#I also want to fuck around in ffxiv

[lithariel]

My least favourite aspect of whichever mental issue is applicable to this is that sleep is so fucking boring

The only times I'm fully capable of just passing the fuck out are the times where I've pushed my body to the limit, and even then I wake up a couple hours later, struggling to continue the rest

[dainesanddaffodils]

Alphinaud tells Estinien about his first date w/ Arenvald where they went on a treasure hunt (to give the money to a struggling country)

and Estinien took fucking notes, immediately asking Cimorene if she wants to join him on a different treasure hunt (to give the money to a different struggling country)

brothers, for real

[redwayfarers]

'ajde bar noćas budi mi drug

Fandom: FFXIV Ship: Nika/Hilda Characters: Nika Perseis (WoL), Hilda Ware Rating: Gen Words: 1457 Spoilers: minor spoilers for MCH level 70 questline Title taken from Skačem, skači which has been on Nika's playlist before any other song. Slavic mutuals, this one's for you <3 read on ao3 dividers by @saradika

There’s something about Hilda. Nika’s known it for a while now - he likes so few people, and she’s never given him cause to ditch their budding friendship; besides, she makes a wonderful drinking buddy. And a mean card player. He knows this from observation. He doesn’t dare sit before her, cards in hand, and have to give up what little dignity he has. That was for Limsa, and for a simpler time. Instead, he prefers to just sit at the same table, watch the game and shout a hearty, “Better luck next time!” to the loser.

When she gives him a dirty look, however, he stops. This whole concept of.. Caring about others’ opinions feels oddly familiar and oddly new at the same time. He doesn’t play cards against her because he doesn’t want people laughing at him, fair enough. He can admit, albeit wordlessly, that she’s better than him. But the way the disapproval in her eyes cuts him is new. This isn’t a reputation thing - he wants Hilda’s opinion of him to be good, what a weird fucking thing to want, so he stops doing the shit she finds offensive. 

Yeah, that shit’s weird. Luckily for him, though, life takes him away from the Brume often so he doesn’t have to question it. What little he is there, overseeing the Hounds’ machinist training when Rostnsthal goes to take a breather, he feels much better. They’re on his ground, his playing field. It’s his approval that matters. 

Hilda’s good, though. The Hounds need some refinement, but Hilda - Hilda’s good. Hilda has no need for his opinion. Instead, he can say, “Do it like she does.” And not only is her aim really fucking good, she’s also beautiful. And he wants to be in her good graces. 

As Ishgardians say, Fury take her. 

And so it happens that Rostnsthal is away, Nika’s overseeing the training for the week, and Hilda’s the one currently taking the aim. She’s tied her hair back in a messy bun, she’s dressed in another black jacket which contrasts sharply with the paleness of her skin, and her grip on the gun is stable, solid, and unshaking. She tilts her head slightly as she adjusts, giving Nika a nice view of her neck. 

The sound of a shot going off brings him back to reality. 

“How was that, Mr. Sharpshooter?” Hilda laughs. “You were paying such attention.” 

“Do you want me to open a dictionary and find synonyms for 'good’?” Nika shakes his head. “I don’t think you really need my opinion.” 

“I do. You’re the big, bad Warrior of Light, and me, I’m a mongrel from the Brume. If ya put in a good word for me with your blue-blooded friends, I’d be the next Archbishop.” 

“You’re grossly overestimating my influence. Or maybe my liking of them.” Nika makes a face. “I wanna shoot half of them in the face. Member of the Heavensward, off you go. Annoying asshole, off you go. That’s a solid chunk of Ishgard’s nobility.”

Not Artoirel, though. Emmanellain, too. Stephanivien, as well. Aymeric. The thought of putting a gun to Artoirel’s head makes him sick. He knows he’ll take it bravely, but he also knows Stephanivien and Aymeric would hunt him down for it. 

It’s not only Hilda’s good opinion that he cares about, after all. 

Nika kicks the snow under his feet. 

“I agree,” Hilda says. “But it doesn’t change the fact you were staring at me.” 

“Fine– I think you’re not only good at aiming, but also good-looking. Is it a crime in the Brume to be attracted to people?” Nika taps a nail against the trigger of his firearm. 

“Not at all.” Hilda smiles. She walks over, the end of her weapon clinks against the metal of her tall boots, and she looks up at him. Her lips are full and red from the cold and her eyes shine in amusement and pleasure. “Join me for mulled wine later? Maybe a card game, if your pride lets you?”

Nika huffs. “It’s not about pride, woman– but yes. I will join you for mulled wine. It’s stupidly cold in Ishgard.”  

Hilda places a hand on his forearm. “I’ll make sure it’s all warm for you, Nika.” 

Well, it looks like Nika’s in for a good night. It’s not Artoirel - it will never be Minfilia - but it’s as good as he’s going to get. He likes mulled wine, anyway. 

*** 

The bed is warm, soft and lived in. Well, fucked in. Nika doesn’t have the habit of sleeping in other people’s beds unless he stays the night with them, which doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s a harmless action - extending your stay in someone’s life for a fraction of a moment, just to fall down the long mountain of oblivion. Normally, it would make his chest ache. When it comes to sex, however, that’s the price he’s willing to pay for some extra skin-to-skin contact. 

