#maybe he's the thirteenth's shard of him :3

[the-manderville-mambo]

hi sorry question. why do you call rubicante fire hermes? genuine question sorry

Because his English voice actor is the same guy who does Hermes' English voice! (And because he's The Fire Dude.) I have no idea what he sounds like in other languages tho

[clariongradiation]

What if u + ur worstie died at the edge of the universe and you both came back and were Super Normal about it

[ofcoffee-andletters]

FFXIV Write day 3 Prompt: Tempest

Preface: This is a snippet writen based on a gpose I already did once when I was going through MSQ with Meteor - that will be posted eventually but all you need to know is that Ardbert is alive (with a body of his own) with Meteor here.

Please enjoy.

Tempest : a violent storm : TUMULT, UPROAR

—————

Looking up to the sky there’s nothing but the silence of the stars, the calmness of the vastness of the eternal dark sea — and yet all he can do is close his eyes and think about the irony of this whole situation — his world was being consumed by Light and here he is, by luck, by a miracle and the stubbornness of someone who is too stupid and too brave for his own good…but it came with a great opportunity.

He is here.

Saving, or attempting to save, a world consumed in Darkness.

——————

‘…Are you going to be alright?’ Meteor had asked, and Ardbert had no answer. The idea of going to the thirteenth shard and seeing what had become of Cyella’s world, what had been the reason for her to leave his home behind and try to use him and the others was, frankly, overwhelming — but… ‘You can stay if you…’

‘There’s no way in all hells I am staying back.’ Ardbert growled back, basically, making Meteor look surprised and a bit more worried — and so Ardbert cursed himself for a second before he tried to understand his own thoughts. ‘…That’s…her world. And she has suffered for so long, she was even willing to betray us…’

The Warrior of Light seemed to understand the conflict inside his shard’s heart and — to his credit — he knew a bit about what to do: It was his time to be there for him. To be there to support him.

‘This might be the first time we see the thirteenth shard, but…you know I am going to be there every step of the way.’ Ardbert chuckled after hearing that, knowing full well from where those words had come from. ‘…I do prefer seeing you smiling, you know?’

Ardbert — the once called Warrior of Darkness and, now, second Warrior of Light along with Meteor — closed his eyes and nodded, ‘…How curious…I do also prefer to see you smiling, Meteor.’

——————

There’s a soft touch upon his hand and Ardbert has to look to the side — he finds Meteor to his side and smiling, before he stands in silence next to him, the two of them looking ahead as they are finally here, standing on the Moon of another of the shards…a red moon that overlooks a world consumed by darkness.

As Ardbert studies said world with his eyes, he can’t help the pain inside his heart that wants to make him scream at how unfair everything has been, since the very beginning — since before any of them even knew about other worlds, about reflections, about…anything. And yet he feels sure about the next steps to take, about his decisions, more than ever — or maybe for the first time ever.

“We will find Golbez…we will save not only Azdaja, but this entire world…” Meteor’s words make Ardbert remember how to breathe, an irony for him, so used to be an oddity, an existence that shouldn’t even be here — yet he is alive, miraculously and surprisingly. “As long as we’re together, we will save this world.”

“Your eternal optimism continues to impress me…but, it is one of the reasons I love you.” Ardbert can’t help but tease his soulmate, making said man get a soft pink tint over his cheeks — and then he is rewarded with a soft smile and a look of reciprocated love. “You’re really so easy to melt…”

Meteor let’s go of his hand and then pushes Ardbert away, flustered and smiling, “Shut up…!”

Ardbert can’t help but feel his heart full with love, with happiness and…comfort, he is unable to be worried or doubt himself, the circumstances, anything, as long as Meteor is there, shining like the Sun itself and with a smile that would be enough for him to fight through despair as many times as he could — for this man.

All he desires is to be able to show this to Meteor, from here on…

——————

He can hear his heart hammering inside his chest, painfully fast, his own breathing coming to a halt the second his eyes register what is happening — and while something inside of his own self tells him he shouldn’t just stay there and then kneel down to try to see what is happening — he just stares, barely feeling the weight of his shield on one arm and unable to even notice if he still has his sword on the other.

He just sees him, falling.

“…Death is not forever in this world, Hero.” A voice, grave and cruel, says behind him. “But do not despair — for your beloved shall join me, as another voidsent.” That last word made the former Warrior of Light tense — and his mind stopped reasoning. “…Maybe then, you shall understand the pain we have gone through…”

Pain, Golbez says, and Meteor cannot help but think that he is is familiar with it — pain and loss have been a constant company every step of his journey since he started to fight for the sake of the star. And now Golbez wants to say his pain was greater? His loss was bigger? His suffering was enough of an excuse to take away anything and anyone he wanted?

Bullshite.

"I…will…kill you." Meteor's voice can be heard, and even himself finds his words to be surprising. Violence and suffering are not things he likes to inflict on others — but he can't stop, he can only think about what he just saw, what jus happened.

