#like she's the actual azem shard

[alicesadventuresinffxiv]

FFxivWrite2024 #15 (Free) / #wolkrileweek #2

Title: A Nostalgic Adventure 

Wordcount: 552

Spoilers through: Eureka, Shadowbringers

Alternate Universe: WoL!Fordola

Relationships & Characters: Krile (Azem)

Summary: Krile finds a strange crystal in Galuf’s office.

(Sunday was the free day for FFxivWrite, and meanwhile I'd been thinking about Krile ideas because of #wolkrileweek... so I woke up this morning and a weird fusion of both fell out of my brain. ^^;)

.

Krile puttered about the board room, straightening books, cleaning up dust and debris. Eureka was no more, but more importantly Eijika, Fordola, and the whole team of adventurers were safe, thank goodness. 

The past few moons had been quite the adventure! Far more excitement than Krile preferred, to be honest.

And yet… risking her life, battling strange beasts, exploring the unknown… there was something about it that had felt uncannily familiar. As impossible as it could be. Krile was a creature of comfort and academia. However much she ached to do more to help the Scions, her talents and personality were best suited for support. 

Take now, for example. Ejika’s stunt (not to mention the revelations of the final fate of her grandfather) had left her feeling rattled. Something about the whole encounter, the horrible explanation for the isle’s fate, still nagged at her even as she refused to look away from its truth. And so she cleaned and she wandered, as though putting the room back the way it had been could also restore her broken, grieving heart to the way it had been.

Krile idly shuffled through the books on Grandfather’s desk. It felt uncomfortable to touch them - as though he would appear at any moment to gently scold his nosy little bundle of trouble for going through his things the way she did his thoughts - but the books belonged on the shelves and leaving them scattered about did naught for no one.

Then she froze.

Underneath the parchment that contained Galuf’s final words was a curious orange crystal. And the aether pulsating from it… ah, that was why she hadn’t noticed it before. It was incredibly strong, but not elementally aspected as she’d been on guard for.

An artifact like this… whatever it was, it was dangerous. Every instinct that made Krile, Krile, screamed at her not to touch it. Let someone who actually understood cursed objects handle it!

And yet, when she picked it up, it felt right in her hand.

Even as it felt as though the floor lurched out from under her and she was falling, falling, falling into the memory.

Krile remembered. Galuf’s hurried preparations. His confrontation with the Ascian. The way the monster in the black robe had laughed as she’d drawn Krile’s limp body out of the dark portal.

(Of course she hadn’t made it to the harbor. She’d never had the chance.)

Krile remembered. Galuf’s terror and fury at seeing her so helpless. The Ascian’s cruel taunts. She’d never been after Eureka at all. What was a mere eikon to their cause, compared to finding her?

The Paragons would reward her handsomely for this.

Krile remembered. The look of resignation and sorrow on her grandfather’s face. His farewell and an apology. His last spell, and the light of the Mothercrystal into which he’d entrusted her.

It was a kinder fate than what the Ascian had intended for her. But even the best-laid plans of gods and men were wont to go awry. 

Krile gasped and clutched her head as she remembered. Wanderer. Adventurer. Not who she was now. But who she had once been.

Tear after tear poured down the lonely girl’s cheeks as her eyes took on an ancient, unearthly glow.

At the wrong time, in the wrong place… Azem remembered.

[tallbluelady]

1. What memory would your OC rather just forget?

Okay okay. @hermits-hovel has an ancient OC of Mnemosyne who is in charge of memory crystals (such as the ones the Convocation ->Ascians keep). In his lore, the memory holder can no longer recall them as they are in the Crystal now.

Minthe, in general, is against doing this. She understands that Mnemosyne’s archive is useful and wouldn’t stop him from doing it, but part of what makes her and Ariadne’s relationship crumble is that Ari is asking him to take her memories away for safe keeping instead of actually facing them and ordering them in her mind. So you would never expect her to ask Mnemo to do this, right?

Weeeeeellllll… One night, Daedalus tells Minthe about Zodiark, far before the Final Days. Basically, who’s involved and what the summoning entails. And that it is inevitable. Minthe is brought to such a seething rage at Hades that she can hardly stand to think of him, while Daedalus is defending him. She tells Daedalus to "never speak of this conversation again" and storms out to get it removed by Mnemosyne. She returns calm but depressed with a handwritten note that tells Daedalus to not talk about Zodiark in any meaningful way so they can continue to speak to Hades (I wish I knew what that note says lol). He’s smart enough to do so and the three of them continue having a cordial relationship until the Convocation releases its plan for Zodiark.

Annnnd in a fun twist of events, Miranda gets a hold of this memory crystal and vows to kill Emet-Selch for pulling Daedalus into it!

Thanks for the ask!

[picaroroboto]

Particularly as of Shadowbringers and Endwalker one the WoL's key canon traits is how they attempt to understand their enemies - even if conflict is unavoidable or a villain's crimes unforgivable they still want to know who they're fighting and why. On the opposite end a core point of Zenos's character, and the source of many of his problems, is that he doesn't understand others and doesn't care to try, not until his final confrontation with the WoL and his last moments where he's asking them all these questions in an attempt to actually know them rather than just project himself on them like he's always done.

As his Voidsent Avatar, Zero's arc is an extension of this, in a way - see the way she still thinks and talks about Zenos, tries to understand him, while looking to the WoL and their friends to relearn how to human. This fully matures into her making efforts to understand Golbez, and succeeding in offering friendship to him. This is why Golbez's first steps to redemption feel more powerful and moving then if we'd simply defeated him, because it completes a closed circle of trust (doubly so if either Durante or the original Golbez is the Azem shard of the Thirteenth, as some popular theories suggest).

And all of this with the motif of hand-holding/handshakes/reaching out a hand: Zero learning the gesture from Jullus, extending a hand to help Golbez, shaking hands with the WoL as a sign of their friendship; compared to Zenos reaching out his hand towards the WoL at the end, or Durante and Golbez's original attempt to recruit Zero, both of which did not reach, but I think those connections are ultimately fulfilled by the end of this arc.

[rharyx]

Now that I've beaten Dawntrail, I can safely say it's one of my favorite expansions. Like, none of the expansions have actually been bad imo, but Dawntrail is just super comfy and enjoyable.

Wuk Lamat is a lovable character, and I'm proud to call her my sister Lamaty'i. I honestly don't get the hate for her role in the plot, nor her voice acting. She's adorable, and I loved seeing her grow, and experiencing Tural through both her initially naive eyes and her more trained eyes.

Everything about the journey through Tural was really fun, and I think it's some of the best zones we've gotten in a while. I loved arriving in a new place and learning about a new culture and their people, and seeing how it all tied into the Rite of Succession and what Lamaty'i was going to take away from it. How it all added to the stories of her, Koana, and even Zoraal Ja was really well done.

Like, Endwalker was good, don't get me wrong, but all the "end of the saga" doom and gloom really wore me down sometimes, so having a more lighthearted vacation where it's just you and your friends in a new land taking in the sights and helping out where you can was really relieving. I loved the entire time I spent traveling across Tural.

