#and flees to the source with hydaelyn’s help

[a-smol-homo]

I love this!! ♥️♥️ Thank you for the tag!

I’ll pick my ffxiv oc (*´꒳`*)

-> Orpheus Gataki (they/he/she/it)

I picked Orpheus because I’m obsessed with Persona 3 and have been for years. Yuki’s awakening scene did things to me mentally (and I absolutely love giving nicknames when I can, so calling him orphie is my full-time job, I havent said his full name aloud in forever-)

And it’s gonna sound super silly but I knew I wanted him to have a Greek background aside from the obvious first name! Gataki is just Greek for “kitten” because I made him a catboy in ffxiv (his regular oc form is a black wolf because hes originally a fuckin sonic oc-)

Tagging: @wrenegade-accio @huntress-valkyrie @boxdstars @alsopartgekkos @elinoracia and anyone else who’d like to join! ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡

edited to include pronouns shh u didnt see me :x

I've been tagged for a few things but I never created my own tagging thing so

WHY IS YOUR CHARACTER NAMED LIKE THIS ?

Answer then tag five people you want to answer ! (If you have more than one character, just choose one)

-> Aubrey Lockhart.

Needed something British so I went with Master and Commander's captain Aubrey.

The name Lockhart stems from when I was a teacher. Because Gilderoy Lockhart is a bad teacher and a complete inspiration for me.

Tagging : @catohphm @earl-grey-hot @ynyseira @esolean @lilac-crown @boomingsmile @a-smol-homo @sallowslytherin

[driftward]

Title: FFXIV Write 2022 - 25. Free Day 4 Characters: Karasawa Atraxae Rating: Teen Summary: Guide. Guard. Help. Notes: None

"Guide 'em, guard 'em, help 'em," muttered Atraxae into her cups.

She was sitting in the Quicksand and tending to her cups, a fist tight around it as she stared at the dimness of her reflection in its purple fluid. Some kind of juice, except it tasted like acid and vinegar, but she was drinking it anyway, because it also made her a bit tingly and that was better than the other feelings she was having.

Hydaelyn was alive, but couldn't talk. Not for long. And Atraxae no longer had the ability to talk back. She could hear the whispers of resonance just barely on the edge of what she could hear, but that was it. No teek. No creation magics. Her vision was stunted. The only senses she felt were full were her senses of smell and of taste. Even her sense of touch felt flatter, somehow.

She grimaced, and downed the drink, and set it back. Guarding would be easy, she thought. Really, that was just a specific kind of help. And helping would be easy enough, too. There were so many people hurting, and for no good hells-damned reason.

But guiding?

She took a deep breath in, and let it out slow.

That was really more Karasawa's thing. Sure, she was the idea person, but Karasawa was the one who kept her on track, kept them both focused, always seeming to know what to do or who to talk with and keeping the peace, and...

Well.

He was gone, now, and she remained.

Her and Hydaelyn.

She wondered if there were others.

She'd have to ask Hydaelyn. Assuming Hydaelyn would call her up again.

But for now, it was just her. And if Hydaelyn was asking her to step up, well, then.

"...I must be Karasawa," she said. She sighed, and looked around. What would Karasawa do?

She hefted up her devices, swapped the sword to a staff, and headed out.

-*-

Well, the day had started out pleasant enough. Deliver a pumpkin. Help feed some kids. The Wystan guy was a good bloke. Kind to children, easy on the eyes. Of course she went after him to witness his good fortune.

Of course it all went to shite five minutes after she turned up.

The soldiers - Brass Blades, they called themselves - menaced the man as she turned up, and then turned to her. Gritting her teeth, she pulled out her staff, and glanced between each of them.

Well.

She may not have been as she was, but she was still sure she was not to be trifled with. And if they were going to take her, well, she was going to go down swinging and make them regret it every ilm of the way.

And then she felt it, just on the edge of her perception, like so many things were these days.

Creation magics, of a sort.

