#hint of ffxiv at the end

[corbokkur]

My Azem, Atlas, presenting his newest concept to the Words of Halmarut (with some special guests from Elpis/the Bureau of the Architect in attendance!).

Bonus shot I made while setting up the npcs for this picture:

[nozomikei]

Maybe I'm evil blah blah blah, but y'know what I love in a Hythlodaeus/Hades fic?

When Hyth's opinion of himself is completely in the shitter and it's explored and intensified.

I'm talking eating disorders, suicidal ideation, self-harm (of all types, not just the obvious), breaking up with Hades to 'help' him find somebody better. Gimme it all!

This brilliant man thinks his greatest contribution during the final days is as just another sacrifice, energy to charge the summoning of Zodiark. In Ultima Thule he addresses his contributions as "a bit part" (Wrong!!! He is so essential to our success at every stage! He is so, so loved and precious!!!)

I love seeing the belief that he's untalented and replaceable behind the endless patience and sweet smiles. The optimism about those he cares for that hides the fear that that is all he brings to the table, so he should never seem unhappy or others might realize they don't need him around.

He was scouted for the Convocation! He was the head of the Bureau of the Architect! He has perhaps the strongest ability to see souls of anyone!

But he talks down his abilities as a bard, as a user of creation magics.

I love fics where Hades, or others dear to Hythlodaeus, finally catch a glimpse behind the gentle smile to the pain, and struggle with low self-esteem, and start working to show him how wrong he is. Show him that he has and deserves their love and care. That they won't leave him if he is less than perfectly amiable and cheerful.

[emc2beans]

#FFXIVWrite Day 17: Noisome

(Vague future semi-au in which Alphinaud and Llewellyn are married bc I'm a sucker for domestic fluff. Idk just take it.)

In the years following an official retirement from adventuring, Alphinaud had found that his life had not gotten any less complicated. His choice to help expand and improve Idyllshire at Llewellyn’s side had not gone over terribly well with his parents who had wanted him to return to Sharlayan. Instead he had decided to ‘shore up a ruin’ and ‘marry an undereducated Eorzean delinquent’ (his father’s words, not his mother’s and decidedly not his). At least his mother had imbued some sense into the man, eventually, and Fourchenault calling Idyllshire a ruin would come back to bite him.

When the Sharlayan Forum found out that their abandoned colony had been taken over and was nearing the point of becoming a proper township, they had come to the logical conclusion that the so-called ‘squatters’ either needed to leave or adhere to Sharlayan’s authority. After Alphinaud facilitated significant back-and-forth negotiations, Idyllshire agreed to be part of Sharlayan under the condition that they would have at least one representative on the Forum.The people of Idyllshire had then elected the only person who was truly versed in Sharlayan politics which, of course, was Alphinaud. This was an unexpected loophole that meant he was serving on the Forum at the same time as his father, something that gave both of them no end of consternation. Needless to say, Alphinaud did not have many days off. 

Thankfully, Llewellyn’s own work on improving Idyllshire meant that he had plenty of time to take care of the home he had refurbished for them. Following his dream of being the star’s greatest house husband made Llewellyn very happy, and it also gave him ample time to do things like go camping with his friends in the Black Shroud for a week. He was due home from such a trip soon. Alphinaud had managed to configure his schedule in a way that meant he was back from Sharlayan a few bells ahead of when Llewellyn was supposed to return in hopes of surprising him. He had tidied the house and was now watching the path up to Idyllshire’s Aetheryte from his study. As luck would have it, he was able to catch a glimpse of his husband walking down towards their front door. 

Alphinaud headed down the main stairs to the foyer and excitedly opened the double doors, only to deflate when Llewellyn was not there nor was he farther up the path. Confused, Alphinaud stepped out onto the front patio and looked around. Llewellyn’s pack was leaning against the patio stairs, but the roegadyn man was nowhere to be found at the front of the house. 

Confused, Alphinaud walked around the house and through Llewellyn’s (work-in-progress) garden to see that the gate to the back yard was sitting slightly ajar. He could already hear Llewellyn talking in a baby voice, interrupted occasionally by the excited ‘kweh’s of Pip, the beloved chocobo for whom the entire back yard had been designed. 

“I should have known that you would say hello to Pip before me.” Alphinaud stood in the gateway and laughed as Llewellyn looked up from giving Pip a scratch.

“Wh- You’re home!” Llewellyn grinned and jogged across the yard to scoop up his husband for a hug. 

“As are you! I managed to finish work early and I had hoped to surprise you.” Alphinaud looped his arms around Llewellyn’s neck, pulling him down slightly into a kiss. They lingered there for a moment until an awful smell hit Alphinaud’s nose. He pulled back a bit. ��Llewellyn, love, you reek.” 

“I’ve been in the woods for a week, not exactly a lot of opportunities to wash.” Llewellyn laughed, not letting go of Alphinaud’s waist. “I also haven’t really shaved.” He rubbed his cheek against Alphinaud’s face, making him recoil further from the unpleasant texture. 

“Go inside and bathe. Now.” Alphinaud pushed him back playfully with his face scrunched up in mock disgust, making Llewellyn release him at last. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll go bathe.” Llewellyn walked towards the front of the house, then paused to look back over his shoulder. “Can I expect you to join me?”

“Absolutely not.” Alphinaud shut the back gate behind them. “You are filthy. Go bathe or you’ll be sleeping with the chocobo.” He shooed a laughing Llewellyn inside, unable to keep the smile off of his face. 

[displacer-beasts]

Yeah the parallels between Venat sundering the world vs Solas creating the Veil - both fundamentally changing the world and the people in it so deeply that it's basically like they destroyed the old world.

Emet Selch and Solas both trying to undo that and bring the world back to what it used to be (and inhabitants that used to be immortal and more magically powerful)

The destruction and death toll that it would cost for either of them to succeed. The fact that their idealized view of the past is flawed due to their grief at what they lost, so they ignore or forget the bad aspects of that time.

The inhabitants of the current world fighting for their survival, since bringing back the old world means invoking a calamity with a huge death toll, and the 'ends justify the means' argument doesn't exactly work for the people who will die in the transition to this supposedly "better" world.

Although FFXIV did a much better job at convincing me that the current world is improving and worth saving. Since it had a lot more time to show the injustices and terrible side, but it made the way the world was changing for the better feel more impactful. To be fair, they had multiple expansions to set this up and so the payoff felt earned. Seeing everyone the WoL helped coming together to help them defeat the Endsinger was incredible.

Also seeing the Unsundered World and seeing the events that led to its downfall (and seeing the Dead Ends which showed a similar utopian world that fell to despair eventually just the same) makes its fall seem inevitable.

In Veilguard it seemed like they were afraid to openly have that debate, making Solas's plans so vague and undefined, ignoring the plight of the elves and mages. That memory where Mythal talks about the modern elves "don't deserve to have the world they love ripped away to sooth [Solas's] guilty conscience" kind of falls flat if you played the other Dragon Age games and know how the elves are treated.