It all felt like a proper adventure, one that the Warrior of Light has been yearning for. They're an adventurer at heart, and sure they'll protect the world when they're called upon, but they at their core just like to travel and meet new people. They love the Star with all their heart, whether due to being a shard of Azem or not. And so this adventure through Tural was exactly what they needed. And you can see it in their eyes.

There are some nit picky stuff I could say that I didn't care for overall, but in the grand scheme of things they don't matter at all, because the expansion as a whole was just really enjoyable. I just can't understand the negative reception it's getting from some people.

Maybe I'm just pulling this out of nowhere, but I feel like we're finally seeing the consequences of so many people being told to "skip ARR" and the earlier stuff so they can get to ShB -- "the good stuff." We're getting people who are calling DT boring or slow, because all they really focused on was the high points of ShB and EW, not realizing DT is what most of the game is actually like. Idk, but DT just felt like all the parts of FF14 that I've enjoyed from the start rolled into one. And if you're only here for ShB-type stuff, you're just not engaging with the game properly.

Anyway, I love Dawntrail, and I love all the new characters and bits of lore it introduces, and I'm sad I already finished it because I don't want to wait for more story content. I really want to see where this story goes, and I want to see more of my Turali family.

[koukouture]

In Shadowbringers neither G'raha nor Emet Selch really know Elysia. G'raha only knows his hero, his idol; he only knows the Warrior of Light. Emet Selch only knows Azem or Lucifer; her past incarnation. And even back then Lucifer was nowhere near genuine with Emet Selch and he views her through rose tinted glasses anyways.

Elysia knows this. It actually permeates every single conversation she has with them. They both seem to know her so intimately and yet they don't know her at all. G'raha Tia can recite her exploits and heroics like they're gospel and Emet Selch speaks to her as if he's known her for thousands of years (he has; through hundreds of her incarnations across the shards) Elysia knows that the Exarch and the first need their hero, and she knows that Emet Selch is searching for something within her. And she is nothing if a people pleaser.

She's mad at both of them but her very nature now is merely to be a puppet. She's grown desensitized. She will be the muse, the fantasy, the hero; anything but her true self.

G'raha and Emet Selch both try to get to know her too- they just fail and can't accept Elysia for who she truly is (in the moment, ofc)

G'raha can't accept that his hero is actually a selfish, vain, nihilistic monster (at this point in the story at least) and doesn't care for salvation. Elysia is just too scared to die and too scared to be left alone so she does all the hero business. But eventually Shadowbringers pushes her to almost suicidal ideation and G'raha sees her at her lowest and ugliest. How can this be the hero? He wonders. Sure he has his plan to save her but she is so resigned to her fate with the knowledge that she will destroy the First and it shocks him because he's believed for the longest time that she was infallible, immortal- an angel. But standing before him now is a girl who has nothing to lose anymore. (G'raha wonders if he should just let her die- at least then she would have some autonomy in her life)

Emet Selch can't accept Elysia's mortality because in his eyes that should be Lucifer standing there- bright, immortal, shining Lucifer- but Lucifer is gone. He is mad at Lucifer so he is still mad at Elysia who has done nothing to deserve his anger. He idolized Lucifer so he desperately looks for any trace of her in Elysia. He hates confronting the fact that he might not have known his friend as well as he thought he did. He has to realize that he never knew Lucifer at all. Instead, he gets to know Elysia through Lucifer because despite her countless incarnations; Lucifer can't change. It's terrifying because he can't help but love her either. Lucifer will have Hades wrapped around her finger until the end of time. Elysia is now merely an object of Emet Selch's grief and obsession. The sun has set but Hades selfishly keeps a sliver of it's light in the palm of his hand to brave the night ahead. (Lucifer's incarnations have kept what little sanity he has intact all these years)

Elysia doesn't even know what she is anymore. Slayer of gods, murderer, a living nightmare to the Garleans- her every step has been steeped in blood, ash and ichor. She's gotten rid of her old self- of little Akari- and carved Elysia into the fabric of this world. The truth is, the singularity that is Elysia should not exist. Not with this much power, at least. What is a mortal to do with the power to topple god? Contest the divine? Be the sole salvation of entire worlds? How is this a blessing when everything is always a burden for her to carry? She follows the orders, she saves the people, she is their hope and what does she get in return? More destruction. She loses everyone around her and herself in return for the world's balance. What if... she were to die? How splendid would that be. It would be such a relief for everyone to see her for the monster she is if she becomes a Light Warden. She would be free of her role of the Warrior of Light- free to gorge herself on the audience who watches the spectacle of her suffering. (Elysia isn't a monster; just a girl forced to bear the weight of the world alone)

Anyways yeah tldr Post Heavensward - Endwalker Elysia is having the WORST time of her life.

[livingonextratime]

Remembering this post and like. The world is sleeping on the potential of Wol/Venat, I think.

Possibly because people are used to parsing Hydaelyn as Goddess Figure even though EW very thoroughly yanked back the curtain there. (The thought suddenly occurs that she and G'raha Tia have some thematic parallels going on...)

But seriously this woman is so very Not Normal about WoL and honestly i love that for her. Shadowbringers set us all up like 'the WoL is the Chosen Hero because they're a shard of Azem' and like...turns out that wasn't actually the deciding factor! Turns out they're a chosen hero because Venat spent one day with them when she was Going Through Some Shit quite aside from how hermes and meteion accidentally the apocalypse, and that one day in their company fundamentally changed her brain chemistry forever.

Time loop ESTABLISHED. Goddess was secretly worshipping her mortal champion this whole time. They're her special little guy and if you don't clap for them she'll blow the whole building up. Then when they finally meet in person again with WoL having all the facts she immediately throws herself on their blade and dies. New frontiers of both intimacy and estrangement being blazed here. Shrimp mental illnesses. They would NOT fuck normal and if your response to that is 'mommy kink' you are a plebian, you have not even scratched the surface of what this has to offer. Situationship of all time.

[ferrocyan]

1 (your choice of fic), 23, 28 for the ask game :3

1. Write a scene from [insert fic] in another character’s POV

IM GONNA BE A COWARD AND DODGE THIS FOR NOW i do plan on trying on writing reticent from honeys pov but iiiiii have wips to attend to (bolts out) please hold me to this though wwww

23. What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

havent started is a fun caveat. okay i have thoughts about how the match vs eutrope would go bc at a moment where he has little faith in himself, tart is faced w an absolutely lethal threat. what has rly compelled me abt tarts time in bozja is it asks him "are you the warrior of light who can lead your army to victory?" and then m4 presents a complimentary question "are you the warrior of light who can battle primals and gods and survive that ordeal?". i have an idea about the beginning but nothing afterwards so i havent started on it at all. probably need to watch more m4s clears (or maybe... prog it even ;]c a man can dream)

28. What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

oh shb bad end au of course but fuck i cant get into it rn its got such a canon divergent premise. a less divergent one though is that emets shenanigans actually got azem to wake up in tarts place after she was brought back from mt gulg. phobos was a kind soul who came to understand the sundered and opposed hades vehemently despite their shared history. they took hades down and then passed on so that their shard could have her body back. a happy ending! except for tart, bc as far as shes aware she fucked up and doomed the world and was only allowed to stick around w the scions now bc someone else wearing her face had fixed everything. but it wasnt her. she could never be that person. and so she never ever ever ever felt secure in herself or any of her relationships again!!

