#find me on midgardsormr

[lunapwrites]

Finally well enough to play FF14 again without the screen making me nauseous and ALSO to just. Sit at my computer for any length of time at all lol. So in general just back on my bullshit there. XD

Am I that person that made an alt in the game that doesn't need alts just so I can experience the story straight through? Yes.

Did I name them the same damn thing with just slightly different spellings? Also yes.

Is one of them LOTR themed and the other cheese? Also yes.

Did I take any excuse I could to make a bun boy? Well...

Am I still considering turning him back into the world's smallest f!Lalafell? I am, please send help, I spent so long getting his glam right but I MISS HATS OKAY.

[estinininininen]

FFXIV fans this is your daily reminder that if Estinien has even a tiny fraction of Nidhogg's memories he knows a hell of a lot more than he's letting on.

Nidhogg remembers at least three Umbral Calamities, and probably four or five. Safe to assume he defended Coerthas from Allag, and that he heard Vrtra looking for Azdaja and the primal-ification of Bahamut through dragon song. The DRG 80 quest states Nidhogg considered himself guardian of the star after Midgardsormr. At his prime, Nidhogg may have even known or been trying to learn his father's abilities - the changing form, the crystals, possibly even the ability to speak with Hydaelyn. Theory time: Hydaelyn may have even rejected him for being a dragon supremacist.

Estinien's shortcomings (if you don't have another silly explanation for them) have to do with mortal knowledge and interactions, like niceties, coin, and bluffing immigration officers. He asks for the Scions to explains things because they have discovered stuff nobody knew before this, or they were using vocabulary he doesn't know.

In Shadowbringers the idea of Ascians doesn't phase him, but the different shards and time travel nonsense throw him for a bit of a loop, coincidentally things Nidhogg wouldn't know. He is very tense at the idea of the WOL seeing his memories, and leaves immediately, but after telling you he shares Nidhogg's memories in 5.5 he chills out and hangs around more. Like he saw the writing on the wall about joining the Scions and covered his own ass in case of an Echo vision.

In Endwalker the reason I think he said "At least I will not pretend to understand this talk of ancient primals or the Final Days" and the like is because he has to constantly sort out if what Nidhogg knew was correct. He is remarkably chill staring up at Hydaelyn like "ya bitch let's go let's fight God." What Hydaelyn said to Estinien about hate becoming love is ambiguous enough it could also apply to Nidhogg.

And you are still the only person he has directly told he shares some memories with Nidhogg. He is deliberately not sharing this with people. He doesn't want to be Nidhogg. Most of the information is pointless outside of Coerthas in the 7th astral era. He makes an exception when he is the only one who knows something important - there's a Great Wyrm behind the curtain, how to motivate depressed dragons, the Eyes of Nidhogg are active again better find them, Omega? wait the thing that chased Midgardsormr? if not me better make sure someone handles it, oh shit Zenos is standing back up that's not Zenos anymore-

Then he just wants to have a drink and some dried squid and chill out. Not get interrogated about past kingdoms, or have his brain and eyes poked at when he dies ( . . . if he's even mortal anymore.)

[chryza]

Moments I felt legitimate fear on behalf of my WoL in FFXIV

-midgardsormr taking away the blessing of light

-finding the vial outside of Ul’Dah right before the banquet and the entire plot that had been building fell into place in front of me and I was powerless to do anything but watch

-level 50 DRK quest iykyk

-first fight with Zenos when it became clear that we were totally outmatched

-ghimlyt dark. Just. All of ghimlyt dark.

-when Omega was about to obliterate the WoL right up until the moment Midgardsormr showed up

-seeing the corpses of the WoL and the scions in the black rose timeline

-when the light first started shredding the wols soul

-I n f r o m t h e c o l d

-Killing Zodiark, knowing full well that we were about to unleash something worse

-by that token, the first flash of Hydaelyn (the planet) turning dark after killing Zodiark

-killing HYDAELYN (the god)

-the exact moment I realized that Golbez had murdered the watcher

[valeriefauxnom]

Dragalia's Knights of Glory art

Now, it's been gone over how Dragalia Lost actually used quite a bit of inspiration from one of Cygames' previous works, Knights of Glory, for anything from character designs to dragons.

Of course, this showed up quite literally with characters like Lea when they quite literally just had the "Knights of Glory" showcase, but it also showed up in characters ranging from Jakob to Mikoto to Jurota (also showcasing the alighting butterfly blade, also in Dragalia):

However funny it is to see who we came to know as different characters in a different media, though, the dragons are 10x funnier to look at.

