#coerl

[lookbluesoup]

[dragon-hoard]

the alexander raids were tedious as hell but the music does fuck

[kingstealer]

v'tchos tia's fingers close around the haft of the spear he's just been handed, and he is home in a way he's never been holding a staff.

the spear is nothing special--a piece of filed metal, lashed to a weathered piece of wood. but it's familiar in his hands, and as he goes through the motions of driving it through hapless wildlife, it comes alive.

his skill is praised, his aptitude for the lance extolled. but he knows in his bones and at the base of his skull that he's done all this before, and is just remembering it.

-

when he's offered a position as the pupil of ishgard's former azure dragoon, it takes no effort to accept--a skill that is quickly put to the test as he is driven out of the only place he's ever known into the brutal winters of coerthas, to end a neverending war.

-

as the snow, and the war, thaws, v'tchos stumbles upon a corpse in a forgotten alley in the slums--a corpse that offers him a sword.

"i've only got the one," he says, with a flash of a smile in his glowing red eyes. "take it. it's yours."

a stone tumbles from the corpse's pocket as he stands, and the ache at the base of v'tchos's skull flares. he fumbles through the hallowed halls of the heavens' ward, shaking from the weight of the sword, fingers drenched in blood and darkness. and something at the bottom of his soul curls into a smile.

-

he had picked up a grimoire, joined the arcanist's guild, on a whim--etrii had said something half-seriously about how little he knew about magic, back when the pieces of the war were still being picked up, and his contrarian streak reared its head. with whispers from a voice he would swear was familiar echoing through his skull, he traces runes and sigils in the book, puzzling through it. trying not to think about how his friends lay a few rooms over, chests barely rising and falling, and how little he knows about anything that could be done to save them.

not for much longer. he will figure this out.

-

v'tchos is in ul'dah when a passing stranger offers him a job. he is barely surprised when it turns out to be a ruse, and curiosity leads him back to where the lemures keep their court. the woman in charge hands him a crystal, the pain in the back of his skull stabs, and--

a haunting hooded figure hangs in the air over her desk.

something deep within him opens an eye.

hands barely shaking, v'tchos accepts the scythe he is offered. it's familiar in his hands the way the spear was--which should probably scare him, but he doesn't think to be afraid.

-

he stands over the defeated body of a voidsent, watching it dissolve into ash. coerthan winds flutter his coat and ruffle his hair.

the voidsent he has come to regard as his own creeps up at his feet, like a coerl seeking attention. we could do that, it seems to whisper. we could be that.

the thing deep in his soul, steeped in blood and shadow, cracks open a second eye.

no, it says, echoing across the ancient stone.

no, you won't.

something shatters inside him, a cage thrown wide. for half a terrifying heartbeat he's convinced it's the Light from the Wardens finally killing him.

a flurry of movement whirls across the ground. a piteous scream sounds silently before it is choked off, and there is the wet crunch of snapping bone.

v'tchos draws a shuddering breath--and is enshrouded in darkness.

a familiar darkness, he realizes. a darkness he walks alongside.

that's better, fray murmurs.

and he agrees.

-

the first time he calls forth bahamut, drawn from the aether that tore through him all those years ago, g'raha smiles. there's enough joy in that expression that he can ignore the flinch alisaie almost manages to hide, across the courtyard. the demi-primal swoops across the sky, and the former exarch's eyes are alight with wonder.

"that one's from you," v'tchos says, arm draped over the other miqo'te's shoulders. a grimoire faced in allagan gold and blue dangles from the fingers of his other hand. "and those old books in your tower."

g'raha just grins, eyes fixed on the sky.

-

v'tchos startles awake from a catnap at the sound of books dropping onto his desk. he blinks the sleep from his eyes to see g'raha standing triumphantly in front of him, his expression only slightly marred by guilt at having interrupted a well-earned rest.

"i found something new--well, old--in the Tower," g'raha blurts, fixing the immaculate tie on one of his armguards. "there aren't many references, not to the machi, but. this codex survived." he picks up one of the books.

"they didn't used to be just summoners. they could heal, too."

any remaining thoughts of sleep are stolen from v'tchos with that turn of phrase. he pushes himself to his feet, reaches for the codex, and begins to read.

