#feel like alphinaud would take the reins on that one

[therovingstar]

I do wonder how Turali folks first reacted to Odzaya as an Au Ra, seeing as (far as I could deduce) there are no Au Ra on the continent. Do they think her scales and horns are a condition? Is she a Hyur with some Mamool Ja mixed in somewhere? Have they seen enough Auri sailors/travelers to know what she is, and her kind are just a rare sight, a la Eorzea?

Regardless, I like to think there’s been at least one exchange in which she was described, and folks got a little confused. “Blah blah blah Wuk Lamat’s party from across the salt blah blah skilled adventurer blah blah blah a fetching woman with pale horns and scales!”

The general Turali populace: “oh neat! Wait what?”

[headcanons-n-shit]

since there was already a prompt abt pining can i ask for hcs on how the ffxiv boys (+leofard?) would go about expressing their interest in a particularly dense wol? 😊

We do love a dense motherfuker

Thancred is fucjing suffering over here. He cannot possibly make his intentions any more obvious. The problem is that hes accidentally played himself-- hes spent so long disguising his feelings as jokes, or as ploys on missions, and now you just assume that his flirting and holding your hand and wanting to be in your space all the time is just what the two of you do. He ends up having to go all rose petals and sappy love confession under the moonlight like some kind of storybook love interest. Its so sappy, embarrassing, but its also so, so sweet.

Urianger is, unfortunately, painfully Sharlyan about the whole thing. He gives you nice paper, expensive ink, masterwork tools, intricate glasswear for your alchemy lab. Practical, highquality armor. A delicately embroidered handkerchief. He thinks hes being overly forward with his affections, you think hes just being a really good friend, yshtola would rather drown herself than watch the rest of this soap opera play out.

Literally what else does G'raha need to do to prove his devotion to you??? The man unwound time and unraveled space just to be by your side. He was practically your sugardaddy your entire time on the First. He almost, almost thought you were flirting back with him when you brought him food from the Last Stand, and then Alphinaud and alisae and krile trotted in behind you and it took every ounce of his Exarch discipline not to retreat with his tail between his legs. Pls this man is suffering.

Estinien literally can not. Look me in the eyes. This stinky dragoon has spent a good half his life behind an armet. He is a horrible mix of country bumpkin, career soldier, aymeric's half-assed attempts to pound courtly decorum into estiniens dumb empty head, and Nidhoggs instincts. He wants to cook you food, drag you into a corner and kiss you silly, send you flowers, and bring you something he killed with his bare hands. He ends up doing all four. Not necessarily in that order.

Aymeric is dying. You are going to be the death of him. He has gone through great pains to discover your favorite flower and have them always displayed in your room. He has written you letters full of poetry. He has showered you with gifts. He has invited you to dine with him. At this point the other nobles are asking whether its going to be a spring or summer wedding, and he doesnt know how to explain how you are still woefully oblivious bc he cant explain it himself.

Haurchefant gave you a LITERAL DOWRY. He handed you the reins to an extremely expensive war-trained black de chocobo in front of everyone whos ever mattered to him and also half of ishgard, and then he had to stand there dying internally while you praised him for being a "good friend". There are bets not on whether hes going to throw you over his shoulder and carry you to his room to. Ahem. Prove his devotions. But rather on how long it will take him to break.

Sidurgu. Barely has memories of the Orl traditions around courtship. His mother had often regaled him with stories of how she had courted his father. Food, presense and friendship, proofs of skill. And yes, it frustrates him that you seem to brush off his attempts, but. Well. It took almost five years for his mother and father to get together, from the way they told it. Hes learned a lot for your sake, and for rielles. He can learn patience too.

Leofard is a pirate. He doesnt dance around the bush, he strikes when the metal is hot and takes what he wants. It works well with garlean airships and the odd unfortunate merchant. Not. So much with you. One, because your consent and emotions are important to him. Two, because you are so. Fucking. Dense. He steals silks and jewels and fancy foods for you, spends time with you, saved your life from diabolos, told you his sad life story. Hes one step from throwing himself at you like some fainting dame, and its embarrassing.

(Hes not gonns stop tho)

[briar-ffxiv]

FFXIV Write #29 - Crash

FFXIV Write 2024 Master Post

Prompt #29 - You Pick - Crash

Note: Briar's WoLverse where he's exhausted with the weight of responsibility, especially not too long after the Bloody Banquet. A moment between Briar and Haurchefant (although both of them still don't admit to feelings, at least out loud).

Briar breathed out in exhaustion as he slid off his chocobo. For a moment, he leaned against the bird, stroking the dark feathers as he gave him a weary smile. When the Ishgardian chocobo twisted her head around to nuzzle him, the half-Elezen touched his forehead against the bird.

"I think I finally have a name for you," he murmured. He smiled as the bird gave a curious kweh. "Dauntless. My brave girl." He gently scratched the bird's neck before taking the reins to lead her to the stable.

Even tired as he was, it didn't long for Briar to unsaddle, brush, and settle the chocobo in her stall. He was leaning against the door, stroking Dauntless's feathers gently. He knew he should probably rest, but he was dreading heading inside. No doubt the minute his boots touched the inside of Camp Dragonhead, Alphinaud would rush over and demand reports and start talking. The half-Elezen understood that in his way Alphinaud was trying to help how he could, but Briar was too exhausted for that at the moment.

He winced slightly as he heard boots behind him, resting his head on his arm as he waited for whoever it was to speak. He had expected it to be one of the guards, likely ordered by Alphinaud to fetch him because the lordling didn't wish to wait for his reports. If Briar had been less tired, he would likely have felt irritated by the demands when he was the one covered in sweat, aching, and with blood-stained hands, but at the moment, he couldn't muster the energy. He startled at the half-frantic voice behind him.

"Briar!" Haurchefant called as he strode toward the half-Elezen, practically crashing into him as he pulled the smaller man into his arms.

Briar gave a surprised squeak as he was almost crushed into the tall Ishgardian's chest, surprised to feel Haurchefant shake for a moment. "What is it?" he asked, concern overriding exhaustion in a rush of adrenaline. "Is someone hu--"

The rest was muffled into a squeak as Haurchefant kissed him. Briar's eyes went wide as he froze, heart stuttering to a stop before starting to pound against his chest. He'd never been kissed before, not like this. Not as if the Elezen was dying of thirst and he was fresh, cool water. Not as if there was nothing more important in that moment than him...

A rush of warmth seemed to pour from Haurchefant's lips into his, filling his body with a slow, sweet heat like melted honey. Briar gave a quiet moan as he relaxed, eyes drifting shut as he relaxed in Haurchefant's arms, forgetting everything else for the moment. When the other finally drew back, Briar found himself gasping as he rested his head the Elezen's chest. His ears twitched, hearing the racing of the knight's heart.

"Forgive me," Haurchefant whispered, tensing a little as if he expected to be shoved away. "When they said you had returned, but no one was sure where you were I thought-- I thought the worst and--"

Briar reached up, touching his fingers to stop the flood of apology. "Shhh," he whispered, lowering his hand after a moment and leaning back into Haurchefant. He eased his arms around the knight and sighed, burying his nose into the leather tunic. He breathed in the scent of metal and steel, hints of sweat, and something crisp and pleasant, like an apple covered in frost. "Can we stay like this for a little while?"

For a long moment, Haurchefant was still before he shuddered slightly and curled around Briar, one hand stroking back messy red-gold curls. "Of course. Of course." He held Briar gently as the other clung to him, resting his cheek against the half-Elezen's hair. "As long as you wish."

[battlecrazed-axe-mage]

How do you think your WOL feels about the other Scions?

Under a readmore because it got kind of long!

Thancred: I had an Ul'dah start, so he was her first connection with the Scions! Very proud of how he's grown as a person in the time she's known him. Teases him mercilessly in the most affectionate of ways. Probably hooked up with him at some point early on; they don't talk about it these days, but mostly because that's not where their relationship landed

Y'shtola: Absolute greatest respect and a little bit of fear. She trusts Y'shtola's words and plans pretty much more than almost anyone else she knows--UNLESS Flow is involved. Please stop solving problems with Flow we're running out of ways to pull you back out. Fully supports all of her high level mage nonsense and wants to help with her dimension-crossing thing any way she can.

Urianger: At this point, if Urianger starts doing something that superficially looks like plotting against the group, she takes it on faith that he knows what he's doing and has a good reason. When he eventually confesses his duplicity and cries for forgiveness, she wraps him in the tightest hug and goes "it's fine, look, don't worry about it. I know you." Will listen to him endlessly even if she only grasps a fraction of what he's talking about

Alphinaud: Baby brother. Incandescently proud of him and the capable young man he's become in the time she's known him. When he called her his family in Eulmore she got a little misty-eyed; considers him and Alisaie basically actual family. The only person whose plans she trusts above Y'shtola's. He's going to be a great leader someday, and she hopes she can be helpful when that day comes.

Alisaie: Baby sister. If Alphinaud is the twin she loves but doesn't understand, Alisaie is the one she understands in every mote of her being; Alisaie is basically her but younger. Do NOT leave the two of them alone to carry out some part of a plan, they enable each other's most reckless and ill-advised impulses and will yes-and each other until only fire lives here now. (Probably my favorite of the scions)

G'raha: Her spouse's boyfriend. Not her type as a lover; something closer than a friend; ranks just below the twins on the list of "people I would kill and/or die for". Raha is an absolutely essential pillar of her life at this point so please stop trying to martyr yourself godsdammit. If ever she has a dilemma she can't see a way out of, or if she wants a second opinion of something, he's her first thought

Estinien: Understands him as a brother-in-arms and lets him dictate the terms of their friendship (so they're not super close, but warm enough when their paths cross). Keeps tabs on him for Aymeric's peace of mind as best she can. There's few people she trusts more to have her back in a fight. Makes a point to treat him to a meal anytime they see each other because she still fully does not trust him with money and wants to be sure he's eating

Krile: Worked closely with her for an extended period of time on the displaced Isle of Val and got to know her in that time. Krile is probably the scion that knows the most of her secret fears and uncertainties; my character feels it's only fair after Krile trusted her with her own survivor's guilt over being the only one to escape the isle. Despite Krile being younger than her, considers her a bit of a "responsible adult" and can be reined in by her

Tataru: Bestie!! Eternally indebted to her as the beating heart of the Scions. Would move mountains for her. Probably relies on her quite a bit as someone who's also started selling her crafts (mostly soup lately) and sells out of her storefronts. Every aimless adventurer needs a pragmatic tether to the real world, and Tataru is hers. They get together every so often to gossip and catch up, when my character makes it back to town

[feralkwe]

Wol thinkthonkers 8 and/or 9?

hi! yay! welcome! i can't be concise apparently so, a cut for you!