i think maybe for canon tart, blowing up at estinien after in from the cold miiight be a bit out of left field? but i keep that incident bc i like how it develops their relationship. in this au though it is not remotely out of left field lmao of course tart would get so madly insecure and terrified that she goes berserk. zenos bodystealing would be a mindbreak and a half. i dont think she makes it out of endwalker unfortunately

[hythlodaeus-mynewoldfriend]

Spotify ask number 63

Where does your body go when I leave you alone? Would your heart know if I met you in a brand new set of bones? 'Cause you may see me in different bodies Hiding below with the same soul I could have walked by you a thousand times Different places, different lives

-"Same Soul" by PVRIS

Thank you for sending this in! I had this song last year funny enough for the gpose prompts so similar take but with a slightly different interpretation this year! Have my Azems and their various shards! Complete pictures and info below the cut (spoilers for ShB, EW, Panda raids, Post-EW patches, and FFXVI)

Deimos and Phobos

The originals, the start of it all! During the Final Days in looking for a solution that would prevent more death and sacrifice Deimos became overwhelmed and devised a bit of a crazy plan he wasn't even sure would work. Deimos growing up had heterochromia, knowing it was one of his eyes having just slightly different DNA he took a page out of his old mentor Lahabrea's book and tried to see if he too could split himself in two. The difference in being able to keep a full soul and full power laid in Deimos making the basis on that small piece of different DNA, and so was Phobos brought into fruition!

note: characters on the left/listed first are shards of Deimos and those on the right/listed second are shards of Phobos

Demos Reyes and Siberite Akagane (The Source)

The WoLs and the ones to avert the Final Days, the promised kept to one Emet-Selch made thousands of year earlier. The two couldn't get a long at first but over time and through many trials they found common ground and supported one another and developed a kinship that goes beyond friendship. With the Final Days averted the two are living out a version of what their past selves would have done, with Demos settling down and leading a more quiet life, with the occasional adventure, and with Siberite exploring the world with all it has to offer and helping those met along the way with no sign of stopping.

Unnamed Archeologist and Ardbert (The First)

"There was a man. A researcher who pored over these pieces. He offered us work when we needed it. Slaying beasts, delivering provisions... A funny old bugger, he was, but he had a good heart. He believed this first painting dated back to a time of myth and legends. A tribute to the heroes of a long-forgotten era. The story went that it was rediscovered by an explorer from Ronka, who was so struck by its majesty that a second painting was commissioned, commemorating the heroes of their day. "One day, you will all be here too," he said. "Heroes immortalized forever. Maybe I'll paint you myself!" I had a good laugh at that. We were only trying to make our way, after all. Being heroes couldn't have been further from our minds. But it seems...he actually went and did it. Before or after the Flood, I wonder...Do you suppose your deeds will warrant an addition to this collection? Or some other kind of monument?" -Ardbert, Shadowbringers

What can I say he explains all you need to know.

Golbez and Durante (The Thirteenth)

Two friends trying to save their world from impending darkness, were unsuccessful in their endeavor resulting in one having to kill the other. With his best friend dead and the world still falling apart Durante took up Golbez's armor and name in the hopes of being able to eventually free his home from the cycle of darkness that befell the land. His methods would prove destructive and nearly be the end of him, had he not been reminded of the friendship that he once had. This pair shows just what can happen when one loses the other after having met and forged a bond, their souls don't like be parted in that way and will lash out in line with who they are in that life.

Clive Rosfield and Midadol "Mid" Telamon (Valisthea)

Both souls on their first lives in their world Clive and Mid met for the first time not long after her father's death and since then she's been whirlwind of a friend to Clive. A prodigy engineer Mid created The Enterprise to initially be a last resort for escaping the Blight, but seeing all that Clive had done so far to stop that from happening put him in charge of the vessel and did everything in her power to help him save their world. While neither know that they share the same soul Clive can't help but be reminded of Siberite, the au ra he met while on a different world, when Mid is teasing him or speaking from the heart, while Mid always felt an instant connection to and faith in the man that made it feel like they had been friends since children and not just the five years. There is only two people that know of them having the same soul in this world and that is Barnabas and Ultima, the two using it to their advantage to get Clive to Kanver.

[amoebaforce]

How would you think the scions react to learning that after the final fight against Zenos in EW, the WoL had brought him back aswell for them to keep him alive, then when they also find out the reasoning behind it being that the WoL and Zenos are dating?

anon, this was a juicy one! i was immediately intrigued, then i thought... "what if they all found out at the SAME TIME?"

so that's what i wrote! enjoy! :D

characters featured: Thancred Waters, Urianger Augerelt, Y'shtola Rhul, Estinien Wyrmblood, G'raha Tia, Alphinaud & Alisaie Leveilleur, Zenos yae Galvus tags: angst, secret relationship, mention of violence/grievous injury, Endwalker spoilers!!!, gn!WoL word count: 1408

They’d really done it. Their unhinged plan — flying to the edge of the universe, bringing hope to the wellspring of despair — actually worked. When the starship landed, the sky was blue again, the sun shining bright and hot over the white-washed walls of Sharlayan. The Scions were heroes. And as such, they should have been celebrating their triumph. Or sleeping for a week. But, of course, they were doing neither.

Instead, they were crammed seven-deep into an infirmary waiting room, staring at walls and fidgeting as they waited for the Warrior of Light to emerge from one of the sick rooms. A fairly regular occurrence for them, with one exception. It was not the Warrior convalescing; it was the disgraced prince of Garlemald himself, Zenos viator Galvus. The fact that he swallowed the Mothercrystal’s power and hunted the Warrior to the edge of the universe was dramatic enough as it was, but the fact that the Warrior brought him back afterward? 

Bizarre. That was the unspoken consensus between the Scions. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, unwilling to assume but burning with curiosity all the same. As they pondered a day full of incomprehensible occurrences, the door to Room Two slid open, and the Warrior of Light emerged into the waiting room. Their comrade’s face was grimmer than befits a shard of Azem. The silence was a shell no one wished to break.

Finally, someone exhaled.

“Does he live?” Y’shtola asked, tone held taut. The Warrior merely nodded their head. “How severe are the injuries?”

“Fractured jaw,” the Warrior recited, eyes a little glazed. “One wrist and one leg are broken, and a few ribs, too. Internal bleeding. Bruises and cuts everywhere.”

“What happened out there?” Alphinaud exclaimed. He rose to his feet, and his sister followed, though her eyes were still cast to the floor. “I mean, we almost lost you, and then he teleported aboard, too, and–” 

“Zenos helped me,” the Warrior said suddenly. “We stopped the Song. Then we fought, and I… I couldn’t leave him there.”

Thancred and Urianger exchanged a look. The Warrior took another step into the room, not quite sure who to look at. A thousand emotions swirled through the Scions’ faces. 

“Listen,” Thancred said, “I trust your judgment. If you saw fit to bring him back, I can’t argue.”

“Neither can I,” G’raha interjected. He fidgeted slightly in his seat. “Though I admit I’m a little confused as to why.”

