#post-heavensward spoilers

[shiratamako]

Hi!!! 👋 I was hoping that you could write a snippet from Aymeric’s POV about your girl! 🥰

Flesh and Blood

882 Words, Pining and Heavy Angst Set after As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness Heavensward Patch 3.1

The Warrior of Light had been unnaturally quiet after rescuing the hostages from the basilica. The scream of a child being thrown from the height of the spires still rang in Aymeric’s ears, even if Vidofnir rescued the blameless girl. Dressed in blackest coat, she was always close to him, trying her best to keep up with his pace. She gave her benediction to restore his vitality, yet she could still not offer a smile or cheer on the events that should be cause for celebration.

When Count Edmont said that he saw much of Haurchefant in him, that was when he heard the White Mage give a strangled gasp, her mouth twisted in silent anguish. Her eyes glistened as she stymied her grief, her eyes narrowing to prevent the flow of tears. The staff in her hand trembled as she struggled to hold it.

Without warning, she took off, leaving the Scions and the crowd unceremoniously as she hurried down the steps. He looked to Lucia and gave a nod. He would see to her safety himself, descending the stairs swiftly after her.

“Shira!” he called out her name instinctively as she headed in the direction of the cathedral. Aymeric caught up to her. He approached her, trying to make his presence small rather than to seem as though he was hunting her down. Her gaze was downcast as she refused to look at him.

He wished to reach a hand out to her. He wished he was closer.

He wished he was Haurchefant.

As Aymeric, he felt like he could do nothing. He was utterly powerless before her unalloyed pain.

Aymeric made his voice exceedingly soft, speaking through his throat in barely above a murmur. All consonants lost their harshness, fading into sumptuous whispers with a faint, warm rasp like a crackle in a hearth.

“Was it Lord Edmont’s words? I know you grieve still,”

She shook her head fervently, denying it. He knew there was no cause to deny it. He knew Shira would have been truthful — after all, Haurchefant came to him one night, announcing of his happy decision. The Silver Fuller spoke of the promise that he would be engaged to Shira. He wanted to protect her smile, to cherish all their happy days together.

For that, Haurchefant needed a ring and a suitable goldsmith to create an oath given form. That was why he went to Aymeric for assistance in recommending the finest artisan in all of Ishgard. Even though Haurchefant was unable to fulfil his promise to her, Shira still wore the ring on her left ring finger.

Aymeric spoke again, as sensitively as he could. “Please, Shira. I want to know what troubles you so,”

Her voice was small and faint, choked out by her tears. “I saw a vision. An echo…”

She finally raised her eyes to meet his; her soft oceanic blues. The shadow of the cathedral created an annular glow around her irises.

“I— I could not save you in time, when you fight still wounded,” She spoked her hushed, diffused oracle of the ill portent she saw, afraid and breathless. “You fell, even when I fought my hardest to protect you. I could not bear… to see you fall.”

The tears fell down her cheeks, and his heart split in twain at her sincerity, her compassion for him. He offered Shira a grateful smile. Few reminded him of his mortality, that he too, was a man that was flesh and blood. Even in the past few days he carried on despite his wounds, as though he could not fall for his duty to witness a new era.

“Rest assured I am safe, in no small part thanks to you.”

He tenderly wiped a tear away with his thumb. He soon realised the gravity of his mistake when her eyes widened in terror, her breath seizing up at his touch as she drew away from him. He rescinded his hand immediately with regret at what he had done.

“Forgive my presumptuousness, I… only wished to dry your tears,”

He cursed his momentary lapse in judgment, though he refrained from showing it on his face. He felt himself so callow to think himself as a fairy tale knight. She was not a child in need of succor; he could not simply just wipe away her every tear with kind words.

Shira quelled her own disquiet, her breaths shaky as she wiped tears from her cheeks. She looked to Aymeric, though she could never meet his gaze.

“I understand, Ser Aymeric. Thank you regardless,” Hiding her own torment, her weak voice was stiff and invariant in tone. “Please excuse me. I think Lord Artoirel will be expecting me at Fortemps Manor.”

She bowed to him, overtly distant and formal in her parting. She walked over the bridge to the Last Vigil with hurried steps. As her form grew smaller on the horizon, Aymeric was left alone in the cold shadow of the cathedral.

“Fury, strike me down,” Aymeric rasped in his solitude. He curled his hand to his chest as he offered both a prayer and confession. For he too, was a man of flesh and blood and no better than any other.

“If I cannot give her peace, grant her your mercy.”

[kraefishh]

3.4 REALLY DID THAT, HUH???

heavensward spoilers under the cut for those who follow me that havent finished it. as well as me dumping about my wols

FIRST OF ALL I TOOK SO MANY SCREENSHOTS. LIKE MAYBE TOO MANY SCREENSHOTS BUT THATS BESIDES THE POINT.

<- ME, SCREENSHOT HAPPY.

Starting off with Aymeric.... I love him. I love him very dearly. I love how the story acknowledges that the wol is apprehensive about accepting drinks from people even if they know it will probably be fine. ALSO EVERYTHING ABOUT TAHT CONVERSATION.... it hit. it did. i love Aymeric.

