#don't tell Fourchenault about this

[sgnblg]

So, I think of hammock

Jethrault lived all his childhood on ships. He had beds in captain room or inns but I think he slept a lot of years in hammock too. Like, on his mother's ship, or one of his fathers'.

In Sharlayan, he would hang a hammock in his bedroom, up his bed and desk. Head near the window for fresh air. Legs near the wall to rock himself. And boy he's used to do this all night. He needs a place where he doesn't have to think about anything world saving related.

The Scions know about the hammock. G'Raha went from seeing Jethrault taking a nap in it to find himself tucked in, warm and comfy, the elezen petting and scratching his head. Nothing more, but nothing less. G'Raha woke up feeling amazingly well, liking the experience. Yes, experience of course. You know, for science.

The twins have heard of this and tried too. Many times. To be sure. Whenever one of the three got exhausted from studying but anxious to take a break, they come to Jethrault. And he never refuse a nap. Each of them sleep calmly and have warm body. They're not heavy but just enough. And nice head and hair to pet. Who would refuse warm, heavy blanket you can talk about sciences and stuff with?

Y'shtola once got to experience it. Jethrault just found her in the library, sleeping on books. Not on his watch. He scooped her and bring her half awake to his room. He took time to wash her face (from makeup and ink), got her clean shirt and pants and rocked her until late morning. She may have purred, her hair may have been completely messed up with the pats and scratches, no one knows. She asked Jethrault not to mention anything about this. Long story short, she stopped sleeping on books.

Estinien just... Found the hammock empty when he looked for Jethrault. He was curious too. When the former pirate came back from sparing, he got a dragoon sleeping on his hammock. Then, Estinien had to take his turn with the three other Scions for nap time. Eventually, Jethrault got a larger hammock.

Urianger and Thancred seemed not interested about it, except for Thancred asking where he can get one and Urianger and he having some time when they can't be found.

Krile and Tataru weren't sure about this. Jethrault hanged his hammock pretty high after all. They freaked out a bit when he put them in. Then, they didn't stop moving and giggling. Tataru didn't try the nap, but Krile did and enjoyed it. But it's still too high and she only tries again sometimes.

So, yeah, hammock.

[cinnabun-faerie]

Hi! It's the anon that requested the phoenix mount reaction but only realized I left out that I wanted scion reactions until you posted it today 😅😅😅 if you don't mind, could you do it for the scions as well?

I loved the ones that you wrote and I'm so happy you included ardbert 🥹❤️

Just going to link the first part here for anyone who comes across this:

Reaction to WoL’s ability to turn into the phoenix mount [Part 1] (Ardbert, Fourchenault, Vrtra, Zero)

She would be in awe of this form of yours. But she might be a bit ticked about it. Why didn't you tell her you could turn into a phoenix!?

He would be a bit shocked. He might stand still and just stare at you in awe. You are truly magnificent.

He would just chuckle. Of course, you are chalk full of surprises, aren't you? He wouldn't really be shocked or surprised. He knows better than to underestimate you. It's expect the unexpected with you.

You - You can turn into a phoenix? How - since when? Forgive him, for he is more than in a bit in shock. Once he recovers, he will compliment your form. He'd also tell you how majestic your wings are. He might even ask if it was possible for you take him for a flight through the skies.

Naturally Krile would have so many questions. Does the transformation hurt? Have you always been able to do this? Or is this a more recent development? But really she is just excited to see your phoenix form.

My, my, you are never going to stop surprising him, are you? Regardless, he'd never want it any other way. You keep him on his toes and he awaits the next surprise.

But really, when did this happen? How long have you been able to turn into a phoenix? Now, he is aware you are soaring to new heights, he would really like all of the details. Right now, if possible.

You can turn into a phoenix? He would love for you to enlighten him with every single detail you can spare. He is curious if there are others somewhere who can also turn into a phoenix.

You're beautiful darling. And she will give you all the compliments your heart desires. But later. Right now, she wants answers. Since when could you turn into a phoenix? Were you truly going to keep this fact from her? Should she tease you or just compliment you?

[siderealcity]

LRT I really like a lot of the analysis of Y'shtola and Matoya there, and I don't want to append a bunch of speculation/interpretation onto it, but there's just... so much about Matoya as a character that lives in the margins and background of the story that I feel is worth examining.

To start with: Her conflict with the Forum.

This is the very first thing we learn about her, and no one ever goes into any details about it, but there's enough we can kind of piece together from the MSQ to paint a picture. A few of the things she says to you if you visit her cave after the MSQ.

Post-Heavensward: I don't care much for politics. Too much talk and not enough action. (After: For those we can yet save) Noble causes, hmph. I can't count how many times I've seen what began with the best of intentions be twisted into something altogether different in service to a “noble” cause. Post-Endwalker: Like old Louisoix, you lot set out to save the world. Like him, you believed in your cause with all your heart. And like him, you succeeded. The spineless wretches of the Forum could stand to take a cue from your example.

We know that she was charged with designing a weapon to use against the Garleans that the Forum decided wasn't worth developing and then opted to flee the continent and abandon everyone there to die. That this--the refusal to act, even in their own defense--is the philosophical difference which keeps her from returning to the motherland seems pretty clear.

I suspect that this is the core of her rivalry and disagreements with Louisoix, Galuf, and Montichaigne, as well. But I'll get to that more later.

The second thing we know about her concerns the Crystal Eye.

