to Gridania before the sun rose tomorrow.

As he left her, Lady Bristole's fan kept at it for about a minute. Then, it finally slowed as she muttered aloud, "What a fine young man. A shame I couldn't steer him back to my estate to marvel at my new painting… everyone says it's so beautiful, I would have liked to share that with him as well…"

And with that, Argent left behind the new owner of the exact work he was currently scheming to acquire. While it was true she would be disappointed this evening, he would be doubly so come dawn the next day.

[sayonaramidnight]

What does Papa Fortemps think of Helvi?

There are things about her he has never included in his writing.

Like the discomfort she expressed at first, being served and attended to at his estate, and stayed mostly at the inn instead.

Or how she scared the hell out of some of his staff, roaming around in the middle of the night like a ghost, because she was haunted by nightmares.

Or how much time she spent at the stables, cooing at her black chocobo, or flying over the city, making loud happy noises and stopping by the random tall buildings and towers, claiming them for her own, even just for a few moments.

Or how proudly and joyfully she wore the bracelet Haurchefant had given her.

Or how pained her expression was when he wished to be left alone, so he could mourn his son in private, only to realize much later, how she must have interpreted his behaviour.

Some of these did not fit the theme of his records.

Some were simply too personal to include.

There are many other things about her he has written down. Good things. Inspiring things. All true. But sometimes he asks himself how she would like his portrayal of herself.

But he has not dared to ask her yet.

NPC PoV asks!

[fisherrprince]

“Ch’ari. What are you doing.”

The aetheric silhouette that is the Warrior of Light freezes in the middle of hobbling across the hallway. “I am… getting… a drink?” He says. 

“Oh?” Y’shtola raises an eyebrow. 

His aether flickers. The shape inches forward slowly, as if she were a dinosaur and couldn’t see him if he moved really slow. “I am… getting a very specific drink. From… Othard.”

“Are you now.” 

“…You are getting me a very specific drink from Othard?” Ch’ari tries. 

Y’shtola reaches behind her for her staff, and Ch’ari turns and scuttles as fast as his body will take him back into his room where he’s supposed to be. 

-

Alisaie scowls. “I am bored.”

“No kidding,” Ch’ari whines. “When are we allowed to leave?!”

“I am allowed to leave tomorrow. You will be staying here until you have resolved not to be a fool and throw your life away for a victory lap,” Alisaie snaps, and then her expression turns down. “Or at least until you can walk again.”

“Seems hypocritical to me. They’re letting you out early.”

“I’m almost healed!”

“By the loosest definition.”

“It wasn’t even a wound, Ari.”

“Hm.”

“Look—“ Alisaie says, pride in being Not Bedridden stoked by his dismissals, and pushes her way out of her bed at Dawn’s Respite to march over to Ch’ari’s bed, indignant. And still, notably, a bit shaky, after concentrated lightning magic left her too hurt to stand. Ch’ari still thinks they’re all stupid, every Scion, right back at them, for not tending to their own injuries well enough to heal themselves before pouring almost the entire Ragnarok’s worth of aether into him. Stupid, dumb, idiots. They’d already saved the universe at that point. We don’t need eight incapacitated scions when we could have had just the one. 

“You look like a baby amaro,” Ch’ari says, instead of voicing any of those thoughts. “Like a newborn foal. Damnation, looks like you’ll have to stay here and keep me company.”

Alisaie flicks him — gently, even though he’s not even got a head wound. “Ari. I promise we’re not going anywhere. And you know if you asked him to, Alphinaud would stay with you for days reading fantasy novels or textbooks at you for entertainment.”

His ears droop. “I know. But he needs to sleep.”

“And so do you.”

“And so do I,” Ch’ari grumbles in concession. “I am just not used to not moving. I want to kill something.”

Alisaie coughs out a startled laugh, and Ch’ari grins. “Gods, as do I, but we have our orders! Two weeks. No travel, no fights.”

“Sneak a coblin in here when you get out of this joint and I’ll pay for your sweets for a month.”

“Not a chance.”

-

“Not that I doubt your s-sSS-killed hands, Krile, I would never. But do bandages need changing thisoften?”