Hilda’s sitting on the edge of the bed, as naked as he is. He’s watching the muscles of her back move as she re-ties her hair. The room is simple, gray, a room of an ouvrière, much like the apartment he grew up in. Later came the paintings and the vases and the flower pots; he recalls how happy it made his mother when Lucretia showed up on their door with a huge bouquet of flowers in her hands, with how much care she’d put them in a vase, how sweetly she’d kiss her and whisper a word of gratitude. Nika thought it was all weird at the time. He was just a kid. An asshole kid, sure, one who frowned deeply at the soft kisses, but a kid nonetheless. 

Unfortunately, asshole kids grow up into asshole adults. But sometimes, it’d be nice if– Nika’s not a flowers type of person, but surely, it’d be nice if someone gave him a big, feathered hat? Surely, it’d be nice if anyone ever liked him back enough to do that for him? 

Not Hilda, though. He isn’t expecting her to. They were both looking for a momentary distraction and fun, and that’s what they got. Orgasms are a neat little thing too. Nika likes them, and so does Hilda. 

Yet, when she buries her fingers in his hair and massages his scalp, all thoughts somehow scatter. Nika slithers over to be closer, and Hilda just continues to softly thug on the strands. He gives a little sigh of contentment. Then, out of fucking nowhere, her hand disappears. 

“Why’d you stop?” he asks, before he’s fully aware of what he’s saying. And how he’s saying it. He sounds so stupidly needy, like a spoiled little fuckwit, and he buries his fingers in the pillow out of embarrassment. 

“I’m coming back,” she says. “I was just thirsty. Why’d you get so worked up about it?” 

Nika purses his lips. “None of your business.” 

“I promise you, I didn’t just invite you here to have my fun and kick you out–” 

“That would’ve been more merciful,” Nika replies. His chest feels tight, his body too big and uncomfortable. Yet his skin tingles sorrowfully. 

“What? You want to be simply used and kicked out like some annoying asshole’s servant? Am I reading ya correctly, Nika?” Hilda’s now staring at him in confusion, and he curls even more on the bed. “In what world is that merciful?” 

Nika doesn’t reply. He doesn’t know what to say. He was never this desperate before. It feels like a curse, and it makes him want to crawl out of his skin. And he would’ve been fine if he just didn’t say it like that, like he’s so deprived he’s about to beg for–

“Hilda,” he says, trying to rein in the storm in his throat. “Don’t ask me that question. Now if you’d be so kind as to kick me out, butt ass naked–” 

She pushes him so that he’s sprawled on the bed, and lays down on him without a word. The room’s warm, her skin’s warm, but he doesn’t mind it. He really doesn’t. It even feels good - his hands wrap around her and it feels offensively nice. It fights against the urge to walk away and wins, even. 

“I thought you were thirsty?” Nika croaks, and falls further into a pool of shame. 

“I can wait for a few more minutes. ‘Sides, who said I’m done with you?” 

Nika blinks. “If you want me to do something–” 

“Just lay there, be a personal heater and look pretty. Right now, that’s all I ask of ya.” 

Nika sighs. “If you say so,” he murmurs. 

It looks like he’s in for a long, and much to his own chagrin, good night. 

[trans-estinien]

its so wild seeing how non mmo players exist and well. i dont like it!

[its-raining-cats]

Goodbye ninja you son of a bitch. See you next summer when the level cap is increased.

[impossible-rat-babies]

yes live letter important but also. thinking about pandaemonium!

[noxtivagus]

IDENTITY CRISIS WOOOO

[shivasdarknight]

What are the main jobs of the characters in your wolship/wolnpc ship?  Do they adventure together or take on separate quests?  I’m sure this has been done but feel free to share a fun quest/adventure they had together too. :)

well, let’s start with a tally

Surkukteni: DRK/DRG predominantly, sometimes RDM, knows AST but won’t use it in combat Ysayle: BLM/PLD predominantly - also knows ARC and is learning MCH during 5.X Estinien: DRG and DRG only Aymeric: PLD pretty exclusively tho we’ve seen him w a bow Venat: PLD/WHM/DNC or whatever those technically are to the ancients idk

4 canon tanks.  Four.  And only one person who heals willingly.

If theres any adventuring going on, it’s more likely going to be Venat going than Aymeric due to his obligations as Lord Speaker, but they effectively swap as the assigned healer as he’s pretty much a blue healer.  The makeup is usually:

Tank: Surkukteni, very very rarely anyone else because of her injuries from 3.3 DPS: Estinien and Ysayle - both extremely obnoxious about it Healer: Venat or Aymeric but again, see above.

Surkukteni goes off on her own quite often, but has increasingly been going on jobs with Estinien and Ysayle.  Each of the three are pretty independent as Scions, but they don’t pass up on working together.  Aymeric only goes with others, and Venat heavily prefers to go with others as it’s just not fun if she wanders by herself.

As for a fun adventure, IDK IF THIS COUNTS AS FUN BUT. (see below the cut - explicit 5.5 spoilers)

Paglth’an was one of the few instances where Surkukteni, Ysayle, Estinien and Aymeric were actually on the same battlefield.  Ysayle hung close to Surkukteni and the other Scions, and Estinien and Aymeric basically followed along with canon.  This was Ysayle’s first proper excursion as a Scion besides the work she’d done with Melisande (which was a lot of laying low while Ysayle recovered), and also the first major thing she’d done with Surkukteni since Heavensward.  So maybe there was a lot of overcorrection, maybe there was a lot of hovering on each others’ parts because they were worried and all of this was new.

