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plounce · 11 months

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ryne as the personification of the first

emet-selch goes on about how the source is the only shard that really matters, that the other shards are dimmer and of less value, that the shards are meant to be sacrificed for the sake of being rejoined to the source, blah blah blah (with the source and its current peoples eventually being de facto sacrificed to bring the ancient world back to an unsundered state) (all of this to foil hydaelyn, whose major aetherial aspect is light)

ryne is one in a century-long line of little girls who were valued only for their ability to channel the source's minfilia, being subsumed by her soul and then dying horribly in a neverending war against the light. minfilia explicitly compares herself to an ascian when explaining the situation to thancred (one of the most underrated bonkers lines in shb, imo)! the sacrifice of one person's individuality is worth the contribution to the larger crusade... but also because those with more power in the situation want the person THEY loved to return to them (see also: gaia).

but despite being told she's weak and would be better off giving in to her fate (either directly by ran'jit, or indirectly via neglect by thancred's bad parenting), ryne values the free, colorful, unique life she has lived and the love she has created with the people around her. even though all of it is difficult! even if it hurts! even if she has to struggle against sin eaters, even if she is pursued by an entire nation-state, even if her guardian hadn't gotten to the end of his character arc yet! it sucks, but she isn't going to go gently into that good light, even if it would be the more "practical" and "effective" path to take (see: the ancients summoning zodiark). she struggles forward, because she wants to keep living and keep struggling and keep growing. she started out never knowing a room beyond her cell, barely knowing anything except that she was doomed. but she worked and she learned and she struggled and in the end she chose to survive. ryne chooses to fight for her own right to live.

the first already had their apocalypse. 90% of the entire planet was destroyed. they are confined by giant walls of light. light is the aspect of stagnancy. eulmore has given up - to quote gaia, the past and future don't matter, it's only the present. giant monsters ravage the countryside! you have to watch your loved ones mutate into those monsters before your eyes, and often have to put them down yourself! the old world and its nation-states have been wiped away, leaving often fragmented and murky histories behind. the ecology got all fucked up, and i can't imagine the world being euled by stagnation is great for the birthrate. it's bleak as hell! but people keep living and adapting. we arrive on a first that has created new cultures and communities. it is not by clinging to the past and trying to restore the kingdoms of voeburt and nabaath araeng that the first survived: the first survived because it journeyed on into the future. "where one world ends does a new begin", etc

the exarch brought the scions to the first for a reason. only by saving the first can we save the source. but that isn't the only reason we fight to help the first, and honestly not even the primary reason: we help the first because we meet the people there and we care about them (see: the 5.3 dungeon, with all the npcs we met coming to help us). we help ryne not because we want access to her powers: we help her because she is a vulnerable child who needs our help. if ryne did not choose to live, if she chose to die to give us access to full oracle powers, shadowbringers would have veered into a gutting pyrrhic victory rather than the bittersweet one that it already is. ryne is the future. live for the future, even if it doesn't seem as "good" as what you idealize the past as, and struggle onward.

thancred gets to live past his fight with ran'jit because he has to welcome ryne back and tell her he loves her and that he's glad she's herself. that's his character arc. that's the narrative. he defeats the poison of nostalgia, he and ryne both live and get the chance to improve their relationship, and they work together to defeat the ultimate nostalgia-driven, grief-ruled monster, emet-selch.

(side note: fascism as an ideology is hugely driven by the belief that society should "return" to its "purest" "best" form. emet-selch invented fascism in garlemald. he uses a lot of fascist rhetoric to justify his actions. ffxiv's insistence that you must move past nostalgia and move on into the future goes hand in hand with its antifascist themes)

and in the end, ryne has to stay on the first while her family has to leave her. it's a bittersweet end to her coming of age story, but she uses the tools giving to her by her predecessors and loved ones to fight for her and her loved ones' futures (see: end of eden). it will be hard for her moving forward, but she has already conquered the excruciatingly struggle of choosing to want to live when it seemed like the whole world was telling her she's better off doomed. it'll be sad, and it'll be hard, but she'll be okay.

#chirps #ffxiv #ffxiv spoilers #ryne waters #my sweetie pie. my pookie bear. my leetle lesbian. i am driving her to girl scout meetings

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keicordelle · 2 months

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The Daily Inconveniences of an Au Ra: Mixed Race Housing

Living in the Scion's dorms was... hard. Keshet had never felt his otherness quite as much as when he moved in with his comrades. They were all understanding, and they certainly did their best, but Keshet could never quite shake the knowledge that he was different. Both in terms of upbringing, and of anatomy.

Most people, when they bunked with roommates or in communal lodging, had to worry about things like their housemates snoring or eating their food. Keshet... well, the accommodations to his living space were a little bit more drastic than those of your average hyur.

The low ceilings he had learned to live with, for the most part. He still sometimes smacked his head when entering a doorway, but most buildings across Eorzea were not built for someone of his height, and he'd grown more or less accustomed to ducking. He shared plenty of long-suffering looks with the Boulder brothers, but ultimately, there was relatively little he could do to keep from whacking his head besides just remembering to stoop. Though the brain cells he lost every time he forgot made it harder and harder with each passing day, or so he liked to claim.

And he did like being able to help out the others. Sometimes, when Tataru was baking, he'd sit in the kitchen with her and fetch whatever she needed from the upper cupboards, because the only person who struggled more with the geography of the Rising Stones was her. She'd feed him all the best of her creations in exchange, and he always got first dibs at mealtime - though by then he was often so stuffed full of stolen mouthfuls that he could barely eat the meal he'd helped prepare.

The biggest issue, though, came when it was time to bed down. The snoring he could live with - he was used to sleeping in a camp full of people, with only thin fabric walls to divide them (if that). And he’d grown sufficiently used to sleeping indoors that the inability to see the sky didn't bother him as much as it used to, though he still preferred to sleep outside whenever he could get away with it. The problem was that he slept with a bunch of people from frigid Sharlayan, and that meant he froze his damned tail off every time he lay down to sleep.

Back on the Steppe, he was used to dozing in the blazing sun, sprawled out on a hot rock and basking in the heat, just like a real lizard. Trying to sleep here, with only the blankets of his self-made nest to warm him, was like trying to sleep half-submerged in a river: not bloody comfortable. But it was a shared space and he was keenly aware that he was the odd man out in that regard, so he kept his complaints to himself and tried to soak up as much sun as he could during the day.

He should have known his friends better than that.

"What's this?" The glowing red lamp towering beside his nest of blankets commanded Keshet's attention as soon as he stepped foot into the dorm, scattering all thoughts of the day's training exercises to the wind. Tataru beamed at him from across the room, hands on her hips and that cunning glint in her eyes that always made him just a little bit nervous. It seemed that this time, though, it had been turned in his favor.

Thancred bumped him jovially with his shoulder, urging him forwards. "You don't think we didn't notice how uncomfortable you are sleeping here, did you? Friends pay attention to that sort of thing."

The heat that radiated from the lamp became obvious as Keshet stepped towards it, nervousness turning to incredulity as he drew near. "Is this..."

"A heat lamp," Urianger supplied for him, scratching bashfully at his head. "We thought it might provide thee some comfort."

"He means that we asked around in the Firmament to find out what the dragons use to keep warm, and Marcelloix suggested this," Alisaie said. "A lizard's a lizard, no matter its scales, right?"

Keshet was too distracted by the warmth that radiated from the lamp to offer more than a half-hearted, "Right," in response. Nhaama, it was so warm. The heat soaked into his scales and eased the tension in his muscles. Gods, he just wanted to... well, that was the point, wasn't it?

He curled up in front of it, uncaring for the half-hidden smirks of his audience as he curled his tail over his thigh and turned his face towards the glow. Less than a minute later, the quiet sound of snoring drifted from the contented Au Ra. Tataru grinned, waving the others away. "Looks like it was worth the effort."

(By the time she returned to head to bed herself, she found G'raha and Y'shtola curled up in front of the heater as well, the three of them cuddled into a comfortable pile before it. Maybe they'd have to get a few more heaters to go around.)

Read the rest of the series on Ao3!

FIRST | PREV | NEXT

#ffxiv #wol #au ra #au ra xaela #scions of the seventh dawn #ffxiv fanfiction #my writing #keshet dotharl #daily inconveniences #~k

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brineffxiv · 1 year

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Descending via the Thirty-Third Facet, we arrive in Merryall Agronomics.

There are no gleaners in the immediate vicinity, yet the workers are just as harried. Time to investigate!

I ask around a bit and perform some menial tasks, and eventually find myself on this little hilltop in front of these pretty glowing flowers. Which I know are Important because of how the camera lingers on them.

A passing botanist sees me admiring them, and stops to inform me that these flowers are like mood rings and their colors reflect the ambient emotion - right now they're a dull grey because of the anxiety and stress the workers are under. Despite knowing why they do the thing they do, no one has been able to get to the bottom of how. We also don't know where they come from.

Interesting. I am sure this will be relevant eventually, but I cannot imagine how.

We spy Erenville from a distance, arriving presumably to give the report he mentioned to his superior. We bet this superior is a forum member, and resolve to eavesdrop.

Krile is worryingly distracted by the flowers.

Y'shtola... turns us into toads. So we can spy better.

I. Was not aware this was a thing that could happen.

Alphi-toad and Ali-toad!

Omg I am losing it.

TOADS.

...Okay. Okay.

We find Erenville meeting with a forum member, and it seems he has a bone to pick with them himself.

A momentous duty they were charged with? And open acknowledgement of the Final Days? Jackpot.

While walking away Erenville notices us, and recognizes us instantly, lol.

Returning to Y'shtola we split up to find Krile, who has turned back due to not feeling well. I find her back at the flowers, where she picks one and casts a spell on it to keep it from wilting before giving it to me.

Uh... "She?" I think I can hazard a guess which She we're talking about.

Hello again, Hydaelyn.

Yes, I had gathered you were unable to save the First yourself. That wasn't my issue. My complaint was about your lack of communication. Surely you could have spoken with your champions as you are with me now. You could have told them what needed doing; you could have asked them for help. Failing that, simply speaking with them would have eased their suffering, instead of ignoring their pleas as you did.