“In this specific case, yes,” Krile says, clearly not willing to entertain him while he chatters distractingly. “Might I remind you you were falling apart before we got to you with healing magics, and therefore you will be suffering the consequences for as long as a normal wound takes to heal naturally.”

“Peachy,” Ch’ari groans. He should have been better at avoiding that dumb voidsent Zenos summoned, but it always hid right out of his line of sight until it pounced. Clearly, a cheater, even if its master wouldn’t do a thing like that. Nah, he’d challenge him head-on, evening the playing ground until it was just strength against strength, no tricks, no unfair advantage. Pure, untouched adrenaline, bloodlust, the hunger for feeling alive. 

… Ch’ari will not miss him. But he will think of their encounters as long as it takes him to find something like it, if he ever does. Which is exactly what the prince wanted, drat. He should have taken Zenos to the Gold Saucer. Maybe he’d get really into chocobo racing instead of death matches. 

He’s jolted out of his thoughts by a sharp tug in his ribs. “Ow!”

“Sorry! Sorry,” Krile says, already casting a light soothing glow over the sticky mess there. Ch’ari buries his head further into the pillow with a groan. 

The door creaks. “My, someone sounds grumpy they’re being tended to,” comes a voice, and Tataru trots in with a small box in her hands. Ch’ari’s ears perk up. 

“Am not grumpy, I’m injured. What’s that?”

“Medicine,” Tataru says bluntly, and then gets a sly grin. “And a handful of pastry fish, fresh from the oven.”

“Tataru you’re my favorite. Have I ever told you you’re my favorite? You are. Hands down,” Ch’ari says, already sniffing the air to catch the smell, his tail whacking the edge of the bed. “I don’t even care that it’s bribery to get me to drink that foul tincture, I love you.”

Tataru laughs, bright and open, and even Krile huffs a bit in amusement. 

-

Alphinaud is asleep when he wanders into the main rooms, and Ch’ari considers dropping something onto the table to wake him up, but decides against it. He’s not all that sure how mana works — or mana overexertion, or… well, Lyse called it a chakra, but Ari isn’t a monk, and he’s not sure what straining or breaking one of them entails. He just knows the kid needs to sleep a bunch to get his aether back, and Ari shouldn’t be startling him so bad he breaks something again. If that’s how that works. He’d rather not risk it. 

Instead, he wanders over to Estinien, who is brooding in his Dragoon Corner. Also seemingly asleep until one eye cracks open, trained on his approach. 

“Dragoon,” Ch’ari says.

“…Cat,” Estinien replies in greeting. Ari snorts, the joke he made about having nine lives clearly amusing or at least annoying the Elezen to this day. 

“Guarding your nest, are we? I didn’t think we’d see you stick around this long.”

Estinien grunts. “Aye. Under normal circumstances I’d rather be off by now. But as long as…” he frowns. It’s always difficult for him to differentiate between draconic instincts and his own, and then subsequently translate them into human words, something he and Ch’ari have only spoken of briefly when Nidhogg’s lingering presence wanted to clash with what was left of Hraesvelgr in Ch’ari’s body. Simultaneously feral and overtly made of higher thought, the presence of the dragon is as long-lived as the beasts themselves. “As long as my ward is in need of protection, I will stay,” he settles on. And then his expression squishes, pained. “And… the pink one threatened me if I were to leave without a clean bill of health.”

Ch’ari laughs, then covers his mouth quickly to muffle it. “Ah, the jailer. No escaping that.” 

“Indeed.”

-

“Raha, you need any help with anything?”

G’raha looks up from his books, surprised. The Warrior is standing over his shoulder, swath in bandages and a simple shirt and slacks, his tail swishing. “Do I need any help with anything?”

“Yes.”

“Well, no, I don’t think so… resigned to being monitored as we are, I have no new tasks which require my attention, and so…”

“Let me rephrase,” Ch’ari interrupts. “Please do you need help with anything.”

G’raha blinks. And then splits into a smile, ears giving a quick one-two wiggle. “My friend, I am quite sure we can find something to do. Something very calm and stressless, but something nonetheless. What is your opinion on magic circles?”

[mynameiskan]

Rufus's winter clothes suit him so well, but I love Cloud's moogle hat and jacket the best! He looks adorable in them!