And since Veilguard didn't want to make it seem like Solas has a point, they ignored all the slavery and segregation and mistreatment. And so they end with keeping the status quo without actually improving anything or hinting at the situation improving eventually. The opposite in fact, since the South gets overrun by the Blight and is implied to be basically destroyed.

I need to make a 5 hour video comparing FFXIV Shadowbringers + Endwalker to Dragon Age: Inquisition + Veilguard, and then you'll see

the wildest part is that, writing-wise, there's an equivalent scene or situation or character to almost everything they were trying to do in Dragon Age, except it was actually pulled off with cohesion in FFXIV. So it would be hard to gather all the comparative examples.

[wtf-amiru]

I know most of us have moved on from it but I'm still thinking about voice claims :3

Surprisingly settled on arannis' right out the gate, his was easy, Miru still needs to cook a bit longer, I'm not 100% yet bc I chose her first and never listened to anyone else so I gotta just drop in on a few other candidates to make up my mind and Yomi is so hard. She's so hard, internally I know what she sounds like, I have to find her externally now and it's haaaarrrrrddddd

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Chris, I suffer of simpinitis and the only cure is you to write for Arlecchino (just a joke don't feel pressured especially if you end up not liking her also good luck if you're pulling for her)

(Genshin Impact) Arlecchino, Lynette, Xianyun, and Barbara's S/O getting scared by a spider

I don't plan on pulling for her because Clorinde is showing up, but FEAR NOT ANON! Quoth the FFXIV:

Arlecchino watches with vague amusement as S/O suddenly leaps back, nearly into her arms.

She catches them with minimal effort as her eyes slowly track tiny movement on the floor.

A spider was skittering across the floor at a slow pace, making her gaze trail back to S/O.

(Arlecchino) "Spiders are not very likely to attack humans without being provoked. And even then, that is under the most dire of circumstances-"

(S/O) "I-I know, but...they're just creepy!"

(Arlecchino) "Indeed."

With a hum of acknowledgement, she almost drops S/O to the ground as they barely caught themselves in time.

Arlecchino walks over to the spider and gently puts it in a cup before releasing it outside.

She crosses her arms as distant memories from her past came trickling in.

(Arlecchino) "You wouldn't have liked Bambi."

(S/O) "Who's that?"

(Arlecchino) "A pet spider that I once owned."

(S/O) Of course you owned one...

They were smart enough to not say that out loud, but Arlecchino had the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.

She probably knew what they were thinking anyway.

Even when she was spacing out, Lynette could easily spot something moving in the corner of her eye.

(Lynette) "Oh, a spider-"

(S/O) "WHAT?!"

S/O immediately balled up onto the couch, head rapidly darting back and forth.

(S/O) "W-WHERE?!"

Lynette's ears twitched from how loud S/O was being, but she easily grabbed the spider in a cup, noting how S/O was inching away from her.

(Lynette) "It's not even a dangerous kind, just a regular-"

(S/O) "I don't care what it is, just throw it out!"

Lynette smiled and gently let it escape out the house.

As she sat back down next to S/O, her tail swished playfully, though Lynette herself was stoic as ever.

(Lynette) "What are you going to do when i'm not here?"

(S/O) "D-Don't tease me!"

Xianyun adjusts her glasses when she sees a spider on the table.

S/O almost dropped their food completely at the sight of it, while Xianyun looked slightly annoyed.

(Xianyun) "How unsightly for a dinner table."

With a small gust of wind, she flicks it away, making S/O leap out their seat.

(S/O) "GAH! D-Don't fling it at me!"

(Xianyun) "One was not aiming at you, dear. Do be careful, otherwise your plate will drop."

S/O took a deep breath of relief while Xianyun continued to eat.

(Xianyun) "Hm...One has an idea for an invention. We could construct you a machine that can take care of household pests like that."

(S/O) "...W-Would you?"

Xianyun suddenly beams with pride, a gleam of light reflecting off her glasses.

(Xianyun) "Fear not, One will make sure you are never bothered by a spider ever again! We will get started straight away after dinner."

What ended up happening was Xianyun constructed a machine that was too good at killing household pests, to the point it broke parts of the wall.

Both Barbara and S/O yelp when they see a spider speed along the tiles of the Cathedral.

(S/O) "Aw man, it's going up to the ceiling!"

(Barbara) "I-It's not going to drop on our heads, is it?!"

The two exchanged a look that said neither were wanting to find out the answer.

Accepting defeat, the two quickly exited the cathedral out onto the plaza.

(S/O) "Do you think we could ask one of the sisters to help us?"

(Barbara) "U-Um...well-"

It didn't take long for either of them to realize that it'd be absolutely mortifying to ask a sister for something so trivial.

Instead, they decided to practice their singing outside.

Which arguably, was worse since spiders could be anywhere, but it didn't seem to cross their minds as they slowly became comfortable again and laughed the situation off.

Until the next day they forgot about it and entered the cathedral, only to be jumpscared by it as it sat on the pews they were at.

[supermarioterrarium]

I've got a pet theory for the ongoing story in FFXIV.

There are lots of little bits and pieces that alone might just be cute nods, but together make me think that FFXIV is and has been laying the groundwork for an eventual Chrono Trigger-inspired expansion or at least a more significant plot beat.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR FFXIV THROUGH DAWNTRAIL

One of the key elements is the infamous "keening from the earth" mentioned in relation to the Final Days by one of Emet-Selch's Amaurotine simulacrum Ancients. I say "infamous" because come Endwalker, it felt like a dropped detail -- Meteion didn't really fit that description, and nothing we're told about how those Final Days played out really brings it up again.

But I think another plot element is being hinted at in other places that could very well provide us with the source of that "keening".

It's a little odd that we got another Ronka-esque dungeon at the end of Tender Valley this expac, complete with its own serpent! The Yok Huy simply.. finding the ruins suggests that this ruin and the Ronkan ruins on the first share a common origin -- meaning their inspiration probably comes from before the sundering -- perhaps even from before the Ancients themselves, considering its architecture doesn't really share any similarities with structures we know the Ancients built. That period is a blind spot for everyone.

We learned about something else that existed prior to the Ancients in Endwalker's patches -- The Heart of Sabik, AKA the Black Auracite. It came from somewhere not of Etheirys -- somewhere else in the Sea of Stars -- from, or at least from the same place as, the being known as Ultima.

It's interesting, then, that when Pallas Athena manifests, her arena / realm is not only wreathed with the eye motif from the previous fight with Athena, but also with.. what seems to be the body of an unimaginably large serpent.

To rephrase the idea here, through P12S, the concept of the Serpent is connected both to the Ancients -- beings who lived and worked in places like Elpis, which shares more than a few similarities with the Kingdom of Zeal -- and with a dread being that hails from outer space.

That's what I think is "keening". A great serpent that, long before the disaster of the sundering or even before the Ancients' civilization was the dominant one on the star, burrowed its way deep beneath the crust of the planet.