...I forget if I learned about the aetherial sea through the game or if one of my friends let it slip by accident that that's where the dead go. Hmm. I suppose it doesn't really matter.

...Are you telling me that the sea is separate between the reflections?

I mean. I suppose that makes sense. I had just assumed it was all one thing. But... Oh, of course that makes sense. Or else the shards of the sundered souls would have the potential of meeting themselves and getting mixed up. Then, that means that those who die in a shard are forever trapped there, regardless of where they originated.

Thank you, then. That was... surprisingly considerate of you. On behalf of Minfilia, of Thancred, of the rest of my friends. Genuinely. Thank you for bringing her home. The idea of her separated from those she loved and who loved her in return, for eternity, is a horror I didn't know I had to consider.

I can think of several who died, but none who are both natives of the Source and not your enemies. Who else did you bring back...?

...Wait. It's not Emet-Selch, is it? Is that why he's narrating??

Gah. I don't know if that actually makes sense or if I'm just a horribly biased fan and can't not think about him. Why would Hydaelyn do anything to aid her mortal enemy? But, only Emet and Elidibus were natives of the Source, and Elidibus got absorbed by the Crystal Tower...

*sigh*

This is a mystery that will only be solved by progressing the plot. I will just have to live with not knowing for the time being.

You mean I'm not tempered? Is that what you're saying? Or is it that you won't impose your will over mine?

I will try. It's what I always do; try my best.

And then She is gone, and Krile is herself again. Not that I'm not glad Hydaelyn is finally communicating with us... But I am leery of seeing those blue eyes on another of my friends. I can never forget what happened to Minfilia.

On that we can both agree. Why She feels the need to be so cryptic is a mystery to me.

Uh oh. (And here I will cut the post, because this is getting quite long.)

#ffxiv liveblog #rhesh'a tag #krile baldesion #hydaelyn #y'shtola rhul #alphinaud leveilleur #alisaie leveilleur #erenville #TOADS #baseless speculation #thoughts on lore

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thescions · 4 months

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Thancred can never remember any family of his own. He had one, surely, as he wasn't so special that he had been birthed from Llymlaen Herself. But his earliest memories were that of the streets of Limsa Lominsa, working with seedy merchants needing assistance from a pathetic-looking urchin to lure in customers for their business. Or to distract some bleeding heart tourists long enough for other thieves to pick their pockets.

There was but one constant—once the job was done, both parties moved on, sometimes without so much as a fare-thee-well. Yet even when he had endeared himself to the Dutiful Sisters -- the honorable rogues who upheld an ethical code -- he could not quite settle in with them. Something about it all just didn't feel quite right to him, even if they offered a family-like setting. No, Thancred was not meant for such a group...or so he told himself.

When the boy of ten summers attempted to pickpocket a recent arrival on the pier, he found himself caught -- and restrained with powerful magicks. But rather than be turned into the authorities, the older man introduced himself as Louisioux and invited him to share a meal with him. Thancred tried to decline, but at this point he hadn't eaten in three days. He reluctantly accepted, always ready for the old man to turn mean or cruel. He did not.

After a few weeks of earning the boy's trust, Louisioux asked Thancred if he would like to have a better life. At this point, Thancred had gotten a taste of what it like to have an adult care for him. He did not want to lose it. How fortunate that the desire to live well as also what he believed Louisioux would want to hear. They departed for Sharlayan shortly after.

To Thancred's dismay, Louisioux would introduce him to a colleague of his who would 'serve as his mentor for his time spent in Sharlayan.' Louisioux would sponsor him, however, meaning that his room and board and all meals would be covered. Although Thancred felt abandoned by the closest thing he could consider a father, he desperately wanted to do right by him -- and so he agreed to study under this mentor to the best of his ability.

The mentor in question was a man of many faces, one known only to Thancred as Master. His Master had several common aliases in which he would disguise himself, never showing his true face to Thancred (or any of his other pupils).

Thancred was sent to the Studium for basic academics and given a small, private room in the school's dormitory. On occasion, he would find letters or receive other forms of communication in the form of riddles that he would need to decipher. Upon deciphering them, he would then have to complete various tasks within a timeframe. Or he would find a 'prize' at the end of his errand, as reward for progressing properly in his studies.

For the first few months, Thancred found the challenges exciting -- but the novelty wore off quickly. Although he continued to excel in whatever was asked of him, the endless puzzles and roundabout means of communication were a source of exhaustion. The fact that his mentor could easily be anyone or diguise other pupils as other species entirely also bred a sense of paranoia in him as well. There were very few times when he did not feel he was being tested or observed, and so he was always on in some way. Always keeping an eye out for the next clue or challenge.

Thancred never felt a familial bond with his Master the way he had as a child with Louisioux (which had faded somewhat as he grew into a teenager, although he was loyal to him all the same). Despite this, he did respect his Master quite a bit for his expertise and all that he learned from him. This not only included all of his survival and intelligence-gathering skills, but also...some very bad habits.

Having a guardian who only ever communicated through aliases and false identities strongly influenced Thancred's own tendency to do the same. Thancred is always on, and being 'on' means putting on a personality suited to whoever one is talking to. Combine this with his Master's inability to express heartfelt emotions face-to-face (preferring giving you a runaround as an exciting game instead!) and no wonder Thancred struggles with communication to Ryne! He didn't even spend very much time interacting with Minfilia while she led the Scions despite how much he cared for her!

It will never cross his mind, though, that many of his bad habits can be attributed to his childhood. If you point it out, then of course it will make sense to him. But he rarely wants to disclose his past to anyone who doesn't already know of it, nor does he enjoy opening that proverbial Pandora's Box of hard self-reflection. Thancred struggles to acknowledge that the few people who genuinely cared for him as a child might have fucked him up. It is far easier to believe he is the problem and failure. After all, isn't that why his parents and Louisioux chose to abandon him?

#thancred hc;

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mimble-sparklepudding · 1 year

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How does Mimble feel about each of the scions? Who does he hang out with the most? Is there anyone that seems to bother him? if so, how does he handle that? Does he do anything outside of work with any of them?

(You are such a beacon of light to this community!!!! Keep on being you, you are loved by many, many people!)

Awww thank you @healersadjust and so sorry it's taken so long to get this answered! Some information repeated from previous posts.

[Various Spoilers for Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers and Endwalker]

Alphinaud - Initially Mimble thought Alphinaud was somewhat condescending and rather too self-satisfied to be entirely likeable, although he was content to be tolerant for the sake of the Scion's aims and the good of the realm. As he spent more time with Alphinaud, especially after they sought refuge in Ishgard, he became increasingly proud of the man he was becoming and particularly admired both Alphinaud's integrity and his newfound humilty.

These days he tends to defer to Alphinaud in matters of strategy, or at least values his advice. This, however, does not prevent him from affectionately teasing the young lord on a regular basis.

Alisaie - Sometimes Minble winces at Alisaie's sharpness and lack of social graces (Mimble is very big on manners), but he appreciates her determination to do the right thing for those in need. He is also aware of the degree to which her snappiness can mask her internal struggles, so tends to be quite forbearing when it's aimed in his direction.

He does tease Alisaie occasionally, but she is happy to tease him in return. They often work together on curing the remaining Tempered. She also often brings food, which is always going to make Mimble happy.

Y'shtola - Mimble finds Y'shtola slightly intimidating, as she is usually the person most like to boss him around when he is avoiding tasks he doesn't want to do. However, he does rather appreciate having someone to chivvy him along and quite enjoys their tongue-in-cheek interactions. He is also appreciative of her academic learning, as his tends to be somewhat more organic, so he sometimes asks her to explain some of the more esoteric and technical issues he encounters.

Thancred - Mimble was close to Thancred and was saddened by (what he saw as) his despondency after Minfilia was called to serve Hydaelyn in The First. Despite his best efforts, it was hard for him to even raise a smile from Thancred until he had finally grieved for her and accepted Ryne as her own person. These days their relationship is much more how it was before, although Mimble spends less time playing wingman for Thancred's romantic misadventures than he did in the early days.

Yda/Lyse - "Yda" was the first Scion to whom Mimble became close, after they first met in Gridania. They were both somewhat daft and Mimble appreciated having someone he could be silly with (much to Papalymo's annoyance) - and who was equally prone to getting distracted and mildly confused. Later he found it cathartic to support Lyse with her grief over Papalymo's death, as a way of processing his own. Although Lyse is no longer an official Scion, Mimble remains close to her and is happy to assist with the rebuilding of Ala Mhigo as best he can.

Papalymo - Mimble definitely formed a close connection with Papalymo, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that he was brought up to abhor the machinations of thaumaturges.

Initially they seemed to have little in common - and Papalymo already having his hands full with one quirky companion in Yda - but over time Mimble’s kind nature, and determination to help others regardless of personal cost, won a grudging respect, which eventually became a somewhat exasperated affection.

As to whether their friendship ever evolved into anything more - or if it ever held the possibility of doing so - is something that even Lyse is unsure about. Papalymo was always taciturn and Mimble, whilst usually anything but, is uncharacteristically reticent on the matter. It is apparent, however, that the loss of Papalymo affected him deeply and continues to do so.

Urianger - Mimble wasn't at all sure about Urianger on first meeting him, mostly because he couldn't work out if he just didn't have a sense of humour - or if he had one so sophisticated that he was play-acting the role of an eccentric scholar full-time. However they did develop a friendship over time, although Mimble did struggle somewhat with the occasions Urianger had been forced to deceive him, even though he was sensible enough to understand the reasons.

Currently they are much closer and Mimble is constantly making helpful suggestions on things Urianger might like to pass onto the Loporrits, especially Puddingway.

Tataru - Tataru is probably Mimble's closest friend and the person over whom he feels the most protective. In turn she strives to keep him organised and helps him manage things like finances, which he isn't terribly good at. They are both very good at networking and building relationships, albeit to different ends and often have tea and biscuits together and catch up on the gossip.

G'raha Tia - Mimble thought the original young G'raha Tia was a bit over-competitive and slightly bothersome when they first met, but he gets on extremely well with the newly young version, even though he doesn't always recognise himself in G'raha's lionizations.

Mimble enjoys spending time with G'raha and taking time out for adventures and excursions together, especially in Ishgard and Doma (he recently introduced him to the joys of floating around The Churning Mists on an oversized Cloud Mallow whilst shouting "Kupo!" at passing Moogles).