Awww so glad you like that idea. It was my bestie who suggested that I should draw the moogle hat. I planned to draw the chocobo hat but gladly I followed her advise.

Sorry for replying to your Ask this late. I was in the middle of sketching this and I wanted to share it with you. That's why I only reply now.

I want to practice using watercolor so I only sketch lightly on my watercolorpaper. If you can't see the drawing well, please tell me.

And I would love to hear your thoughts about this 😂😂😂 I want to draw Rufus in funny expressions once in a while instead of his usual smug face.

Note: Use #Shinra Highschool to see more contents of my FF7 high school AU

[rottenpumpkin13]

SEPHIROTH HEADCANONS

[these are my headcanons, meaning the way I view him in my head and may not follow popular fanon]

↘︎ Sephiroth is a big enjoyer of puzzles of any kind. Mahjong, sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, riddles, you name it. He doesn’t see the allure of video games but will jump at the opportunity to play a multiplayer that has him competing against someone else.

↘︎ He’s generally a calm and intorverted person in his day-to-day life, but when angered he becomes scary as hell. For lack of better words, he shows signs of the in-game callous monster he is.

↘︎ He does have a sense of humor, okay?? It’s just what most people would describe as dark and dry. His kind of humor is saying the most off-hand comments with 0 expression and making people lose their shit. He is also proficient in sarcasm but has to be annoyed beyond measure to use it.

↘︎ He can drive, however friends and people who have previously been driven around by him refuse to do it again. He drives likes he’s playing Mario Kart while maintaining a scarily calm composure. He manages to do this while still abiding by the traffic laws.

↘︎ Sephiroth maintains a healthy diet and prefers not to stray from his strict regimen. Having said that, he will never turn down: a) Angeal’s cooking, b) pasta, c)sweets. 

↘︎ Due to his sheltered childhood, Sephiroth was never allowed to indulge himself in sweets and other junkfood like the other kids. So when he’s old enough to control his own diet, he includes moments of utter gluttony where he inhales candy like a madman. 

↘︎ “Sephiroth why don’t you cut your hair?” With his JENOVA cells? If he cut it shoulder-length one morning, it’d be down to his waist again by the following afternoon. After many attempts at keeping it at a reasonable size during his youth, he gave up. 

↘︎ Now he simply keeps it long because he thinks it looks cool. Vanity spares no one. He also has a habit of sitting on his hair accidentally. 

↘︎ He’s notoriously knows as being cold and unwelcoming toward people. However he does a complete 180° when he’s with his friends, and people have even reported seeing him act extroverted.

↘︎ Unintentionally a cocky bastard. 

↘︎ Sephiroth isn’t a very creative person, which is something he laments greatly. He isn’t apt at drawing, writing or anything that could allow him to express himself artistically

↘︎ Give our boy any mathematical equation though and he can solve it

↘︎ Sephiroth takes joy in fucking with troopers and other SOLDIERs. He loves saying weird and uncharacteristic things and watch the realization that he’s joking dawn on them

↘︎ Big into astronomy and loves reading books about it. And he has a disdain for astrology and thinks it’s nothing but drivel

↘︎ He abhors gossip and thinks it immature and unprofessional. But if you feed him certain tales he’ll become angrossed and not let you leave until you’ve thoroughly recounted every detail of it. 

↘︎ Claustrophobic. It may have everything to do with being given mako showers and being kept in those tight tanks for hours. He developed a certian disdain for being enclosed in tight spaces. He also can’t stand to wear multiple layers of clothing and can only handle one layer at a time. 

↘︎ Yes he likes cats. 

↘︎ People who say he’s humorless don’t know he once laughed so hard, he had to be sedated because he was on the floor unable to breathe. Context? Genesis angered a chocobo and it chased him for an hour. Angeal has it on video.

↘︎ Sephiroth can cook. How? Do you really think a SOLDIER trained to survive in the wilderness wouldn’t know how to hunt, prepare and cook his own food?

↘︎ That being said, he can only cook very basic things.

↘︎ He yells at the TV, but only when it’s a nature documentary and the prey is making unwise decisions while running away from the predator. 