-

the first real interaction v'tchos has with the viera who showed up half-dead to their confrontation with elidibus, after pouring half his blood back in his body when he insisted on helping fight the warrior of light personified, is with a blacksmith's hammer in hand. helios takes a cursory look at him, polishing a botanist's scythe, and says: i wonder what you could do with a firearm.

and while he proves himself more than capable at the marksmanship, where v'tchos really feels at home in machinistry is the tinkering. he drags cracked and broken allagan constructs from the depths of the crystal tower and remodels them to fight for him, alongside him.

that doesn't stop him, however, from standing at g'raha's side in the bozjan resistance. while they always have more things to do, curing tempering and all, there's plenty of time to for one catboy from corvos and one who at this point might as well be to spend fighting garleans on dalmascan soil.

and of course, there's no keeping helios from a cause. helios, who quickly proves himself as capable with a gunblade as with a rifle.

so it is that in the trenches of the bozjan southern front, at the gates of castrum lacus litore, and finally storming the dalriada, it is helios leading the charge with his gunblade, with g'raha and v'tchos at his heels--g'raha armed with his fragment of the crystal tower, light and dark magic at his fingertips, while v'tchos takes careful aim with a custom-built firearm, ready to throw a repurposed allagan construct into the fray.

[look-oc-prompts]

FFXIV Whump Prompts

Morbol Breath

Living Dead

Seduced/Charmed

Aether Sickness

Ice Shard

Unstable Cerulean

Blood Drain

Devoured

Calamity

Poisoned Arrow

Tempered

Barbed Lance

Voidfire

Cleaved

Airship Crash

Miasma

Dragonbreath

Under-sand Ambush

Windburn

Ghimlyt Dark

Meteor

Woodsin

Collapsing Ruins

Held for Ransom

Magitek Lazer

Sin Eater

Goldbile

Fae Mischief

Flare

Ricochet

Coerl Attack

Bodysnatched

Cerulean Eye

Heavy Fog

Steam Burn

Bloody Banquet

Red Throat

Out of Mana

Human Shield

Aerial Combat

Coerthan Blizzard

Painflare

Garlean Assassin

The Vault

Drowned

Ritual Sacrifice

Healer Down

Ancient Curse

Night Terror

Doom

Ultima Thule

Delirium

Attack Hounds

Petrification/Paralysis

Eye for an Eye

Down for the Count

Sea Monster

Ransacked Village

Holy

Nausea

Lost in a Labyrinth

Marked as Prey

Final Sting

Blasphemy

Thorny Vines

Quicksand

Spiked Drink

Blue Death Flu

Wasteland on Foot

Zantetsuken

(You can read about various diseases mentioned as prompts here!) (While many of these reference specific spells/events/creatures/etc, you're welcome to take creative liberty with the interpretation of different prompts)

[lookbluesoup-rp]

The ragged cry of an arbor buzzard high in the canopy turned Nahte's ear. Ten heartbeats later, another followed, fifteen yalms further to his left. Both birds had spotted their quarry.

Hidden in thick brush, with his back pressed against the great trunk of a mahogany tree, Nahte inhaled quietly. Counted the slow beats beneath his chest. Channeled his aether. Then jumped - twenty yalms up in a near straight shot, to perch high in the branches. Hopefully unseen.

One of his birds cried out again.

Springing to the adjacent tree, Nahte followed the sound, velvety black ears on swivels and blue eyes fixed on the next bough. He landed silently, the way only a Miqo'te born to a life hunting in the treetops could.

Beneath them, the slightest rustle in the undergrowth betrayed their quarry: a man-eating black coerl. Despite its size, it had grown sly enough to evade the local town's posse and subsequent patrols of Yellow Jackets. Reports claimed it would strike like a voidsent shadow, take its prey and vanish deep in the jungles of Vylbrand, where men could not follow.

They'd grown so desperate as to enlist the aid of The Hunt, and though Nahte had no real need of a bounty, he knew his trade well enough to feel a sense of responsibility about the situation.

So here he was. No moment thus far had been easy, but the trickiest step would be following it to a place of vulnerability. In such dense jungle, Nahte didn't have line of sight long enough to cast Sleep on the beast.