Estinien - Estinien is definitely the Scion who is most different from Mimble. It wasn’t a particularly foreseeable friendship, especially given the difference in their respective temperaments, but rather one that was established through their shared goals for Ishgard and later the rest of The Star. Estinien came to recognise that underneath his lighthearted exterior, Mimble was actually a man of great courage and principle and, for his part, Mimble came to accept that Estinien was not quite as dour as his stony-faced presentation might sometimes suggest.

Mimble does join in the time-honoured tradition of Lalafell Scions, by regularly teasing Estinien, but they have also had plenty of more serious discussions along the way - especially about working with Vtra to establish an orphanage for children left without their families in the wake of The Final Days.

Mimble has tried to teach Estinien some jokes, but Estinien is not terribly keen and his delivery leaves something to be desired in terms of pacing. Equally Estinien has tried to teach Mimble the skills of a Dragoon, but found it very distracting when Mimble would shout “weeee!” when doing the jumps…

Krile - Probably Mimble's closest friend after Tataru and certainly the one who understands him the best, due to their shared possession of the Echo. Krile is probably the only person who grasps how difficult Mimble found the loss of Hydaelyn and she has been supportive in helping him retain his sense of purpose without the Mothercrystal's guidance. Mimble also values Krile's academic knowledge and her bravery and compasssion for others.

Minfilia - Mimble misses Minfilia desperately, both as a friend and as leader of the Scions - in her gentleness and determination he saw an echo of Hydaelyn herself. He learned a great deal from her during the time they were together about balancing different personalities and factions. He has been alone to the edge of Amh Araeng and left Moon Daisies amongst the ruins in her memory.

#ffxiv #asks for Mimble #mimble sparklepudding #sorry for the delay #got there in the end #ffxiv lalafell #ffxiv oc #ff14 ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv wol #ff14 #lalafell #final fantasy 14 #ffxiv screenshots

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autumnslance · 1 year

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Couple Questions: 11, 15, 29

11. What good do they bring out in each other?

They tend to balance each others' more depressive impulses, drawing out the others' nurturing side; if Thancred's overworking and/or not taking care of himself, Aeryn maneuvers him into relaxing and resting; and vice versa, when she's pushing herself.

Aeryn's learned a bit about patience and planning, and communicating those things, rather than her usual spontaneous and emotion-driven decisions.

Thancred's learned to be more communicative, saying, not just doing. He gets more practice at that, anyway, after the lessons of the First.

They also tend to lean into their wit and wordplay when teasing one another, just letting a bit of guard down and allowing themselves some play and lightheartedness.

The support they lend one another in combat and other tense situations is where they shine; they’re a battle couple through and through, and supporting one another allows their individual valor shine; together, it’s blinding.

15. What habits or characteristics have they picked up from each other?

As Aeryn’s spoken up more over the years, bantering with Thancred became a part of that. Aeryn generally takes 45 to 120 seconds to catch onto innuendo and naughty commentary; Thancred’s got the timing down to a science and it’s only helped their mutual teasing and play. It turns around entirely when she’s the one starting it, and then he has to take a moment to catch up mentally to what she just said cuz it’s so unexpected.

They introduce each other to new genres of music and literature; she’s gotten a little less precious about her books, he’s gotten slightly more careful with his.

Related to that, he noticed how much of a neat freak she is about some things, and so makes that effort to tidy up to similar levels, while also trying to wrangle in the places, like drawers and closets, she tends to ignore as out of sight, out of mind. Meanwhile, she’s picked up a better understanding of his “know where everything is to grab as needed” preparedness, even if she doesn’t quite grasp his particular organization methods.

Aeryn isn’t much one for cosmetics, but after so many years in Thanalan, Thancred has a decent skin care regimen (when he’s not in a depressive spiral, anyway) and the pair will mirror each other, when they’re not in the field and able to pamper themselves a bit.

29. Where is their relationship lacking? What could they do to improve it?

Communication is ever an ongoing struggle for them both; they both tend to clam up or deflect when things weigh on them. Not waiting for the other to draw them out is a process. Aeryn’s tendency to letter write helps, actually, as notes and letters back and forth, especially when one or both are traveling, lets them get out their thoughts. I’ve also always headcanoned that Thancred finds writing cathartic/therapeutic (and Aeryn can tell something’s really wrong when he isn’t composing verses or little stories).

Also in the bedroom; there are some differing needs it’s been slow going to work through. Aeryn, being on the ace scale of things, doesn’t always think about sex or sexual matters. It’s a thing that really only happens in her brain in connection to her partner. But even then, it’s not very often, and tends to be fairly straightforward, mostly vanilla. She’s not a very kinky or experimental person. She tends to let him take the lead. Except (in my headcanon) Thancred tends to be very service switchy, so he’ll do what she wants/needs…while ignoring his own for far longer than necessary. And it’s taken her awhile to realize that. So there’s a push-pull of communicating and compromising on their sexual desires and speaking up and slowly trying new things and figuring out what works and what doesn’t for them as a pair.

They both also have a measure of jealousy that doesn’t help. They trust one another 100%, but general insecurities they both have play a part, especially for Thancred and his lingering feelings of not being quite “good enough” for the woman who’s saved the world multiple times now (nevermind his own part in those adventures!). Aeryn’s secure in the fact he loves her, and actually dislikes her jealous streak when others swoon over the rogue when he’s not actively being a flirt. The anxiety that she’s lacking when it comes to sexual satisfaction doesn’t help, though, and she’s easily embarrassed by trying to discuss it.

Basically it comes down to their continued work on talking out loud about difficult matters and slowly working through it when they’re together between missions and adventures. Which, sometimes, time apart helps. Other times though, time spent on separate adventures can make them feel like they’re missing out on parts of each others’ lives and they haven’t quite found a way to reconcile that mutual need for independence with their anxieties.

#Final Fantasy XIV #Aeryn Prompts #Thancred Waters #Thancred x WoL #wolcred #shippy nonsense #Aeryn Striker #this one took a bit of thought #and then got long

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morocosmos · 2 years

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Returning - Alphinaud, Estinien

Intro chapter | Thancred | Urianger | Y’shtola

Warrior of Light & Alphinaud Leveilleur & Estinien Wyrmblood

Takes place during Endwalker, just after the end of 6.0. This is a series of vignettes on each of the Scions’ relationships with my Warrior of Light, Moro’a as he’s recovering after the end of the Final Days.

Estinien wastes a quarter bell winding his way through Old Sharlayan’s nearly identical buildings, looking in vain for a tall spire from which he could survey his surroundings before finally locating the Physis Technon, marked by an elegantly-wrought but illegibly small plate on the door. One would think a grand centre of learning would be more orderly…pushing through the entrance, he finds the lobby well-occupied by all manner of patients and visitors, but nevertheless strides to the reception desk, paying little mind to those who murmur at the sight of him.

It takes mentioning that he’s one of the Warrior of Light’s companions to the distracted, harried-looking receptionist, but fortunately that’s all he needs to be ushered towards the recovery wards and outside of Ward Beta, Room 1-1-3.

“Visiting hours end at eleven. Do try to follow said timing – we are extremely busy,” the staff member informs him. Estinien acknowledges his words with a quick word of thanks, and enters.

He takes a moment to register the scene before him. He squints, feeling almost as though he’s been thrown back into time and into someone else’s body. Moro’a lies on a large bed that hugs one corner of the room, the half moon’s light filtering gently through the open window. His face is as pale as the roiling clouds beneath Ishgard.

And there Alphinaud sits, hunched forward slightly in a chair too large for him, having long shed his usual air of polite propriety for quiet, anxious resolve.

It’s another moment more before the younger elezen registers his presence, turning around in surprise. “Estinien!” he starts. “I did not expect you to turn up so soon. I could’ve sworn I was not meant to leave for another bell or so…”

The dragoon waves away Alphinaud’s concern. “Your sense of time is fine,” he clarifies. “Alisaie merely suspected you might want for company, and dug her elbows into me until I was forced to yield.” A begrudging tone slips out towards the end of that sentence; he still doesn’t know what to make of the more fiery Leveilleur twin at times. Whether to bemoan her blunt demeanour or praise how much she cares.

A small smile alights on Alphinaud’s lips, and he shakes his head. “I do not doubt that she meant well…and I suppose she was not wrong. Thank you for coming, Estinien.”

Estinien grunts in response, pulling up the remaining chair beside Alphinaud’s and sitting down. Greetings out of the way, he takes a closer look at Moro’a, whose bed is surrounded by machinery with readings Estinien can’t begin to comprehend. He’s heavily sedated, no doubt, under whatever magicks and medicines the sages have seen fit to administer him. Estinien notes the edge of a bruise on Moro’a’s right cheek, wondering just how much they’d managed to heal and how much there was left. “How fares our friend?”

Alphinaud nods as he looks back towards the miqo’te. “Moro’a has yet to show any indication of consciousness, but his vital signs have been stable throughout my visit. See, here…” He gestures towards one of the machines. “I was fortunate enough to learn how some of the equipment at Physis Technon works during my studies. This restoration unit functions similarly to a sage’s nouliths, applying restorative aether in highly-controlled amounts to the patient.” He points at another screen, where several coloured lines trail up and down in waves. “This is a specialised medical aetherometer that tracks the balance of different kinds of aether in the patient’s body, and communicates directly with the restoration unit’s regulation interface – in doing so, the levels they’re supplying can be adjusted accordingly. This contraption, on the other hand–

“Spare me the details, Alphinaud. I won’t remember the half of them,” Estinien cuts in desperately with a raised hand, though not unkindly. “A simple statement will suffice.”

“Ah…pardon. Moro’a seems to be steadily recovering from his…numerous injuries,” Alphinaud summarises. The word catches in the boy’s throat, as though it had inflicted a wound of its own, and he looks away as he speaks. “Father assured me that the chirurgeons are more than equipped to take care of Moro’a, and that we need not worry.”

Estinien observes the boy for a moment. “And yet you’ve sat here, worrying the bells away regardless,” he guesses.

