#wish benedikta was me

[akashicblade]

Hello everyone! An anonymous user sent this to me in the mail a while ago and it makes me ASDFGHJKLING

[windwarden]

tag dump!

[marqeesarisa]

Finished this piece some time ago, I really like Benedikta. I wish she had more screen time 🥲 I’m working on another ff16 piece hehehe~

Gonna sell prints soon, I hope to finish the series (⁎⁍̴̆Ɛ⁍̴̆⁎)

I also recently finish the game and was an emotional wreck about it, anyone wants to hear me cry over how it ended can uhhh DM me? Lol

[xxladyballadxx]

𝓞𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓤𝓹

Joshua Rosfield x reader

Note: The reader being depressed and all, thinking she's a bad person just because she has done terrible things in her life(⌣̩̩́_⌣̩̩̀)

‘You’re a fucking monster!’

‘Why are you still alive?!’

‘YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!’

‘YOU KILL US ALL!’

Every day and night, you hear the raging voices of the people in your hollowed mind. Angered and terrified by you. The part where you were forced to kill their loved ones. Men, women. Even children. Bringing terror to every village and town. That was when you were brainwashed and working with Lord Barnabas and Benedikta Harman. They forced you to kill people, the innocents. Picking the targets for you to track down. 

This one time, you were given the task to annihilate the outlaws and the dominant of Phoenix. Clive, Jill and Joshua. The people who were your friends back in Rosaria. When they first encountered you, they couldn’t believe their own eyes. Clive believed you to be dead. Jill thought so too.

Joshua, however, knew you would be alive somehow. They remembered you but you don’t remember them. Your mind was completely foggy and hollow, you couldn't remember anything since you weren’t utterly yourself at that time. Since The King of Waloed brainwashed you. Everything happened so fast…

~

The next day, you avoided everyone at the hideaway. Not making eye contact with them while doing something important. Including Clive, Jill and even Joshua. 

Jill grew worried about your well-being and tried to speak to you. You pushed Jill away and told her to leave you alone. You did the exact same thing to Clive. You didn’t want to talk about what’s going on in your mind. 

You stumbled into your room with your dark mind conquering you. Locking the door so nobody comes in. You slumped into your bed and sunk yourself down in a bottle of wine.

As you continue to drink every sip of wine, your mind wanders off elsewhere, falling into a pit of darkness. Screaming of terror made its way into that hole, causing you more suffering. All of these angry voices of people…

‘MY WIFE! MY CHILDREN! YOU KILLED THEM ALL!’

Their rage, their anger…dragging you all the way down to hell…

‘A MONSTER LIKE YOU DOESN’T DESERVE TO LIVE!’

‘You’re a murderer and murderers don’t deserve a second chance!’

“Stop, please, no fucking more…” you mumbled, you held your head down to the floor with hands placed on your forehead. You just couldn’t take it anymore.

‘YOU KILLED MY FUCKING FAMILY!’

‘YOU MONSTER!’

‘Please…PLEASE SPARE US!’

All these voices faded when someone came knocking on your door, “(Name)?” Joshua called out to you, he wishes to come in and speak to you, “(Name)? Are you in there?”

You growled in irritation, finishing off that darn bottle of wine and smashed it on the floor furiously, watching it shatter into pieces. “Just go away…” 

“(Name), please, let me in…” you could tell by the sound of Joshua’s voice that he was gravely worried, “I want to talk to you..”

You slam your hands on your bed in anger and walk your way to open the door for Joshua. He stepped straight inside after you decided to let him in. Joshua spotted the broken pieces of a bottle of wine on the floor. He looked up to you in worry as you closed the door. 

You sat back down on your bed, not looking Joshua in the eye. “(Name)...I couldn’t help but notice you giving everyone a cold shoulder. Even Clive and Jill.” Joshua continued on, expressing a sign of concern, “Everyone here is extremely worried about you, (Name).”

“Okay so?” you spoke in a cold tone which caused him to get more agitated. Joshua shakes his head disapprovingly, “How long are you going to keep acting like this? How long are you going to keep pushing everyone away?” Joshua stumbled over to sit with you, “...Including me..?”

He won’t give up until you tell him what’s making you feel this way. Joshua wishes for you to open up to him. But the very sad thing is; you really don’t like talking about what’s troubling you so much. To anyone. 

“Joshua, I rather not talk about it…” you told him, still not looking him in the eye. “The more you keep those feelings inside, the more it gets worse.” Joshua places his hand onto your shoulder, he could tell that you were suffering and wishes to make it go away, “(Name), please look at me…” 

And so you turned to face him directly, his eyes looking deeply into yours, “I know you have done terrible things in the past. I know that wasn’t you. It was Barnabas, he brainwashed you and used you. Forcing you to kill innocent people.” Joshua consoled you, trying to tell you that it wasn’t completely your fault. 