If he failed and it realized it was being stalked, he'd lose his best chance at taking it by surprise. If it fled, he lost the advantage. If it attacked... only his birds were here to help him. The Moonkeeper had opted to trek out alone in favor of stealth.

He was so intent on following his prey and keeping his quiet, it was almost too late before Nahte realized he wasn't the only one out here...

[dragonsongmakhali]

Send 🕳 to see them somewhere they really don’t like to be.

Of all places, it had to be Coerthas.

More specifically, it had to be the arse-end of nowhere in the frigid Western Highlands, so far from civilization that she was more likely to run into a polar bear than a person. Not that said civilization had been all that welcoming to a woman who bore a marked resemblance to the creatures they had been at war with for hundreds of years, but at least they had fires.

Though she had to survive most of the year in the high peaks of her homeland, Makhali detested the cold and the memories it ushered forth. Whenever her travels brought her to the frozen lands of Coerthas, she could never bundle up quite enough to withstand the biting temperatures without shivering like a wet coerl, something she hadn't been able to stop doing since she left Falcon's Nest. The winds whipped around the diminutive Auri woman, and for a moment she was transported back to her childhood in the Tail mountains, feeling her mother's grip on her shoulder as she was forcefully turned away from Samga's inert form lying half-buried in the snowfall. Her parents had been quick to find her, but not quick enough - there were times where she could still see her best friend's eyes frozen open, forever gazing up at Nhaama, as if begging for an answer to her suffering. Did she ever get one? Was there even one to be had?

Makhali shook her head to clear her thoughts, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. A contract was a contract, and leaving one unfulfilled would lead to a reputation. The gale could bluster all it wanted - she would not be known as a coward.

After all, she had survived worse.

[queerleaflet]

In which the Voidsent learns to cook (vaguely)

It was only yesterday that things were okay. And things had been okay for quite some time. Time spent became easier, faster, more fulfilling with the Miqote at her side. Teaching, talking, travelling, _seeing_ the world rather than simply being within it. Zero was beginning to…as the saying went, “warm up” to her new life on the source. To truly enjoy her time alongside her…comrade.

So why was it that today, unlike any other days, T’uues refused to speak to her?

Had they gotten into a disagreement? Had she found a flaw in her unworthy of their relationship? Could it be that she had overstayed her welcome? No…perhaps not. For there were other oddities and irregularities to the coerl’s behavior that brought concern to the voidsent.

She hadn’t left her bed.

The two stood wordlessly, staring at one another. Zero standing idly, awkwardly…and T’uues nearly fully buried under countless comforters.

She gave a sad smile and wave…before reaching to her bedside table for a journal.

“…What is wrong.” Zero spoke up. “You are normally out training now. It is…midday.”

A finger was raised to hush, before returning to the book to scribble. Eventually, T’uues handed it over to her. It read simply, in swirling, neat letters.

‘Hello! Apologies. I lost my voice.’

“Lost your voice…well, where is it? Where did you last leave it, I can fetch it for you—“ the tiniest of chuckles was heard, hoarse and hurt before the Miqote stopped herself to scribble more.

‘no. Hurts too much to speak.’

“Who h—“ another finger, a small sigh.

‘I’m sick. Must have caught a cold at Radz-At-Han.’

Sick? That felt familiar, but nothing familiar enough for Zero to know how to _fix it._ A problem, surely, and a bigger one if it were to get worse.

“..How do you end this sick.” Crossing her arms, Zero’s mind began to chew upon this problem. “If it’s aether you need, I can fetch some.” T’uues shook her head.

‘Time. And tea.’

——

The neighbors explained to her quite kindly, albeit amusedly, what tea was. A hot beverage of leaves steeped in water, with added honey or cream for sweetness. Cream was an ingredient made from milk, and honey…Zero inexplicably remembered, from a time long past.

And so the voidsent procured this ‘tea’, taking care to pick the healthiest of leaves and the hottest of waters.

—

‘What is this’

“Tea.”

T’uues gave another glance at the cup. Steam wafted profusely from its source, fogging up the view of the strange, steeping leaves floating aimlessly within. Leaves she felt were familiar, but at the time couldn’t place her finger on where she had seen them. Oh well. Down the hatch.