Alisaie crossed her arms. “Me, too,” she muttered. “He’s a real piece of work.”

“People can change,” the Warrior argued, tone verging on defensive. “Look at Yotsuyu. Look at Fordola.”

The Elezen girl twisted her lips, though she couldn’t argue the point. Her brother took a go at it, instead.

“But you just said he went up there to fight you again,” Alphinaud countered. “Clearly he has not grown out of his fascination with harming you.”

“He doesn’t want to harm me,” the Warrior said. “It… It wasn’t like that. He challenges me because I’m his only equal. The only person who could ever hope to be a match to him.”

“What are you saying, exactly?” G’raha asked, ears twitching. 

The Warrior hesitated. Cast their eyes around the room. A sea of faces stared back, all in various stages of bafflement. All faces the Warrior had come to know, love, and respect. They hung their head.

“I’m sorry,” they told the Scions. “I’ve been keeping a secret.” 

In an instant, the room went airless. 

“I beg your pardon?” Y’shtola demanded.

“What does that mean?” Alisaie shouted.

“Now, now,” Urianger said, stepping closer. “None of us have ever presumed to be privy to every facet of our comrade’s personal life. I am sure all of us have some intimate business we’d prefer not to air among ourselves. I cannot fault the Warrior for keeping their conversations with us work-related.”

“This is work-related,” Y’shtola shot back. “Zenos has been a thorn in our side for ages!”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” the Warrior said again. “But after that day in Garlemald, after Alisaie told him off, things changed. We talked. Came to understand each other.”

Thancred frowned. “Well, I guess if anyone could understand a guy like that, it might as well be you…” He trailed off, rubbing his chin.

“So you’ve been meeting with him in secret?” Alphinaud asked. The Warrior nodded.

“And what do you do on these rendezvous with the enemy?” Y’shtola pressed, even as Urianger lifted a brow at her tone.

The Warrior sighed. Memories flooded their mind. Soft nights in Ilsabard, splitting a loaf of rationed bread around the coals of a dying fire. Whispering into the crook of his neck as the sky turned pale.

“We just talked. Not about ‘work’ or anything like that — about life, and the past, and the future. He’s lonely. He wants to move on.”

“Tell that to the people left behind in the snow,” Alisaie snapped, and the Warrior winced, because she was right. 

His freedom wasn’t fair. For acts like his, there had to be consequences. They’d told Zenos as much the first time he showed up at their door. But he showed up again, and again, and the Warrior realized he had nowhere to go. No one to cling to. 

“He’ll atone,” the Warrior said, holding their chin high. “Just like the other architects of the war. I’ll make sure he does.”

“You speak as if you are his shepherd,” Y’shtola said.

When the Warrior did not deny it, the Scions went a little stiller. Another pause.

“Do you… care for him?” G’raha ventured. 

The Warrior’s composed facade cracked. 

“I do,” they confessed. Tears sprung to their eyes. “And I know Zenos has done a lot of bad, but so have I. I put down hordes of the tempered before there was treatment. They were innocent people. Victims. I held the dying in my arms as they told me their lives were less worthy than mine, like it was just that they died and I did not. And all of us who freed Doma and Ala Migho have Garlean blood on our hands. 

“Yes, our righteous cause prevailed, and we saved the star, but I find no peace in that knowledge. I find it only with him. Zenos was groomed for the purpose of destruction, just like I was. We merely served different masters. And now, we both find ourselves at the end of our tasks, with no instructions for our next move. Equally lost. Yes, he is impulsive, and aggressive, and arrogant, but the world isn’t ending anymore — there’s a tomorrow again. One where a man like him might grow and evolve. I have to give him the chance to see it.”

A stunned silence settled over the Scions. Alisaie’s brow knitted with astonishment; Y’shtola’s mouth fell into an ‘O’. The Warrior gritted their teeth, waiting for a wave of scolding, but it never came. Everyone’s faces softened, eyes glazed as if ruminating — everyone but Estinien. He hadn’t said a word in hours, but now the dragoon let out a low chuckle. A smirk graced his lips.

“Didn’t realize you had a thing for blondes,” Estinien said.

Thancred snorted, and with a series of eye rolls and giggles, the tension between the Scions loosened into something breathable. Somewhere deep in the Warrior’s chest, a knot came untied.

“Me, neither,” they replied, allowing themselves a half-smile.

Urianger stepped forward to lay a hand on their shoulder. “Tis plain to me that you have made up your mind,” he said gently. “And just as plain that you hold the prince dear to your heart.”

“Aye,” Y’shtola murmured. “I do not pretend to understand you, my friend, but… I can’t tell you who to love.”

The Warrior wiped their eyes with their sleeve, uttering a teary laugh. G’raha offered a handkerchief, then pulled them into an embrace.

“Whatever makes you happy,” he said, so honest that it made the Warrior cry harder.

Alphinaud smiled to himself, already making a mental checklist of all the ways he could coordinate the prince’s reparation efforts with the Ilsabard Contingent’s. If utilized correctly and led by the Warrior, he thought, Zenos might well be a boon to the reconstruction. In fairness, he didn’t have very many fans left in the area… but that was a bridge to cross later. Right now, all the Warrior should worry about was recovery. Theirs, and their love’s, too.

[yamisnuffles]

nothing i can come up with right now has the subtle touch that makes all your aus so good, so you're gonna get what you're gonna get, and maybe i'll send another later lmao. so same question i just answered: what would an ascian or unsundered azem au look like?

Okay, so, for Ascian Azem to make sense for me, she would have to have in this universe gone along with the Zodiark plan because I still hold that they were to some extent tempered. Also, she would need to be Sundered still, to keep that time loop.

So, starting with that base:

She would be a bit broken before the Sundering even happened. It would break something in her to give up on finding another way. Doubly so when Hyth sacrifices himself. That said, I think Hyth telling her and Emet his plan is what would have swayed her in the first place. With Emet so adamant about the Zodiark plan and Hyth literally offering up his life to see it through, she could have in some universe decided she couldn't turn on both of them. It would very much destroy some part of her to do so, though.

When the Sundering happens, what bright, flaming light was left in her would be snuffed out. When she had her memories restored, she'd have instant, crushing regret that she hadn't tried to find another way. She'd be certain that things would have ended differently if she had (even though she'd be wrong there). This would result in her becoming withdrawn. Depressed. I think it would take a long time for her to snap out of that. Perhaps that's what leads to her death a few times with different shards.

Eventually it would be too much. To still have Emet but see him changed every time she's restored would crush her and she would see it as another failure on her part. It was already too late for Elidibus and she'd never been on the best terms with Lahabrea but if she'd pulled herself together sooner, maybe she could have at least kept Hades. So she would leave. Go her own way and hop from body to body as needed when one passed awa. Belatedly try to find a different plan.

She would spend a long time on her own. From time to time, Emet would try to get her back for personal reasons and Elidibus for the good of the plan, but she would rebuff both. That said, she wouldn't do anything to interfere with their plans for the Rejoining. She would still long for Zodiark's return and, with him, hopefully Hyth. Also, like Emet, I think she would be determined to hold onto her original, unsundered appearance.