“...I will never forget what I did.” You were slowly opening up to Joshua, even though you didn’t want to at first but you wanted to pour your emotions out “I’ve killed a thousand innocents. I remember them screaming and crying, begging for mercy. Even the children. When they look me in the eye, all they fucking see…is an killer, a monster…”  

Your words fell hard on Joshua, he couldn’t imagine what it was like for you when you were being controlled by King Barnabas, “I can’t make it all go away. The past still haunts me. It will always haunt me. Stuck in a fucking loop with no way out.”

“(Name)...” Joshua held your hand into his as he continued to listen to you talking about the terrible things you did in the past. 

“I also remembered seeing blood on the wall after slaughtering them…” you recalled the moment where you just looked at the dead bodies and walked away after you completed your mission. 

“I have nightmares every single night, I hear voices every single day. The voices of the people whom I terrify the life out of them. I even hear the cries of the dead family. I can still hear them. Everytime I go out, people look at me and back away in terror. They remembered my face and threw stones at me.” you carried on opening up more to Joshua, tears visibly appearing on your face. “I walked out of there and found a quiet spot to cry silently.”

Joshua gestured his arm behind your back and held you close, you leaned your head onto his shoulder and wept, “Do I deserve to live? Do I deserve a fucking second chance?” you questioned in sorrow, you felt your heart falling apart. 

“You believe you’re a terrible person, just because you’ve done horrible things. I don’t see that in you at all. Just because you’ve done something truly wrong, doesn’t make you a bad person.” Joshua held his hand up and wiped your tears away using his thumb, “Just remember, (Name), you are not alone. For I am here for you always.” 

“...thank you, Joshua…” you said it so quietly but Joshua was able to hear it loud and clear. Joshua moved your hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles of it, “Despite those terrible doings of your past, I never stopped loving you.” You smiled sweetly at his words and kissed the corners of his lips, “I’m glad that… you’re here with me.”

Joshua motioned his head close to kiss you, “I will never leave you, (Name). Never.”

(A/n) - Still blaming @aria-lesage for getting me so much into angsty fanfics. I shall continue to write more ANGSTY ffxvi fanfics in future.

UNTIL NEXT TIME ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

[ruukina]

today marks ffxvi's first anniversary and i'm always so emotional about this game and even moreso now.

i talked about it on my rp blog but this game means a lot to me. it's helped me through grief, through anger, through so many emotions - and it's reminded me to look towards a better, brighter future and that i'm allowed to lean on others for support.

i also platinumed the game finally and finished my second playthrough as a celebration!! the ending destroyed me as always and it always makes me sad after i just finish it but then i remind myself that the signs for a happier future are all in there, and i think thats what the devs intended.

it's ambiguous, but you should hope for the brighter option, because of all clive, the hideaway and us as the player fought for. the world is ours to do as we please and we do have the freedom to choose of course, so no ending is wrong, but it's clear that in order to have a better tomorrow, you should hope and work for a better tomorrow - no matter the agony and suffering we experience.

clive as a character is so important to me, and i can't go into detail how much and what he means to me. one of ff's greatest protagonists for sure. his story and journey hits so close to me, and seeing him save himself makes the journey all the more memorable - and it's why i fully believe he lives at the end. his human will is so strong, that i don't think it would let him die. fate may have intended for him to die on that beach, but clive has fought fate so many times, that i genuinely believe he defies it one last time - a farewell to fate, forever.

the game comes into a full circle - though he lost joshua once again, this time he's not alone to suffer with it. and he finds jill again, just as he did in the beginning of the game. he comes back to her, just like she's wished for, just like he did once before.

clive won't be alone, and he won't ever be. cid was able to save clive from the fate that took benedikta, and in turn clive was able to save himself.

it's why instead of honoring his brother with revenge this time around, he honors him with remembrance. he writes the book in his name, so joshua won't be forgotten.

and that post-credits scene comes full circle with two brothers who love each other living the life that clive and joshua should have lived,

but it's ok now, because both of them sacrificed so much to make it so that people like them can live that peaceful life.

the years will be kinder on this game, we're already seeing the turn around for it a year later, and i fully think it'll be looked at as one of the greater modern ff games.

here's to many more years of celebration for this game!! genuinely one of my favorite games of all time, with a beautiful message. hopefully the pc release gets more eyes on this game and it impacts others the way it impacted me.

[shuttershocky]

Hey shutters! While I overall enjoyed FF16, I agree that I wish Jill did more or spoke more. I feel like there was missed potential of having a relationship more like Saber and shirou, where they both have similar mindsets and trauma. Specifically, when it came to overusing their powers and having to face the crystals' curse being similar to how Shirou and Saber did not want the other to fight but how they both needed to.