That's a thought, though: what about the sundering? If this serpent existed beforehand, it would be in a similar state to the one we ultimately find Zodiark in, right? Well, before Dawntrail, we know that the star's been rejoined to its reflections seven times, meaning it's 8/14ths of the way to being "whole" again. And now in Dawntrail, we have Heritage Found, a partial "dimensional fusion" between a shard and the Source.

If this counts as a rejoining without a corresponding calamity, then perhaps in the coming expansions, Preservation will use Dimensional Fusion in their conflict with the WoL and, inadvertently, rejoin the serpent as well. Zero and Golbez's efforts to rebuild the 13th, in combination with Dimensional Fusion, could mean that a total (partial) rejoining actually becomes possible!

So, if you've played Chrono Trigger and you're convinced by all of this, why don't I just come out and call the serpent Lavos?

Well, I'm not sure if SE's going to be quite that explicit.

After all, Krile's parents were named Alayla and Robor, not Ayla and Robo. They have the good sense to obfuscate it at least a little.

[meatball-headache]

I dont have a non-spoilery screenshot for The Sacrifice, so, please enjoy this survey!

Chiclet's not allowed to read this yet, so shhhh

Howling... full moon... heh. He's a Wereframe.

So, once again I'm captivated by Warframe's approach to storytelling. It's unique, in my experience—and I'll be glad to admit my experience is pretty limited. MMOs tend to dominate all your time, y'know?

I've heard how with The Second Dream they started to take the story in a different direction, that is, they introduced a lot more cinematic scenes—and, man, they pack a punch. Honestly, I think introducing this style later in the game, years down the road for some players and still many months for myself—it's very effective. I keep using analogies like playing Tetris to level 100 and then suddenly you get a scene that introduces the pieces' names. If Warframe had been this from the beginning, it still would have been good, but the impact of the surprise wouldn't have been there, and that moment still shines so brightly for me. The game would just be a fun grind to kill some time without it, but with that "This is what you are" scene, the whole game just took on a profound, sacred aspect that can't be topped.

...and yet...

No, no, The Sacrifice isn't better than The Second Dream, but, I am surprised. See, I've long known two things: one, you can look at the Codex and see all the quests in the game. Angels of the Zariman is there right from the beginning, except it says "Prerequisite: The New War." Whispers in the Walls is there right from the beginning, except it says "Prerequisite: The New War." Jade Shadows is there from the beginning, except it says "Prerequisite: The New War."

The New War does not appear in my Codex.

The second thing I've long known? The New War is going to be a big deal.

There's something else that's been stuck in my craw for a long time. What's the Ropalolyst? There's a mission on Jupiter that can't be done because it requires the quest The Chimera: Prologue. That quest... also doesn't appear in my Codex? So, there are some quests that aren't in the Codex...

Compared to FFXIV, there's no comparison. A classic MMORPG is quest-dense with wall-to-wall dialogue and almost nonstop cutscenes. On the other end of the coin, the other type of game I'm most familiar with is Soulsbornes, where there's almost no story in-game; it's more similar to the NES classics where you turn on the game, press Start, and fight stuff until you see credits. Warframe, of course, doesn't need to be FFXIV, but what's exciting is the hint that there's something behind it all, and there's still some secrets I don't know about.

I did Apostasy: Prologue and was really surprised to find out that it's a one-mission quest that sets up the next story quest. I wonder if it released at the same time as The Sacrifice? I was thinking I'd do Apostasy tonight, The Sacrifice tomorrow... well, since Apostasy was basically just one cutscene, I had to do The Sacrifice. I'll get into the details later, but...

What the...

Well. We found the Chimera Prologue. Hell, we found the Chimera, didn't we?

This is what I mean. Once again, I'm astounded by the game's turns. So, Prelude to War has... chapters?! That's never been a thing before. That explains why Chimera Prologue wasn't in my Codex. Maybe The New War is one of these chapters? No, no, for what a big deal The New War is, it must be its whole own system. It must be something as big as Duviri. It's got to be something.

None of the quests in this game have been big enough to warrant chapters. I'm guessing it's not that each "chapter" is just its own mission, no. Each chapter must be the size of a normal quest, right? Around 3-5 missions, cutscenes between a couple...

Just want to throw this in, I really like how Warframe just doesn't give a shit about throwing something weird at you without explanation. You get an objective "Search the lab." Search for what? Is it glowing? Am I supposed to use my scanner on it? Turn into the kid and blast it with my void beam? Walk up to it and press the button? Am I looking for a console to use, an item to pick up, damage to get curious about? I appreciate that Warframe seems to trust the player to figure it out. They trust the player to figure out that there's something to figure out. ...which might be a little optimistic on their part, because I did have to look up what to do on those Kuva siphon missions...

FFXIV's narrative is massive and non-stop. I have to wait four months for the next patch, but every patch always ends with a big fight, and then Y'shtola puzzling over some magical mystery, saying, "I'll let you know when I've figured something out." When the patch comes out, you talk to her in the same place, "Perfect timing! I just wanted to let you know I've figured something out." A new player would get uninterrupted flow and never know when one patch ends and another begins, unless they clue in on the little narrative trick. But, like I said, me, I've always played patches day one, and then I have months between patches.

If I played Warframe the same way... well, the way I'm playing Warframe now, is that I'm going at an absolute snail's pace, tiptoeing my way through the quests and spending a lot of time leveling things and grinding all the time.

I'm not explaining myself properly. Let me try again.

Warframe's quests released months or more apart, as did FFXIV's. But FFXIV's are meant to be continuous. Warframe's feel like they need to have space between them, because it's not a continuous narrative from one to the next. I'm not saying the story is disjointed or makes no sense; but imagine if it were FFXIV, and you do the quest where you fight Ifrit and all that, and then the next quest is to do the banquet and fight Titan, and then the next quest is to fight Garuda. Played back to back, it'd feel like there's vast gaps between them, both narratively and level-wise.

Maybe I just have a shit memory for lore? Warframe's quests always feel like they're talking about characters I should be extremely familiar with. Or, maybe I'm just used to less-well-written games that explicitly hand you reminders of these characters that haven't been mentioned in several minutes.

So, The Sacrifice is all about Ballas. I don't really know who Ballas is, but this quest has the feeling of "Finally, we're going to take on Ballas." But, I have heard about him. In The Second Dream, we see that Margulis was talking to Ballas. He might've been mentioned in Chains of Harrow? Or, no... I think it was The Silver Grove, where we had dialogue from I don't remember who, someone who was building Warframes for Ballas, I think, and regretted it because they were doing horrible things, so her last Warframe was Titania, to protect the forest. But where I know Ballas from the most is the song, "For Narmer." I don't know the context in-game, but you can't listen to "We All Lift Together" on Youtube without getting recommended the rest. There's a lyric that says "Praise the wise and mighty Ballas" in it. I thought they were saying "balance" at first, but then I thought, are they saying someone's name?

Ballas is a little like Ludwig from Bloodborne. If you've been paying attention, you have hints and snippets of this guy's role in the story. If you're like me, you take one little hint, dwell on it, obsess over it, and when the grand reveal finally comes, oh how grand it is! Ludwig, Ballas, Ketenramm... okay, maybe not Ketenramm.