AND THEN-- I really met Alisaie when doing coils and then met her 30 minutes after finishing it because i did coils back to back with 3.4 and HRHJGMMHHFHM. like I liked her but she really did just skyrocket into my top 5 characters within a few set of quests. AND HOUUAUGUHGHG MAN.

the stuff with Ga Bu..... the poor baby. AND THE STARGAZING SEQUENCE. SOLIDIFIED ALISAIE TOP 5.

ARDBERT IS HIS OWN CAN OF WORMS. HE IS ONE OF THE CHARACTERS EVER. TRULY. PUNCHED ME RIGHT IN THE GUT. ME AND MY WOL BOTH. "we never aspired to be Warriors of Light." THAT WAS A SUCKER PUNCH TO THE FACE. THATS MY WHOLE SHIT. THATS MY WHOLE THING WITH MY WOLS. "We fought and we fought and we fought... until there was no one left to fight. We won ...and now our world is being erased from existence."

^ Quite literally my whole point about what my wols struggle with. They give EVERYTHING to the fight. to the cause. and in the end, it never is enough. It never was enough, for Alidae. she gave up at the end of ARR cause she lost hope that she could do enough. T'lyr was forced to take a break, lest he resign himself to burnout and destruction of self. Sthallona never returned to the fight after the Calamity. she no longer wanted to have to prove herself to the world that she was enough.

and here it is. in the fucking game. in personified form. rar you warned me and i really didn't understand. I Understand Now.

oh also dont get me started on Urianger. I've already resigned that I have to put him on my top ffxiv character list. I was losing my goddamn mind the entire time about his double crossing scheme.

OH SPEAKING OF URIANGER. AND JUST IN GENERAL. THE VOICE ACTING???? THE VOICE ACTING??? tHE VOICE ACTING!!!! The voice acting in this patch was phenominal. I was worried I wasn't going to like Urianger's voice after swearing by Gideon Emery AND THEN WAS PROVEN WRONG WITHIN SECONDS. Ardbert, again, is his own can of worms. Joe Dempsie really put his all into this role and I could not thank him enough. I quite literally almost cried and news flash: I don't cry at things. Very easily.

EEEEHAHAHAHA THEN WE GET TO THE WORD OF THE MOTHER MINFILIA. THAT ENTIRE SEQUENCE RIPPED WHAT LITTLE LEFT OF MY EMOTIONAL STABILITY TO SHREDS. "Minfilia don't you dare I don't have the emotional capacity tonight," I say to my sibling, right as she appears, having not even experienced the cutscene yet. I was right. I did not have the emotional capacity. (Side note: neither did Alidae! guarantee she was holding back tears the entire time.)

Thancred was on the verge of tears too I don't care what you say. That is his sister that he is saying goodbye to for (to his knowledge) probably the last time.

OH F'LHAMINN'S REACTION HURT A BIT MORE THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD. THATS HER DAUGHTER.

Oh I'm SO MAD that Y'shtola and Krile and Lyse (yes I know about Yda being Lyse such is the curse of being on the internet) and Papalymo weren't there to say goodbye too. like I understand that would have been a lot of voice acting and a lot of models to fit on screen, BUT THEY DESERVED THAT :(((

and I finished the 'An Ending to Mark a New Beginning' quest already in shambles. but I knew there was going to be some kind of teaser cutscene to wrap up the patch. I was Wholly expecting something pertaining to Papalymo or Yda in set up for Stormblood. and well lets just say I was Wrong.

Something you should know about me, I got abnormally attached to two characters. Those who know me personally, it should not be a surprise as to why I got attached to them. And for those who don't its anybody's fucking guess. Those two characters being Cid and Nero respectively.

SO THE TEASER CUTSCENE BEING NONE OTHER THAN MOTHERFUCKING NERO DISCOVERING OMEGA. SENT ME INTO HYSTERICS. HI I AM NOT SORRY FOR WHO I WILL BECOME WHEN I REACH THE OMEGA RAIDS. I WAS IN THE CORNER OF MY ROOM CONTEMPLATING FOR A SOLID THREE MINUTES BEFORE REGAINING MY COMPOSURE AND GOING BACK TO MY COMPUTER.\

anyway thank you for your time. TL;DR I am not normal about Ardbert, Alisaie, and Nero. I don't think I will emotionally recover from this patch for a solid week and I am so sorry for those close to me that will have to hear about it (and to those who already have)

I have to work later tonight. I have not slept. <- this was posted at 6am.

[ainyan]

What is the most difficult thing your OC has ever had to tell a friend or companion? How long did it take them to broach the subject? What was that person's response?

Upon her return from the Antitower, Kal'istae had to look Thancred in the face and tell him that she had seen Minfilia, but that Minfilia had not only refused to return home, but apparently been subsumed by Hydaelyn and made an extension of Her will.

It was probably, hands down, the hardest thing she's ever had to do, and Thancred's reaction was exactly as expected. He was angry, he was hurt, and it later precipitated an argument where he accused her of not caring about him, not caring about Minfilia, and only using the Scions for the money and fame she got out of it.

He didn't mean any of it, but he still said it, and it caused a rift between them for a very long time. (This is an alternate beginning to my post-HW AU and one I actually kind of prefer to the original. I should post it sometime.)

Have any questions about how my OCs are about friendship?

Thank you for the ask!