But during the last leg of the fight - you know, when Tiamat shows up - Ysayle got super fucking distracted.  She knew of Tiamat, but had few chances to speak to her - let alone see her in combat like that.  And Ysayle is a sapphic mess, and is extremely predictable and was crushing hard.  While it got the Scions to tease her for it - namely Surkukteni and Y’shtola - it quickly turned into a dire distraction as a tempered dragon seized Ysayle by the leg and broke it.  Injuries were bad, Surkukteni panicked but at least Ysayle was otherwise fine when they managed to deal with the main pack.  Part of why Estinien doesn’t engage in the Lunar Bahamut fight (beyond it not being canon) is that he hung back to keep an eye on Ysayle until additional helped arrived to let Surkukteni deal with things.

Which means when they head to Ul’dah after everything, there’s this wonderful image in my head that I love of Surkukteni just bridal carrying Ysayle through the streets to the infirmary while they’re just quietly talking to distract her from the pain of having her leg mauled.

She’s fine.  She recovers and it helps that the duration between 5.5/5.55 and 6.0 is like...just over half a year in my canon (for reasons).  But it drives Ysayle nuts after the fact because she hates navigating with crutches and neither Surkukteni nor Estinien will let her live it down because the initial fear and worry is gone - all that’s left is Ysayle is in this situation because she got distracted while oggling a dragon she thought was really hot.  It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up!

And yes, I’ve already written it too.

    Changing the subject to not risk Allie overhearing them talking about her, Surkukteni’s hand fell gently on the cast Ysayle was forced to wear.  “What were you doing out?” she asked, looking Ysayle over with concern.  “I thought you were ordered to rest.”

    “Funny that you’re the one saying this,” was Estinien, falling hard into the couch to Surkukteni’s other side in spite of the glare she leveled by at him.  His hand draped behind her shoulders, falling to rest near Ysayle’s.  His fingers traced her exposed pale skin - all thanks to her slipping shirt - and trailed up her neck, letting them linger at her jaw.  “But I do agree with her, even if she is a hypocrite; is your leg any better?”

    Ysayle shifted to lean into Surkukteni, and by proxy more into Estinien’s touch.  She sighed as she took Surkukteni’s hand, running her own slender fingers along her rough palm.  “I think if you’d told me several years ago that I’d have both former Azure Dragoons fretting over my well-being, I would’ve called you crazier than I and laughed it off.”  Before either could protest, she did laugh it off and shook her head.  “It’s feeling much better, thank you.  I just needed the fresh air, is all.”

    Surkukteni sighed.  “I wish it’d heal faster.  You’d think healing magic would do more for broken limbs, but I suppose it can only do so much.”

    “You and me both.”  Ysayle sighed.  “I only wish I’d been of some help in Carteneau.”

    “A word of advice, then?” was Estinien, in that markedly unhelpful tone of his.  “Things generally go better if you stay focused, and not get distracted by dragons you fancy.”

    Ysayle groaned loudly at that, her face burning bright red.  

    Surkukteni - equally unhelpful - could only laugh, a wide and toothy grin painting her features.

    Paglth’an had...well, it had certainly gone.  It was Ysayle’s second ever serious fight as a Scion proper, and it was safe to say not an easy one to learn group dynamics in.  Things had gone smoothly for the most part (though, Alisaie was no help, as usual), but that quickly changed when Surkukteni caught Ysayle staring.  Not staring at her - though she had honestly wished she had looked at her with all that awe and desire - but rather at Tiamat mid-battle.  She didn’t even get the chance to tease her for it before one of the tempered dragons had seized Ysayle in its jaws, cleanly snapping her leg in two and giving the lot of them a collective heart attack.  It’d been scary in the moment - mortifying, if she were honest - but now that they knew she’d survive and keep her leg as it was?  Well.

    “She is single, you know,” Surkukteni pointed out, only to get a loud whine from Ysayle as she buried her face in the crook of the Warrior’s shoulder.  “You could, if you wanted to.”

    “I’m sure she’d be eager to at least see you properly, with all you’ve done,” Estinien added.

    A more exasperated groan slipped from Ysayle, muted mostly by Surkukteni’s arm.  “Damn the both of you, I never should have explained why,” was her muffled response, broken up by a flustered laugh.  At least it wasn’t a sore subject with her.

[astrxealis]

i am so used to my pinned post i kinda don't want to change the format but i want to

[xsoteria]

.

[liketheinferno2]

These aren't full ref sheets but I was trying to take some clear pictures of Hephaistos for later art reasons and then got side tracked doing all of the Pandaemonium bosses so here they are in order. Also for anyone following who doesn't play FFXIV and knows it as the catgirl game, enjoy this instead? VISUAL SPOILERS obviously.

Asphodelos

Warder of the Condemned: Erichthonios

Mythic Creation: The Hippokampos

Mythic Creation: The Phoinix

(+ familiars)

Hemitheos: Hesperos

(+ sexy fanfic redesign by Nemjiji)

To be brutally honest I never really liked either of these designs compared to every other Hemitheos we get, I think the really brutal black and red of the Phoinix is weakened by gold accents, but I still am always down for gay vampire surf rock. The Savage version kind of looks like Ultimalius as well if you've played XVI.