Warframe has this unshakable feeling that there was some plot between quest beats that I missed. Same thing with just... the game. Ghoul Purge! Thermia Fractures! ...do I know what that's about? Was there some quest to introduce those, and now they're just in the game? It's like fighting Yojimbo or Typhon at the Gold Saucer when you've been playing FFXIV for three weeks and you're level 37. Am I supposed to know who this is? Oh well, gotta do my dailies! Or the... Rathuum? Where you fight... I had to look up her name... Kela De Thaym, on Sedna. The thing has this feeling like we're old rivals, her dialogue suggests she's finally going to get us for all the times we've foiled her before! But, lady, we just met you. Actually, we haven't even met you! We just showed up at this new node and you're going, "Finally we settle things!"

Don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining, it's just a very unique feeling about the game's whole quest style.

There's something else, too. There always is, you know me.

You ever get into a new series, books, movies, games, whatever? There's already three seasons but you're just finding out about it now, so you eat it all up and you're excited to learn there's going to be a new season next year. It comes and you watch it and... it just feels different? They got new writers, or the pacing is weird, something's just not clicking. And then next year another new season and, yeah it's just not as good. Or, music, people do this with music all the time, right?

When I first got into Warframe, Angels of the Zariman was the new patch. I didn't play it, obviously, don't know anything about it, but, I wonder if, when I get to that point, then everything from then on is going to feel like "new" Warframe, and just not have the same impact as the "original" stuff? I know me; I'm certain I'm going to be overly aware of the dividing line, and look for changes.

Also? In The Sacrifice, we learn that Margulis was sentenced to the Jade light. There's a new Warframe named Jade, and in fact a whole new quest called Jade Shadows. Clearly, this "Jade" thing has been long foreshadowed (lol) and must tie into the story deeply. I just thought it was a cool new Warframe they made because they didn't have one starting with J already. My playing these old quests with hints of knowledge of the future is an interseting perspective; anyone playing these things back when they were new wouldn't have this "Ah, so this is where Jade comes from!" moment... but at the same time, they get what I won't, they get a "Holy shit they're finally making a Jade Warframe?!" (Now that I think about it, that does kind of explain why this warranted a whole new Eximus type...)

Now, the actual quest.

What the FUCK just happened?

After dealing with Rell's psyche and releasing or destroying Harrow in the Void, or whatever we did, there's something odd in our personal quarters. When we go in, we suddenly find ourselves on Lua, where we find... the pod containing the actual Lotus? And then Ballas just... shows up, and takes her away? But, Ballas is one of the Orokin, the people that were annihilated by the Warframes in the Old War (I think) ... how long ago? A couple years? A couple thousand years? I think there were some lore snippets along the lines of, after the Orokin fell, the Grineer and Corpus took over the system. The Grineer used to be strong and competent, but cloning errors began to creep in generation after generation, so some time must have transpore since the Old War. We have extremely overgrown Orokin ruins on Deimos. And, Ballas's dialogue suggests he's been around for a bazillion years.

What happened? Why did Ballas wait for us to arrive to take the Lotus away? Did we have to lead him to her? We found magic voices from the Lotus asking to be freed... is this what she's always wanted? Or was that a memory from when she was like, imprisoned before her execution? The other lines do seem to be the latter, so. Who was it that Ballas turned into Umbra? Does it matter? Is it supposed to be someone we know? Why does Ballas have a long Bloodborne arm? Why is Ballas a blue Orokin and Isaah is just like a dude?

All rhetorical questions, as always, but this is what I'm asking for real. Am I forgetting something? Or am I meant to wonder what's going on, try to figure out the missing pieces? These cutscenes are as cinematic as anything in Final Fantasy, but the story is as Swiss-cheesed as any Soulsborne. Pieces are missing and I don't know what's going on, but it's being presented as if I already have the setup, as if I already know the context.

And, again. I love this style. It's completely fascinating and captivating. I'm not being critical, I know it sounds like I'm just complaining about being confused, but, that's not the case. I like being confused, because it's just the right level. There's plenty of story and characters, and enough lore and just... this vibe to suggest there's more. Ordis chirps every now and then, "Do you remember the Old War? Ordis seems to have... misplaced those memories." That's enough to make you go, whoa whoa whoa, what? ...and now whenever you play, you're looking for any tangential reference to this mysterious "Old War." Nora on the radio talks about Alad V's experiments, and now you know this mad scientist is out there something, up to something strange... It's not always a throughline narrative like FF, but you get these pieces to sort of color a vibe, so to speak. The world gradually fills in, and every now and then the dam breaks and it all spills forth, and you get all the water you could ever want, but... gosh, it's pretty messy sometimes.

Somehow, I've lucked into the ideal way to play this game, I think. At least, I'm having a lot of fun. I look up builds on websites, and they'll have powerful mods like Umbral Intensify. Umbral! I know about Primed, but Umbral!? Where do I get that! ...and then, suddenly, I have it, and it's like the stars have aligned and I've achieved enlightenment. At long last, this mythical relic has entered my hand! And, not gonna lie, it's kind of a profound moment. Now I know. Now I know where this important and mysterious item comes from!

There's so much to this game. Eidolon hunts, Kuva liches, sorties—these I've just recently unlocked, in terms of progression, and I could spend ages grinding them for the latest paths to strength. And there's more out there that I know very little or nothing about. I have "Arbitration" on my menu, but I can't select it until I clear the star chart, which includes a few things I can't do, like the Ropalolyst, and things I'm not up to yet, like Zariman, and things I can't even fathom a guess at, like the half-dozen remaining nodes on Deimos. I've vaguely heard about Icarnons? Something about a special mode for weapons? And recently I was watching a video explaining damage types, and he mentioned Archon shards? I have no idea what that is! But this man is shooting a bow that explodes ten times for 1,000,000 damage each hit... I can sometimes do a million damage with Baruuk's exalted weapon's charged heavy attack... And, there's probably more cool mods out there that are just super rare from an extremely specific source... I've heard of Adaptation and Growing Power, a couple other types of "Power," I think, so those must be from... who knows? C rotation in a rescue mission on Sedna? I know Vor shows up after round 1 survival on Mot in the Void, and he drops some unique mods, so maybe other places have some weird gimmick like that? I just don't know, and I probably won't without looking it up.

There is SO. MUCH. To this game. It's absurd. I've never played anything that comes close, even FFXIV, with as huge a game as it is, its content is much more samey—consistent tomestone systems, raid loot designs, dungeon length, whatnot. Nothing compares to Warframe, it's absolutely ridiculous.

And?

All this is free. Completely free. The only things you can only get with real cash money are cosmetic skins and syandanas and color palettes, I think. You can play the entire story and campaign for free, you can get every Warframe for free—getting enough storage to keep them all is a different story, though... Nora has some slots you can grind for sometimes but mostly you gotta pay—you can get all the Prime Warframes and weapons for free, there's no paid version of the season pass, no subscribers-only zones or Warframes or quests...