↘︎ He makes overexaggerated faces while eating something he doesn’t like, but that’s as far as he’ll go complaining about food-wise

↘︎ Sephiroth’s favorite kind of gifts are the practical and functional ones like socks, blankets and sword oil. 

↘︎ Impulsively buys toys and childish knick knacks. Proceeds to keep them in a secret drawer with a lock and key. Don’t judge him. He’s making up for lost time.

[snakegorl212006]

Yuffie headcanon pt 1

--------------Dating them Includes---------------------------

-Trying to show off Yuffie will try to impress you almost all the time even though she doesn't need to. Although it not as often as when you guys first date but she wouldn't pass the chance of showing you a new combo move

-Training Although Yuffie doesn't do as much training as you do, you both spar together and gives Yuffie the opportunity to show you some new tricks or practice combo moves with you

-snack trips Both of you are still young at heart so you do go out to get something to snack on or a treat like ice-cream

-Traveling Yuffie has motion sickness which makes traveling limited in terms of transportation. You can ride chocobos or a car but airships are almost out of the question. She'll go on one for you though.

----How do they get your attention-------------------

I feel like she would definitely try to get your attention by trying to impress you and this would happen even if she doesn't need your attention and there’s a 90% chance she would fail because of how nervous she’ll get around you and you have a readless expression and she couldn't tell if your impress or not.

----What happens when there jealous---------------

-she’ll just get angry and fussy -she knows when a person is complimenting you and who’s actually flirting with you -if a person is flirting with you she would tell them off and explain you two are together and make it very clear she wants to leave that situation

-after that she would complain to you how dare they mess with you and trying to sound tough -but during that whole encounter she was nervous as heck -if a creep is hitting on you she will not hesitate to jump on that person -literally she will jump kick a creep if necessary

--How would they react when there S/o says "I love you"--------

-she just stops working -her face would be red -even if you say it alot she would act the same,maybe -she would reply i love you too but sometimes she would,either, have a voice crack or stutter -your words have a lingering effect on her -100% would space out at some point

[holly-fixation]

Seraphic and Sinister: Ch 2

Summary: Sephiroth learns that he has a child, a lab made specimen existing under the same terrible conditions he was raised in. In a moment of pure rage, he rescues his child. However, his fate has long been sealed, but the child’s fate is unknown. 

Never did he expect the cadet that killed him to take responsibility for the heir of His planet. 

Inspired by various asks to @rottenpumpkin13 

Chapter 2: Adaptation

The badlands. Midgar territory. The land between the thriving metropolis and the small town of Kalm.

For all his time in SOLDIER, this was his first experience in the so called ‘badlands’, not a digital recreation or the scenery of a transport. Missions not far from Midgar were considered too elementary for First Class. He couldn't argue with the decision because he fully agreed with it. Why send him to exterminate a wild pack of overgrown rodents when he could take down a behemoth? 

Or an army?

Maybe ‘use’ was more accurate than ‘send’. Yesterday, he would’ve ignored that thought.

This was his first time acknowledging the decay of massive mako pipelines and the withered life around them. 

Now he had a new life to protect. No bullet grazed her skin, no blade reached her hair, no enemy flame warmed her during their escape. He guarded her against his chest as she held him and her blade, barely making a single sound. His strength far exceeded security's mechs. His tactics kept thousands of his men alive. The simple security officers and the army of a never invaded city could not take him down, and could not find him. 

However, Hojo could. 

Hojo trained him. Hojo taught him. Hojo knew his every string of logic. His every thought and countermeasure. He only hoped his decisions were too backwards to be predictable, for hope was all he could do. 

Like his decision to avoid the Grasslands.

He defeated as few fiends as possible, collecting only the most valuable pieces. They weren't worth much, but too many corpses would lead even the newest cadet straight to him. 

For now, they rested in an old chocobo stop far off the main road. The decaying mako pipes made for good shelter if necessary. The young chocobo warking at their side shouldn't give them away. They were out of sight. For now.