8. what is one of their biggest regrets? has it had an effect on how they act moving forward, for better or worse?

i think kit's biggest regrets are that she was quick to take things at face value because people told her that's how things just were. here and there along the way of her journey she fought in the name of something that seemed straightforward. usually it was in the name of what had to happen for the greater good (a burden she wears like a lead cape). ascians are evil and trying to destroy the world (yes, but...), hydaelyn is good and loves the world and wants what is best for everyone (yes, but...), the crystal exarch is trying to save his world and yours (yes, but...), the warriors of darkness are trying to kill you (yes, but...), zodiark is the source of all evil and corrupt and power hungry (uh... akshully...). none of these, save one big one, are lies per se, but they are all things she looks back on and wonders if she could have changed the fallout she carries if she'd just given it a little more thought. which is an unfair thing to place on her own shoulders. there is nuance that was unavailable to a lot of people, the scions included, for so long, and she did the best she could with the knowledge they all had to work with.

she very much tries to take that caution going forward.

9. The Warrior of Light has been through quite a lot, but what is a moment, big or small, that bolstered and renewed their spirit? Was it a cup of hot cocoa or a lovingly crafted sandwich? Did someone give them a few words or a gesture at just the right time that meant the world to them? (Of course, this can be a canon event or headcanon!)

oh, so many. so many little moments along the way. there were so many times kit just wanted to lie down and give up, and while she never would, the strength to move forward came in sometimes surprising places. there are the obvious larger moments, ardbert on the first and in the final gasp, hythlodaeus time and again throughout the story, emet-selch showing up when she called during seat of sacrifice. certainly, but this wants the small ones, so i'll try to rein myself in here.

minfilia telling kit just how much she means to her. i forget the exact phrasing, but i recall it striking a chord. early days with the scions made kit feel like a tool more than a person, but minfilia calling her a friend was restorative.

alisaie, time and again, is just a fount of this. even if it isn't her direct words, her very existence in kit's orbit pushes her on all the time. alisaie looks up to her so much that kit can't help but take her words and march on. kit probably has one of those 'do it for her' simpsons posters in her room that is just alisaie's face all over it.

ryne. ryne and gaia. ryne and gaia and their coffee biscuits and the idea that they deserve all the time the world has to offer them. their whole everything is something that pushes her on. i absolutely know that there were moments during the final days that she just had to remember their laughs to renew her determination when all felt lost.

i couldn't find an exact moment without doing ng+ for heavensward, but estinien, again and again, whether he realized it or not, spurred her on. likely nothing he did consciously, as he was certainly going through his own journey at the same time. a word here or there would have been all it took. maybe just a casual comment as they watched alphinaud sleep, or a quiet moment after losing ysayle. those really stuck with her. if he could keep going, so could she. i'm always threatening to write some jock bro story for them, but his voice intimidates me so i've yet to take this leap. lol.

weird ones, like emet-selch's weird 'wink wink, nudge nudge' speech before mt. gulg. the one-two of that plus ardbert's echoing her own feelings on it out loud immediately after. that probably doesn't count as little though.

every. kind. word. elidibus. ever said to her. he had no way of knowing this, but it came at a time she needed it.

thanks so much for the ask! here's the list if anyone wants to participate, either by sending or receiving.

[that1nkyone]

WoL questions 9, 22, 24?

9. The Warrior of Light has been through quite a lot, but what is a moment, big or small, that bolstered and renewed their spirit? Was it a cup of hot cocoa or a lovingly crafted sandwich? Did someone give them a few words or a gesture at just the right time that meant the world to them? (Of course, this can be a canon event or headcanon!)

Ash'li's had quite a few moments like this!

However, a major one was actually when Alphinaud served hot chocolate post-Heavensward, and the subsequent conversation of saving Estinien from Nidhogg.

So, before Heavensward, Ash'li had been a fairly passive force, due to a major lack of self-confidence, and a very self-sacrificial stance on things. Though he knew he was granted with the Blessing of Light, he did not trust himself to use it well or correctly, and was happy to just take orders from Minfilia and Alphinaud, trusting that they would steer him right.

Losing the Blessing to Midgardsormr, and subsequently the Bloody Banquet made Ash'li realise that he needed to step up and take the wheel more often for the sake of his friends. Heavensward was his growth arc in terms of confidence, but he also started distancing himself emotionally a lot more - especially after the death of Haurchefant. He also became increasingly protective of Alphinaud and Tataru, refusing to let either of them in emotionally.

After the disaster of the (second attempt) of the Peace Conference in Falcon's Nest, Ash'li's at his lowest. He'd tried so hard to help mend the rift between the Dravanians and Ishgardians, and it seemed to go wrong at every step. And now they were going to have to pay more lives for a war that didn't seem to want to end, including that of a Nidhogg-possessed-Estinien.

Enter Alphinaud, with two hot chocolates reminiscent of how Haurchefant welcomed them to Camp Dragonhead after the Bloody Banquet. Something about that, and the subsequent conversation of not giving up on their comrade, chipped away at Ash'li's facade enough for him to start trusting Alphinaud and his friends as comrades again. He opens up emotionally again, after that, and that gives him the strength to continue on.

22. What are their feelings on the Scions? Who are some of their closest allies and dearest friends? Are they more of a loner, or closer to people outside the Scions? Have they kindled any romances or partnerships?

As mentioned earlier, Ash'li started off his career in the Scions preferring to be directed and told what to do - viewing them as his superiors, so to speak. At this point, they're all mostly a second family to him. He knows they'd die for him, and he would do the same for them - but he's also glad that everyone there understands that neither situation is acceptable.

He had a fallout with Thancred during the events of Shadowbringers (Not having a great father himself, Ash'li had an automatic and spiteful negative reaction to bad fathers, and he did not like the situation with Minfilia/Ryne. He reined it in once he realised that his anger was actually making her more uncomfortable, and that his anger wasn't coming from a place that would help the overall situation). Thancred's near-death experience scared him, however, and their friendship mended afterwards after both of them underwent a bit more self-awareness and character development.

Papalymo was a mentor figure for him of sorts - not in Thaumaturgy, but more for guidance in dealing with fighting environments he struggled with, like fire and overly loud battlefields. Papalymo would also tell him off for trying to burn the candle at both ends doing training, and despite his short temper, Ash'li looked up to Papalymo a lot (figuratively speaking) as a stable figurehead next to Minfilia. Ash'li didn't leave his side at the very end until he was made to.

Ash'li considers the Leveilleur twins family. He actually viewed ARR Alphinaud as someone who knew what he was doing (whoops), but they both underwent character development during Heavensward and became a lot more talkative to each other. He was a little more intimidated by Alisaie, up until the events of the Coils of Bahamut - and by Stormblood, would begin seeing her as a younger sister.

It wasn't until the events of Shadowbringers that Ash'li started the habit of hugging them both - I headcanon that's how he greeted them once he encountered them both in the First. Past that point, a barrier broke down - and they're now greeted with waves and hugs and headpats (to Alisaie's annoyance) and occasionally him doing their hair or Alisaie's makeup. Call it a Mi'qote social grooming thing. Though he knows they're talented and powerful, he worries for them - but he doesn't want his worries to get in the way of their abilities. He also wants them to know that they're family to him.

It took him every ounce of self-restraint (and his experience with Thancred in Shadowbringers) to not cause a diplomatic incident with Fourchenault That One Time at the Lotus Stand. Instead, he took them to his mother's place and made them soup while hissing to himself.

24. How do they feel about Hydaelyn? What was their perception of the Mothercrystal in the beginning, and how did that change by the end, if at all?

Ash'li was deeply afraid of the Mothercrystal, at first. This strange, all-knowing deity thrusting a destiny that he didn't know what to do with was not how he had planned his initial adventure to go. While he trusted her enough for Her Blessing to protect him, he grew increasingly wary after Minfilia was made Her Voice - and his feelings of trusting Her would flip-flop a lot.

It was not until he learned that She had originally been just a person that he started feeling as if she was less inscrutable. Even if there'd been a possibility that she was Evil, or Had Ulterior Motives, the fact that she'd once been 'mortal' brought her down from this unreachable pillar to a point where Ash'li felt more motivated to understand her and her intentions.

And when he at last met Venat, and Hydaelyn's intentions became clear, he couldn't help but want to at least walk with her to the very end of her path, after all she'd been through.

Suffering or not, he hopes her journey was good and worthwhile.

[orime-stories]

Closing the Distance

Aurelle Silmontier - Final Fantasy XIV

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The Warrior of Light checks in with Count Edmont before setting off to Azys Lla. Full story below the cut. (1028 words) Previous Story / Next Story / Read on AO3 / Tumblr Masterlist

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Dinner at Fortemps Manor had become a quiet, sombre affair.

Artoirel would greet them with a solemn dignity, ensuring that the food offered was to everyone’s satisfaction and then lapsing back into silence. Emmanellain picked quietly at his food as always, but with a new furrow to his brow that aged his youthful features.