I'm still in the middle of the game (after Titan's bossfight) but it feels like Jill was written by an Aerith fan that only knew the FF7 cast from fanworks, movies, and Kingdom Hearts rather than the actual FF7, so Tifa's the tough spunky girl and Aerith's the softie flower girl when their original personalities are actually switched lol

Out of all the characters in FF16 I've seen so far, Jill was written for a role the hardest. What I mean by that is that while someone like Benedikta's an extremely standard femme fatale villain type (the kind that Urobochi would strangle midway through the season to be replaced by the real, male villain), she at least gets to revel in it. She gets to kick dogs, lose her composure, she's got at least one loyal minion she's genuinely close to and trusts in when the archetype doesn't usually, all that stuff. She gets to have fun with the role.

Jill? Jill was written to be Clive's woman before she was written to be a character, and it feels so glaringly obvious from how she's treated. She almost never gets to talk to anyone else other than Clive despite having screentime second only to Clive, she doesn't challenge him in any way, all of the other people barely acknowledge she's even there!

Like half of the main quest dialogue is

Plot Person: Bugger me, these Imperials won't live and let live won't they Clive? Plot plot plot dialogue dialogue. We oughta plot plot plot plot and get 'em right in the arse!

Clive: Hmm. Agreed. Plot plot plot important characters plot. We'll ride at dawn.

Plot person: Righto! See you in hell then. *Nods* Lady Jill.

Jill: *smiles meekly*

And it's such a waste because when she's actually allowed to do anything she's fun! Her character design is my favorite in the game, she gets to swing a sword around, when Clive gets bowled over her AI often gets caught too so the two get thrown up into the air screaming and doing a quadruple flip and its funny as fuck, as soon as she's finally given time to express one damn wish she's like "Clive, this priest did unspeakable things to children. I call dibs on killing him." And Clive's all "Of course Jill you'll get to murder him as much as you want" and that's fun!

They're each other's enablers! That's supposed to be their dynamic. Clive was a rejected son and a failure of a bodyguard, Jill's entire life was spent being someone's hostage (of both Rosaria and the Iron Kingdom), so they're the only pillar of support the other has. You can see the intent of their dynamic plain as day when Cid's trying to talk them into joining his merry crew of outlaws and Clive and Jill subconsciously hold hands and squeeze when they're nervous.

But to DO that right Jill has to be allowed to be her own character. Even in the Iron Kingdom level where Clive and Jill go after the High Priest because killing him is what Jill wants, in the ensuing bossfight Jill primes as Shiva while Clive fails to prime, and then instead of Jill taking charge she protects Clive while he fights the boss.

Seriously? One of them is flying around with literal god powers and the other has a bad case of Eikonic Dysfunction and rather than crush the giant lava monster herself, Jill makes sure Clive still gets to fight it in his puny human form and be the big hero? Come on. I was surprised that Jill still ran the High Priest through with her sword, I genuinely expected the game to take that away from her too.

Anyway she's obviously my favorite part of 16 now. Somebody's gotta be in her corner.

[robo-writing]

not sure if the odin sword is something inherent to the odin dominant or a transformed version of the person’s favoured sword (so that each one is different) but personally i’ve really been digging barnabas’ spouse being waloed’s lord/lady bladesmith and being the one that makes the weapons for his roundtable (cid/benedikta/sleipnir etc)

he asks his spouse to brand in their name or smithing crest into the blade so every kill is “in the name of his consort”

maybe he knew them before valisthea and the blade he used to conquer ash was forged by them <3 love wins

Words cannot describe how this ask unlocked parts of my fucking brain that have not been used in decades, I seriously need you to understand how good this is

I’m imagining their meeting was by pure chance, he is a newly awakened dominant and the first thing he needs is a sword, any sword will do so long as it’s useful, his might will do the rest. He enters the nearest town and after a moment of searching finds you, and he falls in love at first sight. Your muscles as you work the forge, the ash that stains your cheeks and fingertips, the fierce look in your eyes as you pound away at steel—he doesn’t believe he’s seen anyone so beautiful.

And then you see him, the teenager with eyes full of longing and you can’t help but speak first. He tells you he needs a sword, but something about his request intrigues you—everything about his presence intrigues you really—so you ask if that’s truly all he needs.

“Any idiot with a hammer and anvil can make a sword,” you tell him plainly. “But looking at you…I think you need a weapon, not a sword.”

Oh, he likes you even more now. He recognizes the look in your eyes; ambition, the same one he sees in the mirror. You tell him you’re only an apprentice, but you wish to become the world’s best blacksmith, and to do that you need to make a weapon that is worthy of that.

You give him a list of ingredients, many of which involve dangerous beasts and perilous treks across Valisthea. You even advise him to be careful, not aware of the power that stands before you.