Seraphina had not noticed the Fluffy creature yet. Despite the sun rising in the sky, her eyes were falling closed. She needed rest, but he needed to take the risk of Kalm before nightfall. They needed supplies. At very least, she needed food. Formula. The lab notes said something about protein shakes…

He really didn't know the first thing about caring for a child, much less raising one. He should've run back to his apartment and gathered supplies before breaking her out. He should've grabbed some MREs so she wouldn't starve to death before Shinra lost their scent. He should've looked up how to at least change a diaper. He should've-

“Dada…” the baby in his arms pulled at his chest straps, suddenly wide awake. “Dada…”

He tried to soften his expression, a stern mask despite his melting heart. “Yes? What is it, Seraphina?”

“Potty…” she answered quickly. 

He was confused. Wasn't she-

“Potty. Potty.” She pointed down harshly, fussing and wiggling. 

He was already placing her on the ground, his confusion locked to his face. 

She slipped out of his grip and ran as best she could behind the chocobo stop. 

Sephiroth assumed the child wanted privacy so he kept watch. Well, at least diapers wouldn't be necessary. Maybe just a couple hours here to see Shinra’s next move before they-

He winced. That smell. He’s moving her the moment she’s ready. He dealt with far worse in Wutai, but she shouldn’t have to stay around it. He heard shifting scrapes before she returned. A quick glance confirmed she buried the source, the potency decreasing in the air.

“All better?”

She nodded.

“Come on.” He stretched out his arms to her length, “We need to keep moving. Just a little longer.” 

She pointed to the little yellow bird. Well, little to him. The creature itself was multiple times larger than her. 

“That's a chocochick,” came his short explanation. “It won't hurt us.”

Seraphina slowly approached, the limp in her step making the creature tilt its head of spiky feathers to the right and left. She raised her hands and slowly pushed against the plumes. 

Sephiroth watched the involuntary crushing of her fingers in feathers as she pressed her entire face into the plumes. The chocochick warked happily as it flapped its tiny wings. She didn't make a sound, and she was shaking but refused to move. He should find her a soft blanket as soon as possible. 

“Don't hold back. It's okay.”

She suddenly tried to wrap her arms around the creature, touching as many of the feathers as her size allowed. 

The former soldier gave her a moment to enjoy the feeling before interrupting, “We have to go.” 

She gave him a sad look. 

“Don't worry. We'll see him again. Come on.” Without missing a beat, he scooped her into his arms. If he remembered correctly, they weren't too far from a vantage point of Midgar. They could at least keep an eye on the sky, see if Kalm was safe yet. 

She tried to look around, deliberately keeping her eyes on monsters she must've deemed too close. But she never tried to leave his grasp. Even when they reached the open patch at the end of the forgotten pipe. 

He had no idea the northern badlands held any sense of life, much less an unattended flower patch. Distinct colors of daisies covered the ground overlooking the city, almost a deliberate distinction between the reds, yellows, blues, and whites. 

“Dada?”

“Yes, Seraphina?”

She pointed at the colors and then tilted her head at him. 

“Those are flowers. They’re plants beginning to grow seeds. It’ll be safe here for a bit. Go take a look.” 

When her feet touched the ground, she fell forward, crawling as cat-like eyes widened like saucers as she investigated each and every limb of the flora before her. 

Sephiroth found his focus more split than on any battlefield. Even when transporting injured, he was less worried about every shift of the air, of the sand, of even the insects. He needed to watch for Shinra. He needed to watch for monsters. 

But he also needed to watch her. 

A glance at his men was all he required to know they were safe, but his instincts forced his eyes to her constantly. What if she hurt herself? What if she ate a rock? That's something kids did, right? What if she got stuck or tripped or fell? Monsters he could handle, but what was he supposed to do about everything else?

If he made enough Gil from the spoils of his limited monster regulation, he should buy a parenting book with the supplies. A tent would be an absolute luxury. 

From the look of it, all aircrafts leaving Midgar either headed south to Junon or east beyond Kalm. There was a chance the small town was safe for now, and if he stayed by the entrance he could get them out before a blockade sealed them in. 

He scooped some loose dirt into his gloves and smeared it onto his hair and face. 

Seraphina looked up and grabbed the ground too. 

“Stop.” 

Her hands opened instantly.

“No one will see you. Don't worry.”

His daughter’s stomach suddenly growled and she let out the smallest of whines. 