“...Yes,” Alphinaud concedes with a sheepish smile. “Would that I could say I have full faith in my father’s words. Of course, I do not mean to undermine the esteemed sages and their work here! It’s just…I have noted how busy they are. Several of their patients hail from Thavnair as well as Garlemald: victims of the Final Days.” That would explain the receptionist’s behaviour. “It would not do at all to divert resources from them…alas, I confess it only adds to my anxiety,” Alphinaud laments.

Estinien says nothing, waiting to see if the boy will continue.

“Do you recall our journey through the Dravanian Hinterlands, when we had learnt of Ravana’s summoning?” Alphinaud’s still smiling; there’s more than sheepishness in his words now. “You had admonished me for so readily volunteering Moro’a as our champion, and you were right to do so; I had scarcely thought of what dangers an unknown enemy might have posed to him.” He closes his eyes. “I would like to think that I have valued his life far more since. And yet…after all that he has accomplished and weathered, it still feels unimaginably unfathomable that he could be at death’s door….confronted with such a possibility, I cannot help but worry. I don’t know what else to do.”

The boy looks to be at a loss, and Estinien decides he’s grateful for Alisaie’s insistence after all. Was it the same for you? he wonders as he glances at Moro’a, for once again he’s reminded of how the Dragonsong War had ended. The soft glow of moonlight on his face as he’d awoken to Alphinaud’s miserable sobs. Moro’a and Aymeric, relief plain on their faces. The latter he had comprehended in an instant (along with the complex gamut of emotions that had followed), but as for Moro’a, they’d not exactly been close. Comrades, sure, but hardly friends.

How rudely the sight had shown him just how much his life still meant…the fullness of the combined emotions in his chest had been so achingly strong, he’d immediately set about chastising Alphinaud for his tears.

He tries for a different approach this time. “Look, Alphinaud.” The younger elezen looks up at the dragoon with full attention. Estinien clears his throat, hoping he sounds encouraging. “If there’s naught we can do for Moro’a but wait, then that’s all you need do. Surely he is aware of the concern you hold for him. And I doubt he would want you to fret yourself to death ere his recovery.”

The words come out awkward, and he thanks the Fury that Alphinaud smiles, even if it’s a bit rueful. “I know.” The boy takes a deep breath, recentering himself. “Thank you. I must believe that we are doing all that we can, and that the chirurgeons will do so as well.”

“Mmm.” Better. Estinien doesn’t blame Alphinaud for worrying – if he thought Moro’a had been in a bad way when he’d hoisted him onto his shoulder at Ghimlyt Dark, the state of his maimed body as he’d teleported back into the Ragnarok had been far worse. A full recovery could take moons.

Alphinaud finally seems content to sit in companionable silence, and so they wait. Several minutes pass before Estinien becomes aware of an insistent beeping, sounding from one of the contraptions.

��That noise. Is that…the aetherometer?” Alphinaud says. “Wait…Twelve–

Estinien stands back abruptly as Alphinaud nearly throws himself over to reach the aetherometer. “Moro’a’s aether levels are fluctuating rapidly! What in the gods’ names could be…is he going into aethershock?!” The boy’s eyes are glued to the screen. “Bars ten and eleven measure light aether – of course! His altered sensitivity to Light may not have been accounted for by the sages…oh Gods…”

Estinien hasn’t a clue what Alphinaud’s talking about, but he notes with alarm that Moro’a’s breathing is growing louder, more erratic by the second; the dragoon’s instincts are telling him to act, and now.

“Alphinaud! What should we do?” he barks.

“I’ve called for one of the chirurgeons!” Alphinaud quavers; there’s a smaller contraption in his hand, some kind of remote. “They must needs stabilise his aether, but I do not know how soon they will arrive…I have a firm theoretical grasp of how the restorative unit functions, but I should not handle medical equipment without proper training or–

“Has being a Scion taught you nothing?? Do what you must.” Estinien clasps one hand over Alphinaud’s shoulder. “If you can stop this before Moro’a comes to harm, do it.”

Alphinaud’s trembling hands hover over a row of buttons and sliders, and he hesitates for a second more before getting to work, tapping at the screen. “T-there, I think that should do it…gods, I do hope I have not made a mistake…”

Just then the door swings open, and a chirurgeon hurries in. “Stand by, if you would!” she orders. “Master Leveilleur, were you interfacing with the aetherochemical restorative unit? You should well know that visitors are not to tamper with a patient’s medical equipment!” At that instant, a new sound rings from the unit, and the beeping subsides; the sage squints before studying the screen, and then closely examining Moro’a.

Several tense minutes later, the chirurgeon exhales, composing herself. “By Thaliak’s graces, t’would seem that Master Kihshimo’s aether levels have stabilised. I must stress, Master Leveilleur, that you are not to attempt this again.” She turns to look at the both of them. “I will perform more checks to ensure that he is indeed out of danger. And I would recommend that you both take a moment to get some air.”

As subtle an instruction to leave as anything. Estinien decides it’s not worth arguing, and neither does Alphinaud, for they both make for the door in unison with nary a word.

The younger Scion walks with an unsteady gait, prompting Estinien to place a hand over his shoulder once more. “You did good,” he says quietly.

#kae scribbles #alphinaud and estinien come in a package it's kinda hard for me to write the former without the latter #they're good eggs #also this one got away from me lmao but it's done....thank goodness...im free #series: returning

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redmoonwanderer · 8 months

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FFXIV Write 2023, Day 11 Prompt: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

None of them ever ask about it, perhaps because they are tactful, or because they don’t need to know, or for some other reason. All they know is Qhol’a never speaks, never makes a sound, even when an eikon slashes at him with its claws or when he laughs at something he just heard or witnessed.

So, when Thancred hears him for the first time, he’s a little surprised. It’s not much, merely a hum of agreement given while lost in thought, and honestly, even he himself can’t remember what they had been conversing about, because it got lost in the aftermath.

He sees the moment Qhol’a seems to realise something, the way he freezes, downcast eyes looking at nothing, breathing picking up. As the miqo’te stumbles up from his seat, as if ready to bolt, Thancred goes to him, swiftly but keeping his expression and body language calm as he could. Placing a hand on his friend’s arm to get his attention, he waits until Qhol’a looks at him.

Thancred cannot tell what has the man who’s faced gods and slain them so afraid, but he only asks him to breathe, breathe in and out, breathe with him.

And after, they don’t talk about it, though they both know they should.

And then Thancred –

He doesn’t like to think about the time the Ascian used him to get close to the Scions.

After Ultima is defeated, he notices Qhol’a seems even more careful, as if on edge, especially with him.

He can’t watch the man who saved him, whom he calls his friend, suffer alone.

So he has to ask.

It’s a long conversation they have in the silence of the night. One where Thancred learns of the Warrior of Light’s life before he came to the Scions, of the life lived under the pressure of their common enemy, of traditions and beliefs.

Qhol’a’s voiceless chuckle at the end of it, the almost sorrowful look in his eyes, when he signs, “They were right, but in a wrong way. If the moon told them the truth, she’s either cruel or didn’t think how her words could be misunderstood.”

“At least now you know the truth,” Thancred says quietly.

Qhol’a shakes his head. “That’s the thing. I was made to believe my voice was… powerful. But it always felt like bad luck. And when you…” He waves his hands and doesn’t say more, and he doesn’t need to.

“Look, I won’t expect you to change your ways if you’re not ready or willing. If I can help, I will. But you do know I don’t blame you, right? It was just bad luck and unfortunate coincidence, that’s all.”

His friend looks like he wants to argue, but he remains still, thinking. Thancred waits awhile before standing up. “I’ll let you think on what you believe. If you need me, you’ll find me. Sooner or later,” he adds with a grin, and is happy to see Qhol’a give him a small, if tired, smile.

It takes a long while, after that conversation, but eventually, they begin to hear his voice more and more. It’s quiet, sometimes to the point you wouldn’t hear it unless you knew it was there. But they always hear him, and honestly, Thancred is glad that his friend is slowly opening the door of communication to those who don’t speak his unique language.

#ffxivwrite2023 #ffxivwrite #writing tag #that's twice in a row that I just center a story around his mutism whoops #oh well! a story written's a story told!

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midnight-light · 2 years

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My FFXIV Oc's!

Soo I've been playing A LOT of FFXIV lately. Currently in the game I have 3 Oc's and lately I've been getting the urge to write headcanons involving them, So I thought it imght be best that first explain their characters. My three OC's are; - Yeona Lycan - Tommaso Hunterfield - Cirrus Thornebur I'll talk about them in the order on this list as that IS the order I made them in. Yeona Lycan

Ahhh yes, my first Oc! I'll start by getting her generic info out of the way first. Age: 22 Height: 6'8 Race: Viera Class: Black Mage Sexuality; Bisexual disaster Personality: Okay... now we're getting into the good stuff. Yeona...wellll....she has the heart of an arsonist. She's not a bad person persay, more like she impulsively wants to burn things when she gets angry. Leaving Alphinaud or one of the other scions to have to ring her back in before she torches the place. The scions are essentially each about 15% of her impulse control. Luckily when the time calls for it she'll do the right thing and help others, she is someone who will give you her blunt opinion unless advised otherwise by her companions and she's quite the person to have a drink with. While she's a bit brash she's also empathetical to others and you can catch her softer side if you peek into her room at the rising stones while she's playing with her wind ups.

Backstory: ...Now here's the thing with Yeona, she doesn't actually remember much of her past before coming to Ul'dah to pursue adventuring. She has asked both Urangier and Y'shtola as well as Alphinaud (After the Ul'dah banquet mess, because before that mess she thought Alphinaud was a precautious brat in need of an attitude fix.) All three put their heads together to figure out a way to try to restore her memory but have had no results so far. Their best theory is that her mind is suppressing it subconsciously because it was so traumatic that it would have otherwise broken her. Love interest?:

Tataru Taru

Tommaso Hunterfield

Age: 28 Height: ...Short...we'll just say short. Tommaso doesn't like to talk about his height. 😅 Race: Lalafel Class: White Mage Sexuality: Gay. Very Gay.