Stones trembled and rolled and flew together, forming a gigantic golem. She glanced between the soldiers, trying to figure out which one was responsible, but all of them were already fleeing.

"Oh sod everything about this," she snarled. "Oi! Wystan! Get behind me, will ya?"

She rolled up her sleeves and held up her staff, and could feel the tingle of aether flow.

"GET TUMBLED," she yelled, bringing down lightning upon the golem and feeling the pleasant afterglow of thunder.

"Girl could get used to that," she murred, as the golem staggered a few steps back.

And then with blinding speed it charged forward, and the next thing Karasawa knew, her vision was full of stars and the echoing of stone footsteps. She pulled herself up and looked around, and saw that Wystan had been smart enough to find cover.

"Oh, that bloody hurt, that did," she grumbled.

"Yes! Writhe! Writhe in enteral darkness!" a voice called out.

She frowned, looking around for its source, and - there.

A man, in dark robes with silver finery. And... a familiar style of mask on his face.

"Aw, you have got to be shitting me," she said, and then she was flying through the air again, the golem's fist meeting her once more.

This time she was a bit slower coming to, and she blinked up just in time to roll to the side before two mighty fists buried her into the sands.

"I AM GOING AFTER YOU NEXT, ARSEHOLE!" she yelled at the masked man as she ran. Lighting burst forth from her staff again, just enough to stagger the golem. It crackled and hit two, three more times, each time taking a step back.

And then there was a pause, as it steadied itself, getting its footing back.

And that's when the fireball Karasawa had been channeling crashed from the heavens and drilled into its core, shattering it.

"WOOP WOOP," she yelled. "Got you, you absolute bloody postweight! Who's next!?"

She looked around, but the masked man was gone.

"Sure do hate this," she grumbled, as she went to go help Wystan get back to the bar she'd found him at.

And then she felt it again. The increasing sound of resonance, the pressure buildup of flux in her skull.

"Really? Now?" she grumbled.

"What?" asked Wystan.

"Damn, seems I missed all the fun," she heard from behind her. She turned and looked to see the man she'd met at the Sultantree. Thancred, Papashan had called him. He waved as he approached, and she felt the flux in her skull swell to a crescendo.

"I see you didn't need my help this time," the boy said.

"Make yourself useful and get Wystan outta here," said Karasawa. "I gotta take this."

"What?" asked the man - Thancred, his name was Thancred, but sod him, maybe this was Hydaelyn calling back. The world did not shrink away this time, but instead went to grey.

-*-

Memories.

She was dimly aware that these were memories, but they were not hers.

They were his.

The man. The boy's. Thancred's.

Scenes passed through her head. Thancred, jovially entertaining some women even as he eavesdropped on another conversation.

A big angry red ball in the sky falling towards the ground, while Thancred spoke about a ruined harvest and other such matters.

Thancred in prayer, fussing over a device, and coming... here. To here. And now.

-*-

Reality returned, and so did Karasawa, and she blinked.

"...that was new," she said.

-*-

Thancred had, blessedly, taken Wystan to safety. Not without babbling more nonsense at her, of course, and she was beginning to suspect that maybe he was just Like That, but still. Wystan was kept safe, and that was good enough for her.

She'd returned to the Quicksand, and Momodi had been able to fill her in. About the politics of this weird land. About what she had encountered. About who was suspected to be behind it, and she now had a name, Lolorito.

When asked about the cloaked figure with the mask, though, Momodi had only been able to look at her blankly.

Fortunately, her good deeds up until now had endeared her enough to the woman that she now had a permanent invitation to spend her nights at the inn. It wasn't an apartment, but it'd do while Atraxae could heatedly yell in her head while Karasawa tried to look at the situation cooly.

What would she, Karasawa, do?

The man in the robes was all the wrong shape, but then, so was she, wasn't she? The robes were wrong, but then again, so were her own clothes.

The mask, though.

The mask gave her pause.

That could not possibly have been one of her countrymen. They were all slaves to order and boredom and quiet lives of service, not chaos and shouting about darkness and wreaking havoc.

It didn't make sense.