How and why she obtained it is never explained, but I am an old-school FF player. I know that she has it because Matoya in the original Final Fantasy game had a crystal eye that was stolen. However, in this case, the eye has a lot of interesting implications.

She tells us that it's an old crystal of light, and therefore we know it is implicitly connected to Hydaelyn. The only person who can use it (aside from Matoya herself, presumably) is Krile. Who has the Echo and the gift of hearing the soul. And then, of course, we soon learn that Matoya is the last keeper of the Antitower, the Sharlayan device for speaking to Hydaelyn. The crystal eye was probably used as part of the Antitower originally.

Matoya, therefore, is an oracle. We can assume she, too, has the Echo like Claudien in Old Sharlayan, and occupied a position like his during the days of the Sharlayan colony. She was the researcher responsible for managing their studies of the Aetherial Sea and for trying to communicate with the Mothercrystal--a thing only those who have the Echo can do.

Which means that, in all likelihood, she knew about Hydaelyn's warning of the Final Days to some degree or other.

This sets her up, in many ways, like Zero. She's effectively meant to be a Warrior of Light, but nobody around her will do anything. She's alone. Watching things fall apart.

Her frustration with the Forum--with her entire culture--was probably not limited to their policy on Garlemald. That was almost certainly just the final straw. Her closest friend/rival seems to have been Louisoix, Sharlayan's foremost expert on prophecy. Followed by Galuf (we know that she kept in touch with him enough to hear about G'raha from him) who dedicated his life to trying to stop the primal Eureka from destroying everyone. It's not hard to imagine that this group of archons, all of them interested in stopping calamities, clashed with the Forum in different ways, but also with one another over how to act on behalf of the star.

When the moment came, and the Forum decided to give up on Etheirys, Louisoix followed the order and went home. Galuf stayed on his island prison. Nobody stood up for the star.

Louisoix thought, perhaps, that he could change things from inside. That seems to have been the root of his many arguments with Fourchenault. He tried for too long to get Sharlayan to take action, and was forced, in the end, to make a desperate last stand. Galuf and Montichaigne seem to have had similar stances. Trying to work within a broken system to achieve change. It didn't work. Galuf follows Louisoix in making a desperate sacrifice to avert calamity. Montichaigne would have gone along with the Exodus.

I think her refusal to return to Old Sharlayan was also her way of saying that she unequivocally rejected the Great Exodus, as well.

And then Y'shtola left.

She would have been a child at the time, she couldn't have had much say in the matter, but nevertheless, she obediently went back to the motherland to finish her education with the fools who wanted to sit around debating over whether or not it was worth trying to fight for their own lives. No wonder Matoya felt bitter about it.

And just look at how often this is the point over which Y'shtola clashes with others.

When we are busy doing ridiculous fetch quests for the Company of Heroes, she's furious about this. Why do you need a test? Someone needs to do something, doing nothing serves nothing, you idiots! Thancred's indecision about Minfilia, Urianger's waffling and deception over even telling the WoL something is wrong with them, she has no patience for this. Act. Stop being a coward. No amount of thinking about it will make the problem disappear. This is Matoya's influence, through-and-through.

It's ironic, but oddly fitting that Matoya, keeper of the device for communicating with Hydaelyn, struggles to communicate with her apprentice. But so much of her anger and frustration with her friends, colleagues, leaders, and nation stems from their propensity to talk too much and act too little. They heard Hydaelyn's warning and took the exact wrong approach. What good is knowing without doing? What good are words without deeds?

And we see her act. Every single time Y'shtola comes to her for anything, she complies. The plans she locked away forever? Of course you can have them. Keys to the Antitower which nobody should ever use? Go ahead. Her precious older-than-antique Crystal of Light? Fine, borrow it. Something bad happens to Shtola? She will leave her cave for the first time in twenty years and come take care of her. Oh, you're making pigs fly? I'll open up the evil magic lab.

She is the most ridiculously doting master in the entire game, she just tries to cover it up (badly) with crochety remarks.

[xenodile]

I can't be mean to Fourchenault because there's nothing I could say that the game doesn't beat me to. Like his initial appearance at the tail end of Shadowbringers is very clearly intended to make you dislike him, and his behavior in early Endwalker only reinforces that, but once that initial hurdle is out of the way the story will not let him catch a break.

Like, let's look at what the narrative of Endwalker puts him through:

He calls an emergency hearing to have the Scions expelled from Sharlayan, which is stated to be an inconvenience for everyone on the Forum, and then G'raha and Y'shtola blow open his case and one of his father's own friends agrees, humiliating him in front of his coworkers when they're already annoyed with him for calling the meeting in the first place.

His wife invites the WoL and the twins back home against his wishes, behind his back, and more or less tells everyone "don't bother trying to reason with him, just show him up and rub it in his face", while simultaneously revealing that all the staff listen to her as the actual authority in the house

He learns his secret lunar collaborators are actually funny little rabbits that have misinterpreted the vast majority of information he sent to them, again making him look like a buffoon in front of his coworkers.

His children do in fact show him up and solve the problem he'd been tasked with fixing for a decade, only they do it in a single afternoon with one phone call.

His wife announces publicly she's been funding the Scions behind his back, and he has to publicly confess that he's a massive fuck up that nearly ruined everything.

The Ragnarok gains the unglamorous nickname "[Fourchenault's] Teeny Tiny Toy Boat" that becomes widely used across Sharlayan, while being a very obvious joke about his dick size.

