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[miyakosora]

Day 2 Bark

Azem(Oc/Persephone) x Emet-Selch/Hades

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Work Count: 523

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“Why do you always do this!” He was upset, naturally. Usually, his bark was worse than his bite. He paced around the room like a caged animal, only he wasn’t trying to escape. The veins in his forehead threatened to pop. She wondered if Emmerololth had anything to help him with his stress levels.

She poked around her salad, trying to maintain some level of composure though her appetite had vanished.

“If the situation stresses you, then you don’t have to be a participant.” It hurt to see him like this. The burden of his position weighed on him more and more. The stress pressed his shoulders down, threatening to grind him to dust. She didn’t need their soul sight to see how his ached. “I don’t remember asking for help. Wash your hands of this whole mess and go home Emet. I can handle this myself.” 

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? The others in the Convocation are planning on censoring you. This isn’t just a minor infraction Persephone!”

She flinched at her given name. Hating how it hit his tongue like acid only to be spat back out at her. There was once a time when that name was a source of comfort that only he spoke. An age that had passed during her travels with Venat. They had grown up, and now it seems they had grown apart. 

“I’m not a child Emet. I don’t need anyone hovering over me with lessons of right or wrong. Not you and not the Convocation. None of you were there, and it’s easy to cast judgment from a distance.” It had always been that way when Venat was Azem. Her verses the Convocation. Kore had watched as her mentor faced every battle headfirst with a smile. 

That’s who she wanted to be.

…but . . .

She tried to look Emet in the eye, but he continued to pace back and forth worrying a trench into the floor of her dining room. With a sigh, she pushed herself away from the table. Rising without a word she walked past him, doubting he would even notice. 

“I’m going to get some fresh air. I’ll be back in a little while.” 

The air was cold in the city tonight. Winter was on its way to the city thanks to the hard workers and the leadership of the Convocation. 

It was so…stifling.

Like most of her travels, she didn’t have a goal in mind. The thought of returning to her home for another unwanted lecture made her stomach churn. Finding a quiet corner in the park she sat and watched as the others went about their evening. 

The night was cool, parents and young children had already headed off to bed or settled in for the night. The only company in the night were pairs or groups not ready to abandon the day together. Sometimes they’d be huddled together, lips whispering soft words to one another. Others would be in groups giggling or laughing about some event. 

At the end of the day they were together. They were whole. 

It made her ache from the inside out. 

[miyakosora]

Day 1 - Envoy

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She didn’t mind the extra company…really… --- --- --- Just a cross-world trip with her three best friends...that is...if they could ever get out of the city limits. --- --- --- Azem(Oc/Persephone), Elid --- --- --- Word Count: 790

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Day 1

Envoy - a messenger or representative, especially one on a diplomatic mission.

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“Are you sure you're ready to travel this far? Once we leave the city it’ll be safer to keep a low profile.”

She should be grateful that this was her ‘punishment’ instead of another censor. It would be nice to finally get out of the city and back on the road. To travel towards the endless sky towards destinations unknown…but…

“Of course! We don’t want to attract unwanted attention. No grand feats of creation magic while on the road!” Elidibus was already bursting with enthusiasm. “Our trip will be passing by the island with the grapes, I do hope we have time to stop by and taste them.”

She didn’t mind the extra company…really…

“I’ll say, I’ve been looking forward to these grapes since I first heard of their existence.”

“She should have left the damned island to its destruction as the Convocation desired.”

Hytho shrugged while Hades pinched the bridge of his nose.

Really she didn’t mind the company per say…

…but this was exactly how she expected the trip to go.

She had been placed in charge of escorting Elidibus as an envoy to another city. I.E. the other members of the Convocation saw this as a perfect opportunity to dump their youthful member onto her. 

Jokes on them, she much preferred his company to the others.

…speaking of the others.

Naturally, Hades had decided the trip would be too long and treacherous for the two of them to take alone. He ‘convently’ had work to do in the area, and needed to make sure she was held accountable for her previous actions. 

She’d almost preferred to be censored.

Finally, their darling Hythlodaeus had joined on a whim. Though she assumed he wouldn’t be left out of the chaos that was about to ensue. 