[viiioca]

i love heavensward: a series of bulletin points

your last ally in all the city-states is an elf who would unironically lick the sweat from your armpits in front of the entire congregation. he begs his dad to let you couch surf. one of his brothers admits to your face that he wished you would die

two members of the swiss guard arrest your children so you punch them in the neck until the judge says you're free to go. the pope personally calls you to apologize for the trouble

ilberd tries and fails to hotbox you to death

a hot elf wife takes you on vacation to a nest full of cool bugs

anytime there's a serious moment estinien challenges the tone of the scene by pulling a giant novelty eyeball out of his pants which is played 100% straight every single time. not a single soul questions this or reacts in surprise

the prettiest elf in the world gets arrested trying to yell at his dad

Occupy The Vatican Right Fucking Now!!!!

the pope stances on the deck of an airship and flies away into the sunset after his eunuch traumatizes you

the emperor of garlemald shows up to call you a dipshit, leaves, and then you don't see him personally again for 1.5 expansion packs

we summon a naked catgirl and the first thing tataru does is give her a pair of louboutins and put a bow on her little kitty tail. she is the most deadly serious person in the entire organization

you take a quick detour to visit the angriest woman who's ever lived who calls you and everyone you're with a pointless dumbfuck moron shit idiot (affectionate). then she gives you a gun she invented that sharlayan banned for being too cool

theres a flying allagan war crimes factory full of broken robots who think you're stupid. an entire legion of garleans are abandoned here to form a feral colony with the escaped lab animals. the robots make fun of them

the dad of all the dragons on the whole planet calls you his favorite in front of his real child who he hasnt talked to in 4000 years

an evil wizard tries to get revenge on you for killing his cousin but the pope loads his soul into a bong and takes the fattest rip. the next time you meet him you mostly learn about how much his wife bullied him

estinien picks up a second eyeball. surprise development!: there is an angry dragon ghost living in the eyeballs

thancred gets punched in the face

you watch two dragon brothers fight because one called the other's dead wife a foul and trifling hoe

you save your friend through the power of friendship, and littering. as soon as he feels better he jumps out of a window and doesnt talk to you for two years

the guy from the box art wont stop trying to kill you because he is actually john videogames: astral traveler

after 15 hours of wondering what happened to all the scions and learning just the ones you've been able to FIND were flung into the afterlife, you discover lyse and papalymo are fine. they werent even hurt. they have been playing desert dress up with the ala mhigans while youve been freezing your pussy off trying to end a multigenerational religious war with the dragons and depose a corrupt head of state. they tried to send one letter and then gave up

the consequences of littering catch up with you. in eorzea, the fine is $Giant Dragon

[roegaydyn]

Please i forgot how ridiculous the omega vs shinryu fight was oh my god

[janzoo]

Do you ever just find yourself overcome with a lot of Feelings about a character that fandom often uses as a punching bag?

So anyway, Emmanellain de Fortemps.

I think about him a lot more than I let on around here. Yes he's a bit of a ponce and a dandy and the like, but he has a good heart. He saved Honoroit from indentured servitude. (Although I thought they originally met when he paid Honoroit to carry his bags then took him in from there? Did the lore change?) Either way, he personally taught Honoroit to read and write. He personally taught Honoroit to read and write. I'm not over that. Emmanellain didn't have to go out of his way to invest personal time and resources into teaching Honoroit, but he did. I'm not over that!! I refuse to believe that doing so came from anywhere else but a place of sincere compassion!

And speaking of sincerity, I feel like that's the source of some of his issues. Having grown up in a broken home and being the apology child and clearly having some anxiety issues, I think he struggles to be sincere. He has to be the good second son, and the goofball who diffuses negative situations, and an Ishgardian noble which no doubt comes with its own entire category of repression. All his running away from responsibilities and passing the buck and etc. etc. strikes me as someone with severe anxiety that manifests in avoidance habits which just hits way too close to home for me. But. But! He's learning how to face his anxiety! Don't you remember how inspired he was after the grand melee??!! "We need only show them the way." He wants to help people and guide Ishgard into that bright future he's finally able to glimpse himself!! He's trying to be sincere! He's trying to be true to that good heart of his! His love and curiosity for the world around him is growing, and helping him grow in turn! Emmanellain will probably always be a ponce, but he'll also always be generous and fun-loving and considerate!

EMMANELLAIN DE FORTEMPS

[picaroroboto]

one of my favorite WoL Moments is still this dialogue choice in Heavensward:

Context is that during the HW roadtrip, the party gets caught in this Catch-22 where the dragons won't let us pass through unless we get the Gnath to stop bugging (lol) them, but the Gnath have summoned Ravana. It seems obvious that the WoL needs to kill Ravana in order for anything to progress, but Alphinaud asks to make sure they're willing first.

There's a lot you can dig up in this seemingly simple interaction - first, Alphinaud's side of things: during late-ARR and it's post-patches, there's a lot of evidence to be found that shows he treats the WoL like a bodyguard, like a weapon, taking their strength for granted for his political ends while giving little, if any, thought to their own thoughts and feelings. It's not outright malicious manipulation, just a sort of blindness. Since the betrayal at the banquet he's been humbled, and grown closer to the WoL thanks to their continued support of him despite the fact that his vanity caused the disaster. Him asking the WoL is they're okay with fighting Ravana, even though it's a given that they have to, can be seen as him not wanting to repeat the same pattern of using them.