You see, it seemed that Knights of Glory had a certain 'evolution system' to dragons, where they'd develop and grow more fancy, if they weren't inexplicably transforming into an attractive humanoid woman because of course-

And oh boy, we can kinda see alternative evolutionary paths for the Greatwyrms.

There's Midgardsormr, who seems to most closely resemble the fully evolved form from the start...(he also gained an element, as this dragon line apparently has no element!)

Mercury, who is in her middle phase:

Imagine a hydra Mercury!

...Brunhilda? Not very sure on this one. She might just be a new design, but here's my best guess for what dragon they might have been inspired from:

Of course, in her 'final form' if this was a dragon they used as inspiration.

Jupiter, whom I'd almost put in his middle stage for closeness of design:

Last but not least, poor Zodiark, who really got hammered with the skeletal dragon design and is also in his middle stage and is also drooling 24/7:

Where is his stomach? Where are his organs? Why is he bipedal?? He lost some bulk in his transition to Dragalia, too. Honestly, I like Dragalia Zodiark more than his inspiration here.

That's enough of full evolutionary trees for now, though.

Some other funny ones to me include:

-Silke turning into a skeletal horse on her final evolution:

-Baby Leviathan going :-D all the time:

-Baby Poseidon (honestly a lot of the babies are funny since we only knew their final forms, typically);

-Possibly Cat Sìth inspiration???

-Baby Zephyr:

-Baby Nidhogg, sitting all prim and proper and ready to watch Euden die still:

-Teenage...Satan? Having a evil little :) face going on there...

Speaking of, quite a few of the dragons were actually repurposed into bosses, as with Satan above, like everyone's favorite:

(We must not let Phraeganoth be revived! ...Until Bondforged Zethia's story, at least).

Might be a stretch here, but maaaaaybe a bit of Kai Yan in here?

The Hypnos/Thanatos/Mega Monarch Emile line's general design:

This is getting long enough as it is, but if you want to see a mix of some old with a lot of new art that they might have used as inspiration for more dragons/adventurers, here's the link I used to the collections of KoG artwork that people were able to preserve:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DragaliaLost/comments/9rtlnz/knights_of_glory_albums/

Hopefully you find it just as interesting and funny as I did perusing the old art!

[gaydragontournament]

ROUND 1: PART 2

Propaganda under cut

Lord Arum

● Okay so from what I've listened to he's not called a dragon but he is a four-armed, two-legged reptilian man who is born/created to be the guardian and caretaker of an ancient massive magical plant house called The Keep. So, magic lizard guarding magic castle sounds like a dragon to me.

He falls in love with a male human knight and a female human scientist. Bi and poly rights! We have enemies to lovers, homoerotically charged duels, and desperate acts of kidnapping to save the only thing he loves that leads to him finding more people to love (and also saves the only thing he loved).

Midgardsormr

● Midgardsormr is the Windwyrm, a dragon who governs over the winds. Dragons in Dragalia Lost are considered an important part of nature itself, standing apart from humanity.

However, the protagonist's ancestor, Alberius, formed an incredibly close bond with Midgardsormr, to the point of completely changing his opinions on humans and the world at large. This culminated in them both rebelling against Elysium (who is essentially a dragon god) to protect humanity from his divine judgement.

Even three hundred years later, Midgardsormr clearly still thinks highly of Alberius and their time together.

Quote: "Then I ask you once more, Midgardsormr: Can dragon and man forge a true bond?"

"They can. The days I lived with Alberius in centuries past are proof of this— and those bonds continue through time. I shall protect this world he created, where dragon and man can journey as one."

Comic: https://i.imgur.com/BZqic79.png

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPcw1NykG6k

[blucifer08]

hi i just wanted to say im a huge fan of ur new dragon girl oc she's so important to me and ive known her for like 10 minutes so far

oh my go di'm gonna use this ask to dump about her a little if thats okay

So she's still a WIP because she has no fucking name but here's the TLDR right MAJOR ENDWALKER SPOILERS BE CAREFUL IF ANYONE WHO SEES THIS IS PRE-EW

she left the dragon star at a young age when the war was coming to an end, to escape, out of fear (and i think possibly at the behest of her brother)