Eventually, after thousands of lifetime's of failures, I think she'd go back to Emet's side. By this point, they'd have sort of swapped places in the relationship, with him the bringer of chaos and her the weary, hard working one. What finally snaps her out of all of this would be the modern day warrior of light. In Aubrey, she would see a mirror of much of who she had once been. Still so alive and full of so much fire and love despite everything, it would be enough for her to see hope. They would fight so that Azem could see if she actually had what it would take to overcome the Final Days when they returned. Upon defeat, with classic chaotic style, she would offer her soul up so that Aubrey could be empowered.

So there you have it. It would be complete with lots of tragic attempts by Emet for them to have what they once did (and for her to sometimes try as well). Lots of them regretting what the other had become and Emet convinced any shard he'd restored had just come back wrong. In the end, things would be about like canon, except that Emet would have an extra streak of "Why YOU" with Aubrey (as would Elidibus, but in a different flavor).

[alicesadventuresinffxiv]

Thoughts on 7.2 

I am happy but also a bit sad?

In almost every way, this patch was exactly what I wanted and predicted!

In particular, Endless Sphene being a passive, idealized version of the more opinionated and driven original person was something I’d been thinking about since ffxivwrite. So basically all the Sphene stuff this patch was me pointing at the screen and going I KNEW IT! 😂

It’s unclear if the changes were deliberate doctoring by Preservation to remove any problematic or rebellious aspects to her personality, or if it’s just the result of Endless Sphene being based on memories of how others saw Sphene, not her own. Either way, Endless Sphene coming across as uncanny and inhumanly idealized seems very intentional in hindsight. And it plays very well into a lot of the analysis I’ve seen about Sphene’s character. (I should really do a Sphene-centric queue sometime… there’s so much good stuff that’s been written on her.)

Also on a related note…

the lesbians are winning! 👀

After 7.0, the main thing my silly little shipper heart wanted was some way, AU or not, for Wuk Lamat to have been able to meet the original Sphene. She tried so hard to reach out to the Endless version, but that was inevitably going to end in conflict and tragedy. But what if they’d met earlier, before Sphene had put herself on that path? Maybe they really could have been allies, friends, or even something more…? :3

Anyway long story short I was very tempted to screenshot every time these two looked at each other during the patch. They don’t quite know what to make of each other yet but I can’t wait to see where their dynamic goes from here! 

Although…the writing around Wuk Lamat this patch actually made me a little sad too. Sure, Lamaty’i was always going to take a backseat this patch with the focus on OG Sphene and Calyx wanting the Azem Crystal and/or Key. But the way that every other scene had her go off to silently talk to someone else or make other excuses just to get her out of the picture was jarring. At least in post-StB, Lyse gets her big goodbye in 4.0 and her responsibilities in a official military position justify why she can’t come adventuring any more. With Wuk, she’s literally right there on screen, just shoved in a corner and put on mute. 

I’m just really worried this will be Lyse/Fordola all over again, where the writers set up an interesting dynamic (even despite some base expansion writing flaws), but then one character gets blamed and hated for being the face of a less popular expansion, and now any further development of the aspects that were good about that character gets canned. :(

Incidentally, 7.2 fixed one of my actual complaints with the 7.0 (maybe even as far back as 6.x) writing, which was the use of side characters. The characters that had character-unique things to do (like Alisaie’s determination to find cures!) got their own subplots and characters that weren’t immediately relevant (like Alphinaud) got to take a break until they were needed.

And maybe it’s just because I went into 7.2 having seen praise of it, but I felt like the pacing was better too? Like there were less moments of characters standing around summarizing the cutscene we just saw, and instead more of them each having their own different priorities and takes on it. Hard to really prove that, though!

That being said, Krile and G’raha currently still feel a bit superfluous, a la Myths of the Realm (which I did not love). Unlike MotR where it felt like neither of them had an emotional connection to the plot, I’m hopeful the Preservation thread will allow Krile to have something to contribute and of course G’raha will have strong feelings about Shards and their civilizations. 

(I do wish G’raha got to talk to Sphene more about the whole “wake up in the dystopian future” thing they have in common. Given that Sphene now has the crown with Endless Sphene’s memories, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up doing the exact same thing as Source!G’raha, choosing to take on the memories of her other self to become a continuation of both versions. Now that sure would be an interesting conversation to hear if they ever discussed it!)

What else…

I’m not really a fan of having the WoL shrug off a giant lightning strike. Even in EW, it felt goofy that the WoL’s combat prowess somehow made them immune to a shock collar. I get that this is a world where bullets and fireballs can somehow be nonlethal, but it’s one thing to see fantasy combat in gameplay and another to have blunt narrative confirmation that your character is apparently Superman.

Like, if Fordola did enough push ups, would the death collar have stopped working on her too? XD

As for our new villains...

Viktor Arcane, is that you?

More seriously, Simulant Sphene chewing the scenery was delightful, but I’m not quite sold on Calyx yet as an interesting villain. We already have plenty of tropey evil scientists mumbling about their calculations in FFXIV, so he needs something to set himself apart. I suspect that will come down to what his endgame is besides the “evolution of mankind” stuff. 

At the very least, though, I’m curious how long he (and/or Preservation) will stick around. The unique music during his introduction and noticeable Preservation logos all over his stuff makes me think we’ll be seeing a lot more of them. On the other hand, the fact that we’re immediately meeting the head/founder of Preservation and he’s also immediately laying out his goals doesn’t bode well for their longevity or mystery… but who knows?

Overall 

This feels like one of the stronger x.2 patches. In terms of structure, it’s very similar to 4.2 - we have an antagonist “returned” who both is and isn’t the same person as before, plus some dweeb with a bad haircut clearly setting up a bunch of traps for the WoL to walk into for x.3. 😛

Still, I’m quite invested now, and if the Stormblood comparisons keep holding, 7.3 is going to be a hell of a patch to look forward to!

[feralkwe]

Disrespectfully works for me... So what IS Kit going to do with Azem's Key...? It seems like there's myriad possibilities open with something like that... What's she considered?

OOOOH THIS IS SO GOOD BECAUSE I HAVE SO MANY THEORIES AND NEED 7.3 IN MY MOUTH NOW.

Gonna put this below a jump for spoilers!

What I HOPE happens is she gets to go find Ascians with it. There are A GOOD MANY unaccounted for right now. My theory is they all lined up for Gaius to execute them so they could fast travel to wherever their base camp is. I am 9000% sure there is a base camp. And that there are newly de-Zodiarked souls in the mix, too.

That would be the best use of investment in characters so far, IMO. It's what she would jump for, and she frankly smells Ascians everywhere right now. Ascians mean husband retrieval, because I have not made firm decisions on the how of it all yet, but I have two paths forward for this mapped out, depending on where 7.3 takes us for the climax.

Barring that, she's gonna use it to help Y'shtola conquer inter-shard travel and hopefully get our girl that character growth arc she 9000% deserves and apparently ceded to G'raha Tia when he apparently became Most Important Cat.

It's long past time Y'stola had a peripeteia solo duty or anagnorisis dungeon run. She's the Scion Kit's know the longest l, the one I've been with most, and I want to see her get meaningful development that has actual teeth for consequences of her actions.