For the WoL, the "choice" seems obvious - kill the Primal. Their first Primal battle, Ifrit, was a fight for survival brought on by a twist of fate. Every one since then has been an active pursuit by choice - if you can even call it a choice when they're the only one who can do it and many people would die if they didn't. By HW they're already firmly locked in to their role of being the guy who kills Primals, and whether they like it or not they continue to choose to fight. By choosing the upper line here they confirm that, while also giving some cool and heroic bravado to reassure Alphinaud. But notably it's just to say that they don't fear their duty. They may hate it, regret the choices that lead them here, all manner of things, but they are not afraid of fighting Primals.

Or they could simply say nothing. Giving silence also recognizes that their choice doesn't really matter and they're going to have to fight anyways. When it comes to silent protagonist-type characters who have few dialogue options, every option they're given has all the more weight. There are cases where choosing to say three ellipses "..." says a thousand things more than not being given a dialogue choice at all, and this is one of them. It's as if the two choices here are actually "Be the Hero" or "Be the Hero (not happy about it)".

[frankenhoez]

"There will be more warriors of light after me, but only one Haurchefant."

Alternative vault cutscene aka i got an idea and I had to make it everyone else's problem

[c♡mmissions open here and here]

[windupiceheart]

A Knight to Remember

[alackofghosts]

wolbert week day 5 - loss

how i wish we could have been friends

[sirenunderthemountain]

confiteor

[kraefishh]

fucked up AU idea where instead of Minfilia falling into the lifestream to give her life source up to Hydaelyn, the WoL does it instead?? Like the WoL sacrifices themself for her in spite of Minfilia protesting. Or maybe they were called instead of her.

But then the rest of the story is Minfilia being forced to step up in the Wol's place because she's the only other one who has an Echo power that rivals the WoL's (perhaps its even stronger!).

Think of the potential that this would bring. The scions' devastation over losing this shard's last Warrior of Light before Minfilia picks up the helm and through sheer willpower takes the WoL's place. The WoL becoming the 'Word of the Mother' and the utter agony that that would bring. RYNE INSTEAD BEING A MIRROR OF THE WOL INSTEAD OF MINFILIA..... GOD. Like if you put your WoL in that place instead of default Meteor Survivor (love him to death) you could make some damn cool designs and not to mention pain with that.

Anyway this is getting a little away from me but I've been pondering this for like a solid few hours.

[viiioca]

one of my favorite bits of minor coerthan lore is that there's an abandoned castrum (castrum aquilonis) that they stopped construction on because of how tremendously shitty coerthan weather is now. the garleans -- from garlemald! notorious for its harsh conditions and shitty weather! -- took one look around coerthas and said, "actually, fuck this."

this is after they sent a spy to infiltrate ishgard & lost her. thing is, lucia received the ranking of "goe" before her defection: that places her at the same social rank as rulers of imperial territories and provinces, and among the frumentarii, it would indicate leadership. she was not just a normal field operative, she was a major resource for the empire. and she took one look at aymeric and said, "ummmm yeah i'm catholic now."

ishgard racking up Ws and clowning on the most powerful country in the known world at every turn just by existing in the mountains and having cold weather and hot elves. that is so funny to me

[faragonart]

"Alas... I can no longer walk this path with you... so promise me this. Tell me you will live your life, make friends anew, share your heart with someone special...

...for this is only the beginning of your long, long road..."

[morgana96]

On Elementals, Accountability, and Criticism

A few months ago, I made a post that gained a lot more traction than I expected. It started out as more of a joke about an ill-conceived mentality within the fandom, where certain players think their Warrior of Light should be allowed to kill off the Black Shroud's elementals.

But over the course of several days, my activity feed was suddenly swarmed with notifications. The post had unintentionally reignited preexisting fandom discourse about the elementals, Gridania, and flaws in the game's writing.

And before I knew it, I'd spent several weeks writing an essay about the elementals, since I wanted to use the opportunity to better explain my original post's stance.

While the original essay was posted as a reply, I feel it works better as its own post. I had a lot of fun researching and writing out my thoughts on this, and I hope it might contribute positively to the larger discussion within the fandom.

What is an Elemental?

To start off, I think it’s important to go over the nature of FFXIV's Elementals. I think understanding them physically and ecologically is crucial to understanding their place in the story, as well as proving that they’re existence isn't the unaddressed mystery some people think it is.

According to Encyclopedia Eorzea I & II, elementals are naturally occurring beings that are almost solely comprised of aether. They usually don't have the complex body structures seen in other lifeforms, and are considered "semi-intelligent" in regards to their level of sentience (E.E. II, pg. 269).

A misconception I sometimes see is that elementals are an exclusive entity to the Black Shroud. But the reality is that elementals exist in various forms all over Etheirys.

As the above reference pages show, there are various types of natural elementals, many of which players encounter regularly throughout various maps and instanced battles/dungeons. Furthermore, carbuncles, egi, and faeries are also classified under this category, as they are also constructs of pure aether — essentially man-made elementals.

Because aether is the "building block" for all life, lands rich with aether will be wellsprings of vitality, while areas where aetherial flows are disrupted or cut off see atrophy in the environment (Encyclopedia Eorzea I, pg. 8). The Black Shroud's simply an area known for its prominent and powerful population of elementals.

