Azem Headcanons

[Author’s note: I always go back and forth on the Azem lore in relation to Zero and Mikhail because I do not make their story standard approach to MSQ but had eventually come to the decision that Mikhail is NOT Azem due to his dragon origins and dragons in ffxiv originate from another world separate from the one that was sundered and are basically like aliens. He does however gain the seat of Azem, inheriting the star stone Emet-selch had made in secret and could be said to have taken up their will, narrative wise. *Zero is one of the incarnations of the last person who inherited the seat of Azem but had decided not to join her mentor for she did not see this as the “Answer”.] 

Concept 

Zero not joining or being involved at all in the crisis happening in the Convocation of Fourteenth is because I’m personally interested in the first appearance of the Watchers making their first move on other worlds and assimilating it into their network of information.  The first move they make is releasing a flower that will consume anything and take the data it has accumulated and either BECOME or send a proxy out that can shapeshift into the thing that it killed.  Zero as Azem is sent off to investigate this rumor of livestock and people going missing. A few interviewees even claimed to see some sort of amorphous monsters bringing offerings to a spherical white object made of unknown matter. (A/N:*chimera ant arc meets To your eternity)  This thing ends up getting the better of Zero and on the brink of the final days being amplified by the despairing telethy birds she is killed and consumed by the Flower and later takes on said form of Zero and finds it to be the strongest they’ve ever consumed.  Upon trying to shapeshift into the Zero’s form and data collected from her, Zero suddenly gains consciousness of her situation and in one last act of self sacrifice asserts her will over the Flower and attempts to kill herself and the flower with it. For this life form called the Flower copies everything that is consumed including its soul.  Even if the Flower is incapable of processing such characteristics of humanity like feelings and emotions it will still absorb the information and try to culminate the data to the best within its given parameters set by its Creators. In an act of survival  it attempts to regenerate and revive itself but splits its power amongst five copies of the lifeform it absorbed called “Zero”.  The attempt at using creation magicks at its disposal ends horribly outside of its control as the telethy enacting the Final Days mutate the copies of Zero’s split soul and the Flower being that of a creation is susceptible to dynamis. All five copies of Zero, in a fit of fear and survival, flee from her attempt at rounding them up. With nowhere to turn for help in a situation outside of her expertise, seeing first hand what the Final Days is ravaging across the land with a plague of creation magicks and a Flower that is designed for its ceaseless hunger for apocalypticism. Amidst the chaos reaching a boiling point when the Convocation announces their proposal of the construction of Zodiark. None of her colleagues believe her story of a Flower Concept devouring anything in its reach without revealing that she too has been compromised by said blight.  Zero finds an unlikely ally in a powerful dragon far traveled from its star named Micheal.  To be Continued etc

Accord is of course monitoring and cataloging all of this. As this singularity and branch needs to be further studied for the ramifications it could hold for the future.

Headcanon:

Azem's magic is summoning, right? Summoning the party. Bringing exactly what's needed to the fight. We regain this ability when we get our crystal from Hythlodaeus in Amaurot, and we've used it to really great effect since.

But if you think about it, we've always used a low-key form of this ability since we were wee bitty sprouts just starting out in Ul'dah, or Gridania, or Limsa Lominsa.

What is the one thing everyone knows the Warrior of Light can ALWAYS do?

Find anything. A person. A place. A thing. An idea. Anything that is missing, the Warrior of Light can find. The NPCs remark on it constantly throughout the MSQ and side-quests. Nothing can escape the Warrior of Light when they're looking for it.

And I think that's because even though we need the crystal to enact a full-out Summoning, it's innate to us, Azem, to be able to find exactly what we need when we need it. It's an integral part of Azem - the ability to always have a solution at hand.

After all, how can one be the Counselor to the People, the Warden of the Star, if one can't always find a viable solution to a problem?

Just some thought-rambles regarding Azem and the summoning and everything - but something I think might play into some Ancient/Post Original Final Days brainrot that I've been tinkering with. I thought y'all might like to think about it and play with it yourselves. <3

"As the bearer of Azem's crystal, you may consider your duty to see at least that much. I certainly did."

Urania x Hermes

Ancients’ Modern AU

Two Astronomy PhD students grow close by watching the Northern Lights together late into the night…

I envision Hythlodaeus as a voyeur. He likes to watch and linger in other people's sentiments, outside of the bedroom as much as within. Content to sit at the sidelines and take in others' happiness. In public, he likes to eavesdrop, not to use the knowledge for some nefarious plotting, but simply to enjoy the small victories of those around them. Mundane joys, privately shared: a wide eyed child laughing freely, the clasp of a hand in another, an invitation to a candlelit dinner.