He was here fighting alongside Ardbert, and while he had been worried about what could happen…his soulmate was always sure and firmly believing that as long as they were together nothing would or could go wrong.

But of course, Golbez wasn't an idiot and throwing Ardbert off the edge of the arena was always an option, and what did Meteor do? Nothing. What did Meteor attempt? Nothing. He just stared, there, scared and frozen until he couldn't see Ardbert's body anymore.

"…I will kill you, over and over again…until I am satisfied…" Meteor hears himself saying, his heart hammering against his chest in pain and anger, his soul burning with desperation and mourning — a feeling he hates, a feeling he doesn't want anymore.

His entire being screams to get rid of whoever and whatever hurt one of his most important treasures, his beloved soulmate, his Ardbert. Yes. This man had killed his Ardbert.

And Meteor could feel a surge of pain and agony powering every single blow of his sword as he rushed back to make sure Golbez regrets every breath he takes from now on.

——————

His entire body is moving but his mind is long gone, he knows voidsent can't die here, he knows Golbez is weak and practically out of power to keep defending himself.

He doesn't care.

He sees the black knight's figure ahead and he is walking towards it once more, focusing on this, on hurting someone else, on making someone else feel pain and agony is better than trying to think what he is going to do after.

And when he raises his sword again he feels a soft touch stopping his arm — his mind goes blank and he swears his very heart stops beating for a second — slowly he is being turned around and he hears it.

"…Meteor?" Ardbert's voice sounds filled with worry.

And Meteor can't do anything but let go of his weapons and cling to him, gripping on Ardbert's clothes so tightly he fears he is going to rip them but he doesn't care. He is here. He can feel his warmth and hug him, he can touch him and hear his voice, he is here. He is fine. He is alive.

"Oh, Meteor…I thought…you…" Ardbert tries to understand what is happening, and he sighs. "I thought you remembered how my echo works…something like that isn't going to…" It's clear his dear shard doesn't want to mention more.

It feels like even saying the words would make Meteor break.

"…What am I to do with you…?" Ardbert whispers as he slowly embraces Meteor, his hand caressing his back up and down, the other one making sure to keep him pressed against his body. There are no tears happening but there's no need for them…the pain and fear inside Meteor's soul is palpable enough without it.

And so Meteor finally speaks, his voice far weaker and scared… "I thought I lost you…"

"I know."

"I couldn't see you…"

"…I know."

"…I can't go on without you…"

Ardbert closes his eyes and kisses his cheek, his embrace becomes even tighter. "I know, and you will never have to…I am here." And those words are what finally break the Hero, making Meteor care not for anything else, just clinging to his soulmate, his eyes closed as he allows Ardbert to move him around…the rest of the Universe doesn’t matter in this moment, or any moment until his heart can stop hurting.

Until his mind stops being filled with fear.

Until he is sure he is not losing someone again.

[forgetsrotation]

Kirby and the Flood of Darkness

My rambling about voidsent Kirby & how he became Makoh'to's reaper avatar. It's official Makoh'to lore, babey!!

Spoilers for reaper quests and 6.1 onward, iirc.

VOIDSENT KIRBY LORE!!

Things will likely change as we learn more – or stay the same bc I diverge from canon if I please lol – so this is all just in good fun!

“This’d be an avatar. A materialization of your essence and the stygian power of the voidsent on the other side. A voidsent to which, if you choose, you will bind to yourself.” - Drusilla, Quest: The Killer Instinct

Some context on why Kirby is suddenly in Makoh’to’s lore – simple! I’ve loved Kirby since I was a little kid. It’s been quite some time since I played a Kirby game, but adding Kirby to Makoh’to’s lore actually got me to purchase Kirby and the Forgotten Land a few days ago. The game is very cute and definitely greasing the gears spinning in my head re: voidsent Kirby LOL

So I’m thinking… void Kirby (name in progress) has his own domain in the Thirteenth. And within this domain, there are a lot of other smaller voidsent… like Waddle Dees, perhaps…………. Maybe there is an old, decrepit Fountain of Dreams at the center of Kirby’s domain.

This domain would be more peaceful than others belonging to hungrier voidsent. The Waddle Dees and Kirby will often travel to the Source to find aether rich foods, like apples, and bring them back to share with everyone else. They really are all Little Guys and try to avoid conflict and fighting.

The Waddle Dees themselves are quite peaceful, but if anyone were to try and bother Kirby or his domain, that Little One would make quick work of them! His copy abilities come from all the voidsent he’s consumed. Perhaps there’s a reason he and Makoh’to sport matching heart marks.

Despite Kirby being feared among other voidsent, the ones like Golbez and the Big Four write him off as a clueless child-like voidling. (Not me thinking about Golbez drawn in the style of a Kirby villain.) They don’t bother with Kirby. For whatever reason, he does not have the aura of someone who has consumed many voidsent. Hmm.