In Gridania, the Shroud elementals are associated with Nophica the Matron, their patron goddess. This is described as them having "been sprung from Her essence", implying that they are a part of her and enact her will (E.E.I, pg. 112).

However, it's important to remember that this isn't history, but rather mythology specific to Gridanian traditions (E.E. I, pg. 112). Both elementals and Nophica independently predate these traditions, and Myths of the Realm provides great insight into just how significant that time gap is. G’raha mentions that the Twelve were worshiped even back in the Third Astral Era — approximately five thousand years before the start A Realm Reborn (E.E. I, pg. 24). He also theorizes at the time that the Twelve are even older than that, which is confirmed by Eulogia following the completion of Thaleia.

The reason I even bring up Nophica at all is because of the frustration directed towards her by certain players. There seems to be a trend where fans forget to separate the true Nophica from her Gridania-specific myths, causing them to treating her like an irresponsible parent who refuses to discipline her young children.

But Nophica isn't the elementals' actual creator. They aren't actually a part of her, and nothing they do is by her will, the same way Halone never actually hated dragons and was deeply saddened by the Dragonsong War. Demanding that Nophica "control" the elementals' behavior is like demanding a forest ranger "control" the wildlife in a national park.

Personally, I've always viewed the elementals as animals deified in worship — an opinion I believe is supported by what we know about them from the lore. Associating nature, plants, and animals with the divine is a reoccurring part of real-world religions, such as we see with ancient Egyptian gods or koi in Chinese mythology. Gridanian reverence of the elementals follows a similar formula: a naturally existing creature becomes associated with the divine in specific cultures and mythologies.

How Does One "Talk" to Elementals?

As established in the lore books, certain types of elementals possess the potential for "communication". This is an ability usually exclusive to the following beings:

Spoken: Any intelligent creature that possesses an independent language that can be interpreted by another spoken of a differing genus, including but not limited to all of the game’s playable races and the myriad non-playable races (E.E. I, pg. 288).

Voidsent: Beings from the 13th shard of Etheirys who are warped by their shard’s umbral aether and the shard’s lack of ambient aether (E.E. I, pg. 296). This is a more conditional contender, as only select Voidsent have the ability to speak.

But this "communication" is significantly different from traditional language or spoken words. A difference Kan-E-Senna made clear during the main Heavensward storyline, when WoL and company approached her for help in rescuing Y'shtola from the Lifestream.

Kan-E's statement helps further clarify the biology of Shroud elementals; not only do they lack corporeal bodies, but also the common biological senses we associate with humanity. They don't have eyes (hence why Y'mhitra had to present as a aetheric reference to find Y'shtola), and they also don’t possess the auditory systems to perceive spoken words and languages.

Which leaves the crucial question: how do you "talk" to a being that doesn't possess the senses for that form of communication?

The answer is to utilize the only thing that the Shroud elementals can perceive: aether.

To help refresh my memory on this topic, I decided to replay the conjuror/white mage quests, along with referencing the encyclopedias for more regarding Gridanian Hearers. They made for great reference about crucial elemental lore, particularly the Gelmorran origins of humans "speaking" to elementals.

Because elementals don't actually speak and can't hear the voices of spoken races, "dialogue" between man and elemental is more like a muddled psychic connection. The term "Hearer" describes conjurors with a natural sensitivity to the elementals' aetheric waves — a sensitivity that the vast majority of the population doesn't possess.

While similar in their rarity and status as "gifts" in-universe, elemental sensitivity is uniquely separate from the Echo. The Echo's "power to transcend words" is a passive ability that can fully break most language barriers, creating an "internal understanding" of another’s intentions (E.E. I, p. 15).

Hearers, on the other hand, must actively manipulate aether when connecting emotionally with elementals. It took fifty years to develop this technique and requires more effort and proper training, but it's still not as precise or accurate as what the Echo's able to do. Any "words" a Hearer translates are rough interpretations of the elementals' intent — a well-known flaw in the process that's noted in the side story True of Heart.

Hearer sensitivity to the elementals can vary depending on the individual. Some are better at "listening" to certain types of elementals over others, like the guest instructors in the conjuror quests who instruct the WoL in their specialties.

Other Hearers are simply more attuned to the Shroud elementals' aether overall. Padjali Hearers usually possess the strongest sensitivities, which is why the Seedseer — the leader of the Hearers and the Seedseer Council that governs Gridania — are almost always Padjal (E.E. I, p. 116). But even Seedseers aren't viewed as infallible; their "conversations" with elementals are also, at best, interpretations. These limitations are why Kan-E chose to share the role with her younger siblings, and why protocol for the Seedseer Council is to share their readings with each other, as different Hearers can end up with different interpretations.

A lot of this information comes to mind when I consider how elementals interact with spoken races in the game. It seems quite clear that elemental communions are meant to be portrayed as imperfect. The average person within the setting doesn't possess the ability to "speak" with them at all. Even trained conjurors and white mages don't always succeed in their communions, since frightened/agitated elementals aren't always easily "spoken" to.

Because of these factors, it really doesn't surprise me that characters have been hurt/killed because of elementals. I absolutely think a situation like that would be horrifying to find oneself in. But to me, it's not the same kind of terror that comes from a deliberate attack of spite — more like the terror of being caught in a stampede that you know you have little chance of outrunning.