After the world is saved, Ameliance AGAIN invites the WoL back to the Leveilleur estate in secret so she can do business with them without Fourchenault knowing, resulting in a series of quests in which WoL and Ameliance take care of a secret child together, all while she airs his dirty laundry as a student.

Like. The story sets him up as a jerk father, then follows up by calling him an incompetent cuck with a micropenis at every opportunity it gets. What else is there for me to make fun of, the game itself already went for the throat.

Anyway, I pleased his wife for the 90th time today.

[brineffxiv]

In Radz-at-Han, Vrtra (via Varshahn) is preparing to make his grand announcement.

I can feel his fear and trepidation; no less than this great calamity could have prompted him to reveal his secret, so afraid was he of his people rejecting him.

It will be alright. They will see how much you care for them.

It is a lovely speech. His people do not yet know him, but they will. And they are willing to extend the same trust to him that he extends to them in this moment. Together, they will get through this.

That it would have. I hope that wherever she is now - the aetherial sea, or perhaps reborn? - that she knows where the path she started us down has led us.

Oh great. These fuckers again.

To his credit, Fourchenault recovers quickly when he discovers he's going to have to negotiate policy with a Great Wyrm. He quickly and succinctly gives a brief explanation of the Final Days, and what the Forum has been planning.

...I am both surprised and relieved. It's clear I need to reassess my view of Sharlayan; I was convinced that, being so insular, they would only seek to rescue their own people. Fourchenault has risen in my estimation. Marginally.

Vrtra will meet and discuss the details of this plan of evacuation with the Forum members in Meghaduta. I am heartened to learn that the decision will ultimately be up to the individuals to decide; Vrtra truly is a good leader.

Nidhana has caught up with us: she has a theory to share!

Y'know, I asked that exact question when Y'shtola first said they didn't have any aether. Without it, how do they exist at all?

Nidhana's theory, then, is based on the fact that strong negative emotions trigger the transformation. She posits that akasa is the alternate energy that the beasts are animated by.

That... would make sense. Because my flower seems to be influenced by the same force, and...

Aaaand it just exploded into black dust.

Well, if akasa is the force behind the flower's color-changing effect, then I think it's safe to say that there's something really fucked up influencing our surroundings right now.

*narrows eyes*

...Didn't Hydaelyn say that the flower would guide me? Or something to that effect?

That seems to imply... That Hydaelyn knows akasa is the force behind the Final Days. That She knew all the way back in Labyrinthos.

Why...

Okay, this doesn't make any sense. Because She may be incredibly frustrating, but She's not evil. ...Is She? That doesn't make sense either. She made the Loporrits out of love for us. She gave us a backup plan. If She knows what's causing the Final Days, why would She let us run about in circles trying to figure the answer out?? She must know about the akasa connection, because literally the only thing the flower does is react to it. Why else give it to me??

Is this like the Forum? Like. She literally can't tell me? But why? What rule could possibly constrain a being like Her?

This is... Really fucking fishy. I don't like this. I have a really bad feeling.

Yeah. And now I don't even have the flower to guide me.

Oh look I suddenly have a million (five) quests to distract me, better go do them...

Sadly the only classes I have at 90 are Sage and Paladin, so those are the only ones I can complete. Everything else I can only do up to level 87.

But, I did notice something curious while completing the Healer quest?

Fordola clearly sees the soul of Charlet, the man who became the blasphemy, walk off to join those of their deceased friends... According to everything Y'shtola said, this should not be possible? There should be nothing left of his soul? And yet there is. I am leery of getting my hopes up, but maybe the souls of those changed are not completely destroyed after all?

A mystery...

Anyway. I have a dinner to attend.

We have to remember, what we saw in Amaurot was end-stage. It is what is coming, but we still have time to stop it. Before things get that bad.

And now we understand why half the star was willing to give up their lives to summon Zodiark, don't we?

No, Y'shtola, you've got that backwards. Zodiark stopped the Final Days. Hydaelyn was the one who sundered everything in the process of subduing Him.

But, that's besides the point. Hydaelyn won't - I'm starting to suspect can't - tell us anything more. We're going to have to find our way from here without Her.

This is why I need to stop solving all my problems with murder.

What.

...But it might. There might be some fragment of his soul still in the Crystal Tower. Well, goddamn.

And so, I will go to the First. Y'shtola will seek to contact Hydaelyn in the aetherial sea. Alphinaud will rendezvous with the various world leaders and ascertain how far the Final Days are progressing. Estinien will--

????

Emet-Selch?

Are you...?

Hooooly Shit.

You can see me. You're not just narrating: you're watching me.

...And you know something I don't.

[lookbluesoup]

Unless I've forgotten a lore beat, realistically I don't know if there's any way Fourchenault and Ameliance could have known about the months(?) Alisaie and Alphinaud spent in a coma in the Rising Stones during Shadowbringers.

Ameliance had some correspondence with their children via letters during their time abroad but afaik those had some tactful omissions, too, to prevent her worrying. And then when their souls are yoinked out of their bodies nobody else must have reached out to their parents???

Because they would have shown up?? If their kids might literally be dying and nobody could figure out what the cause was? Fourchenault would be tearing the restricted section of the Sharlayan library apart?

He would be chewing the Scions out about that when you finally meet him??

When you consider how many fancy well-studied people were consulted in an attempt to cure the affliction to the Scions, it is actually hilarious to think about how... many Sharlayans... probably know about that. And are deliberately keeping their mouths shut. Nobody is brave enough to tell Fourchenault.