He leaves, and you don’t see him for a week. You’re afraid that somewhere along the way he died, but he returns to you once again, unscathed with a satchel full of items. Another week passes and you’ve crafted him a weapon suitable for war, a weapon that thrives in the blood of its enemies. He marvels at the craftsmanship and offers you the only coin he has in his pocket, of which you refuse to take.

“I don’t want your money, I want your guarantee,” you say, a smile on your face. “I didn’t make this for fun, I made it so that somehow, somewhere, I’ll be recognized for my talent. So if you want to pay me back, make sure everyone knows who made her.”

You stroke on the blade lovingly, as one would caress a child before handing it over to Barnabas.

He nods, fire in his eyes. “That I can assure you, there will be none in these lands that do not know your name.”

And years later, that young boy turned into a man and kept his promise. Barnabas Tharmr and the blade of Odin, the sword wielded by the warden of darkness himself, conqueror and King of Waloed. Tales of the blade became that of legend, and your meager position as apprentice became that of a master within a year. Thousands of adventurers flocked to your store, begging for steel such as Lord Tharmr’s, but they were not worthy. No, that blade would be his alone by right.

And once he became king he made sure everyone beyond Waloed knew who you were the moment he placed a ring on your finger. His blacksmith, the first person who believed in him, and his very own queen.

[corofwaloed]

[ closed starter for @valistheanshield After the fall of Caer Norvent and Garuda's death. ]

Cordelia was crouched, as she was so often found in what she considered to be her 'downtime', beside the various crates and barrels used to bring in the much-need supplies for the Hideaway, meticulously and carefully going through their contents and marking them down on a sheet of paper. Her demeanor however, was subdued. More than usual - if the whispers of the Hideaway's residents were to be believed. None had been brave enough to actually speak with her at length however - unsure of her emotional state after word of her sister's death had spread among them all.  

But if the Waloedan bearer was upset - or angry, she did not showcase any obvious signs - only occasional sighs and a furrowed brow at something hidden with the crates of supplies that seemed to irritate her. 

"You know,"  her voice finally arose from the silence - voice thick with her homeland's accent, light and lilting as golden eyes kept themselves trained on the contents of a barrel full of salted fish for the storerooms, "You need not hide, the people in the Hideaway are skittish, and assume much about me - it is in the Bearer's nature to be cautious. But Cidolfus told you to seek me out, yes? Trust his word over the idle wagging tongues of others."

Cordelia turned to looked at Clive, a soft sigh coming from her lips coupled with a shake of her head, "It is good to see you healthy - and, presumably sane, if Cidolfus has let you out of the gaol-" she turned to set down her inventory list, grabbing the barrel's lid and beginning to put it back on- standing on her tiptoes to place it on, "You are here - presumably-" she grunted, pushing down on the top of the barrel, "To speak about my sister, Benedikta."

It was not a question, but a fact spoken plainly and simply - she was not known for subtlety or beating around the bush, but preferred to be rid of any false pretenses. 

"You need not worry, Clive Rosfield. If you have something to say, feel free to allievate your guilt, I understand it well. But understand, I bear you no ill will for the events that transpired. I simply wish I had known the last time I would speak to her would be on the top of the Caer, but alas, what use are regrets for the dead?" 

[askens-konge]

@under-theweight | continued from here [x]

𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐒. Both his servants had told him as much, and neither of them had he humoured with a response to their assessment. Perhaps, their sentiment resonated with the king, who slowly rose to stand from his seat at the table—after all, his noble steed seldom entertained his own thoughts and was happy to follow with whatever direction his liege provided instead. Quiet steps carried Barnabas Tharmr around the table, and only from the corner of his eye did he watch the man who towered over him.

Titan's presence was strong in Hugo Kupka, he could not deny it. But would it be enough to challenge and feed Mythos, Barnabas wondered to himself as he halted next to the other on his way to the door. " Before you leave for Dhalmekia, " he told him in a lowered voice, as if he did not wish for anyone but Hugo to hear him. " The Lord demands your strength be tested, and he told me to see to it. The Gates of Paradise do not open for the sheep with a golden fleece, but not the strength to keep it on its skin. "

Would the love of a woman make a man weak? Would it soften him, or would it motivate him to harden his resolve and strive for a future together in paradise? Hugo longed for Benedikta, and yet Barnabas was uncertain if that connection helped them beyond making the mountain more receptive to their demands. It remained to be seen, he decided.

[storm-driver]

ending of ff16 discussion below, pls do not click if you wanna avoid spoilers <3

I think FFXVI has a lot of potential, but it does fall quite short of the mark in some places. I do think the places where it excels far surpasses that, but maybe I'm able to turn a blind eye way easier than other's.

First and foremost, Jill Warrick is a potentially really good character, who unfortunately isn't given the same amount of love as other side characters in the game. Even characters like Gav and Byron were given more, despite Byron being introduced in the second half of the game, and Gav wasn't even a party main-stay.