She couldn't find her way to Etheirys, like Midgardsormr did, because she was quite young at the time. So she travelled from star to star like Meteion did, finding nothing but dead stars. She still had hope! So she plucked one of her own scales and used it to tattoo maps of the stars onto her body (see the glowy stuff on her? :) )

She eventually found etheirys! she came pretty late and towards the end of the dragonsong war, but quickly learned of Ishgard's hate for dragons and via magic made hersel fa form like an Aura so she could conceal herself in society

She became a tattoo artist/pictomancer! She uses a pen like a calligrapher pen! the nib is made out of one of her scales, and now she does work tattooing people, and her tattoos can have magical effects!

i need a name,,,

[avirael]

FFxivWrite 2024

Day 18 - Hackneyed

With a curious expression A’viloh looked up to the giant statue of some saint in the middle of the plaza. It was beautifully crafted from a block of white stone and depitected a knight wearing cloak and armour. His face was hidden by a helmet.

“Don’t you think they all look the same somehow?”

“A bit. I assume this whole heroically fighting against the dragons story can get a little overused and repetitive in 1000 years…”, Rael offered and turned their attention to the statue in front of them too.

The Miqo’te furrowed his brows.

“But don’t you think each of them must have been a lot more individual than that with their own dreams and hopes? It doesn’t seem fair that they all look the same, their faces hidden by a mask…”

Somehow the idea of having all their stories reduced to almost identical, grey, expressionless faces of stone was a sad one. But Rael assumed that this was what time did to memories sometimes, once no one was left to remember their faces or how things had actuall happened.

“Maybe if our plan works, they one day built one of these for you or me too. The ears should be recognisable at least…”, Rael joked in an attempt to brighten the mood. “Saint A’viloh - he bravely fought against the dragon brood on the Steps of Faith and brought peace to Ishgard…”

But imagining that seemed to make A’viloh even more thoughtful. “I’m not sure I want to fight against the dragons. Vishap was already terrifying, can you imagine how horrible the great wyrms must be? Besides, don’t all saints die some horrible and painful death?”

“True…”, Rael mused. “But even though Iceheart may have a point, I don’t think this conflict can just be ended as easily as everybody seems to hope right now…”

“But aren’t they all tired of fighting by now? Isn’t all this talk of holy wars and heresy getting old?”, A’viloh asked and looked distressed, like he himself was already tired of it.

The Viera sighed and remembered their kins hatred for the Garleans. The conflict for Golmore was by far not that old yet as this war but had already produced so much bloodshed too.

“It’s not that easy, A’vi. A thousand years are a long time. One cruelty avenged by another and another and another. The Ishgardians? They were born and raised in this war, it’s everything they know. And the dragons? You heard Midgardsormr. They live long enough to remember all of this bloody war… It doesn’t matter anymore who was right in the first place. Neither of them are just going to give up and admit they were wrong. Both sides feel justified in their hate and this will make it difficult to find a peaceful solution…”

For a moment A’viloh was quiet, silently contemplating what Rael had said.

“But what can we do about this at all?”

“I don’t know. But you heard what Thordan said. And if the Ascians are involved behind the scenes, we can’t just ignore this. I have no perfect answer for solving this conflict but neither does Iceheart or Aymeric or anybody else… But we have to try anyway. Maybe together we can find a solution…”

[ferrocyan]

ask game bound and secret, for tart? either wol!tart or nonwol!tart, you pick

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

tart is dyslexic, has pretty low reading comprehension and is slow at it. bc of her father's connections she got to attend school in ishgard as a kid but it was a baaad time bc of this. she's really scared of other people finding out as in her experience it's only gonna get her bullied or berated or worse.

bound: Has your OC ever been imprisoned or captured? What happened? How did they get out? Did the experience leave any scars?

ohh my god how have i never made this happen for tart before dawntrail. wait no there's omega. okay so tart (and the ironworks crew) were trapped by omega in the dimensional rift and made to fight otherworldly abominations from other final fantasies yeah okay we know the drill (gunk you HAVE to play the omega raids when you finish stormblood IT'S PEAKKKK) the important part is when omega is done w the games and locks tart in a vacuum chamber to kill her and get it over with. she got out bc midgardsormr smashed it w his teeth, which was rly lucky bc she would've just suffocated in there otherwise. tart doesn't realize this herself but the incident actually left her w lingering claustrophobia. it hasn't been triggered in a major way yet but when she like goes into the elevator in limsa she gets a bit panicked and is confused by that reaction www i don't think she ever reflects to remember where that fear came from though