[myreia]

☾ ♒ ▼ tell me your thancred headcanons mutual .. (working under the assumption you have tons but if you cant think of any tell me for aureia instead 🧎‍♀️🫶)

hehehehe thank you!! 💖💖

— ☾ - sleep headcanon

I have no idea where this comes from, but Thancred strikes me as the kind of person who is horrible at getting regular, restful sleep, but can nap literally anywhere. On the floor, under a tree, that weird nook in the back of the Rising Stones. Anywhere.

(I answered sleep for Aureia earlier and she also doesn't sleep well so now I'm just thinking the two of them can't keep each other in check and actively make each other's sleep habits worse. No wonder they make questionable decisions, they're sleep deprived.)

— ♒ - cooking/food headcanon

Judging from his skrungly living in the woods era, I think it's safe to assume Thancred can and will eat anything. I like to think he's pretty adept at making the things he's caught taste good, even if he doesn't have much to work with. Then again wilderness cooking always tastes good if you've been away from civilization for a while.

Aureia's a terrible cook, but she's learning. She's spent much of her life living off of military rations or other pre-packaged foodstuffs, so she doesn't have much experience with food prep. One of the things she loves about travelling is experiencing different cultures' food; even the simplest combinations of ingredients blow her mind from time to time since much of it is new to her. The more she travels, the more envious she is of people whose family traditions are expressed through cooking. She doesn't have that because of her background, and it makes her feel a bit untethered in the wide, open world.

She's very keen on making her own traditions with the people she calls family. She's learning how to cook (CUL isn't canon for her, but she knows Raulf and Anzu since she crossed paths with them in Mor Dhona and they are painstakingly teaching her how to cook).

— ▼ - childhood headcanon

This isn't so much as a headcanon, but I'm just very curious about what Thancred's early years in Sharlayan after Louisoix picked him up were like. It's a vast change to go from a street urchin to the ward of an extremely influential and wealthy man, and ushered off to a whole different city in a different nation. Couldn't have been easy adapting especially when that young; I could it going to his head a bit. I don't know why, but I also imagine him butting heads with a young Fourchenault. I'm digging into this a bit more with one of my WIPs; the chapter's from Aureia's POV, but she can see the impact Louisoix made on him, both for good and for ill.

ahhhhh this is so unclear, I'm full of thoughts that aren't coming together yet. 😭

For Aureia - there was a stray cat that used to hang around her childhood home in Corvos. She and her brother fed it and cared for it, made it a bed in a nook under the house. They kept it a secret from their parents since they knew they would disapprove. When they did find out, Aureia scared the cat away because she was worried about what would happen if it stayed and it broke her little heart.

[headcanon meme]

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

and obviously you've also got the whole semi-related thing of the wol also being very, very quiet. and this is something that can have a TON of reasons behind it depending on your character (and can be not even true for you! maybe the game just doesn't represent the talking that your wol is doing!) and it gets better in later expansions, i think bc they became aware of this, but the wol almost never speaks unless spoken to. and even then it's like, one line at a time. you're not even halfway through arr when thancred cracks a joke about how you respond to everything with enigmatic nodding.

and beyond just cutscene quirks, narratively it's like you just don't tell people what you're doing until you're asked. following yugiri. fighting zodiark. how many times does the wol run into some world-ending disaster in a sidequest series and it just never comes up. oh yeah, arr blm questline had you avert a meteor crashing into earth but like, nobody else needs to be concerned abt that. the forum in endwalker postgame when you ask for fuel for the voidgate, fourchenault is like "i hope you aren't getting distracted from matters in the aetherial sea." were the scions later like "hey wtf was he talking about" and the wol casually goes "oh yeah, an ancient resurrected herself and tried to become a god by harnessing the power of the sea and destroying the cycle of rebirth in the process" WHAT "it's fine tho lahabrea and his son and also elidibus helped me stop her" THE ASCIANS? THE ONES YOU KILLED? "oh yeah not the present versions of them, versions made of memories from the past where i had to go help them out once already" YOU'VE BEEN DOING WHAT IN THE PAST. WHY DIDN'T WE KNOW ABOUT THIS. "idk you didn't ask?"

idk i got distracted what were we talking about. oh yeah. like again, it could be bc they don't want to be a bother or don't want other people getting involved in their business or just bc it's like, that was just tuesday to them, they straight up did not register that other people might like to know about it, but for whatever reason the wol seems to just not. talk. that much.

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

Send in a ⭐star⭐  to have the author select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!

Honestly it's more recent, but this scene involving Fourchenault and Astrid. Fourchy might be making an appearance in the final parts of Poison Ewer, and while I admit I clowned on him a lot starting from his first appearance (and I will still gently drag this man), he's grown on me, and I've taken away some good insights on his character via discussions with friends.

However as noted before, I do like political fuckery, and Sharlayan definitely is a fertile ground for such (seriously academia is murder enough but you decided to add politics in? y i k e s). And it does not help that Foruchenault...he's naive. He believes in the purity of Sharlayan's mission, their goals, their reason for existence. His children take after him in this, and he fucking adores them. He's got our back for when we first need help to go to the Thirteenth. And in the capstone quest he willingly fesses up to the general fuckery of his city-state.

Fourchenault I believe is politically savvy, but he's probably still in diapers compared to some of the older members of the Forum. Especially as how it's found out that there are different factions/groups within the city-state that all have their own agenda. And then adding in the sheer skeeviness that was the AST and SGE questlines...I can't honestly look at Fourchenault and see him agreeing with those so called 'rulings' of the Forum. He'd be horrified. He'd go for Sevestre's head on an immediate platter.