Giving her some more moments to show off her prowess as Shiva's Dominant could've gone a long way. More independence from the Crystals' Curse, so to speak. I understand that the idea is Jill is on her last legs regarding the curse, but I really think they should've brushed that over, for the sake of her character.

Secondly, the arc with Barnabas was undercooked and rushed. Execution was weak compared to a similar scenario in FFXIV, where the main antagonist of Stormblood has the sole purpose of being the main character's rival. If the first fight against Barnabas was player-controlled and took place far sooner in the story, I'd be more inclined to buy into it.

Not only that, but the Barnabas arc is very isolated, compared to a lot of the other arcs in the game, most notably Kupka. Barnabas should've been presented a little earlier, or at least, his arc should've been quite a bit longer if it was going to take up the last quarter of the game.

I'm somewhat alright with Barnabas being the segway into Ultima as the main antagonist, but at the same time, it feels rather cheap to not given Barnabas his own full-fledged motivations and character arc, like we saw with Benedikta and Kupka. It's a minor writing thing I didn't personally enjoy, but at the same time, it was fun watching him snap out of his Ultima trance and become a beast at the very end of his fight.

The final segment of the game, I feel could've been made stronger if Ultima was a bit more discovered as a threat. Yeah, he was the god we had to kill, but we knew so little about him until the final 10% of the game. And at that point, he had finally become an acting force. I feel that's too late into the game for something like that to be happening, but maybe that's just me again.

The ending overall? I feel it could've used some more oversight. Joshua's death was expected, though I'm sad to see it was simply because of the Ultima shard. I don't think that writing his death via that shard was a good move, solely because it didn't feel like him keeping that shard in check had done anything at all, considering how much of an acting force Ultima had been anyways.

I understand the ending was also open-ended regarding Clive's ultimate (haha) fate, but I do wish there had been some more finality. Especially because of the red star Metia fading at the end, and Jill and Torgal crying as if he had definitely died. Me personally, it'd be nice to see Clive just walking back to the Hideaway, his arm turned to stone because of his overuse of magic, but still alive in spite of his fate. I feel THAT would've definitely made the ending better, just seeing that guarantee that he'd truly said "fuck you" to his destiny.

I also understand that the ending is open-ended for that exact reason, so I can guess what happens after without giving me something definitive. But I still would've appreciated if they'd just said if he died or not, outright. I don't enjoy ambiguity that much when the most likely thing is despair, 'cause then I just get my hopes up, just to get them crushed again.

Another small thing I disliked was the pacing started to get wonky at times, versus others where it was taken nice and slow. The segments in the game where you sorta had a dungeon to traverse before a big event were nice, to build up hype towards the big thing. These started to appear very seldomly, and it started to make the game feel like we were moving a mile a minute.

I feel the definitive proof that this worked is in the fight to Titan. And not just Titan as an eikon, but half-primed Hugo Kupka. I feel that was done SO fucking well and I really would've loved to see it again with Barnabas. Having the siege of Rosaria and Clive and Hugo affirming their hatred for each other was sick, especially because you just KNEW there was an eikon fighting waiting for you at the end of the arc, if Sleipnir hadn't stepped in.

Then having the follow-up at Drake's Fang, another lil' dungeon where you finally get to Kupka and he's just going insane, so fucking well done and I loved that rivalry so much.

Compare that entire arc to the end of the game, where you go through a dungeon in Waloed essentially, and the ending just ends up being a dramatic lore dump with a sorta final-boss fight. Meanwhile, the actual final boss doesn't have any pre-emptive dungeon, it's just a cutscene fight before the real fight starts.

Not only that, but chucking in about 14 sidequests right before that final boss and the game trying to pad out this rushed ending really made me realise how unfinalized this section of the game had been. Was it terrible? Not at all, but it wasn't the same quality as the rest of the game had been. Which is a damn shame, 'cause everything pre-Barnabas was god-tier and it's what I want to remember this game for the most.

For the positive side of things, I am very glad that I played this game, because I think I'm gonna feel the lasting impact it had on me for years, even if the ending didn't hit the way I wanted.

Clive Rosfield still stands out to me as one of the best RPG protagonists I've seen in a VERY long time. He's a strong man, unwittingly cruel in his actions, but he owns them, accepts them, and betters himself for his crimes. He is unafraid to cry and shed tears over his anguish, but he wears his sins on his sleeves and fights in spite of his destiny. The first section with him truly accepting his status as the Infernal Eikon, as Ifrit, was some of the best visual story-telling I've ever seen. The presentation was phenomenal, the music was heavenly, and Ben Starr did a phenomenal job as Clive. I sincerely hope Clive ends up setting a standard for protagonists in the future, because I genuinely do believe he's one of the best.