The hot water both burned her tongue and soothed her throat. The leaves lent a strong bitterness, something she had trained herself to enjoy alongside sweets….but perhaps it was the lack of sweets that made it even more bitter than she could recall.

“Mm…” she closed her eyes. This was…definitely tea, technically. Perhaps her next lesson.

“Is it adequate. Is your sick gone.”

She shook her head.

“That…will take some more time.” T’uues whispered hoarsely. At least her throat felt a bit better for now. “I…should show you how to make tea proper. This is close…but not quite.”

Rising from her covers, Zero could see the soft pajamas her friend had donned. Completely unlike any of her armor, or even day wear. It felt….strange to see her in such a vulnerable state. But there was no look of fear in her comrade’s eyes. To have a moment of pure peace…something so foreign to Zero, even in her days without the darkness. Something tugged at her chest, a longing of sorts for more of this sensation of peace.

—

“First, you heat up water in a kettle such as this.” T’uues demonstrated softly, bringing the neck of the kettle to the sink to fill it. Zero watched closely, listening to the sound it made, rising in pitch as it filled. The cat’s moves were sluggish, but deliberate as she brought the now full kettle to the stovetop and activated the magitek to heat it.

“While we wait on it to boil, we prepare the tea in its vessel. Let’s use a simple black tea for this cup.” Moving shakily, T’uues produced a small tin from the cabinet, and two ceramic cups. From the tin she carefully scooped dried leaves into mesh filters, setting each to rest on either cup.

“That…does not look like the leaves used in the tea I made.” Zero noted. A strand of hair was tugged in absence of her hat. “I see my error.”

“Hm?” Turning from her concentration, T’uues expected to see the usually curious voidsent behind her. Rather, what stood in its place was a look of disappointment and…shame?

“I have failed to create adequate sustenance such as tea to heal your illness.” She stared at the cups, a storm behind her eyes. “For that I offer apologies. I can go and call for the dragoon to come and aid you—“

“Huh? Why would you do that?”

“Because I am inadequate.”

“…Zero, you don’t really think that, do you?”

Suddenly closer, dainty fingers reaching to cup the voidsent’s cheek. How could such scarred hands be so soft..?

Eye contact, something Zero struggled with, but T’uues thrived. Striking slit pupils amidst peridot and emerald, soothing and seeking to sort out.

“You’ve shown initiative, not only to learn, but to aid me in my vulnerable state. There’s nothing ‘inadequate’ about that. In fact…I find it rather noble, and incredibly sweet.”

“…”

Zero turned away, allowing the cat to remember the honey and cream required for their brew. And just in time, too, as the kettle began to express what Zero’s cheeks were unable to. The cold of voidsent flesh could never fluster, but she swore in that moment a fever rose to share between them.

In mere moments the two beheld two pristine glasses of steaming tea. The aroma of bittersweet leaves filled them both and filled the cat’s nose with much needed relief. She hesitated not to take a sip, tail flicking to and fro at the delicious-albeit muted-flavor.

“Go on, try it!” Voice a little less hoarse than before, the honey doing its magic, Tuues waited impatiently for her friend to join in. And that she did…with much hesitation, caution, and curiosity. As was her wont to do in this world…and was T’uues’s wont to begin to admire. To view the world with new eyes…just like she was. To know but had not seen, to see but had not known. It was a funny play on fate to bring these two strangers together. But all the worth it, to see the voidsent’s eyes light up at the new sensation.

“It’s…warm.” She spoke softly, setting the cup down. “It smells so…”

“Good, yea?” T’uues beamed. “The neat thing is, you can find this anywhere in the star. Each tribe’s got a different spin on it. It was key for survival, yknow, boiling off the bad aether. But now it’s so beloved…we can’t get enough of it!”

“A necessity memorialized…?”

“Perhaps. Say…where _did_ you find those leaves in the tea you made?”

“Oh, the trees in your garden.” An easy question, an easy answer. “The ones with the purple flowers.”

“The….” Oh, dear. So the growing stomachache was not the cold. “…the wisteria leaves?”

“Yes. Was that alright?”

“….you may actually want…to call for Alphinaud…or G’raha.” Taking another sip, she gave a small sigh. “Those are poisonous.”