now for the dawntrail thing. so in my canon after the 99 trial when sphene fucks off to living memory w the dimension key, she also uses the gun from the soldierbot body she was using to take tart's soul and memory with her. lmao. he's not dead per se, it's like the scions when they got soulnapped. sphene uses his soul to run a "it would be sooo good if you join me btw i can bring your parents back and you can live forever as an endless i'm just saying" simulation but tbh she doesn't even fully trap him in there, he can wander to the other living memory areas lol and even talks to cahciua on occasion. a very chill and nontraumatic kidnapping, all in all. in the end tart gets out of it by

sorry what was that. oh yeah by asking her out on a date. of course. and then sphene gives him amnesia for the hell of it. it's all good though ;3

[viiioca]

day 10: versus

From the journal of Estelle de Laussienne, 27th of the 5th Umbral Moon, 5 7A.E. I do find it interesting, now that I think about it, how patterns can repeat in miniature. Garlemald had no real presence in my schooling; Ishgard's interest in history starts and ends with the holy, the heretical, and the sovereign borders of Coerthas. I was quite young when they came for Ala Mhigo – five summers, or just shy of it – and I recall little of the news. It was not until I received a proper tutor much later that I learned the true sequence of events, still framed by Ishgardian indifference as a squabble between foreigners. Thordan might have even shook Gaius van Baelsar's hand for felling Midgardsormr if the man hadn't done so in the process of setting up a forward camp on our doorstep. Neither enemy nor ally – only a distant threat, a future promise of conflict. But we had our hands full of war as it was, and it was one we'd been fighting for two centuries already by the time Garlemald's predecessors had been driven from Corvos. For most of their history, we barely realized their existence. To care would have been absurd. I find Zenos to be a similar frustration. The rivalry, as far as I would consider it one, is certainly bracing. But I am trying to get good and proper work done and there is a man stalking my periphery who cannot make up his mind on a plan of attack. In one breath, he grants me a tremendous boon that eases my burden significantly (how does one go about sending a thank-you card for regicide? I shall check the etiquette books later) – and in the next, he is committing atrocities that increase my workload tenfold. All of this drama for a duel. I find it tremendously difficult to rally any sort of enthusiasm for this nonsense right now, given the state of things. If the man wants my attention, he can either bring me a bottle of brandy or he can very bloody well get in line.

[roevember 2023 prompt by wintertitania]

[charlottedabookworm]

#29 - Feckless (Free Day)

feat Nadir

nadir: i won't be here long i'm only planning to stay long enough to find mention of this dragon

nadir, several moons and learning arcana later: that was far more difficult than i thought it would be

The guard he has been directed to sighs as he approaches.

Nadir tilts his head. “My apologies, but-?”

“’Nother adventurer I assume?” They ask, not waiting for a response before they turn away to pull a lever. “Wonderful. Lets hope you aren’t as feckless as the last lot.”

“Excuse me, I-”

“The Crow’s Lift will take you to the Drowning Wench, speak to Baderon and he’ll explain the rules and register your presence in the city. Once you’re down on the books, you can start attempting to find employment. Understood?”

He blinks. “Pardon?”

The guard sighs. “Might I remind you that all newly arrived adventurers are required to register with the Adventurers’ Guild? Until you have done so, you will struggle to find employment in these parts.”

“Yes,” Nadir says. “I do understand this, however-”

“Wonderful,” they gesture to the lift.

He does not move. “I believe there has been a misunderstanding,” he tells the now scowling guard. “My apologies, but I am not an ‘adventurer’; I am simply passing through and seeking a place to stay the night.” With any luck, he will find reference to Master Midgardsormr in the public library the dock guards had mentioned and he will be free of this city before long.

“Oh,” the guard blinks. They stare at the set of his shoulders and the fit of his robes, before shrugging. Gesturing to the lift once more, they say: “The Drowning Wench doubles as an inn room for adventurers and visiting academics. Best speak to Baderon, he might have a room free for the night.”

Well…

Sighing, Nadir inclines his head. “You have my thanks,” he murmurs as he steps onto the lift.

Already, he wishes to leave this place.

[anneapocalypse]

WIP What day is it?

Thank you for the tag, @ishgard!

Tagging @farfromdaylight @rakshadow @ialpiriel @inquisimer @chocochipbiscuit @ecosystem-administrator @about2dance and anyone else who wants to share.