Abyssos

Mythic Creation: Proto-Carbuncle

Hrgrhhgrhrgrh

Hemitheos: Hegemone

^ My favourite detail on this is you can see the parasite's outlines in her robes and in her legs, then right through the eye holes on the mask to wrap around the torso. I'm convinced this version of Hegemone is functionally an ant being piloted by a cordyceps infection.

Hemitheos: Agdistis

She's very big

Perfect Imperfection: Hephaistos

I'm probably biased by Abyssos being the first raid I was there for day of release but these really are all fantastic. It's also when the story abandons all pretense of not being (at least partly) about family abuse and is loudly using the body horror and shackle motifs to talk about that. It's great. Hephaistos specifically is constantly bulging and twisting in and out of different forms like a highly unstable chimera and the more I look at these the more I notice parts that just should not be there. He's giving everything.

As for the Savage design It's a hard thing to rate as such but my favourite part is the veins that grow down from the eyeholes in his mask like bloody tears.

Thanks Abyssos I love you

Anabaseios

Mythic Creation: Kokytos

Dæmoniac Dungeon: Pandæmonium

It's really hard to communicate how huge this nasty tumor crab I zoomed out as far as physically possible in the game engine and subsequently ended up at a goofy angle staring up his nose.

Ephemeral Justice: Themis

Best boy. The double ended lance and second pair of arms are fantastic for this character.

Theos: Athena

In.. almost every final fantasy adventure you're fighting the real villain not at the very end but a little beforehand, the big iconic end boss is often more a metaphorical figure representing everything wrong with that first person's ideals. Athena cut out the middle man and became her own JENOVA.

I do like the moth angel, especially the hollow body full of dubious orbs, but with her eyes closed all the time it gives off the impression of this not even being the true body but some kind of anglerfish lure in the shape of a fairy... which might be true because this exists:

I really really love her twitchy anemone feelers and how the moth body ends up grafted to the rest of it waist down.

Anyway there's the gang I did not specifically intend for this to be design reviews I just wanted to have clear photos because when you actually see them in game there's other things to focus on. In hindsight I can appreciate more the theming of each tier and then the series as a whole, but my only (extremely obvious) observation for now is that every character Athena had a personal hold over is decorated in chains somehow and so I should have seen the Hegemone thing coming lmao. Heph and Aggy are still my favourites I don't think that's changing any time soon. I'm also noticing that Anabaseios is now just old enough for random DF parties to fuck up severely and I find that fun so I'm going to go fight the crab mansion now.

[despair-ninja-everything-agency]

Y'know what? Fuck you- *Full Parties your WAA lawyers and assistants*

Credits to @locke-rinannis for the FFXIV Trust Banner template :D

Rambling for each choices under the cut + alternate Charley The Plant banner:

GNB Phoenix: I had thought PLD would work for the whole 'truth and justice' schtick, but I don't want him to have the same class as Edgeworth (also a PLD in my mind) so I went for something 'out there'. Reckon GNB's good cuz, imagine those evidences and frequent "Objection!" are his literal bullets while he goes up close to the opponents.

MNK Mia: Case 1-2 aside, I always headcanon Mia have at least some form of self-defense via hand-to-hand combat given that her concept arts revolve around making her a biker attorney.

MCH Apollo: Perceiving + won't you believe it, Chord of Steel. I always imagine Apollo would be the MCH to Klavier's BRD and (maybe) DNC Nahyuta.

DRK Athena: Unironically couldn't think of a better job for Athena other than DRK. Just imagine a Dark Knight that, not only listen to their own heart, but also listen to other people's heart.

SMN Maya and Pearl: Spirit channeling. Full stop.

AST Trucy: Troupe Gramarye has card motif, so it's only logical that Trucy would get the card-themed job (her astroglobe is her magic panties lmao). There's also another reason but that'd be going into spoiler territory...

WHM Charley: LET THE DAMN PLANT HEAL! Also because WHM is the most connected to nature compared to other healer jobs. Cordyline Stricta is his species name but I figured it'd be a cool sounding job name lol. I made two banners for Charley, actually. The other is this one:

[unnaturalequilibrium]

Hmm, the Yellow-Elmo outfit - I feel like whatever I say about this one is going to give you a dubious impression about me and my relationship with furries. I mean, yes I have a game in my Steam library called Furry Pride, but - I also have the kind of friends who when sending me money will gladly label the transaction "drugs" or "tnx 4 prostitu". It’s just that I’ve played too much FFXIV to not be a little uncomfortable around them, the furries that is. I don’t kink shame as a rule. But it is weird though, isn’t it?!

The Elmo part aside, I sort of feel like this outfit is something you dress a toddler in, grown women and terrycloth just doesn't slap. It’s the kind of outfit that looks like it can also be used as a napkin, a tissue and a blanket. To be fair it's more the material and colour of it than the design I’m having an issue with, but honestly— my mind’s initial connection was to that kid in the second Ghostbuster movie. I feel like I saw that kid in this outfit. Or was that a fever dream? I don't know, but it's giving a little too much nursery, a little too much nesting Easter Bunny.

The best thing I can say about it is that it looks cosy. Like a soft towel or a chicken. The thing is though, she still looks really fucking good in it and I don't know if I want to know what that says about me.

yellow-Elmo look - [4 out of 10]

[luck-and-larceny]

FFXIV Write: Reticent

She flipped a card over. King of Hearts.

“Ah. So there's a man who has been occupying your thoughts lately.”