The character designs in this game were all great and enjoyable, and everyone was written in an amazing way. I think follow-up for Clive is definitely tied between Joshua Rosfield and Dion Lesage. I think Joshua has a similar issue to Jill, where he just wasn't used enough in the latter half of the story, but he was sorta written into the ending inherently because of his status as the Phoenix, and Clive's brother. Which is a shame that Jill didn't have that same impact.

Either way, those two were amazing characters that I loved ever since their first appearances. I have a particularly soft spot for Joshua because I can remember the prologue of the game so vividly, with Joshua desperately trying to fight off Ifrit while "Away" is blasting in the background. The choreography of the fight is great, the music is phenomenal, and you really wanna root for Joshua. It makes his appearance later in the game feel like he truly survived devastation and he's working hard to make sure no one suffers a similar fate.

Dion is fantastic, not only as some very nice LGBT representation, but also because he's just really fucking badass? The tragedy of having to witness his own kingdom become a slave to Ultima's wills, all because his father is being manipulated. And he, as a soldier, is being told to follow orders. It's saddening, but you can absolutely understand why he feels trapped. Which makes the moment of his father's murder, the accidental spear that was meant for the child, all the worse to witness. You truly understand why he was caught in his despair and enraged to the point of priming into Bahamut.

I have a lot of thoughts that I might say more on later, but as a final note, the gameplay was phenomenal. The music was god-tier. The eikon fights especially. Titan and Bahamut are easily some of the best stand-outs the game has to offer, but the fights against Typhoon, Garuda, Infernal Ifrit, and even Ultima's final form are incredibly fun. You really do feel like a massive ravaging beast that has a god's power at your hands. It's great, and I genuinely hope more RPGs take pages out of this book. Seriously, the only reason I didn't like the Odin fight was because it lacked this battle system, THAT'S how good it is.

[ceaselxss]

//okay got to the hideout, done for the night

fuck joshua's 'death' is intense. it just. kept going. holy shit

i continue to be impressed just by this game having blood. the swearing is fun but god i wish final fantasy had more blood

cid is hot i guess. Benedikta is very hot

i got one line from the pony i want to hear him more i want to know if that was an accent give him to me

[h-a-unted]

Send 💕 and the mun will say something nice about you, the mun -- for me, if it's okay to send one in?

POSITIVITY MEME

OF COURSE IT IS, MY FRIEND!!

My sweetie Vonny! You were my first mutual in the XVI fandom and it was like having my wishes be answered rather quickly! From the start, you showed just how friendly and accepting you were and how determined you were to learn and develop Mr. Elwin here and HONESTLY, you've made him a you character through and through! I'm excited to see what you develop with Benedikta because I just know you understand these characters on such a deep level, I'll be learning a whole lot from you! As I always say, you're one of the biggest reasons why I sometimes miss the XVI fandom, despite feeling such a strong apprehension towards it. That's a testament to just how great your writing, muse, and yourself are and how much I appreciate you.

Aside from that, you as a person have proven to be such a positive force every single time we talk! I'm so happy to see you around my dash sharing Elwin screenshots, big headcanons, ooc posts, just about anything! You should cut yourself some slack because you do so much for us and the fandom as a whole, despite you thinking you don't write enough or that you should be doing more. I'm here to say, you're doing more than enough and you deserve to take it as easy as you'd like and need! We appreciate you so much, I appreciate you a lot and I'd love to write more with you, I just get a little self-conscious, what with my new obsessions, sporadic nature and all that! But know that whenever I see a post from you, it causes me to immediately smile!

Please, know that I am always rooting for you and that, if you ever want to talk, I'm always available no matter how much we spend without talking or being busy with stuff! It's so nice to talk to you, I hope you feel the same way towards me! Thank you so much for giving my Clive an amazing dad to look up to! Thank you for giving me your presence and time, for being such a great friend! I appreciate you so very much, even when I'm just lurking or liking posts, you're great and I hope you always know that!

[xxladyballadxx]

𝕳𝖎𝖘 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓

Barnabas Tharmr x reader (Headcanon)

Summary: Just a dark king falling in love with a maiden he laid his eyes on♡

Barnabas never needed anyone in his life. Truly he prefers to be alone. Alone in a very gloomy, dark castle. Whenever his name is mentioned throughout some places, people get terrified. They cower in terror by the mention of his name. Lord Barnabas always keeps his distance from people, never talks to anyone besides two allies that serve him. Like Benedikta and Sleipnir. Loyal to the dark king, no one else. 

His life changed forever when he locked his blue orbs on a very beautiful maiden. She smelled of lavender and roses, her scent crawled onto the dark king. Lord Barnabas got lost in the beauty of that fair maiden, his mind wandered off to somewhere else. The lady wondered why he was staring at her. Barnabas thought she would be scared because of his unpleasant appearance, seeing how terrifying he appears to be.