If I had found Warframe before FFXIV... I probably wouldn't have liked it. Original Warframe seemed... really different. I mean, current Warframe didn't even grab me until the third or fourth time around. But, I mean, what'm I playing now? I played Dawntrail, I logged in as soon as the servers went live and I sank deep into the story for a couple months. I took my time, exploring, grinding all my jobs first, and then as soon as the story was done—I went and did the post-game dungeons and raids :p But as soon as that was done, I just kinda... stopped playing. I haven't capped tomes once in Dawntrail; I used to do it religiously. I haven't even been getting all my Arcadion NM loot. I love FFXIV, it's my absolute baby, thinking about it, reminiscing about it, listening to it—my god, Soken's a genius—pondering the story, looking at fanart... but when it comes to pure gameplay? It's... dry. Combat is great—for an MMO. I find action RPGs like Warframe, Bloodborne, these kind of things a lot more fun, in terms of pure gameplay. And, look, every dungeon is formulaic, so many of the jobs play so similarly to others... Then you go to Warframe where, yes, missions are extremely formulaic, but you also have randomized maps, Stalker attacks, Eximus waves; and every Warframe plays so different from every other. Every weapon is different! Most games seem to just be a sliding scale of "This shoots fast but does less damage," "This shoots slow and does lots of damage," "This does lots of damage but is not accurate." Warframe has "This is an assault rifle," "This is an assault rifle. If you empty the magazine then it drains life from enemies nearby." "This is an assault rifle. It shoots missiles that explode," "This shoots grenades. You have to press this button to detonate them manually."

All right, folks. I'm tired of writing. To summarize: I love Warframe, this quest was great. Thanks for reading. Good night.

[bills-pokedex]

To whom it may concern (Bebe and Cassius):

I'm sure we'll all well aware of the current event surrounding a certain Unovan(?) entrepreneur who stylizes himself as a genius. It is therefore unnecessary to show me news about his latest "innovative endeavors" for the express purpose of "watching [me], an inventor, age about ten years every time."

So to get it out of the way for the thirteenth and hopefully final time:

Yes, I'm aware.

No, I don't know how he got a stainless steel tank, a rocket cobbled together from spare parts, a self-driving car that occasionally ignites into a ball of flames while trapping its driver in thanks to multiple design flaws, or the brain chip past an ethics committee.

Yes, I am "salty" that I made one mistake with one of my inventions, and now I'm constantly scrutinized by the Pokémon Cutting-Edge Technology Research Institute's ethics committee.

No, I do not want the brain chip.

Yes, I want to study the brain chip.

The fifth point is out of morbid curiosity as to how it got past an ethics committee, not respect.

Hopefully, this clears things up.

Best, Bill

-

{From the Mun:

I found this in the drafts, and I thought it would be hilarious to bring this out and tack on an update post while I'm at it.

But the biggest thing is, I'm . . . actually leaving Tumblr. Now, the main reason for that is my main got super borked up. I've been told by my followers over there it's not shadowbanning, but I'm pretty sure it's random-ass shadowbanning. I cannot receive asks, I can't tag people, I don't have DMs, and I don't show up in notes. As for why, I can't fathom. For the most part, I've kept my nose pretty clean on that account, other than that one time somebody in the writeblr community kinda lost it and tried to use a bunch of random people as a scapegoat for drama reasons. Yeah, idk.

Anyway, the point is, I've submitted a ticket a few months ago and then . . . never heard back. And honestly, for personal reasons, I'm not really inclined on remaking.

Personal reasons being I'm gunning for writing an actual book, as you might know from my last-ish post? Like, non-Pokémon book. Though I'll admit some bits might be familiar to those of you who've hung around the blog for a while. Here's a hint: take powerverse, gender swap it, role swap it, and then stick it into FFXIV and add more steampunk. It's been cooking for the past year you haven't seen me, and I'm aiming to start pitching it to agents by the end of the year. If you'd like to follow along, if you're also a writer who would like to make more writing friends, or if you just like my writing for some reason and want to keep up with me, you can find me at jaxwolffwrites on both Bluesky and Twitter. Bsky moreso, but you'll get progress on this project on either of those other platforms.

Now, I will say this: just to be fair, I'm doing three things:

Closing the askbox. Admittedly, if you've been sending me asks for the past three months, I haven't seen them anyway. Sooooo I probably should've done that ages ago. Sorry about that.

Answering any ask I've saved to the drafts. Any ask. Please note that I don't know if the borking I've described above extends to this blog as well, so Bill won't be replying to replies or reblogs/tags. Apologies for that in advance. There are 49 posts in the drafts, and these will come out fairly slowly as I continue to keep up with my writing schedule on the other project.

Leaving this blog up as an archive. Assuming Tumblr doesn't nuke the main and the backup account that was created in an effort to avoid total nuking, and assuming Tumblr doesn't nuke this blog itself, I really want to leave this up so you can enjoy this pretty much forever onward. You all are the reason why this blog has gone on for so long, and I want to preserve this blog as a thank you for following me for so long.

So yes, after I clear the drafts, you'll likely see one last farewell from Bill and Lanette, and then that will be that. To everyone who's followed, thank you so much for following and supporting this blog over the years. As many ups and downs as running this had, I still look back on every moment as one fun adventure.

So thank you, and take care.}

[nothingxs]

FFXIV Write // Stable

She was up first.

A quick rise, a wipe of her eyes; a quick trip to the shower and restroom for all the things one does in the morning.

A tousle of her hair; not like it ever needed much.

A trip upstairs, a fetch of the pan, dodo eggs retrieved from a basket. Butter on the pan, eggs cracked into a bowl and scrambled. A pair of links of sausage retrieved from their hanging spot against a board on the wall and sliced open, and some sliced bacon fetched from the icebox.

The smell of bacon, eggs and sausage filling the room as another pan toasts slices of a crusty bread.

Early breakfast for her, a plate reserved on the side for Das, who she goes downstairs to bother and give pats and rubs to, to encourage to wake up. She heads back up, she scarfs breakfast down, and after another trip downstairs to plant a kiss on Das' cheek as she is on the way to stumble to the shower, it's off to routine daily business.

Daily business involves a lot of checking in with folk.

A linkpearl call out to Vex, check on how she's doing, halfway across the damn Star over in Thavnair. Different things than hunting this sun, it seems. She has a new idea for something to serve. She's already sent a courier with new spices. There's brief chatter about the latest changes to the bar and how some of the neighbors are.

A linkpearl call out to Reny, who politely answers as she is getting ready to continue writing a thesis statement on arcanima and its parallels with conjury, as well as many curious (and odd) applications. She has been at this for several moons, now. She still has new things to talk about. Celica will never not be impressed by this.

A quick visit to the local market; this sun is a good one to stock up on the goods Vex will need by the end of the sennight to prepare what will be on the menu for the Dusk and Dawn when it next opens, and all of it is made in bulk and left in the ice chests to be used next week. A package is already there with the promised spices.

Celica will look into how she gets things that fast to her some other sun. Not this one.