Sorrow was written in more familiar languages across her fellow Scions’ faces, Tataru’s frequently on the cusp of tears and Alphinaud’s wan and chastened still from his first attempts to utter words of condolence into the heavy silence the day it had fallen. Y’shtola following the others’ lead into that silence, even if she had never known the one it was being held for.

And the Count had stopped taking his meals with them entirely.

But as the day of their final departure for Azys Lla drew ever closer, Aurelle found she could bear his absence no longer.

Cruel as it felt to ask anything of a grieving father, surely that grief could not be weathered in isolation. He needed family around him now, more than ever. And she needed…

She needed to know if she still had the right to yearn to be considered such. In this place that had come to be home.

Finding the words to relay through his staff had been hard. Enduring the wait for their return harder still. But her breaths came easier once it was confirmed that he would speak with her — permitted he first be allowed time to make himself presentable. As though feeling the need to be presentable in one’s grief was not an abhorrent demand to be placed on anyone.

But once that time had passed, he stood before her at last, firm and solid as always. As though the last time she had seen him, hunched and sobbing on the floor, had never happened at all. It was frightening how much Ishgardian men could hide from those around them. Frightening to consider how much the people around her might be suffering, and how she might never know. Might well add to their burdens in her ignorance of them.

Would it be easier for him if she could hold herself together with a similar poise? If she could pretend that her heart was not breaking and rebuilding itself with every aching beat? Could she even do that if she tried?

But as soon as her mouth opened, everything within her that might have stayed steady and firm crumbled apart into one shuddering breath and a desperate “I’m so, so sorry.”

To which the Count took a deep and steadier breath of his own. “For what, my dear girl?”

“That we couldn’t… That I couldn’t…”

The hand on his cane tightened, and then he slowly lowered himself down to sit, gesturing for her to do the same. “Haurchefant… made his own choice. A choice to protect the people and values he has always cared so openly for. And soon you will cross paths with Thordan once more, and you will avenge my son. My girl, you have nothing to apologise for.”

Tears spilled from her eyes then, as she took her offered seat. The pain within her somehow surging and subsiding all at once. “You’ve been alone up here?”

“I am being attended to. You need not worry that I am allowing my health or my responsibilities to lapse.”

“No that’s not what I mean at all,” she protested before wincing and reining herself back in. “Well your health… sure, but… don’t you need people around you? I need people around me when I’m hurting. I thought everyone did.”

“Do you have people around you now?” he asked, watching her carefully.

“Not all the ones I’d like. But I have enough. I have the Scions.”

“Good people, all,” the Count affirmed. “And glad were we to learn that you had been reunited with another of your number. I look forward to meeting her when I am… better able.”

Conversation meandered for a while, around Y’shtola’s retrieval and Aurelle’s brief time in Gridania in pursuit of it. Around how Aymeric was doing, in the tones one might ask after someone’s health after a bad cold. Finding herself deftly steered back into that place of polite distance.

But as they rose to part, Aurelle could not help but make one final bid for connection.

“Count Edmont. Last time when I… I wonder if it might have helped when…” She tentatively raised her arms to indicate the hug she was offering.

And his jaw set in that way Ishgardians held their brightest flares of emotion. “I do not think that would be appropriate,” he said after a pause. “But please do not take that to mean… Rather, that is not to say that…” He faltered, and she was so sure she could hear what he wanted to express, even if he didn’t know how. Didn’t know if he should.

So she gently removed the decision and the justifications that may have muddied it from his hands, folding her arms around him, forehead resting against his collar, breathing in that solid aura and borrowing some of its strength.

An arm hesitantly curled around her back in response, the grip of the fingertips by her shoulder-blade betraying how much he had needed the contact too. How much he had needed to let himself have this.

“I know this isn’t how things are done in Ishgard,” she explained, releasing him and pulling away before his ingrained discomfort could flare back up and spoil the good of the moment. “But in Gridania, this is how we mourn.”

His eyes were glistening, but warm. “As much as our sense of propriety can bind our hands, it does serve a purpose,” he explained. “We all have our roles to follow. Our parts to play. And mine is to be strong. To lead the House through this pain.”

“I understand that. But you don’t have to be strong for me.”

His jaw tightened once more. “I am afraid I must correct you there, my dear. As a cherished ward of House Fortemps. As… For you I must be a better man than I have been.”

[efrmellifer]

VI. Frustrated

Onerous. Endwalker.

As Alphinaud, G’raha, and Krile excused themselves from Etien’s room to go back to their own, citing the late hour and the fall they’d all taken earlier (made far less severe from G’raha’s intervention, but still), Alisaie hung back.

Etien was pretty sure she knew what this was about. So she stopped brushing crumbs from the table, stacking up the teacups to be returned to the Last Stand in the morning (later in the morning. After sunrise, in the morning), and she turned all her attention to Alisaie, leaning back against the table. “Was I too harsh?”

“Well, I suppose not, when you didn’t say anything, but we’ve known each other long enough now that I know your wordless expressions.”

Etien tipped her head.

“Yes, like that one,” she said with a laugh.

Etien sighed. “I am trying to be cordial and nice.”

“It can’t be that onerous of a task for you,” Alisaie scoffed. “You, of all people.”

Etien let out a dry laugh. “Aye, and I’m aware of all she’s done for us. I don’t know. It feels different when she’s the one cracking the jokes. Like she bullied him into the Scions and now she plans to make fun of him the whole time he’s here with us.” She sniffed, aware her eyes were getting glassy. “I don’t like it.”

“And you do like him,” Alisaie replied, crossing her arms. “It just seems like such an overreaction.”

“Because it is, and I know how irrational acting this way is, at my age. In my position. But how do I rein it in?”

“I suppose your only real option is to talk to her about it.”

Etien made a little hiss-y sound in her throat. “How infantile would that sound? ‘I know when we met we were both in the throes of fresh loss but you have been a great help, including taking a trip to Kugane and tending everyone’s bodies and aether, but I mislike how you talk to my’—gods, how do I even refer to him? In Thavnair, he and I can use all those vague terms of betrothal, but she knows.”

“So she ought to know why you’re so upset.”

“I wonder sometimes if she looks down on me.”

“Why would she look down on you?” Alisaie asked. “You’re the Warrior of Light.”

“She’s had the Echo longer, she’s chosen as Hydaelyn’s mouthpiece, she’s been doing this Students thing since long before I clambered into the cart you and Alphinaud were in on your ways to Gridania.”

Alisaie got up off the table she’d been leaned against, standing so she could look Etien in the eyes, then take her hand. “Etien, you are the Warrior of bloody Light, she has to have some respect for you after all you’ve done, and defending someone you care about—someone you love—is not infantile. What it is, is brave. Even if it was just light teasing she was doing and he didn’t even hear her.”

Etien swallowed. “I guess so. It’s not worth it, though, is it? We have the whole world to worry about.”

Now Alisaie patted her shoulder. “I’ll leave that muffin we brought with us here for you. You can have it for breakfast when you wake up.”

With that, she gave a nod and left Etien’s room.

[winterstorm032802]

Phos (Part 3/Finale)

A shot rings out

Phos: *reins Phoenix back*

Alisaie: Thancred?

Thancred: We killed them all, now how about we get Nora back?

Phos: *appears behind Thancred*

Three cards whiz past Phos, slightly grazing her wing

Phos: *stumbles back*

Urianger: Tis time we end this

Alphinaud: We need to get her down so Ryne can contain it

Ryne: Everything she does is too much, her attacks have stopped any chance of us getting close

Y'Shtola: Then we create an opening

Phos: *holds onto her wing and sees the Light dripping down*

Alphinaud: Please stop this Nora!

Phos: ...

~

Nora: *sits up slowly* ...

~

Phos: *summons Light Emerald*

Light Emerald: *uses Slipstream*

Alisaie: Come back to us!

Ryne: You must resist it Nora!

Phos: *pushes everyone away with her wings* Enough, stop this foolish blabber of yours!

Y'Shtola: Your in there Nora, aren't you?

Phos: I said silence *casts Ruin IV on Y'Shtola*

Y'Shtola: *thrown back to the cave walls* Agh!

~

Nora: *ears twitch* ...Y'Shtola?

~

Urianger: *tends to Y'Shtola's wounds*

Phos: I bestow no harm upon those and yet you come to my own home and test me. Turn back and I'll spare you, but if you continue I will end you

Alphinaud: No... You won't end us

Phos: *looks at Alphinaud* ...

Alphinaud: For you care too much to do so... You've seen us grow... That time in Ishgard, you watched me grow and even though I hurt you, you opened up to me and forgave me *looks down* Mayhaps I didn't deserve such forgiveness from someone like you... But now? *looks at Phos with determination* I would do the exact same for you! So no! I won't give up on you, no longer shall I stand to the side and let you carry this burden! So come back to me and let me care for you

Phos: ...

~

Nora: *stands up* ...Voices? *stumbles as she walks forward* But where?

~

Phos: *holds her arm out* ...

Alphinaud: Please... Let me do this for you

Phos: *her hand trembles a bit* ..?

Alphinaud: Huh?

Ryne: Her soul is being stirred once more

~

Nora: *keeps walking* Everything is full of Light, mayhaps I am meant to fade here? I'm tired... So tired... Just for a little

~

Thancred: Nora, we know you're there and you can hear us can't you?

Phos: ...Tired

Alisaie: She's on the brink of slipping...

Alphinaud: Nora... Come on *walks over to Phos*

Phos: *stares at Alphinaud and starts to cast Ruin III*

Alphinaud: I know it hurts, but I also know you can get through this *puts his hand on her arm* You can do this

Phos: *eyes change back to their normal color as she cries* A-A-- A-Alphinaud..?

Alphinaud: I'm here

Phos: *drops her Arcane book* Alphinaud...