Girlie-Pop casts Flow like it's Cure I and she keeps getting that chance proc of Return From Lifestream.

But she IS getting Elidibus back before 8.0. It's just a matter of what the game gives me so I can solidfy my plan.

[soothingmind]

Rough Lore Notes & Summaries

I was thinking of doing that for quite a while, but I never know where to start or what to even put here, let alone know what is even important to mention for a quick summary lol

No specific story events are being mentioned, this is just a rough summary of things as they are in her world.

So here is an attempt:

Nimda Scala ( "Nimda from Scala ad Caelum" )

- Originally a Kingdom Hearts fankid OC, her father being Brain from Union Cross. In this version of the story this is also true, with him also being the Founder of Scala ad Caelum, hence Nimda's birthplace being Scala.

- she is around 15 at the start of ARR, 18 at the start of Endwalker, and 19 in Dawntrail. As a rule of thumb, around half a year younger than the Leveilleur twins. Outside of her own story, for example in other AUs or the in-game's own time bubble, she is 17. She is always a teenager. (I have no intention to portrait her in any sexual manner or anything in that direction, and also please respect that.) Should the game actually acknowledge any kind of time passing through showing any visible age change in other characters this may change in a similar manner, but for now, no.

- at the core, she is a Kingdom Hearts character. She does wield a keyblade, the Master's Defender, which she got passed down from her father. Any sword she wields through the various jobs she has is represented by this keyblade. Her main class is Summoner, and her pet Carbuncle is a Dream Eater Spirit, a blue Foxstar. All her summons are Dream Eaters as well, imbued with the game's Egis. The Book she wields is the Book of Prophecies she took with her as she left her home world.

- her main driving force and the reason she ended up in this world is that she's looking for her father, who mysteriously vanished one day from Scala. As he was nowhere to be found in this world, she decided to look beyond the world borders. Splitting her heart and body, her soul wandered through the rift and was found by Hydaelyn, who then put her soul into a young Miqo'te body.

- said Miqo'te once ended up being caught in the Battle of Carteneau, where she lost her life. She was the original Azem Shard of the Source, yet she didn't know anything about it. She has own set of parents, whom I refer to Nimda's "parents". As Nimda is unaware of any of this through the majority of her adventure, she is simply being refered to as [Redacted] or just Redacted. (... At this point I give up looking for a name for her, it's been too long. Surely one day ...) Her home city is Sharlyan, with her mother being a Forum member and father head of the gleaner guild. Being a academic family, she was meant to attent the Studium to learn the ways of the Sage. But she was a rebellious child and didn't want any of this and rather wanted to go out there and see the world. Her father took her to Eorzea on one of his gleaner expeditions, where she promptly ran away. The rest is history.

In-game, Redacted is being portrait whenever Nimda is a Sage.

- due to her being ... a normal human being before all this, Nimda had troubles getting used to a Miqo'te body. Balancing with a tail, ears, senses. Her taste sense also got a heavy hit, having her ending up enjoying raw fish and Archon Loaf, unfortunately. In early ARR, Y'shtola showed her how to Miqo'te and they grew a close bond through that. Things are much better nowadays and she also got a better sense of food now, but still.

- being this young in the story has the Scions being very close to her. They take care of her much earlier and don't let her go out on missions alone. There is usually always someone with her. Second family, obviously. She has a close bond with everyone.

- through post HW until post EW 6.5 she has a slow, slow burn story going on with Alisaie. As of 6.55 it is an actual romantic relationship. I don't like sharing much more than that in public, if you would like to hear specifics feel free to ask. Do keep in mind that they are both teenagers, that is all.

- Nimda's canon classes:

ARR: Arcanist/Summoner

HW: Lancer/Dragoon

SB: Red Mage - Summoner mix (casting white/dark magic through summons)

ShB: Summoner, post 5.3: Dark Knight

EW: Dark Knight, post 6.0: Reaper

DT: Viper - Summoner mix (dual keyblades with Spirits on her side)

- as Dark Knight, her "Fray" is Sigurd from Kingdom Hearts, who in this story is an amalgamation of her unsaid words, the actual Fray, and Sigurd himself. He pretty much walks beside her through all of Endwalker. Not visible to others and only to her, if Y'shtola concentrates hard enough she can make out a faint trace of aether. Nimda knows Sigurd back from Scala, he raised her and was there for her whenever Brain couldn’t be around. He was pretty much a second dad to her.

- her Reaper avatar is Brain, her father. Though she takes a while to figure that one out and they don't have direct contact / cannot communicate with one another. As of DT, her Viper battle style are two keyblades - one from her father, one of hers.

- all in all she is just a determined little cat, trying to see the good in the world. She has friends and family around her who she knows they won't let her down - she is dependent on them, they are her power.

Azem (Luxu)

- they/he/she, in that priority order

- back in Daybreak Town, Luxu failed to take over Brain's body and the two souls became intertwined, sharing a part of one another. Their soul colors are almost matching.

- after this failure, the Master imbued Luxu with one of his eyes and sent him away and they found themselves in this Ancient world. Easy to mask themselves, body shifting. Yet they got quickly discovered by curious eyes and got taken under Venat's wing, whether they liked it or not (he did).

- much of their story is shrouded in mystery, but they were well liked all around

- he was in a relationship with Themis

- all Azem Shards harbor a Gazing Eye, this is something to be seen through all of history and other Shards. Nimda does not have one, yet Redacted had.

If you do have any questions regarding any story or plot point for Nimda specifically, do feel free to ask. I am happy to ramble about things! :D

[yuri-cocaine]

of course the VIERA would want VEGETABLES how very typical

anyways. 7.2 msq thots under the cut

wowee ive been posting my thoughts about each ffxiv for TEN YEARS NOW. SINCE 2015. GOOD LORDT.

i really like calyx as a new villain because he seems to be the first villain so far that is actively seeking out wol's azem abilities. he also reminds me of 9S

i knew they were gonna bust out the porxie to heal lightning-itis and it was just as boring as i thought it was going to be. the horrible ravaging disease that supposedly killed og sphene...wiped away offscreen, in less than a second. i need them to commit to a fantasy disease that a flying pig can't cure, just so we can have some stakes back. otherwise what is even the point of having that sickness there in the first place.

zelenia is a giant robot there for ff9 nostalgia. having never played ff9, i don't care at all.

im on my hands and knees here. i am BEGGING the writers to just sprinkle in references to other ff titles in 8.0 and not make the entire msq an au fanfic of another title. we aren't doing anything with tural, which is the truly original xiv part of dawntrail. i am so sick of ff9 cyberpunk au oh my god

og sphene being alive all along just makes endless sphene's death have zero impact. the two of them are exactly the same. good for wuk lamat tho because now she has her greatest second chance to befriend and/or date sphene.

i think calyx is going to do some kind of battle royale amongst the alexandrians to determine who is fit to become an endless and who isn't, bc deliberately giving out just 5000 neo regulators is so obviously step one in weeding out undesirables. he clearly understands that he doesnt have infinite aether to sustain a constant growing population of aether-draining endless, so he's going to pick and choose which ones are worthy of being endless.

