#handeloup

[howdygravytrain]

*jingles pathetically across the courtyard*

holy shit y'all, this was the most extensive set of gposes i've done yet. this took almost an entire week from me getting a room at my fc's crib and transferring all my shit from my apartment to there so i could make the bedroom, gathering/crafting everything for said bedroom, the poses themselves, desperately trying to find a crime for aymeric's earring before i said fuck it and photoshopped it on LMAO, the editing, putting the screenshots into panels since tumblr only allows 30 images per upload and finally typing up the transcript, I AM FINISHED.

all because a friend wrote a snippet about "what if aymeric fantasia'd into a lalafell?" i have not known peace since then 😩 /pos

btw i plan to make an introductory post for gravy sometime, but noT FUCKING TONIGHT PLS IF I HAVE TO OPEN PHOTOSHOP ONE MORE TIME I'M GONNA HURL MYSELF INTO THE AETHERIAL SEA

got a doozy of a transcript, find it below the break!

TRANSCRIPT

Panel 1: [ONE PECULIAR DAY WHEN GRAVY ARRIVED BACK HOME IN ISHGARD…]

Panel 4: Gravy Train: Huh, that’s weird…Aymeric always greets me when I come back home. Maybe he got holed up at work again?

Panel 7: <He hasn’t been to work in two days…The hell is goin’ on?>

Panel 10: Gravy Train: Howdy, Eddie. Aymeric home?

Panel 11: Edrant: Ah, welcome home, Lady Gravy. M’lord is currently upstairs in his bedchambers. He specified to let none interrupt him since yestermorn.

Panel 12: Gravy Train: He ain’t want no one to bother him? Is he alright, is he sick??

Panel 13: Gravy Train: Ayms, ya doin’ alright, sugar bear?

Panel 14: <Hmm, no answer. Maybe he’s in the bathroom?>

Panel 16: Gravy Train: The hell, he ain’t in there either??

Panel 17: Gravy Train: Now just where could he’ve gone off to? Surely if it was an emergency he’d’ve let me know somethin’...

Panel 18: Gravy Train: Maybe Estinien’s gotten into some shit that Vrtra couldn’t get him out of and Aymeric went to help? Or Lucia needed him in Garlemald? Naw, Lucia’s got her shit together, Estinien’d be the one who’d fuck around.

Panel 19: Gravy Train: Aight, that bastard better have his linkpearl in or I swear to goD–

Panel 20: ???: Darling, is that you?

Panel 21: Gravy Train: Huh–who in the–?!

Panel 22: Gravy Train: Hollup–Ayms, is that you?

Panel 23: Aymeric: Aye, and I assume by your expression the potion worked?

Panel 25: Gravy Train: Oh my god, yer my size! Holy shit this is so cool!!

Panel 26: Gravy Train: Oh wait, ya got any clothing that’ll fit?

Aymeric: That I do. I may have taken the opportunity to, ahem, borrow some of your clothing and have outfits of similar proportions made for myself.

Gravy Train: Ohhh, I wanna see those fits!

Aymeric: Of course, if you could excuse me for just a moment…

Panel 28: Gravy Train: Ahhhhhh ya look amazin’, honey!

Panel 31: Aymeric: Um, darling, is something amiss–

Panel 33: Gravy Train: I can do this t’ya now, sugar.

[ubejamjar]

The ‘Magitek Temporal-Imaging Apparatus Mk.III’ was invented purely because the Warrior of Light told Nero Scaeva that she’d asked Cid to make her something that could instantly produce images on paper. She said Cid he couldn’t do it, so she assumed Nero couldn’t either. Of course, this was a lie— she never asked Cid. She (correctly) assumed that Nero would not only quickly make her such a device, but also improve upon it to prove his inherent superiority over Garlond.

These were captured by the Lady de Daimboux. Ajisai taped the pictures up in the Seat of the Lord Commander— whose occupant is allegedly ‘not upset’ that he was excluded from the picture taking because he was busy.