~

Nora: Alphinaud... *looks up* Where are you?

~

Alphinaud: *holds onto Phos's hand* I'm right here Nora

~

Nora: *holds her hand out* Alphinaud..!

~

Phos: *fades away and in her place is Nora*

Alphinaud: I-It worked?

Ryne: Her soul is back! She's alright

Nora: *eyes closed as she breaths slowly* Alphinaud..? Did I find you?

Alphinaud: *smiles sweetly* You did *hugs Nora* You found me

Nora: *tears run down* I-I did? *hugs Alphinaud back* I really did...

.

.

.

Bonus/Bad Ending

Nora: *falls down to her knees* I'm so tired... So tired, so mayhaps it won't be so bad to succumb to the Light... Where I may rest *lies down feeling numb as she closes her eyes* It'll be okay now, right?

~

Phos: Goodbye *summons Bahamut and Phoenix*

Bahamut and Phoenix begin to prepare to use their special moves

Alphinaud: *eyes widen* Nora..?

The Scions are teleported and Phos is left alone in her cave

G'raha Tia: Forgive me, I couldn't allow you to stay, had I done so then you would have died

Alphinaud: *on his knees as he stays still*

Alisaie: *goes to Alphinaud and rests her hand on his shoulder, kneeling down* Alphinaud...

Alphinaud: Is she gone? Did I lose her? *voice breaks as he sobs* No! I can't lose her... D-Did I lose her?!

Y'Shtola: ...

Ryne: *puts one hand to her chest* We have...

Alphinaud: *looks at Ryne and trembles* N-No... No no no no *shakes his head as he cries out* N-No...

Thancred: *looks away in sorrow*

Urianger: *hangs his head* T'would seem we have no way of obtaining her true self

Alisaie: *holds onto Alphinaud as she cries*

G'raha Tia: *closes his eyes*

Y'Shtola: *cries and holds herself*

.

.

.

Phos: *tears slowly run down and she takes off her flower to look at it* ...

[syngigeim]

Which Scion are you?

Saw this on @autumnslance, figured I’d give it a go with my OC’s. Quiz is here!

Syngigeim Usynlonwyn

tataru taru

you are the glue that holds everyone together. you have so much love in your heart, it bubbles over into your throat and threatens to drown you. you look at everyone around you -- your talented, heroic, wonderful friends -- and want to give them everything you are. you are kind-hearted, yes, but you are not naive; anyone would be a fool to take advantage of you. occasionally, seeds of doubt sprout in your mind: compared to everyone around you, what exactly is it that you offer? you are talented in a great many things, but an expert in none. but, to put it bluntly, those doubts simply aren't true: you might not realize it, but anything you put your mind to, you will achieve. without you, there would be no inspiration to enkindle others.

Mariko Zuriko

ryne

the world is as bright and beautiful as it is dark and vile, and you know this all too well. the events you've survived have left you struggling to figure out where you exist in the cosmology of the universe. you wish to save people, to fix the broken world so people can live and love in the light: but you are not sure how. people expect you to act in a certain way based on what they see when they look at you, but you refuse to be what people expect. you are you, whatever that may mean. perhaps you *don't* know what that means -- you have heard the criticism that you are too naive, that you "don't know how the world works" -- but that matters little. you will figure it out in time. and, when you do, the world will be yours.

Elly and Aubinaux

alisaie leveilleur

you are passion incarnate. you care so much, so deeply, about too many projects and people and causes to count. you want to better the world in any way you can, and you will try with all your might to make your dreams into reality. sometimes, this comes at the sacrifice of isolating yourself from your loved ones, as you fear that they might slow you down. people might accuse you of being too quick to anger, or that your ideas are too lofty to be brought to fruition -- that dealing with you is like staring into the sun, too loud and too bright to bear. you cannot think of a higher compliment.

Rostik Stevasch

alphinaud leveilleur

you are as much of an artist as you are a dreamer. you dream of making the world a better place and are constantly deep in thought about what you can do to achieve that goal. you analyze the intricacies of a situation before acting, and can find yourself fretting over the details. you do not consider yourself a "leader", and hardly a "hero" -- but you believe yourself to be in the company of them. you love your friends and allies with everything that you are. you prefer to give advice (rather than take it, unfortunately for your peers), and you like to work behind the scenes; you often feel hesitant to take up the reins and define "yourself". even so, people value your insight, and they often wish they could see the world as hopefully as you do.

[deathflares]

» ffxivwrite day #20 — eccedentesiast

wolexarch, 1.3k words, mature.

[ao3 mirror]

“Could you love her, knowing what I am?” she asks. He doesn’t breathe. “Would you still care for her, if you knew the deepest, ugliest parts of her soul—those she hides with smiles and pleasantries?

There had always been something different about Shiori when she picks up the sword.

Sometimes it was just recklessness. Charging ahead a little too fast, a little too carelessly, getting herself hurt and smiling about it even as Alphinaud chided her while healing her wounds. Other times it was a little—darker. It was a crooked smile as she buried her sword in an enemy’s chest with barely concealed glee, the look of ecstasy on her face when she licked the blood off her lips, bathed in it like it was a spring shower.

Then sometimes it was... this. Her kneeling on the ground, laughing even as she bled more than any living person could possibly bleed, the gaping wound on her stomach painting the royal blue of her top a deep black. This time it’s him kneeling before her, muttering gods, shiori, are you alright even as it was obvious she was not, but she laughed and laughed and laughed.

You’ve got about six seconds to heal me, she says, and then she passes out.

He does heal her. She comes back like nothing happened, all pleasant smiles and thank you, Exarch, and she doesn’t talk about it.

She’s slipping.

He can feel it, they can feel it, but for once he hasn’t the faintest idea what to do. Was it him, who had pushed her to this point? Was summoning her to yet another fight that isn’t hers, in a world that is not her own the last push that tipped her off the edge?

He can’t answer. None of them can. And it keeps happening, slowly but surely.

One day, she doesn't come back.

If this is how it must be, then so be it. But know that when you tire of this charade, I shall be here—waiting to take the reins.

It’s been two weeks.

“Exarch,” Shiori greets, grinning, as soon as she opens the door. “To what do I owe the honor?”

She steps aside and he walks in, quietly. It almost feels familiar, this scene.

“I had hoped to speak with you alone,” he answers, moving to sit down on the sofa when she gestures to it.

She moves towards the table to pour him a glass of water. “I’m all ears,” she hums, chipper and melodic and so, so wrong.

“Thank you,” he says. “Then pray allow me to speak plain. What are you?”

She freezes where she stands with her back to him, the very air around them growing stagnant. She sets the flagon down on the table with a dull thud.

“No pleasantries, then,” she muses, the cheerful tint on her voice still there, but now with a hint of bitterness to it. “Ere I answer your so thoughtfully put question, my lord, pray allow me to regale you with one of my own. What does it matter to you what I am?”

She turns, leans back against the table and regales him with impossibly icy eyes. She still smiles. It feels predatory.

He swallows. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said,” she says, tilts her head to the side innocently. “You who summoned us here to fight your battles—why do you care who or what I am, as long as I serve your purpose? Have I not done so masterfully, especially after she let me take the reins?”

Us, I, she. The woman herself speaks like she doesn’t know if she is Shiori or not. But her words sting more than he would like to admit. It’s true—whatever had been holding her back is gone, replaced by something cold and ruthless, a Sin Eater killer through and through. Your Warrior of Darkness, he thinks to himself. Your weapon of darkness. Is this not what you wanted?

“I never wanted this,” he mutters, deflating. “I never wanted you to become—”

“I have always been this, Exarch,” she cuts him off. “I have always been here. I am your precious Warrior—the parts of her she doesn’t want you to see. The anger, the grief, the ruthlessness, and, well,” she chuckles, “the desire, too.”

He blinks. “You—”

He’s stunned into silence by her closing the distance between them with barely a couple steps, climbing into the sofa, into his lap, and caging him in, hands on his shoulders. He stills, hands closing into fists at his sides.

“Tell me,” she whispers, “do you care for her?”

She lowers herself the slightest bit, hips now fully resting over his lips, her thighs on each side of him, knees digging into the sofa. He can feel her scent, this close, lavender and clean sweat. He grits his teeth.

“More than anything,” he says. It’s the truth. She hums curiously, as if amused by his answer.

Then she grabs his crystallized hand and places it flat over her chest.

“Could you love her, knowing what I am?” she asks. He doesn’t breathe. “Would you still care for her, if you knew the deepest, ugliest parts of her soul—those she hides with smiles and pleasantries?

He can feel her heartbeat, the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes, the only thing separating his hand from her breast the thin, soft fabric of her camise. He swallows. She keeps talking.

“That’s why she hides them, you know. For all of her displays of bravery, the girl is so scared of being loved. So scared said love might vanish once they see how much she’s been hurt. How angry she is, how mad—”

There’s an unspeakable sadness to her voice now, but she stops mid sentence, lowering her gaze. He stills, a knot deep in his throat. I would love you, no matter what. Let me. Come back to me.

She laughs. When she looks up again, her eyes are hollow.

“But we needn’t delve into such matters here and now, do we?” she asks, grabs both of his hands and sets them neatly on her hips, over the curve of her—oh, wicked white. “Tell me, Exarch—do you want her?”

Yes, gods, yes. “Not like this,” he grits.

She rolls her eyes. “I can’t do anything she doesn’t want to do, herself,” she mutters, “and she wants you, you know. Shall I tell you what she imagines, alone in her bed at night? How she pictures your hands on her body, your lips on hers, your voice in her ear saying things so filthy I daresay you would blush yourself, if you were to hear them?”

His grip on her tightens so hard he’s sure it must be painful, but she only lets a pleased little sigh that makes heat pool low in his stomach. Then she starts moving, a barely there rock of her hips, but he can feel it, every ilm—

“I don’t—” he gasps, “I can’t—”

“Give in,” she whispers, low and heady. “You want this. She wants this.”