Personality: Tommaso is the type of person who comes off as sweet and adorable, but By The Seven if you hurt someone he cares about... gods preserve you will be in for a world of pain. Often times Tommaso is the one tending to the Scions wounds alongside the other healers among the scions. He tends to (Jokingly) Threaten their healing privileges when they do something reckless. All in all though he's very gentle, and doesn't get angry anywhere as easily as Yeona. However, he is painfully dense when it comes to flirting and the love department in general. He just can't seem to tell the difference between being friendly and trying to get into his pants. BackStory: Tommaso's hometown was burnt down in an arson attack by bandits, he was the only survivor of the attack and wandered around the south shroud aimlessly for sometime until a Priest found him and took him in, raising him as his own. It is because he was raised by a priest that he is so dense because this boy didn't even learn the birds and the bees until he left home at age 20 to find his own way in the world, starting as a member of the Order Of The Twin Adder as an archer. However after some time he realized that he was only doing it for the pay and didn't really enjoy it anymore, so he left in order to become a white mage and start adventuring instead, hoping to find more satisfaction in that.

Love Interest?:

Thancred Waters

Cirrus Thornebur

Age: 23 Height: 5'5" Race: Au Ra Class: Archanist Sexuality: Pansexual

Personality: Cirrus is actually selective mute. She doesn't talk very often and she only talks to those she knows well and trusts. Despite her lack of vocal communication, her physical actions with others show how much of a mom friend she is. When one of the scions does something reckless or says something either a little too mean or tactless, she'll lightly bonk them with her tome (She never hits them hard unless they REALLY do something bad.) as her way of telling them off. Afterwards she heals the spot she bonked them on and pats their head to assure them she's not angry with them anymore. Common victims of her tome bonking are Alphinaud and Thancred, along with G'raha tia. (Alphinaud more before heavensward, Thancred because tends to forget to take care of himself. and G'raha tia because he needs to learn to not immediately leap to self-sacrificing himself). Backstory: Cirrus was born in Sui-No-Sato like Yugiri. When she was little she snuck away from home to go out to explore and found herself utterly spellbound at what she saw on the land, however, her parents found out and gave her a severe scolding for what she'd done and even got physical with her, traumatizing her and tarnishing her trust in people, becoming the source of her selective mutism. Cirrus left home when she was fourteen and started looking for a better home away from her parents. At one point, she found herself in Sharlayan after stowing away on a boat that was bound for there. It was here she met G'raha tia for the first time after he got some of the townspeople to back off of her when they were asking her a myriad of questions.

Cirrus however decided she wanted to continue seeing the world, so after about a year or two of staying around Sharlayan she stowed away on another boat which took her to limsa lominsa. By this point, she was 17. While there she at first began working odd jobs to make some gil for a few years, when she turned 23 she decided to take up adventuring and register with the adventurers guild of limsa and start studying as an Archanist in hopes of one day voyaging back to Sharlayan without having to stow away on a ship.

Love interest?: G'raha Tia

#gaming #ffxiv oc #ffxiv #ffxiv wol #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv g'raha tia #ffxiv thancred #ffxiv tataru

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wtf-amiru · 2 years

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I think a lot about post SHB G'raha just watching A'miru be...different. He left an angry little kitten that didn't really like anyone, had no real close ties with anyone outside of Thancred (my HCS for them is that they've known each other for a long time BC A'miru was a little street rat hooligan) and seemed to only really tolerate him being goofy and he came back to a very affectionate woman who'd learnt to lean on her friends when she needed to.

It’d been a hard day and she's curled up in a blanket leaning against Urianger's back as he reads aloud in a quiet room, never would have happened before and he's intrigued.

He's not sure which is more shocking, the fact that she just trudged up and put her arms around Estinien without hesitation or the fact that he reciprocated the hug, with a smile even. What happened there, who are these people?

And just how many times does she need to go to Y'shtola's with Krile, what are they doing there?

She’d always been close with Thancred, he’d given her more than most people here, a chance to have all of this and call it her own. Hells, if it wasn’t for Thancred G’raha probably wouldn’t have ever met you but even that was different from the snippets he had seen before. Closer and softer and somehow more rowdy than before.

And Sid. Sidurgu had been the biggest surprise and somehow not surprising at all. The large and imposing Au Ra man in dark, pointed armor had no hesitation when A'miru strode up and somehow managed to hug him without hurting herself on his armor, he'd even almost smiled at her before noticing him and fixing him with a pointed glare. "Sid, he's the one that was taken you oaf, the reason she even knows you, remember?" A young Elezen chastises Sid and G'raha's just confused and intimidated. But the imposing knight softens once the words click into place and he fixes A'miru with a look, one that very clearly communicated "I'm happy for you, but I will kill him" and she hits him, moves to sit next to the Elezen girl at the table and brings G'raha with her.

While he had been away, perhaps because he had been away, she'd found her family, her people, her safe places. It hurt to know that he'd caused her so much pain when he left but it was utterly fascinating to see her flourish, learning the why and the how and he spends as long as it takes learning her new relationships.

Learning how and why she reacts to things occupies him for a long time and she notices. He also notices. Notices how dialed back she is around him sometimes, not crawling into him like she does some others and very restrained, deliberate in her touches and words and he thinks she's pushing him away at first. That tiny spike of jealousy? Envy? Or maybe just misunderstanding until she notices. He's focusing too much on her again, lost in his head trying to figure out the why and her hand is on his face, warm and soft pulling him out of his head and she finds a quiet place to talk to him. To tell him it's okay, he's all she ever wanted and more. That she just doesn't want to overwhelm him, doesn't want to push too hard, too fast; this didn't come all at once, you don't just start reading a book in the middle of it. And he has to concede that she's right and that sometimes it was all just too much for him yet. Too much success and happy endings, it didn't feel real a lot of the time. He explains how much it hurt to see her with all her walls up before he left her in that tower and how it almost felt like that again, or at least strongly reminded him of it now, when she was restraining herself and she apologizes, makes him promise to tell her if it ever becomes too much bc she'll gladly shower him with affection and attention and touches

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eremiss · 3 years

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WIP Asks: "Reminisce" next

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you like.

I’m not sure when this one is set yet, definitely post-Dragonsong War and post-Foibles (FFXIVWrite2020.) Maybe post-4.0, depending. This is another Thancred PoV one, where they both open up a little bit about their pasts, him about Sharlayan and Gwen about how she made a living and what made her decide to learn botany and pick up a lance.

I’m really liking this one so far, but I’ve been torn about how the conversation about Gwen’s past should go. I’m not sure if I would rather it be dialogue, or a more vague description of what she’s talking about and his reactions to it. I’m sorta-kinda writing both at once and waiting for one of them to start coming easier and/or take off lol

(this is also where that First Lines snippet came from!)

Part of the WIP and a bit more summary below the cut.

Gwen and Thancred are fairly solidly together by this point, though they’re both still avoiding labels or addressing ‘them’ like the plague lest they upset this good thing they have going on. They’re both dinguses.

Despite that, he still doesn’t know much about her, as Gwen isn’t prone to offer much about herself unless it’s something particularly prudent or useful (”You need to shoot something? Don’t give me a bow, I’m not good with them.”) and even when asked she’s more likely to sort of avoid the question or give half-answers as she’s embarrassed about her past, even with Thancred. She’s very self-conscious about growing up alone and with nothing, struggling to get by and picking up and honing skills out of pure desperation. She’s also just a private person in general and not used to talking about herself, so even when she’s asked 100% judgement-free she’s just not sure what to say.

It can grow to be a bit frustrating, to say the least lol

Despite what the Adders’ reports and the increase in Ixali activity seemed to suggest, two days of reconnaissance in the Shroud has yielded little and less. No news is good news in the case of Primals, however, even if it makes the investigation feel a bit tedious.

The Ixali haven’t created any new routes to try and smuggle crystals under the Wailer’s and Adders’ noses, and their old paths have been abandoned since the last time Gwen laid Garuda low. The items stolen in roadside attacks were mostly sundries and foodstuffs bound for Coerthas which, while troubling, isn’t cause for the Scions’ concern.

None of the travelers and merchants they’ve spoken with over the course of their investigation have been happy about being accosted in the middle of the woods, no matter how politely Gwen and the Adder recruits try to go about it.

Thancred watches the latest victim of circumstance storm off down the road from his vantage point high in the trees. He lifts a hand to his linkpearl and remarks, “Seems he took offense.”

Gwen shakes her head, casting her gaze around the trees in search of him. “Just a bit. See anyone else?”

Thancred scans the road. “The road is clear, apart from your new acquaintance.”

She passes that on to the Adders, and they have a small discussion he can only assume pertains to what they intend to do next. Given the way things have been going, this investigation will surely be coming to an end soon.

Eventually the recruits salute and depart back up the way the traveler had come. Gwen doesn’t follow.

Thancred waits until they’re yalms away before speaking into the linkpearl. “What’s the word?”

“They’re going to the rendezvous with the other team, then contact the Adders’ Nest.” She tries to spot him in the trees again. And misses him, again.

“And we get to hold position and await further word?” he drawls.

She nods. Then she remembers they’re speaking over linkpearl, “Yes.”

He sighs at the thought of more bells in the muggy forest. “Wonderful.”

Rather than continue searching the treetops for him, Gwen turns and makes for the bushes on the far side of the road. He watches with mild interest as she wanders through the untamed foliage, ducking out of sight every now and then and gradually wandering further from the road until he’s lost sight of her.

Foraging, if he had to guess. She’s never been a fan of sitting still, and it’s the perfect way to pass the time in a forest. He’s not sure how much she’ll find close to the road, as surely other travelers have already helped themselves to everything convenient.

Gwen has never hidden her skills as a botanist, per say, but she’s a great deal more open about them than she used to be, particularly when it comes to gathering herbs for her own use. Fetching tea leaves for a friend or herbs for a leve is all well and good, but collecting esoteric botanicals for herself is, apparently, a different matter. Perhaps a few too many people have commented about her snacking on dandelions and roots, or balked at the suggestion that they could do the same.

Thancred winces and shifts on the branch, knowing he ought to count himself amongst the former. He puts that little blunder out of his mind, reminding himself he’d meant no ill will and had only been teasing. Her knowledge of Eorzea’s vegetation is nothing to be embarrassed about, nor is utilizing it as she sees fit, and they’re both well aware of that. She knows more than he does, despite the fact she hadn’t had access to the same extensive education and training.

