#i am not immune to thancred

[minarcana]

[hdawg1995]

i really like how my character arch went from "i don't like Thancred, he is genetic white haired male character #26" to "this is my best friend, we are best friends, he is my favorite and seeing him makes me smile"

[mamma-marimo]

A Secret in the Night

A/N: Turns out I am not immune to this silly dragoon. Call him Nidhogg the way he keep trying to possess me <33 this is my first time writing him so fingers crossed he isn't too ooc

Summary: Thancred Waters finds something unexpected upon returning to the Rising Stones after a long mission and it's not you baking at 3 in the morning.

WC: 1k

Rating: E

Pairing: (GN)Reader x Estinien

Tags: fluff, wholesome goodness, Thancred Waters jumpscare

It’s in the Witching hour Thancred returns to the Rising Stones from yet another stealth mission. His shoulders sag and his feet sore from the endless tracking he’s just accomplished. With most of the scions aside from the small handful on night watch turned in for the night, he decides the report is more than fine to turn in come morning. 

With a sigh, he rubs the back of his sore neck mentally debating on if he should take a shower or just crawl into bed. While it’s never appealing to lie in a clean bed with mission musk, his exhaustion does bring up a concern of passing out the moment he’s encompassed in the comforting warm water.  

His thoughts are interrupted when a fragrant sweet scent welcomes him, activating a low growl in his stomach. He supposed there’s nothing wrong with grabbing a quick bite from the communal kitchen before crashing for the night. As he furthers his journey down the hall he notices one of the lights on within the kitchen. 

There is a sneaking suspicion as to what soul would be up at this damned hour baking something and the

laughter that echoed confirmed it. 

“They better not be stress-baking again…” he sighs to himself, praying he’ll be intervening in time to avoid a repeat of the last incident. While delicious, it took forever to get through all of it and Tataru wasn’t too pleased with exceeding the grocery budget. Not to mention how long it took to work off the damage the carbs did to his seductive figure. His pace quickens. One step, two step and then-

“Quiet. You are going to wake up all of Mor Dhona at this rate.” A familiar gruff, brooding tone chastises. 

“Sorry-“ he hears you giggle. “You’re just really funny, you know?”

Thancred’s brows furrow. Estinien was a man of many things, sure but funny? Not intentionally at least. Well, you can be quite odd so your amusement in odd things should be of no surprise. 

He retracts his pace, slowing down as he quietly treads closer and closer to the kitchen. 

“In what ways do I amuse you?” Estinien inquires. 

Thancred has his back against the wall near the entry. Pausing for a moment he’s relieved to not hear any sounds that could allude to something lewd being committed. Praise Hydaelyn for that. However, his keen sense of hearing picks up the soft sound of steps along the tiles. 

Carefully, he leans in peeking around the corner and into the open doorway. 

Estiniens back is to him, an arm wrapped around your waist and the other elevated, fingers interlocked with yours. Their bodies sway in sync left to right according to a rhythm all their own. 

Pale brows arch up and Thancred withdraws, blinking a few times then rubs his eyes. Normally it would take a few more days of sleep deprivation to make him this level of delirious. Was he seeing things? He isn’t old enough to need glasses just yet, right? 

Once more he peaks over, Estinien now hovers as he dips his dance partner. 

“Oh a lot of ways!” You chime.

“I like your little pout, that little huff you do when we try dragging you into things and– now that I think about it. You remind me of an old dog. A cute little thing that sighs now and then a bit sadly. Makes you wonder what goes through their little minds to make them so tired.” You chuckle, peering up at the Elezen with a sickening amount of affection.  

Estinien scoffs and Thancred can feel his eyes roll. Briefly, he withdraws the hand that supports your back. 

“H-hey!” You gasp, quickly clutching onto Estinien’s back for support to avoid hitting the ground but his hand returns, guiding you upwards to the standing position prior. 

“It is quite exhausting keeping up with your antics. You handful of Scions are more taxing than a squadron of untrained Dragoons.” He retorts, turning them around. your back now facing the voyeur. Your body leans against Estiniens with your head nestled against his chest. 

“In my defense, half the antics are Alisaie and Alphinaud getting ahead of themselves. Although, you can get pretty ahead of yourself too Mr. Lone Wolf.” You retort and Thancred can see a rare smile gracing the Elezens elegant features. 

“I dare say your boldness has influenced a great many men. Including myself but especially the younger ones.” His head rests against you own. For a moment it remains like this. Calm gentle sways like a graceful tide grazing along the shore.

DING!

The timer on the counter chimes, bringing the dancers out of their rhythm. Thancred pulls away, having seen more than enough. With a shake of his head, he feels a strange pit of embarrassed guilt in his stomach for peering in on such an intimate moment. Hell, he feels it would have been less embarrassing to walk in on them in the nude. Either way, snack be damned. He’ll be sure to enjoy whatever was baked come morning with its flavor made even sweeter with the image of their brooding Dragoon being so docile.

“Ah, the bread is done.” You break from the embrace, grabbing a pair of moogle themed oven mitts to pull it out of the oven. 

Estinien resumes his typical stance, arms crossed over his chest. His head turned to the entrance, and eyes narrowed. 

“Something the matter?” You tilt you head at him, glancing between the empty entryway then back.

With a scrunch of his nose he shakes his head. “No. If we are done here, let us head to bed.”

“Alrighty. I just need to put this up.” You set it in the breadbox and return to him. 

“Thank you for keeping me company.” You lean in to peck his cheek. “I never knew you would be such a lovely dance partner.”

“As I said. Any Ishgardian worth their salt knows the basics. However, I prefer not to do so in front of others. I will say, you are improving at the very least. You only stepped on my foot twice unlike dozens of times in the past.” There’s a soft smirk along his thin lips, bracing your reaction.