Astrid in the meantime, is my example of those career politicians, especially the ones who have gotten their hands dirty and won't blink twice about doing it again. She expects a level of betrayal and treachery from all her co-workers, so to encounter someone who hasn't, nor can they imagine stooping to the levels that she and her ilk have done, who genuinely believes in the ideal...it's jarring. Just as it's jarring for Fourchenault or any like him to realize that many people in the world do not default to altruistic. That there are those who don't believe in the in the cause, in the purity of it.

It's akin to telling a child for the very first time that there is no Tooth Fairy. No Santa Claus. It's a loss of innocence.

[weightoftomorrow]

prompts: fixit / The Source (twin au)

One of my AUs is one where Qahs'a was born as a fraternal twin, with a slightly older sister named Xau, who was actually willing to go to bat against Osha and Qahs being terrible people. Xau makes a point to bully Osha back, and Qahs'a ends up a lot better adjusted when he has three sisters (because Mikh now wouldn't be standing alone against Osha) telling him that he's being treated badly. It also ends up with Xau and Pelhi (who has the typical WoL Echo, while Qahs'a has a much more AST-like portent Echo instead) travelling with Qahs'a to Gridania, and so while Pelhi talks to Bremondt, Xau talks to the twins about, you know, being twins, since she never met any others growing up, and how Qahs'a was not treated well. So they have an earlier connection to the twins than in-game, not that it turns into much for a while.

Qahs'a still is the main WoL but he and Pelhi have to work together more, which is a lot more awkward since she's twelve and really shouldn't be adventuring. Qahs'a is still Azem, I don't know who Pelhi would be reincarnated from, but probably not anyone particularly related to the Convocation or anything like that. Overall, not much would change until Shadowbringers, because Pelhi and Xau definitely cannot come to the First, so I guess they run around and put out fires and help out Fordola and Arenvald and the Grand Companies for the like two weeks that everyone's gone for. Thirteen-year-old semi-warrior of light is REALLY weird on optics though. I guess Pelhi ends up helping Kururu and Matoya out on keeping the Scions alive while Xau does the extra errands.

And then Endwalker rolls in, and Fourchenault disowns the twins, and Xau would be totally unable to stop herself from going OKAY MINE NOW, YOU'RE JAABS NOW at the twins, right in front of him. She's been dealing with distant parents and poor family dynamics her entire life. This would not work out better for the long term, but at least it might make Fourche pause in his extremely stupid plan. And both of them get enough stories about Ryne and Lyna and Beq Lugg and Kai-Shirr and the Chais etcetc that both of them protest vehemently the abandon-the-rest-of-the-reflections plan. All three Jaabs agree that the Source is not inherently better and Venat's plan is stupid.

This isn't so much a fix-it for the XIV plot, but more for Qahs'a, since he's kinda a giant mess, especially by the end of Endwalker.

[jasleh]

FFxivWrite2023 Prompt 28: Blunt

character: Rrahna (indirectly) time period: post-6.4/Pandaemonium warnings for: being mean to G'raha (Rrahna doesn't like him much, sorry)

...

Openly dating the Warrior of Light, it seemed, came with inevitable interruptions. Claudien had but recently returned from his short trip to La Noscea and was just getting back into the flow of his research when a red-haired miqo'te wandered in, trying a bit too hard to seem casual about it. He put down the instrument he had been working with and sighed, turning to face the unwelcome visitor.

"Can I help you, Archon?" From the corner of his eyes, he saw Ruissenaud and Nemjiji look up in surprise at the unusual iciness of his tone. He could have been more polite, true, but if this was who he thought it was… well. He'd quite recently been subjected to a rather long rant about this man and the effect he had on Rrahna from someone with very strong opinions on the matter.

"G'raha Tia at your service! I hope I'm not interrupting anything…" Well, that removed all doubt.

"You are, actually," Claudien replied bluntly, once more astonishing his research assistants. "I am very busy. Was there something you needed?"

"Well… I.. uh…" G'raha fidgeted under his unfriendly gaze. "I… had heard you… worked with the Warrior of Light on some project! And I was hoping to learn more about it. As she is a good friend of mine, I follow her adventures very closely, you see."

Yes, I'm sure you do, but I happen to know that 'good friend' is a stretch, thought Claudien. But more than that, I expect you are here to see the competition. And another bit of that earlier conversation floated up from his memory. 'As you are not a secret, perhaps you may protect her in ways that I cannot.' It had sounded strange at the time, but far less so now. Rrahna was polyamorous, but G'raha didn't need to know that.

"As I said, I am very busy," Claudien told him. "I suggest you read the reports." Not that Claudien especially wanted him to read the reports, but there was only so much he could do as a Professor when G'raha was an Archon.

"They're restricted to the Forum still," the miqo'te replied glumly. "I'd ask Rrahna, but she's hard to track down, especially when I have too much work with the Students of Baldesion to leave Sharlayan." Claudien only just managed to suppress a smile. Good news on both counts, so far as he was concerned. "And when she is around, there's rarely time to stand around and talk."

In the background, Nemjiji perked up. "I could…" she trailed off as they both looked at her and Claudien gave a sharp shake of the head behind G'raha's back. "… tell you who to ask?" she continued, clearly trying to find an alternate but plausible path for that sentence. It was an unfortunate path, as Fourchenault was unlikely to turn down such a request from a former Scion, but better than Nemjiji regaling G'raha with the whole story, at least.