He idly surveys the road, musing about how she’s rather reluctant to discuss how she learned botany, evasive when asked and quick to direct the conversation elsewhere. He can’t fault her for that, though. Many people consider childhoods spent mired in hardship to be a sore subject, and the two of them are no exceptions. Necessity, desperation and survival are wonderful motivators, but they don’t make for good small talk.

Which is likely also why comments about nibbling on weeds or foraging for odd ingredients are unwelcome; those ‘weeds’ may well have kept her alive. And isn’t that a hell of a thing to admit to? It’s not unlike the fact he’s not embarrassed by his ability to pick locks in seconds, but he recoils from the thought of admitting he’d picked up the skill breaking into homes and shops to steal food.

Eventually her lightly-staticy voice rings in his ear again. “Hungry?”

He’s mostly bored, and tired of the tree bark making an impression in his rear. “I take it you are, if you went looking for a snack.”

“Just passing time, mostly.” A pause. Communicating when he can’t read her expression or fidgeting is always interesting, and occasionally vexing. “But we’ve been out here a while, so…”

Thancred gets to his feet and peers up and down the road again, straining his eye and searching for the shapes of travelers through the sparse trees. It’s all clear.

“I don’t suppose you managed to find a wild bakery growing out there?” he asks, stretching his arms and legs in preparation for his descent.

She laughs as the red of her coat comes into view through the trees. “I’m afraid not.”

He scoffs. “All that time studying botany and you can’t track down fresh bread in the wilderness?”

“Not even a single loaf,” she confesses, her remorseful tone colored with mirth.

“Shameful, honestly. Why did I even bring you along?” He starts climbing back down to the ground, her laugh bubbling warmly in his ear.

Gwen’s excursion into the woods turned up a handful of roots, weeds and flowers that the average traveler wouldn’t look twice at. Between his survival training and his time in Dravania, particularly before he’d fashioned those obsidian knives, Thancred isn’t so easily perturbed.

They stroll along the road and snack, chatting and keeping an eye out for travelers or signs of movement in the trees. She walks on his left, sparing him the inconvenience of his blindspot. He has to turn his head to see her, though, but doesn’t mention it.

She shows him how to shave the hard skin off the roots, and then stares confusedly when he does it more masterfully than she had. He makes a bit of a show of it, carelessly flipping his hunting knife around in his fingers in a way that always makes her tense and reveling in her silent disapproval.

Gwen asks about Sharlayan and what the time he spent there was like, intent as ever to know more about him and draw out the things he normally keeps hidden.

He chews, thinks, and decides to oblige her. Mayhap she’ll be convinced to return the favor.

He tells her about the city, the people, and the Studium to start. Then they spend a handful of yalms musing about the growing pains that came with maturing from a Lominsan wharf rat into a Sharlayan scholar. She has some questions, he has some answers --some more open and direct than others. Secrecy and facades are his habit, despite how easy she is to speak to and how well she can coax him out of his shell.

With the scene set, he weaves her a tale about some of his more harrowing lessons with Sharlayan’s masters of stealth and subtlety, sprinkling in a bit of the mischief he’d gotten up to here and there. She makes a good audience, listening attentively and reacting at the right parts.

He finishes his tale and throws in a flick of his wrist for a bit of flourish, followed by a grandiose half-bow that earns him a laugh and a brief applause.

They haven’t run into another traveler yet, or seen any suspicious movement in the woods. They turn around and begin making their way back to where they’d parted with the Adders recruits.

“Your turn,” Thancred prompts, lacing his fingers together behind his head.

Gwen cocks her head.

“A story for a story,” he says. “Tell me about yourself.”

(((Tangent: This reminded me I also want to write a fic about Gwen studying her ass off post-ARR because and struggling with self-consciousness when she realizes how limited her knowledge is and how little she knows about the fine details and advanced aspects of Aetherology and a dozen other things the Archons all discuss and debate with ease. She doesn’t feel stupid per say, it’s more she’s intimidated and embarrassed at how limited her knowledge is in comparison to them, as well as feeling a bit foolish for being proud of her novice conjury and thaumaturgy, and even her red magic. (Which is ridiculous, obvs.) It’s a bit like being a novice at something and then being humbled, even unintentionally, by an expert. Also a little bit of “being a smart person in a room of smarter people,” kind of feeling. She’s not dumb, but she feels way less smart than she is/thought she was when she’s around the Archons (too much so, even.) There’s also no small amount of envy about them growing up at studying in Sharlayan, and wishing she’d ever had, or would have, the chance to go to school and get/have that same breadth of knowledge. She’s not a very prideful person, but she is/was proud of learning all she did despite her situation, and being reminded of how non-comprehensive her knowledge is kinda stings. She did great, considering her circumstances... and that qualifier has never ceased to be annoying. Some of her self-consciousness also stems from her realizing a great deal of her mastery of red- and black-magic skills has to do with the Echo letting her absorb stuff super quickly, and she almost feels like that was cheating and wonders if she really actually knows it all as well as she thinks, or if the Echo is just...doing it for her, kinda.)))

#Pre-5.0 #Thancred Waters #WoL #WIPs #my writing #Prompts #Answered #Thanks :D #I really want to finish this one uuuuggghhhh #lynmars79

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allycryz · 3 years

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Nerys Eluned: Canon Jobs

Background

Nerys spent her childhood with a community of Duskwight in the South Shroud until she was twelve. Her parents moved first to the Central Shroud, later to the East. Prior to ARR, she had never left the Shroud.

Her father handled her academic education with a bent towards reading and history. Her mother took on the more practical subjects: how to hunt, forage, stay out of trouble; where the Duskwight could move freely and where they should avoid.

There were always chores and odd jobs for children, especially needed when they left the relative safety net of The Cavern in the South. By her fifteenth nameday, this turned into steady work. She excelled in mostly physical jobs for merchants, farms, and outposts.

Nerys off-and-on entertained the idea of becoming a soldier, but never felt called enough to take steps. Once she reached her 20s, she had two main goals: make enough gil to live and to have fun when she wasn’t working. Nerys broke up her share of bar fights and dealt with fending bandits off merchant caravans, so again the idea of being a soldier or Adventurer came up.

The catalyst is a rough break-up that also ends a lot of her friendships. It is not that becoming an adventurer is a solution to any of the problems she faced. But in the wake of this big change, she took a long look at everything and decided she wanted something new. That leads her to Gridania and the Lancer’s Guild.

Disciple of War and Magic

Lancer/Dragoon

Meta Note

FFXIV is my first MMORPG. Prior, I have always been primarily a “solo play on my own at my own pace” kinda gal. But my friend said it was really fun and I love the FF franchise, so there I went. I wasn’t sure what class to do, was thinking Fighter until I learned it was a tank class.

My only other major online game experience was Overwatch where I was a Lucio main. That was a rarity for me: I tend to have a tougher time with caster/support classes and prefer playing as a rogue or sniper in most games. As rogue wasn’t an option, I asked my friend what she thought and she suggested Dragoon.

There were three options in Gridania: Conjurer, Archer, Lancer. Although Nerys later tried her hand at the other two, Lancer appealed her as someone who wasn’t afraid to get into the thick of things.

She ended up taking well to it and her fellow guild members. The guild was very much “here are a few techniques, go out there and figure it out” which matched up with her way of doing things.

Nerys is still processing everything that happened with Foulques of the Mist; angry with his choices while also understanding what he went through as a fellow Duskwight. It is a bit of a relief when Alberic becomes her new mentor and she can get away from everything. Not to mention: Coerthas is a place she has always wanted to go to. Her father’s lessons included their sweeping history as well as their poetry and stories.

Of course, things go sideways almost immediately. The Eye chooses her as the second Azure Dragoon and her first encounter with Estinien is anything but friendly. Things settle on that front for awhile and her primary concerns become the Primals and Garlemald. And having a small foothold in Coerthas is a boon when she, Cid, and Alphinaud travel there in search of the airship.

When Estinien suggest they partner together, she is hesitant given their previous encounters but feels drawn to help him. She agrees. That all comes crashing down after Nidhogg reveals to Estinien how Alberic’s actions lead to the loss of his family. Nerys has to step in to fend him off. The next time she sees him is in the Intercessory with Aymeric. Though he assures her he is not there to fight, she is on her guard.

She never expects that Ishgard will become the place she calls home. Nor that she and Estinien will become friends and then something more, eventually becoming lovers after he rescues her from Elidibus-Zenos. But it does and they do, and even when they both give up the title of Azure Dragoon, she feels called to protect and serve her adopted homeland. For the sake of the Fortemps and Aymeric and Lucia and Hilda and Ysayle, but also for people like Alberic, Estinien, and Heustienne who made her the warrior she is today.

Note About Armor: Nerys has her preferred aesthetics and the traditional Dragoon armor doesn’t quite fit. She prefers her own style and her concession is armor that pays tribute to the heritage of the position without being an exact copy (pictured, not her only armor set in canon or meta-wise).

That said, she is aware of when statements need to be made. Nerys isn’t a political creature in the way Aymeric and Alphinaud are but she understands that politics are a part of everything.

For certain missions and meetings she garbs herself in the traditional manner: needing to remind the Alliance of her strong ties to Ishgard, making the Heaven’s Ward realise how badly they erred in imprisoning Aymeric when both Azure Dragoons show up.

Meta Note:

Once I got to Level 15, I joined...all the Guilds in Gridania. And for a while worked on leveling Archer, Conjurer, and Rogue while also making progress with Lancer/Dragoon and MSQ. Eventually I switched gears because I wasn’t progressing fast enough in the story and focused almost exclusively on Dragoon.

For story purposes, Rogue doesn’t quite fit into Nerys’ story though I think Thancred has definitely introduced her to that crew.

Archer

Archer never quite suited Nerys, as someone who prefers to get close to the action. She does have a great deal of respect for her fellow guild members and Lewin; and she remembers what she learned when ranged combat is needed.

Conjurer

Nerys’ aether control as a Dragoon is excellent. But for whatever reason, she could not quite translate those skills to conjury.

She kept on for some time because in her mind, a good warrior would have healing skills at her disposal. Eventually, a conversation with E-Sumi-Yan brought her to accept that she might better serve others in a different way.