Here she is, her but not her, saying those things he had always wanted to hear, but—

There’s a knock on the door.

She’s out of his lap in seconds.

“Mistress Minami,” comes the voice from behind the door she has just opened, “I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but your comrades have requested your presence. They say it’s a most urgent matter.”

“Thank you,” she says. “I’ll be right there.”

She closes the door quietly, then turns to him. He swallows thickly, for once thankful for the cowl that hides his features.

“How unfortunate that we won’t be able to finish our little chat,” she says, walking back to where he’s sitting, bending at the waist so they’re at eye level. “But know that I’ll always be here, waiting, should you decide to give your hero what she wants.”

I’ll always be here. It feels like a threat. A warning, maybe. She’s not coming back. She doesn’t want to come back—

“Have a good evening, my lord,” she says, and then she’s gone, leaving him with only his shame for company.

He wonders, now, if it’s possible to miss a person you never truly knew.

[starcunning]

Suffer Me to Cherish You: 3 November

[12:11 PM] %%Battletag_nodigits%: I was out here crying in target just now because chocobos aren’t real and I will never hug one [12:12 PM] rust staring at crushed beer can: ah [12:12 PM] rust staring at crushed beer can: that's where shasi gets it from [12:12 PM] rust staring at crushed beer can: :P [12:12 PM] %%Battletag_nodigits%: I got it FROM HER [12:12 PM] rust staring at crushed beer can: that's even better lmfao [12:12 PM] friendly killer mech: your daughter changed you star

Previously: 1 Nov, 2 Nov

Chapter Two

Despite assurances from the porter that all of his birds were steadfast, Fray’s chocobo was a fussy, anxious thing. It seemed to make Anthea anxious, too, and though the Starway was in good repair, they stopped often to let the birds calm and to seek shelter from the midday heat. The chocobos were drinking and preening at the edge of Soot Creek. X’shasi watched them a while from her place beneath a baobab tree. Her shoulders ached, and she glanced over at Fray, who was saying nothing, only staring at the walls of Ul’dah.

“That’s the Gate of Nald,” X’shasi supplied helpfully. “The Adventurer’s Guild is just on the other side, and the markets … we could see about getting another blade so that you don’t have to keep lending me yours.” “It’s not a loan,” Fray said. “So you keep saying.” “You’re growing more used to it,” he observed.

It was true. X’shasi turned her hands over before her, looking at her palms. New calluses had begun to form, on her left hand as well as her right, as blade and knight acclimatized to one another. The demands were different from the swordplay she’d known as a red mage, but she was growing more used to them. With the way Fray drilled her every night while he made camp, X’shasi supposed she had to.

“But you still haven’t heard the voice again.” “No,” X’shasi agreed. Fray sighed. “I can lead you through the communion again,” he said. “But I wasn’t fully honest with you the last time.” She turned her head to look at him, eyes narrowing. He met her gaze unflinchingly. The pale gold of his eyes reminded her anew of a predator, though she had little fear of him pouncing then. Perhaps she should have. “What do you mean?” “When we communed in Bluefog, that was through the use of my power. I can do it again, but it would be better if you worked to be able to hear the voice on your own. There are risks involved.” X’shasi closed her eyes, the heat of the day burning behind her eyelids. “My life has been a series of risks for the last five years. Longer.” “You say that like I don’t know,” Fray said. He grunted out a single laugh, though it seemed almost like he was scoffing. “When you commune, the part of yourself that you connect with and nurture is called your Darkside. That, at least, is as I explained it before. But if a knight comes to commune and is not prepared to face his own negative emotions, they will consume him.” “And?” X’shasi asked, opening her eyes once more. She watched the sunlight sparkle on the creek. “And the backlash will tear him apart,” Fray said simply. “The first part of communion is bloodshed not because the communion itself requires it, but because that way I can be sure you’re ready.” “You’re worried about me.” Something about that thought amazed her, and laughter bubbled up from her chest. She could feel the soul crystal rattle on its chain with the motion. “You do know what I do with my life, don’t you?” “Yes,” Fray said simply. “Now, I’ve been honest with you about the risks. Every time we do that—every time I have to do it for you—it only becomes more dangerous. So I’m asking you to trust me.”

The chocobos splashed about in the water, Fray’s rented bird spearing a silver fish with its beak. She remembered the chill of the waters of Mor Dhona, and despite the midday heat felt the hair prickle on her neck.

“The voice,” she said. “That person … how can I hear it if we don’t commune?” “You would have to nourish that connection yourself,” Fray said. “You would have to confront your desires and fears and master them. Not suppress them,” he told her, tone careful as a tightrope walker, “but master them.” “I’ll try,” X’shasi said. “If you haven’t heard it by the time we get to our next stop,” Fray said, “then we’ll perform the ritual again. It would be better if we didn’t have to.” “I’ll try,” she said again, dusting herself off as she stood.

The desert sun only grew harsher when they had put the Sagolii Gate to their backs, and X’shasi was quite bedraggled by the time they arrived in Little Ala Mhigo. Despite the heavy black armor he wore, Fray seemed unconcerned, though his chocobo was a different story. She surrendered it to the chocobokeep of the camp, and Anthea’s reins as well. When the porter named his price for board and feed, it seemed high, but she was too tired to dicker over it. All the while, Fray watched the aetheryte turn, luminous blue even in the deep shadows of the cavern.

He put a gauntleted hand to it, though X’shasi felt none of the aetherial eddies of attunement. “You went the long way,” Fray said. “Why?” X’shasi only shrugged. “I wanted to,” she said. “It felt important. And … if I hadn’t, we would never have met.” “True,” he grunted. “You still haven’t heard it, have you.” “No,” X’shasi admitted. “Then we should ask around for a fight,” Fray said. “After.” “After what?” “After I speak to Gundobald,” X’shasi said. Looking around, she saw few faces, and fewer still turned toward her. She shrugged it off, retreating into the dark of the caves. The smoky scent of old campfires pervaded, roasted meats and drying herbs. X’shasi breathed in deeply, relishing the comparative coolness of the stone around her.

She approached Gundobald’s tent. An older woman sat out front, stirring a cook pot over a meager fire. “What do you want?” she asked, not looking up. “I was hoping I could speak with the elder,” X’shasi said. “Old bear’s busy,” the woman told her. “I can wait,” X’shasi replied, gripped with a sudden obstinacy. She settled in on the low bench opposite, reaching for her flask of water to drink.

The only sense she had of the passage of time was watching the sun shafts crawl over the cave walls. She looked out over the people of Little Ala Mhigo, at their weathered faces and aged bodies. There were few refugees of an age with her.

Ilberd had taken them, she supposed. And Lahabrea’s machinations a few years before hadn’t helped. But between those two incidents, X’shasi herself had come with Alphinaud and asked who would fight for a brighter future. And Wilred had taken up that charge. He will never see a free Ala Mhigo now, X’shasi realized with regret. She closed her eyes and steered her thoughts from the Crystal Braves with some effort, listening to the crackle of the fire, the scrape of the wooden spoon against cast iron. X’shasi looked over at Fray, evening light gilding the edge of his black armor. He did not fidget—did not move at all, the tense set of his shoulders betraying his displeasure.

There was the rustle of canvas as Gundobald emerged from his tent, seeming surprised to see her sitting there beside the fire. “Kilntreader,” he said, the name a gust of breath. “What are you doing here?” “Bringing news,” X’shasi said. “Ala Mhigo is free.” “That much I have heard,” Gundobald said. “The Sultana has decreed her support of a resettlement effort for Gyr Abanian expatriates. There are job opportunities, and homes …” “And she sent you herself to tell us?” Gundobald asked, seeming amused. “No,” X’shasi said, “this is an undertaking of my own making.” “Well,” Gundobald said, “most of the young left when the Flames gave word they’d be supporting the Resistance, more’n a year ago.” “But it’s safe now,” X’shasi said. “The Resistance have turned their efforts toward patrols, with Alliance support, and the hunt clans have taken care of the fiercest beasts. Everyone could go home.” Didn’t they want to? Her heart ached for the fact that she could not stay—but then, remaining in Ala Mhigo would have left her feelings no less tender. “That’s a long road,” Gundobald said, “and it has its own dangers. The Corpse Brigade, for one thing. They know they’re not welcome, not after what they done, so if they can’t go back, they’ll make sure none of us can either. We lost a few that way already.” X’shasi flicked her gaze toward Fray, not turning her head. She saw him give a fraction of a nod. “We’ll deal with them,” she promised. “In the morning, we’ll—” “We’ll go tonight,” Fray interrupted. “Or we could go tonight,” X’shasi said crossly. Gundobald looked at her with a bemused air. “Well, whenever you go … I, at least, will be grateful.” Fray said no more, only shook his head as he turned away, making for the wooden palisades of the camp. “I should—I’ll be back when we’re done,” X’shasi said, then turned to hustle after Fray.

The night sky over the Sagolii was darker than any she’d seen in some time. These were the stars of her girlhood, the ones she’d retreated to after the Calamity. Fray was looking up at them, his arms crossed over his chest. X’shasi slung the baldric across her body.

“I thought you’d take longer,” Fray said. “Or did you finally realize they don’t want you there?” X’shasi sighed. “Then the Sepulchre’s the perfect place for me to go, isn’t it?” she asked, tone grim. “You didn’t even stop to retrieve your bird.” “We’ll walk,” Fray said, suiting deed to word. “So we really are going now? We’re going to attack in the dead of night?” “Yes,” Fray said simply. “That’s not really the fairest fight,” X’shasi said. “A fair fight is overrated,” Fray opined. “That kind of thinking will get you killed.