Why "Evil" Elementals Aren't a Thing

Discourse about the Shroud elementals is nothing new in this fandom, and I think it's pretty clear that I disagree with people who think their WoL would be justified in slaughtering them.

Are the elementals gentle and harmless little creatures? No.

But they're also not some nefarious supervillain cabal plotting the demise of humanity.

I understand that getting vaporized by an angry nature spirit is a terrible way to go. But I think the reason why elementals lash out tends to fly over some people's heads, so they just assume that everything they do is out of human-adjacent hatred or disdain.

As you might expect, elementals are extremely sensitive to aetheric disturbances. FFXIV has never shied away from bringing up the dangers of aetheric imbalance; too little aether can turn environments into barren wastelands like the Burn, while too much of a specific aspect can warp not only souls, but corporeal forms. Raya-O-Senna explains the elementals' instincts in the white mage quests, and how they value aetherial balance over anything else.

Given the nature of their existence, it makes sense that elementals would crave aetheric harmony above all else; corruption and stagnation could easily lead to not only the destruction of their forest home, but also themselves. Like many wild animals in the real world, the elementals will prioritize their survival; they'll lash out the exact same way an animal who feels cornered or threatened would.

The Shroud elementals also don't single out spoken races with this behavior. They dislike any aetheric disharmony, regardless of whether the cause of that is man-made or natural. The conjuror quests even show that their agitation can be caused by other elementals; they're just as vulnerable to aetheric corruption as any other living creature, hence why those that are corrupted must be purged in order for the forest to heal.

Despite this, there are many fans who are hostile towards the Shroud elementals, and the language they use to express that disdain definitely stands out to me as part of the problem. Whether labeling them as immature “toddlers" or comparing their actions to human abusers, these players tend to heavily vilify elementals, painting them as the intentional architects behind Gridania’s biggest problems.

But these kinds of descriptors can't — and shouldn't — be applied to ANY type of elementals. They're human descriptors. Including ones for human children that are based on understandings of human development.

To treat the Shroud elementals like "toddlers" is to incorrectly apply human traits to beings that don't possess them. They are not human children, nor is there any known "childhood" phase of their life cycle. They are not creatures that grow and develop the way that human children do; they are naturally formed clusters of aether, many of which are older than any of the game's living characters. They don't do what they do because they're immature, or lack a parental figure to teach them "right" from "wrong".

I also don't agree with comparing their actions to intentional abuse. Again, there are canon events of elementals attacking humans, and those events would absolutely be scary and traumatizing. But it's also scary and traumatizing for someone to be mauled by a tiger, or to permanently lose an arm or leg in an unexpected shark attack.

Elementals aren't children throwing an unpunished tantrum, or abusers attempting to control their victims. These comparisons inaccurately associate their animalistic traits with human behavior. A correlation flawed by the fact that elementals aren't humans and don't think like them.

Would you call a grizzly bear evil or abusive for attacking a human that startled it in the woods?

Would you call a swarm of wasps immature or childish when they start stinging indiscriminately, and for not recognizing the difference between the person who disturbed their nest and those who just happened to be nearby?

Would you use these terms to refer to any of the aggressive creatures throughout in-game regions when they chase after/attack you, all because you got just a little too close while on your way to another location?

We can't predict what wild animals are going to do or control how they react to our presence in their space. Once one perceives you as a potential threat or meal, you are at risk of being attacked. It's why part of the respect we should show wild animals involves keeping a safe distance and respecting their territory.

The simple reality is that Shroud elementals aren't, never were, and never will be human. They are nature spirits living far outside the realm of human society, and canonically don’t possess the same sentience level as any of the game’s spoken races. They're a naturally occurring species that are deified in Gridania's Nophica mythology. They're alive, but the lore and game show that they behave more like wild animals.

This is why it's kind of frustrating when fans demand humanity — and human morals — from the elementals. The same way you can't explain the human condition to a butterfly or a redwood tree, you'll also never be able to explain it to a little cluster of pure energy floating out in the woods.

Nature is beautiful. Nature is terrifying. It's the comfort of sunny day and a cool breeze. It's the destruction wrought by earthquakes and tornadoes. It's the budding life of beautiful plants and flowers. It's death in the piercing jaws of a predator, even if that prey is only a baby.

Nature is not bound by human concepts of morality or fairness. To expect it to abide by our rules is absurd, and to try and force it to is futile. And whether certain players like it or not, the elementals are irreversibly tied to that philosophy.

The Importance of Gridania's Self-Accountability

Like many others within the fandom, I find that the game's writing for Gridania has been painfully neglected compared to the other city-states. As a black fan, it’s vexing when fictional narratives don't handle the subject of racism with proper diligence and respect. While not every Gridania-related quest is bad, there are far too many that drop the ball; all too often, these quests fail to properly denounce in-universe prejudice, often to the detriment of the stories they’re trying to tell.

These problems are major motivating factors in my desire to rewrite several Gridanian questlines. I've made several posts about my ideas for a Lancer Quests rewrite in the past, and at some point, I hope to do the same for other questlines in need of reworks.

But while I'm desperate for the writing team to reevaluate Gridania's narrative, I find myself equally frustrated with the "Evil™ Elementals" crowd – mainly because I feel like they're failing to fully grasp the actual root of the problem.