She gets to a lot of the preparation in the morning—vegetables are prepped and cut; marinades are put together according to a recipe Vex has separated. Bulk loads of poultry and red meat are cut to reasonable sizes and separated; utmost care placed in keeping them separate and everything as clean as she can. She prepares dozens of skewers for incoming orders, humming along to a tune as she does.

Later in the sun, she's making linkpearl calls and visits around Ul'dah. Some are to clarify some questions—the Ossuary LOVES to harangue her about things regarding that strange Terminal she has, and Celica had the good sense to be the person she put as the contact for it. She doesn't know enough about how it works, but she is affable and clever enough to distract and parry most of the prodding without ever giving too much of it away. Das would get irritated too fast and maybe put the license in jeopardy; Lia would give up the plot the moment she felt danger lurking over her shoulder.

Celica telling them about how cool the fights it enables and dropping hints and vagaries of what it can stop seems to satisfy them enough.

Her shoulder bothers her a bit throughout the sun. She spends time stretching it, holding a lamp post and pulling gently in one direction, doing light exercises and rotating it. Best to keep it limber. It's been a little since she shoved Imogen out of the way of a falling boulder, but the injury still nags her. Charlette likely wants to follow up on the damage. She has not been very good about returning to the CETEA at all (though she makes time to show up, here and there, to gatherings and outings). She promises quietly to herself she'll be better about it.

Later.

This sun, she's wound up in a familiar space right outside Ul'dah; close to the place where she made a little trade many Twelvemoons ago. She's not sure why she's wound up there.

She's not sure why she can spy a be-hatted Keeper woman there, who is suspiciously sitting exactly where she once sat and waited for someone else. "Spader."

"Where?" came the woman's reply.

A bell or two of catching up as the sun begins to sink in the sky. A quick farewell and a promise of a linkpearl call, soon, and in half a bell she is already back in the bottom floor of the Dusk and Dawn, where her heavy top is discarded for a lighter and tighter one, and she gets to doing all of the exercises and training she normally does. No better way to keep herself fit, after all.

A bell later and she's lying on the ground, staring at the wooden ceiling, breathing heavily and covered in sweat.

…It seems hard to believe, given how things were just a few years ago.

But life, right now? Even as busy as it is? It's… safe. It's stable.

Dare she say it, it's… comforting.

Maybe things can get better, after all.

[notreallysorryxx]

#”Stay”

Being the Warrior of Light is getting to you, but someone is there to share the burden with you.

Warnings: none

Characters: Alphinaud

Note: I wrote this wanting angst, and ended up with some comfort. My first oneshot in the FFXIV fandom. Although I’ve been playing for almost one year, I never posted anything for it. Words: 352

Arguments between you and Alphinaud were few and far between, but every so often one of you would snap due to stress. Today was one of those few days. It had been many a sleepless and anxiety-inducing night during the days leading up to the Final Days. And when the Final Days were averted, all that bottled-up stress came spilling out. Alphinaud found himself the unfortunate target of the bottled-up stress. “You do not have to carry the worries of the entirety of Eorzea’s on your back, Alphinaud!” Alphinaud flinched. He had never really seen or heard you this angry. He wasn’t really sure what to do when you just started crying and yelling at him. Alphinaud hesitantly cut into your yelling, his voice quiet, “Why not share the burden with me?” You paused. Did he really just say that? “What?” “Why not share the burden with me?” he repeated. Your yelling ceased as your expression softened. “I could not ask that of you. I am just stressed, do not take what I say seriously.” You sighed, feeling awkward when Alphinaud didn’t speak. You took his silence as a type of hint for you to leave him be. But as soon as you made for the door, your wrist was caught. “Wait! Stay!” Alphinaud exclaimed, his grip only tightening on your wrist. Although his grip was firm, he was gentle, careful not to harm you in any way. “I am not angry at you, quite the opposite. You do so much for Eorzea and yet you have no one to lessen the burden. Allow me, please.” A lull formed in the conversation, the air thick with tension as Alphinaud held his breath. He was anxiously awaiting your response. You practically choked on your words as your eyes began to fill with tears once more, “I could never ask that of you.” “Please,” Alphinaud was begging you, a somewhat pleading expression on his face. A simple nod from you was all he needed before he pulled you into a tight embrace, whispering comforting words in your ear as you sobbed on his shoulder.

[starres-stuff]

Day 3- Tempest FFXIV Write 2024

Tempest: to raise a tempest in or around

CW/TW: Dark Themes, Mature Themes, Hints at Abusive Upbringing.

Long before Vi and Dimitri another story existed, the story of their Mother; Saphelle Jienuex. 

“What will you do to suffer no more? Will you plead with the Dragons to eat them? Will you hire thugs to kill them in the streets or will you submit to me, girl?” Hers was always a cruel and scathing voice when she spoke. The distant specter of the void hungered for another of the Jienuex line to pay her price and step into her trap. Saphelle had noted that she had tripled her visits in recent weeks, her whispers far more tangible than normal. 

“Are you done yet?” the young Elezen asked from the shadows she brooded in, lavender eyes lingering on what appeared to be the shapely figure of a woman cast upon her wall. “We have gone through this nightly Numeria Ichatan” 

A low hiss was her reply and long; needle-like claws moved towards her across her wall, their intention to siphon some of her Aether to remind her of her place but they never did reach her, trying as she might. The girl seemed to be shielded by a powerful ward that a simple voidsent could not break through. 

“My name is not yours to use, girl.” The voice called back, a screeching sound coming from the wall, always dramatic this one was; hells bent on getting her own way. 

“I will use whatever I please.” Saphelle was in no mood for parlor tricks or over-dramatic theatrics. She had sought her darkness to tend to the wounds left behind by a drunken Father who did not know how to keep his hands to himself and needed them broken finger by finger to learn a lesson. He was not the only one either, the cruel gaze of her Mother as she watched him dish out his punishment. “He is sick Saphelle” the spineless creature would whisper later when they were alone, trying to make up for the things that had happened. This was her every night, some macabre play she had been birthed into one moonless night.

“Say yes and it will all be over.” The whisper teased again, there was nothing she wanted more than for it to be over. Soon to be twenty-one and not promised for marriage as any other Ishgardian noble daughter her age would have been. There had been other unfortunate things like this in her young life. No debutante ball, no sweet sixteen, and certainly no entertaining suitors come to ask for her hand.

“And what will you take from me in return to solve my problems Numeria Ichatan?” her, own, cruel smile appeared as she said the name again, a name she had found scrawled into the journal of her ancestors Neophinne the Scholar, her Mhachi ancestors who had been summoner, handler, and lover to the creature that followed her. 

“Nothing now, only after your death. I would claim your name and body as my own. I would live out your days as I lived our Neophinne’s, as I saw fit. In return, I will leave them as empty husk devoid of Aether, a fitting end for what they have offered you.”

Ah, the feelings that rose in Saphelle as she listened, the cold smile devoid or emotion that curled on her lips, as lost herself in the thoughts of all of this being hers. Oh, the sweet notes of revenge that hummed in her ears now. As much as she hated to admit it, the Voidsents price was small for something that would put her plan into motion. 