It was important to deliver her readings more in statements than questions. Confidence was the key to convince people to pay you. That was rule number one in these kinds of games.

The woman on the other side of the cards didn't react. She didn't agree. She didn't disagree. She simply stared at the revealed card.

Ok.

Malika gave the woman space to think about it before adding, “It's important that I mention here that this does not necessarily mean you've been thinking about him romantically. The hearts represent depth of feeling and affection, but not necessarily a desire to be romantic. It could be a father figure, a mentor, or even a co-worker you've been worrying about.”

Again, no rising intonation. 

And, again, no response.

Malika tilted her head slightly to get a better look at the midlander woman’s face as she peered down, unblinkingly and wordlessly at the card. Nothing. Blank.

“Let's turn over the next card then,” she said and bit back the urge to nervously clear her throat. No nervousness here! Only sport!

She turned the card over to the 9 of hearts.

“Ah,” she said, “More hearts. Now why do you think that'd be, hmm?”

The first rule of the game was: Don't ask questions, make statements.

The second rule was: Fuck it, break the rules when you need to. In this case, she hoped asking for a response would make her sound like a patient teacher allowing her student to draw her own conclusion.

“Dunno,” the midlander answered and shrugged. And that was it. Nothing. 

Malika was quickly losing her patience. The way this woman stared at the cards you'd think she was watching paint dry on a wall!

“This card represents satisfaction, contentment and joy,” Malika said… emotions she, herself, was quickly forgetting how to feel. “Paired with our handsome King there it looks like things are going pretty good for you!”

Why even come get scammed by a shady asshole peddling fortunes with a regular ass card deck– not even a cheap divination deck!-- if your life is going so well? Tell me why you're here! You owe it to me! 

“Oh.” The midlander answered. Flatly. No emotion.

Was she alive? Had someone created an automaton to come get their fortune read? Was this a trick? Evander was pretty good at designing machines… She looked around for evidence of him. Nothing. There was a lot of that here today.

“Oh.” Malika repeated it and then turned another card over. Ace of Diamonds. “More good fortune. Literally. You'll receive a letter soon saying you're to receive money you did not expect. Tied to the hearts here, it suggests the letter will either include good news about the man or maybe be sent by him. Is there a man you're hoping to receive good news from?”

More nothing. Absolutely nothing. Time to pack up and call this a bust. She hadn't expected to get anything too significant for reading playing cards, but she'd at least hoped for fun. Or gossip she could use at a later date on another scam. Anything at all! Reading someone else's good luck in the cards and not even getting a conversation from it left a terrible taste in her mouth that only getting sloppy drunk could fix. 

She started to pack up. Silently. It's what the “customer” deserved.

The customer reached out a hand and gently held Malika’s wrist. 

Weird.

“Please turn the next one over!”

Malika raised her eyebrows. Finally, something interesting. Finally feeling like she was back in control, she exerted her power by not packing up but also not turning the next card over. And not speaking either. She could feel the switch of fortune in the air, could sense the tables turn. Exhilarating.

The woman across from her blushed and released her wrist. Then, blessedly, began to speak. “I didn't want to give too much away,” she explained, “because I'd been warned these sorts of set ups could sometimes be scams.”

“Hurtful,” Malika responded. “You wound me.”

“I'm sorry! I just… I thought to protect myself I shouldn't give anything away. I should see what you say and then, you know, see if it was right. Then I couldn't be scammed, you know?”

Malika nodded. “I know. These streets can be dangerous. People can be so unscrupulous. It's a good practice to watch out for that. You did the right thing.” She smiled warmly and tried to keep a predatory grin from overwriting the warmth. “But card reading requires two people working together to create the– we'll call it a narrative. I don't have oracular visions.”

Well, not usually anyway.

“I just have the ability to read vague messages in the cards. You've got to lend your personal experience to them to make the message more specific. It's like we're dancing together when we do this. If you don't move with me, it's clumsy and unsatisfying.”

“Ohhhhh, that makes sense.”

Did it? Good! Malika rather liked the dancing analogy…even if her first thought for comparison was less polite.

“The King of Hearts is my uncle, I think. I adore him! He’s a professional “treasure hunter” and he's opening a new museum in La Noscea that is going to be full of all kinds of ancient items and artifacts and other stuff like that. He sends me letters all the time telling me all the things he's found that he'll put in the museum and other stuff he's just planning to sell and he says he's been making so much money off it all. I asked if I could become a partner, so maybe that's what the letter will be about! Next time we do a reading maybe you'll pull a card for me that shows me as Queen of Diamonds!”

Malika had to keep her head down staring at the cards. She couldn't lift it or her wolfish grin and the bad intentions in her eyes would be far too visible to Red Riding Hood. 

“Maybe!” she agreed.

She turned the final card over. 2 of Spades. Its meaning: Bad luck. A need to be extra cautious. A cheat or bad actor in your life.

Malika lifted her head and her smile was nothing but sweetness. “2 of Spades! It means you've been needlessly cautious. You've been hiding so much away when you need to learn to be more open and honest. You've shut the door on your thoughts and feelings when you really need to throw that door wide open and impulsively do anything your heart desires when you desire it. Transparency is the key to your success!”

“Ohhh, that makes sense!”

“Doesn't it though! Now tell me everything about your uncle and yourself.”