“Alright, gentlemen when we reach other towns outside the cities we should reframe from our titles. People from outside Amaurot can be hesitant to the Convocation. I don’t want to stir up too much trouble for them, I can’t image how frightened they’d be by three members showing up unannounced.”

“It’ll be a fun vacation, throwing titles and pretense to the wind.”

“As if they wouldn’t recognize the Chief Architect.”

“And the illustrious Emet-Selch doesn’t have an ounce of fame to his name?”

Kore let out a nervous laugh before clasping her hands together trying her best to regain control of the situation. 

“Okay gentlemen, let's settle down.” Trying to take a calm approach this time. “We’ve got a long trip ahead of us. We should head out while those spirits are burning bright.”

After all, they hadn’t even left the city yet. 

“Our first course of action is getting Themis to his destination. After that if and only if time allows will we make stops. The Convocation will be wanting a full report, and they expect everyone to be on their best behavior.” 

“Does that include you, or is that a veiled threat at our dear Kore.” 

Oh for Star’s sake Hytho.

The vein in Hade’s forehead threatened to pop. A perfect summary of how this trip was going to go. The two started bickering like the old married couples she’d met on her travels. 

“Boys, we’ll never make it to our first destination before dark if we-” She didn’t bother wasting her breath as the two continued. She dropped her shoulders with a sigh and turned towards Themis. Fixing the bag on her hips she kneeled down. “Come on Themis, I don’t want to sleep on the ground and Lahabread will have my head and my seat if you don’t arrive on time.”

He motioned to move in before pausing. She glanced up at his apprehensive face.

“...Aren’t I getting a little old for you to carry me, Kore?” 

She tried not to be taken aback by the question. Sure he was a growing young man, but he still had several years before he’d reach up to her in height and stamina. 

“Nonsense, and I’ll put you down as soon as we’ve reached a safe distance from those two. Now come on, I wouldn’t mind stopping by that island for some grapes.”

“If you say so Kore.” 

It took a little more effort for her to hoist him onto her back. Perhaps he had gotten a little heavier since their last trip together…how long ago had that been? Nevermind. It wasn’t important. He was a growing boy and it wouldn’t be much longer before he would be trusted to make his envoys alone. 

She’d certainly miss his boyish optimism.  

“Kore, is it okay to just leave the two of them behind like that?” 

“Don’t worry they’ll catch up in a little while. I just wanted to spend some quality time with you.” 

[miyakosora]

Endwalker - Autumntide Music Video an Essay

 Sometimes you just need a place to gush about something you are really passionate about. After a not-so-fun week of dealing with Covid I happened back upon the music video for Endwalker - Autumtide. So here is where I gush about how Final Fantasy ties all my favorite art-related things together. 

At this point, Endwalker has been out for over a year, and there are so many details in this music video I’ve still probably missed. One of my favorite things in FF14 is the concept of Hope. Everyone has a different story for their WOL, but no matter how grim the circumstances, there will always be our character, marching on through whatever trial we face. No matter how often we get knocked down, we get right back up and continue on. 

So Miya, how does this music video have anything to do with Hope?

Well skeptical Miya, the music video starts off with a younger woman mosing about her home. She’s aimless, fumbling with a bottle and looking at the dead plants in her space. She sings along to the lyrics -Fade away-. I like the idea of this woman not only being the player, not necessarily the WOL, but us the player. 

As the song and video continue on she passes someone reading Count Fortempt’s novel this is matched with the lyrics -Sorrow's silence, we needn't bear-. Next, as she is walking up an overpass bridge she sees a woman resembling Yotsuyu smoking a pipe on the bridge, -Every step we take echoes in our wake-. Finally, she’s alone in the park, tired and breathless from her day of searching. The sun is setting and looking up she sees a figure waving to her as they walk away -To forge ahead-. 

At the start of the video the protagonist is drawn by a glimmering light, and she follows it out of her home. Like I said she’s looking at everything in her house, and looking outside before finally, something draws her in, but we also get these flashes of an internal dialogue where she’s alone, upset, and anguished by this trial she’s going through. -Marching forward, left behind.-

Every step you take forward on any journey in life, you are going to leave something behind. This is true for not only your character as the WOL, but as you the player, and for the protagonist in the video. The woman could continue to stay in her house and that would be her story, she continues to stay and be sad and just fade away. For whatever reason, she chooses to leave and head outside and explore the world. 