[most-fuck-able-ff14]

this poll was a mistake, i am not immune to the magnai propaganda. I'm going to binge on Thancred and Erenvile. stay safe y'all. -Mod Fisher

[windupaidoneus]

despite everything i am still not immune to thancred. how embarrassing

[wine-dark-soup]

☄ thancred's HW look? i kinda wish they kept it

hi, sorry it took me so long to get to you, thank you!

WELL.

on one hand. this look really shouts IM THE BROODY MALE PROTAGONIST I AM SO TORTURED BY BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HARDSHIPS BUT I STILL MAKE THE GIRLS SWOON. especially as no other character got such a treatment when they changed outfits for post HW-SB.

on the other hand. i am not immune to that. i love it even. love when a character has an old scar somewhere and hides it with a random piece of cloth. love that it shows time has passed (tanned skin, beard, longer hair and all).

but i don't have any strong opinion on the rest of his outfit. i don't find it particularly cool but not enough to say i hate it

[tsunael]

top 3 tsuna x thancred quotes that make you double over and clutch your chest?

FDGJKFG HELLO? THIS WAS SO NICE TO GET??? THANK YOU???

I'm assuming you mean quotes I associate them with, in which case... hoo boy.

1. This exchange, (though not exactly a quote.) From F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Debutante.'

HE: (Suddenly.) I don't want to fall in love with you-- SHE: (Raising her eyebrows.) Nobody asked you to. HE: (Continuing calmly)-- But I probably will.

A flirty, none-too-serious conversation that they would most certainly have early on, which would later have really heavy connotations. After the 'will-they-won't-they' their whole schtick becomes trying to avoid their feelings because they're, well... co-workers.

2. From 'Wilderness Tips' by Margaret Atwood.

"You had sex, and love got made out of it whether you liked it or not. You woke up in a bed or more likely on a mattress, with an arm around you, and found yourself wondering what it might be like to keep on doing it."

I was not immune to the wolcred one-night stand. It's good in both povs honestly. He gets a taste of what could be and is now harried by the feeling, while she falls hard because she's an idealist.

3. 'Peaches' by Trista Mateer.

“You’ve ruined peaches for me. I can’t eat one without thinking of your hands dipping into my soft flesh, mouth dripping, teeth skimming across skin, tongue lapping at the excess: greedy, greedy, greedy. I am all rush and blush at a summer picnic lunch, hands shaking at the farmer’s market.”

I'm sure this is meant to be in a female perspective, but Tsuna's name can be written with the kanji for 'peach', so I like to imagine it in the inverse. The yearning from his pov... after he's told himself he wouldn't fall for her, but he can't even escape from the thoughts of her in such a mundane setting :')))

I wrote a drabble around this because I'm a little insane about it.

[moonlightpaladin]

Since your character is so new, are there any tropes/scenarios, etc. that you're hoping to explore with them over the course of ffxiv's story? Are they the sort of person who adapts well to hardship and strife?

This is such a good question I had to take a couple days to think on it, and still am not sure how to sound coherent about it, so I figured I'd just go ahead and answer haha

So many!!

His story is obviously a massive work in progress but, the reason Dal is in Eorzea is because his tribe was affected by Dalamud's descent and Bahamut's escape. His tribe worshiped Dalamud before the fall but in a peaceful manner. As it fell, however, they gradually became more fervent and even violent--presumably becoming what he would later come to know as Tempered.

Dalamus, himself, was inexplicably immune to the changes for reasons he did not know, but what he would eventually assume to be due to the Echo. But he could not calm his family nor stop their increasingly violent actions. He had to leave. Maybe he could find a way to help them. Or at the very least, he could find a way to help prevent others from suffering the same fate.

Eventually, I want to write out the slow descent into near-madness that his tribe experienced, and Dal's thought processes as he watched it happen and what was the breaking point that made him decide to leave. I also want to write about the moment where he's told by Thancred that Tempering is permanent, and there's no cure, and what that means for the future of his family.

I want to write him making friends, definitely. He's quite the stoic fellow, and after leaving the tribe he withdrew a lot. A lot of Xaela tribes are extremely close-knit at the exclusion of everyone else, and Dalamus' tribe was similar. Perhaps because of that, lone Xaela tend to draw glances and stir whispers, but he's learned to ignore that and keep to himself. But I think that would make friends more valuable; having other perspectives, more knowledge, sounding boards for ideas, and having people to rely on and who rely on him would help him feel closer to home again. I'm a sucker for Found Family.

It'd be fun to write him in a moment of weakness, when he's normally stoic and quiet. I love when a strong, silent type is forced to--or even better, finally decides to--open up to someone in order to heal.

I'd love to write his potential reunion with his younger sister who was thankfully too young at the time of Dalamud's decent to be strongly affected.

He draws a lot, something he was taught by his father, an herbalist, to help keep notes on plant life that's useful (or harmful), as well as the occasional wildlife or landscape. I've toyed with the idea of him drawing people he's met or those who stuck out to him in one way or another, and keeping "notes" on them in that way, too, haha. He preserves tons memories in a single portable book this way.

He's never shown anyone the sketchbook, and never really had a reason to, but I think it'd be funny if someone caught him drawing them.

With him being so stoic and quiet, I like the idea of him eventually having a group of friends who make a bet on who can make him smile and/or laugh first. It takes a while. Dal is mostly oblivious to it, though, which I think makes it even funnier.