Posting a bit of a longer excerpt from "Harsh Light" today, because talking about Ariane's childhood in Mor Dhona had me thinking of it.

***

Mor Dhona was mostly crystal now.

Ariane's memories of those early years were fuzzy, the edges long-softened by time and by what had come after. But the land remembered, perfectly imperfectly.

Those few that could had fled early by aetheryte, but they were the privileged few. Most families, Ariane's included, had thronged to carriages and airships, because they or their children were attuned to no aetherytes where they might away quickly, or they simply lacked the requisite anima to teleport at all. Ariane had been twelve, her sister Gratienne eleven, and though Mother had long said that one day they would take them to see Gridania, they had never yet been outside Mor Dhona.

When they'd fled, it had been with the hope that they would one day return. That whatever ruin they might find of their homes and livelihoods could be rebuilt, that their village of Silvertear Falls with its cozy little strip of inns and shops, would survive.

It took mere days for the news to reach them, in the refugee camps on the outskirts of the Black Shroud, that there was no going back.

-

It was difficult even to pinpoint where their house had once been. Ariane had now spent considerable time in North Silvertear, in the days of the expedition to the the Crystal Tower, and always she had been strangely aware that she was not far from where she had grown up—where once had stood their old family home, with the herb gardens and hothouse and the little shop up front where Mother had sold their yield, and Father kept the books, pushing his spectacles absently up his long nose as he bent over the ledger by lamplight. Next door, her childhood best friend's house. A few doors down, the inn owned by a Roegadyn family whose daughter she went to school with.

All this she could still see, somewhat, in her mind's eye, but to map it exactly onto the crystallized landscape of the present was all but impossible. Even the shoreline no longer matched the one she remember. It may as well have been a different place. Only the wreck of the Agrius, rising from the lake as a spire entwined with the dragon's husk, stood as proof, pinning past to present.

There was a leathery flutter of dragonet's wings at her ear, familiar now.

"I remember you," Ariane said, not turning to face him at her shoulder, but nodding toward the sky. "From that day…"

"Thou art a child of the Lake. Aye. Thinkest thou I did not know?"

"Why would you? I was one child in the crowd. The sight of you in the sky was rather more memorable, I should think."

In typical fashion, Midgardsormr did not explain himself. Ariane supposed that when you were a great wyrm, you did not often need to explain yourself. "Thou hast come home, then, mortal child?"

"No," Ariane said truthfully, gesturing at the crystallized ground. "What home? There's naught left of it to come back to. There never was."

"Thou speakest true," the dragon mused. "Then why hast thou come?"

"To remember, I suppose," Ariane said, and after a moment added, "Just for a moment. To remember why I can't go back."

The dragon uttered a thoughtful rumble. "Aye, child. This I well know."

She was quiet for a moment. "I suppose you would." It was a sobering thought. Ravaged though it was by battle and by aether, still Lake Silvertear lay where it always had, even if its shorelines had shifted.

-

What Ariane remembered was red skies, and the shape of a dragon in flight—the first she had ever seen. Midgardsormr. Ariane had known the name; everyone in Silvertear Falls knew of the Father of Dragons, the Keeper of the Lake, whose name was invoked for protection in matters great and small.

But to see him—to see the great wyrm, the span of his wings broad enough to black out the sun when he swooped low���

No one is ever prepared to meet their god.

Ariane would only later understand that Midgardsormr had arisen, calling forth from Dravania a legion of his children, to drive back the Imperial forces that had invaded their home. At the time, only twelve years old, it had been a blur of horrors. Garleans, dragons, the sky burned red. A crowded carriage in which she and Grati had huddled with Mother and Father. The anxious kweh, kweh! of the draft chocobos, skittish with the noise and the smoke. The shouting of people demanding or begging to be let onto the airships that had closed their gates, unable to bear any more weight and still fly safely.

She thought of this, and of a lone dragon traversing the great expanse, carrying with him but seven eggs, and the hope of his people.

[jefarawol]

You know this bit. You witnessed it all, the Warrior of Light descending into Ishgard upon the back of the Father of all Dragons. A sight I will not forget even on my deathbed.

Even as I saw the happy faces around me, I could not find my words or bring myself to smile in the wake of my victory. My heart ached, and my failures weighed my shoulders down.

I daresay you are the first soul in Ishgardian history to arrive in our city upon dragonback. This scene shall be remembered for a thousand years to come.

As we had feared, the archbishop summoned the soul of King Thordan unto himself and thence became a primal.

