#ember astral ; ffxv

[phoenixfiiire]

@excultum asked: ❝  something’s  not  right.  ❞ | ANASTASIA MEME | Accepting

A more obvious statement could not have been said in the moment.

It was a mean thought, and one that Joshua almost immediately mentally squashed. His perception of the daemonic entities that crawled out of the ground at night was far keener than any humans. He had been able to feel them coming, like a thick ichor being dripped down his back, and had done his best to hope that they would be able to simply outpace them before it would be a concern.

But the road was still at least a mile off, and even once there the Regalia was even further.

"Don't think about it." There wasn't much else he could try to offer Ignis in the moment. Joshua's pace slowed, just enough so that he could make sure he was behind the other in case anything tried to lunge at them from behind. "Just keep running."

In the dark it was much harder to miss the slight red glow that started to curl in the palm of his right hand. Joshua wasn't eager to make it clear he was slightly less than human, but tonight might not give him much choice.

[phoenixfiiire]

He wasn't quite so out of touch with modern conveniences to not understand what a camera was, but Joshua's own usage of them had been... sparse at best. There had been something about himself and his inherently inhuman nature that seemed to cause things he placed his hands on to start acting up. Cars might stall, phones would drop signal, and photos he tried to take would come out wrong. Not every time of course, but often enough that he was able to pick up on the message that was being sent to him. He was meant to be a mythic creature, not one that interacted freely with humanity.

It wouldn't affect others when they snapped a photo of him, at the very least.

The picture came out fine, and Joshua knew that was less because he was the subject of it and more because of the skill of the photographer taking it. There was a bit of an ethereal quality to it, one that left him feeling slightly homesick for a place he had never really been before, and for a moment his expression slipped--

-- before he smiled again, lifting his gaze up to glance at the young man.

"Are you a traveling photographer? I didn't expect I'd find someone out here-" And a vague gesture at the otherwise empty highway. "-looking to take my picture."

many  might  say  he’d  spend  too  much  time  &  energy  capturing  things  with  his  lenses  that  otherwise  would  appear  insignificant  to  others.  but  to  him  they  were  anything  but.  prompto  only  took  pictures  of  things  that  caught  his  eye,  things  that  he  found  wonderful,  &  he  took  pride  in  every  little  photo  he  took.  because  these  images  were  a  piece  of  history,  a  memory  he  had  triumphantly  captured  at  a  moment’s  notice  &  kept  stored  carefully  in  hopes  of  preserving  its  beauty  for  years  to  come.  

&  while  he  rarely  went  up  to  a  stranger  &  ask  for  a  photo  of  them  　　(  because  he  also  would  get  a  little  freaked  out  by  a  rando  showing  up  out  of  nowhere  & snapping  a  picture  or  two  ),  　　exact  moment  that  unfolded  before  him  gave  him  that  little  push  of  encouragement  to  capture  it  for  the  ages  because,  then,  it  really  would’ve  been  an  awful  waste  to  let  it  slip  past  his  fingers.

　　❛  ahah,  sorry  .  .  .  ❜  a  nervous  chuckle  followed  by  a  rub  to  the  back  of  his  neck.  ❛  it  won’t  take  long,  promise.  &-&  if  you  want  it  all  for  yourself,  you’re  free  to  take  it.  ❜

reassurance  before  he  bashfully  got  into  position,  bringing  his  well-kept  camera  from  its  hanging  position  around  his  neck  to  his  line  of  sight.  the  shy  demeanor  almost  instantly  dropped  as  the  professional  persona  kicked  in  as  soon  as  his  camera  was  in  focus.  prompto  took  his  hobby  seriously  when  it  came  to  it,  especially  in  crucial  situations  when  it  would  be  near  impossible  to  recreate.  trained  fingers  adjusted  the  lenses  &  steady  hands  kept  the  camera  still  long  enough  until  a  couple  of  CLICKS  left  its  machinery  components.  

letting  out  a  breath  since,  for  whatever  reason,  he  holds  it  in  when  these  certain  moments  would  arise,  the  blonde  then  granted  the  other  a  gentle  but  excited  smile  as  he  looked  down  to  his  camera  roll  to  examine  the  photos.  of  course,  he’d  only  take  a  second  or  two  for  himself  before  he  angled  the  camera  for  the  other  to  see  if  he  wanted  to.

　　❛  wanna  take  a  look  .ᐣ.ᐣ  ❜

[phoenixfiiire]

@excultum asked: ❝  it  was  more  a  change  of  heart.  ❞ ;; from Gladio! | ANASTASIA MEME | Accepting

If there was one word that Joshua had to use to describe Gladio it would have been, very simply - serious. There were other words he could use as well, words in tandem, but the first and foremost was just how... unfun he could be.

It wasn't his fault. It was his job, his duty to make sure the Prince was always taken care of. Joshua could only guess at some of the things that he may have even been forced to go through growing up. Stern lessons and events that would have driven home the fact that all that mattered was Noctis' safety. And there was no denying that protecting the prince was important.

Did it just have to come at the cost of Gladio having anything that resembled a life?

The offer had just been to go for a walk. At night, after everyone had gone to bed, but it wasn't like the Prince would really be alone or left defenseless. An offer that Joshua had been sure Gladio would end up turning down. How could he not, after all? It'd be doing something other than his duty...

And so he blinked hearing those words, followed by smiling. "Really?" I didn't think I'd live to see the day."