In general I think Dalamus adapts well to hardship. His tribe was largely practical and he's very much a "It is what it is. So what do I do about it now?" kind of person. But in a way, I think it's also bad for him, because the strife is still there, he just shoves it down to deal with it later and then "forgets" to deal with it later. Maybe that's why he enjoys combat a little bit too much? It's a way to offload feelings in a non-obvious manner, or the adrenaline supersedes anything else. I'd have to think about it more

I know the FFXIV world is full of strife and Dal's backstory has already given him a head start on grief, so I just think it'll be nice for him to find people he can be soft around, or at the very least provide him a soft place to land :)

[okami-zero]

Some random headcanon shit that popped into my head on the longest drive to pick up my brother from work:

I think the radio may have contributed, but was thinking about a random scene with Rav being attacked from behind, and then thinking about Akagi being attacked from behind. And with Rav, the attack has a chance to land, but the effects would be negligible for several reasons.

But with Akagi, it would be more difficult. Putting aside the Echo for a moment, I recall reading lore on au ra, and how their horns are how they hear, and also allow for spatial awareness and perception. The part that is head canon-y, that I was pondering on, was what if the shape and size of the horns also factored in? Taking Akagi and his ginormous horns for example, they extend quite far bot ahead and behind, and are fairly wide vertically, so I imagine sneaking up on him would be difficult/require distraction as his range of awareness is better than some others. Like, miqo'te and viera (especially viera) have the sharpest hearing, hands down, but I think au ra spatial awareness is a bit more than just hearing, and while not necessarily good for distance, would be especially perceptive in the area around them dictated by their horn shape and size. I could probably poke at this more when I am more conscious later.

All that to say it is difficult for Akagi to be snuck up on, with some exceptions - Yugiri and some of her more seasoned shinobi; Gevial, sometimes; Lyse has managed it a time or two; and, of course, Thancred, though if he is doing something like in Endwalker in Garlemald, Akagi might be able to get a solid bead on where he is. The twins keep trying, but have yet to succeed and are undeterred in continued attempts x3. Ascians don't count, they cheat. And Ardbert....well. Not... really? That one is complicated.

So yea, with the Echo, his training and range of awareness via horns means Akagi is less prone to sneak attacks. Not IMMUNE, mind you, just more to plan for. XD

[unsunderedphoenix]

❛ if you don’t terrify people a little bit, then what’s the point? ❜ from my wol asimina, I can’t find a muse page on mobile sorry BDKNS

(Your getting the new version of Hadi)

The unsundered phoenix smiled at the shard of her former mentor. She scared most people once they realized what exactly she was. “ Asimina, I scare just about anyone that is in the know.”

Of course the warrior and the trust worth scions were in the know. Though that was everyone but Thancred. Hadianna didn’t trust the rogue as far she she could throw him and she could throw him a great distance. “ I am a symbol of what once was and can never be. A Demi god ancient that is immune to tempering. Those that don’t fear me at least a little bit are very foolish.”

[4th-make-quail]

Btw it might be a week til I get chance to post more valenwind stuff, cos I totally forgot it's ffxiv rarepair week this week and after soliticing ships from twit people I now have a full roster of ships to gpose :3

Got all the days full and then realised I missed off sartbasch like, WHO AM I?! so now I might be doing two ships on one day lolol, if only because I CANNOT pass up the catnip of MONTICHAIGNE WITH FOURCHENAULT, HOLY SHIT

I am not immune to the Sart old man elezen face!!!

(said roster is looking like; thancred/ryne, quintus/jullus, lyon/menenius, sartauvoir/basch, thancred/ran'jit, montichaigne/fourchenault, mikoto/misija, miounne/fufucha)

[ilvions]

[allycryz]

1 and 4 for Nerys aaaaand Nero? Or Thancred? I cannot pick but I'm curious about both!

I will answer for both!

(I have given in to the Nero x Nerys brainworms. I am not immune.)

1. What drew your character to their LI and vice versa?

Thancred and Nerys had a ton of attraction at first sight. Their looks, the way they carry themselves, their capability--both are weak for people who can kick ass.

Though Thancred kept away for a while for reasons that are answered in this shameless plug for my fic

For a long time Nerys catalogued Nero as "hot but I am not going there" because he was clearly Figuring Shit Out with Cid. Though it became clear around the Omega patches that he had figured his shit out...but Cid still needed to

I think the Ironworks Crew plus Steph often has makeout parties with the adult Scions (Cid and co. are basically Scions). Which somehow ends with Nerys and Nero making out; which leads to an "oh I like like him" reaction from Nerys.

4. Their favorite physical feature on each other?

Thancred loves Nerys' dragoon thighs a whole lot.

Nero is a breast man and very happy to hold Nerys' for her. (And also I can easily imagine her complaining about breast pain and Nero coming up with a Better Bra Design)

Nerys is on record for finding Thancred far too pretty and is very fond of his arms.

She loves Nero's hands which show all his hard work through the years and move so easily from gentleness to strength

[battlecrazed-axe-mage]

Thancred from ffxiv?

I love when Thancred interacts with other people, when he's not doing the flirty bard thing. Give him someone who's smaller and/or weaker than him to look after and I adore him. I also want to like. Bro-punch him in the shoulder and tell him to stop doubting himself, that he is an important member of this team with essential skills that no one else has, and to please stop minimizing them in favor of trying to match the nigh-indestructible godkiller. That said, he also did call me darling in the end bit of Stormblood recently and made me all "ehehehe c:" so I guess I am also not immune to flirty bard

[whitherliliesbloom]

fate matrix

[ ffxivwrite2021 ] ★ [ masterlist ] ★ [ prompt #05 (free) - fate ]

[ alphinaud/wol & cameos and mentions of some friend ocs, you’re gonna have to read to find out who :) ] ★ [ 5,241 words (oof) ]  ★ [ fate matrix au ]

fate: be destined to happen, turn out, or act in a particular way

in a world where the hands of destiny are ones and zeros, at the center of the matrix was a little goddess who would soon find out that she too, isn’t immune to the pull of fate

Day ???? | 07:07am | Day of Destined Meetings

An alarm rings, beeping in an increasingly loud volume as the monitors begin booting up. As light from the screens flood the room, the sound of cotton ruffling can be heard, followed by a soft little yawn.