Ajisai has written ‘Best Friends Forever’ and ‘Me with Handeloup’ on the pictures.

The polaroids after Handeloup’s seven-year-old got ahold of them:

[weatheredfailnot]

Rarepair ( 2 / ? ) - Ortefauchel, his unnamed wife with no canon design, and Handeloup

[nuclearanomaly]

The gm has used emotionally impactful taunt. It's super effective.

[jaradeborelandfriends]

Handeloup and Family

[scribbleybear]

A couple more recent npc doodles

[porta-decumana]

Handeloup's always been handsome but DAYUM, the graphics update blessed him even more 😳

[hylfystt]

the dt tank role quest is so funny. wdym you need to put a plan together before talking to aymeric? just let me go in and ask him he won't say no to me

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

everything's fine. it's winter training. nothing can go wrong!

When you hear something has Gone Wrong™️ on the training grounds while you're reporting to your commanding officer.

Aymeric: Very Polite 'WTF?' Handelhoup: Done. Finished. The body is present but the soul has checked out for the day.

(Certified Young Dumbass Dragoon Fuckery™️: The Hamster Wheel Incident)

[dragons-bones]

FFXIV Write Entry #29: Spices and Contraband

Prompt: contravention || Master Post || On AO3

--

Ehll Tou burbled happily to herself as she trotted through the bustling crowd of passengers and porters along the Ishgardian airship docks. She had been awaiting a shipment of fresh herbs and spices and potions from Ul’dah for a fortnight, and today was the day they should arrive!

Soon enough she had arrived at the correct pier, and she waited mostly patiently near where the cargo was being unloaded from the Cinnamon Cloud. A few of the crew waved to her, and she waved back excitedly. If she had the time later, she would come back to see if any of them had new stories to share of their travels.

The cargomaster came over, his smile white against the dark brown of his skin. “Hello, Sky Lady!” he said. “Awaiting a package?”

[Yes!] Ehll Tou said, jaw dropping in a smile. [From Frondale’s Phrontistery; was it in this shipment?]

“I believe it was!” the cargomaster said, and laughed as she hopped up and down in excitement. “One moment, my lady, let me go check.”

She kept hopping as she waited, far less patient now. She had projects to finish, some new cooking recipes to devise and items to finish enchanting with the proper infused lacquers. Soon soon soon!

The cargomaster returned shortly, a crate in his hands, and Ehll Tou cheered.

A check of the crate’s inventory against the Cinnamon Cloud’s cargo manifest and Ehll Tou’s own receipt from the Phrontistery—the cargomaster was kind enough to pry open the crate for her so that she could check, and she trilled happily at confirming everything was present—and then a collection of her signature, and Ehll Tou was off back to the Firmament with her crate in hand. She whistled a traveling song as she skipped through the city, though at the gentle clink of the glass bottles against one another, she slowed to something more sedate.

Once back in her warehouse, Ehll Tou headed for her primary workroom and set the crate on the table. She fetched a crowbar and reopened the lid, the cargomaster having nailed it shut to ensure nothing spilled on her way back from the docks. Setting both lid and crowbar aside, Ehll Tou carefully reached inside and began removing her new treasures.

The potions were each neatly labeled: essences of fire, which would be perfect to imbue fine cotton or wool for warmth since sewing fire shards wasn’t practical, and assorted growth formulae in different grades for her to use practicing imbuing wands and staves for Ishgardian conjurers. Ehll Tou wasn’t yet proficient with alchemy to make her own, and the ingredients were expensive and difficult to come by, too. Hmm, perhaps she should write a polite request to her…how would men call the degree of relation between them? A great uncle? That sounded correct. She should write a polite request to Great Uncle Vrtra, and ask if she might come to study with his alchemists for a time. At some point, there was no rush with many centuries still before her.