Sephiroth lifted the corner of his long coat and summoned his blade. In an instant, he held the remaining fabric, and the uniform frayed with unsown edges. He scooped his daughter into the new sheet, wrapping both her body and her hair. “When I tell you, I need you to close your eyes and keep them closed no matter what. I'll tell you when to open them. Okay?” 

She nodded. 

He began walking, passing a few of the mako pipes before catching his own reflection in the chocobo stop. It wasn't enough. “One moment.” He placed her back down and detached the pauldrons from his uniform before sending them to the very same place as his sword. He brushed his fingers through his bangs to his shoulder and began separating the strands into three sections, the pressure collapsing his recognizable bangs. 

Seraphina held her palms out, opening and closing them. 

He chose to kneel down to her height. “What is it?” 

She gestured to his hair. 

“You can touch it later. I have to-” 

Sharper movements. More deliberate gripping. 

He sighed. “I don't understand…”

She huffed before kneeling on the ground. She put her index fingers in the dirt and dragged them, making a shape appear. Right over left. Left over right. Right over left. Left over right.

His brows knotted. “You know how to braid?”

She nodded again. 

He was about to ask ‘how’ when he remembered who he was talking to. He gave in and lifted her up again. “Can you braid while we walk?”

She had already begun weaving the strands. 

“...I guess so.”

While his daughter continued, he latched every remaining buckle on his coat. With his flattened bangs blocking his eyes, maybe he'd buy them enough time to retrieve a meal. Or at least let her have a meal tonight. 

His nerves spiked as his boots made contact with the asphalt between Midgar and Kalm. He took a breath, knowing the gates were close despite not being in sight. He tightened the wrap around Seraphina as she held onto the end of the untied braid. 

“Eyes closed, Seraphina.” 

She obeyed, leaning her face toward him.

Kalm was no different than every story he heard. As the rest spot and short vacation destination, Shinra employees littered the crowds. Few and far between but enough for him to know they were there. Kids ran through the carless streets. People shopped and smiled through their casual conversations. No one spoke his name. Shinra valued him highly, and he hoped their pride would prevent them from spreading word of his desertion. 

Desertion. The word never crossed his mind. 

He kept a normal pace as he made his way through the crowd, stopping at the very first convenience store near an alley. He grabbed a reusable bag from the entrance. “Can I sell items here…?” 

Such a basic question seemed to throw the clerk off, especially with his voice barely above a whisper. “Y-yeah, just come up at the end to make it easier on me.”

He nodded once and wasted no time, skimming the aisles for supplies. Ramen noodles, water bottles, even cheap protein shakes. He knew he didn't have enough to afford clothes for both of them, so one fluffy gray hoodie would have to do. He found himself thankful this tiny corner shop had everything they needed. 

 At the counter, he lifted the bag. 

“Ah ah ah! What are you selling first? Makes my life easier if you tell me now.”

He placed multiple beast talons, beast bones, and ether onions on the counter. 

The cashier lifted and searched each item, rubbing each imperfection before inputting numbers into the machine. “Alright, what are you buying?”

He placed the bag on the counter, watching the same process unfold product by product. 

“Hey, lucky you!” The employee handed him one hundred Gil in cash. “Just enough to cover your bill and then some.”

A hundred Gil. He should buy a potion. Maybe it will help his daughter's- “Are there any bookstores nearby…?” The question left his lips before his mind caught up with the task.

“The best bookstore in town is Maghnata books. Dead center of town, can't miss it. And they always have good sales!”

He nodded and retrieved his items. “Thank you…”

The center of Kalm was a big risk. Too many vantage points. Too many people to find him. Too many distractions. But he wanted Seraphina to have a normal life, and it started with learning what that meant for someone her age. He needed to learn how to raise the child in his arms, so he left the shop, kept his head down, and entered the square with the raised mako tanks.

It didn't take long to find the purple library, ornate decor lining every inch lacking a book. 

“Welcome to Maghnata books! Are you searching for anything specific today or just taking a look around?”

Sephiroth adjusted the girl in his arms, the smallest of fuss leaving the leather. “I need some advice…”

The woman gasped, holding her hands over her mouth. “Oh my gods, she's adorable! How old is she?”