Perhaps a cult in the modern day had found their trappings and adopted them as their own, to lend themselves a bizarre kind of legitimacy?

Or maybe it was something to do with how the star had gone all so wrong, that her dear friend could not spare the time to tell her before he'd had to throw her so far into the future.

He'd want to investigate that further, she thought. Certainly, she did. And that Thancred fellow seemed to know something.

Guide, guard, help, though. She still didn't know enough to guide, but she still had to guard and help.

She sighed, flopping back in her bed, and staring at the ceiling.

"Swivin' hate this," she grumbled. She looked over at her sword, now a staff, and sat up, and took it in her hand.

Magics were one thing, as was standing up against things like golems and creatures from beyond the rift. But keeping people safe? No, a thunderous fireball did not keep people safe.

She frowned, and closed her eyes, and tried to bring to mind the images of warriors past.

The image of the man in the dark robes kept entering her mind, and she growled, frustrated, until at last at thought occurred to her.

If they wanted darkness...

She'd bring it to them.

[norhimorovine]

9/13 - Confluence

"But this is what I want! It's my sacrifice to make!" "Your time as not yet come. What all hangs in the balance, you must give them hope."

-

Norhi clung to one of the railings of the Enterprise, watching as Cid desperately tried to maneuver his ship through the hailstorm of cannon fire coming from the imperial battleship. A hint of a whisper on the air, as if she heard someone saying thank you, turned her gaze to the other side. And there was Hraesvelgr, hurtling towards them with a speed that only the dragons of the First Brood seemed capable of.

And that’s when Alphinaud pointed at a drop of blue, diving away from him. "Is that… Ysayle? What does she mean to do!?"

Words like magic echoed against Norhi’s soul, and she realized what she was seeing. "O goddess born of mine own hopes and dreams. For the last time, I beseech you! Fill this vessel with your light! Still the hatred within our heats and bless us with eternal grace!"

Ice bloomed in the air, forming and crystallizing, to shatter and reveal the beautiful form of the primal, Shiva. The icy woman besieged the warship then, engaging it with deft flying and magic bursts of ice that turned their own weapons back on them. Cid deftly used the chance to get out of the way, making their escape. And Norhi watched in growing horror as Shiva turned herself into a souring missile of ice, to collide with the battleship. The air rippled with the impact, magic and magitek both exploding in showers of sparks that hid Shiva from them for but a moment. When it cleared, Norhi’s heart sank. Shiva’s energy was nearly spent and she hung in the air, working to regain her breath. But the imperials didn’t waste their chance. She was shot down and soon plummeted through the air, her summoning fading and leaving only Ysayle once more.

"Farewell, Warrior of Light. And thank you - for showing me the way."

Norhi’s eyes blurred with tears as she watched the streaks of leaking aether stream away from her, before bursting out in a dazzling display. She barely heard Alphinaud’s scream of denial, "Noooo!"

Y’shtola’s own shock was clear, as she recognized the arcing magic in the air, "This aether… It was a Crystal of Light. She, too, was one of Hydaelyn's chosen…"

"Fare you well, my lady," and with Estinien’s own final words, Norhi found herself kneeling in grief. How many more would she lose?

-

They’d reached the Pristine Palace of Amh Malik, in the south of Amh Araeng. Norhi’s echo pierced her mind, leaving her vaguely aware that Minfilia was also seeing this new vision. A vision of people fleeing. And of Minfilia of the Source, stopping the Flood. When her vision cleared, Norhi looked around to see herself and the younger Minfilia standing on an ocean of Light. And walking towards them was her old friend.

The younger looked up at her namesake, "This place… You… You're…"

The elder smiled and nodded, "Ours is a meeting long overdue. Full glad am I that we may finally speak."

Norhi watched and listened in silence, content to let the two talk. She smiled though, as the younger Minfilia’s words sank in.

“But I want do more than just watch and cheer. I want to make a difference. I want to help them, like they helped me - and maybe even inspire others to do the same. Coming together, providing for one another - that's the only way forward I can see. Since all of our heroes are gone, we'll just have to make heroes of ourselves."