"Oh, could you?" G'raha took up the offer eagerly, and was at least soon out of Claudien's lab. Once he was safely away, both of his assistants looked to him for an explanation.

"Professor…" Nemjiji started, "were you jealous?"

Claudien actually felt rather insulted at that. "Hardly. But Rrahna suffers enough from his hero worship. We didn't need to feed it."

"I've never seen you like that before, Professor." It was Ruissenaud who spoke up now. "You almost reminded me of Lahabrea."

"What, really?" Claudien was taken aback by the comparison, but not entirely unpleased.

"Well, you don't have the same air of authority," Ruissenaud admitted, "but the judgement was spot on."

"Hmm… In this case, I think I can live with that."

[dragoon-mid-jump]

Is there a wedding? What was the proposal like? Any kind of honeymoon? Specifically for any of your ships that have a wedding/marriage/possibly would

Rhikta Parents

Funny thing about Y'tohmar and Kouh is that they were tossing around the idea of marriage when she got pregnant with Y'kouha. So, there was a "Fuck it, let's get married." for a proposal, and after a pen-in for vacation, a small-ish wedding among family and close friends followed by retreat over two weeks to Costa de Sol and Gridania for honeymoon.

It's a short and kinda messy process, but worked out in the long run.

Smoke and Fire

I've imagined how a lead-up to a proposal would go with these two. It'd be during a Scion gathering for a holiday or event years past the MSQ. I'm thinking Starlight. U'reksh and Y'dehlya take some reflection time for a one-on-one talk, and he shows her an engagement ring he made Alisaie, asking if she'll like it. It'd been a serious topic of discussion between just the couple themselves for some time and only began to include their families after a comical scene that followed from the supposed-to-heartfelt reveal that Alphinaud has viewed Reksh as family since ShB and Ameliance following up with "So, when is the wedding?" Cue spit-takes from the couple and Fourchenault. Their answer then was "Eventually."

And "eventually" does happen. I can't exactly pin what their wedding would even be like, there's something about Alisaie's background in particular that throws me off whenever I think about this. Guests would definitely include the Scions plus anyone who'd impact their journey throughout the MSQ. No, I'm not sure what their honeymoon would be.

Earn Your Happy Ending

It all happens. I'll tell you now that it all happens. I just don't know how.

It's after the MSQ for sure. Like the above, they'd invite family, friends, and everyone who's impacted them throughout the MSQ. It'd be a balancing act between G'raha's humbleness and Y'dehlya's want for a bigger celebration. Their honeymoon would involve a lot of traveling across the Source and, assuming that by then there'd be more accessible travel between Shards and a more recovered First by this time, exploring what all that has to offer.

(Prompt is here!)

[cinnabun-faerie]

FFXIV {November 2022 Masterlist}

A/N: Honestly it’s getting harder and harder for me to organize everything so I'mma just do it this way. It may not be fancy, and they all aren’t all in one place, but it’s easiest for me (currently).

✧Group HC & Reactions✧

You come home partially blind & need glasses (Artoirel, Edmont, Emmanellain, Haurchefant)

Their older child {Alisaie's & Alphinaud's older sibling} is the warrior of light (Ameliance, Fourchenault)

Reaction: They watch your heart break when your crush tells you that they love someone else (Alisaie, Alphinaud, Estinien, G'raha Tia, Thancred, Urianger, Y'shtola)

Reaction: WoL waking up from a nightmare (Alisaie, Alphinaud, Estinien, G'raha Tia, Thancred, Urianger, Y'shtola)

WoL starts to cook for them the food from their world, but struggles as some ingredients don't exist (Thancred, Urianger)

Spending the night with the WoL before they return to the Source (NSFW) (Emet-Selch & Hythlodaeus)

WoL takes care of them when they're sick (Aymeric, Estinien)

WoL wants to be bent over the nearest surface (part 2) (Erenville, Estinien, Crystal Exarch, Fandaniel, Fourchenault, Gaius, Haurchefant, Hien, Zenos)

Ancients: WoL wants to be bent over the nearest surface (part 3) (Emet-Selch, Hermes, Hythlodaeus, Venat)

FFXIV: WoL perishes at the Vault instead of Haurchefant (Aymeric, Haurchefant)

✧Solo HC & Reactions✧

WoL tries to comfort Urianger after Moenbryda's death

Graha/WoL/Urianger: WoL that just loves listening to them talk about the things their passionate about, even when the WoL doesn't understand

Urianger offering a heartfelt apology to the WoL at the end of Endwalker for the lies, secrecy, putting them in danger, etc.

[lorspolairepeluche]

Oday's relationship to Fourchenault changes drastically over the course of Endwalker. There's almost a rivalry there, except neither of them quite respects the other enough at first to consider it a rivalry. Oday's essentially head of state of a nation that is pretty much the antithesis of Sharlayan, for one thing, and Fourchenault has a Forum-issue stick up his ass, and on a personal level, they clash a truly spectacular amount. (He'll never really forgive them for appearing for the Scions' Forum hearing in full khagan regalia, armed with a diplomacy he didn't expect and the question of whether it's the Forum's habit to let its members publicly slander foreign dignitaries and their family members as part and parcel of official proceedings.) But, despite their best efforts, they learn more about each other.

After the conversation with Theopauldin in the Hamlet, after he spoke of how proud Fourchenault is of the twins, how dumb with happiness he was the day they were born -- as they walk away, Oday considers whether to say it, then abruptly tells the twins, "My first Echo memory was of the day I was born, through the eyes of my father's best friend."