[phoenixfiiire]

@sharp-shot from [x]

He had seen cameras before, but never really understood just what they... did. Most of his lives had been spent on the outskirts of civilization, closer to those who couldn't afford treatment for the hurts and ailments. Getting to be up-close and personal with a camera had just never been something that could happen. Not that he really minded, but when gifted with the opportunity to try it for himself Joshua didn't hesitate.

(He did notice the slight hesitation in the other's voice when it came to trying to answer the questions that Joshua had presented. Perhaps... traps wasn't the right word?)

"Yeah." It didn't look like it had to be too hard - all Prompto ever seemed to do was just press a button or maybe fiddle with the front of the camera. But it still managed to perfectly replicate whatever he had been looking at.

"How does it... how does it remember what you were looking at so that you can see it later?"

[phoenixfiiire]

Okay thought a bit on this, so here's the ffxv au:

Much like Garuda, the Phoenix is an Astral that seems to exist beyond the Six. Whether he's from the same realm as Garuda, or if he exists as the sliver of Ifrit that regrets his betrayal, or if he's something else is unknown. If the Phoenix knows, he's never told anyone.

Much like Gentiana, the Phoenix walks the world in a human form. Unlike her, this form is mortal, ages, and dies.

Joshua is born as a literal baby bird. Much like a bird, he grows/ages quickly and reaches full adulthood within 2-3 years. As he retains all memories of his prior lives, he is truly the age of twenty at this time in his human form - maybe even older considering the breadth of his knowledge and experiences. From there he ages normally, and generally has anywhere from ten to maybe twenty years to live until he dies.

The death always occurs due to degradation of using his healing abilities. Much like the Oracle, the Phoenix can heal wounds, illness, and starscourge. Each injury he heals places a wound on himself - not a visible one, but a mark internally that wears away at him. It eventually always becomes too much, causing him to fade away, only for the cycle to repeat itself.

Along with healing, the Phoenix has fire abilities as well, but is afraid of using them in fear of being connected to Ifrit.

His true form, should he ever have to resort to it or if he appeared as a summon, is that of a monstrously giant bird made of fire.

When reborn, his name is almost always some variant of Joshua.

[phoenixfiiire]

Verses

Story Untold: This verse is set either before or during the events of the game. Joshua can be anywhere from 10 to 28 depending on the era this is happening in.

Story's End: Post game. I write that Joshua was brought back to life by Clive and that Clive died. Joshua then becomes the Duke of Rosaria (after Rosaria is granted her independence again by Sanbreque) and does his best to try to rule.

I am more than amenable to slight changes to this allowing for things such as Rosaria still being enslaved by Sanbreque, or for Clive to be alive, but as I play Joshua he does need to survive.

New Chapter: This is for writing verses set in other canons, such as FFXIV. Here, while Joshua was saved by Clive, the force of Ultima's power sent him to another world.

Remake Era: A modern AU. Joshua is a struggling college student living with his brother Clive and trying to deal with making rent while making grades, and dealing with his heart condition.

Otherworldly Summon: An AU for Kingdom Hearts. Read more here.

Genetic Apostate: FFVII au. Information can be found here.

Ember Astral: FFXV au. Information can be found here.

Twin AUs: For other Joshuas. One involves being an egi, the other involves being Ultima.

The Boys AU: It's really not well formed but you can read about it here! No specific additional headcanons yet because I feel this is incredibly niche.

Tales of Zestiria/Berseria: Not even one with a tag yet, but information on my vague ideas are here.

More verses can be added if a series specific AU is formed.

[phoenixfiiire]

His mind had been wandering, lost in thoughts of a time long passed, of an era that this world would never return to. Sisters and brothers that he could no longer stand beside. To say it left an ache in his chest would have been... perhaps both too much and not enough.

How many eons had passed since then? How many would continue to pass? To miss and mourn a time that would never, could never return... was tantamount to insanity.

Joshua had allowed his thoughts to wander in the moment. The sun was setting and it was a time of day that always lent itself to his more melancholy feelings. Enough so that he had leaned against the guardrail on a back road that rarely saw any traffic and had allowed himself to spend just a few quiet moments of contemplation. He hadn't noticed the sound of someone approaching him from behind and would have been startled - though what he heard the stranger saw was simultaneously the oddest and strangely sweetest thing he had ever been asked.

Joshua stayed where he was, though a low chuckle escaped him. "You can take my picture." Moving would have ruined the look, and if the stranger was so focused on the sunset then he wouldn't have much time before it dipped down too far in the sky.

He'd have more questions - but they could wait for the moment to pass.

starter for: @phoenixfiiire

like  any  photographer,  prompto  enjoyed  taking  pictures  of  things  he  found  appealing  to  the  eye.  and  in  this  case,  it  was  an  individual  perfectly  encasing  the  rays  around  him  like  some  sort  of  mystical  being  from  outer  space  .  .  .  or  something  like  that.  

the  problem  was  .  .  .  he  didn’t  even  know  who  he  was.

biting  and  smacking  his  lips,  the  blonde  stood  there  wondering  what  words  to  use  to  convince  the  person  to  let  him  take  a  quick  photo  because  he  was  sure  as  hell  they  wouldn’t  let  him  just  willy-nilly  take  a  picture  without  context.  but  oh  boy  was  he  bad  at  not  making  things  sound  worse  than  they  actually  were.

❛  umm,  excuse  me.  ❜  here  goes  nothing.  ❛  this  is  gonna  sound  really  weird  and  creepy,  ahah,  but  do  you  think  i  could  take  a  picture  of  you  ??  there’s  a  reeeeallly  great  view  of  the  sunset  radiating  off  you,  and  i,  uh,  wanted  a  .  .  .  piece  .  .  .  of    .  .  .  it  ??  ❜

wow.