But he and his knights are no more, thanks to the Warrior of Light.

Your struggles are not yet over, mortals.

Whom do I have the pleasure...?

I am Midgardsormr. I have journeyed with Hydaelyn's champion and observed her deeds in the conflict between man and dragon.

[jumpingjollyrancher]

Sept. 19: Taken

Idyllshire is a bustling place; the near constant noise from its near constant construction and rebuilding projects is enough to make any conversation take place at a shout. Junior is not the biggest fan, but it’s the most convenient meeting place for now. At least Krile and Thancred have found a mostly abandoned corner to talk.

It’s not going to be a good talk from the press of Thancred’s lips and the crease between Krile’s eyebrows. Junior frowns himself, working a burr off of his tail. No one likes bad news. After they were lucky enough with Y’shtola and Thancred, he thought… He’s spared from having to start the conversation by Alphinaud’s arrival.

Krile jumps into the details of the thing. A visit to the ruins of the Praetorium gave them enough to work with. “Though faint, the waveforms bore a strong resemblance to those observed following the destruction of the Isle of Val—when I believe Hydaelyn shielded me with the blessing of Light.”

It only makes sense. Minfilia had said that Hydaelyn spoke to her. Junior grips the handle of his katana and refuses to think the worst. The previous disturbances were for their good, both his and Krile’s. Surely, She would do the same for her favorite daughter.

Thancred’s eye and his voice give away nothing as he adds to their tale. “To confirm our findings, we paid a visit to the Sil'dih Aqueducts. There we detected the same waveform, but orders of magnitude larger...as one would expect of a more recent disturbance.” He feels Junior’s gaze and turns to meet it. Still, it tells him nothing beyond the spoken words.

It should be a relief. Hydaelyn saves the day! But why? Why did she need Minfilia to go back? Why couldn’t she have escaped with him? Junior looks away from Thancred to scowl at the ground.

There’s more to sort out. Y’shtola’s flow spell that carried a third being, but this time without a trail. Krile turns to Junior. Recently acquainted though they are, she speaks to him as if they’ve studied beside each other before. “Now, recall your visions of a vast crystal floating in a sea of aether. Though this too is but a theory, studies of gifted objects suggest that, when communing with Hydaelyn, we briefly leave our bodies behind.”

“Very briefly,” Junior corrects. “I don’t usually wake up on the ground after she’s deigned to reach out.”

Krile nods. “Time is rather loose in such cases. So, let us consider the facts. One—Hydaelyn interceded. Two—a third being was caught in Y'shtola's Flow and vanished without a trace. And three— Hydaelyn may have the capacity to summon the consciousness of gifted individuals to Her side.”

It’s blatantly obvious the conclusion they’re supposed to reach. Yet, not one of them jumps to state it aloud. Y’shtola fills the gap, always the one happier to have the answer on the table to dissect. “You are implying, I take it, that Hydaelyn guided Minfilia into the compass of my magick...that She might summon her, body and soul, unto the aetherial sea?”

Nods from both Thancred and Krile are the answer. Junior’s tail flicks hard until he makes himself exhale. “If she had so little faith in me getting us out of there, I would have liked to know it.”

Thancred’s visible eyelid twitches. He very well might have rolled the hidden one; Junior has seen it before. “I think it’s less a matter of Her trusted Warrior’s skill and more of a matter of a separate task entirely. Why else would She have taken Minfilia alone?”

“She thinks I’m annoying,” Junior offers. He holds a hand up. “Actually, it might be a matter of lack of choice. Midgardsormr had already played his little trick on me by that point.”

Krile tips her head, but the rest of them frown at the reminder. A blessing cut off and a friend fallen shortly after… It has only been a few months. Junior exhales. “That’s not an issue now, but I’ve yet to hear anything from Her.”

“For a blessing, the means to continue our search already exists.” Y’shtola smiles thinly. “I speak of the Antitower—a Sharlayan construction conceived to provide scholars a vantage point over the aetherial sea. Though I know not where its entrance lies, we need only ask its last custodian - a contrary old crone who, for another blessing, refused to join the exodus.”

Despite everything, despite the terrible feeling of dread hanging over his shoulders, Junior’s lips curl upward. “She’s got everything, doesn’t she?”

“It certainly seems that way much of the time.” Y’shtola shakes her head. “Come. The sooner we approach her, the sooner we can find true answers.” 