the real mystery that makes calyx compelling so far isn't his obvious eugenics scheme but rather how much he knows about what azem can do, which is something not even wol really knows. the giant question of why azem made a key that can travel between reflections before reflections were even a thing is still looming.

another question is: does calyx know about the unsundered world? the ancients and their civilization is probably close to what calyx wants to achieve, but the reason why amaurot and its immortal citizens could be sustained was because unsundered etheirys was insanely aether-rich. the ancients also had a very blase attitude towards death and were very willing to off themselves if they think it's time, thus returning their aether to the star, whereas alexandrians are utterly terrified of death and want to cut off the aether cycle entirely just so they can live forever.

calyx actually calls alexandria's shard the Ninth. aside from the scions and the ascians and zero, who even knows about the numerical naming system for the shards???? who told calyx this??? even if he knows that there's the source and 13 reflections, why would he think that his shard is specifically the ninth one?

on naming: calyx is our first alexandrian with a plant name, i think. a calyx of a flower supports the petals.

random misc thoughts: dataminers found azeyma's hairstyle and outfit in the files. we're seriously getting azeyma's hair before yugiri and hyth's hairstyles. the reason why i think azeyma of all npcs was chosen is def because of the azem connection, as tenuous as it is thanks to myths of the realm ruining her mystique, but it's insane to me still like i did not expect them to add azeyma's look to mogshop AT ALL.

edit: FORGOT ABOUT ERENVILLE NOOOOO MY POOR BOY....HE NEEDS TO PICK UP BEASTMASTER OR SOMETHING IF HE KEEPS ON WANTING TO PUT HIMSELF IN DANGER TO HELP OUT. altho i really love the idea of erenville just Never having any combat class ever and he just keeps on successfully running to safety. i want him to show up in a trial and give us pointers on the field, and he effortlessly dodges every single aoe and somehow doesn't take any damage from raidwides either. an unkillable npc.

ARCADION:

my hashtag game theory is yaana is a shard of ericthonios. she's born inside the dome in sol 9, so technically she's from the 9th. that's how she and claudien can exist at the same time. also...just look at her. she is literally eric antonio as a catgirl.

dancing green is my fav.....i died like 30 times in his fight i didnt know what was going on

this cast is full of cats. we've got the three sisters, and now retsarra, and also the three pet cats that brute bomber had. this is 7 cats. yuma is a rabbit, but if she was a miqo, then we would have 8 cats. thats a lot of cats!

i actually really like metem. poor little guy. he's stuck as a powerless mc........

idk what the arcadion president wants if he's willing to let us set loose all the feral souls. maybe his big end goal is merge all the souls together to form a legendary bidoof type chimera and have wol fight it for a big spectacle????

i hope the president is Mr. Beast.

[a-moonlit-flower]

@grahatea asked for my EW lore. So I'mma type like a fiend because I have WAY too many stories/branches to merge into it/adding hyperlinks from my main.

BUCKLE IN, PEEPS. I'M GONNA FUCKING YAMMER UNDER THE CUT. BE WARNED THAT MOST OF THIS WAS THOUGHT UP/WRITTEN BEFORE THE EXPANSION ACTUALLY DROPPED AND IT MAY NOT MAKE SENSE BUT I'M NOT CHANGING IT.

So, to essentially explain my EW lore, it is own branch that I came up with before the expansion even dropped and then developed as things went on. I called this part of Shuri's lore, "The Emergence of the End", which began Shuri's identity crisis after she spoke to Elidibus (who was the ancient lover of a moot's character), who recognized the piece of Shuri's ancient self, Lilith, that still resided in her.

To go back to the time of the ancients (because, ya know, we did that to save the world AGAIN), Lilith is Shuri's unsundered self. Let me make it clear that Lilith is not Azem in this; in any rate, she actually does not hold a seat on the Convocation (I do have a "side B" branch to this part of Shuri's lore where Lilith takes the seat of Duedalaphon, but it's not part of Shuri's canon).

Lilith was not born; she was made. She's actually an entelechy that Themis created for his beloved because she longed for a child. What made Lilith unique was that she was able to age despite that she was not a "person" in the traditional sense. She was a gentle soul throughout her childhood and she had a sibling bond with Hades, who would become Emet-Selch. While the siblings had grown up close, a rift did begin to form between them because Lilith noticed that Hades was treated more as the "wanted" child than her. That she was just a consolation prize for her mother and father, who both had seats on the Convocation, which she had no interest in. As a result, she began to distance herself from her family.

When Lilith got older, she earned the fascination and affection (read: obsession) of Hermes because of their interactions and her being intrigued by his Meteia. However, Lilith didn't return Hermes' feelings, her heart having been stolen by the unsundered shard of Estinien, Lucifer (Shuri and Estinien are married on the Source, btw). This lead to some rather unrequited moments between her and Hermes, but Lilith only had her eyes on Lucifer, who had become the center of her universe.

When the sundering was about to begin, Lucifer had lost his life trying to protect Lilith from a threat. Grief began to eat away at her mind and ever so slowly, similar to Meteon's corruption, Lilith was suffering a similar fate. It began to show in ways that the once-gentle entelechy would normally not do, which caused Hades to subsequently witness her killing a concept. While her soul does get sundered, Lilith was sealed in the moon by her parents and brother because they couldn't bear the choice to destroy her.

Shuri, born as a Xaela with unique scales, didn't know she carried her a piece of her former self inside of her. The only manifestation, which she found out before the events of EW, was her silver eye--as Lilith's eyes were silver. However, in the events before EW fully happened, Lilith was reawakened and her seal broken by Fandaniel (which, due to Hermes, still had an obsession for her as well) and she began her plot to fully merge herself with Shuri to "become whole again". She does succeed when Shuri's mental state was far too compromised with the events and information she's learned.

Now, we know our WoL still stops the Big Bad of EW, but Lilith, having merged with Shuri (but kept Shuri's form with very visible changes), does become a villain who wants the Source to be sundered/destroyed because of her twisted grief over Lucifer. She does not harm Estinien in the duration when she discovers that he is the shard of her lost love. A lot of events, of course, happen with Lilith questioning herself and her motives after seeing the life her shard had with the man she loved, a life Lilith wanted with Lucifer before the sundering. Towards the end, Lilith does help the Scions and Warriors of Light against the Endsinger. Post-events, she gives control of Shuri's body back to her.

Now, you may be wondering about the relationships, so let me break them down (mind you, I have not completed most of the EW raids, but I've been spoiled enough to learn some things):

Hermes x Lilith: unrequited love. Lilith considered him a friend and Hermes was obsessed with her. Even when he served Zenos, Fandaniel was still obsessed with Lilith and wanted her to do as she pleased if it meant everything/one dies. "Side B" does explore a romance between them if Lucifer was never in the picture, but canonically, they were never a couple. Lilith had also manipulated the feelings Hermes' still carried within Fandaniel to suit her ends.

Themis x Lilith: father/daughter. Themis created Lilith for his beloved and he mourned the loss of his daughter after her corruption.

Hades x Lilith: Foster siblings, yet were raised as though they were blood. They used to be close, but jealousy began a rift between them. Hades also mourned Lilith, but knew that the sister he knew was long dead.