Potions gently set aside, now Ehll Tou retrieved the rest of her order. Fresh saffron and laurel and aloe, from Southern Thanalan, grown and harvested by the residents of Little Ala Mhigo. Prickly pears from Central Thanalan, bright pink and smelling utterly divine to her nose even through their thick skins. And, carefully wrapped in waxed paper, a trio of huge black truffles that Ehll Tou almost fond herself cooing over. Ohhh, she would make many delicious foods with these truffles, yes she would!

The food items she brought to her kitchen, and then she returned to her main workroom to gather up the packing straw from the crate. It would make for good kindling for her stove.

Her claws scratched against the bottom of the crate, and they caught on something. A knot in the wood? But as Ehll Tou drew her hands back, the bottom of the crate lifted away entirely, and she startled.

In doing so, her claw worked free, and the bottom fell back again. Curiosity wasn’t a trait exclusive to cats, however, and Ehll Tou poked her head into the crate, running her claws along the wood until she felt them hook again. Deliberately now, she raised the false bottom and set it aside, then peeked into the crate again.

[…Oh, dear.]

--

[Who would dare do such a thing?!] Ehll Tou growled, fighting the urge to stomp around her workroom as one of Commander Handeloup’s Temple Knights gingerly transferred small, overstuffed bags from the crate’s false bottom into a small, sturdy iron chest. [Use MY goods to smuggle SOMNUS into the city? The audacity! The insult!]

“Unfortunately, not uncommon,” Commander Handeloup said, tone soothing. “Chances are your order was merely the only one traveling to Ishgard from the Phrontistery within the smuggler’s window of opportunity.”

Ehll Tou crossed her arms with a huff, a lick of flame briefly escaping her nostrils before she reined her temper in. Just because she was angry did not mean she should be rude. [And someone on this end was supposed to take out the somnus before I picked up my crate?]

Handeloup nodded. “That’s the most likely scenario, and we can at least assume the Cinnamon Cloud’s cargomaster isn’t involved in the scheme, considering how readily he retrieved it for you upon your arrival at their pier. I’ll have one of my men approach him quietly and ask about any unusual behavior among his crew.”

Ugh. At least she wouldn’t be looking at the cargomaster suspiciously the next time she placed an order from an Ul’dahn business.

[A fine shadow over my day,] she grumbled.

The Temple Knight’s Second Commander chuckled and reached out to gently pat her shoulder just above the wing. “Hopefully, you will be able to look back in the near future and feel a sense of pride at assisting in however small a way at breaking a smuggling ring,” he said.

Ehll Tou cocked her head thoughtfully. [It would make for a good song…]

PREVIOUS || NEXT

[mythandral]

shout out to handeloup and godbert & julyan manderville for being the only people in eorzea happily married with kids

[potassium-pilot]

FFXIVWrite 2023, Day 9: Fair

Oliver shuffled his hands through his notes, taking care that all of the date he recorded on elemental activity was organized. All he needed now was to get home and start properly analyzing and logging what he had learned in his lab in the cottage.

Upon opening the door, he found Dia hanging upside down, Hector dangling her by her tiny, six-summer-old right ankle. Chaos was true order in the Sito household, so when the red-headed midlander returned to a maniacally cackling Elezen child and his reckless bald highlander life partner and research assistant holding her like a fisherman with his rather large catch, it didn't quite phase him much.

"I assume you know that I would be rather upset if you were to drop her, yes?"

"Don't ye worry yer pretty head, darlin'. Only 'oldin' 'er like this 'cause o' 'er pryin' lil' 'ands!" The young child giggled loudly as he lifted her higher to look her in the eye and give her a menacing grin.

"Gods' sakes, Hector. What could she have done now?"

"She thought she could get away wit' snoopin' through a cookie jar when 'er ol' man was right across the way and she knows dinner's bein' served in a bell! Ain't tha' right, Dia?!" She could only laugh in response.