What she did gain was an affinity for the element of air, likely tied to her role as a Lancer/Dragoon. This becomes vital when she saves Haurchefant at The Vault, although it does not go as well as she would have liked.

(She also had a foray with the Arcanist’s Guild that was about as long as Tataru’s.)

Meta Note:

Disciple of Hand/Land: I have levels unlocked in all the DoH/DoL, the following four make the most canon sense and are the ones I have progressed in the most.

That said, canonically she dabbles in everything because she is naturally curious and wants to be self-sufficient in all things. Most of the guilds know her. The following four know her the best and it’s where most of her focus has gone.

Disciple of the Land

Botanist

Nerys was drawn to the Botanists’ Guild because of her upbringing. She knew much of the Shroud and its treasures already. What she found–as she became an adventurer–was that these skills help immensely on the road.

It’s also a centering profession. Nerys needs activity to bring her out of her own mind, especially as responsibilities and dangers pile on. She can go lose herself in nature, either for her own needs or on commission (and often both).

Having grown up foraging ingredients to cook with, her Botanist career also ties into Culinarian role.

Disciple of the Hand

Culnarian

Nerys grew up cooking alongside her mother, so she had a base of knowledge going into the guild. Still, through Lyngsath and the rest she discovers a whole world of new ingredients, recipes, and techniques.

As a hunter and a Botanist, there is no end to the new ingredients she find to experiment with.

Leatherworker

Nerys fell into leatherworking when she was scoping out all the guilds in Gridania (around the time she took up with the Archers and Conjurers).

It stuck for a few reasons: the resources were fairly easy to come by from her hunts; it is another centering activity; and she is a bit of a clotheshorse. If she has to wear specific gear as a Dragoon, she can add her own pretty details to the leather pieces.

Weaver

This is a culmination of the other jobs: uses resources from other things she does (botany, hunting, and leatherworking), a craft that pulls all her focus into one thing, and satisfies her clotheshorse desires. She knows she can put pretty details into her everyday armor/gear and make more formal clothes that make her feel good.

(Whenever she is dealing with A Thing, she will get her hair done. Of course she needs clothes that work with the new look, even if it’s a temporary updo.)

When it comes to leatherworking and weaving, there a plus to taking guild commissions: it has to be perfect and meticulous and good quality but it is not on the level of say...if you fail this task, a primal will temper all these innocents. Nerys is drawn to help people but it's nice to do that for something that is not saving the world. (Of course when she makes any type of armor or working clothes, she is sure to make them well so they protect the wearer.)

She is not advanced enough to make her own gowns for formal events held by the city-states or the Ishgardian High Houses. One day she would like to be able to do so. Until then, Eorzea has plenty of dressmakers ready to help.

Outfit Note: I ended up choosing a mix of the Scion and Best Man’s clothing, thinking of how you can never go wrong with a suit. It’s crisp, always in style, and she looks great in it!

#nerys eluned #duskwight elezen #duskwight warrior of light #elezen #dragoon warrior of light #ffxiv #dragoon #botanist #weaver #leatherworker #culinarian #long post #ally writes

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crossroadsdimension · 3 years

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Gotta say, I like what Square Enix does with their stories. They’re interesting and intricate and they really know how to play with your heart like it’s playdoh.

Makes me want to get to playing FFXIV, but I don’t have the time to sink into an MMORPG. Not to mention I’ve never played one before at all. Even with the demo being a thing, the (eventual) monthly price tag unnerves me, and the idea that I have jargon to learn, combos to master, etc., just...I don’t have the gaming mindset for that yet. Pokemon’s been my wheelhouse for years, and I’m only just starting to break out of that now, if only a little. I’m not prepared for an MMORPG yet.

And besides, I doubt that I have the hardware needed to play it. I do everything on a Mac, and I know how those laptops are seen by the general tech community. Can’t exactly escape seeing that online. It already runs hot when I play Minecraft, so even I know Mac laptops aren’t good gaming computers.

...at least I have access to videos on YouTube that talk about the storyline and let me see the things that I’m missing. And hear. The music is absolutely fantastic, and the voice actors pull on you in ways that make me wish I was playing the game, despite what I’ve said above.

If I ever do work up the courage to get the game and give it a try...well, I think I already see Thancred as something of a close friend/big brother, so I know which Scion is already my favorite. XD

#cross' rambling #ffxiv #if they ever decide to release ffxiv as a single player offline game that I only have to pay for once I Am There #but I don't see that happening anytime soon #sigh....

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thebmatt · 3 years

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Another set of Character Development questions, this time very specific to FFXIV

I cam across another set of character development questions on the Emet-Selch Bookclub discord, and since I love these things, I’m going to answer all 35 of them for all 4 of my crew! Ready? Let’s go!

1. Where were they during the Calamity?

Franks had not yet made the journey between their worlds yet, he only did so about a year into the Seventh Umbral Era.

Fearless was still living on Aerslant, which I don’t know if there’s any canonical description of how the Calamity affected that region, but I’m going to go with “they felt the effects, but it wasn’t quite mass chaos like it was in Eorzea”

Dahkar and Rheika were both living in the Black Shroud but were mostly spared the direct effects.

2. How did they acquire their Echo?

All four of them received the Echo as it plays out in the MSQ. Dahkar and Rheika got it after dealing with the enraged treants at Lifemend Stump, Fearless and Franks after fighting the frenzied Mossback at the Seasong Grotto

3. Does their Echo function like it does in the MSQ? Or is there a twist to it?

For the most part it functions like it does in the MSQ, but there’s some extra abilities that it provides that I’m planning on exploring in a future fic. To summarize: the Armory system is represented as a pocket dimension the Warriors can store clothing, weapons, and tools in. The Echo also allows them to “pause and save” any learning they have done in a particular discipline and resume it as if no time had passed whenever they choose

4. Do they have a canon mount or minion? What's its name(s)?

All four of them have their chocobos, which I don’t have names for yet (the ones in game aren’t canon, as they’re mostly inside jokes). Aside from those, two of my crew have a couple of mounts special to them.

Franks has kept Maggie, the Magitek Armor liberated by the Garlond Ironworks. Most recently, he’s taken to using a Gabriel Alpha magitek unit that he liberated and rebuilt from the Bozjan Southern Front

Rheika is incredibly fond of the True Griffin she befriended while helping the Ananta at Castellum Velodyna.

5. Where are they from? What was their childhood like?

I’ve covered this in some of my “Details!” posts I’ve done for them all, so I’ll be brief here

Franks - from another world, grew up on a farm, pretty normal farmer’s childhood

Rheika - grew up outside of Gridania in a Keeper of the Moon community, a middleish child of a large number of sisters. Aside from being made to understand WAY too early that the Wood Wailers will always treat her like a second class citizen because she is a Keeper of the Moon, she had a pretty happy childhood

Dahkar - Born on the Azim Steppe, mother took him to Gridania after his tribe was killed. Similarly treated like outsider, but otherwise kept mostly to himself, only meeting a couple of friends growing up.

Fearless - born and raised in Aerslant, the Sea Wolf Roegadyn homeland. Child of wealthy parents, she had a privileged upbringing but no choice in anything.

6. How did they deal with the massacre on the Waking Sands?

All of them were horrified and angry by it. Franks had never really experienced the Garlean Empire’s brutality firsthand before this, and it cemented a personal desire to fight them. Fearless, who’d begun to develop serious feelings for Minfilia, was almost beside herself with worry.

7. How did they deal with Haurchefant's death?

All of them took it pretty hard, but Dahkar, who’d been romantically involved with him by this point, was almost broken by it. His grief nearly consumed him in rage, quite literally, but “Fray” managed to help him hold it together until he could process and grieve.

8. How did they feel about the liberation of Ala Mhigo? Do they feel it could have been handled differently? Where they at all bothered by how they were involved?

I get the sense from the way this question was worded that the original author doesn’t care for the Stormblood storyline much, but honestly, I don’t have a problem with it. None of my crew are native Ala Mhigans, but they were all too happy to participate when it became clear that the time for it to happen had been chosen for everyone by Ilberd’s actions. Plus, y’know, there was that whole potential Bahamut-level primal they needed to deal with. Losing so handily to Zenos was a serious morale blow that messed them all up quite a bit, but all four of them went along with the plan. It offered them a chance to get better, to weaken the Empire and strengthen themselves.

9. How do they feel about Zenos?

THey all hate the guy for nearly killing so many of their friends and injuring them so badly. Later, pretty much universal relief when he died, pissed off that he didn’t stay that way, and now hell-bent on ending him once and for all. All of them pretty much agree that bastard needs to die.

10. How do they feel about their relationship with Hydaelyn? Midgarsormr?

Initially they accepted that Hydaelyn was a benevolent force, but once they learned of her origin, especially that she was a primal, a private debate broke out among them all the first chance they got to talk about it (which was after the Shadowbringers 5.0 MSQ when Rheika finally got back to the Source). Franks is very concerned that they’ve been tempered. Dahkar is now extremely wary of her, but isn’t certain their free will has been removed. Rheika and Fearless are unwilling to give up on her, but don’t understand why she stopped speaking to them.

Initially, they were all furious at Midgardsormr, but came to realize that his deeds in severing their connection to Hydaelyn definitely made them stronger. They now regard him as a friend and a source of wisdom.

11. Were they more sympathetic to the dragons, Ishgardians, neither or both?

Franks wasn’t certain of this, having known sentient dragons that had absolutely been wronged by mortals in his homeworld, but he didn’t see a way to fix this on his own, so he went along with helping the Ishgardians. He was absolutely on board with Alphinaud’s plan to try and end it, however.

The others had far less experience with Dragons, and initially accepted their version of events without much thought. They immediately turned on the whole idea when the deception was exposed, though.

12. How has their job affected whatever headcanon version is of the MSQ if any?

As I’ve explained in previous posts, I’ve parsed out all of the jobs (except Monk) to my characters, with the aim of balancing the following ideas.

○ At all times during the story, one of them should be capable of tanking, one healing, and the others DPSing ○ If possible no one should have more than 1 job from any of the 5 roles ○ Obviously, don’t give jobs to characters that make no sense for them to pick up

It’s taken a few revisions, but I’m currently happy with the setup they have. For the most part, they’re extremely proficient with their chosen fighting styles and don’t mind swapping around to fill whatever need is present. For Heavensward, the trio who got their new jobs in Ishgard chose to stick with them for the most part, and for much of the Far Eastern parts of Stormblood, Rheika and Fearless chose to stay Ninja and Samurai for the most part, since it felt “right” to them to use those arts when fighting for Doma’s liberation.