The players I'm referring to are weirdly insistent on pinning all the blame on the Shroud elementals. In these fans' minds, it's these semi-sentient nature spirits who hate Duskwights, Moon Keepers, and Ala Mhigans, and they are the ones who instilled these prejudices into hateful members of Gridanian society.

Honestly, this stance has always been absurd to me, and I can barely understand how it came to exist. Especially since it’s so incompatible with the actual lore for the elementals.

I've already pointed out that the elementals can't perceive spoken languages, and that they "see" other life and living creatures the same way they "see" themselves — as aether.

Furthermore, it's canon fact that a Hearer's "translations" are not direct or word for word. They're readings are based completely on the Shroud elementals' aetheric waves, and this process shouldn't be mistaken for the Elementals knowing or understanding human words.

The names of different races and nationalities would mean absolutely nothing to elementals. They wouldn't perceive the pointed ears and tall stature of an Elezen, or the cat-like ears and tails on a Miqo'te. They wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Midlander and Highlander, Duskwight and Wildwood, or any other clan distinctions that in-game characters or players can.

The Shroud elementals aren't capable of telling the differences between any spoken races.

Which means that if a Hearer claims the elementals dislike a specific race or clan, that Hearer is unquestionably spouting a bold-faced fucking lie.

There was already a situation like this in the 60-70 Leatherworker quests, which several people brought up in the tags of my original post. After showcasing a taxidermy dhalmel to raise awareness about endangered species, the WoL, Atelloune, and Enion are confronted by Hearer Marmaduke (yes, that’s actually his name and I’m honestly still not over it).

Not long after his tangent, he orchestrates the unfair seizure of the dhalmel. But Atelloune, suspicious of his claims, had already gone to the conjuror's guild, exposing Marmaduke's claims of elemental anger as a completely fabricated event.

Some might say that this isn't relevant because Marmaduke's lie wasn't told with prejudice in mind. But in the end, his motivations really aren't the most important thing here.

He openly lied about the elementals being angry, and seemed to have full confidence that he wouldn't be called out on it. He actively took advantage of his position — and the trust Gridanian citizens place in the Hearers — to falsely claim that something was wrong and force his misguided opinions onto others. Hell, I'd even argue that his behavior qualifies as a microaggression, since Atelloune is a Duskwight Elezen who he accused of a "crime" that never even happened. Not being a full blown bigot doesn't make someone incapable of racist behavior or actions (just like in real life).

This is not an incident that should be brushed off so easily. Sure, Marmaduke might have admitted to his own wrongdoings and ignorance. But the idea that this is an isolated incident within Gridania — that it's never happened before and somehow will never happen again — just comes off as terribly unrealistic.

Gridania is a five-hundred-year-old nation. How many times in those five hundred years has prejudice warped "translations" of the elementals?

How many Duskwights, Moon Keepers, and Ala Mhigans have been accused of infractions that never even occurred?

How many Hearers have abused their positions for everything from politics to petty squabbles? And how many times has someone gotten away with telling these kinds of abhorrent lies?

These are the kinds of questions the writing needs to tackle more with Gridania. Exposing the cracks within their system — and how those cracks have caused harm to innocents — will help to trigger the development and growth the city-state still desperately needs. Throwing all the blame on the elementals will never allow Gridania's narrative to escape stagnancy. At least not in a way that will actually feel genuine or satisfying to explore.

I understand that most people aren't trying to absolve Gridania of wrongdoing. But whether they realize it or not, that’s exactly what the "Evil™ Elementals" mentality does.

To claim that the elementals "made Gridanians racist" is to disregard the deliberate and intentional actions of racist Gridanians. It minimizes their level of accountability and responsibility in fixing those problems.

A prejudiced Hearer is not a gullible victim being strung along by scheming or "evil" nature spirits: they are intentionally taking advantage of their standing in society to persecute people that they don't like. They know the elementals don't understand the concept of spoken races, ethnicities, or nationalities. They also know that most of the population can't "hear" the elementals at all: a fact that can be utilized to mischaracterize the reasons for their agitation, or even fully fabricate incidents of anger all together.

One of my favorite parts of Myths of the Realm was Halone’s personal advice to the WoL.

This statement is so appropriate for Halone, especially considering Ishgard's history. But it's just as applicable to any other worshipers of the various gods.

A Hearer misrepresenting the "will of the elementals" is in the same vein as an Ishgardian priest misrepresenting the "will of the Fury". The game has so many examples of Ishgardians trying to use Halonic doctrine to not only justify their ignorance on certain subjects, but also enact unfair punishments onto others — including their own countrymen. Similar situations of false invocation have happened in Gridania, particularly when specific races and immigrants are unfairly targeted because they’ve supposedly "angered" the elementals.

This is why many fans — myself included — will make comparisons between Gridania and Ishgard. The citizens of both city-states are deeply devout to their patron goddesses. But that faith has been regularly misused and manipulated to persecute innocents and maintain unfair systems.

The Holy See's theocracy sanctioned generations of pointless bloodshed in a war they didn't want to admit they started. The Inquisitors killed countless of their own citizens based on flimsy accusations of heresy. Temple Knights have attacked and slaughtered Au Ra because they ignorantly and incorrectly assumed they were connected to and/or descended from dragons. If Ishgard can commit to reform and reparations after a millennium of atrocities, then Gridania is just as capable of taking the same accountability.