[saqqarasdissent]

I adore the idea of Nyxs tattoo being a native coerl and tracing my fingers along it to examine the details would be just ecstasy. Drool worthy 🥵🤤 .

Tattoos - Nyx Ulric

Had some fun with Nyx’s tattoos and character design here. The large cat I mention here was part of his actual character design, which I mention here, and is a really beautiful piece of concept art that was never actually used in the game/movie. I added a few tats for…research purposes. Hope you like it.

Tagging Nyx friends: @chocobopuffs @daemonchocobo  - and @opalandowl for the inspiration

xxx

Keep reading

[arcanobabble]

there are two coerls inside of you

one says

Static tuned in to reason (Yes, falling back right in with the system)

Time in the aether deepens (Who'll see you falling back to the end)

Transmissions blink uncompleted (Yes, falling back right in with the system)

Seven two three two three...<send> (Who'll see you falling back to the end)

the other says "Crack thoom snap bam bim bangy zoom!"

[lookbluesoup]

I know shippy stuff and canon-adjacent stuff is popular and I'm certainly not dissing those. I like them too, they're a lot of fun! And AUs are great, I have so many!

But man, I wish there was more... idk, emphasis and exploration of the FFXIV lore, and those moments that have to have happened but aren't shown on screen - talked about and written about and illustrated here on tumblr.

That's usually been my favorite part of fandoms, discussing the lore with other fans in-depth and sharing theories, and seeing how everyone's characters would handle those big or quiet moments from the story itself. Exploring how a game mechanic/boss fight would feel from a story perspective, and what it would mean to the characters.

It's not entirely absent from here, but even when I make my own meta posts, even if they get lots of notes, I tend to see very little discussion added compared to what I'm used to from other fandoms. And when new patches come out, there's not a lot of deep talk about the story itself circulating. Maybe I've just been lucky in my previous spaces!

But... I want to know how the WoL and Graha bonded during the Crystal Tower raids. Did they sit around the campfire at night and talk? Did they drink and sing and laugh and argue?

What was it like, recovering from Ultima Thule? How did it feel to set out on the road again, leaving the title of Scion behind? Did they give their friends a tour of Ishgard? Did they visit Edmont? What was it like in the trenches of Ghimlyt Dark, for these characters who have never seen war before, versus the ones who have? Did the WoL help stabilize Lakeland, and tend wounded after the sin eater attacks?

I want late night study sessions with the twins, bittersweet work in the hot sun rebuilding Ala Mhigo, learning to fight on dragonback, Hraesvelgr's brood visiting Ishgard on diplomatic forways. I want snarking with Emet Selch while you help people with "side quests" in Norvrandt. I want gentle moments with Ryne on the road because if anyone understands the suffocating feeling of immense responsibility Hydaelyn and Minfilia have dropped on that child, it's the WoL.

What was it like for the WoL to fight the pirates in Sastasha? To see the women taken captive there? To see the Drowned mutilated by Leviathan's tempering? How did they handle the narrow tunnels and rickety elevators in Copperbell, and the giants angry after centuries of unjust imprisonment? Did they step in Aurum Vale's goldbile and have a shoe burnt off? Did they bring a pet korpokkur home from the Arboretum? Do they carry scars?

Do they take the manacutter out for joyrides? Did Grani recognize the color of their soul, and choose them over the tempered twist of Emet Selchs, or did Emet charge his familiar with looking after them? Have they ever been robbed in Limsa Lominsa? Did they ever buy loinfruit?

Does that goobbue sproutling grow up? The coerl kitten become a battle steed? The wolf pup a guardian? Do the sylphs play games with the WoL when they visit the Shroud? Do they carry a polished shell to remind them of their Clutchfather? Do they stop by the guild to check on the Deftarm whenever they're in Dravania?

What was it like trekking the spindly mountains of Othard, riding a Yol for the first time, seeing the endless plains of green, and the dead white of the Burn?

Do they still have nightmares about Haurchefant, or are they good dreams remembering his smile? Did he teach them to make hot chocolate? Did they stay up all night when the Scions lost their souls, waiting by the bedsides with a candle and feeling helpless?