The girl stirs, clutching at her duvet for warmth before her eyelids flutter open. Bright violet eyes stare up at the ceiling, where the patches of glow up star stickers have lost their radiance in the midst of the fluorescent bulb lighting up. Blinded momentarily, she grimaces, before rolling onto her side and sitting up.

“Good morning, alpha.” A melodic voice chirps out merrily from her parted lips, and she raises a hand to pet the head of the stuffed chocobo that she had been laying beside. “It’s time for work again, huh?”

Stretching her arms high above her head with a final, long yawn, the girl shuffles over to the minibar that was tucked under the table, pulling the door open before grabbing a small tub of yoghurt and peeling it open to peer inside curiously.

Oh, it’s strawberry today, how wonderful! Whoever or whatever magical force is behind stocking up the minibar seems to be in her favor this morning.

Grateful now for her breakfast, the girl slides over to the front of the bed, and places her hand on the mouse after taking a spoonful of the yoghurt into her mouth.

System booting... Please enter password. >illyaskawi03112 Log in successful. Fatematrix.exe starting. Welcome, Alice. 

The monitors that surround her begin loading up window tabs after window tabs - and at the center on her main monitor, a sizeable grid of glowing icons pop up, along with a smaller, more discreet window showing a map tucked away at the corner of the screen.

Visual stimuli overload aside, the girl seemed to be completely unphased as she bites into yet another scoopful of yoghurt before setting the tub next to her white keyboard, as if this were a scene she’s had to see countless times now. 

It’s a routine, a well rehearsed routine that the girl effortlessly goes through the motions of daily. The fate matrix is ever in need of use and she, the center of it all, was more than happy to take control. 

That is, after all, the will of her late mother... the previous Alice and goddess of the fate matrix. It is simply her duty to carry on in her legacy. And as per her duty, she begins to spin the wheel of fate, clicking on the very first icon that boots up the fate matrix’s tool assistant. A bright blue pop up appears that the girl drags to the side, and text begins to appear.

Good morning, Alice. Today is a day of destined meetings. I would suggest working on getting soul mates together for the day.

Internally, Illya is delighted. Soul mates were one of her favorite types of work to focus on... and though they were rarely ever more urgent than other types of assignments like accident prevention, weather management or economic balance, it was one that often brought her a great amount of joy. 

After all, what was sweeter than nudging two souls who were meant for each other closer? It was the very concept of soul mates, and the tales of the red thread of fate after all, that drew her mother into the concept of fate and caused her to develop the fate matrix.

A soft smile graces her features, and she moves her cursor to click on the second icon, which loads for a second before breaking apart into smaller, glowing dots that scatter across the map - with two dots that indicated soul mates being linked by a dotted line. 

Time to get to work!

01:46pm

When Illya clicked on the glowing two red dots upon the map, she hadn’t expected to be shown live footage of the two targets in the very same room. 

It’s not uncommon for soul mates to have already met each other, or even be familiar with one another already despite not having made their feelings for each other known yet... but they were cases that were, in Illya’s experience, a little more difficult to work on. 

It was easy to nudge two strangers in the same direction or plant small, innocuous thoughts that would help draw two acquaintances into wanting to spend more time with their soul mate. It was far more difficult to convince stubborn people who have, despite many fateful circumstances, refused to confess their feelings to the object of their confession. 

After all, the fate matrix was capable of many things - but controlling or taking over the will of people was not one of them. 

Illya has convinced two stubborn souls to finally open up in the past though, she was certain she could do so again - she did so with the likes of the two childhood friends, Moth’ir and Thancred... a case which she would never in a million years soon forget... or the infuriatingly obstinate refusal of a pink haired miqo’te girl to confess to her close friend and personal trainer, Haurchefant Greystone... who had been more than obvious with his flirtations for years. 

Alice, you have yet to eat your lunch. A quick break is highly suggested. 

The tool assistant sends a reminder through a text in it’s window, which Illya is swift to ignore. She can eat once she’s done with this case. 

She watched through the monitor as the pair sat on the couch, a girl with straight cut bangs and piercing red eyes lounging lazily with her back propped against the arm rest and her legs laid over her taller, lankier male friend, who seemed to be frustrated at the girl’s refusal to pay him any attention.

“Why invite me over if you’re just going to play your game?” 

“Hmph! Says the guy who invited me over to his place only to kick me out halfway through because some of his friends were going to pay him a surprise visit!”

The man lets out a hefty sigh.

“I already apologized for that. And that was over a week ago. Are you seriously still-”

“Yes, yes I am!” Without even looking up from her smartphone, the girl lets out a dramatic huff while admonishing her friend. “I don’t get why you’re so adamant about me not meeting your friends. Why, are you scared they’ll misunderstand and think I’m your girlfriend?”

“That’s- That’s not-”

From the heartrate monitor, Illya can tell that was only part of the reason for his behavior. The true reason, and an explanation that the girl understood full well why he would refuse to tell his friend was written in text in a separate window next to his heartrate monitor. 

The girl, Totomi Tomi, or better known by her stage name as Mint, was something of a minor celebrity on the internet. Known for her jovial personality and the many covers of vocaloid songs she posted on her well known eorzeatube page, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call her an idol - even if she wasn’t officially acknowledged or employed as one by some idol management company. Her friend, Estinien, and the object of her very strong feelings towards, had friends who were apparently fans of hers. 

It was for that very reason that, for her protection and to spare her the oogling of strangers, that he’d kept his friendship with the young idol a secret from others. 