She turns toward the city gate, Alphinaud and Krile falling in behind her. Alphinaud is already talking, probably filling Krile in on the details of Junior’s various irritations with the father of dragons. Thancred, however, lingers. Junior looks at him, eyes sharp. “We’ll find her.”

“Whatever it takes.” Thancred sets a hand on his shoulder and then walks away. It feels, unexpectedly, like comfort. 

Junior shifts in place and then follows after them. He catches up with Thancred after a few steps and keeps pace until they’ve rejoined the group.

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

culture shock

It had been decided that the Ilsabard Contingent would stay until next summer for the moment, with an early possible leave date of spring. While things had much improved in Garlemald, the winter promised to be even more unnaturally cold than the last. And heralded the arrival of even more powerful monsters. Jullus had remembered Lucia mulling over the scouts' reports, before sighing gustily and muttering something about 'culture shock'. Then she'd requested a meeting with the interim government at Senatus. The rumor had it that she'd requested permission for a representative of an expert group of monster-hunters to come to Garlemald to present themselves and offer their skills.

(Too late did it occur to anyone to ask Lucia just who the monster-hunters were exactly...)

------

Eorzeans were mad.

No, he needed to narrow that down.

Ishgardians were absolutely, positively, fucking insane.

"Jullus, hello!"

"Reinhardt?!" The younger man choked out. With a snick, Reinhardt's helm smoothly slid into the collar of his drachen mail, and he offered a wave. The large white dragon next to him laughed, the sound resembling falling rocks.

"Heard you wanted to speak to the professional monster-hunters."

"I-I thought Clan--Clan Centrio was..." Jullus stammered out. More huffing laughter from the dragon, who fixed Reinhardt with a gimlet eye.

~Did not anyone warn them of my coming?~

"Lucia might have decided to go 'better to ask forgiveness than permission.'" Reinhardt replied, shrugging. "But regardless. Jullus, may i introduce Vedrfolnir, direct son of Hraesveglr of the First Brood, and grandson to Midgardsormr, Father of Dragons. Vedrfolnir, this is Jullus pyr Norbanus." The formality snapped Jullus out of his shock, and he faced Vedrfolnir. Mind racing--how did one introduce themselves to a dragon?!--he opted for a salute. Hopefully it wouldn't take offense.

"Ser!" Vedrfolnir cackled again.

~I thank you for your courtesy, young warrior. There is no need for formalities around me.~ Only then did Jullus realize that he could hear the dragon's voice 'speaking' inside his head.

~I also ask you forgive my impertinent grandson. He has manners, but generally doesn't use them.~

"Please! There's no pro..." Jullus trailed off. "Wait. Grandson?"

"Remember how I told you once I have the curse because an ancestor of mine partook of dragon-blood?" Reinhardt began. "It turned out Vedrfolnir was the dragon."

~It was quite pleasing to find my human kin once again, or at least one of them.~ Vedrfolnir rumbled. ~Reinhardt has spoken at length of your situation here. We have young wanting to seek out hunting-grounds, and your lands promise much enrichment for them. I offered to be an ambassador to speak with your leaders.~

"I...see." Jullus got out. "You're more than welcome to stay, but I admit, I don't know where we can house you..." He trailed off as Vedrfolnir laughed again.

~You do not have to worry about housing and food for me. I spotted a cave nearby that will do me well, and some rather tasty-looking beastkin on the way down.~ The dragon swung his head towards Reinhardt. ~Call if you have need of me.~

"I will." Reinhardt promised. "Considering how late it is, Lucia may have the senators meet you tomorrow morning." Vedrfolnir nodded, turning on a wing and ascending back into the sky. Jullus exhaled, sagging.

"Holy shite." He breathed.

"Sorry I couldn't give warning. The aetherical currents weren't good for the linkpearls on the way in." Reinhardt offered, apologetic.

"The way--wait. Did you fly in?!"

"From Ishgard, aye. Actually came here faster than we thought, caught some good wind currents i--" Reinhardt frowned as Jullus boggled at him. "What?"

"You're mad." Jullus said weakly. "I've told you that, right?"

----- note: this takes place in riven's timeline, not Two Young Men's own.

[valeriefauxnom]

Random Thought Re. Bondforged Euden

So, Bondforged Euden was locked into Midgardsormr 0 for his shapeshift, as we all know (this is not a complaint, given Mid0's power!).

As such, he has one quote upon shapeshifting, which in English is,

Which is more or less verbatim from what I hear in JP, "Ikuzo, Midgardsormr!"