"Heavens above", Oliver rolled his eyes. "Put her down, Hector."

The highlander approached a well-used pale blue sofa and gently laid her down against the cushions. The Elezen was still in a laughing fit, calming down from the rush her father gave her just then. Oliver went to her side and patted her head. "I understand your temptation, but give not into it. That would spoil your appetite and I would feel better if you ate a more nutritious meal. Do you understand, dear?"

"Yes, daddy."

"Good girl." Oliver smiled. Oliver then walked over to Hector and sternly told him, "Holding a child like she's a fresh-caught sea bass, on the other hand, is not an appropriate response for a child dipping into a cookie jar."

"What if the child was 'avin the time o' 'er life?" Hector turned to Dia and asked enthusiastically, "Weren't ye 'avin fun, Dia?"

"Yeah!" She cackled in response.

Oliver sighed and pinched his nose. "I get no support here." With his notes still in his inventory, he made his way to his laboratory and closed the door behind him.

--------

Years have passed along. Oliver was reading on the sofa as he felt a presence sit right next to him. He looked and found his thirteen summer old daughter simpering next to him. "Hi, daddy!"

"Hello, dear. Did you care to join me for some light reading? I've an interesting book on the fungal species of the Twelveswood. It's been updated for this year."

"That's nice, but I was hoping to ask you something."

"Of course."

"Do you know what today is?"

Oliver looked to the calendar hanging on the wall nearby. "I believe today is the twenty-eighth day of the Fifth Umbral Moon."

"Right. So do you know what that means next week is?"

He knew perfectly well, but he had to pretend to think on it for his amusement. "Well...I believe there's to be a waxing gibbous in the sky that night."

"Aaaaaaand?"

"Hm...perhaps someone's nameday may be on the horizon. But whose nameday? Now that is perplexing..."

"Daddy!" She yelled excitedly.

Oliver chuckled to himself and ruffled her hair. "Yes, your fourteenth nameday is upon us. Oh, I remember when we found you in the Twelveswood like it was but a day ago. Now look at what's become of that sweet infant."

"Yes, and I'm very glad you two took me in, but you remember what you told me?"

He remembered very well, and it drove his heart rate through the roof to think of it. "About that..."

"Daddy, please! Not again!" Dia begged.

"I know, but...I cannot let you leave until I know with absolute certainty that you will not be harmed if I were to let you go to Limsa Lominsa's Arcanist Guilt by yourself."

"I'm almost fourteen, Daddy. I'm more than ready to go. I've been working on my combat magic!"

"Have you?"

"Yes!"

Oliver put down his book on the old oaken coffee table, coated in coffee stains and littered in papers, and looked her in the eye. "Prove it to me." He stood up and walked to the door. "If you can hold your own against me, then I will take you to Limsa Lominsa myself."

Though it had been some time since he last needed to use it, his family pioneered combative arithmantic black magic, a form meant to mimic the act of black magic without drawing aether from the land. Knowing this about him, Dia stood up and faced him down.

"Then I've no choice but to hold my own against you, do I?"

The two stepped outside into the forests of The Black Shroud. They took an appropriate distance from one another. Both faced the other down, Dia's eyes glimmering with sheer determination. Oliver had to hide his fear behind a shield of stern looks.

Dia took the first cast of Ruin and fired at her father. Though she was stronger with it than when he first taught it to her for self-defense purposes, it barely made an impact into him. It only hurt slightly.

With that, Oliver used his book to cast Fire and aimed it squarely at his daughter.

The impact of the spell sent Dia flying backwards, spinning until she landed face down against the ground. She brought her arms to her side to try and get up, but the pain was overwhelmingly powerful. Her forearms were shaking, her chest was burning, and her head was throbbing, the world looking so blurred through her eyes. Though she tried her hardest to stand back up, her body simply would not let her and so she collapsed once again, panting for breath.