[headcanons-n-shit]

since there was already a prompt abt pining can i ask for hcs on how the ffxiv boys (+leofard?) would go about expressing their interest in a particularly dense wol? 😊

We do love a dense motherfuker

Thancred is fucjing suffering over here. He cannot possibly make his intentions any more obvious. The problem is that hes accidentally played himself-- hes spent so long disguising his feelings as jokes, or as ploys on missions, and now you just assume that his flirting and holding your hand and wanting to be in your space all the time is just what the two of you do. He ends up having to go all rose petals and sappy love confession under the moonlight like some kind of storybook love interest. Its so sappy, embarrassing, but its also so, so sweet.

Urianger is, unfortunately, painfully Sharlyan about the whole thing. He gives you nice paper, expensive ink, masterwork tools, intricate glasswear for your alchemy lab. Practical, highquality armor. A delicately embroidered handkerchief. He thinks hes being overly forward with his affections, you think hes just being a really good friend, yshtola would rather drown herself than watch the rest of this soap opera play out.

Literally what else does G'raha need to do to prove his devotion to you??? The man unwound time and unraveled space just to be by your side. He was practically your sugardaddy your entire time on the First. He almost, almost thought you were flirting back with him when you brought him food from the Last Stand, and then Alphinaud and alisae and krile trotted in behind you and it took every ounce of his Exarch discipline not to retreat with his tail between his legs. Pls this man is suffering.

Estinien literally can not. Look me in the eyes. This stinky dragoon has spent a good half his life behind an armet. He is a horrible mix of country bumpkin, career soldier, aymeric's half-assed attempts to pound courtly decorum into estiniens dumb empty head, and Nidhoggs instincts. He wants to cook you food, drag you into a corner and kiss you silly, send you flowers, and bring you something he killed with his bare hands. He ends up doing all four. Not necessarily in that order.

Aymeric is dying. You are going to be the death of him. He has gone through great pains to discover your favorite flower and have them always displayed in your room. He has written you letters full of poetry. He has showered you with gifts. He has invited you to dine with him. At this point the other nobles are asking whether its going to be a spring or summer wedding, and he doesnt know how to explain how you are still woefully oblivious bc he cant explain it himself.

Haurchefant gave you a LITERAL DOWRY. He handed you the reins to an extremely expensive war-trained black de chocobo in front of everyone whos ever mattered to him and also half of ishgard, and then he had to stand there dying internally while you praised him for being a "good friend". There are bets not on whether hes going to throw you over his shoulder and carry you to his room to. Ahem. Prove his devotions. But rather on how long it will take him to break.

Sidurgu. Barely has memories of the Orl traditions around courtship. His mother had often regaled him with stories of how she had courted his father. Food, presense and friendship, proofs of skill. And yes, it frustrates him that you seem to brush off his attempts, but. Well. It took almost five years for his mother and father to get together, from the way they told it. Hes learned a lot for your sake, and for rielles. He can learn patience too.

Leofard is a pirate. He doesnt dance around the bush, he strikes when the metal is hot and takes what he wants. It works well with garlean airships and the odd unfortunate merchant. Not. So much with you. One, because your consent and emotions are important to him. Two, because you are so. Fucking. Dense. He steals silks and jewels and fancy foods for you, spends time with you, saved your life from diabolos, told you his sad life story. Hes one step from throwing himself at you like some fainting dame, and its embarrassing.

(Hes not gonns stop tho)

[bumofthewild]

what are your shadowbringers thoughts so far 🥳

too many.........! i mean it like a lot. more than i get to in this post. also i did the final trial of post-shb ytd actually so spoilers for both shb and post-shb (up 2 the end of that fight)

i think it was different from what i was expecting from the pre-shb parts... like i really enjoyed what immediately happens after the yotsuyu trial where alphinaud plans to go to garlemald and gets stranded in the burn (one of the coolest locations in the game) and the really dire feeling from your friends falling unconscious around you and a voice calling to you in this urgent but poetic way; i was really into the feeling of this unknown threat closing in all around wol. when finally alisaie falls (i liked the development she was getting and how blunt she is abt caring abt her loved ones) and wol gets transported to the first i was like whooooaaaa but then i actually think the story kind of lost me for a bit bc it loses that pre-shb momentum setting up the first as a location. not to say the opening parts of shb aren't well-written or interesting bc they def are but i found myself kind of wanting to go back to that intense direness (rather than the resigned-to-danger feeling of life in the first after the flood) and also i had this idea of shb being this visually darker expansion probably bc of the title and the garlemald cutscenes so its funny its the exact opposite. i rmb i also thought the shadowbringers would be the ascians but they really made you think that on purpose smh bc the shadowbringers are actually.....you....! (i think)

still i really like the idea of overwhelming light and how it just leads to stasis of all things. shb has some truly weird ideas but in a really fun way like the idea that the echo is something that can be evoked within sundered beings by having them experience a starshower like how the fuck do you come up with that. just some truly esoteric things like elemental imbalances and the shattering of the source into thirteen shards and all that like im genuinely a big fan of the ffxiv world lore. it was cool how all this stuff was set up pretty well too with the warriors of darkness from post-hvw like i really liked how they put those guys back into the story. and i always enjoy when the driving force in a story is like a hunt for mini-bosses (the light wardens). i think what was kind of making my interest fray at times though was again just establishing a new setting which i was less interested in than the overwhelming light plot stuff. particularly eulmore, probs bc i went there first fresh after all the urgent things were winding down but also bc it's so detailed a location it feels almost separate from the game to me so i felt a bit distracted. i really wasn't expecting that initial confrontation with vauthry to extend into him and his army becoming such a large part of the story, but i did like it regardless, like that cut-scene with kai-shirr where you save him from vauthry was so dramatic its even giving me chills remembering it. the fatphobia regarding vauthry's character was weird but im just. like ok. well i just had to say it