The twins are surprised, to say the least. Oday's talk about their family, during that time they took the twins for ice cream, was mostly about their awful relationship with their mother. They mentioned their father, of course -- a respected warrior, the khan's right hand, and dead before Oday was a year old but living on in his child's resemblance to him -- but little more than that. But they talk about him now, what they know of him, and their agonized wondering as they grew up -- would he have been proud of them? Would he have smiled at them? And now the twins are wondering the same things about their own father, and Oday tells them, "I couldn't see it at first, but I think I know what to look for now, and when you stood up to him before the entire Forum, when you made our request to use the 'teeny-tiny toy boat,' even back in Gridania... Theopauldin's right. He's so fucking proud of you that he has to work to contain it every time."

And then, at Scholar's Harbor, with all the people of myriad nations and their crystals and treasures and refined adamantite present, Fourchenault hesitates, and for the first time (willingly at least), meets Oday's eyes. They simply nod once and smile a little. A conveyance, they hope, of so much -- that the twins want their father back, that his children will forgive him if they haven't already, that he can make this right, that they knew he would.

Later, Oday catches the elevator to Thaumazein just before it takes Fourchenault down. He's...still a little stiff around them, but Oday just talks quietly. Nothing long-winded, not even snarky, just an honest conversation about family, about the twins, about being wrong and realizing it. Oday tells him some about their family, or lack thereof, about how they found a family in the Scions, on the Steppe, all across the world. A family of many personalities and many many conflicting opinions -- "Get five Xaela in a yurt and ask an open-ended question, and you'll have six strident opinions shouted back at you" -- but that family is theirs, and they won't trade it for the world.

At the end of the conversation, as the elevator arrives, Oday offers a handshake. A truce. Fourchenault accepts, and they shake his hand and give it an extra squeeze. "Don't worry. The twins are still Solongo as well, and Scions besides, so it's still my responsibility to look after them, and I swear I will." What started as an unsubtle fuck you and your disinheritance; Alphinaud and Alisaie still have family becomes an acknowledgement that they both love the twins, and they both love their world.

So by the time they respect each other enough to consider it a rivalry, it's already morphed haphazardly into something like a friendship.

Fun fact: Alphinaud and Alisaie are (legally) (on the Azim Steppe anyway) Oday's kids.

It was an impulse decision in the wake of Fourchenault's disowning of them at that meeting in Gridania to speak up and ask for a point of clarification -- not on Sharlayan's decision, but on Master Fourchenault's other, more personal reason for the meeting. "You are...relinquishing all familial claim to Alphinaud and Alisaie?"

"They are no longer part of my house."

"Indeed. Then I see no reason to not make their adoption into my family official, should they consent." They spared Fourchenault not another glance as they turned to the twins. "Do you?"

Alphinaud and Alisaie kind of just...stared for a second, but they both recognized that gleam in Oday's eye as the particular kind they got when sticking it to some uppity bastard for the sake of their loved ones. So they both nodded.

Oday nodded back, face never changing from a mild, diplomatic expression, and looked back to Fourchenault. "Then, Master Leveilleur, I must ask you to hasten your exit. You have insulted and demeaned beloved and respected members of the Solongo tribe, and as its khan, I cannot abide such behavior toward those in my care."

Fourchenault, as Fourchenault does, kept his composure, asking only a clipped, "...I beg your pardon?"

"I believe you heard me, ser." Oday folded their arms, never breaking eye contact. "You're upsetting my kids."

(This was supported and made slightly less ridiculous of a situation by literally all of the Warriors of Light leveling stares on Fourchenault that all had the same intense degree of our kids now in them.)

After the meeting, as they went to prepare to battle lunar primals, Oday said to the twins, apropos of nothing, "Let's get ice cream after."

They did, indeed, treat Alphie and Alisaie to ice cream, and Oday talked with them about their childhood for the first time. They explained that their mother disowned them too, in all but name, and they had an honest heart-to-heart about forging your own path when your parents turn their backs. Finding those who will support and care for you and whom you will support and care for in return, working through the grief of distance from those you looked up to. Oday had been through the lack of support and love from those who were supposed to care for them, and they were absolutely not going to let that happen to these two. And they assured Alphinaud and Alisaie: "That wasn't performative, that declaration. You are Solongo now, and I am honored to be a part of your family and to have you as part of mine. Beyond that, I'm your godsdamned friend. You know you can call on me when you need me, 'cause I love you. That hasn't changed. Never will. This just made it official. Made me honor-bound to love you. Easiest promise I've ever made."

It was less "official" than other Steppe adoptions, but the twins are legally, on the Steppe, Alphinaud Leveilleur Solongo and Alisaie Leveilleur Solongo, first children of the tribe and most beloved of Oduyanga Khan, and if Oday takes anything seriously in their life, it's found family. They made themself a steadfast support for Alphie and Alisaie, counsel (such as it was) and guardian.

[autumnslance]

Okay, Omega and Hildi are cool and all, but they pale next to this patch's lore bomb. During the Custom Deliveries, Ameliance says: "*For years*, I've supported my children from afar as a sponsor of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn". They're finally moving away from the time bubble :)

They really aren't.

Ameliance supporting the Scions for years isn’t new information. It was a major reveal in the 6.0 harbor scene (”Bonds of Adamant(ite)”). Tataru tells us that Lady Leveilleur has "supported us from the shadows since the very founding of the Scions, ere we even had coffers to fill...” to the shock of Fourchenault and the twins.