“So, what did you do to make them resent you so much? Those are your countrymen, aren’t they?” “Yes,” she said. “That’s half the trouble.” Her tail flicked behind her in annoyance, counterbalancing her steps. The wastes of Broken Water looked strange in the moonlight, bleached by the single moon. “A few years ago, the young people here thought they would summon Rhalgr—our patron god—to help them free Ala Mhigo and avenge the wrongs done them in exile. I put a stop to that.” “They should be grateful,” Fray said. “If they’re too weak to solve their own problems, they should at least be grateful to you for doing it for them.” “They were,” X’shasi said. “That’s the problem. About a year after that, when the Crystal Braves were formed—did you hear about all that?” she broke off to wonder. “I know all about that,” Fray muttered. “One of the young men I saved during my first visit here died because the Braves’ commander, Ilberd, was double-crossing us. And then he came back here and riled everyone up with his speeches about Ala Mhigo, and more of them died at Baelsar’s Wall and in the war that followed.” X’shasi kicked a rock ahead of her on the path with a sigh. “It was the same on the other side of the wall,” she told him. “Ilberd took half, and … Zenos yae Galvus took the rest, and I took what was left.” “That’s hard to forgive,” Fray said. “Maybe that’s the other half,” X’shasi admitted. “When Zenos stood trial, one of the refugees that had lived here testified against him.” “And?” “And I testified on his behalf,” X’shasi said, fussing with the lay of the leather strap across her chest. “So you forgave him,” Fray said. “Something like that.” “Maybe you’re not as strong as I thought.”

[astroellipse]

lil late but wtv. turned into sort of a photo shoot post, just a big ol current outfits log

Looks like I’m speedrunning, now. the next update is in 6 days. I’m going to level AST and DRG, probably... I can go back for the others later.

A bedtime story from Norvrandt. “Warrior of Darkness, servant of death, take care of our souls at our dying breath... Let sinners and eaters of sin go with thee, That all may return to the sunless sea.” Servant of death, huh.

OH MY GOD. YOU. YOU CAN HEAL A PERSON IN A CUTSCENE????? I’m playing as AST right now cause the outfit is pretty and EVERY time someone gets hurt in a cutscene you’re doomed to just stand by, but... you can help Alphinaud in this one that’s adorable.

he is helping...  Also. In some lighting he just looks so strange. This is Doran trying his hardest not to combust both of the Chai’s in this instant. I think it’s his lips that’s the issue? Idk it just... flattens his face...

Oh while I remember... here are more pictures........

this one’s just cute, ignore the door interactable in the back :|

And here’s a view of the outfit in full. I need to find a weapon I actually like, this is just the level 70 scaevan weapon... I might add a ring, was thinking a little gold ring with a pear or other white stone would look nice. Might swap out the boots if I find anything better, and I’ll see how the 2B leggings look with this once I get them. the accents on the bridesmaid tights go with the rest of it pretty well, though I don’t care for being able to see the hem.

And while I’m here, I might as well do the others.

Dragoon! Now sort of my canon class.I’m really satisfied with it, i love the boots especially... the texture is good and you can’t see it well here with his feet digging into the ground but they have heels on them. There’s little metal bits poking out of his hair that I like quite a bit, and I think they work even better with this hair than the other.

This one’s a bit goofy but I remembered that you can do battle animations in gpose. I actually forgot that I picked up those boots for this outfit but I like them! I wanted to make the outfit a little more my own, having the hat body piece and shoes from one set was too much, especially with a color so close to the default.

Ah... i was gonna screenshot the outfit I had for SMN but I haven’t fixed its accessories yet. Not that it’s a permanent outfit or anything I just enjoy it. Makes Doran look like a creepy bastard a bit, like some kinda cult leader. And then there’s my GNB glam... I... almost like it. But the pants HAVE to be jet black. they’re purple right now, temporarily, but. I need them to be black. the problem is, even a single pot of jet black dye is 300-400k gil :( Speaking of... i should go check the markets.

hhghghggh I caved. 350k, 367k after the fee. All in all just about as low as it was gonna get without waiting for an idiot to lowball the price. I uh. Forgot to take a pic of the glam though and am now in a cutscene lol

Oh man that was bad. I did the first dungeon as DRG and fucked up so many times, like, not in a way that was detrimental to the group but. I kept pressing v instead of c which. Meant I, several times, interrupted my combo with an aoe attack which is VERY visible and also audible. Incredibly embarrassing.\

Oh god

This uh. Has story implications on a different level. This... is how I resolve the issue of who’s gonna take the reins between Doran and Secret. Secret I’m fairly certain answered with the third choice, haggard as she was. The first choice is the cleanest answer, Doran is willing to take on the responsibility. The second one is... uncomfortable for how serious this is, especially with Ardbert in the back there. But it could certainly say something about Doran’s attitude about all this, even if he’s just putting on a brave face. And the third would lead to him succumbing to the same feelings as Secret... the first choice it is, then.

Doran’s life has been forfeit for so, so long at this point. He was the first to be joined to Secret, hailing from the fifth, his shard bringing the first umbral calamity with the aspect of wind. He’s been joined to that base shard of Azem longer than anyone. Secret at least thought she might have had her own life, before realizing that her perceived amnesia was actually just an absence of memories for having her person be fabricated by Hydaelyn. But Doran... any memory of the lives he lead on the Fifth have been washed away at this point, for as long as it’s been. He didn’t rightly have a will or conscience outside of an incredibly vague awareness until Secret unconsciously willed him to once more. He will do this if it means lightening Secret’s burden.

This has been an incredibly roundabout solution for Secret’s problem. Why continue with what you’re doing? For yourself. Technically. i suppose once Doran catches up to Secret, they’ll go through a little switcheroo. maybe Secret and Doran could be aware of each other, and sapable of some small form of communication. Secret for one will not be pleased with Doran having to make any difficult decisions in the future and will doubtlessly come to regret letting this all happen. i really should uhhhh actually write some of these imagined scenes huh. Much easier to have funny little brain people though.

Aw mannnn I fixed my outfits but entering the Occular launched me into a cutcsene. Hey when do I get to see Emet-Selch again? I forget when he introduces himself but I know he’s around. Probably soon, with the WoL having beat their first light warden. Aw man I love G’raha’s voice acting it’s so good. I don’t even know how to describe it his va just gets his oddly casual but learned speech so good.

Oh here we go. Picture time.

alright this one’s goofy. but you can see the outfit well enough. actually here’s another. ACTUALLY now coming back to this part. I really like this picture above it is very cute..........

Hmmm... not sure if I ever took a pic of his old outfit that was mostly just this. All the pieces were dyed lavender, and the corsage was instead some pastel lillies. That color scheme didn’t look as nice with this hair, though. There was suddenly too much of that dark purple, which had previously been balanced by the shoes. Dark then became the primary color, and orange a main accent instead.

And finally GNB. The lighting messes with it sorta, the shirt and shoes are purple.

I’ll be switching out this one’s weapon, too. His hair sticks right through the shirt’s hood which is unfortunate, but I paid a fortune for this shirt before I changed his hair and I am going to USE it.

Oh jeez it’s 6:30. I’m going to keep playing but end this here. Know that I love Doran and am now at the point where I will cry about him right now, like I promised I’d get to a while ago.

[ladyborel]

A Feathered Platter

The letters arrived one after another, as expected, and Etien couldn’t stop herself from squealing. “Come home to me,” gods, how romantic. Speaking of the gods, she thanked them for Feo Ul. What a sensational little pixie, carrying blessed letters.

But her revelry was cut short when she was asked, “What’s that?”

She sighed. “Alphinaud, I’m about to do something very selfish.”

He didn’t say anything, just blinked at her. After a moment had passed, he gave a little shrug. “Enjoy yourself in Ishgard.”

Etien’s mouth fell open just a bit. “What makes you think that’s where I’m going?”

“You call going to see Aymeric selfish all the time. And you happen to be blushing.”

She lifted her fingers to her cheek, as if that would change their pink color. “Damn.”

“I do mean it. You shouldn’t keep him from the one he loves during the holiday.”

Etien sighed. “That was my logic, as well.”

“Then, you have my blessing, whatever good it does you.”

“I just… don’t want people to be angry with me, leaving all the time for my own—uh. Not pleasure. Satis—no. To make myself happy.”

“Now, normally I would not say this,” Alphinaud whispered, almost conspiratorially, “but for my part, I would rather a happy Warrior of Light committed to her task than one like to snap at us or ignore her pains until she collapses.”

Etien laughed a little. He wasn’t the first to have expressed the sentiment, at least.

“Now go,” he said, “and hope more time passes there than here.”

She waved as she trotted off to return to the Crystarium, and then the Source.

She lifted her face to the sky when she felt her feet touch the stones of Foundation, feeling the kiss of snowflakes on her skin. Home at last.

She fished out her whistle for Nyx and clambered onto him, stroking him lovingly. “Hello, friend. Let’s go for a little stroll.”

It wasn’t a long ride from Foundation to Saint Valeroyant’s Forum, but Etien spent it trying to keep herself from getting too excited, and trying to look like she hadn’t just come between worlds.

She heard people shouting as she came through, and laughed a little while Firmalbert went running into the Congregation.

She took a quick lap around the fountain, giving everyone time to make it back out… there he was.

She—well, Nyx—trotted up to the door just in time for Aymeric to come practically stumbling out of it,  looking up at her in ecstatic shock when he saw there was no trick being played on him.

There was something about Etien astride her favorite Chocobo, looking slightly disheveled and panting a little (he assumed from the adrenaline), just… there above him like she was delivered to him on a platter that had Aymeric breathing out a less-than-holy “Fffffury.”

The flush spreading over his cheeks and ears as well as his lip pulling back as if being bitten summoned a flirtatious giggle and grin from Etien. Her eyeteeth didn’t catch any light in the smile, though; all the glint was in her eyes.

“Hello, Lord Commander,” she cooed.

Almost unbidden, his hands lifted, reaching for her.