The elder Minfilia smiled again, clearly moved by her successor’s heart, "'Tis a beautiful, wonderful dream. One we share. Though my power was all but spent in staying the Flood, I prayed this final act would give hope to those who survived. That selfsame hope lives on in you. It gives me comfort to know that the future is in capable hands. If you should ever falter, remember this: no one, however powerful, is immune to the whisperings of doubt and despair. Do not give in to them, but do not deny them either. Look instead to the light within, that you may continue to serve as a beacon to others."

The girl accepted this with a smile of her own, "Thank you, Minfilia, for believing in us. For believing in me."

And Norhi’s dear friend looked to her, "Dearest friend… no words can express my gratitude to you for keeping her safe in these tumultuous times. You are a hero to us both. But not even the most valiant heroes can stand alone. Only together may you change the fate of two worlds."

Norhi got no chance to determine what that meant, as the two Minfilias were wrapped in blinding light.

Upon returning and checking in to find Thancred alive, and healing, young Minfilia finally stepped forward to join the group. Thancred looked up and then slowly smiled, "You saw her."

The young woman, fidgeted anxiously, before telling Thancred of her choice, "I know I haven't exactly been pulling my weight up till now, but that's all going to change, starting today. I'll do whatever it takes - whatever it takes to make Minfilia's dream a reality. I can track the Lightwardens now. Maybe even help you fight them."

Thancred reached out and gently patted Minfilia's head. He smiled and answered, "I'm glad you're back."

Though, that only seemed to sadden Minfilia, as she answered, "You don't have to say that, you know…"

Surprised, Thancred could only reply, "But I want to. You're family. How else would I feel?"

And when Minfilia began to cry, he certainly wasn’t sure how to fix this.

Y’shtola just crossed her arms and smiled at the group, "She will need a name"

"A name?" Alphinaud asked, not expecting this.

Y’shtola nodded and then gestured to the girl, "A name of her own. I would not have her walk in the shadow of another any longer. And I think it a fitting tribute to our departed friend too. At the mention of Minfilia, I would remember the woman who preserved our fellowship when all seemed lost."

Ever practical, Alisaie turned back to Minfilia and asked, "Do you remember what you were called before you were taken to Eulmore?"

Minfilia shook her head, drying away her tears, "I'm sorry, I don't. I couldn't have been very old when it happened."

At this point, Thancred looked around to realize everyone was staring pointedly at him.

Alphinaud smiled and then pronounced, "If the lady herself has no preference, I think the honor should rightly fall to Thancred. After all they have been through together, he's practically a father to her."

Alisaie’s snort was almost as teasingly derisive as her retort, "Well spotted! I'm so glad you're here to explain these things."

The twins set to quietly bickering over this, while Thancred just took a moment to think. He then finally suggested, "What about… Ryne?"

Urianger pressed a knuckle to his lips, translating more to himself than anyone else, "Ah, 'Blessing' in Fae…"

But then his eyes lit up in realization and surprise, "Wait! Doth this mean thou wert listening when I delivered my lectures on the pixies?

Thancred refused to turn and look at Urianger, simply denying the assertion, "Not exactly. But that one word made an impression. Of course, if it's not to your liking, I can think of something else."

The young woman took a moment to consider, testing the name in her mouth, "Ryne… Yes, I rather like the sound of it. Thank you."

Thancred’s own warm smile echoed hers. "That settles it, then. Welcome aboard, Ryne!"

"I won't let you down,” Ryne said. And Norhi felt as if a part of her healed a tiny bit.