Per Louisoix's plans, Minfilia formed the Scions in the immediate wake of the Seventh Calamity from her own organization--the Path of the Twelve--and the Circle of Knowing. The Scions were operating for five years before the Warrior of Light arrived, before the twins came of age and formally joined themselves. Ameliance simply remained involved in her father-in-law’s endeavor.

The Time Bubble Issue The time bubble, much as we may (or may not) hate it, is here to stay. When asked at FanFest (concerning changes to Meteor's appearance through the cinematic trailers), Yoshida said he "assumed some time, maybe a few years, have passed,” but he will not give a set timeline in the game so that players can determine their own timelines for their Warrior of Lights' personal stories. He seems to answer this question at a couple panels and FanFests, actually.

Rule 1 for Yoshida was regaining and maintaining the playerbase trust after the fiasco of 1.0, hence the constant communication and responses to feedback. Corollary to that is giving players agency in regard to our personal character stories (as much as the on-rails MSQ allows).

The time bubble is also there for the developers so they can handwave any time passage to vague days, weeks, months, or years, the way people in real life will guesstimate times they don't precisely remember. This keeps them from having to keep track of aging up all the NPCs--not just the kids/teens. The start of A Realm Reborn remains the baseline regardless because it’s the only exact time we have (five years post-Calamity).

So has time passed in game? Yes of course it has; just by travel alone, as for example we know there are canon timeframes in the Encyclopaedia Eorzea of “at least a fortnight” by sea to get from Limsa to Sharlayan, and "two moons” by sea from Limsa to Doma (remember, the game world is a compressed abstract for play purposes), when one cannot teleport. We know characters on the Source have mentioned vague time passing (days, months, or years) during quests text, in and out of cutscenes. Characters have had all sorts of personal development that takes awhile to stick, and/or have to take time to recover from various injuring events. We know that the game has not taken place "all within one year" per Yoshida (though some try to claim that everything in game so far has, thanks to not grasping how the “time bubble” works as a developer tool and starting point for players).

But also per Yoshida we do not, will not, get a canon timeline for how many years have passed, as it's not convenient for the devs and it removes agency from the players.

If anyone tries to say that they or someone else have worked out an exact post-ARR canon timeline, or that they think that devs are removing the time bubble based on some of the many vague time references in game, then they're talking about their own headcanons or mistaken.

We don't gotta like it, but it's there for a purpose and unless the director himself flat out states "we now have decided it has been X number of years exactly since the start of ARR" do not assume that the bubble has been lifted. It is there as a developer tool and starting point for your own WoL storyline. Vague, contradictory, general guesstimates of time using the start of ARR as a baseline are all we're going to see canonically in the game and short stories.

[brineffxiv]

Catching up with the rest of our group, we find that-- Oh, it's this asshole again. Hi jerkface. You here to ruin our fun?Y'shtola, why can't you turn him into a toad?

That clerk at the Archeion snitched on us! Rat!

Thank you for openly confirming that.

It's okay Y'shtola, I've attuned to their aetherite; let them try and keep me out.

No! They've got G'raha!

You shouldn't even have a restricted section of your library. Information must be free!

And off we go. To be tried for our crimes of being subversive foreigners.

Haha, Y'shtola was in on G'raha's plan to infiltrate the restricted section.

Fight me Fourchenault! I'll show you a malcontent.

Huh, well, I mean... Yeah, I suppose that's true.

Y'shtola calls out the forum, and reveals how much we've gleaned in our investigations.

G'raha informs us that his research turned up similar evidence. What the two of them have concluded is that, around 270 years ago...

...Researchers of the aetherial sea in the Dravanian Hinterlands found something that gave rise to the duty they've been so cagey about.

...Hey, didn't Hydaelyn just tell me that Her influence is the strongest in the depths of the aetherial sea? Did they find Her?

And the forum basically admits that our suppositions are correct. They did find something that gave rise to their duty.

We debate the merits of fighting vs not fighting for a while.

Suddenly we are interrupted by a new player on the field; a mister Montichaigne. He points out that while we have chosen to fight, there is no evidence that we have attempted to incite the people of Sharlayan to do the same. Furthermore he points out that the forum has given us no reasons as to the whys of their decisions, and seeing as they don't intend to it's only reasonable that we're asking.

The assembly thus back on track it is proposed that the Students of Baldesion are to immediately cease all activities within Sharlayan and to stop investigating the forums activities. If we do not comply we will be expelled. Overall, a rather generous set of conditions - I would have expected we would be expelled immediately.

The proposal is put to a vote and passes by the narrowest of margins. I notice that Fourchenault voted against - he was probably hoping we'd be expelled.

Outside the rostra we are met by the twins' mother Ameliance! Who, unlike her husband, is quite please we were not expelled from Sharlayan. In fact, she seems quite delighted to see us all, especially her children (you know your hubby disowned your kids, right?), and invited me to join her and them at the family estate.

Lady, you seem so sweet. Why are you married to that dick??

Did their letters mention their souls spent a year in another world while their bodies laid in a coma? Just curious. I need to know what I can and cannot tell you while we're waiting for them to come back with their gifts.

Alisaie gets a new outfit!

And so does Alphinaud! Very snazzy you two.

But that's not all. Alphiaud also gets a Sage's tools. That once belonged to his father. I imagine that must be a little fraught for him, given how his father is currently treating him.

Ameliance sends her children off with good advice on how to deal with their father, and with lots of love. I can't say how wonderful it is to see a loving parental relationship.