i really like the new locations too like il mheg definitely was made for me to spend hrs in there wishing it was real but everywhere too was really fresh and unique. i like mord souq a lot and i liked seeing the beast tribes be incorporated into the societies as opposed to whatever eorzea is always doing wrong. i also liked the attention put into things like developing relationships w ppl from the diff areas like helping with the trolley and the talos at twine--i always like stories where places are revitalised. like smaller-scale hopes being restored amongst the larger actions like bringing back the night and showing how these small things can be equally as important. i liked the effort that went into establishing the unique lifestyles of denizens of the first also. and seriously everything aboug il mheg plus urianger hanging out with fairies is one of those things that feels directly plucked from the self-indulgent recesses of my brain. i was actually sad when you lifted the mist bc the place felt a lot more enclosed (i like enclosed things i love an enclosed atmosphere which is why i wanted shb to feel less like it was opening up a story) and dreamy but oh well i can always just ng+ the game and never find urianger's house and frolick in misty il mheg forever

going back to how each area is really fun i also really like that idk thing stories do where you encounter a diff person at every diff location. like that all your friends were at different places on the map idk how to explain but i thought that was a fun way to have wol explore novrandt that makes sense. and how these new places recontextualise the scions who have been with you since arr was interesting like seeing them in a new light. i do feel like the game doesn't develop urianger and y'shtola as much emotionally compared to the others (THANCRED IS THE MAIN CHARACTER OF THIS GAME?) bc idk they're smart or smth so they're usually playing Mr. Exposition roles but i was grateful that at least you finally FINALLY spend a lot of time together as a party and build your relationship. probs one of the things i enjoyed most about shb. like you obvs don't see them in hvw bc they're all missing--just generally urianger isn't hidden away in some library thancred isn't skulking around some imperial stronghold somewhere y'shtola isn't being placed in a coma for the millionth time and the twins aren't otherwise engaged with logistics/combat. like everyone was finally together and striving towards the same things together. i could finally feel the bond between the scions rather than be told they're close thru sparse interactions they have with wol individually.

i also really like what they did with ardbert, the moments w him all felt so poignant. i used to find him silly in post-hvw calling himself the warrior of darkness and smirking at me all the time until the moment he goes back to the first w urianger's help..then i was like my bad i wasnt aware of your struggles.... i like how they complicated his char a lot and his narrations were so fun. his char is a good example i think of how shb did a good job of being both heartbreaking and pretty dark without being hamfisted or unnecessarily cynical

i feel like im going to have to spend so much time processing shb bc i blasted thru it but also bc i was so distracted by the crystal exarch like the moment i saw him i was like is this not just g'raha bc of the male miqote mouth (and that he has you go to the crystal tower but mostly the mouth) and this like proceeded to distract me to an insane degree up until the very second his hood flew back at the climax of the game and revealed it was actually him. i was even telling my sister like i hope he doesn't reveal his face himself i hope some stray wind or w/e blows the hood down...so i won that interaction. idk how i managed to avoid spoiling that considering i used to see fanart of him often bc he's so popular but i am not ungrateful bc even if its obviously him that would have sucked bc needing to know it was him like being right was possessing me

uhh what else............ regretfully emet-selch is now one of my fav characters. in the whole game. which is crazy to me.... i used to see his name around as well but what i rmb specifically is this one time i saw like a tweet complaining abt ff fans who are really into the imperialist ideals mention him and i was like eww guess im never gonna like this emet-selch guy if i play hahahaha. and i had this weirdass vision of him in my head as this brooding black robe-wearing guy w mid length grey hair or smth (just the impression i got from his name idefk) bc i had no clue what he looked like. and then solus shows up for the first time and i was like wow this guy is really interesting like whenever he shows up the plot really starts gripping me bc i just find the shit to do with the ascians soooooo super interesting. like the fact that they're very openly present but such a large threat. it's interesting to me that as enemies they make themselves so known to the main cast and could be anywhere at any time--i find that sort of impasse really fun. like a tense atmosphere nobody on either side breaks until the final moment bc they're not sure what the retaliation will be. also when emet-selch admitted that as ascians they'd all been tempered by zodiark like HUHHHH THATS SO INTERESTING

i think definitely the part after mt.gulg trial was where i was really understanding why i see a lot of ppl say that shb is the best expac bc how much the plot ramps up the stakes all of a sudden compared to the level of danger you get used to is crazy. and it really gives you things to think about beyond wuhhh good and evil bc like after you incoporate all that light into you, you're the threat now...? like what do you do? when you open the windows and the light has come back to the world after you gave everyone this hope the night sky could come back... that level of fucking up really surprised me. and the whole time emet-selch is shadowing you really only feels at most like a vaguely concealed threat and i feel like i don't usually get caught like that but i was genuinely shocked he was such a serious threat all of a sudden. like i genuinely forgot even though all of his interactions felt like being on the edge of a deal w the devil. and it was well done too i like when everyone is honest abt their intentions more or less the whole time but theres still a lot of intrigue -> danger