In his eyes, perhaps dating her would be the quickest way to convince his friends to back off... but that would only come after they’d confessed their feelings - which they haven’t. 

“That’s not important.” Estinien finally retorts after stumbling after his words for a moment, and Illya has to resist the urge to slam her head against the keyboard.

“Ohhhh... Kay.” Mint rolls her eyes, Illya mirrors the action. 

What Illya doesn’t anticipate however, is Estinien’s next words, for as bold and uncharacteristic for an emotionally closed off man such as him.

“Why? Are you disappointed? You almost sound like you want to be known as my girlfriend.” 

Mint chokes on her spit, sputtering and gurgling out incomprehensible words until she recovers - but only barely... and now with a dark red blush plastered over her freckled cheeks.

“I-In your dreams, maybe!” Her blatant lie is apparent to all but... the ones who are present in the room. “Besides, I already have someone I like!” 

“Oh?” Illya can hear the sheer contempt from her headphones, and she grimaces at the man’s deep frown. “Do tell, who is it?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, dunderhead!”

“Tell me. I’m curious.” 

“Nope nope nope nope nope noppetty nope! Why’d you think I would ever tell you, huh??”

Mint sticks her tongue out at the man, who scowls deeper and nudges the woman’s legs off of his lap.

“Fine. How about a bet then.”

“What bet?”

The man points to the phone she has in her hands.

“Since you’re so fond of your gacha games, and you’re always bragging about how good your luck is, why don’t we make a bet using your game?” 

Snatching the phone out of Mint’s hand despite her protests, Estinien taps on the settings button before clicking on the gacha button, the screen switching to the current limited rate up banner of a popular event character.

“If you get a character of the highest rarity within 50 draws, you have to tell me who your crush is.”

“W-why would I even agree to that?? I’ve been saving my primos for Xi-Ao you know?!” 

“I’ll pay for your pulls. It’s a win-win for you that way, no? You get free pulls from the game, I get to know who your crush is if you get a shiny new character.”

Mint pulls back, hesitant and suspicion clear in her eyes, but still enough to hint at consideration.

“And what’s in it for me? What if I do pull a 5 star character?”

After much consideration, Estinien responds once more.

“I’ll let you whale for whatever character you want next on my credit card. And I’ll cosplay with you at the next convention.”

At the condition of his loss set, Mint’s face lights up with pure elation, as she snatches her phone back from her friend with a cheeky grin on her face.

“Deal! You’re so going to lose, long bean! My luck in Genshin Impact’s second to none! I can’t wait to make you cosplay sailor moon!!”

An equally devious smile spreads across the face of Alice, whose hands are swift to pull up another window tab reserved specifically for video game and gambling luck. 

She has always admittedly been favorable and gracious in giving out good draws to people who deserve it - the program she has running in the background is testament to that... And she has no doubt in her mind that the fate matrix has been generous in it’s givings to Mint, if her boastings are anything to go by. 

Mint must thusly, be a good person.... and she deserves a fate more fulfilling than virtual characters on a screen.

The girl must truly feel confident in herself, as she hits the draw x10 button without a single hesitation. 

Illya begins typing the code into the new window, and sympathy wells in her heart as she hears Mint huff in minor disappointment.

“Only one 4 star? Eh, it’s just a fluke, I have 40 more pulls and I’m close to soft pity too!”

“Good luck.” Estinien chuckles mockingly, and Mint lets out a growl before pressing on the draw x10 button again.

Nothing. The third ten pull is no better - with nothing but a single 4 star weapon to show for her efforts. Mint is evidently getting more nervous as her finger shakes, pressing down on the button that will decide her fate for the fourth time.

She was so certain she’d get a 5 star by now - she normally gets what she wants within the first thirsty pulls, and it’s a normal occurrence to even pull multiple 5 stars within the same roll... So... why?

Her 40th pull ends with two 4 star characters, a sight better than the ones before... a sign of Illya’s pity on her... but still not a condition for her win.

“Oh, someone’s getting nervous.” Estinien smirks, “You’re on your last pull away from telling me who you have a crush on.”

“H-hah! That’s where you’re wrong!” Mint exclaims, jabbing a finger at him. “The chances of getting a 5 star increases with each pull, so i’m almost a hundred percent certain I’ll get one this time!”

Mint’s heartrate monitor is going off the charts, and Illya has to intervene by lowering her vitals enough so she wouldn’t pass out from sheer nervousness. It does little to hide it from Estinien, however, who could only relish every second of Mint’s rapidly darkening blush as she finally taps on the draw x10 button one final time.

The shooting star across the screen flickers, before bursting into a shade of pink that has Mint leaning back with mouth agape, a mixture of sheer shock and terror on her expression. 

Hopelessness is all she feels as she taps, taps and taps, and the roll summary page shows naught but a single Benny - the unluckiest character in the game, grinning widely at her.

“Well, well, well. Looks like I won.” Estinien sounds way too casual and smug, unaware of the monumentally immense amount of bad fortune that had just befallen his friends. “As per our deal, you’re going to have to tell me who your crush is.”

Illya feels sorry for her meddling, and she makes a mental note to herself to bless Mint’s future rolls with as many of the highest rarity characters she could possibly afford to give without breaking the laws of probability too much... but when Mint finally breaks out of her stutter and sets her phone down on her lap, hands grasping so tightly at the hem of her skirt that her knuckles turned white, the girl knew that she’d dealt the woman a hand far kinder than if she had not.

“I-It’s...... It’s you, okay?”

07:32pm

Alice it is time for dinner. The curry will get cold if you leave it out for too long.

Illya’s tendency to ignore the tool assistant in regards to her own wellbeing was concerning, but not an anomaly. In fact, it was far more rare for the text in the pop up to be spared more than a single second’s glance from her. 