“Half a year…” He debated deliberately giving the wrong age, but he couldn’t risk inaccurate or invalid information. 

“Oh a six month old, eh? That’s when they start moving. No wonder you came to us! Here-” The lady ran out from behind the counter. “What’s your budget?”

“A hundred Gil…”

She grabbed her chin. “Hm. I don’t know if we have any parenting books that cheap... Let me ask my manager.”

He should leave. He didn’t have time for this. He’ll just figure it out on his own. “We’re on a tight schedule…” 

“Just one minute! I insist!” She rushed to the back without another word.

The man let out a sigh, counting the seconds in his head. The bundle in his arms made more noise. “Shh. Not now. Soon, okay?”

She nodded, her lids scrunched tightly.

“FOUND IT!” The door busted open, the cashier holding up a thick, dusty volume titled: So you're a PARENT now, huh? What to expect from your little ones from first light to the terrible twos. ‘PARENT’ was written in the SOLDIER font. “My manager’s been trying to get rid of this for years. Not a single yard sale worked! That’ll be eighty five Gil, please.”

He immediately made the exchange, tucking the remainder of the cash and the book into the reusable bag. 

“Have a pleasant day!”

“Thank you…”

He slipped through the entrance without another word, immediately spotting Shinra troops on the other side of the square. He didn’t have a lot of time, keeping his head down and maneuvering through the crowd until he completely lost sight of them. 

The badlands were safer than any town. Instead of risking the same location, he immediately veered off the road, climbing the steep cliffs on his left. An owl hooted and flew past him. Once he saw the chocochick return to his side and urge him up the plains, he knew it was safe. 

“Okay, Seraphina. You can open your eyes.” 

He was immediately struck with her gaze, her brows nearly furrowed and her face squeezed. 

“What's wrong?”

She curled in on herself, small whines leaving her lips.

He didn’t know what to do as the whines only grew louder. Was she in pain? How? From what? He spotted a crevasse in the cliffs and dashed. The owl once again circled and hooted, and he followed the glowing creature within. 

A lifespring, a font of Lifestream too useless for mako, and too useless to Shinra. The cliff surrounded all but the sky directly above. They were safe. No one should find them here.

“Seraphina.” He wasn’t sure how well she could speak, but he needed to know what was happening. 

“H-hurts…” She kept grabbing and gripping at her own chest. “H-hurts!”

Sephiroth dropped the bag and wrapped his arms around her. “Where? Where does it hurt?”

Tears dripped down her cheeks. She cried, covering her mouth tightly. 

He removed the bandages around her leg and found a fresh scar. The fabric rubbed against her and left raw skin in its wake. She didn’t need them anymore. Why didn’t she try to remove them? He held her close and she pressed her face against his coat, her screams muffling against him. 

…Signs point to lingering [REDACTED] in child’s body...

Minutes passed before the flare up finally fizzled, his child resting her head against his body and closing her eyes. 

“Dada…”

He didn’t know what to say. He just knew her pain. He knew he never wanted her to feel that again. “Better?” The single word was all that left his lips.

Another nod. 

He reached into the bag and grabbed a bottle, shaking it quickly. “Can you drink from a cup?”

She gave him a weird, tired look. Her stomach growled and she groaned again. 

He sat and placed her in his lap. He had to try, opening the cap and removing the inner seal. “Here. Drink.”

Seraphina placed her hands on the sides and tried to hold it. 

He lifted her back before adjusting the angle, slowly giving her a taste. 

Her eyes widened. No- not just her eyes- her pupils widened to saucers and she suddenly took desperate gulps.

He had to take it away so she wouldn’t choke. “Slowly.”

She pointed at the bottle and stared at him in confusion. 

“It’s a protein shake. Chocolate flavored.”

He may not have known much about children, but he knew the baby in his arms definitely wanted more. 

She drank half the bottle before her exhaustion caught up with her. Sephiroth did not miss a beat and took out the hoodie from the store. He slowly laid her inside the fuzzy lining, reducing his shard of coat as a pillow for her.

Despite everything, the peaceful look on her face brought a warmth to his heart he could never describe.

.

.

.

Thanks for reading!

.

To be continued...

Chapter list here!