She stretched her arms out, too, leaning off Nyx so they could settle on Aymeric’s shoulders. She dismounted into his arms, the pair clutching each other close. All carnal desire had left them, replaced entirely by the need to cling as Etien’s eyes welled.

There was something poetic, even to a bystander, about how Etien hadn’t touched the ground in the whole affair. She’d gone from mounted to held at least one fulm, but probably two, off the ground, entirely secure in her lover’s arms.

Observing them it was clear they just… fit. Her chin on his shoulder, his arms around her ribs, they slotted together like the pieces of a repaired vase.

Aymeric slowly let her down to the ground, taking Nyx’s reins. “Come on.”

Etien cocked her head. “Chocobos aren’t allowed indoors?”

“Certainly not in the Congregation, but who will hold me to that in my house?”

“Oh!” Etien trailed after him, catching up quickly as they walked through the streets. “But… you have work to do. I almost didn’t come because you have work to do.”

“I’m a blessed man in that I can leave affairs in Lucia’s hands for the rest of the day and feel no trepidation. I will have work to do tomorrow, but tonight, and in truth, always, I belong to you.”

Etien made a flustered noise. “Well.”

Aymeric chuckled, succeeding yet again. He brought Nyx onto the property, but not inside the house, and took Etien’s hand so he could bring her inside.

They didn’t make it farther than the loveseat before he flopped down, pulling Etien onto him.

With gentle pressure from the tips of his fingers, Aymeric lifted Etien’s chin as if to inspect her. He didn’t make it very far in an inspection, though, instead stroking a thumb over the line of Etien’s lower lip.

The kiss that followed was only a natural progression, and served to remind him of the urge he’d ignored to instead hold her.

Well, now he could do both at once.

He pulled Etien closer, slipping a hand into her hair to brush his thumb against her ear.

She yelped and tensed, but it melted into a moan and wandering hands of her own within a breath.

“So I wasn’t mistaken when I read your expression out there,” she murmured.

“Hmm?” Aymeric asked.

“There was a distinct distress that passed through you… an uncomfortable need, perhaps?” She shifted her hips a subtle amount.

“Here I thought you were an angel,” he groaned.

“Am I not?”

“I’ve never known so seductive an angel.”

Etien laughed lowly. “Read the texts again. They exist.”

Aymeric couldn’t resist a little giggle. Utterly sinful. He loved it. “I know they exist.” He stroked her cheek. “I’m pinned under one.”

She hummed, ending the conversation by kissing him some more. They had… oh, she didn’t know how long to catch up on.

[astroellipse]

live blogging but it’s all one post and not actually live at all. this one is really long open at your own peril.

This has to be one of my favorite cutscenes in the game... I skipped most of the cutscenes in this questline with “Tsuyu” and whatever else went on because I don’t care for it, aside from some funny Asahi bits. And this cutscene is the KING of funny Asahi scenes, him just getting straight up murdered. It’s even funnier the second time around because now I realize... he was never actually acknowledged by Zenos. That was Elidibus controlling his body, simply using Asahi’s devotion for his own devices. And I realize now that Elidibus was trying to back up Emet-Selch’s own carefully laid plans, which... is something to keep in mind for later. I can’t wait to see more of Fandaniel later I love his/Asahi’s voice actor. And I know it’s fairly negative in this case but I can’t help but enjoy the campy villains...

And now I can finally stop skipping cutscenes! I realize I just now skipped the part where Alphinaud set out on his doomed journey to Garlemald, but... man I didn’t want to hear Gosetsu cry about Tsuyu I just hate that plot point so much. They really shoulda just let them die.

Oh my god I forgot that Gosetsu is bald now. I know it’s like a tradition thing and serious and everything but. Hhhh he looks so silly without it... Doesn’t help that it lets you see the outlines of all the polygons comprising his head...

Oh man I appear to have gotten events swapped around. Is it now that we see that energy source on the Azim Steppe? We’re about to go and put up that barrier in the Brume, which I’m pretty sure i thought came after ShB for whatever reason. I think I’ve mentioned it in a previous post... though that one I also think I deleted for an unrelated reason, I think because I was tired and got some details wrong and in my frustration and exhaustion threw the whole thing out. I’ll have to write down those particular thoughts again, after I see whatever it is that’s about to happen.

Oh man. i wonder if Hien doesn’t realize that Y’shtola is blind. They get to the Azim Steppe and he’s immediately like “Let me show you my favorite spot where you can see the pretty fields and sky :)” and she returns with “Yeah yeha okay let’s get on with what we came here to do”. Very funny. Actually Hien and Y’shtola are in general very funny together I like seeing him react to her talking to him like he’s an idiot.

So, the legend goes that a “wayfaring soul” came to the Steppe and received a sliver of Nhaama’s power in the form of a shard, and used it to cleft the earth and raise it to the heavens to avert calamity, then made an offering of blood. The sliver of power is Allagan technology, which was used to raise Azys Lla and create Dalamud. The dialogue has been very particular about referring to the person in this story as “wayfaring soul” and not shorter synonyms like “traveler”, which i think is probably deliberate? Especially with this now being the lead-up to ShB.

I guess now would be a good time to re-write some of my thoughts about the Steppe. It is not an original theory that Azim the god and Azem the ancient are related if not one in the same. They are both light, and related to travel. The WoL is expressly referred to as a traveler by Cirina’s grandmother, and iirc Azem is as well. Azim descended from the heavens to walk amongst his children, who are all nomadic. If they do have a relation, then the people of the Azim Steppe might be thought of as Azem’s people. I say this because I’ve been wondering why the Empire hasn’t touched the Azim Steppe, the real reason. The Xaela would make incredibly useful conscripts, and could be easily trounced by a suitably large magitek army during any one of their squabbles, or I’m sure the Empire could destabilize them in any other way. And that isn’t even to mention the large energy source hidden away in its cliffs, which have to be giving off some kind of signal. I wonder if the Empire ignoring the Steppe has anything to do with Solus and his sentiment for Azem.

I suppose I should actually get on with re-seeing this part, then.

God. I love y’shtola the bit with Magnai is so good. The voice acting. He sounds so hurt with his “Little...?”. “Look into my eyes” She’s blind you absolute dumbass.

Alright. Well. I didn’t actually gleam anything new. We’re about to go into the meeting sequence and. God. This is another one of my favorite cutscenes in the game. the visual effect used to represent the WoL’s soul being torn from their body is so cool... I wonder which outfit I should wear? I’ve changed all of them I think since uploading screenshots last. AST is cute and what I’ve been using for the last few quests to soak what little exp I can, but... this is a bit too serious for a cute healer in a skirt and glasses, plus the collar on the shirt would cover his face in some of the shots... DRG it is again then, I guess. It has sort of taken over as my primary class. I enjoy playing it more than BRD :\

“Let us hope that the coming meeting passes more peacably than the last such gathering in ala Mhigo” jfc Y’shtola. Hhhhhooooo here we go!!!!!!! Hhhhh I love Alisaie I remember this was the part that solidified her as precious little sister numero uno.... god... the scene where she gets taken away I’m already nearly tearing up I love Shadowbringers man holy shit.

Raha you dumbass!!!!! Endangering everyone like that. Literally takes five tries before he gets it right, and trying to explain everything while the WoL can’t rightly hear. I know he’s desperate but goddamn dude. Just. God. I’m so excited. I’m excited to see Urianger get to be an actual character again. I’m excited for the Scions to actually care about each other and especially the WoL. Also to see Doran grapple with these troubles as Secret did, finally finally learning why the hell he’s here, what Secret is and what he is, and... coming to terms with it. He was excited when it first happened, before his memory was sapped, mostly a product of being fused with Secret for so long without a will of his own, but... after experiencing all this, seeing these people as his friends. Learning to accept his place in the story much more easily than Secret...

There’s a reason I’ve kept the title “The Last Resort” on him. It’s for my own purposes. Secret has still not accepted that she as a person, though not her soul was created for the sole purpose of being a hero. If she can’t accept this in time... she might resort to letting Doran take the reins. Forfeiting her personhood altogether. This path would rely on unofficial lore about Fantasia, about how it warps reality to make it so that you were always this race or that... I might actually do it, too. I’ve done more things right with Doran, and I have friends on this server. I... suppose Secret would take Doran’s place in my personal narrative then. Which. Feels bad. Like a disservice to Secret, though... I suppose it doesn’t have to be. At this point Doran is still no less relevant to her. Secret will have simply gotten literally washed away with her memories.

I’m uh. Starting to think I might be too attached to Secret. The thought of having her not be my main character, of neglecting her in any way, of having to make this choice is. Making me genuinely emotional... though I suppose I’ve seen enough people on here talk about how they cry about ocs and whatnot.

Anyhow. I think I might change Doran’s hairstyle for Shadowbringers. might make it longer. It seems only appropriate, it having been so long... and something more elegant would be fitting. Maybe I’ll finally find and settle on an AST glam that is suitably pretty. I adore my current one for how cute it is but it doesn’t exactly fit ShB’s vibes.

Oh wait back to serious stuff. It’s funny that Lyse didn’t get called. G’raha explained it as the people closest to the WoL were called, and... for even Urianger to be called and not Lyse. It has funny implications.

MAN....... WHY does this game put Alisaie through so much :(((((((( Endwalker had BETTER give her and Alphinaud some damn good development like they implied. LET THE WoL BE THEIR OLDER SIBLING OR SOMETHING...... The WoL and Alphinaud were so good together during HW, and then them and Alisaie in this sequence and a few other scenes before now and during ShB but... it just doesn’t feel like it’s there during ShB, not with all the other adult characters around.