Whether it was reminders for her to eat, for her to sleep early, to hydrate or to stretch after hours hunched over her keyboard in front of glaringly bright monitors for a good whole of her day, the tool assistant’s well meaning messages would always go ignored.

It’s a natural part of it’s program, Illya tells herself, as she filters through lists of finished cases before moving on to pending ones. Much like the fate matrix, that ran on a code that was, in admittance, far more complex than even she could fully comprehend... the tool assistant ran on code. It was an artificial intelligence her mother had created during her last few months of life, something that, according to the note left in the hard drive of the fate matrix, would help Illya better slip into her role as adjudicator of fate. 

She’d remembered when she first awoke in this room and on the bed, not having any recollection of how she’d even arrived in the first place. The momentary panic and confusion had been replaced with a sense of obligation... of duty and honor when she booted up the computer for the first time to be greeted with the words from the tool assistant - as well as a lengthy message from her late mother.

We who do not belong to the realm of mortals... we who possess the blood of fate. We bear the burden of watching over the world and making sure that it is a safer, happier, better place for everyone. Only you alone can take possession of the fate matrix in my stead, and I pray you’ll forgive me for not being able to say goodbye to you in person.

Family meant the world to Illya, it has ever been that way. She spent a good amount of her childhood in the company of her parents, with little understanding of the world beneath. She had no concept of the idea of fate, of how destiny was dealt... only that her mother had a significant role to play, and that her time with her family was soon to be cut short by a crippling, unkind illness that not even the fate matrix could undo. 

Illya’s never tried stepping out of her room before. She has always assumed that it exists in some kind of void or overworld that overlooked the mortal realm. It mattered not, really... The only thing important was that mother had left this place behind, and wanted her only daughter to inherit her role as Alice.

It was with that responsibility in mind that drove Illya to stay seated in front of the monitors for as long as she has. 

Time is no longer being a concept, the rising and falling of the sun no longer visible to her eyes aside from a arbitrary number on the clock that served more as a timer for how long she has left to work until exhaustion would consume her. 

Do you not wonder what it’s like to have friends, Alice?

Recently, however the tool assistant has been sending her more and more pointless questions... questions that went far beyond the daily self-maintenance reminders that she could understand her mother programming in for her wellbeing, questions aimed to be poignant and was targeted to making her feel more isolated and alone than it did help. It was bordering on annoyance.

You could leave this room any time you wanted.

And why would she do that? She murmured to herself as she typed in code to program a heavy storm, forcing a raven haired lalafellin man to offer his umbrella to his soul mate who had been stranded under a lone busstop - a pink haired woman with olive green eyes who seemed utterly smitten with him upon first sight.

Her purpose was here, to take control of the fate matrix, to grant happy memories, to save lives, to fulfill wishes and dreams. There can be no greater and heavier responsibility to bear in the world. 

Truthfully, the reason why Illya stayed at first had solely because of her mother’s wishes... But now, it was more than that. 

Because the idea of separating herself from the fate matrix... and not being able to grant the kindness of fate that so many people in the world deserved... it was a pain that was worth her own sense of self. 

Are you not lonely? Do you not want someone to love you?

Why did it matter if she was lonely? The envy and curiosity she feels upon watching a group of friends hanging out together is nothing in comparison to the pain mortals felt from a love unrequited, or a loved one losing their life. 

She taps furiously on a historian with bright red hair and eyes, forcing him to get a wardrobe malfunction that would push him to visit a tailor where an impish lalafellin fashion designer with snow white freckles awaited him with choice words of ridicule. She tips over a telephone pole that causes two surf shop co-owners who were on a road trip to park by the roadside so that they may witness a falling star, wishes made leading to their confession. She painstakingly guides a woman with silver hair and golden yellow eyes towards a drycleaner, where she initiates easy banter with a man who she later finds out was her old schoolmate.

Juno and Ysayle, Bianca and Varis, Niqesse and Zenos, Nowi and June. She remembers the soul mates she pushes together by name, and treasures the happiness they are sure to feel from their memories as if they were her own.

Detached from their world she may be, it is through the fate matrix that she can experience a sliver of their joy and love... even if it is for a fleeting moment before she must move on to the next. 

11:17pm

One more assignment, she tells herself, eyes bloodshot and fingers sore from typing. One more case and she’ll eat before going to bed. She has done much for the day as it is... but she cannot rest until she’s closed one particular case that has her vexed for the entire day.

A pair of glowing purple dots that has been plastered on the map since morning has her thoroughly vexed... because for some reason or another, she cannot seem to gather information on one half of the pair. 

She’s able to view the other half just fine - a dashing young man who seemed to be a senior in university despite his age, having skipped two grades due to his academic prowess. He is incredibly gifted, possessing not only of superior intellect but also an artistic hand and charismatic demeanor that makes him quite popular at his school.

But no matter how much she clicked on the other purple dot, or made futile attempts to manually search for data on his other half, nothing would show up. No windows, no tabs... What was even more perplexing was that the dot hadn’t moved on the map at all. 

Illya had paid especially close attention to the purple dots ever since she’d found this anomaly in the fate matrix... she was certain she would have noted movement if there had been any at all. 

But whereas the icon of the boy had understandably been moving throughout the city of Sharlayan, the icon of his mysterious other half hadn’t, laying stagnant on a singular point of the map in the middle of what appeared to be an old apartment complex.

It was as if his soul mate just... didn’t exist at all. 

The boy didn’t have any romantic feelings for anyone, nor did it seem like there was anyone at his school that would have an attachment to him that extended beyond admiration or a short-term attraction, which she’s long learned to tell apart from genuine love. If the tool assistant had a text saying that her target simply did not have a soul mate at all, she’d have been inclined to believe it.

