#haurchefant dying for him was very briefly eye-opening but there's enough of just Being Relied Upon To Probably Die in stormblood

[fooltofancy]

WoL asks question 8 for anyone you'd like! <3

8. how do they feel about the fame/infamy that comes with being a warrior of light/ darkness?

both, for giggles -

eli is a craftsman first and foremost, so he's familiar through familial business ventures with a bit of notoriety. never minded so much when someone recognized him for a fine pair of eyeglasses or gloves or boots, but being recognized as the warrior of light is something else entirely that he's not quite come to terms with. something itching and uncomfortable. without the echo and the responsibility he feels comes with it he'd put as much distance between himself and adventuring as possible.

not sure how those feelings are gonna develop, just yet, but i DO feel like he's better equipped to process the complicated emotions that come with wolhood than ilya is, so that's something. one day i will make it through more of his msq and find out.

ilya doesn't know who he is or what he wants on the best of days, so his experience as An Individual Of Note mostly consists of riding it like a wave - it's barely his business where he ends up, so why fight it? it took him an unnecessary amount of time to come to terms with the difference between growing up as a notably weird little guy loose in ul'dah and recognition as the warrior of light - the attention hasn't necessarily gone to his head, but he is very, very good at ignoring it. probably to his detriment.

i'd like to say he handles the attention responsibly (when he notices it), but that'd be generous of me. while he is, perhaps, over-aware of his responsibility to the scions (weird conduit to a god, good at murder; use responsibly), he does early in their relationship have a tendency to take advantage of his notoriety when he can. When both the relationship and the notoriety last, however, the attention begins to chafe. he was comfortable being a tool for better folk willing to use him for his abilities beyond the scope of his own intention, but inhabiting a space where people you care about are willing to die so that you can keep living (haurchefant was a shock and it really only goes downhill from there) is distressing, and he's not really equipped to deal with the personal consequences of being considered a hero.

(ffxiv wol questions)