“You win. I will take your bargain.” Saphelle returned her attention to the wounds on her arms and stomach, a cotton ball dabbing at the lash marks from her Father's whip with a very sterile astringent that her Mother made to care for things such as this. 

“We have an oath then? Do you consent to the pact? Their death and your freedom for the right to claim your body when your soul goes on to the Sea?” The shadows moved and the form of a succubus emerged from them, gliding across the floor without her feet touching as if she was some twisted angel here to be the benevolent savior of the young woman. 

“I agree to your terms.” A slim hand rose, garnets glittering across her pale skin on golden bands “I would like it to be my Birthday present, we will be attending the theater as we always do to celebrate. When it is over we will emerge in the right alleyway from our private box. I expect them not to emerge from the alley.” 

The succubus took her hand turning it over and taking one of her claws to etch a symbol into the skin when completed the symbol glowed with the power of the void and a pair of grotesque lips touched hers, they felt like old parchment dry and ready to decay. 

“An exchange of Aether to seal the pact.” Saphelle's eyes grew wide as she felt her breath sucked out of her lungs, leaving her to gasp for air and then seconds later the voidsent breathed into her an old air that tasted like decay, causing the young woman to shudder in disgust. 

“Three days count them and I will be at your side” Her presence faded then leaving Saphelle alone in the darkness, her empty eyes filled with a vivid ruby light and her emotionless smile became a beacon of hope in the dismal gray. 

 “Happy Birthday to me.”  A short laugh burst forth from her lips into the room, the echo of it ominous and foreboding. She knew well the tempest that she had released that night, the creeping death that would set right all she had endured to this point. It would be a chaotic storm, but she would see the other side. 

[asha-mage]

🌶️ whats the Hot Take on fire emblem or ffxiv!!

Oh boy. I'll go with Fire Emblem since I've played it more recently. Let me just put on this metaphorical beekeepers suit before I take a swing at this particular hornet's nest.

*zips*

Azure Moon is, inherently, a tragedy, and of the various endings, the one that is the bleakest for the over all future of Fodlan. On a smaller scale level, all the characters that we personally care about are going to be fine by the end of Azure Moon (presuming you where playing on casual and/or didn't let your favs die in the war). On a macro scale, none of the cycles that lead things to fall apart in the first place are fundamentally changed in any way. The systems that lead to the misery/issues of most of the cast are still in place.

Byleth has replaced Rhea as Archbishop, and thus as the semi-divine shadow ruler of Fodlan, and Dimitri has become Wilhelm 2.0- the mortal companion and figure head of said semi-divine shadow ruler, who unites all of Fodlan beneath the control of the Kingdom and Church. The Agarthans meanwhile remain unexposed and plotting in secret. Their's no hint that the Church is going to reform and stop it's policy of censoring and altering history to suit it's political agenda, or meddling in the affairs of the governments of Fodlan at whim or need. And their is really no reason to believe that in another few hundred years the cycle wont repeat itself as the pressure from all the cracks and flaws in the system once again becomes unbearable.

It's telling to me that Edelgard in Verdant Wind more or less accepts her fate when Claude and Byleth have her cornered. She tells them outright that the only way forward is to unite all of Fodlan and sieze the future, and they can only do that if they kill her. But in Azure Moon she resists past the point of all reason, becoming the Hegemon in her efforts to defeat Byleth and Dimitri, and using her last breath to try and cut Dimitri down with her dagger. And that's because deep down, she knows that Dimitri lacks the will and the courage to break the cycle. Claude, is a reformer, a visionary who wants a better future and wont stop until he has the truth. Dimitri even after everything he's been through is still a servant of the past, and still bound by it. So she refuses to yield to the bitter end, to give up her dream of a better future no matter what.

[torialefay]

*sees screenshots of chans bubble messages again along with his insta post* ._.

BRUH. His timing is absolutely impeccable. It's actually hilarious. I legit JUST joked with my friend in dms that a fictional character from a fucking game I have a crush on felt me pulling away bc of my crush on Chan, so he's(the character) been acting super sweet in a recent event to take my attention back. I passed out bc it was 3 a.m., wake up just HOURS later, and Christopher is being a flirt yet again and posting delulu fake date posts onto insta as if in unintentional retaliation(delulu on my end lmao). Flirty soft posts are right up my alley, too ._.

Bruh, I need to find time to play ffxiv or something and revive my crushes on more fictional characters. This guy *points and squints at chan* is dangerous with those ideas from his actual human brain.

Also, I don't follow the guys so closely enough to know if he's ever said "delulu" before, but I love that he drops little hints every now and then to confirm that he's lurking on every post lmao.

well my honey, i do not know what a "ffxiv" is, but i would also suggest you play it.

to be fair, this is probably all a game in chris' mind anyway. he's playing as this fictional little flirty character that he made up for us... when in reality, he's a lil loser nerd boy <33333

literally thinking of the interview they did recently (i think it was the radio one in new york?) where someone asked if they'd been playing any games lately and felix answered (insert the name of his game here idk much)... like yeah, christopher stays playing games too. but he can't just explain "every day i am constantly taking part in a roleplaying game i invented in my own head to satisfy not only my fans' desires, but also mine as well" on gods radio.

life is currently just one big game and our opponent is christopher bang. its okay though, we will eventually take him down. just might have some casualties along the way ❤️

[housedeaubemarle]

FFXIV Write 2024 #30: Two Heads are Better than One

~~

Six summers ago, at a particular soiree:

“Those’re the Aubemarle twins then?”

“Hah! Sooner call Dzemael and Haillenarte twins than those two. Not saying you have to be mirrors of each other but the colouring could stand to be more consistent.”

“Characters are none like too - one's running round Ishgard probably fathering a million bastards, the other's got legs crossed so tight it gives me a headache to look at her.”

“You sure ‘bout that last one? The way they hover round each other, she might well have opened them up for brother dearest-”

“Whhsst, not so loud, you idiot.”

Across the hall, one half of the Aubemarle twins fans herself gently, making sure her pleasant smile isn't obscured in any way as she does so. Half an eye is kept on one of the gentlemen conversing some distance from her, his grins and laughter not subtle to those who'd had the displeasure of his company. Which she'd experienced, just a sennight before when she'd accompanied the viscount to a meeting at House Dzemael.

She turns her head to the young man who comes up to her, and hands her a glass of punch. In his other hand is a similar glass. “Gaspard de Nogelois and his ilk were so busy repeating the most ludicrous rumours about us, he didn't even notice who was walking behind them.”

She accepts the drink, turning her eyes towards him, ever smiling. “Hardly surprising considering how Lord Nogelois embarrassed himself in the meeting with Papa, right before Count Tarreson. I doubt the younger Nogelois would be in much of a charitable mood.”

Her brother grins slightly. “You don't think our father did the embarrassing?”

A twinkle steals into her grey eyes at that. “Our father? Embarrass the house who claimed they couldn't possibly spare anymore gil to fortify the Congregation, yet commissioned a new wing to their manor? He would never be so gauche.”