There doesn’t seem to be a destination in mind for her, but she passes these characters along the way, and in doing so they mimic some of the characters we’ve left behind in the game. I find myself drawn most to the person reading the novel and how it’s matched with the lyrics -Kindred severed neverwhere, Sorrow’s silence, we needn’t bear.- Ironically, “A smile best suits a hero.” Kindred - family, severed - cut off, and neverwhere- no where. Now neverwhere also has me a little thrown for a loop because it’s the title of a Neil Gaiman novel (Why is it always Neil Gaiman). I would love to go on another deep dive just by that one word alone, but that might be a little extreme.

I’ll be honest I story-skipped Heavensward and Stormblood and went straight for Shadowbringers, (Look I started ARR before Stormblood, and then restarted somewhere before Shadowbringers. I’ll go back and do it at some point.) So I only know a little about Yotsuyu and Tsukiyomi, (that’s not true I’m obsessed with moon mythology). I love the image of her watching traffic as it flows around her at twilight. There is so much movement, but she’s standing still, and our protagonist is surprised to see her there. 

During these scenes, we see those moments of our protagonist anguishing by herself, before coming to the park and seeing the figure waving at her as they leave -Marching forward, left behind-. Then the protagonist is lost in a multitude of sceneries, continuing on her journey. -Should we lose our way, tired of all this pain- We don’t see her anguishing anymore, but there is a moment of weakness as she’s on the ground before looking up at this blinding white light. 

I’m slightly pausing here before I noticed something while writing this, in the last scenes we get a reflection of her shoes and how they are dirty and worn. -Forge ahead-. In the start of the music video when our protagonist first leaves her home, her shoes are white and clean if not brand new. Just like our character when starting this journey. Watching through they actually show the shoes quite a few times and how scuffed and worn they are becoming. Another thing I noticed towards the end before she’s leaning over in the dirt is how her hair has noticeably changed if not grown longer. This could just be unintentional, but I like that it shows the physical passage of time on this character. 

So Miya, I’ll ask again, what does this have to do with hope?

If you’ve played through Endwalker, you know the entire plot boils down to a bird with depression. Our WOL is the reincarnation of the last Azem shepherd of stars in the dark. We could see the story in a few ways. Our character could very much just be a tempered weapon for Hydalyn, we do cause a fair bit of trouble along the way…then we could ask what victory is worth this price. Do you sit in hopelessness and wait for whatever outcome, or do you go out and make a difference? It’s a very human concept, and it blends beautifully into meeting Venat and learning ‘Your answer’. 

The game started with a Calamity. If you play for an hour or through the entire game, you have your own reason for playing. A reason for living in this beautiful world. No matter what brought you to this point, it’s cannon not just to you, but to everything around you. No matter how many times something has pushed you down, you’ve gotten back up and overcome it. You might have just evaded the obstacle for now, but that’s part of life. Not every boss you defeat stays dead, just look at Zenos. Not every action you make will change the outcome of the scenario, look at Elpis and how we went there knowing we couldn’t change their future. 

Saying that though makes me want to reflect on Shadowbringers, and how one timeline’s wish to change reality was able to change reality in its entirety. It wasn’t impossible, only improbable.

And should you lose your way, tired of all this pain, don’t be afraid to forge ahead. 

Much love,

Miyako Sora

[miyakosora]

"What's the matter Emet-Selch. Cat got your tongue?"

She could see on his face. There was so much more to it. She saw the madman before his madness. He saw was the byproduct of his dearest friend after she'd had her soul splinted into 14. She couldn't change their history, doubting he would remember this moment as they fought to the death.

His death.

By her hands.

As she wore the face of one that had come before her.

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A scene from Elpis that's been playing in my head that I never got the chance to fully write out. Miya wanting nothing more than to save these people. But she remembers Elidibus's words well.

She must return to the present that she left.

[miyakosora]

"You're late!"

"How long were you planning on making me wait out here?"

Just a normal girl waiting on her friends before class. It's rude to make a lady wait don't you know.