What the writing team needs to do is rethink their Gridania-centric storylines: not only do future questlines need to show more growth and change in their society, but older quests that were sloppily resolved need to be reexamined and even rewritten.

I don't agree with the claim that the writers have "written themselves into a corner" with the elementals. There's plenty lore that could be used to finally push Gridania in the right direction: they've just failed to utilize it effectively and consistently. It wouldn't be an easy task to go back and rework so much content. But in my eyes, it would be a major step forward in repairing these narrative problems.

True accountability for Gridania is taking responsibility for their own mess. No excuses. No justifications. No "the elementals made me do it". They need to establish better safeguards for their people — especially their minorities — and better checks and balances to prevent and punish blatant abuses of power.

Changing their city-state for the better will require long-term effort and commitment to reform. Not someone's WoL causing a mass extinction — which would certainly do more harm than good — and then demanding an entire nation bend to that WoL's will and abandon their beliefs. The former is Gridania taking actual responsibility for themselves; the latter echoes colonizer rhetoric and the racist ideologies these players claim to be criticizing.

FFXIV Fans and Constructive Criticism

To close this out, I'd like to shift focus to a fandom trend I've noticed for some time now.

Final Fantasy XIV is a major source of comfort for me. Besides just being a fun game to play, it's done wonders for my creative motivation, especially when it comes to my WoL and the fun I've had in building her lore.

However, there are also plenty of things about FFXIV that I'm critical of. There are class and job quests that fumble their stories (or at least falter at specific parts). Characters like Moenbryda and Ysayle were squandered in favor of lackluster "shock value" deaths. Certain quests in past expansions have come off as tone deaf to their subject matters, so much so that the script feels insanely out of character for everyone in the scene.

Criticism is important. It’s not pessimistic or ungrateful of the audience to engage critically with media, especially when it's media they love. My criticisms of FFXIV's writing don't diminish my love for the game. If anything, I want the writing to be reevaluated and improved, and for the writers to learn to avoid the same issues in the future.

But constructive criticism — at least to me — requires certain responsibilities. Responsibilities that not everyone keeps in mind before making sweeping judgements.

A good example is a certain "critique" I've seen repeated many times, usually during Stormblood discourse that tends to pop up from time to time. It relates to Lyse (a character who's regularly hypercriticized), and players who dislike how the writers gave her Raubahn's rightful place as leader of Ala Mhigo and the Resistance.

A rather odd complaint to have, considering it's about an imagined event.

Raubahn is Ala Mhigo's head of state, as well as head of the Resistance forces. Lyse commands only one faction of the Resistance — the faction based in Rhalgr's Reach — because that was the one under Conrad's command, and he had no authority over any other faction.

In other words, these fans dislike a "writing choice" that wasn't made to begin with, failing to realize that the actual scenario is provided both in-game and in Encyclopedia Eorzea II.

This is just one of many examples where players will mistake false presumptions for canon. Someone will criticize the game for a plot point that never happened, and suddenly other players will like, share, and comment about how they also hated that thing that never happened.

Even on my original post, there were people making various claims about the elementals. Some were 100% accurate. Others were slightly off. Others still were flat out untrue.

In this fandom — and plenty of others — fan-created concepts have a bad habit of getting mixed up with the actual facts. I don't think most players do it on purpose; they're usually just trying to share their thoughts and opinions on the game, and that's something I'll never try to discourage. But sometimes, they'll simply accept something someone else said in good faith, or rely too much on memory for parts of the game they haven't played through in a long time.

Criticizing the writing's handling of Gridania is perfectly valid, and I've done plenty of it myself. But those criticisms need to be based on the writing's actual faults and mistakes: not on misremembered plot lines and assumptions. Complaints need to be backed up by actual examples from the game and/or other canon sources, and can’t rely solely on muddled memories of a play-through that happened months or years ago.

It took me over two weeks to put all this together. I spent hours replaying relevant questlines and reading the side stories and lore books, not to mention the time it took me just to write all of it down. But I did all that because I wanted to be able to back up my claims with evidence. I didn't want to leave out important context or dialogue that I simply forgot or missed early on. If I were to forget about key events and fill in those gaps with hazy recollections, I'd not only weaken my argument’s strength, but also be guilty of blaming a writer for something I misremembered.

No one's EVER going to remember everything that happened in FFXIV; it's literally impossible for a game this large and with so many characters and stories. The Unending Journey and New Game+ are fabulous tools to make up for this, as well as the dedicated wikis and websites created by our fellow fans. But all of those go to waste if players never bother to utilize them.

I'll always support constructive criticism in this and any other fandom. But good constructive criticism isn't just making loud accusations on social media. It's taking the time to revisit the story and take notes on the things that could be done better. It's providing evidence to support your claims and prevent misinformation from being spread as truth. It's addressing biases not only in the writing room, but also those harbored by fellow players.

Constructive criticism requires effort and diligence. A fact I feel gets lost in fandom spaces sometimes.

[picaroroboto]

as we all know, the WoL is very stoic, always with this serious face on - yet Haurchefant praises their smile with his dying breath, meaning they must have smiled around him at some time.

and in that same scene we see the WoL with the most complex expression they've ever shown on screen: shock transforming into a close-lipped smile but with eyes seeming to be on the verge of tears.

In that way Haurchefant, the man who loved the Warrior of Light's smile more than anyone, is also the one responsible for them learning how to cry.