In private, he likes to watch. Hades and Azem coiled around each other, lips and limbs tangled, and Hythlodaeus on the edge, eager eyes and heated gaze upon them. A hand extended in invitation, always inviting, but he declines. He'd rather watch. For now, at least. After all, passion tastes better on the lips of another.

absolutely obsessed with the lore implications of this. so azem and themis are close friends AND azem knows we exist??? so did venat tell her about what happened during our time in elpis??? tell me MORE

12.21.23 ophelia and persephone

If you need a push, I’ll be right behind you.

Hello friends here is a fun question I have for all of you to answer, maybe in the tags or reblogs even if you feel like it:

What concepts do you headcanon that your WoL's Azem created?

Did they tend to gravitate towards a certain theme or style?

Or if they didn't create any concepts of their own, why?

I'm curious!! I wanna hear about your Azems please and thank you! :3

Red Chocobos are 100% Azem's fault and you can't tell me otherwise. The WoL should go back in time and repeatedly kick their original incarnation in the junk for it.

For the micro story prompts: Bauble and Shimmer? 😁

Tysm friend! 💜💜💜

In the morrow, when Hades looks at his reflection in the mirror, a small smile graces his lips. Because it's different than the day before. Just like Hythlodaeus' is. Now there is a shimmering earring on his right ear, its pair is on his beloved's ear. Something so precious and elegant. Something she made. For them.

He examines how the earring catches the light with an idle fascination. And when he shifts into his aether sight, it glows with the colors of their souls. Her craft was always otherworldly... but this? He can only imagine the amount of effort and thought she has put into her gift.

Love bursting inside his chest, he swears he'll never take it out until the end of his days.

And when his Hero asks about it eons later he pretends it doesn't tear his heart apart.

Out of the Shadows,

The Morning is Breaking,

& All is New.

Occasionally I will feel slammed with insecurity over my own imagination. My stories aren't creative enough, my characters aren't interesting enough, they don't attract enough attention--even their designs just aren't "pretty" enough. It feels like I failed at make-believe.

And then I realize it's a symptom of social media.

Before I spent so much time in fandom spaces my characters delighted me--and you know what? They still do! So what if my Azem isn't the prettiest? So what if she has kids with HythHades (who are two more OCs I've made and absolutely adore)? So what if my WoL is in love with someone else even though she feels inexplicably drawn to Emet-Selch and yet doesn't end up with him? So what if I've decided that that reunion is for their next lives? So what if I made a character for an AU I love so much I am retconning him into everything else?

I'm not saying they're perfect or that my writing is (Zodiark knows that isn't true). What I am saying is that I love the stories of my XIV OCs (and how they've inspired a font of creativity I thought long-vanished) and I will happily share them with anyone who cares to listen. And if no one does? Then I will keep telling myself these stories, simply because they make me smile.

Alt text:

Twitter user Echo (@ idlemode) @/resonature on Jan 24, 2021

do you ever think about how g'raha as exarch left behind a legacy and by contrast hades desperately tried to preserve a legacy that no longer existed until finally choosing to see the warrior of light as azem and letting that be what he left behind in death or are you normal

Random Hali Headcanon

Hali’s reactions to Hermes in Elpis

So, Hali has no memories (as of 6.55) of her past life as Urania (Azem), but she already knows a lot about it without actually remembering it herself. One main reason is because Hermes tells Hali of his feelings for Urania, and that he and Urania were once lovers. Hali is in complete shock, just like 😱😱😱

Hermes also sees Hali and can’t help but be attracted to her, as she is the spitting image of the woman he loves, only much smaller. Basically this conversation happens:

Hermes: She looks just like you actually, just… taller.

Hali: ((trying not to show how much she’s freaking out)) 😨 Oh wow, that is so interesting! Hahaha… 😰

Oh and yes, Hali does find Hermes attractive, but she knows nothing could come of it, and she still is in love with Aymeric of course.

Cue adding more depression onto Hermes once Hali tells him the truth, however.

Hali: Oh you shouldn’t fall in love with me by the way. Why is that? I actually have Urania’s reincarnated sundered soul, and uhhh your sundered self tried to kill me several times and just caused the final days to come back. Soooooo sorry about that!

As you can see, Elpis and it’s revelations hit Hali like a ton of bricks, and though she doesn’t have the same feelings for Hermes as she does for Aymeric, she still holds a great amount of compassion for her past self’s ex-lover, and she still wishes that she could’ve help him. Alas, that wasn’t meant to be.

One thing I headcanon about my XIV character Brym is this:

He is extremely serious about upholding his promises.

Especially the one he made to Emet-Selch:

Remember. Remember us.

Remember that we once lived...

And ever since we gained the ability to travel back to Elpis, he's been making good on that promise. Taking pictures, documenting the places, the people, the history. Then he returns, publishing his findings and seeing them distributed by both manuscript and word.

The world will know its history, its past. No matte how ugly or troublesome it may be.

We will remember.