Do they visit Amaurot, even after Emet Selch is gone? Are they still trying to remember? Did they look up at the night sky in Elpis and feel an indescribable sense of loss?

Was there ever a moment in Endwalker where they almost became a Blasphemy themselves? Did they ever answer Venat's question? Do they know that the love their friends had for them, saved them?

[dragon-hoard]

oh my god if you have a wolf pup/coerl kitten and you come across someone else who has the other they play together

[oldschoolfrp]

Comic covers of the 1970s seem to have been a big inspiration for new monsters added to D&D after the initial 1974 rules release (see especially Gil Kane's version of Coerl the Black Destroyer/displacer beast). Conan's foe above calls to mind shambling mounds, ropers, mimics, and lots of other creatures with giant mouths posing as harmless objects, and most closely resembles the hangman tree whose stats first appeared in the Monster Manual II in 1983. D&D's version grabs victims with noose-like vines and drops them into a mouth-like opening in the trunk.

Conan the Barbarian #41 (1974) Cover by Gil Kane

[chocodile]

Red Panther from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Always thought these guys had a cool design. Somewhere between a skinned heraldic beast and a melted plastic toy from a grocery store vending machine.

[liketheinferno2]

Haurchefant 🥺

Haurchefant. Ive surely said this but. Haurchefant has evil powers that make you believe for a half second that a man was that sweet to you IN REAL LIFE when he speaks. I care him deeply. Here's some of his dialogue that didn't get translated right or was lost to previous limited events:

Haurchefant ponyplay moment!

Haurchefant wants the WOL from the very second you meet him they just toned him down SEVERELY in english because he's now too polite to say any of this out loud lol

Also this proposition:

Which he tries TWICE.

The situation of Alphinaud appearing and he backtracks so suddenly is hilarious to me. I have highjacked a one-word ask again, excuse me, but HAURCHEFANT THOUGH. Bi king.

[lesoldatmort]

| FFXV 4th anniversary poster |

Fierce as ever, ...our roadtrip chocobros! Happy FF15 day! ♥

[aeternxm]

the joke, unsurprisingly, goes down very well. axel finds himself snorting, covers his mouth to try and muffle the embarrassing sound. humour wasn't something he was exposed to much during his time as a bearer, and he'd found he'd quite liked it -- eased the tension and lightened the mood, if only for a while. " i'll take the coerl any day, hell -- i'd take a behemoth over her most days. "

" my name? " for some reason he's surprised that joshua had even asked. maybe it's just the years of not being given a second thought that's got axel confused when someone actually wants to know something about him. " oh uh, axel -- well, lea -- but either is fine, really. " lea, the name he'd been given at birth -- but axel? well, apparently his masters hadn't cared much for his birth name, took it upon themselves to change it. figured axel was more fitting for someone like him.

he shifts slightly as he prunes the tree, taking a few branches back to ensure that the tree continues growing at a steady pace. " so uh, joshua.. " a pause before he turns back to the other man, pushing back his anxieties as he tries, for the first time in maybe ever, to keep a conversation going.

" how're you finding it here? "

The bow seemed to cause the man discomfort, and Joshua couldn't help but wince inwardly. Outwardly he did his best to smooth his expression into something far more neutral. That was right; there were plenty here at the Hideaway that were not used to the fact that there was no difference between Bearers and anyone else. Some still found it uncomfortable to be treated like an equal, unable to stop themselves from fearing the punishment that was bound to come on the heels of acting so disgracefully.

There was a lick of anger that twisted inside of him for a moment before fizzling out. If he was angry over every injustice he say, he'd never be able to feel anything else, and while it was a powerful emotion, anger... ultimately ate away and left nothing in its wake.

Joshua had to pause to stop himself from uttering an apology, knowing that would do nothing to improve the situation. Instead he just smiled at the man's comments over Charon. "Lady Charon is... adept at her trade." Without her, he knew that the Hideaway would have been out of money years ago and left dead in the water - pun not intended. But that didn't change that her personality did take a bit of getting used to.

"Though I cannot deny I feel I would fare better if I were to face down an angry coerl verses having to deal with her ire."

The joke, he hoped, would land... not poorly and not make the man more uncomfortable. "My name is Joshua. Yours?"