Anyways, during travels to and from the Source, Kirby happens to see Makoh’to from time to time. Kirby is inexplicably drawn to Makoh’to. There is something so familiar about that miqo’te! But he is a little baby who is collecting fruits and desserts for his friends back on the Thirteenth, so he leaves well enough alone.

Until one day Kirby, just floating around the Thirteenth without a care in the world, happens to eavesdrop on Golbez recruiting the Big Four. Kirby doesn’t understand the particulars, but he knows it’s not going to be good! He dashes away unnoticed (or if anyone did, they did not care) and seeks out help! But who could possibly help him?

Like a shining beacon, a spark of blinding aether appears near Kirby. It’s calling out to him… and it feels so familiar… never one to shy away from danger, Kirby rushes into this spark and travels to the Source – and that familiar miqo’te is there to greet him!

(The above part is when Makoh’to first interacts with the reaper job stone hehe)

Unfortunately for Kirby, he cannot speak the languages of those on the Source. He allows Makoh’to and himself to be bound, hoping through this action Makoh’to can learn of what is happening back on the Thirteenth…

Creature wise, Kirby would be very similar to an atomos! Much like an atomos, he can call out other voidsent by allowing them passage through his gate. In times of need, Kirby can summon forth his voidsent Waddle Dees for assistance. Sound familiar? :3

Unknowingly, Kirby can control where inhaled items (and creatures) go. Either they are consumed for aether, send to his domain, or randomly scattered about the Thirteenth.

I have some ideas I’m messing around with for who Kirby is/was. The obvious answer would be a shard of Azem! But at the moment I’m thinking more Kirby absorbed a shard of Azem and is overall a collection of the hopes and altruism of citizens of the Thirteenth.

As always, I will add more as I go. Concepts may get switched out or completely nixed. It’s all about having fun, though! And I am having the time of my life with this lol

[ishgard]

okokok typing out a bunch of arsh ideas to try and get them out of my system/get ideas straight. sometimes throwing them in the void helps.

So, torn on what to do with Arshadaya. Little background: an ascian overlord since his inception before much was known about them, who effectively became a traitor and was exiled (trapped in a nigh-indestructible [thus, a prison] but otherwise mostly helpless body on the source). In that form he bound himself to the Hiraeth to basically feed on their aether and use them as a tool (in a nutshell). I'd tried to keep some things vague knowing details could always be revealed in the future, but Ahru was definitely the ultimate goal of what he was working towards. (well, one major, key goal on the route to his ultimate agenda)

Arsh served Zodiark, but more than anything wanted to return the world to the way it was before. He longed desperately for it, haunted by half-memories. It kills me how spot-on this always was. He gave the Hiraeth their name as an echo of that terrible feeling, "a home that can no longer be returned to". But he was also always a trickster, and did things that sometimes his allies couldn't quite understand or undermined their plots (usually, ideally, without them catching on in this case, though). Eventually he sought another method, apart from the Ardors. When his seeming duplicity was discovered was when he was exiled. (Newer realization: the ascians, or possibly just Emet, couldn't bear the thought of actually killing one of their own).

When Arsh was banished, he had a vision. A key part of that vision was a womans figure cloaked in light. This was always Ahru, and thus why he manipulated the Hiraeth in the ways he did to bring her about, believing that she could be a vessel for him to fulfill his dreams - but holy shit, with everything Shadowbringers has given us, I realized it fits perfectly for this to also be him remembering (to a small degree), Azem. His goal was to bring her back, as the one who could realistically make a change. (He just got it mixed up thinking: perfect vessel.)

So my dilemma comes down to, what *is* Arshadaya.

1. Arshadaya as Arshadaya, as intended. It was meant to be an Ascian-sounding Overlord name, but if there are only 13/14 I could always invent another role for him that was possibly Convocation-adjacent. This is fun and adds a ton of freedom, which I love!

2. Arshadaya as Halmarut. Maintains Overlord-hood [lol] and LOVE the idea of him making the mandragoras for Azem, plus Arsh has always been very green-thumbed and has a deep fondness for the black shroud and other such places. But this is threatened by the potential of an actual Halmarut reveal in the future. (Possibly less so if he's, yanno, a shard and all? - as a note, Arshadaya's shard himself seems to have originated from the Thirteenth, but I'm just as keen on him being from the Source depending on this or that.)

3. Arshadaya as Hythlodaeus. Like Halmarut threatened by potential future reveals, but just really love this for him too. A shard of him found by Emet, maybe, tried to bring him into the Ascian fold perhaps, but we see how that worked out, with him siding over Ahru (Azem) instead. :') Also gives me limitless fuel for OT3 shit 😩 This also helps with why he was given any sort of preferential treatment by Emet, banished instead of killed, and possibly an outlier/not -quite- tempered by Zodiark, AND fucking fits with his trickster personality.

...so FEEEELS like i’m leaning 3 but i will be in such woe if they make a hythlo reveal (which i didn’t really want anyway personally so everyone can headcanon raha or zenos or whoever they want freely). If nothing else, can go with a sort of 1-3 with the latter being hinted/alluded to.