Lahabrea x Lilith: uncle/niece. Lilith loved the stories Lahabrea would tell her. However, when Lilith loses her mind, Lahabrea is the one to vote that she be destroyed because she was too dangerous.

Zenos x Lilith: great-aunt/nephew. Lilith does visit Zenos a few times, mostly to use the title of "nephew" mockingly as she found it amusing that Hades/Solus managed to have a family. She doesn't attempt to manipulate him, though, because Zenos has his own desires and who is she to stop him?

And that's what I can finagle so far but I always am downbad to talk about this part of Shuri's lore because my brainworms were KICKING IT INTO HIGH GEAR for it.

[motheatenscarf]

God we are a barely over a fucking week out from Dawntrail but all I want to holler about is my fuckin dumb accidental parallels that I made through making my WoL a Garlean defector and why YEAH, I KNOW, everyone ships their fuckin WoL with Emet-Selch, I KNOW, everyone knows the reasons why everyone ships it, but lemme scream about it anyway because I'm a big dumb idiot.

I've mentioned before that Talia was an ex-Garlean soldier who defected over having her faith in Garlemald and its false promises shattered. She grew up in the heart of the empire in a relatively well-off and marginally respected military family, tenuously upper class. She was protected from seeing a lot of the worst aspects of it and had a similar world-view to Gaius' where she actually believed in the supposed meritocracy and the initial goal of ridding the world of false gods to free the people from being enslaved to them. She missed the memo where the cruelty and the oppression and the caste system of exploitation were the point of a fascist empire, not an accidental byproduct of rapid expansion. She was involved with the Populares who wanted to fix the empire without tearing it down and her naivete got her twin sister killed. She vowed never to be a soldier again after that and fled the empire to become a wandering adventurer, helping people to try and atone for how wrong she'd been about everything and maybe seeking her death in doing so.

Cue the whole ARR storyline and she's given the chance to live out that idealism she had of ridding the world of Primals and risking her wretched life in the process- Win-win! But she has to hide who/what she is from these people, so she doesn't really connect with them, and they're certainly eager to send her into danger carelessly, risking her life on increasingly more petty conflicts when she is the ONLY PERSON who can kill primals, but fine, she'll do it. And then they start militarizing. And she starts getting that sinking feeling like it's all gonna turn out like Garlemald did, rapidly expanding with a grand ambition that'll only sour and turn to poison that drowns the whole world, and she promised on her sister's grave she would never be a soldier again. So she maybe projects some criticisms onto Minfilia similarly to how she projects onto Hydalen what she can't say to her own mother, since, y'know, Minfilia's right there to yell at while the Emperor is dead in the ground on the other side of the world.

Except that he isn't. So, 2 expansions happen and she becomes a Dark Knight and a Reaper to deal with her grief and rage respectively in losing the Scions (twice) and her sense of self as she becomes more fixated on annihilating Garlemald off the fucking map (one finger on the monkey's pawl curls down). Then Shadowbringers happens, and Talia is an ex-Garlean Dark Knight who walked out of Emet's newest empire because the universe keeps playing the same joke on him over and over apparently.

I did not mean for this to happen, it just happened, and I lost my fucking mind at the reveal that Azem was a defector from the Convocation and then literally had to take a walk to calm down at the reveal that yes, Emet was a Dark Knight. He probably founded the fucking discipline. And hey, Fray sure does take an "I only berate you because I want you to be safe and take care of yourself," attitude, and has those gold eyes, and hey, we know that Dark Knights are really rare, maybe this is the same stone that Emet made some ten thousand years ago that holds an echo of why he took up the blade in the first place. COOL.

Anyway, I dismissed the impulse to EmetWol at the time because like, yes, it's tragically compelling, but at the time didn't think Emet would stoop to settling for a shard and was still trying to decide how Talia would feel about everything that was happening. Decided she's a lot of things, but if she learned anything from Garlemald, it's how to admit when she's wrong. For all that she hated Solus zos Galvus, that is one of many facets to him, and the unbearable burden of Emet Selch was something that... kinda resonated with her. Learning more about the ancients, she understood why he did what he did. It was unconscionable and unforgivable, and she still didn't trust him because fool me once, but she didn't have it in her to hate him anymore.

During the Heavensward/Stormblood era, she'd kinda lost sight of herself when all the Scions were taken away. She hadn't been close with most of them to this point, but thought of Alphinaud and Alisaie as the children she'd never have. Finding Alphinaud's empty body left her with a thin, frail thread of sanity that she only clung onto for Alisaie's sake, and then Alisaie was taken right in front of her very eyes, powerless to save her, just like her sister, and Talia kinda lost it. Threw herself into the Ghimlt Dark with the plan to raze a path from Ala Mhigo to Garlemald, no room for survivors, no room for rubble, just blood and cinders, or die trying. All because she was alone, all because the people she loved had been taken from her. So yeah. She... unfortunately understood that better than she wanted to. Even without being tempered and

Tried to think about what a Talia who wasn't a silent protagonist would say to him and how they'd get along. Wasn't sure how Emet would react to a WoL who gives as good as they get in the "Condescending Sarcastic Supervillain" running commentary. Like, he barely seems to tolerate these people as is and has no patience for their questions, no way he's gonna put up with a WoL who will also complain about his bad attitude and make fun of his dumb hair and ask pointed questions about how poorly Garlemald is run and ask if that was his idiot plan, even if they're mostly joking.

AND THEN I GOT TO ENDWALKER. And like. Subject A.) Unburdened Ancient Emet Selch, he's still just. Like That.

Turns out him being exasperated and barely tolerating people is just his personality. That's him showing affection because if he didn't want to be around these people, he'd just leave. He just has to complain at all times or he'll die, that's completely understandable.

And then Subject B.) Hythlodaeus, beautiful ray of sunshine to everyone else but professional Emet wrangler who knows exactly how to give as good as the man dishes out and oh, hey, maybe that's actually why Hades likes him. Maybe it's reassuring to him when people aren't put off by what a miserable grouch he is and kvetch back at him and with him about everything. Waldorf needs his Statler and all that. Maybe it would actually be weirdly comforting to just have somebody to riff off of and actually, her beef with Solus' actions is refreshing because for once it's an incarnation whose issue isn't really about Hades or Emet-Selch. And maybe with the looming threat of her Death, Doom, Gonna Die, all throughout SHB, it's kind of a relief for there to be at least ONE person with whom she shares any kind of cultural touchstone or framework, even if they're both contemptuous of Garlemald and Garleans as a whole.

... oh no!

And then that percolated for like 4 months fretting over like, does this interpretation of the character fit in with canon, is this too self indulgent, how much am I gonna embrace the tragedy of it, there are so many ways to interpret Emet Selch

Cuz the last thing I want is for The Loud Idiot in any lit class to come to my inbox and tell me I missed the point because buh-buh, the text has one rigid interpretation and it's Strictly Mine, that's how art works, durr

and then I realized that imaginary idiot was basically the only thing holding me back, so. WHY NOT! Yes, it's embarrassing and stupid, but so is everything, fuck it, I don't care, WoLEmet be upon ye, more thoughts to follow in the days to come, i'm writing this on break from my D&D game