Somehow, she wasn’t afraid of the tall, handsome man. Barnabas felt his whole body trembling in such buzzing-fuzzy thoughts when that maiden walked over to him. She wondered why the dark king was laying eyes on her. 

Lord Barnabas was just admiring her beauty. The woman found him very mysterious yet quite devilishly charming. 

The dark king couldn’t get his head thinking straight since he met this ravishing woman. Barnabas bumped into her a few times whenever he leaves his gloomy castle just to go out for a stroll. This maiden took a liking to the dark king, villagers began to gossip about them being together. 

They spend a lot of time with each other, Barnabas has never felt this special kind of…feeling before. 

Six months later, Barnabas asked the lady to be his queen, to come and live with him in the castle. Was the lady dreaming or something? Did she hear him correctly?

King Barnabas proposed to her, asking to be his Queen. The lady took him by the hand and looked at the eyes of a dark king. ‘Yes.’ was the only thing the fair maiden said to the Lord. 

Barnabas’s whole world changed into something anew. He let her bid farewell to her own family. Barnabas will allow the maiden to visit her family anytime she wishes, which is very strangely,surprisingly nice of him. 

This is the day where you officially became his beloved queen. Barnabas, your lovely dark king. If anyone puts a finger on you, touches you, or flirts with you, Barnabas will lay down his sword and strike those who have laid a finger on you. 

You belong to Barnabas Tharmr, King Of Waloed. Dominant of Odin. Only him. No one else’s. 

(A/n)- Couldn't be arsed writing a long fanfic for some reason. My lack of writing is really getting the best of me (๑•́ -•̀)

UNTIL NEXT TIME (^-^)

[rosh1d]

      The answer slips past tongue in a lack of forethought,   not with the intention of undermining his brother's concerns,   but a fault of a long solitude subjected upon him for so many years.   If present afflictions had no cause for worry or immediate care,   then he is fit to resume the current fight.   A shield is meant to be dented and scratched                     would still be useful to withstand the most violent of blows even if weakened by war.   He's merely flesh and blood,   &.   yet   ...   hardly similar to the rest of his kin.   Perhaps the idea of exclusion came in that regard,   for despite the gaps in memory a tortured mind chose to fill with crafted tales,   a part him felt so awfully out of place,   the feeling would subside with age and the company he was lacking,   though not entirely as he would fall back into old habits and withdraw to lonesome quietude.   There was much to consider,   much to comprehend in a very short amount of time.   They had learned of Ultima's intentions,   and would soon make the flight towards origin in order to stop him.   It's not cowardice that ails him at the moment,   but a doubt that burdens him so heavily since the fight with Barnabas.   Ultima spoke to him then,   shed light on a truth he didn't wish to accept,   but he can deny it no longer                   felt that eagerness for power during Ifrit's first rampage.   His flames had burned with same want when he unwillingly took Odin in   ...   is he bound to succumb to it and lose himself entirely ?

      "Clive." Joshua spoke his brother's name as gently as possible. He knew that Clive likely meant what he said, but that didn't make it true. "... I believe you. Let me help, anyways?"

   Joshua's voice guides him out of the mist that overtook his mind.   Seeming to realize the younger's presence just now,   he can't quite get used to this,   this strange willingness by those he loved to extend a helping hand even when it wasn't necessary,   it's quite the shift from how it had been only a few years ago   ...        ❛❛   Forgive me this ill habit of mine,   brother.   ❜❜        he finally spoke,   the look he bears is one of remorse.   He doesn't wish to shun him away,   nor to burden him with his troubles either,   he had enough on his shoulders as it is.   However,   something told him Jousha would choose to stand his ground this time as well,   so adamant on reminding him that the fight wasn't his alone,   it's quite the change from the timid young boy he remembers,   he had grown so much.        ❛❛   ...   Barnabas' last gracious act was to give me his Ekion                 ❜❜        a gift received against his own will,   he tried to tear himself away from his grasp,   but it was the same as what happened with Benedikta,   this dormant hunger for power his will is weak to rebel against.