Oliver watched her struggle in this state and felt his knees turn to jelly. His chest tightened and his jaw slacked in horror. When he tried to run to her, however, his path was blocked by his highlander partner, his eyes glowing red and his axe prepared in his hands.

"TRY AN' TOUCH 'ER AGAIN AN' I'LL SPLIT YER 'EAD IN TWAIN!" Hector roared.

"Hector!"

Hector ran to Dia's side and lifted her carefully into him. "Don't ye worry, Dia. Da's got you. Hector's gonna take care o' ye, okay?"

Dia coughed and said weakly, "I'm sorry."

"What ye gotta be sorry fer, love?"

"Daddy...he said I needed to show him I could hold my own...if I wanted to go to Limsa."

"Did 'e?" Hector turned his head slowly to look to Oliver, and in a quiet fury, growled, "Ye ain't the marauders she's s'pose to worry 'bout."

Hector stood up, holding Dia in his arms as she laid in him limply, and carried her into the cottage without another word. As he held her, Oliver could see the blood stain her shirt, and smell her singed flesh, his stomach churning as he realized he did that to her. Once Hector closed the door, Oliver found a corner nearby and vomited violently.

---------

But a week after the Scions awoke in their bodies on the Source, Dia and Alisaie went shopping in the Sapphire Avenue Exchange in Ul'Dah, looking to buy some supplies for Tataru while she dealt with some other business away from the Rising Stones. While picking out some cleaning supplies from an apothecary, they hadn't noticed a scrawny brown-haired Hyur man nearby. He walked very casually but very close to the both of them, and without Dia noticing a single thing, stole some gil from her coinpurse.

Despite Dia's unawareness, Alisaie heard the jingling of money and saw the man walk away quickly. The youngest of the pair put two and two together and gave chase, leaving the eldest behind with the merchant, who Dia apologized to, asked him to hold the cleansers for them and ran after her. He turned a corner into the back alleys, but Alisaie was quick with a Corps-a-Corps and tackled him to the stony ground.

Alisaie turned the man around, grabbed him by the cuff, and screamed, "Do you realize who you just stole from? Do you even know?!"

"Urgh! Get off me!"

Dia appeared behind her in time for Alisaie to yell, "That's the Warrior of Light!"

His face grew pale with fear. His jaw trembled and his eyes grew wider and wider.

"If you have any sense, you'll give back what you took from her and never show your face again!"

"Alisaie", Dia took her shoulder calmly and tried to de-escalate the situation, "It's all right." With a scowl towards the man, she stood up as Dia asked him, "How much did you take?"

He showed her what he had taken, a small handful of gil. It was a pitifully small amount compared to what she kept on her person usually, never mind the fact that most people could only dream of being able to afford her usual gear. "Take it and go. Don't let us catch you doing that again."

He crawled back to standing and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Dia, what were you thinking? That was yours."

"What he took didn't even make a dent in my coinpurse anyway. Don't worry. I've plenty of money."

"That doesn't give him the right to take it from you without your permission."

"Nor is it fair to burn his face for what's really a pittance. Now come on, we've got supplies to buy."

"Unbelievable. You are unbelievable, Dia", Alisaie sighed in frustration.

-------

About one day ago, Estinien returned Dia to Ishgard from the Ragnarok. He left her in Aymeric's care, knowing full well that she would accept nowhere else to rest but Borel Manor.

At this point, Aymeric was in the Seat of the Lord Commander. Though he should have focused on his work, his thoughts distracted him. The idea that one of the most important people in his life laid in their bedchambers as hurt as she was made him tense. She just saved the universe from the ravages of despair itself. Why was he here when he could make himself useful to her? The war against Garlemald was effectively over, there was no war against the dragons anymore. At this point, his role as the Lord Commander was for bureaucratic purposes as Handeloup oversaw training of recruits and kept the knights working. The bulk of his work was papers and meetings through the House of Lords.

"My lord?"