Granted I do this with every kid in this game. I saw Myste and even before I knew what their deal was it was just

this plays in my head every single time i see a kid. Let me adopt Unukalhai. Game. Game I am demanding now let the WoL care about others. That poor kid has just been sitting in the Solar for two entire expansions then some, and not even as a result of being a necessary quest npc stuck in a time bubble like Urianger’s double in the Waking Sands like he’s aware of what’s going on. I... actually imagine he might be relevant in Endwalker. Reaper comes with your very own voidsent, which means the void will be relevant again which might mean Unukalhai will be relevant!!! At the very least to the Reaper questline, if it has one.

Continuing the story again. Actually you know what LET THE WOL HUG THEIR FUCKING FRIENDS!!! It wouldn’t take THAT long to set it up for each different race which I assume is what keeps them from having the WoL physically interacting with much of anything but it would be SO GOOD!!! IT WOULD BE WORTH IT!!! I wanna give Alisaie a hug she’s suffering so much :(

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH IT’S HIM HIM HIM HIM IT’S EMET-SELCH FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES! HELL YES I’VE BEEN WAITING!!!!!!!!!I forgot he was introduced here!!!!!!!!!!! It sounds like his voice actor hasn’t settled into his voice yet at this point though :0 And his theme!!! i love his theme I thought it was so weird at first but it’s fitting...

Oh my god did they not update Varis’s model since his debut? Look at this shit

Why are his pupils square... and blown up as it is on my screen it’s like... i can see individual splotches of color on his texture??? Incomparison Emet-Selch’s eyes are still sharp up close and instead of weird splotchy skin you can see individual pores. I just. Why. Didn’t they update him???

OH LMAO RIGHT AND THEN VARIS JUST SHOOTS HIM! GOD. And the FACE they have him make. Emet-Selch is such a good character.

Actually I’ve decided that Garleans are just ugly. I think that’s just it actually.

And then there’s... Black Rose, was it called? This would be confusing to see if you didn’t do those sidequests in Gyr Abania. Granted they were to unlock aether currents but I imagine plenty of people skipped them. This would have been a very abrupt introduction, and it loses relevance so soon after...

Hmm. With the story bringing back what I now realize are forgotten/resolved tidbits about the Empire, I can’t help but wonder if they’ll bring back the Optimates, what with us finally seeing the Garlemald in person in Endwalker. They would make for a good enough rival faction.

I have... changed Doran’s hair... it’s really just his old hairstyle but longer, the highlights are even in the same place though they’re fainter. He has gone through subtle changes between expansions. First I changed his lips to a darker color, flip flopping between not wearing lipgloss to a peach color then to as dark as you can get without wearing actual lipstick. Then I changed his eyebrows, still short but angled slightly downwards. And now his hair is long... the implication is that he’s let it grow out over time. It looks nice with most of his outfits, even plays nice with DRG’s hood, though as I expected my previous AST glam is a no-go. It actually looks cute from the front but it sticks right through them hem in the back and we can’t have that.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh may have just spent 800k gil on a nice shirt. On the bright side my AST glam is now just about as pretty as I can get it. I took the vibe I liked from the old one and now Doran’s a little... uh... maybe I shouldn’t have given him long hair.....

Ah shit I haven’t put together a GNB glam yet and I’m running low on funds... the only reason I could even afford that shirt was bc one of my fc members gave me and the only other guy that was on 1mil one night at random :| I really like the current glam but... it’s too cartoony for ShB!!!! hhhhhhhh Maybe I’ll be able to utilize some of the next Scion set once I get it...

hhh back to story... there’s this person in my FC that’s super talkative, but 56 and married and getting into over-sharing territory :| not like... weird oversharing but man I don’t need to know you get hives that was unprompted. Chill otherwise and it IS like 12 but wtv.

Aw man if that guy in the most recent trailer really was the twins’ dad then no wonder Alphinaud is out here looking to make any man who’s nice to him out as a father figure. There’s Estinien, Arenvald, now Gaius... and you might count Urianger and Thancred, and maybe the WoL.

Oh, Ascian lore! There’s a hierarchy. Red masks stand above black, already knew this. Those joined to the Source stand above those adrift in the shard. I don’t think I would have understood this the first time.

“A silent agent of death... Now that I think on it, Black Rose may well possess the perfect aspect.” I... is this him pondering whether this is how the Calamity will take shape, or deciding it?

Oh I really don’t like Varis’s voice acting. I’m glad he dies soon. Although, that “... It was by design!?” was pretty good. So is that information that Garlemald is an Ascian construction is absolutely hilarious, as is Emet-Selch toying with Varis.

OH. Emet-Selch has all these clones because Varis choose him as a test subject while messing around with Allagan cloning technology. I thought for some reason that the clones had been Emet-Selch’s doing.

“I’ve a feeling this won’t be the last time his bravery in the Empire will serve us here in Eorzea.” Said by Raubahn about Alphinaud setting back Black Rose production. Probably obvious foreshadowing for Endwalker.

Sharlyan... attempted to negotiate peace with the Empire? That’s not exactly surprising, though it is still new to me. Tucked in optional standing-around dialogue from Alisaie

Oh my GOD I hate Varis and his idiot hat. This scene is so uncomfortable and not just because I have to hear Varis speak. All of the city-state leaders act like monumental shitheads just to create tension and let Varis put them down it’s stupid. You idiots you’re supposed to be engaging in peace talks not venting about the Empire. Put aside your pride and play parley with the single most hated man in the world. It’s literally all just to stall for time, why would they do any of this. And oh my god, who even let Aymeric speak here. He brings up his stupid little battle with the dragons or his daddy issues at every opportunity. Yes yes we all played Heavensward but I can assure you it was not for its politics or message about war. Like yeah that whole ordeal ended terribly. We just killed the evil people/dragons and that was that. Solved purely through force.

Hhhh I forgot about this. That Varis AGREED with the Ascians. “There will be but one race--a perfect race--as we were when time began.” HHghghh. Oh right and he freely admits the bit about Garlemald being built by an Ascian.

Hm. Currently the Ascians’ plan is to bring about more Calamities which would be terrible and kill lots of people. Fandaniel... wants to kill everyone. I wonder how he accounts for the other shards. Wouldn’t it have made sense to at least try and work with his fellow Ascians? Either to round all up all the souls in one place before blowing it all to hell, or by sabotaging their plans and creating more situations like the one that created the Void. Or if decimating the Source would kill everyone anyways.

“Don’t you dare leave me alone.” ALISAIEEEEEEEEEEEEE AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I HATE THIS PART! I HATE IT! DON’T TAKE HER AWAY THAT SCENE HURTS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

Taking a break to do my dailies for poetics bc I BARELY make the ilvl requirement for the next dungeon. anyhow. In this prae run there’s a Haurchefant look-alike called “Haurchefant Corpse”. He’s wearing a white suit and a halo, and is a scholar. I’m still laughing man wtf!!! Dude kinda sucks though he didn’t summon his fairy before the battle with Nero and only got out like two offensive spells lmao

Alright. Story again. G’RAHA. STOP BEING A CRYPTIC ASSHOLE!!! ALISAIE!!!!!!!!! HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I KNOW THEY REUNITE SOON BUT... HER REACHING FOR THE WoL... WHO LET THEM BOTH ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD!!!!! I’ll fucking cry man... this is cruel...

Oh my god I was looking to see if there were any story sidequests at this level i skipped the first time and saw that there IS story with Unukalhai that I haven’t seen, currently. Because I haven’t been able to do all of the savage trials with him... maybe once I get to 80 I’ll be able to convince someone to unsync them with me for first clears... the questline is called “Void Quests” too... Ah. To do this last questline you have to have ALSO done all the role quests. Good thing I’m leveling one of each currently lmao... wait. I don’t have a caster. I suppose I’ll have to level summoner on him after all...

“But no one is invincible, Doran. Not even you. So please, take care of yourself out there.” Foreshadowing of the WoL nearly getting merc’d on the battle field. Side note I had to look that up because I’ve been thinking of that word a lot lately. And now realize that it is not a real word but a gaming term? Also that it’s written like that. It comes from CoD4. Or. Actually. reading more I have no clue where it comes from though I did know it was in relation to mercenaries at its root even if its meaning doesn’t.

Ah... speaking of this is probably the last story bit I’m going to do before bed. Though. I... think this leads right into entering Norvrandt. Oh holy shit Doran’s forehead is so big now. he looks so goofy in this shot they took away his fucking eyebrows.

I’ve mostly been wearing his new AST glam since I changed his hair and that at least has glasses... and GNB wears a full-face mask and BRD has a half-face mask. But this. This looks like a lil bit silly ngl.

Ohhh I forgot you fight as Hien against Elidibus/Zenos... While waiting for the WoL to arrive. i love fighting as DRG against Zenos. Same reason as I enjoy using SMN. Fighting using the power of a beast, it’s fitting. Also goddammit G’raha... Why are you so stupid. My guy. Thank goodness Estinien is some kind of stalker because my god. Ohhhh riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight it’s later you actually go to Norvrandt. Rn you just get a lil peek at G’raha. Again, waaaay too recognizable. Literally not even a secret.

Hhhgh... hearing Aymeric speak to the WoL.... they are Friends it is Cute. He like... actually tries, I realize. He makes it clear that he’s fond of the WoL past the obvious hero stuff. Godddddddd this is adorable... Aymeric is still an idiot but he is an incredibly endearring idiot. Ah... and Count edmont comes to visit too. His fatherly relationship with the WoL is adorable as well... I still remember their moment during the DRK questline.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhggggggg and Tataru crying about seeing the WoL... fwiends... ShB is GOOD. And the WoL goes and kneels in front of her.. ghghhh

Ahh that WAS finally the end of the intermediate stuff. Oh my god I love this game. Jesus christ this is so good. And I finally got the new travelling outfit! Hopefully this’ll give me an idea for a GNB glam... I... can’t use the body piece cause it’s too gaudy but the others would work maybe.

Oh shit I finally lost my sprout too! I’m gonna stop writing now just gotta finish up some business...