i usually roll my eyes at ig simplistic overtures about sympathizing with or even at least understanding your enemy but i have to say i really was unfortunately taken in by the fact that emet-selch was very genuine about his interest in the main party, and it was even better to me bc of how precarious their interactions were. i just love weird and hard-to-put-into-words relationships between ppl who know of each other but are essentially strangers. and compared to the other ascians you've met so far how he makes his appeals more human/emotional rather than with the stiff otherworldly-being logic of his comrades i find interesting, and again it doesn't come off as simplistic or try to provide any thoughtless concrete answers to me bc although the main party at least feels enough towards him to feel pity/considerate/betrayed, which i like bc that's just what ppl do, they just can't accept him (obviously) and they remain at that standstill. like they understand each other but they will never agree. not getting into how he invites wol who is turning into a monster personally to his underwater lair bc i want to seem normal secret recesses of my mind i just always like characters that seem cool or capable or operate in a way that seems very (almost "nobly") focused but its actually something of a farce, and they're really being spurred on by some intensely personal emotion. like shinobu from kny or sekigahara from 13 sentinels who are some off my fav characters. i did feel like the way he was rejecting the party at the end (before you fight him) was kind of excessive, like they were playing up his villainy a bit so it would make more sense you have to kill him or smth, but in my mind it's like of course you have to kill him no matter what. and i don't mean all of this in some woobifying way where i feel bad for him like nooo poor emet more like i just like when someone is really driven by emotions idk lemme try to find the words. the way the grief like bleeds out of him... like he creates a giant city of memories that he wants someone to understand so bad. i like that kind of mishandled pain...like an inability to contain something.

but as much as what the ascians strive towards/how they go about it/most things to do with them fascinate me i do have an iffy feeling about smth very specific that i think really solidified itself with amaurot. i find the conflict that is the sundering really interesting but how it's conceptualized is really................hm....the ascians having a normative standard of what it means to be a "proper" or fully-fledged or whole being = being worthy of life, so that killing the "malformed" beings that are the non-ascians doesn't count as killing.... that they have this idea of a "true" type of person. does that not seem like couched in really blatant ableist (and other things but im just a fool on tumblr) thought about what it means to be considered a person. i was just fascinated bc they're the villains so I GUESS it's meant to be "wrong" the way they think, but theyre still also sympathetic chars (and imperialists) so ok. this is also the acting logic of eorzea disposing of the ixal and the kobolds and the sahagin etc etc like killing beastmen is like swatting flies. the beast racism. like you know the amount of stock ppl put into worthless concepts like "reason" as if its some immutable law and not socially constructed and thats whats good and virtuous and deserving of life. it was just interesting? (HAHAHAHAUUUGHH) to see that represented in this hyper-rational and streamlined city/society of the ascians. the hard edges and the carefully tended charmless cement rows of tree plots and organized lines for licenses and taking pleasure in an organised and rational debate with my fellow ascians at the debate hall. like the perfect and complete world the ascians are killing themselves to bring back is bureaucracy???????? i actually was so stunned i wanted to laugh. idk it just makes so much sense to me that the way square enix apparently pictures some lost utopia "lesser" beings cant achieve would be in this sort of fake-conflictless way. it feels otherworldly of course in comparison to the rest of the worlds and i enjoyed that section of the game a lot but. like good lord

i had like no thoughts about g'raha until post-shb for some reason maybe bc idk what i could say the game hasn't already abt his personality but i'm like fascinated with how taken he is with wol bc i almost don't get it. i actually kind of mostly enjoy it in a really one-sided way where he is enamoured with wol as a fantasy figure out of his reach and it just stays that way forever. he interests me bc it feels like he's not really alive....and i said in my post about stormblood that i really like characters who feel like they can't see a life for themselves in the future beyond some goalpost they strive towards..but g'raha feels a bit different, he doesn't feel dead inside or empty he just feels like. he's not alive like he's not living. idk like he's not a human person but a symbol (the crystal exarch). ig it's his solitary focus on salvation bc even though he bakes lyna a cake for her bday and it turns out badly i like struggle to imagine him doing anything mundane or anything that isn't crystally or exarchy. i have to rotate him more idk. how he's also self-serving despite thinking so lowly of himself is interesting to me too. and i like how all of this is symbolised by how he'll have to reconcile this current version of himself with his past self, that is reimagine himself as a living flesh and blood person, in order to get out of the crystal vessel (symbolism?) hes currently inside of. whether he does idk yet im still playing post-shb so plz dont say.

i think im running out of space rip my thoughts on elidibus and the final hades fight (they should have just made it emet-selch, hades carries too many preconceptions so it felt random to me but maybe im just greedy and i've spared too much thoughts abt this guy already)

oh shit i also wanted to talk about how the more i learn about the ascians the more i'm convinced the imperialism in this game is just a waste of space and time and effort in this game but well. huge tangent. i genuinely just pretend its not there

last thoughts i'm convinced the finality of so many of the events is like.... was this supposed to be the final part of the ffxiv story..... the cinematic fight with hades/ how you beat him using the power of friendship/the heroes gauntlet duty where everyone you've helped in the first comes to your aid/fight against the original warrior of light....? etc. like it definitely all feels so final. why are there expansions after this......................like why bother.......shb did it all