But the other purple dot that connected to his does not lie. If he didn’t have a soul mate, his icon wouldn’t be connected to the other. Her tool assistant wouldn’t have told her, very deliberately she may add, that he did in fact have a soul mate and that it was imperative for her to unite them.

But how was she to make two people meet when she could not even tell who the other was? It was the first time Illya’s wondered if there was even any point to her efforts. 

Desperate times call for desperate measures, then. It may be unnatural for a piece of note to fall from the sky, but it was perhaps her final chance to get the boy to meet his soul mate before the opportunity would be lost forever.

Assignments from her pending window are known to disappear all of a sudden, and soul mates who were attached and at their prime for a fated meeting for the moment often times disappear from the map entirely... a tragedy as a result to the slipping of time that the fate matrix cannot rectify... and she’d be damned if she let it happen to this case just because of a simple glitch. 

The boy, Alphinaud Leveilleur, star student of the nation’s most prestigious academy, had been walking home from his late night seminars. His position was unnervingly close to where his soul mate is, and since she could not think of any way she could naturally nudge him in the direction of the apartment complex, she writes a note posing as his soul mate and drops it from the sky.

“W-what in the twelve?”

The boy catches it in mid-air, looking at the haphazardly scribbled words on the paper. 

PLEASE HELP ME. I’M BEING HELD AGAINST MY WILL. I’M BEING TRAPPED AT _______________

She made the handwriting disorderly intentionally... just to sell the idea of a person being trapped better, of course. She’d even slathered on a small smudge of blood on the corner of the note to make it more convincing... and it seemed to have done the trick as the boy widens his navy blue eyes in alarm, head turned up in the direction of the apartment complex he stood next to.

Illya can tell he has his doubts, and she doesn’t blame him... It’s suspicious enough that the call for help would just so conveniently fall towards him as he was walking past... but he’s never known any criminal activity to have taken place in that apartment complex - Sharlayan is relatively safe compared to it’s neighbor, Mor Dhona. 

A few simple thoughts however, might just do the trick into getting him to spring into action. 

Injecting into his mind, Illya types out frantically into the text box for thought processing. 

What if this is real? What if there really is someone in need of rescuing and I just walked by without helping them? What if they appeared on the news tomorrow? I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. What if... what if this note really is fate?

She’s preying on his upright and morally upstanding character, she knows that... and it never feels good to take advantage of a objectively good person’s kindness... But her determination to grant him lifelong happiness wins as she watches through the live feed the as the boy clutches onto the note close to his chest and begins to run into the carpark of the apartment complex before heading inside.

Zooming into the map, she sees that her target is taking the lift up to the highest floor, his heartrate skyrocketing at an alarming pace as she panics for a moment and has to manually adjust it back down. He’s nervous... and she must admit that she is too.

When he leaves the lift, his footsteps are unsteady and hesitant... But a few more encouraging thoughts was enough to get him to push forward until he’s standing in front of a door - the only door on the last floor of the complex, as it would happen.

Illya tries to look into the room, but the window that pops up is but a single black screen that has her sighing. No matter. The fact that there even was a window in the first place is progress. 

She’s gotten this far into leading him here... all he has to do is open the door where his other half is sure to be on the other side.

The boy tries to twist open the door knob, the metal rattlingly noisily in Illya’s headphones. But it doesn’t budge or give way. 

Figures that it’d be locked. How is she supposed to lead him inside? She can’t ring the doorbell because, for as odd as it is, there is none... and she cannot pull up any information on his soul mate, let alone inject into thoughts into their head to open the door. It’s far too suspicious to drop the key to the door right in front of him. 

With each second that passes, it seemed like the boy was letting his doubts begin to sway his decision to stay more and more... and Illya’s heart drops into the pit of her stomach when she sees the boy begin to step away from the door and reaching into his bag for his phone, a thought bubble popping up above him.

I should call the police, instead...

“No! You mustn’t!” Illya yells out by instinct.

“Huh???” the boy’s eyes widen once more, and to Illya’s utter confusion, he bolts forward and is now banging his fist against the door. “Hello?! Are you okay?! If you’re in there and you need help, please say something again!”

He must’ve heard a voice.... Illya mused, eyes glistening with intrigue... her voice. Did her mic turn on by accident? Or perhaps she’d projected her voice onto the door out of instinct. She wouldn’t be surprised if she did... but the most important thing is that it worked, and it got the boy to stay. 

“Y-yes! I’m... I’m in here!” Illya responds, intentionally letting out sobs into her microphone this time, “p-please help me... I-I’m really hurt and I don’t know when they’ll get back!” 

Alphinaud’s heartrate is beating faster than it’s ever had before... and Illya makes no attempts to lower it as she watches the boy grit his teeth and set his bookbag down.

“A-alright! Stand back! I’ll try to knock the door down!” 

Good thinking, Illya hums to herself in silence. The door seems old and rickety on its own... unless his soul mate has very deliberately barricaded the inside, there shouldn’t be any reason why he’d not be able to knock it down.

The boy begins to slam his torso into the door, pulling himself back before once more rushing into the door, and the sound of banging fills Illya’s headphones. It’s oddly loud and deafening... but she makes no attempts to lower her volume as she grips the edge of her keyboard in anticipation.

“Don’t worry miss! Just a bit more! I’ll get you out, I promise!” 

His sincerity touches her... and though it is wholly unnecessary, Illya is moved to speak into the mic once more... and her words causes a surge of renewed energy to flow through him.

“Yes! I believe in you! I’m waiting!”

Illya has never known what the outside of her room looked like... nor the time or space that occupied it. It was never necessary, she’d convinced herself... She was simply content with watching the outside world through the lens of the fate matrix while playing the ultimate puppet master.

She has never smelled the outside air, never seen the light of the sun, never once touched the hands of another... not since she arrived here.