However, JP added an additional little tidbit to his whole shapeshift sequence. Specifically, when using Mids' skill in shapeshift, both Euden and Midgardsormr voice the line in complete unison.

That got me to thinking.

Is Bondforged Euden actually dracoshifting, instead of shapeshifting?

Now, I know it sounds like I'm throwing out words here, but yes, this was a concept in Dragalia, and I don't blame you if it doesn't exactly sound familiar.

We technically see it twice, as it is the explanation for how Alberius and Chthonius merged and stayed merged for so long, and it also serves as a way to amp up Leonidas.

While details are... spare (to put it mildly), aside from that, I think the implication of the notion of the 'dracoshift' is that it's more of a merge between the two for a time than just the human yoinking the form of their dragon for a bit.

That being said, I wonder if that's actually what's happening upon Bondforged Euden's shift, since the skill itself is called 'United Tempest' and the Japanese version has the both of them outright vocalizing together.

Pushing it one step further, I then would like to say that his regular attacks and skills are just regular shapeshifts, which is another wild thing. I've gone over the subtle evidence before that the whole pacting process and shifting isn't easy, and can be dangerous, but that just goes to show how far Euden has come, that he's constantly dipping in and out of a shapeshifted form just to make his attacks that much harder to resist/predict.

And then, when you factor in the fact that when he actually 'shapeshifts' he's really just taking it one step further to literally meld with Mids for a while, the fact that he has the energy at all to do any of that... It goes to show just how much stronger he is.

Interestingly, as a last thought I had on it, it's actually a gradual progression that was demonstrated through his other alts.

Most of the time, we see base Euden just shift once. Gala Euden starts mixing it up and sometimes shifts sequentially without even taking a breather between forms, as seen in his own story and in The Blood That Binds. And then we come to Bondforged, who is throwing out shapeshifts left and right and also finding the time and energy to merge with Mids quite a bit, since he's a very dragon-heavy user.

Kinda nuts, when you think of it that way!

[hear-feel-think]

FFXIVWrite2024 | #11 - Surrogate

Rating: G

River has an important talk with Midgardsormr.

—————

River Seine didn't know his parents. He had some disjointed memories, but he didn't know their real names, nor where they lived in his childhood, let alone where they are now. And from what memories he had, he wasn't sure he would want to find them even if he could.

He was lucky to have many people who looked out for him, each in their own way, but none were quite what one would call parental. Each had their own agenda, and while River’s wellbeing surely mattered to them, other concerns always came first. The only exception was Hydaelyn. Though She wasn’t the kind of mother who could hug him and make him a warm meal, She was more like a parent than any mortal being River knew.

So it was troubling when Midgardsormr severed his connection to Her. He was on his own once again, but now with people looking up to him as the Warrior of Light. That certainly added to his anxiety during the Bloody Banquet and the events that followed. “And yet,” said River, as he finished relaying all this to Midgardsormr’s tiny avatar one lazy day in Ishgard, “I didn’t feel mad at you. I still don’t. I’m not sure why.”

“I am gladdened to hear thou dost not harbour ill will towards me,” said Midgardsormr from his perch on River’s shoulder. “I suspect thy anger is tempered by thine understanding of the motives behind mine actions.”

River leaned his wrists on his thighs as he dangled his feet over the stone railing. “I suppose,” he said, looking down on the city below. “I guess I know deep down that it’s for my own good, in the end. You didn’t do it out of malice, you did it so that I have to stand on my own two feet without leaning on Her power.”

“Aye,” said the dragon, “It was also out of love for Hydaelyn Herself, that she not invest too much of Her power in one who is not the hero She awaits. Thou lovest Hydaelyn, and thus thou dost wish the same for Her, dost thou not?”

“True,” said River. “If I’m not really Her champion I would certainly hope that She finds the right person sooner rather than later.”

Midgardsormr headbutted River’s cheek. “Thou art selfless, mortal. If thou art in sooth Her champion, I would be pleased.”

River lifted a hand and stroked the dragon’s back. “Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that.”

Midgardsormr flapped his wings and hovered in front of River’s face. “I have challenged thee as I would one of my own brood in their youth. Hydaelyn and I are as equals, companions in a fashion none else can comprehend. If thou thinkest of Her as thy surrogate mother, it would please me greatly if thou wouldst consider me thy surrogate father.”

River’s face broke into a wide grin. “Nothing would make me happier.”