   A trembling hand is raised as proof,        ❛❛   Housing the Ekions all at once tends to be strenuous at times,   it's no cause for worry however,   it'll pass.   ❜❜        Clive confessed,   hand closing into a tight fist in an attempt to steady himself.   The ache that resided in his chest   &.   numbed his being reared itself after a long resistance.   The first time it had happened it was though a thousand daggers had pierced through his skull   ...   it hadn't gotten any better since then,   although no sign of the curse had shown yet,   he knows it's only a matter of time until it catches up to him.   A sigh,   he seems to be jumping from one dreadful thought into another,   maybe Joshua's intervention was meant to put an end to it.        ❛❛   In the meantime,   I wouldn't mind the company.   Thank you,   Joshua.   ❜❜

@phoenixfiiire // he's exhausting ik

[loldragoon-ffxiv]

i’m about ~50% through FFXVI main story and i have some thoughts (will post again when i’m done)

Character design is the most obviously 14 thing about this game. The background characters basically look like slightly higher resolution hyur (not really like humans, distinctly highlander/midlander faces lol) and a lot of the clothes are literally just higher definition clothes from 14. I find it occasionally distracting/reminds me it’s a video game but i get it. as a result it definitely aesthetically looks like eorzea with only hyurs

The music is *chef’s kiss* especially during the eikon fight scenes

I didn’t know how i’d feel about him during the demo, but now I would die for Clive actually. Every time he shows any outward emotion at all at this point it seems to bring me to tears. I am so invested in this man

I also really like Cid, I suspect i’ll like him more when I replay and do all of the pre-time-skip side quests

I will not be able to handle it if/when Torgal dies

Joshua reminds me a lot both of Elidibus and G’raha

Benedikta is a somehow worse combination of all of the misogynist stereotypes of the female antagonists in 14. Big Livia and Yotsuyu vibes. I wish she did not exist

I’m hoping we get more Jill backstory because she’s feeling very much like a bland FF love interest rn and she deserves better

The romance plotline is both obvious and unconvincing which is the worst possible combo and I hope this improves. I am writing Clive/Gav fanfiction in my head because they have better chemistry than Clive and Jill at this point

I can tell the fandom is obsessed with Dion already and I don’t really understand why aside from his voice actor and that’s coming from me who is more of a dragoon fangirl than anyone. Maybe I just haven’t gotten to the reason yet

[eikonbound]

Eikon Headcanons

I was thinking this morning about the scene where Joshua punches Clive after learning that he took (maybe took isn't the right word but it's what's coming to mind) Shiva from Jill. And frankly, I kinda wanted to punch him too. It made me think about how different each dominant's relationship to their eikon is. For Jill, Shiva came to be out of trauma; she was horrified and it forced her to prime as a means of defending herself. I'm sure the panic and terror must have been so intense. And after that, Shiva was weaponized, turned against her. She was already held captive by the Iron Kingdom after the Phoenix Gate incident, and her fate was only made worse when Shiva came to be within her. Now, it was certain that she wouldn't be released, or even released in the form of death. She would be forced to stay alive and bring ruin to whoever Imreann saw fit. Shiva protected her when she needed it, yes. But she never got a chance to associate empowerment and agency with her eikon because it immediately made her situation worse. Perhaps it was for those reasons that she felt resolute in giving Shiva to Clive -- not only because he would need it for the fight to come, but because she wanted to be relieved of that weight. Maybe that was what she needed. But to Joshua, who has known he was a dominant his whole life, taking Shiva from Jill was taking an integral, profound piece of her. Phoenix is an integral, profound piece of Joshua. He feels kinship with his eikon. I think some dominants may feel trapped or pigeonholed by their eikon and the fact that they had no choice (perhaps Dion) but Joshua grew into the role. It probably became all the more important after he recovered with the Undying (and I also have some thoughts about what the Ultimania suggests about his time there, but I'll write that another time) because it seemed as though Phoenix was all he had left. I think the healing abilities of his eikon also helped to create a positive association and comfort with Phoenix; for as much as he harmed people to protect those who needed it, he was also able to heal others in a way that no one else could. And he's so willing and eager to do it -- even at the cost of the curse. As a child he heals Clive right away from a minor wound, without even considering the personal ramifications of it. That's just innately who he is. He can't imagine it feeling any different with an eikon and he knows that if someone took Phoenix from him, the grief would be immense. The relief that Jill might feel at losing Shiva might look like sorrow if it happened to Joshua. For the other characters, we know that Clive had a very hard time adjusting to the reality that he is in fact Ifrit, and is responsible for much of the destruction at Phoenix Gate. He seems to make peace with this but I wish (if I magically had control of the narrative) he had struggled more with integrating Ifrit into his life and his psyche, and what it meant to be a symbol to the world. I think this is something Dion's thought about a fair deal, seeing as though he knew from very early in his life that he was a dominant, and no ordinary one; Bahamut was revered and worshipped, seen as a beacon of hope. It added so much pressure to an already impossible situation. Dion needed to mean everything to everyone, and how much did that leave for him? Hardly anything, I'm sure. Looking at the other dominants, it seems like Benedikta, Hugo, and Barnabas derived a lot of meaning, influence, and power from their Eikons. I wish we knew more about Hugo and how he came to realize that he was a dominant. If anyone has thoughts on that pls lmk because I'm so intrigued (and would love to write with a Hugo if one exists!) I love all my troubled children and want to protect them from these things they did not choose and cannot change.