Aymeric's focus returned to the waking world and he stared up at who just called him. Handeloup stood above him.

"May I speak freely with you?"

"But of course."

"Thank you." Handeloup cleared his throat before saying in a serious tone, "If my wife were to have returned to me in the state that you found Mistress Sito in, I don't think I'd be able to sleep, much less return to work for a while. Are you well?"

Aymeric frowned. "Ah. I'm afraid you caught me ruminating on the subject as well."

"'Tis difficult, I'm aware, but my lord, I wish to make it clear that I would be happy to undertake some more responsibilities for you should you wish to be more present for Mistress Sito. I know I would appreciate such a thing."

Aymeric put his quill down. "I'm unsure what could be done. While I wish to help her in whatever way I can, my duties do not stop here in the Congregation."

"That is true, but my lord, I believe I have an idea for that..."

Dia was half-asleep in bed in the Manor. The painkillers given to her by Captain Whitecape drained any ability to keep herself roused, so she laid there dazed and exhausted. She was ordered to strict bed rest and had no reason at this point to break it. That in mind, she hadn't noticed the sounds of a door opening and only came to when she felt a gentle kiss press against her forehead. She tilted her head as much as she could to see that Aymeric was the culprit. He sat down and took her hand.

"Hi", she smiled woozily. Her words slurred as she asked him, "What are you doing home? What time is it?"

"But a quarter-bell to noon. I'll be taking my work here."

"What?" Her smile dropped. "No no, you don't have to do that."

"If I leave you here alone, my guilty conscience will never allow me to finish any work."

"Oh, but G'raha and the twins and Angelbert, they're all here, remember?"

"And I'm not. 'Tis enough to make a man feel rather left out."

"Aw, I don't...I didn't mean to make you give up your work for me."

"But my work continues. I can handle a solid portion of it from my home study. If I've any need to attend sessions with the House of Lords, then I shall depart for that much, then I can return straight here."

He circled his thumb carefully around her hand. "And I'm afraid that if you didn't wish to take up my every waking thought, it fell on me not to fall in love with you, and I am far too late to stop that, even if I wanted to."

"Ayms..."

"You have saved us on countless occasions, Dia. It is only right that a team of people who love you overwhelmingly so find the time to care for you. You deserve so much more."

Dia breathed out of her nose. "Don't let me stop you from anything important though."

"You and Ishgard are ever my most paramount concerns, my dear. Worry not for me. Please."

The medication made her too drowsy to argue the point anymore. "All right." With that, she had no more energy and nodded back off. Aymeric brushed some hair out of her face and stood up.

This felt right to him.

[redroseashrey]

More pictures from the wedding!

Estinien promises not to jump out the window during the wedding, as long as there's sea food in the menu. And also because he loves his friend.

Hilda will go on to catch the bouquet, but anyone who claims to have seen it has their life threatened. 

Handeloup’s just happy to be invited. He brought his wife and kid, of course!

[congregenturanimarum]

OOC: I'll eventually re-do all of my muses pages to match the new theme but - - thats a lotta screens to re-take. That, and I'm tempted to add Gibrillont and Baucharldaire - one of the staff from the Leveilleur estate - here. But for now, I'm feeling really crap and I'm gonna vanish for a while.

[balladingbard]

Okay, hear me out, but I have an idea for the next island sanctuary quest.

The quest title? “A Much-Needed Respite.”

The synopsis? “After being caught working 72 hours straight with naught but tea and biscuits for energy, Aymeric de Borel was forced by vote in the House of Lords to finally take a vacation. With Artoirel taking over his governmental duties and Handeloup watching over the knights, Aymeric has been dragged escorted by Emmanellain and Sicard to a mysterious island, where sassy mammets and a Warrior of Light await.”

The task? “Complete fun activities until Aymeric’s relax-o-meter is full and he is no longer in burnout.”

Please, Square, I beg you - give our boy a vacation. ;-;