When the door to her room clattered noisily onto the ground, so loudly that she could not chalk it up to being a result of the projection in her headphone, the girl spun around... and stared with wide, bewildered and confused eyes at the boy in front of her - clear without the pixels of the screen obscuring him... clear and oh so very real.

Beads of sweat trickling down his brows from exertion... his usually neat fitting uniform disheveled from strain... 

And in his clear blue eyes was the reflection of herself, staring back at her as if they were a window to her future.

“Y-you.... you are....?”

The tool assistant of the fate matrix sends another text, which goes unread and ignored by Alice once again. 

You watch over the fate of others. But even you aren’t immune to the hands of fate.

[starrysnowdrop]

Imperial Cid AU Timeline

Because my brain is super disorganized and refuses to write in sequential order, I am posting all of my Imperial Cid AU headcanons here so that everyone has a general idea of the timeline of events, which will allow my brain to do what it wants to do and jump around as it pleases. So here’s the info dump! Enjoy!

((I will link this to my pinned post as well for easy access later when I finish with more prompts!))

* Not too long after the Bozjan Incident, in the midst of the investigation of what happened to have caused the explosion, Cid found the evidence that he needed to prove his theory: His father Midas was tempered by Bahamut.

* Cid decided then to accept the promotion to his late father’s position as Chief Magitek Engineer for the Empire, as a means to an end: he wants to rid the Star of all primal summoning.

* He accompanied Gaius van Baelsar and the XIVth Legion to Eorzea five years ago to subjugate the populace, but Cid’s main concern was not the invasion but to sabotage Nael van Darnus and the VIIth Legion’s plans to unleash Dalamud. In this AU, Cid tried to squash Project Meteor altogether, but Nael van Darnus was already tempered by Bahamut and still secretly went along with her own plans.

* Not too long before the Battle of Carteneau, Cid has what he believes to be a dream of an Auri woman entirely made of light who gives him his trademark goggles. He can’t explain how he actually obtained them in reality, however.

* Obviously, Cid fails in his mission and Bahamut is unleashed, causing the Seventh Umbral Calamity. Cid is able to escape Carteneau with Gaius, so he does not get amnesia in this timeline. Instead, Cid goes and researches Allagan Ruins, eventually finding the Ultima Weapon.

* During the time following the Seventh Umbral Calamity and the beginning of ARR, Cid is working on locating the Ultima Weapon and developing weaponry for another invasion of Eorzea. He also had the same reoccurring dream of the Auri woman in light more and more frequently.

* While Cid is investigating the summoning of Ifrit, he sees a group of adventurers fight and defeat the primal. These adventurers all were immune to primal influence, much to his surprise. Among them, he sees a woman who looks exactly like the woman in his dreams.

* Against his better judgment, Cid goes and follows the woman, to find out more about her. He sees her talking with Thancred, and recognizes that she must be working with the Scions. He continues to follow her until he is forced to reveal himself to her.

* They introduce themselves to each other, and Cid can finally put a name to the face: Yume Aino. He goes back to the Castrum and Livia has already told Gaius all about the adventurers that defeated Ifrit.

* Cid overhears Gaius tell Livia that investigating the adventurers that have the Echo might prove useful. Cid begins to feel protective of Yume and fears what might happen if she keeps interfering with the primals.

* Cid and Yume meet each other three more times, twice in the Black Shroud while investigating the Sylphs and once before the summoning of Titan. Each time they reveal a little more about each other, and the tension between them builds. Cid keeps trying to tell her to stop her interference with the primals and the Garleans, but she refuses.

* After the massacre at the Waking Sands, Cid is angry with Livia and is worried that Yume is dead. He goes to the Waking Sands only to find Yume helping to load up the bodies of the victims. Cid is elated that she’s alive, and Yume thanks him for his concern, but she warns him that she wants to avenge the fallen and plans on killing Livia. Cid says that he won’t stop her.

* After the fight with Garuda, Yume is wounded and due to internal bleeding, she falls unconscious. Cid runs to her side and carries her back to the airship, declaring that she is under his protection.

* Cid has chirurgeons heal Yume while he watches over her. The two share an Echo vision and they realize that Yume gave Cid the goggles via the Echo around the time of the Calamity. Cid asks Yume to join him but before she is able to answer, the Scions come and rescue Yume. Cid doesn’t try to stop them and he allows them to escape.

* Yume and Cid don’t meet again until the attack on the Praetorium, when Cid once again asks her to join him. Yume tells him that she can’t because she will not become an oppressor like she was back in Hingashi, and she doesn’t believe that Cid wants to be one either. She tells him that he could come with her and help the Scions with any primal threat, but she must destroy the Ultima Weapon.

* Cid and Yume fight, and Yume is victorious. While holding her katana towards him, Cid pulls her down to him while on the floor and puts the katana to his neck, asking her to kill him. Yume sheathes her sword and refuses to kill him.

* When Yume finds Gaius, he also asks her to join him, but laughs when she tells him no, as he knows how she feels for Cid. Yume then realizes that she has fallen in love with Cid, and that she must save him no matter what happens.

* As the Praetorium is in ruins, when the other adventurers take Thancred and escape while Yume goes back to search for Cid. He is laying under some rubble unconscious, but Yume is able to get him out alive with a suit of magitek armor. Cid is taken into custody.

* After a time in prison, Cid agrees to help the Eorzean Alliance in the building and maintenance of a fleet of new airships and in giving them inside intelligence on the Empire in exchange for a full pardon. Cid soon found out that Yume had a hand in him receiving his pardon.

* As soon as Cid is freed, he goes and finds Yume and they do the smooches and the love confession and that’s the end. ;)

If you actually read through all of this, thank you so much! I promise more of this AU is coming soon!