13. Are they close with any of the other Scions? Who do they get along with the best?

Franks gets along best with the more scholarly minded members of the Scions, specifically Y’shtola, Urianger, Krile, and G’raha when he later joins.

Rheika and Tataru have become the best of friends since she joined. She’s always encouraged Tataru to better herself however she wants, and really loves the newfound confidence she’s gained

Dahkar is closest to Thancred among the senior scions. Among the other members, he’s flirted with Ephemie a fair amount, and is considering whether or not he wants to deepen that to something more serious.

Fearless is probably closest to Alisaie. She admires her confidence a great deal.

14. Of the Scions, who are they most worried for?

Franks is most worried for Y’shtola and her “aethersight” draining her life force. He’s actively trying to modify the SCH magicks that cured the tonberry plague to restore her eyesight (and Thancred’s ability to manipulate aether)

Rheika is probably most worried about Urianger, as he’s shown a very disturbing pattern for pursuing a hidden agenda to further the scion’s goals, He claims to be done with that, but she’s worried he might slip into old habits in the future.

Dahkar and Fearless aren’t particularly worried about any of the Scions, beyond the default “these are my adopted family and I don’t want anything to happen to them” level of fear.

15. Is your WoL promiscuous? Celibate? Or just waiting for the right person?

Franks has so far been unable to move past the death of his wife to consider any new relationships. He’s also far older (if only mentally) than anyone who’d be interested, which also blocks him from considering anything new.

Rheika is aromantic, but pansexual. Romance does nothing for her, she just likes having fun with anyone she considers attractive and will respect her rule. She’s got a number of paramours in various parts of the world.

Dahkar is bi, and willing to engage in casual liaisons but at his heart, he really wants a committed relationship. After Haurchefant died, he hasn’t been involved in anything serious since, only crushing on people emotionally unavailable, such as Yugiri (bound by her oath to HIen) or Kurenai (bound by the oath of the Ruby Princess). He’s recently come to realize that this was a form of self-sabotage and is trying to open up again.

Fearless crushes on every pretty girl she has come across, but is usually too shy or lacking in self-confidence to follow up on them. She greatly regrets never telling Minfilia how she felt about her. Her time as a Warrior of LIght and the friendship she’s built with her fellows has helped tremendously. She’s currently involved in a poly triad with two other women.

16. What does your WoL do to relax? What sorts of distractions do they seek? Do they foster any bad habits as a result?

They enjoy spending time together or with the other Scions. If they’re at a point when they need to be alone, they’ll do the following.

Franks likes to tinker, build things, or solve arcanima problems. He can sometimes get wrapped up in any of those and lose track of time. He’s also prone to hiding away to avoid socializing.

Rheika will generally find someone to take to bed if she’s really stressed, otherwise she’s fine just hanging with people

Depending on his mood, Dahkar will either find a monster to fight (never something he’s not confident he can beat) or leap to whatever the highest place he can find is and just enjoy the view.

Fearless enjoys reading novels, but as of late prefers spending time with her girlfriends.

17. Who is their favorite Alliance leader? Who do they get along with the best out of them?

Counting only the 5 members of the Eorzean Alliance, in order from most to least.... 1. Lyse - because she’s one of them, come on 2. (tie) Merlwyb/Aymeric - because they are good people who have the strength to move their nation forward to a better place 3. Nanamo - she’s trying to make Ul’dah better, at least, even if she isn’t able to affect change. Plus she’s not doing enough to address corruption in the Brass Blades 4. Kan-E-Senna - she seems entirely content to leave her people at the mercy of elementals and isn’t doing NEAR enough to address racial inequality in Gridania

18. Does your WoL fully embrace their role as the WoL or do they try to remain humble?

For the most part, they’re humble, but all of them are not afraid to use their titles/fame to get what they need or to make someone’s life better if they can do so.

19. What do they think of the Heaven's Ward?

The only ones they really got to know were the two that tried to condemn Alphinaud and Tataru for “heresy” and the one who attacked them when they were meeting with Hilda. Those were...not positive experiences. That, coupled with the fact that all of them willingly followed the Archbishop into summoning Primals into themselves pretty much sealed their opinion on the rest.

20. Of all the places they've been to, which is their favorite? Do they like to go back there?

Franks enjoys spending time in Ishgard, both because the manufactory is there and he enjoys collaborating with the other machinists and because he really enjoys working on the Restoration of the Firmament.

Rheika enjoys being in Mor Dhona and the Crystarium the most. It’s full of people all working together for the same end, and she’s happy being a part of it and doing her part to help.

Dahkar also loves Mor Dhona, but he’s found going back to the Far East oddly soothing. He feels a connection to the Azim Steppe, despite not really knowing what it means to live there, he wants to learn.

Fearless has made Kugane her home, thanks in part to her one of her girlfriends living there and the other currently on an extended tour there as well.

21. Are there any raid storylines (Ivalice, Coil of Bahamut, Werlyt, etc.) you consider to be canon for your WoL? Which ones don't you consider canon?

I consider all of them to be canon, save potentially the NieR crossover alliance raids. Honestly, the entire story of that place just felt so odd and out of place that I didn’t really enjoy it, and I’m tempted just to say it didn’t happen. Everything else, though? Absolutely canonical.

22. Do you have a unique tale for their job class or is it pretty much like what it is in the game?

Most of them are pretty much as they were in the game, though I have some personal headcanons on how Arcanima and the Paladin job work, the latter of which I’ve explored in one of my fics. The former will be somewhat explained in the current longform fic I’m working on.

23. Are there any side quest storylines that you're particularly fond of or think of as being canon to your WoL's experiences?

Aside from the raids, alliance raids, and trial series, which 21 covered, I’d say all of the Beast tribe quests, the Scholasticate quests (which I suppose means Hildibrand has to be canon too), and most of the sidequesting in Sui-no-Sato are all canon experiences.

24. Does your WoL have any phobias?

None of them have any real strange or irrational fears of note, not that I’ve been able to think of that make sense to the characters, anyway.

25. Do they have any habits or rituals that they do to soothe themselves? I.e. Playing with their hair, chewing their lip, fidgeting, etc.

Franks will absentmindedly fidget with a tool or some spare parts. He’s actually built a small gadget that has some switches and buttons that do nothing for this purpose.

Rheika is restless and prefers to move while thinking. She tends to bounce a leg if she has to sit still too long.

Dahkar is pretty capable of concentrating without needing any kind of habit to aid in it.

Fearless tends to bottle it up until she can release it in private, either by meditating or dancing, depending on her level of anxiety and privacy expectations

26. Do they suffer any traumas from any of their adventures? How do you foresee this affecting them going forward?

Fearless was actually persuaded to pick of the Astrologian job thanks to the trauma of the banquet. She wanted to be able to predict anything that awful from happening to her and her friends again.

LIkewise Dahkar was so traumatized by that (and the Braves’ betrayal), it was the final catalyst needed for him to be open to his Darkside and become a Dark Knight. He’s also the one most affected by Haurchefant’s death, and as I explained earlier, it’s subconsciously kept him from going after other romantic relationships

Rheika had nightmares about Tesleen for months, and they were made worse when she herself nearly became a sin eater. She practiced quick drawing her bow and hitting accurate long distance shots for a long time after that, wanting to be prepared to save someone from that kind of distance if she had to.

Franks has dealt with enough trauma in his previous life that a lot of what he’s seen on Hydaelyn doesn’t affect him as much as it otherwise might.

27. How did the events of Shadowbringers impact them?

Rheika was the only one present for the events of 5.0, and my headcanon is that she wasn’t able to get home until after Hades was defeated. She felt alone and adrift without her fellow Warriors, and the trauma she endured did not help matters. Seeing them summoned to aid her was a balm on her soul, and when Franks figured out how to get the others to the First a little before the events of the Eden raid, she was overjoyed.

28. Were they suspicious or open to Emet-Selch's presence when he first appeared?

Rheika never believed he had good intentions. She always expected him to betray them at some point, but there didn’t seem to be much she COULD do before that happened. Even after he rescued Y’shtola, that was never enough for her trust.

29. Did your WoL suspect anything was amiss with Urianger or the Crystal Exarch? Did they feel betrayed? Upset? When the truth finally emerged?

Rheika immediately recognized G’raha Tia (”I mean he wasn’t even TRYING to change his voice!”), but she assumed there was a reason he was hiding from her, and she trusted Urianger’s vision. When the truth came out, she was angry about being lied to. She understood their reasoning, but threated to beat the crap out of both of them if they ever tried something like that again.

30. What was their highest point in Shadowbringers? Their lowest? What caused it?

High point - ending Hades. Low Point - failing to save Tesleen

31. What were their first impressions of Hien?

Aside from Rheika and Dahkar finding him very hot, they were all very impressed by his willingness to sacrifice his own life if his people chose not to fight any longer

32. Did they trust Asahi right away? Why or why not?

Not right away, no. None of them are quick to trust Garlean officials, and Asahi felt way too slimy. None of them were all together surprised with how things turned out, save for when Maxima agreed to abide by the exchange after everything went south.

33. How did they feel about what happened with Yotsuyu? Did they feel like she was justified in her actions?

All of them felt bad for Yotsuyu’s horrible upbringing (and have made it VERY clear to Hien that he needs to make sure the new Doma does NOT allow for this to happen again), but accept that she made the choices she did and that ultimately, she needed to be stopped.

34. Would you say your WoL is fundamentally a good person? Or are they a bad person that's been persuaded to do the right things?

All of them are absolutely good people fundamentally. They know they’re the only ones that can fight the ridiculous battles they get into, and they’re okay with doing it, because ultimately, they want to save lives.

35. How do they feel about the fact that they've killed a lot of people and/or things?

They all understand that for every life they have to take, it means more are safe, sound, and happy down the road. All of their choices are made with that goal in mind.

#Final Fantasy XIV #oldmanfranks #Rheika Aliapoh #Fearless Willow #Dahkar Darkspear

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