[freydaelyn]

Memories in a World Unsundered

It became more and more frequent after the victory at the edge of the universe that Rauxenne found herself returning to the first and making use of the oculus to travel back to before the world was sundered. There the titles that so many had given Rauxenne did not matter, though she realized later the true nature of the situation, there in time immemorial she was simply considered the familiar of one known as Azem. It was simpler, peaceful even to Rauxenne. Those she had helped in the first and then later when the end of days came had scattered to the winds and the Elezen was again, primarily, on her own. If not for her starbird friend that she had kept with her at all times it would be just as when she fled her homeland. Ishgard was a place she still did not feel comfortable lingering in, having been branded a heretic not long ago. Nor were there many places in the source that she felt she could go without someone asking for her aid. She did not mind helping those but more and more she felt the need to be upon her own. The pale Ishguardian did not bother those of the Elpis as she traversed the various floating islands. Her interest was not in those that studied here. Nor was she interested in meeting the man she had made a promise to and fell for. The “familiar” made her way to the Peripeteia Krystalline, and then up further to the Metabaseos Thalassai. It was the voice she had finally put a face to after so many years of hearing her. The one that guided her for so long that she had hoped to see once again. All of her trips had come up empty thus far. The blue feathers of the starbird fluttered around the darkly dressed woman. For the bird this was home in a sense. “Meteion, we will see to the flowers shortly. I am hoping to see Venat. I feel fortunate that this will be the lucky time.” Rauxenne’s eyes did not match the hope of her words, the long since paled eyes, corrupted by the very light she had followed, showing a great care for her feathered companion. They had met here before, and had spoken. That day was the first time she had felt vindicated in all she had done to instill hope and aid others. The voice that had guided her, the primal that she herself worshiped in the flesh. The very same that she had to fight and defeat to save her star, Hydaelyn. Leaning upon the railing, looking out to the picturesque landscape below Rauxenne waited, alone yet again with her thoughts, her memories. How she had to flee Ishgard when her faith was found out, how she joined the Malestrom before being recruited to the Crystal Braves. Aiding the Scions of the Seventh dawn in the far east before having to be the hero when she was taken to the first. That her light was what brought forth the needed dark there. Her return to study in Sharlean only to be asked to return to the first and end up here. They all were fresh in Rauxenne’s mind. She still waited.The blue bird landed on her shoulder, snuggling up to Rauxenne’s cheek. A singler finger raised from the woman to pet the bird. “I just want to see her again, before I myself return to the lifestream. I had always followed her vision, her mission. What is there now for me?” She spoke quietly to the bird, still petting her. “Hades gave me journeys, to explore new places but she was my light. Without her guidance I am lost. She was the hope for the star, not me. I only delivered it.” Rauxenne’s grip grew tighter upon the railing. “I killed her Meteion. I killed the one who guided me for so long. I can bring others hope but what of me and my struggles. My prayers to her now truly will only fall on deaf ears.” A single tear slithered down her cheek. “I just want to see her one more time, my friend. Is this too much to ask?” The bird’s head cocked one way or the other before she flew off. “Hey! Meteion come back!” A few moments later the small blue bird returned with two items within her beak. A single elpis bloom and a black feather. Rauxenne looked at both, taking them in her hand, turning them over considering before giving a side eye to her feathered compatriot.. “The flower upon return was to be for you my friend not me.” “As for the feather, my plumage can not darken, not after the events of the first but I believe I understand what you are trying to impart.” She lifted the bloom placing it within her hair. “Perhaps I have grown impatient after all I have done. Even now she waits for me in the lifestream, like Minfilia and Ysale. I am sorry for letting despair grow in me Meteion. I just…I am tired of traveling alone. I thought I had found allies who would be with me longer than they were…But I have you.” her hand opens, allowing the wind to take the black feather, the feather itself dancing upon the air currents falling into the distance below. “Perhaps I will get a chance to say my goodbye later, my friend. Now we should return home, have I shown you the ruby sea? I promise I will make sure your plumage stays dry.” The Elezen offers a hand out for the small blue bird to land on. Taking her steps to return home yet again, though she still suffered pain, she had made her promises to ensure that the legacies that were left to her and those of the future were not squandered. She would see those she loved again, Hades, Ysale, Mifilia, and Venat again but that was not for now. The sun rise had not yet come for the warrior of darkness Rauxenne Geajeux.