He chuckles. “No, of course not.” He sips the punch and keeps smiling. “You know, Dine, allusions are one thing, but to be so direct is surely worth some form of response.”

She raises an eyebrow. “No brawling, no slander. Mamma will never forgive you for such mortification.”

“She would never forgive us for letting this go unanswered either.”

She lets out a breath. That much is also true; neither of their parents are in attendance tonight (hence her brother's uncommon appearance) which means it is left to them to decide their next course of action. “What did you have in mind?”

He grins widely at her. “I think we should redouble our mingling – Lady Gaelle and her posse have been hinting at me for a conversation, so I’ll head over and lament the ill treatment of my virtuous, upstanding sister. I’m sure the ladies will be more than happy to be loudly sympathetic if I exert myself enough. Perhaps you might like to wander in Lord Paulecrain’s direction; I hear he’s curious about the meeting but hasn’t been told much. Such pearls of wisdom that fall from your lips are bound to be taken more seriously. And repeated more often.”

She throws him a very sharp look, then shakes her head. “If Lady Gaelle’s husband calls you out, I will refuse to intervene, so I warn you, Rem. Within reason please; these tactics lose their potency if we use them too often.”

“Yes, but they also should be used when reason demands it,” he replies with his own meaningful look. 

The siblings share a silent exchange – almost an argument – before Oudine snorts, dropping the look she's aimed at him. “Very well.”

With a grin, Remont raises his glass in her direction. His sister duly clinks hers against it. “To triumph, my twin.”

“In totality, my twin.”

They each take a swig, then neatly depart, one to the left, the other to the right, off to set the ballroom (socially) alight.

-

end.

[ayakamizu]

FFXIV Write 2024 Day 5 - Stamp

Stamp: Verb. To mark or impress with a design, word, mark, etc. Characters: Thancred Waters, Lady Lilira (Nanamo Ul Namo), Ayaka Mizushima (WoL) Expansion: A Realm Reborn Rating: G Notes: Thancred's POV for this one! Takes place towards the beginning of the Ul'dah storyline and tweaked a bit to fit the scenario and because I don't remember what exactly happened at the start of ARR anymore.

“Well that was exciting!” Thancred stated, looking at the voidsent disintegrating before them. Quickly, he turned to grin at the pair of ladies standing behind him—one was the woman he came to escort back to her keepers while the other was a lovely addition.

Repressing the urge to wince, a mistake on his part to underestimate the creature, he walked over to the pair and kept his eyes trained on the lovely stranger. The first thing he noticed were the pale scales and horn (an Au Ra) and the way she gripped her staff. It was difficult to see, but it shook in her hands—a newly arrived adventurer then. ‘Twas a good thing he arrived when he did.

Though she did hold her own well against the voidsent. The spells she cast—a thaumaturge then, which made sense if she was a new acolyte of the guild—had helped take down the creature in the end. The adrenaline, then, of taking on such a monstrous foe.

“You, young lady, ought to head back before your family starts to worry,” he chided ‘Lady Lilira’ playfully. The young woman pouted, something she could get away with this far removed from her identity.

‘Damn,’ he thought, he would’ve liked to stay and talk to the lovely lady before him, but he couldn’t ignore a request from the Sultana. “Of course, my lady,” he said, turning towards the stranger once more. “Apologies for leaving so soon without an introduction, but—”

The lady’s eyes narrowed, gaze flickering back between him and the other woman. “I suppose you are right,” ‘Lady Lilira’ conceded, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in her garbs. “If you would be so kind as to escort me, good sir?”

“You’re hurt,” she interrupted, eyeing him critically. Thancred was so shocked he didn’t pay attention to the way her gaze racked over his body before settling on his left side—the one that received a careless slash from the voidsent before it perished. “Please, allow me to assist you.”

“You’re a conjurer…?” He asked, shock coloring his features. Surely he saw her employing fire magic just moments ago, then how—?

“I… do not think Eorzea has an exact equivalent for what I can do,” she answered, looking pensive. “Conjurer. Thaumaturge. I’m fine with either label for now.”

“Fascinating,” he intoned, curiosity piqued. Perhaps he could introduce her to Y’shtola someday—after getting the opportunity to share a drink or two with her. ‘Twas only fair before having her be scrutinized by the scholar. “Then please, feel free to assist.”

She gave him a shy smile—was that hint of pink on her cheeks? Oh he could work with that later—before approaching him. Now, he noticed, her grip on her staff was steady. This close, he noticed how intricate the design of it was. It wasn’t like anything he’d seen before in Eorzea at least.

“Do I need to pull my shirt up a bit?” Thancred asked, shooting her a flirtatious smile. Her cheeks darkened a little further—such a delightful reaction!

“It would help,” she answered, lowering her staff closer to his torso. The rings clanged against each other, but didn’t make as harsh of a sound as he envisioned. “Less interference.”

Doing as he suggested, and suppressing the urge to hiss at the motion, he took a look at the mark and huffed in annoyance. A careless mistake indeed! Twas a good thing the others weren’t around to see such an unsightly thing. It was then that he felt the cooling sensation that came with healing magic and closed his eyes in relief, letting the magic do its thing. It reminded him of a cool splash of water against burning skin in the summer months—like those summers spent in Limsa Lominsa’s abandoned piers. There was even a salty tang to the air!

Eventually, he felt the magic cease and looked down at his injury. What was once a gashing wound was a sealed, pink line along his side. It felt itchy, which was a good sign as any of how well this stranger managed to heal him.

“There,” she said, looking pleased with herself. She brought the staff closer to herself, giving an approving nod. “Good as new!”

“I don’t know how to repay you,” he said, turning his attention away from the healed wound to give the woman a grin. “Perhaps we—”

“Ought to get going, yes?” ‘Lady Lilira’ interrupted pointedly, one of her eyebrows raised at Thancred in an unimpressed fashion. He felt his shoulders slump, very aware that she had a point.

“The lady is right,” the stranger agreed, smiling at the pair of them. If she noticed Thancred’s disappointment, then she was doing a good job of not pointing it out. “And there’s no need to return the favor. You helped me earlier, so we can consider ourselves even.”

Damn, she had a point as well! Perhaps luck was not on his side today—or at least when it came to this lovely stranger.

“If the lady insists,” he sighed, eyeing both of them. “Then we best be off, Lady Lilira.” With a quick bow, he marched towards his charge. “‘Twas nice meeting you, my dear!”

The woman waved, giving him a sheepish smile before turning her attention back towards the tree. Had something caught her eye? Or was she here for a reason? Oh, he would have loved to ask.

“You really are an incorrigible flirt, Master Thancred,” the Sultana said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Oh dear, it would seem my reputation precedes me then,” he chuckled. “To think that even the Sultana knows!”

“Aside from witnessing it in person just now… Raubahn told me as much.”

What an uncomfortable thought; the General of the Immortal Flames knowing his reputation. Perhaps that explained the way the man would scrutinize him at times…